Genre Choices for Portfolio Project

    The next step in the production process of the film's opening is choosing a genre. This is a very important decision as the genre characteristics determines how the opening will be filmed. The two genres my partner and I choosing between are horror and thriller.

    Although horror and thriller may seem very similar, they are actually quite different. On one hand, horror usually focuses on shocking and graphic imagery usually based in the supernatural to make the audiences feel immediate terror. This is usually done through extremely gory and disgusting scenes that would make anyone feel uncomfortable. On the other hand, thriller focuses on building suspense through psychological manipulation. Thriller films are usually grounded in reality in order for the audiences to connect themselves to the protagonist in a way.

(Jigsaw - 2017)

    As an example of horror, Jigsaw follows all the conventions of a horror movie. The picture above is from a scene in the movie where lasers cut open a person's head. There is a lot of blood and gore displayed in the scene which had caused much discomfort within the audiences of the movie. 

(The Invisible Man - 2024)

    The Invisible Man serves as a great example of a thriller movie. In the movie an invisible man is stalking a woman but when she reports it to the police she gets dismissed. This movie builds suspense as we cannot see the threat but we know that it is always there. This caused an eerie and uncomfortable feeling in the viewers. 

Transitioning into Portfolio Project

    It's finally here!! Starting with this one, my blogs from now on will be about the portfolio project, the most important project of the year. Not to say the others aren't important. The projects before this have provided me with practice and information that will be a huge aid to this film's opening production. I have also been taught what to include and exclude in a film opening, specifically, the purpose of a film opening and how it is used to establish a platform for the rest of the film to build upon.

    In past projects, I had the issue of choosing audio that did not fit the scene or reusing the same shot too many times. In this project, I will create a clear understanding of the genre and what is happening in the scene specifically to decide on what audio to use. While creating a clear understanding, I will also be generating a full story in mind which will aid in coming up with more varied scenes for the film opening.

    To ensure that my project has the correct feeling and vibe to it that I want I would refer to the lesson notes taken on color and lighting. This is extremely important as a scene can portray a completely different message depending on whether high-key or low-key lighting is used. Even the difference between warm hues and cool hues plays a huge role in developing meaning within my film opening project.

Music Marketing #2

In this blog post I will detail how my team and I approached how to complete the Music Marketing Project.

The project was to create an imaginary band from scratch given a specific music genre and plan the marketing and distribution plans. We also were instructed to create a music video in the personas of the band we created. The genre my team and I received was rock.

First, we researched 2 different companies and 2 artist under each company for a total of 4 bands researched. The purpose of this research is to gain general knowledge and examples of the marking and distribution process commonly used by most bands. This knowledge greatly helped us develop our own plans for our band.

Second, we created our band identity. Given the genre was assigned, we had created a rock band. This band's specific goal was to revive the classic rock genre. The band was formed in Agoura Hill, California, in 2002.

Next, we developed a plan for the marketing and distribution process of our band. During this step we had decided that most of our marketing would be through social media and on our website. Distribution would be primarily through our website and physically at concerts.

Lastly, we put all this information into a PowerPoint presentation along with creating a music video for the song Something from Nothing. We decided to create a storytelling/promotional type of music video. We first listened to the song and noticed its tone and lyrics. We then created a story board for the music video and created it soon after. The last thing to do was to edit it and put it into the PowerPoint presentation.

Music Marketing #1

         In this project, my group and I was assigned to research existing bands in order come up with a new band from scratch and create the bands identity. We were instructed to plan the marketing and distribution plans along with creating a music video.

The schedule we created for the project goes as follows...

1.      Research Chart (Done)

2.      General idea for band (Done)

3.      Storyboard for the music video (Done)

4.      Music video 12/7 – 12/12

5.      Marketing campaign and Distribution plans 12/13 – 12/14

6.      Presentation 12/14 - 12/17

        To begin, we researched to companies, Warner. and Fearless Records. We then researched 4 bands or artists, 2 under each company. For each creator, we researched their history, target audience, brand identity, marketing/distribution strategies (both digital and non-digital). The 4 bands we researched are, Linkin Park, Green Day, Pierce the Veil, and Motionless in White.

First we had to come up with an idea for the band. The band would have 4 members and would be named "Black Lagoon". The bands idea was to bring back classic rock. The target audience of the band is young adults who are getting into rock music along with older adults who listened to classic rock when they were younger.

Below is the outline for the campaign:

Below is the distribution plan:

Genre Research Activity

The objective of this activity was to choose and genre and analyze its characteristics and how it engages the target audience.

I have chosen to analyze the horror genre.

    Horror films usually have huge themes based upon fear and survival. Most films use death, supernatural beings, or the unknown to make the audience feel uneasy or disturbed. The antagonist for most horror films is often some type of monster or a psychologically unstable person. The protagonists are usually regular people who find themselves in terrifying situations. To help the audience better relate to the protagonist, they are often portrayed as vulnerable or relatable. The protagonist many times is a girl who is left as the last alive and is usually more resourceful and cautions than all the other characters in the movie. To help the story develop, supporting characters are often added to the film but unfortunately more often then not, die.

    To help develop the tone of the movie, horror films commonly occur in isolated, eerie, or enclosed locations. For example, abandoned houses, remote cabins in the woods, and dark abandoned hospitals is the setting for many horror films. The lighting is usually poor to make the set more dark, enforcing the feeling of unease. The color schemes usually contains dark and muted colors, creating a gloom atmosphere.

    The structure of horror films is a three-act structure. First, the protagonist meets the threat. Then, they try to escape or defeat it. Finally, the protagonist and antagonist have a climatic showdown where the antagonist is usually defeated. Commonly the threat is revealed slowly to build suspense throughout the film. Horror movies also use many plot twists and misdirection so that the audience is kept guessing and the movie doesn't become predictable

    Horror films heavily rely on fear triggers such as survival vs. death, psychologic horror, and jump scares and tension. Survival vs. death refers to when the characters are in a high stakes encounter where their lives are on the line. Psychological horror from the potential for violence instead of physical threats. And lastly, jump scares and tension is caused by sudden, unexpected shocks that keep the audience in a constant state of alert. Some samples of films that fall under the genre of horror are, JAWS, Let the Right One In, and Alien.

Representation

In this blog, I have chosen to analyze the video game, Life is strange, for the representation within it.

Life is Strange is a game that tells a powerful story about two high school girls, Max Caulfield and Chloe Price, and the challenges they face. The game is really good at showing how different people can be, and how our identities are shaped by our experiences. It does this by focusing on how Max and Chloe are represented, meaning how they’re shown to us as characters, and whether they fit into certain types of characters, called stereotypes. By looking closely at Max and Chloe, we can see how the game challenges some of these stereotypes but also sometimes reinforces them.

Max Caulfield is the main character in the game, and she’s represented as a quiet, thoughtful girl who doesn’t really fit into the typical high school crowd. She’s an artsy photography student who likes to stay out of the spotlight. But what makes Max really interesting is her ability to rewind time, which gives her a lot of power over what happens. This is a cool way for the game to show that even though Max might seem shy and unsure, she’s actually capable of making really important choices. Max’s character is a good example of how Life is Strange avoids making her just another "quiet girl" stereotype. The game takes time to show her emotions and struggles, which makes her feel like a real person who’s figuring out who she is.

Chloe Price, Max’s best friend, is a very different character. She’s loud, rebellious, and has a punk style with blue hair, tattoos, and piercings. At first, it might seem like Chloe fits the stereotype of the "bad girl," but as the game goes on, we learn there’s more to her. Chloe’s behavior is influenced by the fact that she’s gone through a lot of hard things, like her father dying and feeling like she’s been left behind by Max. The game shows Chloe’s pain and vulnerability in moments where she opens up, showing that she’s not just wild for the sake of being wild—she’s acting out because of the hurt she’s gone through. This makes Chloe’s character deeper than just a stereotype, helping players understand that there’s always more to someone than meets the eye.

Even though the game does a great job representing Max and Chloe, there are some issues with how other characters are shown. Most of the important characters, like Max and Chloe, are white, and while there are a few characters from different backgrounds, they don’t get as much attention. Characters like Warren and Kate, who come from more diverse backgrounds, don’t have their stories explored as much, and they mostly just help out Max and Chloe. This is an example of something called othering, where people who are different don’t get as much focus in the story. The game could have done a better job at including more diverse characters and giving them important roles, but it still does a good job showing the complexities of Max and Chloe’s lives.

In conclusion, Life is Strange represents its characters in interesting ways, showing how people aren’t just their stereotypes. Max’s quiet nature and Chloe’s rebellious attitude are both explored deeply, giving players a chance to understand what makes them who they are. While the game could have done more to focus on different backgrounds and experiences, it still creates a touching story about identity, friendship, and tough choices.

Multimedia Representation:

This picture shows a peaceful moment between Max and Chloe, highlighting how different they are. Max looks calm and thoughtful, while Chloe looks more edgy and rebellious, showing their different personalities.

Sound Project

 Overview: In this project we were instructed to recreate the sounds that would be present in a scene spanning 1-2 minutes long. This project was to have no video and 4 of the sounds must be created using foley techniques.

During this project we learned what processes are involved in adding sounds to a film are. This includes the creating and editing of each sound and making sure they come in at the correct time to create a realist soundscape.

The approach we took to complete this project was to first brainstorm varying ideas of scene and remove the ones that wouldn't work for us. Once we decided on a scene we thought of the many different sounds that scene would contain. We then record the sounds we needed or found them in a sound database. Once all the sound was obtained, we used Premiere Pro to edit the sounds together.

Something that I felt we had done well was the editing of the sounds together. One thins that I felt that could have done better was the filming of the foley sounds. The sounds we created needed to be longer because when editing we had to copy the same sound over and over again and it sounded a little repetitive.

Below is the link to our completed sound project:

WongAwadalla_soundscape_per1.mp4