"Thinking"

Who knew that coming up with a film opening was hard to decide on. Although everyone in my group has a great imagination, bringing all our ideas together creates a giant mixture of undecided ideas. We all came preprepared with ideas of what we could film, set on our own openings and expecting an okay from the rest of the team. Unfortuanlty, in those situations we hear the harsh critiques of the rest of the group members and learn that not all our ideas are the best one. Which in my case, thinking my idea was stellar, ouch.


Then this happened:

One enlighting moment was when we all brought in the theme of drama and terror into the picture. Having a film opening that keeps the audience's eyes plastered onto the screen is our main goal. Our intentions are to create an addiction to the narrative, have audiences hooked on every word that comes out of the characters mouth.

The only problem we felt is that this type of piece was going to be popular in the AICE Media world. Without a doubt, we reassured ourselves that our opening was going to be the best one placed in the eyes of the viewers.  How are we going to do this you ask? Well, instead of trying to brainstorm separately we were are going to come together and bounce ideas of off each other until one stuck to the screen, literally. With our imaginations and creativity together, there's no doubt that the best film opening is about to be placed in your eyes.


We thought of other film openings that attracted the audience to see the rest of the film and made the viewers interested in what they watch. Our first thought was of "A Quiet Place." This technique for a film opening makes the audience glued to the screen waiting to see what's about to happen next. Another great film opening is Psycho (1960), it has a lot of symbolism and foreshadowing events that will happen throughout the film. 

Technological Portion

This is what we are trying to have our set look like, a creepy and mysterious feeling that will entice the audience to stay interested in the film opening.

When it comes to the setting of the scene, we want to make sure that it is as dark and gloomy as possible. A set that brings some to wonder and others to question about the deep plot they are to uncover. The reason for this is to bring out the deep emotions of the audience, have them terrified, concerned, and nervous all in one.

The dark lighting is what will create that sense of mystery and the high-key lighting on some specific images is what will bring the audience's attention to one specific item.

Our idea for the project consists of uncovering the harsh reality that others don't want to talk about, developing a plot that is not usually seen in the media world. Considering we want to bring in a rare plot we must make sure we bring all the key and important elements to light, disregarding the small facts that aren't as important.

Developing the character is just as important, that's why costume design is extremely crucial when wanting to create a specific image on a character.
For the plot, we are currently thinking of, having an abused girl, watch herself grow through adulthood. For this reason, we would like her clothes to stay the same throughout her aging, in order to not confuse the audience and have them understand that they are the same person.

To get the image of abused women, we want to have a big white t-shirt, representing her innocence. As the years go by have the t-shirt get darker, with blood and dirt. By doing this it will create a symbolism throughout the film opening, introducing the rest of the plot and making it clear to the audience what the film is going to be about.
The older the girl gets, the more traumatic physical abuse situations she has been in, shown by the costume design along with the different makeup being placed in each different age stages.

Starting the process!

To begin, we must decide on a genre to film, it's definitely not that easy when there's so many to choose from. We decided to go with the mysterious, seat clenching, genre, a choice that would keep all the viewer's eyes stuck to the screen. Drama is a no brainer when it comes to finding the most suspenseful piece.

The drama genre is about a realistic and relatable as possible, and with these two elements in mind, we want to make sure we can place these in our film opening as much as possible.

When it comes to characters, there must be some type of emotional connection between them and the viewers. Especially during the beginning shots, that way the viewer feels automatically connected and is watching the character precisely between all the shots.

A relatable character is also extremely important, that is what brings the emotional connection to life. If the audience member can imagine that they are the movie and find themselves in the position of the actor, they will most likely be attracted t their well-being and decision making.

For example, in the movie Kidnap, mothers could feel extremely relatable to the main character as they see her fight for her son's life and go through the harsh process of saving him. The emotional connection is what allowed there to be a dramatic and suspenseful feeling in the movie. It also gave the mother in the film a bigger role as the hero, impacting the visual and how others perceived her.

Without a doubt, the plot has to grab the audience's attention and have them clinging on to each word. The most important aspect is to bring the story to life, have the plot be relatable and give the audience and sense of emotion when watching the film. For our film opening, we want to bring a harsh topic to life, one that opens the eyes of the viewers and have them wanting more information about it. By placing real-life situations that are covered by the media, we can create a different plot that not many are used to seeing. 

Music Marketing Campaign

Music Marketing Campaign

a) For the music marketing campaign, we created our own artist named, Loveman Hudson. He is a soul artist that appeals to the late teens, early twenties, middle-class group. Our group wanted to expose him to as many people as we could through the use of social media and online platforms. We conducted research exploring similar artist in the same genre and how they succeeded in the music industry. We then created our own marketing campaign, developing logos, merchandise, social media platforms, music video, and a strategic idea to make sure he was exposed to any many people as possible.

b) Our research consisted of artist signed with Colombia Records. One artist we researched is well known by many, his name is John Legend. We saw through his history in the music industry, that his main exposure starting up as an artist was to play in small locations and give out his CD's. We believed we could also do the same with our artist until he was found by a record label, John Legends marketing strategies were also extremely smart as they all showed a different part of who he is and created an image that appealed to the mass audience. When his music was placed on the digital format it also started to receive a lot more interest, giving us the idea that placing all of Loveman Hudsons music on a digital streaming site would be the best option. We also researched a lesser known artist known as Leon Bridges. His main selling point was creating a large social media presence, which is what we wanted to incorporate into our artist. He also used the image of his brand to create a following, such as John Legend. 

LINK TO RESEARCH: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1c94RbWPxNtGqOkqE2gQNorZHNDtBN4WbfkF_KYePFrk/edit?usp=sharing  

c) On this project, we tried to give our artist, Loveman Hudson, a great amount of online presence. This could be either from exposure on social media platforms or streaming platforms. With our artist, we decided that Instagram be a key part in developing the image for him and the brand itself. This was developed by the theme of black and white we placed on the artist feed. On the photo itself, the captions were lyrics to his upcoming music, giving a sneak peek to his fans and get them excited for what is to come. Instagram stories were also an extremely important part of developing him as a whole as they talked about upcoming music, merchandise releases, and Instagrams polls which would create interaction in between the artist and his fans. This personal experience would attract them more and create a different connection. Youtube was also an influential marketing tool which would help the artist be more known through the ads being played on videos similar to what the artist represents. We also created a website where fans can learn about upcoming dates of shows and buy merchandise, as well as talk to the artist himself and let him know about what they think. The merchandise is a great way to have fans promote the artist and support him at the same time. 

This is the presentation with all the photos and marketing strategies we had for our artist:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1biQ9HXibYE1h-7FymNw_oENd9vH1ldFVYIhwLfTBEBA/edit?usp=sharing

Loveman Hudson Website: https://victoriacmilano9.wixsite.com/lovemanhudson

d) This music marketing project will help me create the right product for my specific audince and learn how to market my opening in an efficient way.  Through this project I also learned about teamwork and the way to properly work with others and share ideas throughtfuly. Listening to others as well as gaining feedback from others are the key lessons I learned while creating this project. 

Representation Within The Media

Sadly, our world has reached the point where the abuse towards women is not given the amount of attention that it should. When saying this, it makes me extremely angry and heartbroken that women around the world have to deal with both mental and physical abuse and are yet to be recognized. On this project, I would like to bring the emotion and physical pain women feel when being abused. Showing this on screen will bring awareness about the topic and hopefully rightfully represent how these helpless women feel when going through these harsh and abusive moments. Without these women being rightfully represented they are getting no help nor awareness about what they are going through. As the media is an important source in how the public sees a group of people, having a well-represented story about them will hopefully bring a more renounced feeling to these actions against women who have been abused both mentally and physically.

Often in the media, the women being abused are not represented in the correct way. As most often, they can be shown to the public as “asking for it.” An example of this can be seen on https://www.huffingtonpost.com/keli-goff/of-course-she-was-asking-_b_835782.html where it states that an 11-year-old girl was raped because “she dressed provocatively and that these young men could have their lives ruined by the fallout.” It is absolutely disgusting to see girls who haven’t even reached puberty be represented like this. Those who do the harm, make the girls seem at fault for their actions. It is completely disgusting and gets me extremely mad to have to see this happen. There are a lot more stories like that portrayed in the media, making the general public believe that they shouldn't be raising awareness about women who are incapable of feeling pain because they are “asking for it.” Another example of this can be seen in the rape culture sometimes developed throughout different places, which normalizes sexual violence, decreasing the chances that awareness be raised about it. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4964380/Donna-Karan-defends-Harvey-Weinstein-blames-victims.html shows how sometimes even big influencers on the media affect what the general public believes. It states that “Fashion designer Donna Karan is standing by Harvey Weinstein and has suggested his alleged victims may have been 'asking for it' by the way the women act and dress.” Just by this being posted on the media can change the way people look at rape and abuse victims, considering that one of their idols said it was okay. It completely saddens me that these hurt women are being represented in the media as wanting to be in pain and anguish for the pleasing of another person.

On this note, I would genuinely want to change how women who are mentally and physically abused are represented in the media through this project. On many of the accounts that I have seen, the victim's point of view and pain is represented clearly. I would like to keep that part incorporated into storytelling as it brings out the true emotions of the piece and how that person is feeling. I would completely disregard however how the media would sometimes take away the fact that the women is the victim and how they were “asking for it,” because in reality, that is mostly not the case. I find it completely horrid that the women who have been abused are represented for wanting to be in the pain. It is necessary to bring out the true emotions and feelings behind the story, to accurately show represent what happened and raise awareness about the true dangers and pain these helpless women feel. 

An Adventure Film!

1. Genre: Adventure
2. In adventure films, there seems to be a quest for an unachievable object in which the characters strive to find throughout the film, whether it is tangible or not. While the characters strive to find what they are looking for, there seems to be an opposing force pushing them back and restricting this goal from happening.
3. When presenting this genre, film companies incorporate an action-filled, energetic experience. The purpose of an action film is to bring a sensational experience towards the viewer. That is why having an opposing force and a somewhat unachievable goal brings an intense and nerve-racking feeling. The film must be made in a way that the audience does not know what’s next. Usually, adventure films are placed in a fictional world with mystical characters. Creating a world out of the ordinary and still having some realistic elements is what keeps audiences engaged and interested in action films.
4. The movie The Hunger Games can clearly represent an adventure genre as it brings about the fictional yet realistic contrast in what the audience will find interesting and engaging. It also has an opposing force going against the main characters, while they strive to achieve the impossible in their world. The thrilling music and shocking plot are what brings the audience to become more engaged in the story. With the number of stylistic elements and details in every scene, it’s almost impossible to become attached to the thrilling movie. Hunger Games makes everyone in the theater cling to their seats and hope for the success of the main character. When I produce my film I would hope to have the viewer in the nail-biting, hair-pulling stage, where they can’t wait to see what happens next. The Hunger Games is a great representation of this and how to get an audience clinging to their seats.
5. The Jurrasic Park film is another great example of a movie that brings the audience to their feet. With the number of special effects and sound production that comes out of that film. They are bound to have an engaged audience carefully looking at each detail in the film in order to find a way to “help” the characters get out of their current situation. With the production of the film being mixed with fictional yet realistic elements, it makes the audience feel that they could be part of that situation as well. Overall, the film makes the audience grow with tension as they watch it and become stressed as they see the character go through those action-packed moments.
6. Other film examples of the action genre are

• Black Panther

https://movies.disney.com/black-panther

• The Dark Knight

https://www.polygon.com/2018/7/16/17574690/the-dark-knight-10-years

• The Matrix

https://www.warnerbros.com/matrix

• The Avengers

http://marvelcinematicuniverse.wikia.com/wiki/The_Avengers

• Mad Max

https://www.warnerbros.com/mad-max-fury-road

• Logan

https://xmenmovies.fandom.com/wiki/Logan_(film)

Choosing a genre

1. Genre: Drama
2. The content in drama films exhibits real-life situations with realistic characters, settings, and storylines. Drama films also show characters in a conflict with either themselves or an opposing force.
3. The production of the drama would need to have an in-depth character development, allowing the audience to feel a connection between themselves and the character. The tone in the film should be suspenseful, creating a deeper feeling within the piece and those watching it. The audience should be able to feel the characters emotions and become indulged in the plot. Dramas can be intertwined with different genres, however, a true drama film is centered around the suspenseful plot and the conflict which makes up the piece.
4. The genre drama is marketed in a way that the audience can relate too. When seeing an advertisement for a film in which the main character is going through similar conflicts, the viewer will be intrigued by the way they are going through it and how they are resolving it. The main purpose of a drama is to have the audience engaged and purposely watching the piece. If the piece cannot be related to or is somewhat unrealistic to the daily world then it is most likely that the viewer will not appreciate the film as much.
5. The abusive relationship- This particular plot will be surrounded by a young girl who is abused by her father. Since this topic can be sometimes shied away from the public, it can be hard to express. Drama is surrounded by this plot as it is a young girl finding a way to detach herself from this abusive relationship. The hardest part is leaving her only parental figure behind and having to find a new home. This young girl after being so mentally and physically abused will not only have internal conflicts she will also have external as having to learn how to cope with a different lifestyle. This plot has realistic characters and realistic situations that have both external and internal conflicts. All these elements come together to create what is known as a drama. The overall situation of the young girl can be seen through multiple lights and audiences connection with her would be profoundly deep.
6. Come home- This specific opening will be surrounded by a mother who is currently deployed at war. A war scene will be taking place and the mother will be holding her necklace which has a picture of her two children. This automatically creates a deeper connection between the audience and the characters in the family.  The suspenseful notion of whether she will come home after the war to reunite with her children is what will keep the plot going and the audience engaged. The drama will be surrounded by the hardships of the war and the children suffering without their parental figure. Since there are multiple veteran families that have related to this and it a soft topic for others to talk about, this film opening will create a heartwarming and dramatic spot for the audience.
7.  Film examples:

- Saving Private Ryan

/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/saving-private-ryan-classic-feature/

- Black Swan 

https://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/movies/03black.html

-Million Dollar Baby

https://www.warnerbros.com/million-dollar-baby

-Spotlight

https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/movies/spotlight-movie

-Interstellar

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/10/love-physics