In class today, all the students were split and put into groups to discuss possible ideas for the portfolio project. When my classmates began to discuss their ideas, I felt very behind because my group and I had not yet even chosen a genre. As time went by and we each expressed our concerns and schemes for this project, I was already gravitating to the drama genre.
Within my group, my classmates and I took notes on how to improve our plots. The plot I had begun to become attracted to was the idea of two strangers within a school or job environment switching bodies and having to figure out who they have become and how to switch back to their original body. I had pulled inspiration from the film Freaky Friday as well as the show Drop Dead Diva but I wanted to put a twist to the story. I thought the idea of having the two characters be strangers would create a fun mystery and provide a tension that would keep the audience engaged to see if the characters are able to switch back to their original selves.
So after class, Juan, Alan and I began to contemplate each other's ideas. Juan had an idea of two childhood friends in love losing touch, then reconnecting as adults and finding love again even though one of them is married with children. Then Alan's idea was about friends on a live streaming platform experiencing paranormal activity while playing haunted games such as an ouija board. In the end, we had agreed on my proposal. We still have more details to work out but as of right now we came over our biggest obstacle of agreeing on a plot. My group and I are going to continue to research Dramatic elements and representation tonight and I will make sure to update you guys tomorrow on our progress!
After our lesson on Film Openings, I was very drawn to openings that establish the background first. Personally, I find these to be the most entertaining and engaging because the viewer is immediately introduced to the plot and can determine whether they wish to continue the film or not right then and there.
An example of this type of film opening we saw during the lecture was Children Of Men(2006), and wow after viewing it, I still think about it to this day. The idea of the human race slowly dying due to infertility was extremely intriguing especially since the movie was supposed to be taking place in the future where you would assume humans to be thriving. It had very neutral mise-en-scene which kept me wondering why and how the world managed to get to the state. I would like to incorporate this sense of mystery into my film opening because I feel as though it is most likely to leave the viewer wanting more.
Throughout this next week, my group members and I will be conducting more extensive research to determine which genre and plot will give us the best result for our film opening. I remember first hearing about this project when I entered the course and being worried about the difficulty and challenges I would have to face during this portion of the exam. But as the date gets closer to more researching, preparing and filming, I am feeling more confident in how this opening will turn out. With all the notes we have taken throughout the year and the more research we have to conduct, my group and I will definitely be prepared for the challenge coming our way.
So my group and I have been having trouble deciding what genre we want to make our film, so we all decided to research and familiarize ourselves with each major genre. From that, we will be able to narrow it down to what genre suits us best. So the genre I am researching next is a mystery.
The typical content presented in these films is having the main conflict, usually murder and having to solve it with various clues. There is usually an element of suspense and it is conveyed by having different, much smaller problematic scenarios throughout the film while uncovering the main issue. This tactic keeps the viewers on the edge of their seats and has them wondering if the main character will be able to solve the problem.
There are specific production techniques used in these types of films and they are all used to build up suspense and further exaggerate the mystery behind the plot. Close-ups are most commonly used to highlight the emotion a character has. Another common shot is the high angle shot because this accentuates the vulnerability the character has during the conflict. Along with this, fast editing is used to further create an anxious tone within the scenes, this all works together to build up suspense leading to the main conflict.
To provide a better understanding, Get out(2017) is a mystery movie. It is so because the plot has along with the built-up conflict and suspense it has throughout the movie. The main character is challenged with various scenarios and has to try to escape a hostage situation. Many close-ups were used throughout this movie, especially on the main character to present his emotions and reactions throughout the conflicts in the film.
Some more examples of mystery films are
Se7en(1995): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114369/
Psycho(1960): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0054215/
Mystic River(2003): https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0327056/
Hey guys, so I've taken a break from researching movies and moved onto music. We were challenged to create an entire music campaign for an upcoming artist. So for my project, my group and I chose the song ‘We Are Young’ by Fun. Though this song has a lively pop beat, the meaning was dark and about a Domestic Abuse relationship. My group and I wanted to convey this and promote awareness of this issue so that others finding themselves in that situation can get out safely. So together we had to come up with a marketing and distribution plan to ensure success for our created artist Ashton Stone, and I’m going to tell you how we did it.
Since we chose a pop song, we had to break up the research to fit the target audience and move on from there. We focused on two specific artists and their marketing tactics, Ariana Grande and One Republic. They are both pop artist with a large following because of their social media presence and advertisements. From Ariana Grande, we decided to follow her idea of regularly promoting her new singles via Twitter and Instagram. This alerts the followers when the music will be released and ensures that her fans are aware of the release date, making the video have a higher chance of getting viewed and spread to others. So when we created our music video for Ashton Stone we included tweets of behind the scenes shots and a countdown so that more people are aware of the release. Then we were inspired by One Republic’s song Connection appearing in various jeep commercials. This had viewers associate the song with a higher class car, making them more inclined to enjoy the song. So we chose to be open to partner with brands to have Ashton’s song played in the background of the commercials.
Moving on, our marketing idea was to first gain a strong local following with free live shows and social media interactions. In order to gain a national following, we would first need to gain the support of local people just like Jake Miller did with the city of Weston. To ensure this, flyers were made to alert residents of show dates. These would be hung up at local grocery stores and hang out spots where teenagers are typically seen. We then made Ashton an Instagram, website, and Twitter, which he will be using the most. We wanted to make him available on the most popular platforms for his target audience but more specifically twitter because of its ease to quickly reach fans. Merchandise like phone cases and shirts were made so that once he gained a large enough audience people would be able to promote Ashton through their clothing and spark the curiosity of who he was.
Overall this project taught me how much thought and work goes into promoting a new artist. But these methods won't be limited to just music. When my group and I begin to shoot for the film opening, we can use some of these techniques to market the movie. This project also taught me how to work more fluidly with other people and how we can work around our busy schedules. Because of all the effort we put into this project, it gives us a sense of what filming is really like for a serious video. Soon I’ll be starting to prepare for this movie trailer and because of the materials we used and learned during this marketing campaign, I feel confident to start the film trailer opening.
The website we created- https://officialashtonstone.weebly.com/
