WARDROBE TIME

    Hey blog! I am so excited that for today I am going to be explaining what my characters will be wearing and show you an idea of what it is going to look like. I really like the idea of not having my character being head to toe in the color they represent because I feel like that would be pushing it a little too much. What I did instead was give them accents into their outfit with the color they represent. For example, in Eliana's outfit, I would like a green shirt with a green bow and white shoes but with a little bit of green. Also, I decided that for the outfits I would like them to match the activity they are going to be doing. In the case of Mercia, she is playing soccer so I included a purple headband and purple cleats. As well for Ariana is doing yoga so I gave her a sports outfit so it would match the activity she is doing. These outfits also add a lot to what their personality will be like and will help when describing to the people who are going to be in my film opening what I am looking for. I wanted to add that for all the girls I included a necklace or bracelet with their initials which I would like for it to be a key factor in the film since the whole group has one.

WHERE SHOULD I FILM?

For today, I put an outline of what the location of where I am going to film will look like. I think this is very beneficial because it allows me to know exactly what I am looking for and make sure I am using all the mise-en-scene elements mentioned in previous blogs. 

The location in which I will be filming Eliana is in her room. Since the color in which she represents jealousy is green I wanted to add a lot of green elements and accents to her room since I'm probably not going to be able to paint a wall.  

Mercia's location is going to be a soccer field due to one of her hobbies is being a soccer player. I want to make sure that I get some sort of a sunset while filming so that the sky can be a bit purple since she represents purple for passion and I feel like one can see the passion she really has as she plays her sport.

In the case of Serina, I really want the location to be like a coffee bar because I feel that is where many people go to study and read. Her color is white which represents hope and I want to make sure that where we film is bright enough to understand why her color is that way. 

Ariana's location is going to be in her garage doing yoga because since her color is blue represents peace I want her to be in her garage because I feel like it's something a teenager would do because not everyone can really pay for a yoga location. It can also be helpful to have the quietness around to really get that peacefulness she portrays.

For Juliana and James's House, I would like for it to be yellow so that it matches Juliana's representation but also lets James stand out a bit more since his representation color is black, and is one of the main characters who will eventually be accused of murder.

For Alesia's house I want it to be like a normal house and not necessarily be connected with the color red because for the film I would love it if only the color red showed up when Alesia is around and not with any other character. Also having blue around to be the representation that the cops have arrived at her house.

 

STORYBOARDING

Today for the blog I wanted to show how I storyboarded my film opening. I first looked up storyboarding templates that had lines at the bottom so I could describe what was going on in that shot and what type of shot it was going to be. I find that storyboarding can be very helpful because while one is filming their scene we tend to forget what we are actually looking for so this will definitely help me while filming. Also storyboarding gives me like a timeline of how the film opening will look and an idea of what I would like the scene to look like. This also gives a good idea of what the characters are and what role they have in the opening. 

MAKING A CALENDAR

  Hey blog! I feel that in order for me to stay organized and make sure that I have enough time to film, edit, and if needed film again it would be best if I make a calendar of all the different things I will need to do in order to make my film opening the best I could possibly make it. I added specific dates on which I need to have my filming and editing done in order to have the right amount of time to do my CCR. I think having a calendar is very important to keep track of everything I have done and not done as well as not leave out any important aspect. While doing research I noticed that many filmmakers make some sort of list with due dates to when they need to finish their films and I thought to myself that if they need some kind of calendar then I should have one too to be successful in my project. 

 

Technical Elements

    Hi blog! Today I wanted to talk about some of the technical elements I will use in my film opening. With the hundreds of fonts out there, I wanted to make sure that the font I would use to show the film's title really represented the film. I decided to write the name of the film mentioned in the last blog 'RED', and I narrowed it down to the six fonts shown below. 

I think that the best option is to use The Majerly font because I think that I could use that type of cursive writing as a clue that may be used to solve the murder case. I also feel that it would be a good idea if I use the program after effects alongside premier pro to edit and animate the title as if it were to be written on the spot. For the font that I would like to use for the credits, I would say it would be best if I use the same font as the title so that there is some sort of harmony and connection throughout the film opening.

Video editing software

Digital visual effects, motion graphics, and compositing application

With these applications, I will be able to change some of the visual colors seen in the videos I will film and also be able to edit my videos so everything looks smooth and visually appealing to the audience.

 

The Big Boom

    Coming up with what I want to show in my film opening is very crucial because there are so many elements I could show in just a little time frame. I feel that the best way to go is to make the main character Alesia narrate the beginning to introduce all of the characters and their different talents and aspects. Giving the audience an insight into what the characteristics of the character are can give them a chance to start making assumptions about who has committed the murder. I want the last part of my film opening to be the moment when they all find out that Alesia has been murdered. I can establish this by gathering various shots and different angles in various locations of her friends and her boyfriend finding out she has been murdered with a message from Alesia's mom. This will give the audience a sense of urgency. 

    Doing research about mystery-thriller movies I found that many times filmmakers use a variety of techniques to make the characters uneasy in order to keep viewers interested. These same techniques also make the audience worried since viewers can empathize with the characters and their circumstances. In fact, many times they will add a time limit as a way to enforce suspense. I want to use this method to always keep the audience on their toes and make sure they feel as if they are also part of the crime and the movie. I also found that in almost every mystery movie there is always some sort of main detective or person who really wants to solve the mystery. In my film opening, I want that all the characters be the ones who will be investigating the crime even if they were the ones to do it. Lastly, I wanted to announce that the name of my film opening will be RED. The reason why I choose this title was due to the significance of Alesia's name and the representation of her color scheme. 

Casting Time!!!!

        Characters are what make a film. Representing all different types of people that we may see in society. The best movies made are always those in which people can relate the character to themselves. For my film opening, I want to show off a little bit of every character. I was inspired by the TV show "Pretty Little Liars" in the way that all the girls in the series are friends but have different characteristics and aspects that play a key part in the show. I want the main character of my film opening, which is Alessia who ends up being the one who dies, to be the last one introduced but the one narrating the opening and describing her friends by the way she preserves them. This will give an opportunity for the audience to start guessing who might have done the murder. I also wanted to give all the characters a color scheme they follow to represent a different meaning which can also help differentiate who is who. 
                                         

     James is Alesia's boyfriend and Juilana's brother. He will have a key part in this film due to being the one who spends the most time with Alesia in the time period she was murdered but also the one who was going through mental illnesses throughout that time. Many are going to suspect that James was the one who did it but all of Alesia's friends know that he loves her too much to kill her. I also want the audience to feel that Juliana could have something to do with the murder due to her brother spending more time with one of her friends rather than her. Both siblings have opposite color schemes to reassure that they are completely different but in the end they are blood-related. 
    

    
      The name Alesia has a very significant meaning in Greek which is "help". Alesia's color scheme is red representing danger because she always feels like she is in danger. In the film opening, I want to make sure that this feeling of her always being in danger is established so that the audience can wonder why she might have always had this feeling. 
    
     Ariana, Mercia, Eliana, and Serina are all key aspects in the film aswell due to them being really close friends with Alesia. They all have a different relationship with her but are the ones who are going to end up finding out who, what, and why Alesia was murdered. I also want the audience to get a feeling that it could have been one of them or all of them. I also wanted to mention that all of the girls' names except for Alesia's name, all spell out JAMES. This can also be a clue the audience can figure out from the bringing if they listen closely.

What Should I Choose?

      Picking the genre for my film opening was kinda hard. There are so many genres and subgenres that make it difficult for all filmmakers just to choose one. While I was doing my research about what genre I should do my film opening, I came across a mystery and show that many of the shows and movies that I have enjoyed watching throughout the years had been of this genre. I also found out that there are different types of mystery genres like mystery thriller movies. I couldn't come to a decision on whether I wanted to just do a mystery movie or add a thriller to it. 

    I came to the conclusion that the best thing to do was to do a mystery thriller film opening to add more suspense for the audience. While researching the genre I found that Mystery movies usually follow crimes followed from the moment it is committed until it is solved. This is due to the fact that writers want to make their audience into a detective seeking to establish the who, what, when, and how of a specific crime. I really want to emphasize these elements so that from the very beginning of the film the audience can be wondering who might have done the crime. The best mystery films take advantage of our natural need to seek explanations, which is one of its greatest strengths. Although it can be frustrating to not be able to predict what will happen next, audiences enjoy it when a mystery thriller makes absolutely no sense. Better yet, if the mystery film has you on the edge of your seat right up to the very end. According to Paulina Jayne Isaac, "Trying to differentiate the bad from the good, guessing who’s lying or telling the truth, and attempting to solve a true crime thriller are all mental puzzles that are endlessly frustrating yet completely entertaining."

Some of the greatest Mystery Thriller films were: Knives Out (2019), Gone Girl (2014), and Murder on the Orient Express (2017). These are a few examples of movies I will study closely to really understand what makes mystery thriller movies so great to make sure my film opening has all those key details. 

Film opening introduction

 Film openings are what I believe one of the most essential parts of a film due to it being the first thing the audience sees. It is so important that a film opening is not only eye-catching but also gives the audience an insight into what they will be watching. For my film opening, I wanted to a mystery movie. A key element of a mystery movie include suspenseful dialogue, foreshadowing, and hidden evidence but the most important part of all is a strong hook. That is what I want to accomplish with my film opening. Make sure that what I make is interesting for my target audience which is young adults. My initial plan for this project is to start with research and see what popular mystery movies had in their film opening in order to catch the attention of their audience and be so popular. I also want to use a lot of mise-en-scene to create a feeling that our viewers are in the movie as well. 

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

    In my music marketing project, the first thing my group did was research the genre we got. Which was heavy metal. Since none of us in the group really didn’t know what heavy metal was or had barely listened to it, we decided that the best way to start our project was to do research. We found that heavy metal is rock music that has been released from the 1900s to the present day and that many heavy metal bands like Metallica aim to communicate opinions on drug use, racial views, social attitudes, and political involvement.

 

 

    After finding the true meaning behind heavy metal we decided that what better way to use our music as a way to advocate for mental health. After this thought came to mind, we decided to name our band SCARZ because everyone was their own scars whether it is because of drug abuse, mental illness, or another way one can hurt the human body and feel down. We wanted to really emphasizes that we all have battles that we are facing, and we all may get “scars” from them but at the end of the day, that’s what makes you a better person. 

 

    The idea of having the butterfly came after the naming of the band because we wanted a symbol to really explain and signify the meaning of new beginnings. We learned that many people get butterfly tattoos to represent a significant transformation and growth in a person's life. This was a great way to express our band and the true meaning behind our lyrics.

 

    About the music video, we really wanted to show someone who wasn’t having the best mental health. We wanted to catch the audience’s eyes who may see themself in the music video and catch their attention to see if we can help in any way. In the end, we decided to add a little message in order for those who are watching a video to know that if they need help, they can always reach out to someone. We added a link to our website where our audience can go and receive the attention they deserve. 

 

    In a music video, we decided to edit in a way where they would be flashes showing the main character who is not in a good mental state of what could happen if he listens to what he is being told in his head. We also wanted to use the lighting which at the beginning starts off bright and ends up being really dark and blue in order to emphasize the tone in the music video and how the main character may be feeling. 

 

    Our social media plan was to use our music in order to show the scars, so we decided to create a trend on TikTok where people share their stories while our music is in the background and use hashtags in order for us to get their stories. We also as mentioned earlier decided to do a website where you can get all the merchandise, tickets, and more information about the band for those who need it. 

 

    In our presentation, our group overall did really good in presenting our main motive which was mental health, but I do feel that in a music video, we could’ve elaborated that a little more and use various techniques in order to get a message across. In this project overall I learned a lot about how important time management and communication are when one is working with a group. The aspects of this project that will be helpful when developing my Cambridge portfolio will be incorporating many elements in my video to really get the message across to my audience and the importance of not holding back but also planning what needs to be done to execute those thoughts.