Film Opening Research

I will be researching film openings to get more insight or information on what I could do to make a good film opening for my specific genre. Since I am doing a post-apocalyptic type of movie, I have chopsen to analyze 3 movie openings similar to what Im looking for. These movies are "I am legend" and a "A quiet place"

I am legend-

After some credits of the production teams, There is a news report introducing the plot for this movie. The newsperson speaks with a doctor who has found the cure for cancer, a dangerous disease that is known by everyone. In later shots, it foreshadows that maybe the cure that they found may have led to terrible effects on the world.

The scene cuts to a text that says "3 years later" and proceeds to show a decolated and abandoned city, with no activity. Many environemntal sounds are used to demonstrate the nature of the birds, wind, and more. This effect also lets the viewer know how empty the city is. A car then runs through the city, introducing us to the main character and a dog in the car. All of the sounds such as the car engine, wheels, and nature sounds are enhanced and loud to represent how lonely it is here. And as the opening comes to an end, the main character is following deer to try and get food.

The only issue I have with this is that I dont think ill be able to find anything close to a completely destroyed and abandoned city, therefore I will have to use other types of establishing shots that do not represent activity in the background. 

A quiet place-

This movie is similar to "I am legend" in that the city is abandoned and environmental and background sounds are very loud to represent how quiet and lonely everything is. We are introduced to a family scavenging for supplies in a store, where the little child wants to take a toy airplane home. One aspect of this movie that I find very interesting is how they use sign language to communicate to stay quiet, aswell as being barefoot to avoid making noise. This hints that making noise could be bad due to some sort of supernatural creature. 

The child ends up taking the toy home secretly and on the way back home, he sets the toy off, making a loud noise. The rest of the family is very worried and as the father runs to get his kid, the child is killed by some monster that was in the woods. This movie opening is overall very dark, demonstrating how careful you have to be when surviving in a post-apocalyptic world.

Genre for Film

     After some thought of looking at some kinds of genres and type of movies I want to make, I have decided what route I want to take. I am going to do a genre of science fiction. Specifically, my idea is to make a post-apocalyptic film. I am excited and interested in explore this type of genre where humanity falls apart due to some sort of virus, technology, or monster. 

    Post-apocalyptic movie openings usually start with many establishing and long shots of destruction and abandoned cities, making for a sort of tragic tone. Close-ups on dirty faces or objects can demonstrate how the people are struggling in the film. Using these examples of shots can establish a post-apocalyptic world, which has suspense and lets viewers see the catastrophe and its impact on humanity.

In order to gain more information on how to make a good film opening, I am going to look up movies of my specific genre, post-apocalyptic types, and analyze them by their shots and how they develop the scenes and purposes. After searching up some popular movies of my genre, I have decided to focus on three film openings. The movies are called "I am Legend" and "A quiet place". Although I am already familiar with these Im still going to look deeper into them.

Transition to Portfolio Project

 I am going to being starting my Portfolio project for a film opening today. At the beginning of the year, I was nervous about recording or editing projects as I have never done that kind of thing before. However, as I did more projects and videos, I became more comfortable in this class. I from the first media project, to the sound project or one-word project, and finally the music video project, I believe I can do a good job on this portfolio. Although the project does seem long along with having to post 3 blogs a week, I'm still confident about doing this.

I have thought about different genres to make my film about and how to make it good. From taking notes on film openings earlier, I know in these short 2 minutes, I will have to establish a tone, develop the purpose, develop the character, and more. One aspect I am interested to research on is to develop the purpose of the film. I already have an idea of what I could possibly do for my film, but I have no idea what theme or goal I am looking for in the end. I'm looking forward to seeing films on the kind of genre I'm looking for. I still have to reming myself to be open to other genres incase my original idea isn't working out.Another aspect I am interested to research on is to develop the purpose of the film. I already have an idea of what I could possibly do for my film, but I have no idea what theme or goal I am looking for in the end. I'm looking forward to seeing films on the kind of genre I'm looking for. I still have to remind myself to be open to other genres incase my original idea isn't working out.

Another element I am most interesting in researching how to do is to establish the setting. There needs to be details and many angles when completing this, along with using representations for the audience to know where the setting is. I have seen a lot of movies but never paid attention to how they establish the setting of the place besides showing an establishing shot. I am interested on how I can incorporate different elements and take inspiration from other movies or short films to create mine.

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

 By completing the Music research chart and conducting research on the four case study artists, we were able to gather information on how bands and artists successfully market and distribute to their target audience. Also, in order to plan out what we were going to record in our music video, we had to make 20 storyboard pictures to see our plan and shots.

Me and my group met up together in Weston Hills last weekend to start our recording. After thinking of our ideas and going off the storyboard, we over recorded multiple scenes. We over recorded many shots and different scenes in order to have a lot of material to work with and and choose many scenes. After recording in Weston Hills, we went to Sawgrass mills to an arcade to film the rest of the scenes. We filmed many different shots to set up establishing shots and the atmosphere, then went into the diner in the arcade to film the rest of the movie. Later at home and during class, we looked that the software editing app together and chose the exact scenes to go in order to match with the correct lyrics and beats. We also worked on our powerpoint to discuss our marketing campaign, as well as our distribuion methods. We included how we will utilize different forms of social media to promote our band, such as Instagram and Twitter, where we will send dates and pictures teasing new songs and tours. We also discussed how we will promote our merchandise with having our logo on shirts and coffee mugs.

Creating a music video and a marketing campaign with my group taught us how to utilize visual storytelling. We discovered how to attract a target audience, and promote our band through the use of social media and merchandising. By creating an immersive and engaging platform for our target audience, my group was able to make a successful campaign.

Music Marketing Blog Post #1

    At the beginning of the project, we were given the genre of alternative music. We chose the song "Trouble" by Cage the elephant. For the music research chart, we decided to use the band Cage the elephant as one of our case studies. As they signed for the RCA records company, we looked for another company within RCA records with the same alternative genre, which we chose Steve Lacy. For the next company, we chose Interscope records and chose the alternative artists Billie Eilish and Imagine Dragons. After choosing all the case studies and 2 companies, we looked up information on the companies and the marketing and distribution strategies of each artist to complete the chart.

    To start the storyboard, we first had to choose what kind of music video we would choose. after looking our song's lyrics', "Trouble" by Cage the elephant, we decided to make a storytelling music video. Then, based off the lyrics and our own ideas we thought of a story to make in the music video, and we decided to make a breakup story between a boy and a girl. We started drawing the music video scenes on the storyboard, including scenes at the park, in the car, and at a diner, showing interactions between the Boyfriend and the girlfriend.

    As what we put on the storyboard is what we are going to film in real life, we thought of ideas of where to film. We decided that we are going to film most of the scenes in a park at Weston Hills, and the other scenes at an arcade/diner in the Sawgrass Mills mall. once we film all the scenes using a phone, we are going to edit the video, matching the scenes with the song, at home and in class together. While we are editing, we are going to be working on the presentation for our branding and marketing.

Representation Blog Post

    As society becomes more modern, media is continuing to implement more representation of people in films, tv shows, and more. An example of a tv series that demonstrated representation in media is the Chucky series. The Chucky series, released in 2021, has been successful in its representation of people and groups in media.

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    One notable aspect of the series is its representation of the LGBTQ community. As the director of the "Chucky" series, Don Mancini, is gay, he wanted to incorporate LGBTQ representation into the show. The main character, Jake Wheeler, is an openly gay teenager. People can relate to Jake's character more deeply because "Chucky" includes his sexuality in the story without making him into a stereotype. Another character, Devon Evans, also is an openly gay teenager and has a relationship with Jake. The show demonstrates a range of relationships and situations, which helps make media portrayals of the LGBTQ community more accurate.

    Not only does "Chucky" show LGBTQ characters, it also includes racial representation. Devon Evans is a character of color in the show who faces a number of problems. This part of "Chucky" makes the point of recognizing variety clearer.

    The show portrays the complexity of relationships between people, going beyond simple representation. It challenges stereotypes associated with certain groups, it portrays characters with depth. By doing this, "Chucky" is an entertaining series and encourages viewers to look at certain topics from a different perspective than the incorrect stereotypes that are commonly associated with them. Ultimately, the reason "Chucky" succeeds in portraying people and their communities is because of its diverse cast and dedication to a realistic plot.

Video discussing LGBTQ representation on Chucky series: https://youtu.be/1McSjFndUKA?si=XFIQutH48Oda2jqf

Genre Research Activity

Activity:

The Horror Genre

    The horror genre in movies is characterized from its intent to evoke fear, suspense, and dread in the audience. It often features elements like supernatural creatures, psychological tension, gore, and jump scares. Horror films aim to disturb, keeping viewers on edge and delivering spine-chilling experiences.

Content

    Horror films utilize unique perspectives to confuse and disturb their audience. The audience is often uneasy and on edge due to the lighting, which is typically dim, underexposed, and filled with shadows.

Production techniques

    The mise-en-scene in horror tends to be dark, rural deserted locations, places that are abandoned and isolated. There are often elements of fear, shock and a buildup of 'wicked' or 'evil' characters.

How Horror is marketed

    Highlighting the villain as the main focus of the movie's marketing plan is essential to the horror film industry. This can be done by giving the villain a preview in trailers, posters, or social media posts.The movies can also include jumpscare and a dark mise-en-scene to lure the audience.

Film sample #1- Halloween

    The film includes the infamous Michael Myers as he kills people in a town. The movies involve creepy music, suspense, and jumpscares. There is also Blood and gore to make it part of the horror genre.

Film Sample #1- The Conjuring

    The Conjuring- The film includes a haunted house that a family moves into and the ghost is trying to possess the mother. This film has many jumpscares and creepy sound effects to make the film disturbing.

Other Film examples

    Friday the 13th, Insidiuous, Scream, Exorcist, Nightmare on Elm Street