Musicals

When Musicals were first made they went throught a faze of popularity from 1927 - 1931 with musicals coming out such as '42nd Street' directed by Lloyd Bacon.
MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) and RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) were famous for making musicals such as:

• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• Singing in the rain (1952)

Musicals are based on combinations of music, dance and songs, They were created to synchronise live music and film. At first many musicals were 'revues' programs of numbers with little or no narrative links.
Most were based on 'American ordeals' such as Love, success, wealth and popularity.
The subject of musical made it difficult to define iconography.
Iconography settings - Dressing rooms, studios, night clubs
Iconography costumes - Fred Estairs Top hat, John Travoltas White suit, the umbrella from singing in the rain.
Two plot patterns of the musical genre emerged in 1930

• The Backstage musical
• The straight musical

Musixals are brightly lit to highlight costumes and settings and the dancing is well placed on stage, crane shots are also used alot to get a full view of the cast.