Mind Map

                         Organizing The Ideas

    If I want to have a very organized production, which I do, something that was recommended to me is to use a mind map. With this mind map, me and my group are able to plot out everything we need to have to have a fuller production.We decided to use a program named Mural, which is a very good program which you can create a mind map.

    We divided our video into eight basic groups that have to come together to make our video be as good as possible. Our basic groups are

-Props

-shots/editing

-costume design

-title/credits

-location

-plot

-music

    We have made this map by creating each basic group and going into detail about what we will need for them. An example of this is our location. First we made a branch labeled location, added a list of requirement of what the location should look like, and then posted pictures of locations similar to what we would like to film in. 

    As we keep gathering research on the project, we will add to this graph and get into detail of what we will look for.

Title/Credits

Enter Title Here

    As my group explorers all of the components necessary for our movie opening, we started talking about the title and credits of the movie. We wanted to do something out of the ordinary, that being just a graphic on screen or cutting to black. As we explored our options we came up with what we thought were some creative ways to implement the title and credits into the movie opening.

    We decided to put our title and credits into the real world of the scene. We are going to do this by implementing the words we need into the Mise En Scene. So we started thinking, and in our past conversations about the Mise En Scene, we described the inside of our characters car as full of trash and very cluttered. At this point we decided that a creative way to implement the credits into the real world is by putting them on garbage around the car.

One way we discussed putting the credits into the film is by editing the nutrition info on the back of food wrappers. We could change the words on the wrapper by using digital editing software and instead put the credits that we need to use in that scene

    

Another way we talked about putting the credits into the trash in our characters car is by using the name on a Starbucks cup. This is a relativity easy way of getting the credits into the real world and could involve the credits without disconnecting the audience.

    With the title we decided to go in a slightly different direction. Instead of putting the title on the wrapper to some trash, we decided to make it into the license plate.  We wanted the title to be the last part of our opening and we think if the title was on the license plate it would make a great final shot

planning

                                 Game Plan

    Over the next few weeks it is important for my group to be planning out every step of our production. We will be creating storyboards and in general discussing the aspects of the project and how it will come together. Since we are still in the early stages of planning there is still a lot of work to be done, but the basics of our opening have been laid out.

    In these following weeks we are going to be laying out and fully developing the visuals, audio, and story of the opening. Because we want to make the production process as smooth as possible, we want to make sure that every aspect of production has already been decided long before the cameras come out.  This also involves location scouting something our group hasn't talked about too much. Since this location is an important aspect that is yet to be fully decided this is the next decision that we will be making.

    Starting near spring break, my team is going to begin the production of the movie. As of now there aren't any overly complex shots that we require for our video, that wouldn't fit with the tone or genre very well, because of this we have decided to use much of the time allotted to edit and make sure this process isn't rushed. We know that editing is a very important part of the production and want to make sure that we are giving it the focus that it requires.

   

outline

                 Laying Down The Foundation

    As the process for the opening continues, my group feels the need to at least begin thinking of what it will be like visually. Having already done research on the genre and the Mise En Scene that will be used, we began talking about how it will look.

   The story begins with our character driving angrily down a road, we will use close ups and a handheld camera to give off an aggressive tone. During this scene, there will be shots of the interior of the car. Like I said in my last post, this will be designed to show how our character is living in the car.

   The next scene would be of our character in a parking lot on his phone. We plan to have him calling multiple people asking to stay with them. This would begin as just a casual request from a friend but slowly devolve into our character begging anybody to stay with them.

    As we go deeper into the development process for the opening, the description to the outline will become more detailed in the form of visuals, audio, and general story. As of now, the goal is to continue developing the story and going deeper into the visuals of the project.

further research

                         Making The plan

    After deciding on the genre drama, now we have to start working on all the details that go with this film opening. Firstly the plot of the movie should be decided since everything is going to be based around it. After brainstorming and looking at the research we did for the genre, my partner and I decided that the openings plot should be based in a real world problem. After some more brainstorming we decided on having the story be making a statement about homelessness in America.

   Now that we had the rudimentary plan for this opening we decided to divide the project into different elements that had to work together. Today we talked about Mise En Scene. For our opening to be realistic, we would have to have multiple elements working together to create a believable atmosphere. Our character would be living in his car after losing his job so since our first scene will be taking place in the car we have to make it look like he is living there.



    One element we considered is having the back seat dedicated as a living space. Showing this would imply that the character is sleeping, and therefore living in his car.



   











Another idea

for implying homelessness is to have a sleeping bag in the back alongside all of his possessions. I'm personally more in favor of having the bed actually be in the car because with it, there is clear implication that the only place the person can sleep is in their car. But we need to create options and analyse them in order to have a more complete project.

Apart from the the sleeping in the car, the Mise En Scene should include items that make the car look lived in and full of everything he needs. The reason for doing this is to create a clear picture that all of the persons worldly possetions are in that car.


This image is somewhat what we are trying to achieve with the items in the car. The clutter of the space should show the mess that is this persons life, and the boxes full of items show us that the persons life is all centered around this car. Doing this should give the audience a clear picture into this persons life .

Examples of Drama openings

                            When is it good

   There are some great examples of drama film openings to base your opinion off of. By watching these I was able to get a better grasp of what exactly I need to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOZenZjStUU 
 One good example of a drama opening is the popular film Joker (2019). This film is widely credited for its cinematography among other things. The opening is no exemption to this, In the first few minutes you are shown great examples of lighting, framing, and editing. The first frames show the production company's logo but it is created in a way that also sets a time frame in which the film is set. By seeing this we are shown that it is an older time period. we are also introduced to nondiegetic sound that bridges into the next shot, turning into diegetic sound coming from the radio. The framing in the opening immediately draws your attention to our protagonist. He is placed in the left third of the screen as the camera is tracked in closer. A shot that is done well is the close up of the protagonist in the left third and a focus pull to reveal his reflection in the right third. The character is put in multiple points of focus to really drive home that this story will be about the person sitting in that chair. The opening also uses lighting very well, using low lighting to create a tone of tension and ambiguity while the character is experiencing inner turmoil.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTaG8RKboGc
   Another good example of a drama film opening is the movie Dunkirk and their use of lighting and sound. This opening scene is nearly devoid of all sound to create tension, and it works. We are shown a squadron of people walking down an empty street, the only sound is that of paper rustling. After about a minute of no sound, the first thing to create noise the sound of enemy fire. This lack of sound and then sudden excess of it is to immediately put the audience in the perspective of the characters. Another part of this opening is its use of lighting. It utilizes low lighting as another way to increase the tension in the film.

studies of Drama Genre

                                               There will be Drama

 For the final media studies portfolio project my group has decided to do a Drama introduction.

    Firstly, when researching the the drama genre I found that the content often deals with serious settings, stories, or situations. These films create a realistic character, often placed in the real world, battling a conflict. Though drama is a film genre, it has multiple sub-genres that a film could be categorized into. Most of the conflicts in a drama filmed are real world issues presented in a serious tone, this creates a sense of realism in the film to present the audience with the issue present in the film.

    In a drama film, the goal is to create a sense of realism. One way in which to do this is by difficultly using mise en scene. An aspect of mise en scene used is lighting. Depending on the circumstance of the plot, whenever there could be conflict a common technique used is low lighting which creates an unsettling tone. Another aspect of mise en scene well utilized is the use of props. Using props is a small detail that brings a sense of realism to the piece. One of the biggest parts of mise en scene used is the framing. The camera is often framed using the thirds to bring attention to an object, area, or person.

    Editing is where a drama becomes dramatic. The compilation and changing of everything filmed is where the aspects of a drama begin to shine through. An editing techniques used in dramatic films is the spacing of important phrases. A common technique is to isolate moments in the film that are important and create spacing between the words and phrases. This is called temporal decompression and doing this basically creates dramatic pauses that cause the tension to rise. Techniques like this elevate the piece to another level.

Music marketing project

 For the music marketing project, our genre was Alternative Rock. Within this genre, current marketing trends revolve around creating a connection with the audience. These marketing trends include, being active on social media, live shows, and talking with the listeners directly.

Our group chose to develop your marketing campaign in much the same way. We kept in mind the connection that there has to be between the artist and the fan in this genre. We also chose to create our artist to be relatable towards the target audience. Marketing products created include merchandise, live performances, and competitions to get online involvement up.

From the creation of the music video, a lesson that I took from this is that the more effort you put into the planning of a project the easier it will be in the long run. Along with that, I learned that for a marketing campaign to be successful, there must be a wide variety of strategies to market the artist or band, but this could apply to anything.