89 - In the Heights - From Stage to Screen

Adapting stage musicals for the cinema is an often tricky process and "In the Heights," the latest adaption from Broadway phenom Lin Manuel Miranda, was no different. Director Jon Chu certainly did not shy away from the epic scale of the theatre production, if anything he made it even grander, which (as you might've guessed) had a number of unique challenges. Primarily, how did they manage to capture the immediacy of the live musical performances and still make it both cinematic and fresh? 

The production tapped music supervisor Steven Gizicki, who had previously worked on the very successful "La La Land," as well as Miranda's long time collaborator (and former roommate), Bill Sherman, to once again act as music producer, having worked on the stage show since the earliest stages. We recently sat down with Bill and Steven to discuss their process, and it was eye-opening. If you think you know how modern movie musicals are recorded, you may be surprised to learn what all went into making "In the Heights."

"The actors are always singing live when they're on set. So we're recording them just as a reference, so we can match lip sync later. It helps... Because there's a difference between 'singing' singing and 'acting' singing. And Melissa [Barrera] would be singing one of the numbers, like 'It Won't Be Long Now' or whatever, and would come to us afterwards. And she's like, 'by the way, if it looks weird on camera, that's because I'm singing totally differently than the pre-record. Note it. I'm going to have to go back and re-record it later.' And we would sometimes get a note from the studio saying, 'Melissa doesn't look like she's lip syncing accurately because it doesn't match the pre-record.' And we'd say, 'well that's the point, because she's acting now and we need to go back and adjust.'"

— Steven Gizicki, Music Supervisor, "In the Heights"

Be sure to check out "In the Heights" while you still can — ideally in a Dolby cinema near you or on HBO Max through July 11th.

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