The Office is a half-hour comedy show on NBC, it's collection of unique and hilarious characters always manage to put a smile on my face. If you have never seen the show, I highly recommend checking it out! They really outdid themselves in the last episode, the long awaited union of Jim and Pam, the show's main couple whose relationship took three seasons to come to fruition. Jim and Pam, otherwise known as “Jam” by fellow bloggers, finally got married! The show decided to use a montage or as we learned in lecture, a series of shots assembled in a way that the juxtaposition of the images create meaning. Montage is associated with Soviet filmmakers of the 1920’s, like Sergei Eisenstein. The special hour-long episode ended in a YouTube video spoof on an actual wedding, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-94JhLEiN0.
The clip begins with brief dialogue between Pam and her maid of honor. Pam says that she specifically requested the song, Chris Brown’s “Dance Forever,” not be played on her big day, the cast however, had other ideas. Soon the entire cast of The Office is seen dancing and waving their arms down the aisle, a great scene of jubilance and love. The shots are meant to document the church wedding as well as the pre-wedding of Jim and Pam on a boat at Niagara Falls, the weddings were then mashed together to form one long, continuous wedding.
The song and rhythm play an important part in setting up the scenes to follow, group by group, characters dance down the aisle then reemerge for a collective big finish. In one of the last scenes, the music ends and Jim is seen explaining his plans for the wedding day, then they cut to a shot of the couple from over the shoulder, the camera then swings to Pam's profile and Jim is seen smiling. This final shot, for me, was an amazing example of editing that made a significant contribution to the storytelling and feel of the piece. The scenes begin with great excitement and music, by the end of the piece, it is calm, quiet and peaceful happiness, one smile from Jim, the piece ends and hearts melt. The clip, a little over three minutes long, ended up getting great reviews from bloggers and fans, those who had already saw the YouTube video and those who had just seen it for the first time, were both able to appreciate The Office wedding montage.
Check it out! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX7iwwB9zQ4
Jenni
