Aice Media Portfolio Blog

 

Transitioning into the Cambridge Portfolio Project

All of my blog post from here on out are gonna be dedicated to my Cambridge Final Exam. From what i've learned in this course I feel very confident on the topics needed to complete this project. My partner and I have brainstormed a couple ideas to kick off the film opening. 

Me and my partner both thought it was a good idea to establish the main details and point of the opening so then we can do the smaller details as we go. When a small detail comes to mind we do jot it down in my notes app so we don't forget.

Small details we thought of so far

The main idea of this opening is to have two completely different vibes from the start than the end. So the viewers can continue to guess what exactly is going on. Also including little small details to give more info and make the film more complex. Making the characters seem simple from the start and as you go on, even though u get such little information you see that they are not so simple. 

My original plan was good, but with my partners input on wanting to include substance abuse really advanced the film and created a better plan and a stronger opening. We really created a good idea by combing ideas. 

The character dynamic between our two actors is truly up to the viewers perception of what they see in the 2 minutes of the film. That why the little things matter such as lighting, mannerisms, and looks. 

Using a very high quality camera and the knowledge we know about angles/cuts/movements/shots it will help with the look of the film. 

We are extremely and excited to start this journey of this project together!!

Aice Media Portfolio Blog

Portfolio Project Genre #1

 For the portfolio coming up, I am thinking of doing a thriller. 

A thriller is a movie with an exciting plot that usually involve crime or government spying. Keeping viewers on the edge of their seats and keeps them drawn in from finish to end. A thriller will get confused with horror, but both actually create completely different feelings. Horror makes audiences feel fear, while a horror gives an excitement. Thats exactly why I want to work with this genre, while keeping that suspenseful feel, it can also create different emotions. 

Target Audience

With a pretty gender balanced audience, thrillers do seem to target adults to young adults. The age range being 15-30 usually liking more fast paced films and staying more entertained. People who are considered "adrenaline junkies" and having not as fast attention span will love this genre. It as a very loved genre by many because of the emotions and natural high it give you.

Genre Conventions with Content

In every single thriller certain information will be held from viewers to keep them guessing and watching. Also including a character being followed, chased, hiding, getting kidnapped while being alone. Also leading the audience to believe other things and allowing deep thinking and own understanding of the film. Although a thriller seems as if it is only about keeping viewers on the edge of their seat and entertaining, it also always relays a message in some sort of way. Like in the film "The Truman Show" has funny and scary moments it shows that media invades privacy, and the character realizes reality is fake. 

Genre Conventions with Techniques

This genre would be nothing without the techniques. Keeping a slower paced movements and POV shots making viewers feel like their in the film. Using darker lighting to keep it mysterious, using foreshadowing with objects and even lighting. 

Institutional Conventions

Usually beginning film with the production logo and very serious tone to set the feel on the film. In order to keep the movie in the age range instead of beginning the film with violence it implies the dangers. When its advertised and in trailers they have to keep it even more vague and mysterious than the movie.

Two Film/TV Productions That Represent The Genre   

This close-up from the thriller film Get Out displays the pure fear of this characters expression. 

Behind the scenes

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Music Marketing #1

 Starting off with our research for our project, we built our country pop star, Oakley Wren, who lives in Tennessee. Oakleys mom passed away, when Oakley was at the young age of 10. This really inspired her to live her pop star dreams to her fullest. As we continue to build her that comes along with creating merchandise, logos, album covers, and websites. We decided to think of the colors of our character and her clothing before the storyline of the music video. 

Our planning started this class where we assigned roles to one another. For example, I am doing the merchandising and being the actual representation of Oakley Wren. We brainstormed ideas for our storytelling music video about a girl missing her childhood best friend/lover. We plan to film over the break and edit soon after.

Mise-en-scene Project Overview

 Summary of Activity Goals: 

Our activity goal was to bring our fictitious character to life by showing her goals, hobbies, and lifestyle. We would do this by visual story telling and showing her life through multiple platforms so people can understand and get to know her. Also creating a whole character and life based off a very short description on a person

Summary of Character: 

Our character is a young college girl named Morgan, who is an environmental activist and very passionate about the topic. She is a very kind, determined, driven person who just wants to make the world a better place by cleaning it. Morgan also loves reading, picnics, and listening to her favorite music when shes not at rallies or in class. As you can tell Morgan really enjoys alone time, especially with her dog, and when she is not making a difference on the planet, but she interacts with people with the same interests at rallies and protests. Ultimately, Morgan is driven by a profound empathy that fuels both her visible fight to protect the planet and her quieter moments spent appreciating the world she is fighting for.

What we created to illustrate our character: 

We used 5 different creative ways to illustrate our character. One of the platforms is Adobe express to create our characters appearance such as hair color, clothes she wears, accessories and background. Another one used is Canva to create a realistic Instagram page for her mood board to display where she spends her time and what she interests. Also using a common platform used, Spotify, to create Morgan's music playlist to show what she listens too. OpinonSatge is being used as well for a quiz on Morgan's life to engage with the viewers and people getting to know our character. Lastly, Rooms help you understand Morgan more just by observing her dorm room and where she lives. 

How we organized the stations:

Firstly, we of course put Morgan's Spotify playlist, so as you are getting to know her and going through everything you can also get to know her music taste and her vibe. To follow it up we put Morgan's character and how she looks with a short description of her so you can get to know not only the outside of Morgan, but the inside as well. Then Morgan's Instagram page would be up next, which shows you what she stands for, where she is at and what she does to give you a better understanding of her determination. Then Morgan's dorm room is shown in 3D which helps you really get to know her based on the objects in there that represent her in minor ways. Ending it off on a quiz to see what you learned about Morgan and if you missed it, it will be on the quiz to show you again!

How we developed the character: 

We created Morgan by combining creative ideas from everyone in the group to make her a relatable and real person. We discussed the type of personality traits and what her backstory would match for her. We also imagined her daily life in college and what she enjoys and the things that motivate her to continue to do the stuff she does in her daily life. Each platform should've shown a different side of her in a fun and professional way. By paying attention to her values in life styles you will really get her and could even see her as a role model. 

Reflection:

The process of creating the character was all based on the little details each one of us thought matched the description given to us. Every important thing that makes Morgan herself are what we thought matched her energy and how she carries herself as a person. Everything we all contributed to making her and her outcome successful! Through this project we learned how to develop a character who feels real. 

Genre Research Blog Activity

 

How is it comedy?

      The genre comedy is one of the most consistently loved categories of them all. Comedy has been around from silent films to modern day films, as comedy evolves the main purpose is to entertain the audience and make them laugh. Directors like Mel Brooks and Woody Allen have helped define comedy throughout the years. 

       The majority of comedy films target adults and teenagers, usually between the ages of 15 and 35, some are geared at families or children. This group most likley will look for humorous entertainment that could mirror their own experiences, whether they be romantic relationships, uncomfortable social settings, or the ridiculousness of daily life. For instance, the 2007 movie Superbad, which made over $170 million, was especially well liked by viewers in high school and college because of its accessible humor and themes of coming of age.

        Comedy works because of things that people aren't aware of. The plots of many comedies are overblown, they are based on relatable emotions or relationships. The most of comedies include a main character or a small cast of characters whose conflicts propel the story along. These characters frequently deal with awkward situations, miscommunications, or self-inflicted mayhem, which makes their responses and problem solving humorous. This shows in Bridesmaids, when the conflict between Annie and Helen turns into a comical burst of insecurity, jealousy, and social sabotage, emotions that everyone has felt or gone through at some point in ones life.

         In many of these comedies, the characters always evolve in a type of way. The humor uses a connection and personal development. For example, the idea of repeatedly reliving the same day in Groundhog Day is used to demonstrate Phil Connor's journey from going to selfishness to self-awareness and goes beyond simple humor. Also, to producing humorous timing, the repetition also produces an emotional arc. The comedy works because, despite its absurd idea, the emotional part is taken seriously.

        In production, the genre relies on timing. A little pause before a punchline or a fast cut to a character's expression, for instance, can greatly increase the humor of a scene. Jim Carrey's expressive face and erratic motions serve as the primary source of laughter in comedies such as Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, which heavily include physical comedy, including Jims exaggerated moves, and visual gags.

        Jokes are also subtly supported by sound and music. Awkward pauses or abrupt score changes are common in comedies to heighten the impact of a joke. The lighthearted tone is reflected in the lighting and set design, which are typically brighter and more colorful than in other genres. Cozy city locations and pleasant tones serve to emphasize the comic and emotional interactions between characters in romantic comedies such as "When Harry Met Sally."

         Commercials sometimes feature humorous actors with exaggerated facial expressions or circumstances. For movies with well-known comedians like Melissa McCarthy or Kevin Hart, their name alone serves as a marketing hook. Posters typically have amusing taglines, lively colors, and informal settings. For instance, Airplane! advertised the show's outrageous, spoof-style humor using ridiculous promotional materials, such as a distorted depiction of an airplane.

         Three men must journey back in time to find the groom when he disappears during a bachelor party in Las Vegas in the comedy "The Hangover". A kid in the closet or a tiger in their hotel room are examples of insane circumstances that provide the humor. The film makes use of exaggerated performances, fast paced, and good comedic timing. Young adults going through wild, unpredictable comedy were the target audience for its frantic teasers and ads depicting the night's aftermath.

          The comedy genre is still very popular because of its wide appeal. Comedy films continue to be a classic form of entertainment due to their varied production styles, marketing, and diversity of subgenres.

   SITES USED:

- https://www.bartleby.com/topics/Film-Genre-Essay

- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmsite

- https://academic.oup.com/edinburgh-scholarship-online/book/12907

Blog posting - Sound

SOUND PROJECT REVIEW

 Basic Summary: During the sound lesson and the assigned videos I discovered that you shouldn’t provide too much on walking scenes or repeating movements because that can make the audio feel dull or drag out the pacing. It’s better to focus on using a more shots rather than a long montage. One of the biggest things I took away from this was that even the smallest movement like moving keys, footsteps, or fixing a shirt should have sound effects added. The little details make the project feel much more realistic for the audience.

Directions for projects: 

Sound Project #1- The main thing of the first project was to tell an event using only sound effects and a very little back round and no video. We had to brainstorm an at least 1 minute scene that could be understood through just sound alone. We created a pretty detailed outline describing all the sounds we would use for our scene. We were only allowed seven words of dialogue total. We were also required to create at least four foley sounds using real life objects.

Sound Project #2- For the second project, we reviewed the short film we had created in another project and analyzed what sounds would be in the scene and how they would layer together. Beforehand, my partner and I made a detailed list of all the sounds we needed to record or find. The goal was to use audio to enhance our movie we mad and show hopw important sound is to a film. Music could be used. Each group member edited their own version of the soundscape using their collected audio then saved it.

Approach to Sound Project #1: My partner and I, we didn’t want to create a montage or flashback style piece like the ones provided in class examples. Instead, we focused on making two connected events happen within the story but also keeping the variety of shots to keep it interesting. 

Brainstorming: During brainstorming we really focused on capturing the emotion of the film without using sound. We wanted the watchers to clearly understand our concept and the word we tried to demonstrate. We discussed what emotions were tied to our chosen theme and how specific sounds could make the audience feel those emotions. This helped us choose moments that would stand out and create a more powerful experience for the listener.

Outline: Creating an outline of exactly what we need to make our entire project run much more quickly.  Since we had already planned out each sound effect and where it what scenes, filming and editing took much less time. The outline helped us stay organized and ensured that we didn’t miss any sounds or moments. It also made it easier to visualize how the story and point would come across.

Editing Sources:  For editing we used iMovie for the movie without sound because both of us were already very familiar with the platform it allowed us to quickly cut and organize clips. Then, we used Clipchamp for layering our sound effects because it was easier to mix the sounds. Using two different programs helped us get the best final result for all the projects.

Analysis: Overall we were proud of how we portrayed a realistic and emotional piece. One thing we did well was making sure the sounds matched the visuals, which made the story easy to follow. One area we want to improve next time is avoiding too many walking sounds or repetitive background noises that can be hard to provide. We also want to focus on making our editing transitions smoother and cleaner to give the final soundscape more professional.

Link to Project: https://browardcountyschools-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/0615030576_my_browardschools_com/ElGaaHxpAEZHgw7GTXB2oxsBD6QObMgTOYHoZF9Qqmcqog?tdid=48357526-b5d8-42f5-97e5-421e9a365a40