Audience and Institution practice essay

1. Assess the importance of marketing in the media area you have studied.

Marketing is one of the most important parts in producing a good film. Marketing is the action or business of promoting and selling products or services. The top films use some type of marketing strategy, and that explains why they are so popular and have so much success.

The movie Black Panther made around $361 million dollars in its first week alone. Marketing played a huge role throughout the course of creating this film. There are many different ways to get your film out there, the movie Black Panther is a great example they used many different marketing strategies which explains why they had so much success. Marvel Studios hosted a New York Fashion Week event, where pieces inspired by the movie were presented and showcased. This is an example of the movie’s marketers trying to appeal to a different form of art. Marvel also created a website in which they sold tickets as well as other merchandise. Cross promotion was huge with this film, the debut of the trailer was made during an NBA Finals game, which was a good marketing tactic because there were many viewers of all ages. I remember watching the NBA finals with my father on the couch and we saw the preview and agreed we would see it together, and we did.  Also, rapper Kendrick Lamar who is extremely popular and was a main feature in the soundtrack of this movie performed at the College Football Playoff National Championship. He finished his set with the song “All the Stars” ft. SZA from the movie’s soundtrack. These are just a few of the tactics used to promote this film. Like the NBA finals example, I was also on the couch with my father watching the National Championship. They mentioned how these songs would be heard on the soundtrack. The marketing with this movie was incredible and played a huge role in why it was so successful, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing something about Black Panther. The movie would not be as popular without the marketing.

Another example of an extremely popular movie using different marketing strategies is Spider-man Homecoming. Spider-man Homecoming’s market team used toys and other products as a way to get kids to want to watch the movie. They also used the new Spider-man game for the PS4 to create hype for the movie. By doing this they reached to many different age groups and is a big reason why they were so successful. Like Spider-man Homecoming, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 another Marvel studios movie used a different tactic in promoting their film. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 took a different approach in marketing, the marketers used food products as a way to raise awareness for the film. Characters from the film could be seen on bags of Doritos and M&Ms. Dairy queen made a new blizzard flavor and characters were on the cup being sold. This is another way marketing can be used and another example of a movie that saw a ton of success due to all the promotions. Like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2, Jurassic World used marketing to its advantage and got help from Dairy Queen. Unlike my past three examples, Jurassic World is not a marvel film. Yet this does not mean they don’t use marketing to their advantage. The merchandise sold varied many Lego sets were created as well as video games and an app. Using their parent company Universal Studios, marketers got Comcast’s television companies to get a run of earlier Jurassic Park movies and have marathons and sneak previews with Spielberg and Chris Pratt on NBC. By playing older films, audiences of many ages could watch and remember how much they enjoyed it, or they could have got new viewers prior to the release of the new film. Theses are many examples of how marketing plays a huge role in the success of movies.

Furthermore, marketing plays a crucial role in how successful a movie can be. I have witnessed it myself and have fallen for their trap. Although it could be expensive, the profit made off of it makes up for it. As seen above all the most popular movies used some type of marketing strategy and they saw extreme success. Marketing is very important and a necessity in having success with a film.

Extract Essay

This small clip from the film Game of Thrones, is very interesting. The director creates a very intense tone to start. He is trying to convey the audience that something serious is going on. By doing this the audience now has a feeling of curiosity and wants to know why everyone is so serious. The genre that is being conveyed is a fantasy, medieval times type film, a thriller. Just by watching this small part you can tell a lot of stuff has built up to this moment and more is to come. The setting gives the idea that it is a fantasy. The director is trying to convey the message that this is an action-packed show that is very intense and exciting. The author’s vision is to create an intense powerful tone. He does this too hook the audience and to get them attached. Overall the show is very well put together and the director did a great job.

In the opening scene of the film the author starts with an aerial shot of a boat floating into a town on an island. This creates a suspenseful feeling and questions begin to be asked in your head. There is non-diegetic sound, birds are chirping to give it an island type feeling. In the background you can also hear fearful music which leads to the build up of the next scene.Still in the first scene there is a medium shot of two men on the boat. The two men look pretty serious which adds even more suspense. Their costumes and props go along with the fantasy genre. As they get closer you now have a better look at the town and see it from a high angle. There is then a jump cut to the next scene.

In the second scene there is now some dialogue. To begin there is a tracking shot of two people, there is diegetic sound and they talk. The setting seems to be in a castle or palace. There are props like fancy lamps and a table with a king’s chair. This gives you thought that it is a fantasy type genre as well. Their costumes also resemble that. The lighting is darker and creates a mysterious tone. Doors open and more men appear. They begin to talk, and their tone is very serious. Although you may not know exactly what’s happening, you know it is important.

Overall the director follows through with his vision from start to finish with this extract. He begins and gets the audience thinking right away. The use of the non-diegetic sound conveys the audience something serios is going on. As it continues you now observe the setting which is an island with a town. The lighting is dark which create a gloomy tone. The second scene follows the first by being extremely intense. In doing so he gets his message out that the show is intense and exciting. The director’s vision was to hook the audience from the start even without doing anything major.

CCR part 4

CCR part 3

CCR part 2

CCR Part 1

I had a lot of fun making my CCR. I got very creative with it and made my own interview. In the past I would usually just present a PowerPoint and talk but not for this one. I really enjoyed this, not only did I answer the necessary questions but I showed off my editing skills I have gotten as well as my creativity. I had a hard time uploading this and I had shoot it many times. I did the interview in my backyard and there was a lot of background sound. This frustrated me a lot but eventually it was silent. Overall I had a great time creating this and believe my viewers will enjoy to.

M I S S I N G

Now this was the big boy. Our film M I S S I N G was a process. We started planning in January and did not completely finish til April. This was extremely difficult not just the filming but the planning. Honestly the filming was the easy part. The planning process ahead of this monster project we a pain. The storyboard being the most difficult. Sixty boxes for the storyboard me and my teammates had a hard time completing this. We then had to make a shooting script and a sound script this was also difficult. Planning for this movie was difficult we had an image in our head and on the storyboard but we weren’t sure if it would workout. It was now time to film, we were better with meeting up this time. We all met at my house and filmed. We had a blast doing this. We went straight to business and filmed it all. We took multiple shots to insure we got the best footage. After we were done we played video games and ate food. Filming was my favorite part of this project. It was not time to edit and Edgrado did his thing. We were now finally done and we had a draft. In the coming weeks we were going to reshoot and re-edit to insure it was perfect. Unfortunately Covid 19 appeared and that changed everything. This made this a whole lot harder and stressful. Fortunately we had everything done and what we believed top notch film. We made a few changes but not many. Overall we had a huge success. The final product showed we were all very impressed how it turned out under the circumstances we were in and the resources we had. Out of all the projects we did this was the most difficult.

(Gods plan) Music Video

This was our second project, the music video. We had a really good time with this one. During this project we had to film outside of school which we enjoyed a lot. For the music video it was not as easy as the commercial it took a lot more planning. We started by picking a song. We all agreed on Gods plan by Drake and we stuck by it. We then did our storyboard which was more difficult then I thought it would be. It was now time to film and instead of being at school like usual and being forced together we had to meet outside of school. We kept pushing the date back til we couldn’t and we had to film. Unfortunately our teammate Fulvio did not make it which made this more difficult. Edgrado Jontae and I all met at the Galleria mall and started the filming process. We had so much fun doing this and drove all around Fort Lauderdale to insure we got the best footage. After we had the footage Edgardo did his thing. We were so impressed by him after this one. He told us how it was much easier due to the fact he did it on his iPad instead of using the slow school computer. After we were all done we watched it and were extremely impressed and believed we were pros. Looking back at it I’m still pretty impressed how good it turned out even without one of our teammates. This was my favorite out of our major projects.

Commercial (Gatorade)

This was my first project. Me and my teammates had to make a commercial about a big name brand that was 30 seconds or less. We could only use the tools we were given. Which were a camera, a tripod, and then the computer to edit. We choose Gatorade as our topic. Before filming and anything else we created our storyboard. We then collected the necessary materials and went to work. We filmed and followed our script this went very smoothly. We had a lot of fun when filming this and we worked really good together. After we had our footage we dumped it onto the school computers. This process took a while but we got it done. It was now time to edit and of course Edgrado did his thing this is when we first realized how good Edgrado was. We were finally done, watching the final product was so fun we were amazed and thought our commercial was amazing. Looking back at it we could have done a much better job with the knowledge we have now.

Re-Edit Blog

Unfortunately this never occurred, due to Covid-19. We were never able to meet up and re-shoot therefore we could never re-edit. Although we did not re-shoot and collect new footage we worked with what we had. Due to the circumstances we had a feeling re-shooting would not occur. This did not stop us. With the footage we had, Edgardo went to work. He fixed all the parts that needed it. He would then send us the new film and we would give our thoughts. Lucky for us Edgardo is outstanding at editing. After a couple tries, he perfected it. My group and I were very pleased and impressed with Edgardo. He worked his magic once again. Working with the original footage and i-movie it was almost like we did not need to re-shoot in the first place. After he was done we all looked it over and Jontae critiqued it a little. We were now done and we finally could sit back and enjoy the film. It seems our journey together may be over with. Now that our film is complete nothing else is needed. I really wish we were still in school and all working together, but it is important that we take precautions. Anyways the film turned out better then I ever expected. My teammates and I did a great job, everyone contributed and played a role.

Re-shoot Blog

The time has come to start reshooting our film. This process has became difficult in our current state. I wanted to get it done ahead of time. Jontae wanted to just wait. Fulvio didn’t know what he wanted to do. And Edgardo was the deciding factor. He said we should wait and focus on putting our film together. The reshoot process was easier than I thought. The thing is I couldn’t meet up with my group because of the coronavirus. Covid-19 has disabled the fact that my group and I can’t meet up. The thought process on how we were gonna do this was difficult. My group and I got on the phone and spoke to each other. Since Edgardo had the entire film, he was the one to do reshoot videos using what he had. He also had me record parts of my house, because that’s where we originally filmed. Voice recordings was done as well. I was taking precautionary measures in this process. The world right now isn’t in a good place. Us leaving our house wouldn’t be a smart idea. Edgardo was the one responsible for the reshoot. The rest of us critiqued everything. We made sure to tell Edgardo what he needed to fix.

Editing Blog

As the current state of the world is making it harder and harder for my group and I to complete our final task we are still working as hard as we can to produce the best film possible. We have made sure we stay in touch at a time when doing so is proving to be highly difficult. This is because none of our parents are letting us leave the house. As a result, we have not been able to reshoot any scenes which needed to be fixed. Despite this my group and I all agree that the film is coming out alright. Most of our scenes were already complete and the few that we needed to reshoot were short pieces of the film. Edgardo has continued to do a great job of editing our film. Edgardo's primary focus for all of our projects this year has been editing and he has done an amazing job doing it from home. Additionally, despite not being able to meet up my group and I have stayed in constant contact. This has been crucial for us as it has allowed us to keep making progress on our film. Luckily we already had experience coming into this project making this transition easier. If not for the two projects we had already completed my group mates and I would be nowhere near completing our project. We truly feel as if our skills in making/producing a film have improved greatly due to this class. Because of this we feel like we were prepared to handle this project from home during the covid-19 crisis. I am so excited that we've got our film almost complete. Although it's now not the final product, it is good. Overall the editing has been a large achievement and we could not have completed it without each other. We all did our parts and that's why it went so smooth.

Filming Blog

Filming has been nonexistent since the pandemic. None of our parents would let us go to each others house. But we are always in contact with our group chat. I have really been on my A game with keeping the team updated on what we have to do. We are glad that we did finish most of our film. It is very weird being out of school for so long because of a virus. We never went through something like this in our lifetime. No one would have ever expected to be staying inside for weeks. This has taken a toll on our film from being super perfect. All of the footage we have on Edgardo's iPad is all that we have. But we know he will fix all of the parts we need to. Covid-19 is the worst thing that could have happened to us before we even got a chance to re-shoot our film. With it being impossible to film we have to rely on all of those days we were working so hard to make this film. We are so well educated on how to edit and stuff. So, this pandemic has hurt us but did not damage us. This was a very difficult process since we can not leave our homes due to quarantining. Despite all of the tribulations, I can say we are pretty much done with our film. Our chemistry is very good since we did two prior projects with each other. Fulvio was looking forward to finishing our film, so I know he is very disappointed right now. I'm so proud of our group. Without all of us cooperating none of this would be possible.

Editing Blog

Although we aren’t all together we are still staying in touch. The Covid 19 has played a huge factor in this whole process. It is not as easy as it used to be. We usually plan and edit in class to get the very best video. Although we are still editing, giving insight is part of the reason we have had such great success. I miss my group and working with them. We still text and edit our video here and there. Hopefully this clears up so we can reshoot and make changes. This will be difficult due to the fact that we aren’t allowed to hangout. All of our parents are strict and not allowing us to meet up. We are all starting to stress due to the fact that our film needs some work. Edgrado is still editing perfecting anything and everything he can in case we don’t get to reshoot. He sends us the video in the group chat and asks what we think. Although it’s not the same as being in class together we still can give our opinions. Hopefully this will pass over and things can get back to normal. We are still ahead of the game but the clock is ticking. My team and I work great under pressure so I am not worried. With or without reshooting, Edgrado will find a way. With Jontae, Fulvio and I helping our film will turn out just fine. I can’t wait til we are finally done.

Filming Blog

Filming together is the most fun I've had in a while. My group is so funny. The process of filming was overall great. The difference in this project is that we were all together. Throughout the process, I suggested that we took breaks. Edgrado loved the idea so Jontae and Fulvio agreed with me. So in between filming scenes we stopped and got water and something to eat. It's like we bonded together. I played Edgardo in a game of basketball. I won, he was shocked. My parents are worried about this coronavirus. My mom was very hesitant of letting me go film. In all honesty, it's weird being away from school. It will become very difficult to get our filming done because all of us need parent permission. Now is the time for us to start implementing our scenes. I do not know how this is going to turn out. We have to socially distance ourselves and it is affecting our film schedule. In the mean time, finishing our film is the primary goal. I have faith in my group to complete it. It will be a hard process though. We still have to reshoot which will be difficult due to the social distancing.

Editing Blog

My group and I continued to complete the editing for our video. This process is and has been going very well. We feel as if our movie is truly coming together and will be very interesting when complete. For editing we continued using iMovie. We used this due to the fact we had a tough time using pinnacle studios and had a far simpler time using iMovie while we edited our video. Once more Edgardo led the manner, he is excellent at editing. He used his iPad and he worked his magic. We observed the shooting script and inserted the precise transitions in the right spots. This made the movie feel very clean due to us already understanding what transition we want and where we want them. While the editing has been going very smoothly, we have experienced one major road block. This is due to the Coronavirus which has put my group mates and I out of school. This has been especially difficult for my group and I as we still need to reshoot certain parts of our film. Despite this we feel that overall we are on top of the process. Having experience is a huge help. Fortunately, editing is my favorite part of the project and it is the easiest to do without the whole group being together. Although Edgardo did a lot of the work, I too edited a bit. Fulvio and Jontae gave us guidelines and have been the judges. Having them watch it over gave us a better set of eyes which helped us make the best the film. They discovered a few minor mistakes that were easy to fix. I am so excited that we've got our film almost complete. Although its now not the final product, it is actually good. Overall the editing has been a large achievement and we could not have completed it without each other. We all did our parts and that's why it went so smooth. Editing is getting much simpler and I enjoy it a lot.

Editing Blog

We finally started the editing process. This filming process went very well, it was a huge success. For editing we used iMovie. We used this because we had a difficult time editing using pinnacle studios and had a way easier time using iMovie when we edited our music video. Once again Edgardo led the way, he is very good at editing. He used his iPad and he worked his magic. We followed the shooting script and inserted the correct transitions in the right spot. This was very easy due to already knowing what transition we want and where we want it. Planning ahead was very smart and played a big role in why we had so much success. It went very smoothly, Edgardo was so impressive. Having experience was a big help, we are really starting to get the hang of editing. Editing is my favorite part of the project. Although Edgardo did a lot of the work, I too edited a bit. Fulvio and Jontae gave us tips and were the judges. Having them watch it over was huge, the extra set of eyes helped us perfect the film. They found a few minor mistakes that were easy to fix. I am so excited that we have our film. Although its not the final product, it is really good. Overall the editing process was a huge success and we couldn't have done it without each other. We all did our parts and that's why it went so smooth. Editing is getting much easier and I enjoy it a lot

Peer Review

In class we were assigned to watch one of our classmates films. We were given a paper to fill out and judge what we watched. We would give tips of things we liked and did not like. We received a flash drive with the persons video and we watched. As we watched the film we went through the check list and judged. As we watched the film all together we discussed how it compares to ours. The film had many positives as well as some things that could be fixed. For example the overall story was not clear this made it difficult to understand what was going on. Another problem was the video did not meet the time restraint, it is supposed to be 2 minutes instead it was 1 minute and 2 seconds. Not all the camera angles were used neither was the sound. The camera was a little blurry and choppy. Some positive things about the film were the lighting was very good. Also the acting was impressive as well as the shot reverse shot. There are many things we can take away from something like this. Not only are we helping someone, we are also benefiting our selves by watching another video we can compare and take away thighs we liked. Overall it was a success and will be a big help. By watching another classmates video it gives us something to compare ours to as well as help them. I am very excited to see the feed back we got back on our film. Just by watching our classmates video and looking at the check list I know we have some work to do. I can not wait to see how our final product turns out.

Filming Blog (part 1)

We finally did it, we filmed. Today was the day the weather was beautiful and our schedules aligned. On Wednesday February 26th it was my birthday so we were unable to film. Time was moving by very quick and I knew we had to film soon. Edgrado texted in the group chat and asked if Thursday worked for us, we all were free so it was perfect. Fulvio picked a camera up this morning and we were ready. After school got out we met at my house and begun filming. It went really well, although we did not film the whole movie we got scenes 1-5 in. Filming went way better then I thought it was very smooth. We took multiple shots to insure it was perfect. We did not finishing the film because Jontae and Fulvio had to be home earlier then we expected. Although we did not finish filming we planned when we would. This Sunday in the morning we will all meet up and finish filming the movie. So far the filming process has been very fun and not as difficult as I believed. Edgrado is amazing at filming and using the camera. Jontae is great at making sure we are using the right angles and Fulvio is insuring we follow the story board. Our team work is outstanding, it is truly a team effort our communication was great throughout our first day of filming. I am so excited to see what the final product looks like. Part one of filming was great I’m so happy we were able to get a little work in. Splitting it into two days was very smart instead of loading it all in one day, we now have time to look at it and change a few things if we want. Over all filming was very successful, I am very excited to finish this Sunday.

Filming blog NOT (again)

Another weekend has gone to waste. It’s none of our fault. We all had something to do. I had a track meet on Saturday and I celebrated my birthday on Sunday. Jontae had a meeting to go to. Fulvio had to stay with his family. Edgardo had to take care of his sick sister all weekend. Time is going by fast and we need to figure out a way to film. The more and more we wait the less time we have. In my opinion, my group and I will figure it out. One week left to record. It may be tough since we have SATs coming up. Everyone is studying and forgetting the fact we have to record. I am going to try and set up a film date. We have peer review next week. My group needs to record something before March 2nd. In other words, we might be screwed. My group and I work well under pressure. Best to say we might have an opportunity this weekend. The schedule for filming is being made, hopefully it works out this weekend.

Filming Blog (Not)

The original plan was to get everything done, checkout a camera and start filming. Unfortunately this did not occur. We forgot to check a camera out on Thursday 2/13 and my group member Fulvio went to Harvard for a debate tournament. A big problem that we need to fix is our communication skills. I did not even know Fulvio was on this trip. What if we would have gotten the camera but now we would have to wait until he got back. We also did not discuss who would check the camera out we all assumed someone would do it but this never happened. Over the weekend we did not text in the group chat at all, our plan was to film yet no one communicated anything. In order to be successful we must communicate better, lucky for us we still have time to film. If this was the final weekend to film we would have been in trouble that's why it is extremely important that we talk to one another. Another reason why filming did not happen this weekend was, I had a track meet all day on Friday and a meet on Saturday as well. On Sunday I was free but Edgardo had a basketball game and a family outing. On Monday it was my dads birthday so I was busy celebrating with him. Fulvio was in Harvard this whole weekend and still hasn't returned. The weather was not great at all this weekend, so it wouldn't have worked out anyways. Although filming did not workout this weekend, we still have two more weekends to get it done. We will try to communicate better and plan out when and what time we will film. We will figure out what everyone has going on in order to pick the perfect date. Hopefully we have better luck this weekend with weather and get together and take care of business. I can not wait to film and begin the editing process. This film is going to be great.

Storyboard (M I S S I N G)

In this blog we are drawing our storyboards. The storyboard is gonna show how each scene is gonna play out. The process of drawing was tough. Our hands started to get tired. We each rotated spots in drawing to give each other a break. It was also funny, we were making jokes about each other. Each of us has no drawing skills so we tried our best. The best  drawer is Edgardo. We are numbering our storyboards to show which one is happening first. Our storyboard is 10 sheets long.

Location, participants, health, schedule Blog

In this blog, we are showing the locations of where we are going to film. Also showing the participants who are going to be in the film. We are addressing the health issue. We show the schedule of when we’re going to shoot the film. As we plan this out, many places popped up in our heads on where we could film. In this time frame we will try to be quick in shooting our film. We chose who would be each specific character. We provide pictures of where we’re going to be shooting. We are making sure a parent is involved in watching us. We want the best for our film.

Sound Script

Today, we will be saying what sounds are gonna be in the film. Since it’s a kidnapping movie, we will try to figure out the right sounds. We want you to watch it and feel curious. Stay attached to the film and not get bored of it. It was pretty interesting discussing the sounds. There is a lot of sounds and we wanted to be specific when choosing. Ultimately, it was a group decision and we all agreed on the sound choices. It was practically hard decisions to make. We enjoyed making the decisions though. Better than having nothing.

Shooting Script

We are figuring out what will be in our film. The thought process was extremely hard. Even though we knew what are genre was, there were many ways to create a film idea. Each person had a different input on how we should set it up. Ultimately we came to a decision... It was much fun thinking about how we were going to do it. We loved the idea of kidnapping so we interpreted it in. We also had to think about how each person could contribute. We are excited to film this movie. We are proud of ourselves.

Title research (Seven)

We got the movie "Seven" from the website watchthetitles.com. 

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film? The number of titles that are shown during the opening sequences is 31. 

What images are prioritized in the in the opening sequence? There is someone that is writing about what it seems to be like some people who are deceased. There is some harm done with a needle that was used to make a book. Pictures of people's faces and words are getting crossed out with a sharpie. 

What connotations do the images carry? The connotations the images carry are that a guy is writing a book about the crimes that he committed. He is most likely a psychopath. 

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset? The movie is a crime movie so it's being reinforced by showing what crime movies usually have in the genre such as blood, people dying, and a "bad" guy. 

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset? The film establishes an enigma by giving a very mysterious vibe by having an unknown individual writing weird stuff in a book. 

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience? Creating the creepy mood by showing a guy bleeding and crossing people face out. With the needle going through his finger it gives mysterious feeling about him.

 How has technology been used efectively? Technology is being used effectively by using a black and white filter through the intro and the jump cuts and cutaways gives a weery feeling.

Title research (Manhunt)

We got the movie "Manhunt" from the website www.watchthetitles.com

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?

The amount of titles that are displayed during the opening sequences is nine.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

In the opening scene there is primarily images of Osama Bin Laden who the movie focuses on. As the title sequence progressed there was evidence about the manhunt for Bin Laden.

What connotations do the images carry?

The connotations the images carry are negative as they are all depicting terrorists who committed serious crimes harming thousands of people. This sets the stage for the rest of the movie where the "Manhunt" for Bin Laden takes place.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

The movie is a crime movie so the genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes by understanding that somebody committed a crime. This was done by moving through the title sequence as if somebody was connecting pieces of evidence to each other.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

From the title sequence the film establishes an enigma by using handwritten evidence about the manhunt in the title sequence. In fact, at any point during the sequence if the viewer were to pause and examine the text they would see relevant information to the film.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?

Creating a mysterious mood by opening up with pictures of Osama Bin Laden and what seems to be evidence used in the "manhunt" when searching for him. This draws the viewer interest by showing the extreme amount of detail which the movie is going to explain a situation that most are already familiar with in less detail.

How has technology been used effectively?

Technology is being used effectively especially with the editing in the opening sequence where we move around on a piece of paper to different pieces of evidence. Also the sequence contains many images which dissolve in and out of the picture.

Title research (Hostage)

We choose the movie "Hostage" from the website https://www.watchthetitles.com/

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
The amount of title sequences that are displayed in the opening scene of Hostage are 35.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
The images that are prioritized in the opening sequence are buildings, cop cars, crime investigation tape, a variety of guns, cops that are heavily armed, barbed wire.

What connotations do the images carry?
The connotations the images carry are that it is an intense action filled movie, it involves a lot of crime and there is probably an investigation or search for somebody. There is a lot of violence involved.

How is the genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
The movie is a crime thriller so it is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes by understanding that crime movies usually involve a lot of action and after watching the title sequence it is clear it is a crime thriller that is action packed. In the title sequence many guns were shown as well as many cops heavily armed and cop cars, the symbolizes its a crime movie that is action packed.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
From the title sequence the film establishes an enigma when the images of the heavily armed officers, detective tape, and all of the weapons are displayed.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
By creating a curious mood when showing the weapons and heavily armed officers, it gets you thinking what is the need for all the weapons and the detective tape. The music choice also is appealing to the audience, it creates an intense mood.

How has technology been used effectively?
Technology is being used effectively by editing, names of the produces can be seen across a building or on a gun. It is also being used by using transitions like fade ins/outs and jump cuts.

Title research (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang)

We got the movie "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang" from the website www.watchthetitles.com

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequences to the film?
The amount of titles that are displayed during the opening sequences are 26.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?
There are buildings and a person hopping over the fence and running into a warehouse. There is a gun being fired and a house filled with people. One girl is pushed off the house. There are bullets as well with blood.

What connotations do the images carry?
The connotations the images carry are that a woman ends up dying and a man is running from something. Meaning a person is in trouble for committing a crime with a gun.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?
The movie is a crime movie so the genre is reinforced through symbolic and technical codes by understanding that crime movies usually involve action and what we see in the title sequence is that it involves that. The equipment that is used fits the crime aspect. A gun, blood, a person running from something.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
From the title sequence the film establishes an enigma by creating a curious aspect by having a man jump a fence and start running and where a female is pushed off of a house.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to its target audience?
Creating an mysterious mood by opening up with a man jumping the fence and then transitioning to a woman holding a gun. With a woman falling to the ground it creates suspense and start to make you wonder how did it happen.

How has technology been used effectively?
Technology is being used effectively by using the camera angles like tracking shots and zoom as well. The editing consists of fade ins/outs, cutaways, inserts, and jump cuts

Title research (Watch the titles)

Just like the first website we used this website to look for movies in our genre and saw how they did their titles. This website gives us the ability to access movies for free and watch the beginning to see how it is laid out. There are many choices of movies with a variety of genres. This website has both TV shows and movies, we are only supposed to look at movies. Our genre, crime had many choices of movies on this website. We were very pleased  to see how many crime movies were available to watch.  The reason we are researching titles in the first place is, in our movie we need to set up the title just like it was the beginning of a real movie. By watching how other crime movies do it, we can do our titles alike so it looks more professional. We can learn tactics used by crime movies and use similar tactics in our film. This website gives us a great opportunity, one not only to acquire these movies for free but also we now have the opportunity to watch a crime movie. Not only will we watch movies in our genre but also others to see the differences and how they set it up and use different tactics. When doing our final project we will look back and remember how other movies in this genre started their films and we will use their strategy to our advantage. This website was great, but we preferred the first website, it was easier to locate the movies and the choices were better in our opinion. I am very excited to start the filming process and apply my new knowledge about titles to our film. This website was very helpful, we will take advantage of this and apply the new tactics we learned to our crime genre film.

Title research (Art of the title)

We used this website to look for movies in our genre and saw how they did their titles. This website gives us the ability to access movies for free and watch the beginning to see how it is laid out. There are many choices of movies with a variety of genres. This website has both TV shows and movies, we are only supposed to look at movies. Our genre, crime had many choices of movies on this website. We were very pleased  to see how many crime movies were available to watch.  The reason we are researching titles in the first place is, in our movie we need to set up the title just like it was the beginning of a real movie. By watching how other crime movies do it, we can do our titles alike so it looks more professional. We can learn tactics used by crime movies and use similar tactics in our film. This website gives us a great opportunity, one not only to acquire these movies for free but also we now have the opportunity to watch a crime movie. Not only will we watch movies in our genre but also others to see the differences and how they set it up and use different tactics. When doing our final project we will look back and remember how other movies in this genre started their films and we will use their strategy to our advantage. This website was great, by watching the first couple minutes of movies that are similar to what we want we learned so much. I am very excited to start the filming process and apply my new knowledge about titles to our film. This website was very helpful, we will take advantage of this and apply the new tactics we learned to our crime genre film.

Another movie in this genre (Scarface)

Common CAMS in the movie: In the movie Scarface tracking shots, low angles, over the shoulder,  and pan. The shots and movements that were used were: establishing shot, tracking shot, medium shot, close up, long shot, and wide shot

Common CLAMPS in this movie: For costumes, there was tourist looking clothing as they were in Miami. Moreover they also had nice clothes like suits ad dresses. For lighting it was mostly sunny during the day as the were in Miami Florida. For acting it was serious, tense, curious. For makeup there was fake blood and wounds. For props there were guns, cars, and bottles. The setting is Miami beach.

Common sound in the movie: The movie uses dialogue, which introduces a serious and dramatic tone

Common editing  in the movie: The movie used very simplistic editing techniques as it was created in 1983

Elements of the genre in the movie: The movie is a crime movie about a criminal refugee from Cuba who moved to Miami Florida after being sent to the United States by Castro. He became one of the largest drug king-pens in south Florida however his urge for money and power ultimately got him killed.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you like?

The best part of the movie was that it ultimately taught a great lesson about how greed can lead to one's demise while also demonstrating a great deal of action as the main character killed a bunch of people before getting killed.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that do not appeal to you?

We did not like how the main character killed his best friend which was very sad.

Another Movie in this Genre (Joker)

Common CAMS in the movie: In the movie ‘Joker’, zooms, over the shoulder, low and high angles, medium shots, tracking shots, close up, establishing shots are commonly used.

Common CLAMPS in the movie: For costumes, it was more natural clothes depending on the setting, more of a dark clothing. For lighting it was pretty dark during the night and day. For acting it was very tense and serious with a slight bit of humor. For makeup there was fake blood, scars, paint, and wounds. For props there were guns, mask, cars, trains. The setting is Gotham City (New York).

Common Sound in the movie: The movie uses mostly dialogue from the characters.

Common editing in the movie: The movie commonly uses jump cuts to go from one scene to another.

Elements of the Genre in the movie: The movie consists of someone that is mentally ill going through a tough time in life. Now he has to find a way to get himself from feeling down all the time.

What elements of the Genre did the movie had that you like: We liked how the movie went into how the main character felt and what he had to go through.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that did not appeal to you? 

We did not like how the violence escalated so much at the end of the film.

Another movie in this genre (The Girl On The Train)

Common CAMS in the movie: In the movie the Girl On The Train, tracking shots, zooms, high angles, low angles, point of view shot, over the shoulder, and pan. The shots and movements that were used were: establishing shot, tracking shot, medium shot, close up, long shot, and wide shot

Common CLAMPS in this movie: For costumes, there were basic clothes, law enforcement clothes, darker clothing. For lighting it was dark filmed during both day and night. For acting it was serious, tense, curious. For makeup there was fake blood and wounds. For props there were golf clubs, a gun, cars, a train. The setting is New York City.

Common sound in the movie: The movie uses dialogue, the main actor Rachel is narrating the movie as things happen.

Common editing in the movie: The movie commonly uses jump cuts to go from one scene to the other.

Elements of the genre in the movie: The movie is a mystery. There is a police investigation to find out what happened to the girl who went missing, is she dead? Where is she? What happened? Who did it? There is questioning and a whole investigation.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you like? 

We liked the mystery and how we had no clue what happened, you could make inferences but you could never guess what happened.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that do not appeal to you?

We did not like how dark it was, though it was very interesting it ended very grim and sad.

Movies in this genre (Bad Boys For Life)

Common CAMs in the movie: In the movie, Bad Boys For Life, low and high angles, medium shots, and tracking shots are commonly used.

Common CLAMPS in the movie: For costumes, it was law enforcement clothes and black clothes, for lighting it was dark and filmed at night and also filmed in the day. for acting it was quite serious, curious, and tense, for make up gunshot wounds was often and blood, for props a gun is used, cars, and for setting it is in the city of Miami.

Common Sound in the movie: The movie uses non-diegetic and diegetic sounds.

Common Editing in the movie: The movie commonly uses jump cuts to go from one scene to another.

Elements of the Genre in the movie: The movie consists of someone getting arrested. There is a police station with two cops as the main characters. Tracking down information.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that you like?

We like how the two cops ended up arresting the person and getting justice once and for all.

What elements of the genre did the movie have that do not appeal to you?

We did not like how throughout the movie, the characters were being more comedic than rather being serious.

Choosing the genre

The genre we will be using for our movie is the crime genre. This genre matched our movies' characteristics and was the best fit. We choose this genre because the movies that are classified under this genre are alike ours. At first we thought our movie would fall under the horror genre but after research, crime fit best. This genre consists of detective stories and murder mystery, which our movie falls into. After doing the CAMS and CLAMPS for this genre it was obvious the genre was the one. I am very excited to make this movie. 

Research Genre

In this powerpoint, we were told to create one on a genre that we found interesting. We had to research the genre and find specific aspects. We had to find the common lighting, common camera angles, and the camera movement. Also the common mis-en-scene, elements of genre, and examples of movies that show the genre. We put in the powerpoint what we did and did not like in the example of movies. Researching about genres was pretty interesting. This showed us how to find each aspect of a genre and how much common things were found.

Research two other genres

Another genre we are considering for our movie is Crime. The crime genre consists of crime fiction, detective story, and  murder mystery. The CAMS for our genre are:

Camera angles: High angled/Birds eye view, Tracking or Panning, Reverse, Tilted angle, low angle, high angle, two shot, Over the shoulder shot.

Camera Movements/Shots: Close up, Medium shot, Extreme close up, Establishing shot, Long shot, Medium close up, Medium long shot. 

The CLAMPS for this genre are:

Costumes: Darker clothes, Law enforcement gear.

Lighting: Dull, Darker lighting, mysterious lighting.

Acting: Serious, Curious, Tense, Gloomy. (Al Pacino, Ice-T, Robert De Niro)

Makeup: Wound, Blood, Make you look sick

Props: Fake Weapon, Cars, Cigarettes, Money, Fake blood, Fake guts.

Setting: Everyday places, neighborhoods, little cities, big cities

The other genre we looked into was Horror. This PowerPoint shows the CAMS and CLAMPS.

Choosing film idea blog

After last class my group and I were left with three pitches and we now have to decide on one. My group mates and I first narrowed down our three pitches to just two. The two we chose were: After the mysterious murders of citizens throughout a small town a detective seeks to find the man who did it before he kills again.

A transaction of money and envelope, dad leaves his kid home, forgets to lock the door, kid is taken, police question and try to solve. Starting with pitch one, this was one of the first pitch ideas my group an I came up with when assigned the task. There are a few pro's of this pitch. First, is that it gets right to the central idea of what the movie will be about. This is especially important when you can only use one 25 word sentence. This pitch also creates some suspense as it identifies that the main character has some sort of timeframe to solve the mystery. This effect is created by explaining that the detective must find the culprit of a series of murders before he acts again. On the other hand, my group and I found this to be a very generic idea as we heard many other groups in the class talking about doing their final task on a murder mystery as well. 

We decided to go with the second pitch as opposed to the first one. This was because we found that the second pitch was a more original idea than the murder mystery as we believed the murder mystery idea to be generic. This was because we heard many other groups share a similar idea to ur first pitch. Additionally, we believed that the second pitch would be more realistic for us to film as we do not have to show somebody getting killed. Although the first pitch is written better we preferred the idea of the second pitch. Overall we determined that our second pitch would give us the best chance to make our final task as good as possible ultimately leading us to this decision.

Start of final task

Hello, I am back from a long and relaxing winter break. We are starting the final task for this media class, the movie. Edgardo, Fulvio, Jontae, and I will be working together once again. This project is 50% of our cambridge grade, it is huge. The movie is a two minute clip summarizing our whole movie. This will not be easy fitting a whole movie into a two minute clip. The movie must end leaving the audience hanging and wondering what will happen next. The last time I blogged was in December, I'm happy to be back. This project will not be easy but me and my group members have experience and are excited to see how it turns out.

After spending one semester in Aice Media studies I have learned a lot. One of the things I'm most proud of is my ability to edit. The first time I edited it did not turn out that great, I used pinnacle studios which was difficult to use and I used the very slow school computers. The second time I edited was much better. Instead of using pinnacle studios and the slow computers I used an iPad and used imovie this was much easier to use. Another thing I have learned is camera angles and different movements I have applied these angles and movements to my films. I am very excited to film this final task. I'm happy to work with classmates who I have experience working with before and I'm excited to edit once again. I can not wait to see how the film turns out.

Pitch 1: A transaction of money and envelope, dad leaves kid home alone, forgets to lock door, kid is taken, police question and try to solve.

Pitch 2: After the mysterious murders of citizens throughout a small town a detective seeks to find the man who did it before he kills again.

Pitch 3: Three men were planning to rob a millionaire while he goes on his daily run but he is aware of what is about to happen.