Pitch Perfect 1: will love and friendship conquer everything?IntroductionThe film I have seen is called Pitch Perfect. It is my favourite film of all time, I have seen it many times! There is a Pitch Perfect 2 and almost Pitch Perfect 3.This film is directed by Jason Moore. The script, made by Kay Cannon, is a free adaption of the book by Mickey Rapkin. Pitch Perfect premiered in Los Angeles on the 24th of September 2012. It was first released in the United States on the 28th of September 2012.

First impressionWhen I saw this movie for the first time, I was totally impressed! The actors perform so well, I was entertained from the beginning to the end! Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson and Skylar Austin are my favourite actors in this film. Anna and Skylar form a couple of which you hope that they eventually will come together. Rebel is an amazing actress because of her rough jokes. The humour in the film is comparable with Mean Girls. It is dry and mean but very funny, I had to laugh all the time. What I love the most are the performances. Singing and dancing at the same time is so hard and they made it look like it was so easy. All the performances were totally different but all so amazing and original. That they sing acapella, you do not even notice, they imitate the beats of the songs perfectly. The boys and the girls, both have done an amazing job! In the film they make an enormous step from the ´old´ to the ´new´, which is really impressive. I immediately loved this film!

DescriptionThe ´Riff off´. It starts with an establishing shot. The first thing I notice is that they are in an empty pool inside a large building. There are a few groups of acapella singers present in this scene. In the middle is a stout man explaining and leading the riff off. He has a kind of remote in his hand with a turning wheel, which he uses to pick a theme. Here the camera is focussed on his hand and then on the wall he is pointing to. The first time the wheel turns, it ends on ´Ladies From The Eighties´. The Treblemakers start singing but get interrupted by another group and soon the Barden Bellas take over. Cross cutting and matched cut are the main editing techniques used here. Then a drunk girl comes on and starts saying words without singing a real song. The group to which she belongs gets cut off. The man turns the wheel and this time it ends on Songs About Sex. Cynthia Rose from the Barden Bellas gets on stage, starts singing and soon the rest of the group follows. The Treblemakers interrupt this with a new song but Stacey interrupts them again. Jesse comes on and sings his song for quite a long time when suddenly Beca runs to the middle. A eyeline match is shown here. She raps and sings on her own for some time because no one seems to know this song. Later, everyone from the group and from all the other groups, except the Treblemakers, enter. Here continuity editing is used while in other parts they have used a cut as editing technique. You see Aubrey standing at the back of the Bellas, not liking what is going on. Beca finishes the song because no one interrupts anymore. Then the fat man comes on and said that they made on little spelling mistake when Becca took over which means they are cut off. The Treblemakers win this riff off. The last shot dissolves into the next one. The final cut of this scene is perfect.

AnalysisWhat really grabs my attention in the movie is that Beca and Jesse seem to like each other but neither wants to say. In the description part I explained that Becca and Jesse were looking into each other’s eyes. In their eyes you can see the eyeline match. In their eyes you can read things like how much they actually like each other. This film is not really from someone’s point of view. It follows every person and during an conversation eyeline matches are used. They have a positive effect, it makes you hope even more for Beca and Jesse to come together. During the riff off the cameraman used different angles which makes sure it does not get boring. You see things you have not seen before which makes the film more interesting. This also shows the points of view from different people. The thing that is emphasized is acapella. Beca thinks they have to get more modern to be able to win the competition. Aubrey thinks not and Chloe is in between. Music plays an enormous role in this film. The acapella singing of course but also music from Luke’s the music store where Beca and Jesse both work. They have met and fallen in love there and it is the place where Beca´s vocal abilities got discovered.

InterpretationThere is not really a theme. The film is about love, accepting it and about friendship and trust. These four things are the main things the film is about. The love between Jesse and Beca which they do not want to accept. The trust in Becca for modernisation of their songs and performances. And will their friendship survive when Beca is blamed for transgressing the rules? When I looked into their eyes every time, I indeed saw love and I think this is the intention. I also think that the director wanted people to laugh and relax for a moment. The film is not difficult, you do not really have to concentrate to understand it. I think everyone knows that it is really hard to make changes in your life, especially such a large one. The director showed the feelings of the people in a perfect way so you could really understand the difficulty of making a change. On the other side he showed how Beca was struggling with her feeling too, she wanted to do something good for the group but they interpreted it differently. I think the director wants to associate this film with life. The hard feelings you have but also how good life can be if you do not always stress and sometimes just sit back and relax.

Background informationJason Moore was born on October 22 in 1970. He is an American director of film, theatre and television. He has made a couple big films, like Pitch Perfect 1, 2 and soon 3 and Sisters. The director wanted people to be entertained and make a new film, not a ‘copy’ of another. He did not want to hear; ‘this is another glee’. He wanted people to make them pay attention in a way they might not pay attention. He wanted to hear that this film is actually subversive and actually funny. So my interpretation was pretty similar to his. The fact that people should laugh and relax is really important. This film is accessible, you do not have to pay so much attention to understand it. I really like the enthusiasm he has about the film. In the interview he explains the scenes with the meanings really clear. I did not know that ‘Riff off’ was not a thing before Pitch Perfect, the fact that they made this word up themselves is awesome.

Informed judgementMy thoughts or feelings have changed a little but in a positive way. The little facts I did not know, like the word Riff off, made the film even more interesting. I love the film more now! As I have said, I have watched this film many times already but yes I would watch it even more times again! It is so incredibly good and every time I watch it again, I discover new things that I had never seen before. I know all the songs by heart and I will keep singing them! That is the main thing that comes back to me. The meanings behind everything are beautiful, like the relaxing and the laughing. I would recommend this film to everyone, young, old, male, female it does not matter. This film is hilarious, amazing and just perfect!

Sources:http://moveablefest.com/moveable_fest/2012/10/jason-moore-pitch-perfect-interview.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Moore_(director)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6UVQkxT16c

https://www.google.nl/#q=pitch+perfect

PicturesThe love is visible in both eyes

A part of the Riff off