CREATIVE INSPIRATION : UP

Pixar's 2009 film, UP, is probably my favorite of all the Pixar films, and one of my favorite movies of all time. It is so imaginative, fun, adventurous and humorous. The story and characters are deep, and the visuals are vivid and alive with color. It is very well done to say the least. But what makes it a brilliant film, and so memorable for me, is it's ability to captivate the viewer emotionally. The story draws you in, and you really want to connect with the characters and you really begin to care about them, specifically the main character Carl. 

    This is best achieved during one of the most iconic scenes of my recent movie-memory, the introduction of Carl and Ellie, how they met as kids, and then the slide-show telling of their life together that follows (if you don't know what I'm talking about, watch it here). During this there is no dialogue, just music. The key of this scene is to get the audience to emotionally invest in the characters —if this doesn't sell, the rest of the movie won't sell. Music is such a powerful way to create and elicit emotion, and there are few better examples than this scene. 
    I recently saw this featurette online (it probably comes from the DVD extras or something) where the film's composer, Michael Giacchino, talks about some of the ideas behind the music and the influence the music has on the movie and its story. I found it interesting and it supports what I talked about in this post, so I thought I'd share it! Here you go: