Group Meeting #1

Hey blog!!!! It's officially week 3 of working on my project. Today in class my teacher set up group meetings. In this meeting I was put into a group with 4 other students and the main objective was to share our story ideas with each other and learn from one another's ideas as well as feedback. 

My group included my classmates Alec, Megan, Brianna and Nicole. Brianna was the first to share her plot which was a coming of age film intro. She was the member of the group that had the least of her project done. She was still trying to figure out her storyline and hasn't created a main character or purpose yet. Additionally, she is behind on her blogs but has many in her drafts. The group gave her a lot of input on the parts of her project that she had already planned out such as the main theme of the story being about a group of 4 girl best friends who lose touch with each other upon entering high school. I suggested she use color theory to differentiate her actresses since there will be many and girls are generally similar. 

Then, Megan shared her story about a type of illness that can make people see things differently than they truly are. I got a little bit confused when she explained her story but I enjoyed the parts I was able to understand. She explained her main character will get this illness after physical contact in a fight. I suggested that she include the fight scene towards the beginning of her opening then cut to a black screen and show her film title. My reasoning for this was because it will let the audience know this fight was a key event and give them background information on how the character got this illness without any dialogue. 

Alec had his entire film intro planned out very well even with outfits and locations in mind. 

Alec's Outfit Idea:

He was the group member that seemed to have most of their project figured out already and would start filming soon. His story was a different version of the world that is led by a psychotic leader that tries to manipulate and lies to everyone. He mentioned a scene where his main character will check his smile through the selfie camera on his phone and I suggested that instead of checking through a phone he should use a mirror and show the character forcing different types of smiles until he finds one he likes. 

Finally, I explained my idea for my film opening and gave the group a run through of my blogs and research. Most of the questions my group had about my idea regarded the piece of news shown or heard when the math is published. I explained that my team still hadn't decided on if we wanted to make a news segment,  radio audio recording, or newspaper for this section yet. Nicole suggested if we were to use a newspaper to date it in 2012. 

Possible Newspaper Template: 

I loved this suggestion as my team would be able to incorporate another pseudoscience topic, the 2012 phenomenon, which I researched in my blog post about pseudoscience. I have yet to share the feedback with my group but I'm sure once we all share there will be some tweaks to the story. 

Overall, I really enjoyed having the opportunity to communicate with other kids in my classroom working on their project. Reviewing my status with a team alongside helped me realize I am right where I should be given the amount of time we have had so far. 

Mystery/Sci-Fi Genre Research

 Hey blog !! Today I will be conducting research on the genres my film opening corresponds to which are Mystery and Science Fiction or Sci-FI. This research will help me learn about how there's film develop their theme and different ideas for shots that I can incorporate into my final idea. 

Mystery Research :

The mystery category is a sub-genre of crime film and/or thriller. Mystery films or readings often involve a death or crime to be solved. Mystery films are usually focused on the detective and show the process by which they unravel the crime. Viewers are often times presented with suspects to keep them interested and make them feel like they are included in the movie. Many times viewers are presented with background information that the main characters don't know. This again gives them the "inside scoop" as to what is going on. Those practices help build suspense to reach the climax. 

There are 2 types of mystery films: closed mystery films which strive to hide the identity of the murderer and the open mystery film which reveals the people behind the crime early into the movie. Closed mystery films are great for grabbing the attention of it's viewers as it keeps them guessing throughout the film and allows them to also guess who the perpetrator might be. On the other hand, open mystery films provide a thrill to the audience as they get to learn how the crime happened. Now, obviously there are mystery movies that don't fall into either category my film opening would be an example of one as there is no crime being committed but it is still mysterious. 

Suspense is usually maintained in mystery films through different mise-en-scene techniques. Some techniques that can aid in creating a mysterious mood include but are not limited to camera shots and angles, soundtrack, and clothing. 

Tactics used in mystery films to create suspense include involving a time limit and fear of the unknown.  Adding a timer to the plot adds stress to the story and the audience. Fear of the unknown is the tactic that will be used throughout my opening. Although the overall issue is fear of what will happen in the future this is what we will be exposing and the new fear becomes fear of what is coming. 

Shots and Angles: Certain camera angles can create a sense of fear or bring emotions the the audience while others help to make the character look helpless or more intimidating. For example a birds-eye shot of the protagonist makes them seem small and helpless while a close up communicates the actors emotions to the audience. A panning shot is often times used to show that a character is being followed or is frantically looking for something. 

https://georgedavisonstudios.com/blog/the-keys-to-a-mystery-thriller-film/

https://ultimatepopculture.fandom.com/wiki/Mystery_film

https://www.complex.com/pop-culture/a/cillianjmoconnor/best-mystery-movies#:~:text=There%20are%20two%20main%20types,such%20that%20the%20thrust%20of

Science Fiction Research: 

The science fiction genre is described as one that deals with "futuristic concepts" shows issues or findings between technology and science. Sci-Fi movies typically include the use of CGI or special effects. One of the main concepts used in Sci-Fi films and media types are utopias and dystopias of the future. Movies in this genre typically include aliens, artificial intelligence, or time-travel. Films in this genre that use similar ideas include Elysium and Back to the Future.

The science fiction genre evolved in Greece and Rome when they would mention and fantasize about Atlantis and Lemuria. 

Sci-Fi movies typically dress their actors in clothes that represent their social class or time period. For example, in Elysium people were dressed either very nicely or wit completely ripped up clothes. The AI people in the movie were covered from head to toe in metal armor that used technology to show the film takes place in the future. 

Elysium Suit: 

Sci-Fi movies also use many stings in place for the technology they have created. Sounds for movies like these are left up to the imagination as the items don't truly exist. An example for sound in a sci-fi movie is in WALL-E. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHH3iSeDBLo

https://nofilmschool.com/science-fiction-genre

Film Opening Research - Mystery/Sci-Fi

 Hey blogggg!!! I'm back and ready to view some openings in the same genre's I would classify my opening to be in. My teacher was very helpful in recommending movie openings similar to our opening and gave me the following titles to view. 

1. Bladerunner

2. Minority Report 

Now, none of these are films that I have watched before so I may not be able to identify key ideas or topics introduced but I will do the best of my ability to analyze and learn from each viewing. 

1. Bladerunner: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1jXmJmmj3o

(00:02)

I enjoy that this is the first thing shown in the opening. It serves as a quick and easy way to establish the setting and let the viewers know key information without having to work hard to get it across. 

(00:02-00:10)

The music and sound effects used right as the film begins help establish the tone as well as the stings used. 

(00:10)

This shot is a good example of an establishing shot for a mystery film because of the lighting and explosions. The explosions communicate to thee viewer that there is an issue. Although the lighting and colors used up to this point of the film are the main indicators of mystery I'm not sure my group can use the same tactic as our storyline and main issue isn't necessarily "dark". 

Their first "real" shot, the buildings and explosions, are shown for an excessive amount of time, around 40 seconds. Doing something similar for my film intro wouldn't necessarily be ideal as we have only 2 minutes to communicate what our film is about. 

(00:50) 

This was the first shot of the film that communicated the person vs. society idea. I noticed this as the person is looking out on the city witnessing the fire's and explosions. The green eyes contrast with thee orange fire and help show a sense of fear.

Music is used from the beginning of the opening up until a minute and a half in when we are introduced to a character and in a different setting than where the beginning takes place. Using a hectic song or a theme song at the beginning of my intro will help communicate the mood to viewers and help to emotionally connect the audience. 

(02:28)

Two and a half minutes into the film there still haven't been any bright colors or lighting aside from the fire at the beginning that was masked in the darkness surrounding it. This man, I assume is an important character as he is the first face shown in the opening. He is also in dark lighting with sunlight hitting only the right third of his body, not enough to hit his face which lets him look more serious. Additionally, he is dressed in darker/neutral colors to make his character seem more mature. 

(03:30) 

An echo sound effect was placed on Mr. Holden leading me to believe I am now in the mind of the man being interrogated. I like the idea of using an echo to show stress and loud thinking. I would like to use a similar concept for my film opening. Aside from the echo there is also a loud heartbeat. The combination of the echo and the heartbeat manage to fill in the silence between the conversation being held and show that his mind is racing. 

After finishing the opening of the film I noticed they don't display the title of the movie or at least not within the first 4 minutes. Also, they don't show a title sequence to introduce their actors or production team. 

2. Minority Report 

This movie wastes no time when introducing the story to it's audience. There is dialogue almost immediately upon clicking start that introduces the main issue, a murder. 

(00:15) 

This black and white imagery in the middle of the screen seems to be memories. The memories are shown along with noise and include vivid detail. I think this was an excellent way to start the film as it shows background information on the murder. 

(00:37) 

This close up shot helps establish that the murder is personal to him and is a matter of vulnerability. I will use close ups in my intro as a way for my audience to create a relationship with the main character Tina. Once we establish a relationship from character to audience they will be more likely to understand the characters feelings and thoughts throughout the film. 

The advanced technology in this film is what sets it apart from others. This can be clearly seen when we are shown the memories and are able to zoom in and out of them as well as scroll past. The movie does a great job of making it known that it takes place in the future without having to say it. Another small detail that shows this is when the newspaper falls from the sky into the garden. So, by this time airplane's would be distributing newspapers to communities. 

Similar to Bladerunner the men in the office are dressed in all dark colors, mostly black and the main colors shown are black and white. This movie also uses color to show a sense of mystery.

(02:30-02:34) When the scenes flash from the workplace to the house it seems this is a flashback to show us the murder. 

Similar to Bladerunner this opening also doesn't include a shot with the title or a title sequence showing actors names within the first 5 minutes. This is something I must consider when filming my intro as I want to include these components. 

Our Final Idea - Week 2

Hey, blog!!! I'm back and excited to announce that my team and I have finally come up with our final idea. We developed this idea in class, and all contributed to different aspects of the storyline. Our film intro will be about a woman who is obsessed with math and considered a genius. She will eventually end up leaking information that has the potential to change the world.

Our story is based around a mathematician. Her office/lab will be covered in math equations and documents to help show that her life revolves around math. She will have a very put-together look and will wear professional clothing such as a yellow polo shirt. Her makeup will look very clean and mostly everything about herself will be neat and perfect except for all the math around her making the film seem more hectic. Additionally, she will have a cat, this is her prized possession as she is not married and has no children. This woman, Tina, is able to complete any math equations and uses her ability to predict future events. Her calculations are typically always right, so, once her work gets accidentally published all hell breaks loose. In my upcoming blogs I will include a planned an detailed storyboard.

Below are different Pinterest boards I made to help plan out and create a "vision board" surrounding the aesthetic of our main character as well as her outfits.

Related Film: I believe part of our idea was sparked from the movie hidden figures which first showed representation of women in the mathematical field. The main character from the movie, Catherine Johnson introduced not only a female to the mathematical field but also made her a woman of color to strengthen the representation. This was the only film I could think of that is similar to our storyline as movies with women representation in math and science career's is almost rare. Despite the fact that our films may be similar theirs ends with the women earning awards and being recognized for their work while our intro will take a more negative approach on the work being available to the public.

Similar Characters: Our main character, Tina, will show some resemblance to "Pretty Little Liars", Spencer Hastings and "Gilmore Girls", Rory Gilmore. Both of these women are extremely smart and dedicated. Tina will have Spencers seriousness whenever it comes to work related issues but Rory's soft side when It comes to her mom except Tina only has a cat. Additionally, those characters dress similarly to how my group would like Tina to. Also, Spencer and Rory have an incredible range of vocabulary which helps to establish how smart they are, we would like to use a greater range of vocabulary and more complex words in Tinas language.

https://www.brookings.edu/articles/hidden-figures-highlights-the-ongoing-legacy-of-women-and-minorities-in-stem/#:~:text=With%20more%20women%20and%20minorities,capabilities%20of%20women%20and%20minorities.

  

My Research on Pseudoscience

Hey blog I'm back! My team is really interested in incorporating pseudoscience into our film so I took it into my own hands to research and learn more about what it really is. Pseudoscience is a set of theories and practices that are mistakenly said to be "scientific". This term became more broadly used in the mid 19th century. Pseudoscience is merely based off of speculation and mythology as these practices can't be proven to work. In this blog I will be examining two topics that are considered pseudoscience, the 2012 Phenomenon, and the Lunar Effect. 

2012 Phenomenon: 

The 2012 phenomenon is often associated with apocalyptic theories. This phenomenon led people to believe something significant would occur on December 21, 2012. Most people believed this date would mark the end of the world or some big transformation. The phenomenon can be traced back to the "Mayan Long Count Calendar". This calendar is measured in "baktuns" which is an over 396 year cycle. The end of the 13th baktun would be on December 21, 2012. Now, the number 13 has never really been associated with anything good hence Friday, the 13th. In fact, around 10% of the US population has a fear of the number 13, or triskaidekaphobia. Multiple apocalyptic narratives got mixed into the 2012 phenomenon which would continuously fuel concerns around the world. While the date rolled around and many didn't get the "thrill" they expected beliefs related to this date still continue to shape our society.

Mayan Calendar:

Sources:

https://www.history.com/topics/religion/december-21-2012

https://www.history.com/news/whats-so-unlucky-about-the-number-13

https://www.universalworkshop.com/maya-calendar-end-time/

The Lunar Effect:

The Lunar Effect suggests there is a correlation between stages of the lunar year and cognitive and behavioral changes in humans such as mood and even crime rates. This theory had first been studied in the 1970s by Arnold Lieber who theorized the moon has a significant influence of the body's "biological tides", but this didn't gain a lot of attention until the 1980s. One of the first comments about the topic was in Shakespeares "Othello" where Emilia explains the moon is too close to the earth and is making men go insane. In fact, the word "lunatic" comes from the idea that the lunar cycle affects our mental state. This theory to this day cannot be proven completely true but there is definitely a correlation between human emotions and the moon phase. 

How lunar cycles affect sleep patterns:

Sources: 

https://www.sci.news/othersciences/anthropology/science-full-moon-disturb-human-sleep-01264.html

https://www.healthline.com/health/full-moon-effects#full-moon-and-sleep

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16407788/#:~:text=Animal%20studies%20revealed%20that%20the,disappear%20during%20full%2Dmoon%20days.

https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/can-moon-affect-our-health-behaviour

https://health.clevelandclinic.org/moon-effects-on-humans

Film Opening Ideas #1&2

Hey blog!!! I have some exiting news! We’ve finally started coming up with some ideas for our opening. Our research led us to a couple of main topics we are considering basing our storyline on. I would like to do a film surrounding mental health and my team member Zain is investigating pseudoscience . 

On Friday we pitched our first idea for the film to our teacher but it was still missing something and we all agreed we could do better. 

1st idea: Film opening about a scitozophrenic (male or female) who believes they are living with their significant other and do everyday things “together” as if they were. For example one scene would be making a reservation for two people and saying at work they need to go home to be with their couple. We would never show the significant other in the film to help establish that they aren’t real. Our closing scene would be the actor “having a conversation” with their s/o over dinner and then getting up and throwing away the full plate that was never touched. 

Today, Zain brought forth a new idea which we are still discussing. 

2nd idea: 

In order to make this idea come to life we would need to choose an old fashioned looking area and find props to match it. Some ideas for props would be reading glasses and the old book. 

In terms of mise-en-scene we would also need to find more modest clothing with neutral colors to resemble the grandma if we decide to include her character as a part of the opening as well as a more modern style for the granddaughter. We could also use low-key lighting to help establish a sense of mystery. For scenery a garage would be ideal as lighting is typically darker than the rest of the house. Using a garage would also make sense the best in our story as the "attic" mentioned in Zains idea doesn't exist in most houses in Florida. People typically tend to stuff their garage with old things so it would make sense to find an old book there. 

This idea is a part of pseudoscience which came from the "Strauss Howe generational theory" which shows a "recurrent cycle" of crises and conflicts due to the global events that impact each generation leading to a mirroring effect between different generations of humans. This theory is written and discussed in Strauss' book, "Generations: The History of America's Future, 1594 to 2069". 

Our First Group Discussion!!

Hey, blog!!! Today in class my group and I discussed our project in person for the first time. It’s all starting to feel real now that we are getting ideas together. We first established our group and made sure we were all able to fill in the roles needed for this projwect such as director, cinematographer, and editor. As of now, I think I will be an actress and director for the opening, but nothing is final yet.  

After discussing roles, we all shared our ideas on what genre we would like the opening to be. As a bigger group, I’m sure we won't see eye to eye on many things and this was the first. Each group member will research trends and find information on the genre they like best. We will use a combination of all the information gathered to decide what genre to do. I will be researching the mystery genre with Zain.

I'll be back soon with more updates but that's all for now. Stay tuned!!

Transitioning into film opening project!!

 Transition Blog

                     Vanessa Goetz 

 After conducting thorough research and several projects surrounding different art and media forms including a music video and a full marketing campaign, I have decided to take on a new project which is creating a film opening. In the following weeks, I will document the process of creating this film introduction by blogging up until the completion of this project.

     In my project, my team and I would like to establish our tone and create a sense of mystery through different forms of mise-en-scene. We will use different techniques in research, filming, and editing processes to communicate the mood and tone of our opening to our viewers. For example, we can use a variety of colors and patterns for the clothing and makeup of our main character and try to also incorporate and reinforce this in our background.  

Additionally, we will work to develop our character/s to represent a certain type of group and issue in todays world. Ensuring our character is able to connect with the audience is a major part of this opening because one of my goals is for the target audience to be able to relate to and/or completely understand the message our opening is trying to get across.

I am so exited I have the opportunity to work on such a big project with an amazing team and can't wait to see what ideas unfold the next couple of weeks. Thank you for reading this and make sure to stay tuned!!!

 

 

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

   

Vanessa Goetz

Throughout our project in which we essentially created a “brand “ for our new artists we did extensive research on similar artists, trends, marketing, and distribution factors. Additionally, we had lots of freedom and room for creativity. As for marketing we developed numerous social media accounts for our band : instagram, SoundCloud, and X. Recently, social media marketing has taken over the world slowly but surely. Social media marketing is included now on “get ready with me” videos in TikTok and is really found just about anywhere you look in the form of advertisements (ads). 

Our band had a wide social media presence and was very active on each platform. Not only that but also they used each platform in a different manner to ensure that in order to fully keep up their fans would need to follow them on all three platforms.

On “X” REDREAPER would upload breakup / sad quotes in order to try to relate to his audience and try to establish a close relationship by being open about their personal life. Within our music video we tried to recreate this theme of being heartbroken as it is based on a couple that is broken up but can’t seem to forget about each other. 

The filming process is what was our biggest challenge throughout the project. We couldn’t find a day we were all free and needed to work with what we had so Nadia and Zain filmed with one of their friends to fill in my absence. Although I couldn’t be a part of the filming process I created the storyboard that would guide Nadia and Zain when filming. 

Nadia and I were in charge of creating both case studies which we found relatively easy as we decided to do them on artists we like or are interested in. Zain helped us in finding marketing processes for these artists before they were famous. Overall we worked well as a team when planning our research and video for this project. Because I couldn’t help in filming my main task was working and planning the presentation. I planned what slides would go in our presentation, what our color scheme would be and ultimately made our brand image. 

Throughout this process I had the opportunity to learn how much work goes behind every artist and can now acknowledge that everything we are shown on an artists or influencers social media, music video, even concert all has a purpose. There is an extensive plan behind each detail of the plan and is show to viewers so that they acknowledge it. Honestly, going into this project I didn't expect for the work to be hard and I was right just that the work was very thorough and time consuming but also entertaining. Having so much freedom made me question many decisions and winder if I was doing things properly. This is the first major project I get in which I don't have a guideline or example to follow and I think my group and I have done a good job considering that. For my AICE project I have learned that the smallest details make the biggest difference in projects for example colors. Not to mention, I've learned that I need to use my time wisely and not leave things until the last minute like I did when submitting this project which took us two hours to figure out how go submit and still couldn't do it properly. I think many of the topics discussed in my project I could also use in my Cambridge project for example discussing the start middle and how it is going allowed viewers to see the history and progression. Overall, this project has taught me a lot about not only music processes but also artists, it is a project I really enjoyed and will definitely be referring back to when working on my Cambridge portfolio.