Audience an Institution essay

Audience and Institution Essay

Film; Assess the importance of marketing in the media area you have studied.

Marketing in the film industry is extremely important. You have to research your audience and how you can appeal to them. Marketing can determine whether or not a film will be successful, it is a way to attract different types of viewers and introduce the film to the viewers. 

Without a doubt, the marketing portion of a film is extremely important because it influences the chances of a film being successful or a failure. When studios put the time, effort, and money into their marketing strategies then they are more prone to a positive outcome. In an article written by Roos, Dave, “Why do movies cost so much to make,” it states that “Marketing makes up a huge chunk of modern movie budgets -- $35.9 million on average -- largely because the fates of many Hollywood releases are sealed in the first week.” Good marketing can boost a film's gross tremendously within the first week, because it allows more people to become aware of the film, and it gets them excited to watch it. If you don’t invest in your product then no one else will. That's why marketing is important, because you're investing in your film by showing it to the world and proving to them why it’s worth their money and their time. By doing this then you’ll gain the interest of the people, this is a way to guarantee that your film has a fighting chance. If there's no effort placed in the marketing of your film then no ones going to know about it, meaning that it will most likely fail. You cannot expect people to take the time out of their day to research into your film without giving them a reason to do so. 

In addition, the marketing of a film is very important because it is a way to attract all types of audiences. Marketing is a great way to make people feel like they were considered or that they’re special. When people feel like they were considered then it makes them more engaged. The movie Black Panther earned around $361 million in its first weekend alone by investing a lot of money in marketing. Marvel introduced the movie to the world as the first ever mostly  all black cast, superhero movie. It showed the african american community that they finally got the representation they deserved, it made them feel like they were finally appreciated. Black Panther also made money due to marketing by doing many commercials with Lexus, which introduced a new car that was inspired by the movie. They did a fashion show for people who are in the fashion industry, especially black designers,  they created games and toys based on the movies for the younger audience, and they debuted the trailer during an NBA Finals game, where they knew there was a wide range of viewers. They did many things as a way to market the film, but one of the most important ones was directed towards the citizens in Saudi Arabia; the film ended the 35-year long movie ban that was going on in their country. Another movie that proved that marketing had a huge impact was Furious 7. They did many things including cross promotions with the phone brand OPP, and the video game brandForza Horizon 2. They had many special events that allowed the fans to interact with the stars of the movie and interact with the movie itself. The biggest marketing strategy that occured was a song tribute, on the movies soundtrack album,  to the late Paul Walker, who was an important part of the cast and a role model to many people everywhere. Due to him passing away during the film process, many fans of him and the franchise watched the film as a final goodbye.

To sum it up, marketing is the best way to introduce a film to audiences. When films are new then they have to build a fan base because no one is interested in something they’ve never heard of, that’s where marketing comes in. Marketing lets people know what the film is about and it’s potential. It makes them more familiar with the film and in some circumstances it can be used to remind them of it. For instance the movie Jurassic Park first debuted in 1993 and ended in 2001, a lot of fans believed that the last movie was going to be the final one. Little did they know that Universal Studios was planning on doing another movie for the franchise 14 years later; if they didn’t market the movie then fans wouldn’t have been aware that another one was being made and they wouldn’t have earned much new fans. The new movie would’ve failed dramatically because there would’ve been no recognition, but to prevent this they partnered up with many toy companies, they made commercials that gave a preview of the park, they set up a movie marathon on comcast tv, they released the iconic music for the film, and set up a website.  An article titled “ Jurassic Park Franchise Box Office History,” by the numbers, states that “ It’s actually the biggest 24-hour Friday in box office history,” “ Jurassic World earned an estimated $64.3 million.” Due to it’s amazing choice of marketing it managed to break records and earn millions of dollars in a short amount of time. The same thing occurred with Spiderman Homecoming, the spiderman movies were originally all filmed with another actor that was older, and the franchise ended up ending. Fans missed it so much that marvel decided to rebrand the film with a new actor and a younger audience. They already had their previous audience but they were much older and they wanted to draw the attention of more children and teenagers. To do so they had to market to the younger audience, they did this by putting spiderman on cereal boxes, making new toys inspired by him, they even released the merchandise before the movie so they could gain more recognition. The numbers website stated that the film made $50.5 million on it’s opening day. By choosing to market to both kids and adults the film earned around $10 million more ,on it’s first day, than the original film.

In conclusion, marketing is very important when it comes to determining the success of a movie. Marketing is how people become aware of a film. I often find out about films by seeing commercials, ads, or movie posters when I’m coming out of the theater. When film studios make the effort to present their movies to me I often feel like I am considered and I get excited. I spend most of my time watching movies, so when I am presented with the opportunity to watch a new one I will most like look further into it, especially when I see an advertisement about it more than once. 

Essay Extract

For my extract I got to dissect a few scenes from the series Game of Thrones.  After viewing the extract I concluded that the theme the director was trying to convey is that what you seek is not simply given. You must earn it and justify your right to it. You cannot expect something to be given to you just because you feel entitled to it.

The theme of the overall extract was slightly introduced in scene one. Scene one starts off  by using an aerial shot to introduce that the actors location and scenery was on a boat in the middle of the ocean. During this scene the lighting is very low key, as if they were traveling for a long time and they arrived when the sun was starting to go up. The boat is the first prop we see, it creates the idea that they were transporting to somewhere. It is paired with the diegetic sound of the boat traveling through the water and the sound of the crew members doing their jobs. It then switches to an eye level two shot, with a zoom into a medium close up, with an eyeline match edit; we can see that the actors are male and they’re wearing draped medieval style clothing. Those camera movements and shots showed that all their focus was on what was in front of them because that was where they were going to get the resources they needed. The costumes asserted their title, it showed that the two men were in leadership. This relates to the overall concept of  him being the captain and thinking he is capable of leading a whole kingdom and getting the title of king, because he leads his crew members, despite barely being able to provide for them. The eyeline match edit helped to create the idea that the two men were looking at something that made them kind of anxious, it showed that they were awaiting the moment that they’d get to pitch, why they deserve the resources they seek. The eyeline match then went on to show that the characters were looking at the island in front of them, this was shown through an establishing shot. During the establishing shot we can also see a few more props like a statue and boats, these were added to create the idea that they were approaching a rich kingdom. From the two shot, with a zoom into a medium close up, to the establishing shot we hear a non diegetic sound, background music, which then goes into a sound bridge that creates a smooth and suspenseful transition to what’s about to happen in the next scene.

The theme of the overall extract was mainly introduced in scene two. Scene two starts off with a sound bridge and a jumpcut from the previous scene. The jumpcut showed that the time passed from when they were on the boat to them being in a different location with a brighter, but still low key, lighting, while the sound bridge connected the end of the previous scene and the beginning of this one. The wide two shot and medium shot of the two men who were on the boat was paired with dialogue to create the idea that the men were waiting for someone. The dialogue between the two men established the idea that the more superior man was impatient and upset that the other people were late, it also showed that he felt as if he was too superior to wait on others. The establishing shot of the set design showed that the new location was a medieval style meeting room. A low angle shot paired with a diegetic sound of both men turning to face the door and a cutaway edit of when it began to open, showed that the person they were waiting for had finally arrived. The three shot of the three men walking through the door and to their seats made them seem dominant to the guy who was waiting for them; it also showed that the guy in the middle was important because he had people on each side of him, and he was going all the talking. The medium close up on both men and the close up on his leader “Stannis,”  showed that he was unsure about whether he should sit or not. The main prop in this scene is the table and the chair, the table separates the two groups of men by who has more authority, while the chair suggests that they are about to have a serious conversation. You could also see that them telling him to sit, made him seem as if he is less than them. The wide shot of the “Stannis” sitting showed that he was kind of defeated, it showed that he obeyed them because he wanted something. The point of view shot during the dialogue of the man introducing his leader, placed focus on what the man was saying, it established why Stannis felt like he was so entitled. The medium close up on the more superior man speaking shows that he disagreed with the titles that Stannis was given because the titles were already taken. It then goes from a two shot of Stannis and his right hand man discrediting the current king to a close up and reaction shot of the more superior man’s face as he feels like he is being fed lies and Stannis isn’t worthy of his time.

 Scene two consists of a lot of dialogue between the actors. The dialogue of this scene is mainly executed through a shot/reaction shot of  Stannis, his right hand man, and the man with the gold to give. The dialogue is very important because it establishes the overall theme the director is conveying. The dialogue establishes the idea that the man by the name of  Stannis feels entitled to the other men's gold because of his blood right, but he hasn’t proven why he as a person deserves the support of those men, because they want more than titles, they want numbers. He hasn’t proven why he should be trusted with the gold or why he’s worthy of it, he just thought that by him saying he was the rightful leader and discrediting others then he would be rewarded. The shot then switches from a medium shot of the man discussing Stannis current issue with not being able to provide for the men who remain loyal to him, to a two shot of  Stannis and his right hand man trying to defend themselves to a close up and shot/reverse shot between Stannis’s and his right hand man’s face to show that they realized his quest failed and the. The scene then proceeds with a wide two shot of both men, this shows that they are out of ideas and are frustrated that they aren’t being granted what they asked for. The close up of Stannis' face shows that he feels disrespected that he's being called a thief. A wide two shot of Stannis’s right hand man shows that he supports his leader. He also demonstrates that Stannis is an honest man by showing his hand with missing fingers, this was executed through the use of special effects makeup, which was his punishment from “King” Stannis. The ending of the extract consist of dialogue between the man who vowed for Stannis and the guy with the gold, close ups of Stannis and his right hand man , medium shots of the guy who owns the gold iron bank, and shot reverse shots between Stannis’s right hand man and the guy who owns the gold bank. All these shots were used as a way to enhance the theme through the dialogue. They showed the expressions of the actors and how they felt about what was being said. 

To sum it up, the extract establishes my theme about how you cannot expect something to be given to you just because you feel entitled to it. I chose this theme because in the second scene the dialogue is mainly about how he feels he should be loaned gold so he can use it to become king but he doesn’t give them a valid reason on why he should be trusted, he just feels entitled because he was born with royal blood, and due to him not having the best track record they deny him what he seeked . The xextract used a great amount of dialogue, props, set designs, two shots, medium shots, close ups, wide shots, cutaways, shot/reverse shots, reaction shots, and many more to properly execute the overall theme. If the film didn’t have any of the camera angles, shots, lights, sounds, editing, and mise en scene mentioned, then it would not have made sense. Without these terms the film wouldn’t be as good, it would be missing it’s spark. 

Final Project CCR

This is the CCR to my final project. For this I tried to do an interview type of video where I was basically talking to the audience. I didn’t have anybody else to play the male character, so I thought I would give my video a twist and play both sides. Thank you for viewing video. 

Final Project

This is my final project, the movie. There are a lot of scenes missing from this and a lot of editing needs to be done. We were planning on editing it some more but we never got the chance. Before our last weekend at school we had just finished filming some more key parts of the film so they weren't really edited in their yet. We also wanted to swap out some of the scenes because we didn't like how they look. We were going to change how the titles looked because we felt like they weren't the best match for the film. I wanted to finished editing it or fix it up more, on quarantine, before the deadline but the new scenes weren't dumped on my flash drive yet, instead they're still on the SD card that I don't have, another member of my group has it. Either way we still wouldn't be able to dump the scenes because the SD card doesn't fit into any of our computers. 

Music Video CCR

Music Video

This was my least favorite project because I didn't like that song that much, I wanted to something upbeat but my group members wanted slow so we compromised. I definitely don't hate it because this song was my childhood, it brings back a lot of memories from middle school. This was kind fun to do but the beach water was cold and the tides were rough so we had a lot of issues trying to execute this video. People were being knocked over almost every shot and there was sand everywhere. 

Nike Commercial CCR

Creative Critical Reflection

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues?

To start off our Nike commercial, we had to do research. We looked at commercials from brands like Nike and other sporting apparel brands. Doing this unlocked a whole new meaning to what a commercial was for me. I saw that commercials usually have a meaning behind what they say and what they do. This made us want to have a meaning in our commercial. We saw it as a way to motivate others and that’s exactly what we wanted our commercial to represent. So we searched harder and we decided that our secret message should be to motivate people to start pushing for what they want. We wanted to influence people to work harder so  it made us a bit more excited to start filming. In order to capture this you have to figure out the Mise en scene, shots, angles, sounds, and the actors expressions. All of these parts come together to help demonstrate what the commercial wants you to take away from it. Mise en scene is used as a way to illustrate the person's location and what they’re doping. The shots and angles are used as a way to capture what they want you to see, or capture important moments in the film. The actors facial expressions and body expressions bring feeling and emotion to the film, it allows the audience to feel what you want them to feel. Without these parts my group and I wouldn’t have been able to convey our message. We used most of the conventions used in other commercials because we wanted it to be as realistic as possible. The commercial represents athletic individuals because it shows all the hard work and practice they go through to follow their goals and become the best they can be at what they do.


2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text?

     The Nike product engages with the audience because it appeals to what athletes want. For my Nike commercial the aim was for generation Z athletes.  In the sports industry, it’s main focus is usually on the youth, mainly teens and young adults, so I thought that the commercial should focus on what attracts them and what they would want to know about the product. This generation is mostly obsessed with music so we chose a well-known song that fit our target group perfectly, to grab their attention of course.That was one of the best ideas to come forth because generation Z is all  about ‘turning up to lit songs” so of course we had to choose a song that would automatically make them want to watch the commercial.We couldn’t only depend on the song because eventually they’d get bored or just jam to the song and tune out the commercial so we had to make the commercial itself interesting. Usually athletes want shoes that have a comfortable grip and helps with their flexibility, while pushing them to their best abilities. We set up the commercial to show that the  product was built with all the necessities an athlete would need and want. We showed that it would help them perform better, which would automatically grab our target groups attention, because that’s one of their main wants. It specifically shows someone their age group going for a workout and [pushing himself to the best of his abilities, so we thought that would be a great way to engage with the audience, because it shows that he’s just like them. This was also a way to show his dedication and that Nike helped him fulfill his goal, so they would want to fulfill their goal too and what better way to do it than wearing some Nike shoes or apparel

3. How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Honestly, at the beginning of this project I had total confidence, I was always interested in film making and creating scenarios so I truly wasn’t too stressed  about. I thought I would go through kit with a breeze, and that the commercial would just be a fun activity but I was wrong. Reality hit me hard on the first day when we had to film. It was so complicated trying to figure out how to set up the camera, get the angles perfectly, and execute everything in the time frame. At first I was sloppy and slow, yes I wanted to get the commercial done, and yes I wanted it to look professional but I didn’t think I’d have  to work so hard on it. I can truly say that my production skills have improved dramatically, I went from not knowing how to film at all to shooting a  wide angle, establishing, over the shoulder, pan, close up, and zoom. IF that isn’t progress I don’t know what is. I also matured a bit, I learnt that this class isn’t just an easy credit but that you have to put in work to receive the results you want. I had to realize that this wasn’t just my grade but also my group members grade, so I wanted to pull through for them and myself. It amazes me because now I know how to edit and add music to a film, which can honestly help me so much in my outside life, so reflecting now I am happy about how far I’ve come in such a short time. I’m also grateful for the people who helped me learn and mature. In the beginning I was just a clueless girl, and now I'm on my way to success. This film has truly taught me a lot, now I know about all the different features to editing, and how much work editors actually put in to create the perfect craft. This project also pushed me to practice my shots and my angles, and sounds. It showed me that communication really is key, and that you can’t win unless you work together as a group. I learnt to contribute and illustrate everyone’s idea. I honestly appreciate this project, it’s helping me move one step closer to my dream.

4. How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

When starting this project, I had no clue what pinnacle studios was, or how to shoot something on an actual camera. So this project was a  way for me to get familiar with all the technology and equipment needed to film a project. I used Pinnacle Studios and iMovie as a way to edit, without them I would’ve been in deep trouble. At first I had a lot of technology problems. If I’m being completely honest the whole class had technical problems but ours were somewhat superior. The computer wasn’t saving our commercial, and we couldn’t find it when we did save it. That problem ended up holding us back for a good 2 to 3 weeks. It started to shatter our confidence and we were  starting to get stressed about our grades. But eventually the computers started to cooperate and we were able to get it done.Pinnacle Studios did give a lot of trouble also but without it I wouldn’t have been able to combine the music and the film. I wouldn’t have been able to add a title without it either, so for that app I am thankful. iMovie really came through for me and my team when we weren’t able to finish editing in class. If it wasn’t for iMovie we wouldn’t have been able to edit anything because we couldn’t figure out how to operate Pinnacle Studios if our life depended on it. We used iMovie as a way to cut the film, it came in handy when we needed to get our commercial down to 30 seconds. The video cameras were also cool additions to our project. We wouldn’t have been able to film half the stuff we did without having the camera. The effects made it easy to zoom and tilt, and it gave us a steady stand while shooting. The camera was also a more realistic interpretation of what AICE Media studies actually is , and it helped us get into the working zone. The camera allowed us to have hands-on experience on what it’s actually like to direct a film.

Nike Commercial

This is the commercial for my first ever AICE Media project. I think I like this one the most out of all the ones we did, maybe because I didn't get to see the finale draft of the movie. I love the music and the outcome. I hope the music does not get copyrighted because at the time we we were told that it was ok to add any type of music. I feel like this is actually kind of what a Nike commercial would look like. Their commercials are really energetic and upbeat and they often feature someone participating in an sports activity. I feel like this commercial includes all those aspects. 

re-edit blog

My group and I were extremely happy to get apart of the editing process out of the way. But we had to re-film the beginning of the film due to us having to switch actors. So because of this we had to re-edit everything we edited the first time. We now had to switch out all the old scenes with the new ones that we filmed. We were definitely bothered by this because we worked hard on editing the first time and now we had to do it all over again. I wan't the best at editing so I honestly didn't do much, but I did help pick which scenes to use, and adjust the sounds. We wanted to do a shot-reverse-shot so the majority of the time we were trying to figure out exactly when to cut the scene and go back to it. We wanted that part to be perfect because we thought it'd make it look cool. So we had a shot of the kidnapper watching the sister walk through the parking lot, through his rear-view mirrors. This was a point of view shot and we wanted to combine it and the shot-reverse-shot. We wanted it to switch from the shot of him watching them to a two shot of the sisters walking, and then back to him watching them walk through the lot. After we completed that part of the editing we moved on to the sound part. We wanted a sound of him breathing, in a creepy way. Another part that we had to edit was the girls walking into the store. We edited that and the girls walking through the store isles. Editing it was a big step forward for us because we always procrastinate with editing, every time we try to do it, we kind of fail. We had to put our insecurities aside because we had to get everything done because we also had to edit the rest of it. Overall we got the beginning done just in time for the bell to ring. We felt as if a weight was lifted off our shoulder because we can now continue with the rest of the film instead of focusing only on the beginning. We are now one step closer to finishing the overall project.

Re-filming Blog

Original it was me and another girl from my group doing the main scenes. But she was no longer able to come film with use due to issues at home. This made everything really complicated because we had already filmed the majority of her parts. On top of that it was only going to be me and another one of my group member filming for here on out, so everything fell back on us. We were stressed because it was only two of us and we would both have parts together. The original shots we were planning to do wouldn't work out, due to the fact that there was nobody holding the camera. We made peace with the fact that me and her would have to re-shoot everything that me and the other girl sot. So basically the whole first part of the film. We didn't really have a choice, it had to get done. This honestly set us back because we were only able to film for a good 2-3 hours a day, and the deadline was coming up. Also if we had to re-film the whole beginning that means we had to re-edit the whole beginning of the film. The whole issue just had me, scared, because we really had to get it done. everybody else in our group were counting on us. Plus adding on to the stress, we didn't even finish filming the whole thing yet. So we had to re-film the whole beginning and try to film the end. We got it together and as soon as we got to the filming location, we got started. It took us a few tries to get the beginning perfect. We had to adjust the tripod a lot, because it was kind of hard to get both of us in the frame. Also we had to really push our acting skills because the camera was directly in our faces, we wanted the audience to be able to recognize what we're saying, so it was kinda hard not to look at the camera at times. It wasn't so bad though, we got further than we thought we would. We actually got to where we wanted top be, so we basically completed all the parts from outside the store to walking through the isles.

Editing Blog, first attempt

This week me and my group attempted to start jumpstart our editing for our film. We had already edited once before but it was just a raw cut of what we wanted our film to look like. The editing process is always difficult for us. We never really got familiar with the Pinnacle Studios app because we always depended on iMovie. Well, we can’t use iMovie this time around because it messes up our films in the end, so we had no choice but to familiarize ourselves we the resource that was given to us in the first place. It’s not our first time using the app yet we still have no idea what we’re doing. We had to watch YouTube videos in order to figure out the simple tasks. Nevertheless we kinda got some things down and were doing just fine. We managed to put all the scenes we need together. All we had to do is replace a couple scenes and fix some transitions. We also had to add the titles to the beginning of our film. Truth be told we were kind of behind, but not too behind. I especially, had no idea how to cut the scenes, I tried my hardest to figure it out but nothing. I think we’ll be fine though because we always figure it out, plus there’s always YouTube. Anyways, so far we’ve just edited the beginning, like the very beginning, that’s it. We have a cool concept of what we want it to be though, and we found the perfect sound for the beginning, so it’ll come through eventually. We think it’s look pretty cool if it’s a p.o.v shot of the someone watching the two main characters and then it’ll be a reverse shot of them walking. From what we’ve put together so far it looks like it could have potential. My goal throughout editing is to make the beginning of the film as creepy and mysterious as possible. I guess we’ll see how it turns out in the end.

Peer Review Blog

One thing I really liked when I watched my peers film was idea of it. It was really really suspenseful. It really felt like something that could be entered in a short film festival. I also really liked the lighting in it. It helped the film a lot, it was a dim sunset type of lightening. Without it the film would’ve felt incomplete. The lighting of the film made me super anxious, it felt like something was about to go down. Something else about the film that I really liked was the voiceover, especially when the person was walking on the beach. It made me feel like I was getting a run through of what was about to happen. Also, the placement of the titles fit perfectly into the theme.

The only suggestion I would make to their group is to work on the sound of the voiceover. It wasn’t really concise and it was really hard to hear what was happening. Without the sound the it wouldn’t make sense so I think just need to work on speaking louder into the microphone or rising the volume on the film a bit higher. That’s really the only thing that needs to be improved. Other than the sound the film was really good. I was interested and impressed. Everything else about the film was beautifully executed. It was nice to see someone else’s work. It gave me and my group and idea of how we should better our film and that we need to work harder.

Filming Blog; third attempt

Me and my other group members go together to film again. We actually got a lot don’t  this time and we had fun. We filmed us walking in the parking lot and we got to film the beginning of the the film. But one of my group members mother called and said that she had to go home so it was up to me and another member to finish as much as possible. I am a main character, apart from my two other team members that weren’t there, so it was up to me to act out everything. I had to do all my scenes alone and if would’ve been quick and easy but their were a lot of friendly people interrupting the shots. I’m not mad at it though, I like people and it showed me how supportive strangers can me. It was nice, all those people wishing you luck and rooting for you when they don’t even know you. After we filmed me walking through the isles gathering the main grocery items, we headed to the vegetable section of the store. We were trying to focus on our camera angles and I though there should be a high angle shot of me getting groceries. I didn’t really know how we were going to achieve this because it was only 2 of us and nun of us were that y’all. I finally came up with the idea to stack the camera unto the bell peppers. I had to create a steady pyramid that would support the camera, and I also had to create a safe landing spot just Incase the camera fell. It was definitely a process because the camera kept sliding and in some cases it was slanted. It took me a long time to film that high angle scene, I was really starting to get frustrated. People kept walking through and looking at the camera, I kept looking at the camera, of the camera would start to slide off. It was all worth it in the end though. My group member and I wrapped it up after we got the scene because we were tired and it was starting to get late. We left out of the store feeling empowered, because we did it all by ourselves, it felt nice knowing that you actually put in the time and effort for something, and it feels even better when you’re craft comes out great.

Filming Blog; second attempt

BOY OH BOY! We went through a lot this week just to be able to film. One of my group members has a car so we were going to depend on him to take us to our location, but he had track practice again. The other girls and I weren’t going to waste another day so we decided that we’d just film whatever we can by ourselves. In order for us to start filming we had to find a way to get to our destination. I suggested that we tried to get onto one of our group members' buses, since we all lived by each other it wouldn’t be a problem. Being able to get onto the bus isn’t a guarantee so we made a plan to go see our administrator that's in charge of the buses. We went to him and he explained to us that usually they don’t do that. He never gave passes to anyone so it’d be unfair for him to give it to us. I explained the situation to him, about how it’s an important assignment. He explained to me that the process to get a pass would be really long, he would have to get written permission from all our parents and their signatures. We suggested that we all call our parents but he said that wouldn’t work we had to have written consent. We told him that we also wanted to film on Thursday so we can just bring it in on another day, and he agreed. After we left his office we had to figure out what our next moves would be. I suggested that we still try to get on her bus, and if we can’t we’ll get on our bus and walk or ride the city bus to our destination, since it isn’t far. Our plan actually worked this time, we got on her bus after exposing to her bus driver why this was important, then we headed to film after we eat while we were charging up our cameras. I carried the camera equipment through the whole day; we then walked across two streets to ALDI’s and began filming the begging of our video which involved me and someone, but then it was getting late and one of my group members had to go home.

Filming Blog; first attempt

Originally my group and I planned to film during the week, because that was the only time our schedules weren't overlapping each other. Friday was the only day that everyone would have a day off from their usual activities, especially since school ended early due to the sad events that took place 2 years ago, so it'd be perfect, or so we thought. I didn't have to babysit my  brother that day so I figured it would be perfect. But of course with us nothing ever goes as planned with us. One of our group members does track, there was a track meet on that exact day but he previously had got kind of injured so we didn't know for sure if he'd be going. As soon as it was 12:20 ,school was over, I knew it was time to get serious and get to work. We were all going to meet after school and drive to walmart together because he has a car, but turns out he had to go to the meet so our plans were ruined. I feel like with my group its always some type of dilemma. We're always faced with some type of challenges, which used to make me a bit anxious, but we always figure it out. Even though we contridict each other alot, I feel like I work great with them, I feel like I can be heard in my group, we always complete our projects successfully.



 I was a bit dissapointed and worried because we had a blog due on Thursday and one thing I don't like is failing, especially in my AICE classes. I tried not to stress about it too much though because we always pull through, but I can't lie I was scared. So anyways, our plans got ruined and which meant that we were going to have top re-schedule. I knew this was going to be hectic because we all have responsibilities after school and on the weekends. Eventually we compromised and decided that we were going to have to film on monday and thursday. We're going to try to meet up again after school again. Then we'll take it from there. Hopefully things actually go as planned this time. If anything maybe we can find extra time to re shoot, so everythings perfect. I don't want to do anything last minute, especially with this project, we have to be on point. Even though I'm worried, I have complete faith in my group, I'm sure we can figure anything out.

Planning Blog; story blog

The Storyboard was definitely the hardest part of doing this final test so far. We all sat together the first cars trying to figure out how we were going to put the scenes into pictures to make it 10 pages. The shooting script made it somewhat easy but it was still hard. We were drawing up the mock pictures we’re trying to come up with the best way to accurately describe the scene so that the viewer would understand what was going on. We all decided that we couldn’t draw, at all. So we’re trying our best to make the scenes come to life. We then realized that we wouldn’t have enough scenes to cover 10 pages. So for the first 30 seconds we added a new beginning. Towards the middle of the beginning sequence we added more so we were able to hit the two minute mark. This was definitely nerve-racking while we were drawing because we were afraid that we wouldn’t make the time limit required. We are jam it’s happy to have this part of the planning done so we can finally start filming. 

Planning Blog; Title Design In Detail

One of our biggest concerns was finding out our title design. No film is complete without the perfect opening sequence, so we wanted to do something that fit the originality of our film perfectly. We decided to do a simple theme, all black. We didn't want our sequence to be too dramatic, we just wanted it to be calm and mysterious. Important words will be Bold and In ALL CAPS, the Bree Serif font was perfect for this. We wanted to do this so that the audience would be able to identify all the important people that contributed to the film. We decided to give our film the name "Vanished"; the titles are going to appear on the screen as if they are being typed out, then they'll vanish with a quickness.

Planning Blog; Locations, Participants, Health, Schedule

For this part of planning we had to think about all the tiny details that go into filming. This was one of the easier parts of planning because you just have to state who the actors were and what the location of our film was. The hardest part was thinking of all the health and safety precautions. While we are trying to think of everything that might cause injury. We realized that we were doing a kidnapping scene in broad daylight with people around. We thought that people seeing the camera might realize it’s not real, but with today's society you never. Our plan is to show that it is a school project by showing the instructions for the project and our school IDs and hopefully that will solve the problem. This is one of the final steps we are taking before we can start filming and it’s so Exciting 

Planning Blog, Shooting Script

This past couple of days we’ve been working on our shooting script. This has not been an easy process. The same day it was assigned I started working on it because I did not want to rush it. Well that plan kind of a success cause we were able to get all the scenes that we wanted down. However I did not start making it into a google PowerPoint until the following class. This is where I started to regret not choosing to do the sound script. Making a script without sound is hard by the way. We were trying to figure out how to play out the scenes without saying what the characters were going to say. In all honesty trying to get all the details into words was the hardest part. However with the trouble we had coming up with the script we are going to be able to film based almost solely on it. 

Planning Blog, Sound and Dialogue Script

This power point is based on the sounds that are going to be put in our opening scene. We incorporated dialogue, incidental music, diegetic sounds and much more. Our Sound script consists of the things that led up to the kidnapping. The talking in the store and in the check out line. We used incidental music to build up the suspense and make the audience want to see more. We used the dialogue to draw out the scenes that’s led up to the kidnapping. This powerpoint simply outlines the big picture we’re trying to paint. This is just a small piece of our film. It’s an important part of the opening film, and hopefully it makes the viewers want to continue watching. Now as we go through the process of filming our script will be ready.

Title research; Get out

There are 21 titles that are displayed into the 2 minute opening sequenceIn the opening there are a lot of trees and wind. Towards the end of the 2 minutes you start to see things like people, animals, and cars.From the images the audience is able to infer that something is going to happen. The images give off an eerie feeling. The beginning made us feel like we were going on a road trip and looking out the window. The genre is reinforced through the uneasiness; the movie is foreshadowed by the opening sequence. The uses the lack of music in the beginning of the opening sequence to entice viewers to continue watching. The missing music makes viewers wonder.The technology in the opening sequence is fairly simple they use simple transition. How simple they may be the add an extra emphasis on the opening sequence.

Title Research; Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

During the opening sequence of this film “kiss kiss bang bang” tfrom the website “www.watchthetitles.com”. There was 23 titles displayed throughout the outset. In the opening, pictures of guns blood dripping, an animated person running around. animated buildings was prioritized. I think these images carry the connotation  of someone escaping from the city, maybe, or a solicited place and the affect of the person escaping is killing, bloodshed or maybe violence. The genre is reinforced to this title opening sequence because it creates a suspenseful atmosphere, A technical coda that most thriller films outset’s have. This outset created a sense of enigma differently from the other title sequences I watched. In the previous opening sequences I’ve watched enigma is usually create it was the end of the opening, in this film opening the enigma was created in the beginning, with the animated man running around. We wanted to know why he was running ? who he was running from and was he safe ? The opening sequence uses suspense to draw in its audience. The audience of thriller movies love suspense, they find joy in not knowing what’s going to happen next and that’s exactly what this opening sequence displayed. Thr use of technology this title opening sequence was mostly editing. The editing told a story itself the animated man that was running around with the animated building, The director edit it to where the audience, would perceive that the man was running from someone.  but, in doing so the director made a suspenseful. The audience wants to know why is the man running and who is he running from.

Title Research ;Twisted

Our group chose to research the movie "Twister," from the website “www.watchthetitles.com,” because it fit our genre so perfectly. Only 4 titles were displayed in the movies opening sequence. In the opening sequence you can see images of leafs, wind,  and pieces of metal and wood spinning around. The beginning made us feel like we were in an actual tornado. The genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset by introducing a feeling of uneasiness; the sequence kind of foreshadowed what was about to occur. From the beginning we know that its going to be a massive tornado, which creates some anxiousness in the viewers. The opening places the audience in the characters position; then after the tornado stops it goes off to show an oil drill, and in the distance there's a sunset. The director appeals to the target audience by doing somewhat of a point-of-view- shot, they made the audience feel like they were  experiencing something, then they completely switch scenes, so it'll keep you wanting more. Technology was definitely used perfectly, the titles flew onto the screen as if they were being tossed by an actual tornado. The editing  made you feel like you were spiraling inside of a tornado, it made you feel scared, and it made the movie feel real.

Title Research; Hostage

Today to start our title researching we watched the opening of the film “Hostage” from the one of the websites . There was 30 titles displayed thought the 2 minutes of the opening sequence. There where a lot of images prioritized in this opening scene, such as guns, buildings, and soldier like characters. All these images tied in together to create a pretty cool looking opening. All these pictures led me to presume that there would be fighting, blood, and the use of guns in this movie, These images have off a savage vibe. The genre is reinforced through the symbolic and technical codes from the outset, because like all other thrillers, the outset of this film creates tension, anxiety, and a high level of anticipation. This outset established enigma, by the use of there male actress at the end of the outset. When the titles finished appearing, the scenes changed to a man sitting down, screaming, and the scene was cut in the middle of his sentence. Which of course makes the audience want to see more, since it was difficult for us to know what was going on. The director leaves the audience wanting to see the continuation of the scene which is how he appeals to his target audience. He makes sure there is enough suspense, so that the audience will be interested and want to watch the movie. I think technology was used effectively with how the whole outset was edited. The transitions where smooth, they weren’t going to fast or too slow with the alteration of the areas they were placed at. They were easy to point out, but did not take away from the camera angles used to display the titles. All in all, the outset of the film “Hostage” was really interesting to me, I can honestly say now I want to watch the movie.

Title Research; Art of the Title

This is one of the sites I used to learn about the special art of titles in a movie. A job I thought had no significant meaning. I’ve always seen titles as words taking us space on the screen. Now I can  say that’s not the case at all. Today we start researching titles. We used this website because the have everything from animations, documentaries, etc. A wide range of films to watch and learn from. This site looks like it would be a good way to gain knowledge of what order the titles should go in. Also, how they’re supposed to tie into the film. I look forward to applying effective titles to my film. Titles that convey a tone or theme, one that grabs the audience attention. Titles can be very effective towards a film, so I think it’s important we know how to do them correctly. With the findings from this website I believe, we’ll be doing just that. I’ve been scoping through the film’s title sequence to see which one i’m going to watch first. Wish us luck on this title research.

Title Research-Watch the Title Website

Today we started our title research process. The title sequence of a movie is one of the most important parts. It helps the watchers engage with the movie, it hints what you're about to watch. Its also used as a way to give credit to people who helped make the movie. This website helps viewers identify what title sequences are. The website also shines light on the creative minds that create these title sequences and the process behind them. This website is good if you want background on why people create title sequences and what goes into creating one. For a young film maker this is a very exciting website. They get to see all the dynamics and that goes into creating their very own sequence. Whenever I look back at all the movies I've watched, I realize that the title sequence does make a different. If the beginning of the movie is upbeat or reflects the scenes to come then I get really excited and I'm more engaged in the movie. My group and I are really excited to do this part of the movie because it allows everything to come together. It'll be a way for us to express our creative side, and it'll allow us to attract people to out movie project. That's why we're grateful for this website, it gives us a bit more knowledge, so that we'll be able to create the best film we possible can. I can't wait to see what we have created, I know its going to be great, thanks to the website.

Genre Research ; Taken

The other action thriller we chose to look at was the movie Taken. This motion picture featured a variety of camera angles and shots. This included closeups, low angles, high angles, over-the-shoulder shots, candid, medium shots, and long shots. These shots and angles help the audience be able to ultimately view the film in a unique way and see it much more vividly. The lighting that was used in this thriller included cinematic lighting, key light, and fill light. This allows makes the audience see the movie in different points of view. The various costumes that this movie encompasses includes a leather jacket, a tuxedo, a sweater, and among many others. The locations were back and forth, however the main point of interest was Paris. The actors that were in the movie included sex trafficing workers, spys, etc. The makeup that was used in this movie was various techniques to make injuries from fighting and abuse look real. The props that were used included guns, planes, suitcases, money, telephones, and etc. The various sounds that were used in this movie included diegetic sound, ambient sound, non-ambient sound, and etc. The elements of this film allow it to be a successful thriller. It is filled with suspense, which ultimately pulls the audience in great anticipation for what’s next.

Genre research; London Has Fallen

Most people enjoy watching action thrillers because they’re able to experience being in danger without actually being in danger. I felt like the perfect movie to look into was “London Has Fallen,” 2016. It has the perfect amount of danger and thriller. Throughout the entire movie the audience is faced with continuous plot twist. 

The camera angles, shots, and movement shots used in this film were high angle, low angle, eye-level, oblique, establishing shots, wide shots, long shots, medium shots, medium close ups, close ups, two shots, three shots, an aerial shot, a point of view shot, zoom, flash shot, tilt, and crane. 

The costumes in this film were suit and ties, bullet proof vests, nike sweatsuits, casual everyday attire, military attire, police uniform, red tunics and bearskins, and trench coats. The types of lighting seen in the film is mainly key lighting which to highlight the characters or a specific subject, but they also use natural light, fill light, practical light, hard light, ambient light, and low-key light.The actors used in the film are mainly men, soldiers, secret service guards, common people, and Japanese terrorist.The makeup used in the film are prosthetic sculpting, molding and casting techniques, to make the wombs and injuries look real. The props used are guns, helicopters, masks, cars, flags, computers, monitors, walkie talkies, statues, etc. London has Fallen film locations were London of course, Cutty Sark, Somerset House, Dunsfold Aerodrome, and Big Ben. Sound included in this movie are diegetic sound, sound bridge, dialogue, soundtrack, score, indental music, and pholey.

This film has multiple elements that we can all enjoy. It keeps views on their toes because they never know what is going to happen next. It has a  complex story line and it causes your heart to quicken and you become more alert. The film has a lot of high energy, surprises, physical stunts and activity, fighting scenes, rescues, battles, gunshots, explosions, and big crashes. There wasn’t any elements about the film that I disliked, I loved everything about it. It kept me interested the whole time, and I felt a sense of victory at the end.

Genre Research; John Wick

Most people enjoy watching action-thriller for the adrenaline that it provides, Nothing is more exciting than watching the characters get in trouble and try and make their way out of all the explosions, plot twists, and struggles. The real fanatics are able to recognize things like camera angles, camera movements, editing, etc. In “John Wick” they use many different camera angles. They used low angles,high angles, dutch angles, establishing shot, over the shoulder, wide shots, aerial and tilt angles. By using these shots and angles it felt like the audience was there, giving them the adrenaline rush they are looking for. 

    The costumes used in this film are pretty simple the characters wear suits and casual clothes like jeans and t-shirts. At the beginning his wife is in a hospital gown. For most of the movie they use low key nad hard lighting because it creates a dark and ominous mood. They are able to keep the audience at the end of their seat by not revealing who the characters are right away. They also use natural lighting like in the funeral scene. They use prosthetic sculpting to make the injuries look real. For the props they use guns, cars, dead bodies, and computers. The John Wick was filmed in Manhattan, New York you can tell by the establishing shot they use. The sound used in the film are non diegetic and diegetic sounds and also foley sounds. These sounds are heard throughout, especially the fighting scenes. 

Genre Research; Iron Man 3

We decided to look more into the thriller film genre, by watching movies and listing the comments element that associate with the thriller genre found in these movies. The first movie we decided to research was Iron Man 3 it’s a thriller film from 2013. Common Camera angels we noticed in the film Iron man 3 were wide shots, low angle shots,close-ups, chase shots, and zoom ins and outs. Lighting we seen used in this film was Key lighting to highlight the form of the actors.  costumes found in this movie consist of Iron Mans metal suit, men wearing casual black suits, a lot of regular clothing were in there, but Metal-like costumes for the heroes and villains. Common locations found in this movie were in the sky, on earth etc. it was like in between back-and-forth different locations. Set design found in this movie, throughout the movie I will see different sets, for example interior stark mansion, interior stank industries, the bed room, garage, and much more. The common elements of course found in this thriller film were story, plot, character, and setting of course action being included. Sound included in this film consist of soundtracks, diegetic and non diegetic sounds, incidental music, and scores. We like this movie because it was suspenseful but not too suspenseful, it was interesting and intriguing and it kept me at the end of my seat I wanted to see more. What we did not like about this movie was all the tension. Throughout  the movie it created for me personally, knots in my stomach.

Genre of the film, research blog

So far we've researched the 3 genres of musicals, action, and thrillers. Three very contrasting genres of film, all having different effects on their audience. The musical genre being the more family-friendly genre. Appealing to a wider range of people. The thriller, and action genre which have a few similar characteristics, attract viewers with their suspenseful plots. We decided to go with thriller genre. We feel like this genre's characteristics fit with the pitch of our film.

Genre Conventions Research Blog

The first genre we're going to explore is the Musical genre. A musical is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dancing. It uses humor, love, and anger. Common types of lighting you would see in a musical consist of spotlights, PAR lights, strip lights, scoop lights, LED stage lights, and Fresnel lanterns. Common camera angles found in musicals are tracking shots, overhead shots, long sequence shots, close up shots that keep only the full face in frame, and wide angles that let the audience see big group dances. Movement found in musicals, sonata form which is really simple and enhances the appreciation of classical music. Slow and lyrical with a lilting song like them, and dance like movement. Common Mis En Scene in musicals are bright stage light on individuals, dancing and singing.Elements of u musical consist of timbre, pitch, texture, tempo, duration, structure, dynamics, and silence. Examples of musicals are Manna Mia, Grease, and Hamilton. Musicals are appealing because the represent an escape from everyday life, they are able to heighten passion and emotion through the display of songs and dance.

The second genre we’re going to explore is the thriller genre. A thriller is a suspense film the evokes excitement and suspense in the audience.Lighting used in thriller movies are key lighting, under lighting, and filler light. Common camera angles and shots in thrillers are high angle shots, low angle shots, canted angles, wide shots, and panning shots.Common Mis En Scene in thriller, weapons art the common props in fight scenes, which are commonly used to create tension. The thriller genre uses the elements of story(action), plot, character and setting. The story in thrillers uses tension and excitement to stimulate the viewer's moods. Examples of this genre consists of Get Out, Taken, Seven, and Unknown. Thriller films are enjoyed because it keeps the audience at the end of their seats and build suspense and tension, it entertains the audience and engages them through the film.