I remember when the movie version of The Fantasticks was being announced, it was said that they would sing live on set. I don't know if they carried through with that idea, but it was at one point part of an official announcement that they would do it.
There is a British musical movie called HUNKY DORY, released earlier this year, that features the both the cast AND orchestra playing live on set. The movie stars Minnie Driver and Aneurin Barnard (who won the Olivier for Spring Awakening), and they use songs from the late 60's and 70's by artists like Bowie, E.L.O., Beach Boys, Roxy Music (...). Here are two numbers from the show:
I got the feeling it was live when I saw the movie and later noticed how different some of the songs sounded on the soundtrack. Then, I got the confirmation through this interview with Aneurin, where he said: "The whole process of "Hunky Dory" was wonderful in that sense, musically. All the kids in the orchestra were playing the instruments. The choir was actually singing every song. Every actor in the film sang everything live."
Rex Harrison did all his singing live on set; he refused to pre-record his songs so they had a mic configured that looked like a tie pin.
The 2005 Producers movie also did about 90% of their singing live on set. (And where Les Mis actors are singing along to a piano, Producers sang along to the full 50-piece orchestra)
However, the difference with those films and Les Mis is, those were all done in-studio. Les Mis is on-location so they are singing everything outside in the elements. So, in a way, it has never been done before - for better or worse.
I think the difference between what the others have done and what Les Mis is doing is that the other movies have mostly sung live on set to a pre-recorded orchestra, so they were still fairly locked in in terms of tempos and the choices they could make vocally. With Les Mis they have total control on set over tempos since they are singing to a live piano accompaniment.
That's a fantastic, and well put together, montage! I guess I'd argue some cases--like Monty Clift's brief singing of Plaisir d'Amour in The Heiress where I wouldn't expect it to be pre-recorded (although, to be fair, there are similar instances that often *are* dubbed).
The first part of Ruby Keeler singing the big "42nd Street" number is live, too. So is her tap that follows. Right after the tap, it switches to a pre-record and you can really tell the difference.
That was common in many of those early Busby Berkeley (Dick Powell and Ruby Keeler) musicals. Some of the singing was live and some was prerecorded. Usually (but not always) the solo sections were live.
I know what prompted the evidence but even I think this is a tad...pedantic, coming from someone so pedantic, he can detect an orchestral change of a single instrument from a cassette boot of a show! =)
It's obviously a selling point and while many of Cammack's selling points in recent years have infuriated and made me want to throw things, this wouldn't qualify as one of them. Not saying anyone is angry, just saying there is really nothing to prove because everyone knows the moment they start saying it has never been done before, that they mean it has never been done to the extent that they are doing it for Les Mis. The live tempo control, the singing on set and in the elements, the intact nuances one gets uniquely from live theatre and a live theatre orchestra, etc...are all things that may have been done before but the process is being refined for Les Mis.
Who can forget CopRock? I think that's the best modern example of on-set singing. The show might have turned out to be a joke, but the singers were amazing. Here's one of my favorite examples. Search YouTube and you'll find lots of examples. There was a user who had uploaded all the musical numbers from the show, but I can't seem to find his/her page anymore.
This is still the first time anyone has tried this like this. Singing a few of the songs live on set is not the same as shooting the entire film that way. With that being said, I am sure there will still be some looping done in post, which means this will still not be all live.
Yeah, I went back and forth on Miss Diana - what finally convinced me was one breath that was taken in multiple gasps that seemed very unlikely to have happened more than once. But I could be wrong.
90% of the clips are based on documented on-set singing (My Fair Lady") or clear evidence, such as people going off-mic ("Calamity Jane"). The rest are songs I was told about and which looked live to my eye.
I meant to include 42nd St. but forgot!
Who is this meant for? Me?
"I know what prompted the evidence but even I think this is a tad...pedantic, coming from someone so pedantic, he can detect an orchestral change of a single instrument from a cassette boot of a show!"
Thanks to my always helpful viewers, I was able to add 20 more examples of singers who sang on set, including Groucho Marx, Eddie Cantor, Fred Astaire, Danny Kaye, Al Jolson, Ruby Keeler, Alice Ghostly, Julie Andrews, Rita Moreno, and Barbara Harris.
This was a fun project, and I thank all those who helped!
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joined:7/6/07
Posted: 10/6/12 at 02:28am