Thor Ragnarok, and the importance of a cohesive tone.

Without any academic intent, I’ve somehow stumbled into spending much of the past week thinking about tone, and the cohesive worlds created by a number of my favourite films of this year. The thought initially came after watching Thor: Ragnarok (2017), the latest entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and third film in the Thor series. Whilst reviewing the film for my radio show, I got lost whilst trying to define what it is that makes the film so special. The word ‘tone’ is an apt summary of what differs the film from the previous entry in this series I think, and is definitely what makes the film as great as I feel it is.

There have been a number of blockbusters over previous years that have really nailed this feeling of a tonally cohesive universe for me, with Marvel also delivering another two: Guardians of the Galaxy (2013) and it’s sequel. Baby Driver (2017) and La La Land (2016) also managed this, and are also two of my favourite films of recent years. The consistent tone throughout each of these films marks them as somewhat unique. I would argue that any scene of these films can be taken without context and the world of the film can be identified and understood. This is a real accomplishment for any filmmaker, and something I really want to achieve with my two upcoming film projects.

For all of the films mentioned above, consistency of sound design is something that really adds to their feeling of tonal cohesiveness. With my previous project ‘Kill the Director’ I really feel that we managed this. Sound design and music was something we considered early on in the process, and so the writing and direction of certain scenes had these elements in mind. Our music tried to always be upbeat and positive, with all sound effects being realistic yet somewhat exaggerated so as to add to the comedic feel of the world. Not everything was perfect, there’s a party scene towards the end of the film where some of the music feels too produced and pop-esque when compared to previous scenes, and we had some issues with acquiring the rights to some commercial music that I personally feel the film suffers without.  Despite this, the film is still one of the only projects of mine that I feel has a cohesive tone. It could be argued that my 2015 film ‘Falling Fast’ managed this, but it’s set to a single song and so feels like a cheat. In the same year, I worked on documentary ‘The People Behind the Puppets’, and it’s still (alongside KTD) one of the films I’m proudest of. The footage and voiceover feel like they match well with the Muppets (our subject), and the film is only really missing some tonal music to make it a complete package.

The other thing that all of the films mentioned above have in common is that all use a number of their scenes to try and generate laughter. I’ve always considered myself to be a drama writer, and I have an entire document on my phone dedicated to dozens of pitches and ideas and loglines. Kill the Director was my first comedy script and I am ridiculously proud of it. My work on the film has lead me to speculating whether or not comedy is something I should be really changing my focus to. I have two upcoming films and am seriously considering having one of them being a comedy, if not both. It has already produced me an awesome film this year, so why wouldn’t I?

Regardless of my next film’s genre, I’ve decided on a few targets to help it reach a cohesive tone:

1. Concentrate on sound design and music to ensure all audio choices are related

2. Utilise a consistent series of camera shots, and consider these from the early stages of production

3. If inserting jokes into scenes, try to ensure these are spread evenly throughout

4. Review each scene before production, and see how each scene reflects my aim for the film’s tone

Most importantly, I want to look to other similar films for inspiration on tone during pre-production, just as much as I look for ideas regarding camera angles, colour pallette and direction. I’m not yet sure what my next project is, but I really think that Thor has motivated me to consider the overall tone of a piece before jumping into production.

Baby Driver. (2017). [film] Directed by E.Wright. United States / United Kingdom: Sony Pictures.

Guardians of the Galaxy. (2013). [film] Directed by J. Gunn. United States: Marvel Studios

La La Land. (2016). [film] Directed by D.Chazelle . United States: Summit Entertainment

Thor Ragnarok. (2017). [film] Directed by T. Whatiti. United States: Marvel Studios

#Reflection