Researching Film Openings - Portfolio Blog #3

 Today I met up with my group and we discussed what we our project will be. It didn't take long to decide on futuristic western sci-fi. Sounds crazy, I know. I think that idea is way too far fetched, so we decided to just research two separate genres, western and sci-fi. From here we will pick one of the two.

#1 Rango

A weird film for sure, not traditional Western at all. It starts with Rango trapped in his cage. We see how he feels about the encloser he is in and how he spends his time, as well as a little bit of foreshadowing. The entertaining thing about this is that Rango is the only person in this scene, yet he is talking to objects as if they where people. The opening ends with Rango's encloser breaking open and leaves the audience and Rango with a big question; what to do now?]

Rango opening:

In (TITLE HERE), the creators of the movie talk about how they wanted to make something that broke the bounders of westerns and animated movies. You can see this in the the character design, characters are asymmetrical and far from Disney's cute animated animal style. The creators also wanted to play on western tropes in fun ways, which doesn't show up until later in the movie. This is ideal for me, I want to create something unique and intriguing. 

The documentary: 

#2 A Fistful of Dollars

I never watched this movie, I don't watch a lot of westerns. However I think it sets the conflict for the rest of the movie pretty well. Two families that hate each other in a crime ridden town, a nameless man plots a way to exploit both families, he releases a captive of one of the family's (the Rojos) and then confronts that family. The movie ends with the man killing the Rojos.

 

A Fistful of Dollars opening: 

This movie has a very simple opening that says more about the main characters surrounding that the character himself. The Man just watches what goes down, he never attempts to step in. An approach like this may be simpler for me, since it's far more focused on world building. Western genres are characterized by the landscape too, so a focus on that might make my job easier too. 

#3 The Bladerunner

Moving on to sci-fi, the plot of The Bladerunner is mostly focused on the struggles of the protagonist as he attempts to hunt down Replicants (bio engineered humans). The films opening is rather abstract at the beginning, it starts giving questions the viewer questions throughout.

The Bladerunner opening:

I assume this is a staple sci-fi movies, just giving the viewer thousands of questions until the movie answers them. I also assume all those questions are what keep the viewers hooked. If we do go the sci-fi route I'm sure our opening will have this confusing sort of story too. 

Genre Research - Portfolio Blog #2

Hello! This blog is just a little research for possible genre matched with a few ideas and reflections for my project. 

#1- Western 

Western genres began in dime novels in the late 19th century, but films of the genre quickly got a solid ground in the silent era of film.² They where popular and very common for a while, but audiences began to feel the movies became predictable. It was only until after the widespread use of synoicous sound in the 1940s that western films were reviven.¹ The western genre has existed for a long while, meaning it's had time to developed tropes and niches. Depending on how the tropes are written, this can make or break a movie. For example, the noble outlaw is almost always the main character. A stoic, strong, and morally righteous shadowy figure.³

If I pick this genre, this will mean I'd get to research about life in the late 1800s. The clothes and the set would have to be planned to every last little feature. The little nerd in my brain can't wait to make vast spreadsheets and long historical essays. Should I make this film, I would definitely write something akin to Lego Batmen. Batman started out as a total loser who didn't want to leave the house, but had everyone convinced he was really cool. Over the movie, he learns to let people in and grows a chosen family. 

Clip of Batman being a loser: 

Clip of Batman being cool:

I think having a character like this would be a really fun twist on the western trope of a lone rider.

Resources: 

1. https://screenculturejournal.com/2017/04/the-decline-in-popularity-of-the-western-film-genre/

2. https://nofilmschool.com/western-genre#:~:text=The%20genre%20has%20its%20roots,a%20harsh%20and%20unforgiving%20environment.

3. https://screenrant.com/western-movie-genre-tropes/

#2 Coming of age

Coming of age films have always kind of existed, there isn't a traceable history them. However there is a traceable decline to their production. It seems the golden age was in the 2000s. That was before fantasy, science fiction, and dystopian movies took over the content consumed by the teenage demographic. There seem to be very few movies about growing up in the 21st century.¹ Coming of age movies tend to be focused on a teenager changing over time. Usually takes place in or around high school, and deals with a lot of concepts like learning to be one's true self or getting over a first love. ²

If I where to do the genre, I'd go one of two ways.

One: I do something focused on current everyday life. Maybe following a teenager who feels like a fish out of water. They aren't allowed to have a cell phone, so they just constantly feel left out. This one might be a bit depressing though, which isn't up my alley. 

Two: I go all the way back to the 50s or 70s. I'd research how they lived back then and maybe do something akin to Grease or Footloose. 

Resources:

1. https://spartanshield.org/29522/arts-entertainment/the-evolution-of-the-coming-of-age-genre-in-film/

2. https://www.themaryword.com/post/a-deconstruction-of-the-coming-of-age-genre-with-recommendations

I intentionally picked two genres that have been oversaturated. This is because I'd love to put a creative spin my work. The motivator behind this approach is Rango. It is a movie that combines fantasy elements and animated animals to a western landscape. The character designs are full of personality and play on western tropes.

The Beginning - Portfolio Blog #1

 Hello!

Today we where introduced to a new part of our course, the Portfolio Project! Pretty much, we make a film opening to represent our knowledge on the medium, including shot types, set design, color coding, editing methods, ext. I'm pretty exited to make something akin to a short film, and I already have a few people in mind to work with. 

The plan is to pick a genre that is oversaturated with productions and make something new out of it. Right now I'm considering two genres, Coming of Age and Western. I think I can do a lot of nice writing by playing on the tropes and flipping them on their head. Also, I want to pick something that requires a lot of research, like a story at a different time, because I find that fun. 

Music Marketing Project #2

Hello! This is part two of my music marketing project. In this phase, we got to apply everything we learned in part one to real-life situations. We created an imaginary artist and built her brand from the ground up. Our artist, Sylas, is a 23-year-old living in New York. The illustration below, made by Emi, shows what she looks like. Sylas is a passionate and eccentric artist who fled to New York to escape a toxic relationship. Our research from the previous project showed us that incorporating symbols and small details into a brand is helpful for marketing, so we decided that dragons, zigzags, swirls, and fire should represent her. The dragon below serves as her logo.

With her songs focusing on her struggles with a energetic and passionate twist, Sylas’ music is as emotionally complex as she is. We wanted her music video to reflect this, which led us our song choose: Time is Running Out by Muse. Her backstory is built around the lyrics. Back in her hometown of Flint Michigan, Sylas met a guy she really wanted to date, but her friends constantly warned her against him. She knew he was toxic and that dating him would only hurt her, but she did it anyway. Hence, we used the contrast between fire and water in the music video. Sylas represents fire, while the guy represents water. In the end, she chooses to drown and kill her flame.

Here is the link to the music video:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/188Mwi06Qp70Loaf_3l7LreIiEE2878uo/view?usp=sharing

We all met at my house to film the video, which we shot in three parts: first, outside in the living room, then in a dark room for the promotional clips, and finally outside by the pool. The video below provides more behind-the-scenes details. After filming, Nico and I edited the video, while Emi, Andrew, and Robbie worked on the brand, marketing campaign, and presentation (linked below).

The presentation:

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGY0ofj0wQ/zWryqARSuS4NmT5_pzfJLA/edit?utm_content=DAGY0ofj0wQ&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

After the relationship, Sylas felt she needed a change. This album cover represents the last photo Sylas took of Michigan before leaving her hometown for good, giving it sentimental value.

I learned a lot through this project, including how to manage stress and anger in socially acceptable ways. Seriously, having such a unique project close to midterm week was quite an experience. Next time, I really hope to work with Zach. I also had a weird shift in my mindset during this project. I realized that it’s genuinely better to use any free time available to finish tasks early, so that everything is done days ahead of deadlines. I’m also now more aware of others and how they feel. Who knew that socializing could actually make you better at socializing? 

Music Marketing #1

For this project, we picked our groups and were randomly assigned a music genre to do a case study on. From here, we picked two distribution companies and assigned two artists to each group member. Each member was to research the artist's background, history, branding, and marketing. 

Our case study was on rock subgenres, and I was researching The Strokes. I started on their website and followed that to their Instagram and YouTube, where I found nothing. Sure, they had music videos on their Youtube and posted merch drop announcements on their Instagram, but aside from that, there was nothing. After very little digging, I found a fan account that regularly posts content on The Strokes. This became my introduction to their past interviews, which were a fountain of information on The Strokes' experience with touring, writing songs, and the stress of fame. It gave me a lot more insight and surpassed summarizing a Wikipedia page. From here I kept digging and adding to my case study until everything was filled aside from the section on target audiences and marketing. With all the new information I gathered, I inferred that The Strokes acted like an unknown 2000s indie band despite being the complete opposite. This is because they are appealing to those with nostalgia for the early 2000s and to those who wish they remembered such an era. This unique way of branding is what attracts so much attention.

After this project was submitted, our group was assigned another one that was meant to be built onto this one. I'll admit our planning for this one wasn't ideal, but we quickly got back on track to what our group should be doing. Nico, a member of my group, and I were assigned the task of planning out our music video. We worked on the storyboard and built up a shot list. Andrew was tasked with marketing, Robbie with the presentation, and Emi with branding. Although they got distracted quickly, I always managed to refocus them on their work. That way we all finish quicker and get to go home and nap.

  
Genre Research Blog Activity

As someone who has watched all 12 seasons of Big Bang with my family, I'm surprised it never got old to me. The Simson's has been going on since 1987, I'm sure there's some one out there who is still watching that show. The entertaining quality of comedy films has made them my favorite genre by far.

A genre is basically something that makes movies easier to market. They set the expectation for a movie before it is watched by the viewer, with conventions being things that make up the genre. Romantic comedies, for example, tend to have two characters that can’t stand each other be forced into close proximity. In the comedy genre as a whole, however, there are many conventions. Things are shot in the same place, like the bar from How I Met Your Mother or the study room in Community. Characters are placed into intentionally uncomfortable situations for laughs and there is always conflict driving the plot forward.

Inside the incredible world of comedies, it’s easy to find sitcoms and romantic comedies and think that they are all the same. Sure, the jokes are unique to the storyline and characters but the camera framing isn’t. Stagnate shots, little to no use of cinematography, comedies don’t tend to expand on their appearance like other genres. Rarely are there gems that use all sorts of camera work for comedy. For example, the link below leads you to a compilation of films made by the director Mel Brooks, where she uses push ins as comedy. I find her creativity extremely admirable. 

 

https://vimeo.com/230990210 

 

Most comedies use the standard way of promoting films. Social media advertisements, celebrity collaboration, and trailers are all ways that companies promote their films. And comedy's are no expectation. However, comedies have been known to include their funniest bits in the advertisements and their trailers. Not to mention, some actors on the productions have begun posting content on social media, including jokes, dances, and vlogs on set. 

Sound Project

 Yay! New project, and this one was actually really fun :)

All we had to do this project is develop an original story and express it only using sound within 1-2 minutes. At least 4 sounds had to be foley and we could only use 7 words. Throughout this project I learned how useful perfect vegetables and raw food is foley. I was scouring my kitchen like a hungry racoon. Also, I learnt how to use Premiere Pro's sound equalizer which proved to be really useful throughout the project. Sadly, the brainstorm session we had before the project was dry. It was the end of the day and my creative juices where all gone. Luckily my partner came up with the great idea of a zombie apocalypse. We had to make an outline of our project, which I used as a checklist while editing. It was really helpful. I also got most of my sounds from Pixabay and Bulletproof Bear, the rest are foley. 

Once I finished the project and sat with the results, I realized that the story might not be understandable. Maybe I'm being too hard on myself but after I've listened to the story so many times I just have no idea if it's good or not. A lot pf time was spent on the sound scape, so I hope my video sounds good. 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BJKtzPaR7BMVY2RFaeohTkAREDWgrqF1/view?usp=sharing