The opening scene of La La Land showcases a spectacular musical number in just six minutes on a congested highway in Los Angeles. This apparent long take, designed by Damien Chazelle, combines dance, music, and fluid camera work to immerse the viewer in the joyful and contrasting universe of this Hollywood musical. Discover how this introduction, embodied by Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, was crafted, revealing a clever blend of technique and emotion, and setting the stage for a story where dreams and reality intertwine.

In brief:

• A faux long take of 6 minutes rhythmically cut with invisible cuts at 3 and 4 minutes 45, resulting in a fluid piece.
• A complex choreography involving dancers and musicians, prepared six months in advance.
• A contrast between realism and dreamlike elements that sets the narrative and thematic backdrop of the film.
• A key figure of style: the chiasmus, materializing the opposition and link between dream and reality.
• The narrative metalepse that blurs the boundary between different levels of fiction in cinema.

The opening scene of La La Land: a stunning and technical opening number

On the famous highways of Los Angeles, the opening scene unfolds in an endless traffic jam, where protagonists emerge to sing and dance to Another Day of Sun. Damien Chazelle and his director of photography Linus Sandgren designed this sequence by playing with the concept of a faux long take. In reality, the scene is divided into several shots, including two invisible cuts, creating the illusion of a single uninterrupted long shot.

This technical feat required six months of preparation and countless rehearsals filmed on an iPhone in a parking lot. Only two days of permission were granted to close the access ramp connecting highways 105 and 110 to accommodate the choreography and filming.

• Two discreet cuts at 3 minutes and 4 minutes 45.
• A subtle play on camera movements to guide the viewer’s gaze.
• Use of a crane for aerial and overhead shots.
• Technical obstacles related to the very structure of the highway.

The chiasmus at the heart of the analysis: between raw reality and poetic dream

The sequence plays on a chiasmic structure, which means a back-and-forth between two registers: first the realism of the traffic jam and ambient sounds, then the wonder of the musical performance, followed by a return to a softened reality, and then a more raw one. This device emphasizes the film’s main theme: the fascination with Hollywood cinema, where dream and reality inextricably intertwine.

At the beginning, the camera descends from the clear sky to the mundane highway, sliding from an almost sociological realism to a dreamlike choreographic explosion. The incursion into the musical van reveals a fun metalepse, a rupture of narrative levels that also alludes to the very nature of the musical genre.

• Passage from diegetic music to extradiegetic sounds.
• Camera movements that become free and inventive.
• Surprise effect through the mise en abyme of “real” music within the fiction.
• Gradual return to a “dreamt” realism embodied by the character of Mia.

Shot-by-shot decryption to identify the staging techniques

The sequencing and camera movements are essential for this opening number, which mixes fades, tracking shots, pivots, and crane shots. The scene begins with a bright fade that introduces the Californian light and the Cinemascope logo before plunging into the sonic and visual tumult of the highway.

• Wide shots of the collective choreography and aerial shots.
• Close-ups of the dancers and musicians to humanize them.
• Gradual reintroduction of natural sounds and return to a realistic shot at the end.

From the opening number to the film’s theme: music as vital breath

Damien Chazelle, already recognized for Whiplash, infuses La La Land with a great passion for jazz and traditional French musicals, like Jacques Demy. It is also a mirror reflecting the difficulty of being an artist in Hollywood, embodied by Emma Stone in the role of Mia and Ryan Gosling as Sebastian, caught between hopes and sacrifices.

The opening number sets the tone for a film where artistic success comes through a fragile balance between dreams and disappointments, amplified by the structure of the long take, which, without visible cut effects, immerses the viewer in an immersive experience.

• Music as a language between characters and worlds.
• Chorographies that translate emotions and real interactions.
• A symbolic natural setting: Los Angeles, the city of thwarted hopes.

Alternatives and limits behind this legendary long take

In a cinema where long takes or faux long takes have become markers of virtuosity, La La Land stands out for its almost total integration into the musical narrative. But this device has its limits:

• Shooting is expensive and requires rigorous organization.
• Angles sometimes constrained by the urban decor.
• The device does not suit all genres or stories.
• Sometimes it can feel like a “gadget” effect if poorly used, which is not the case here thanks to the authenticity of the narrative.

For those studying cinema or interested in the evolution of the musical genre, this scene has become an essential reference, both technically and artistically. This analysis also helps to understand the fragility and beauty of cinema.

Finally, this opening plan is a must to grasp how Damien Chazelle reconciles tradition and modernity, artistic dreaming and social realism, plunging us into the enchanting Los Angeles of today.
To delve deeper into this universe, also explore the behind-the-scenes of cinema and the new spaces dedicated to live performance and cinema throughout France.