Scene Analysis

The musical Rent is one that can be described as a musical that expresses the complex emotions of lower class New Yorkers. The opening scene starts the movie off with the idea that these people do not hold back these complex emotions. The producers of the movie Rent used continuous shots of panning and tilting around the scene and burning papers as symbols to convey the anger and despair of the tenants living in the apartment; that they are united as once to fight against just one man.
The opening scene of the movie Rent is crucial in establishing the idea that the people of this apartment complex are together as one in the fight against their landlord. As the song progresses, several shots are of the apartment complex in a long shot; where you can see all the residents on their balconies in anger. These shots then pan and tilt around the complex in one continuous shot. By having these continuous shots, it conveys the idea that every person singing on their balcony has the same actions and reactions to their landlord.
The continuous shots also convey the idea that the people are seen as one. By cutting it into individual shots, a producer gives the idea that each shot gives a different reaction to a situation. This producer, however, wants to show the unity of the residents, and therefore, uses one continuous shot. Every resident contains anger and despair, and by using one continuous shot, the producer tells the audience that they all feel the same way and come together as one group to protest. This emotion in the opening scene can be felt throughout the movie and is established through this scene.
As the song progresses and the residents began to get more angry, flaming papers are thrown off of a balcony and sets off the tone of anger. The burning paper is a symbol of this anger; and as more flaming papers fall to the ground beneath the apartments, the angrier and more animated the residents become. The flames continue to fall throughout the scene and are often the focal point. The large amount of burning papers that fall also show the large number of residents who are angry at this landlord and that they all express this emotion together.
The lighting of the scene is very dark, which contrasts with the brightness of the flaming papers, thus attracting the audience to the bright flames. The producers chose to make the flames stand out in order to emphasize the importance of what the flames represent, the heated anger that the residents feel towards their landlord. As the papers fall down to the ground, more and more people come down as well to surround their landlord. By emphasizing the flames, the producers make this symbol obvious to the audience.
Rent is a musical that shows the emotions of the lower class New Yorkers that live day by day. The opening scene conveys the idea of a group of residents of an apartment complex who are finally expressing their anger towards an unfair landlord. Their anger can be seen not only through the song itself, but through the bright flaming papers flying through the scene, and their unity to fight as one against their landlord can be seen through the continuous shots, where it continually pans and tilts around the apartment complex. These two editing techniques lead to the idea that when an emotion as strong as their anger needs to be heard, coming together as one is the loudest way possible.