First Group Meeting

     Hey blog! After some personally rough days, its time to get back on track! In our last class, we got the opportunity to sit down and talk amongst five of our classmates, sharing ideas and advice. More specifically, we took turns explaining to the group what we have done so far, such as planning, story writing and some even storyboarding. We collectively followed that up by pitching in adjustments and identifying aspects of their project that we thought were great, or on the contrary, something that didn't seem right. 

    After listening and discussing with two of my classmates in the group, it was my turn to talk about what I've done so far, my intentions and what I need help on. Though it may not seem like I have been doing much through the blog, I've put ideas together and have a clear vision of where I want to go with this project. 

    After talking to my group about my idea of my opening, which they generally had positive feedback on, I shared with them some things that I know I am struggling with and in need of some direction.

-Consistently posting to the blog 

-Bike ride scene at end of opening 

-Specific Mise en scene elements in my film

-Fonts and Color (Credits/Title)

    With that being said, within the feedback I received, the most prominent was about the blog posts. Everyone in the group shared with me their methods of blogging and here is what I picked up on.

-Giving myself time to conduct thorough research that I can implement into posts.

-Lengthening posts so that I have more analyzation.

-Posting images of what I have physically done, along with examples of other films and pieces of media.

    Aside from the blogging, the members of my group enjoyed my plan for my film, and they were able to see the vision that I have. They recommended that I watch several openings to thriller movies, but focus on the fonts and colors of the credits and see if I can notice factors that they have in common. In addition to this, they advised me to make the formal version of the script that I hand wrote prior to the meeting, following the format that our teachers shared with us. Within my story, they gave the idea of adding makeup beneath the victim's eye to make him seem restless, which will blend in nicely with some tight closeups. Finally, I need to finish up story boarding and begin truly putting my scheme into place. 

    After my turn, I listened and gave my input on the projects of my members of my group. Their creativeness and determination to not settle for mediocrity was inspiring to me and was exactly what I needed.

    My next step will definitely be to push out as many blog posts as I can to cap off this week and get me back on track. Expect several blog posts coming about what I have been working on and research that I wish to similarly carry onto my project. 

Choosing a Genre

    Hey blog, after conducting some research on different genres in film, I've made up my mind that I want to do thriller!

    First and foremost, thrillers have the ability to captivate audiences from the opening. Iconic openings like the heist sequence in "Ocean's Eleven" or the prologue of "The Silence of the Lambs." These films grab viewers attention and refuse to let go, setting them up for an unforgettable viewing experience. By choosing a thriller, I aim to hook my audience from the very first frame.

    Another reason I'm drawn to the thriller genre is its versatility. Whether it's a psychological thriller like "Gone Girl," a conspiracy-driven narrative like "The Bourne Identity," or an action thriller like "Mad Max: Fury Road," there's something for everyone within the wide variety that is thriller. This flexibility allows me to explore a wide range of themes, tones, and storytelling techniques, ensuring that my two-minute opening leaves a lasting impression on viewers.

    The thriller genre offers a large margin of storytelling possibilities, from its ability to captivate audiences to its boundless creativity and suspense. By choosing to embrace the thrill, I'm confident that my film opening will leave a lasting impact and set the stage for an unforgettable cinematic journey.

Schedule

     Hey blog.. After scheduling with actors and putting some thought into planning out when I want to do what, I made a schedule! This will serve for some guidance and organization.

2/15-2/18: Research genre of thriller. Schedule with actors.  

2/19-2/23: Write and finalize script.

2/24-3/3: Create story board. Continue research on components of project. Develop mise-en-scene elements.

3/4-3/17: Film the opening

3/18-3/24: Finalize the editing of my opening

3/25-4/2: CCR

Transitioning to Final

    After several months of working on various projects, it's finally time to move onto our portfolio projects. From the beginning of this class, the numerous projects we have worked on have purposely prepared us and given us the proper tools we need to be successful for our final. Between planning/storyboarding, filming, audio and editing, and even managing our time properly, we have been taught skills that will now be put to use. Earning a great score on this project is going to take effort and most importantly for me, responsibility.

    As far as my approach to the film opening, the tactic of establishing conflict amongst characters sticks out to me. I want to make an attempt to build context through multiple characters and glimpses of a story that the viewer does not fully understand because there are missing pieces. This way, I can keep viewers engaged and eager to watch the entirety of the film.

    Another approach I could take for my film opening could be the tactic of establishing background. Although I'm not entirely sure about my topic or genre, I have pictured the idea of gathering a collection of shots in a certain area, likely the beach. These shots would highlight key elements of the area, familiarizing the audience with the surroundings. A song in the back to match the vibe of the area would be a necessity!

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

    As a whole, this project was a task different than those I have faced before in school. The depth of the instructions, the variety of objectives to complete and the collective effort that had to be made as a group solidified this project as unparalleled  to anything in the past. 

    Beginning with the research of the project which is where we started off, we knew that we truly needed solid research due to our unfamiliarity with the genre of country. We wanted to make sure our case studies were thorough and had well balanced information that we could and would end up using in our presentation. We went with two major country labels to draw comparisons from, Big Machine and Mercury Records Nashville. Within the case study chart itself, we harped on marketing strategies that were relevant to some of the biggest country stars to elevate their success and profitability, such as frequent live performances, posts on social media, selling merchandise and features with other artists on big hits. The examples of country stars Chris Stapleton, Dolly Parton and Florida Georgia Line were all incredibly helpful when tackling our powerpoint presentation.

    Moving on, the planning for our music video went very smoothly and we were able to string together ideas with the storyboarding that we felt properly represented our song/singer. I find story boarding to be a major help when coming up with a vision for a piece that needs to be filmed. While shooting our film, which we were able to complete within the span of 2 days, we purposely took a plethora of shots so that when editing and making our final draft of the video, we would feel comfortable with the shots we took and not settle for anything less than that. We all agreed that having different locations in our video would help break up the scenes and not make it seem so repetitive. We believe that our idea of having one of us as the singer while two of us are acting out the story would be unique and a different approach than others. Additionally, we were adamant about the mise en scene of our video, due to our intentions of displaying common aspects of country, such as the outfits of the three characters, jeans, flannel, tank top, cowboy hat, guitar, and even one of the settings being in a neighborhood outside of Weston that we felt was more "country". The editing of our video was done smoothly with little conflict.

    Following the video, our powerpoint presentation. We followed the instructions on the canvas page and structured our presentation around the guidelines, while breaking up the topic of marketing trends into two slides. As a group, we split the duties of different slides and then made sure we reviewed each others work and pointed out certain flaws we found. We understood the importance of digitally marketing our artist, so we spent much time on the website, instagram and merchandise. Additionally, we mentioned how partnerships with companies are a strong method of marketing, therefore we came up with the idea of our artist partnering with a Whiskey company, which is a typical drink associated with the culture of country, as well as her own lip stick brand, which we highlighted in our music video, a signature look for our artist similar to that of Dolly Parton as we mention in the presentation. Overall, the presentation took a great deal of detail and research, however it was manageable and we are happy with our final product. The voicing over of the presentation was something I had never done before, and as someone who does not necessarily mind presenting in front of the class, I was a little bummed that we had to do this. However, we wrote on a separate document what was needed to talk about for our respective slides for a greater in depth breakdown of what was written on the slides.

    Reflecting back on the process of this project, believe that this is an experience that was needed for most of us, given the fact that we all lack familiarity with extensive and involved projects like this one. I am proud of how we managed our time, however I still think there is room for improvement. I think as a group we worked well and communicated well to collectively come up with ideas that we all approved of. For the Cambridge portfolio, I think that this project was a necessary stepping stone and is going to end up helping me in the long run, because of the exposure to a project that was a minimized, yet similar task that I had not seen before. I know how important it is going to be to stay on top of my portfolio and not lose sight of never settling for mediocrity.