The core conflict of "The Cracking Drummer" lies in the contest between two people's control and resistance, which is mainly expressed through the actors' performances, gunpowder-flavored lines, lighting and compositional hints; and the biggest highlight of the film is created with the help of music and editing. The sense of rhythm gives the film a jazzy rhythm.
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1. Control and Resistance
Fletcher once said to Neiman after he lost his teaching position, "There are no two words in English that are more harmful than good job." In order to find the next Charlie Parker, Fletcher positioned himself as a jazz bole, severe enough to pervert Degree. For example, at the beginning of the movie, he seemed to notice Neiman, left the classroom without a sound, and came back to pick up the clothes, which made Neiman very discouraged.
On the one hand, his abnormal teaching is to jump back and forth between affirming and denying students, causing students to collapse their willpower and lose their independent judgment and resistance. Not long after Neiman took the central position, he found a new student to challenge him, making him as angry as if he had been betrayed. On the other hand, Fletcher's manipulation of the students is also reflected in the lines. In his day-to-day teaching, Fletcher was free to criticize students, use a lot of insulting words, and humiliate him with what Neiman had just told him about his family. But at the same time, he was like a spiritual mentor from time to time, throwing out some inspirational quotes, making Neiman drink the "poisonous chicken soup" he brought him again and again in worship.
When Neiman went to Fletcher's band rehearsal on the first day, Fletcher paid special attention to Neiman outside the classroom, and praised him as the incarnation of Buddy Rich in the classroom. But soon he ruthlessly humiliated Neiman because of the wrong rhythm of a measure. In this passage, on the one hand, the camera's line of sight is always lower than Fletcher, but higher than Neiman, showing that Fletcher dominates the classroom, and Neiman passively accepts all judgments and controls; on the other hand, the weight of the colors of their clothes sense, but also hints at the contrast of power. Facing Fletcher who was like a black bulldog, Neiman was as simple and fragile as a little white rabbit. Let Fletcher be manipulated, and his mood went up and down like a roller coaster between joy and frustration.
But contrary to Fletcher's expectations, Neiman, unlike other classmates, was determined to become the best jazz player, so after repeated setbacks and heartbreaks, Neiman practiced harder and used his strength to win Fletcher's affirmation , and in order to keep the core position he won and dare to confront Fletcher head-on, the color of Neiman's clothes in the second half of the movie gradually turned black.
The performance at the end is more focused on Fletcher's fight against Neiman, but Neiman refused to admit defeat and must prove his conflict. Neiman's change from passive to active can also be seen from the changes in the lighting before and after the two performances. The first time Neiman was in the dark without a score and overwhelmed, and the second time he started to play the drums by himself with warm lights coming from overhead, he and the band fit in perfectly. When Neiman starts soloing alone after the track, the stage is completely dark, only the lights above his head are on, and the people and drums are shrouded in a golden glow, Neiman has completely dominated the stage. At the end of the film, the two people's eyes switched back and forth, indicating that they finally reached a temporary reconciliation on the stage because they had achieved their common goal.
2. The rhythm of the film
The director Damien Chazelle, who was a jazz drummer, has a very sensitive and precise grasp of the rhythm of the film, making "Boom Drummer" like an excellent piece of jazz. The rhythm is smooth and changeable, sometimes tense and exciting, sometimes calm and soothing. After watching it, people have a hearty feeling. This rhythm is mainly reflected in the neat and subtle editing. According to Eisenstein, the master of montage, dramatic conflict is manifested in the art of editing. If he saw the film "Boom Drummer" with his own eyes, I believe he would applaud for the wonderful editing in it.
It was also the first time Neiman taught in the Fletcher Band. Neiman could not find the rhythm that Fletcher wanted, and was repeatedly interrupted and started again by Fletcher. Just when the audience saw Fletcher slowly walking away, Neiman could finally play, thinking that Fletcher was satisfied, suddenly in a panoramic shot, Fletcher threw a chair at Neiman, contrary to everyone's expectations. Unexpected. After walking quickly from the podium to Neiman, Fletcher and Neiman took a close-up close-up of the front and back shots, magnifying the confrontation between the two. Neiman's consternation when he saw Fletcher's devil's teaching at the beginning, to the complacency of being praised by him, to the helplessness and humiliation of being questioned, also showed through the close-up of Neiman's face.
Neiman, who finally won the core position, hurried to perform in the segment, the continuous and rapid drum beats set off the tense atmosphere, and the camera shake caused by the rapid editing and handheld photography showed his anxiety, tension and confusion. When Neiman arrives at the concert hall to argue with Fletcher, the soundtrack disappears, and the audience's attention is focused on the heated conversation between the two. The tense music reappears as Neiman bursts out the door again.
In the 4 minutes and 20 seconds of his performance on stage, Neiman used 121 shots, and the average length of each shot was only 2 seconds, which was much shorter than the length of a normal single shot. The quick edits match the rhythm of the track Caravan, the ultra-short quick cuts correspond to the powerful percussion of the drums, the longer moving shots show the soothing melody played by the pipe band, and the quick close-ups of the different parts of the drums show the percussion of Neiman. The agile speed, the lateral movement of the entire band shows the perfect cooperation between Neiman and the band, and the close-up of Fletcher is interspersed from time to time to explain his attitude towards Neiman from anger to satisfaction, while following the wind band and jazz drums to each other. The corresponding rhythm and the fast panning shots back and forth between Neiman and Fletcher make Fletcher and Neiman seem to be two parts cooperating with each other.
Then, when Neiman continued his solo, the film first used fast editing with drum beats. As his speed became faster and faster, there was a slow motion in which the drum sound gradually disappeared. Neiman, who closed his eyes and expressed pain, could be said to enter Having reached a state of ecstasy, it can also be said to be in a state of madness, just like the father's eyes in the crack of the door, there is both consternation and a hint of fear. As the drums got stronger, Neiman struck faster and faster when he returned to the real world. The excited Fletcher even came over to help him tighten the loose cymbals. Neiman's percussion gradually slowed down, like a moment of calm before a storm, and then the percussion slowly accelerated again to the limit.
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