Swing Girls (and a boy)

I've been wading through the last link you posted (sure wish I could read Japanese!).

Basically checking out the pictures and found one from the groups of little pictures that doesn't show up on that page as a large one. So I clicked on it to get it larger on a new page:

http://swinggirls.exblog.jp/937114/

From what I can make out, it seems to refer to the "First and Last Concert" and gives dates of December 27, 2004 (Monday) and the 28th (Tuesday).

If I have that correct, it is the first time I've found anything about when that concert happened. This matters to me because it gives a bit more insight into the quality of that concert compared to the end of the movie. Since the movie was released on Sept 11, 2004, there is a 3.5 month gap - and an unknow gap between the end of filming and release of the movie. We know the winter scenes were begun in February, but not when they ended.

Anyway, based on my band director experience, I think the more ragged playing on the concert was because they were NOT practicing regularly before they decided to do this concert - probably got together a short time before, but showed the raggedness I would expect after a layoff - and maybe having to learn new music since some of it is not in the movie. I also think, being their first public performance, a lot of nerves were in play!

Thanks for the link![/url]

dabigkahuna wrote:Thanks for the link!

Sure thing. :victory:

Here's a couple of others that I probably posted before, just in case you might've missed them:

http://homepage.mac.com/infant/omotya/swinggirls.html

http://www.rak1.jp/one/user/hojyofsme2/

bmwracer wrote:
Sure thing. :victory:

Here's a couple of others that I probably posted before, just in case you might've missed them:

http://homepage.mac.com/infant/omotya/swinggirls.html

http://www.rak1.jp/one/user/hojyofsme2/

On websites with lots of Japanese text, I'm pretty much limited to looking for pictures - sure can't ask my friend ot translate lots of stuff. So, on your first link, noted two pictures of interest - one with them on a bridge and the other on a 2006 Mac Fan magazine - which seems a little strange, especially two years after the movie came out!

Couldn't find anything like that in the 2nd link.

dabigkahuna wrote:On websites with lots of Japanese text, I'm pretty much limited to looking for pictures - sure can't ask my friend ot translate lots of stuff. So, on your first link, noted two pictures of interest - one with them on a bridge and the other on a 2006 Mac Fan magazine - which seems a little strange, especially two years after the movie came out!

Have you ever tried using Google Translate?

Not perfect, but better than nothing: http://tinyurl.com/87q2xnu :)

bmwracer wrote:
Have you ever tried using Google Translate?

Not perfect, but better than nothing: http://tinyurl.com/87q2xnu :)

Strange, but I had at various times, selected "translate" from a search result and got nothing. Since you brought it up, I looked at things again and found that my browser was blocking it.

So this is cool - and will no doubt keep me very busy! Did enough to know the translations from Japanese can be rather weird. But it is like detective work. Just need to catch certain specific info.

More fun!

dabigkahuna wrote:More fun!

You bet! :victory:

Was this in the extras? never mentioned

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGioyBC4xE

Kechua wrote:Was this in the extras? never mentioned

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PGioyBC4xE

Yup, it was one of the extras. :victory:

bmwracer wrote:
Yup, it was one of the extras. :victory:

That's the one I remember seeing - and it still makes no sense to me!

Here is a nice link with them playing someplace else - not sure where:

http://garr.posterous.com/swing-girls

The first video will tell you that you have to watch it on youtube - but it's Sing Sing Sing from the movie which we've all seen.

The second (which will play at the site) is them playing inside someplace - white outfits this time. Still Sing Sing Sing though. My guess it that it was a promotional visit to a TV show (like you might get here on the Today show or something). Clearly few people in attendance - probably just the show hosts and camera crew, etc.

But don't just watch that vid. When it ends, others are shown to select from that are interesting.

And this one, if I can get it to work, was particularly nice - some sort of ending (without the actual credits). Some new shots in it and you can actually hear the actors singing the words:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6JHMyHXtbU

Think of it as outtakes from the credit scenes. Seems clear they were told to just try different things.

dabigkahuna wrote:And this one, if I can get it to work, was particularly nice - some sort of ending (without the actual credits). Some new shots in it and you can actually hear the actors singing the words:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6JHMyHXtbU

Think of it as outtakes from the credit scenes. Seems clear they were told to just try different things.

I think I've seen that on the one of the disc sets as well... I'll need to double check.

Love the outtakes, though. :victory: :applaud:

bmwracer wrote:
I think I've seen that on the one of the disc sets as well... I'll need to double check.

Love the outtakes, though. :victory: :applaud:

Yeah, I think the director nailed it when he said that the actors would have fun actually performing the music and that would be passed on to the audience. Even when they weren't actually playing their instruments, they seem to be having a lot of fun.

I think the very tough job of learning to play the instruments in such a short time - must have been grueling at time as you can see with them in the "making of" vids as they are often using towels pressed against their lips - proably did a lot to bring them closer than a normal movie would. Mutual suffering to reach a goal can do that!

I see it every year when we spend a week a band camp. It's tough on the new kids who simply aren't used to playing so much each day. Multiply that by months and it had to be a factor.

dabigkahuna wrote:I think the very tough job of learning to play the instruments in such a short time - must have been grueling at time as you can see with them in the "making of" vids as they are often using towels pressed against their lips - proably did a lot to bring them closer than a normal movie would. Mutual suffering to reach a goal can do that!

Yeah, in the making of vid, you can see Juri-chan in tears at one point... Poor kid. :(

She was also in tears in a live performance where she had a major flub in her sax solo for Sing Sing Sing... :(

bmwracer wrote:
Yeah, in the making of vid, you can see Juri-chan in tears at one point... Poor kid. :(

She was also in tears in a live performance where she had a major flub in her sax solo for Sing Sing Sing... :(

That was the part of the video where the narrator said something about how she wasn't sure she could do it.

But I'm not sure about the tears in the live performance. I assume you mean the big "First and Last Concert". I remember she messed up on the timing - fairly common for young people, especially with little experience playing in front of a live audience! But didn't remember any tears from her then. Looked at my video of it - and discovered that somehow that vid lost it's sound! Had it before so this is a mystery. Other videos work. Anyway, found what looked like that part of the concert and didn't see any crying.

Now, the trumpet player messed up her high note and I saw her crying at the end - but was that from the mistake or because that was just an emotional time - the end of the last song in the concert (maybe the last time they expected to be together too)?

BTW, because of a post I read somewhere - basically saying these were 20-something year olds pretending to be 16 or so, I had checked as many of the actors as I could find info on. The ages ranged from 15-21 as I recall. Here, 15 would be around sophomore age in high school - often have difficulty under pressure of a live performance even though they've done it since they started in band in 5th or 6th grade.

We think of actors being in the public eye a lot, but that isn't the same thing as performing live.

dabigkahuna wrote:But I'm not sure about the tears in the live performance. I assume you mean the big "First and Last Concert".

No, I was referring to another performance... I think they were in Brazil(?) or performing for soccer teams that included Brazil... I recall that supposedly David Beckham was in the audience.

bmwracer wrote:
No, I was referring to another performance... I think they were in Brazil(?) or performing for soccer teams that included Brazil... I recall that supposedly David Beckham was in the audience.

Haven't seen that one.

This one - just talking in the clip - must have been fairly important since the director was there too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=LwCEkhcrz1o

Continuity error?

Watching the performance at the end of the movie and noticed a change in the crowd back where the teacher was.

In the second number, when the teacher first shows up, they show one group in the back row (mostly guys).

But in the last song, the group is mostly women.

Not sure because of the quality, but on the 2nd number there is a woman further inside the row which may be the same woman usually shown in the 3rd number furthest left.

Also, during that third number, sometimes you can see a guy to the left of her (from our point of view) who doesn't seem to be in that position in the 2nd number.

Curious. You would think that all the "reaction shots" like that would have been made at about the same time and thus less likely to lead to an error like that. Of course, it could be they did one song's reactions and took a break before the other. Or it could be that those people were are locally important in the community where they filmed and they gave them all a chance to be "featured" in the movie.

^ I noticed that as well, but I didn't think much about it...

I think I noticed more that some people were clapping out of sync with the music... :sweat:

bmwracer wrote:^ I noticed that as well, but I didn't think much about it...

I think I noticed more that some people were clapping out of sync with the music... :sweat:

Yeah, the clapping is off - wasn't sure if that was a soundtrack syncing issue or if the crowd really was off -- which is very common in performances actually. I always warn my kids about that possibility if we are playing something that could get that kind of "audience participation".

But then, even the scene where the group is crossing the street and discover jazz/swing, their clapping isn't so good either!

Almost forgot - the kid who started the swing style clapping has different people sitting next to him. The girl next to him at that moment isn't next to him earlier (another girl is) and near the end, some guy is next to him. Just odd.