Name Game

Hello! In class today, I played the name game that I described in my previous blog. Here is the conversation:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1HAGgffQhgL36934LNHS3iZEvVXFwd527/view?usp=sharing

Based on their guesses of what the film would be about, I eliminated the following names:

Rosewood: In addition to this name sounding romantic, it also does not reveal anything about what the film will be about.

The Long Road Ahead: My classmates guessed that this movie would be based on overcoming something. In my film, I want to feature the problem occurring, not the recovery.

Held: One-word titles are not very effective, as they give no information to what the movie will be about. This title, in particular, does not hint to what the film will be about.

Held at Home: My classmates' guesses were somewhat accurate, however, I personally do not like this name.

Momma: My classmates' guess of the film being a musical was a polar opposite of what I actually wanted to go for in this horror/thriller film.

New: Again, one-word titles are not very effective. This title is not descriptive at all. They could not describe anything close to my film opening idea.

A Mother's Kiss: This name is too romantic sounding, which is shown from my classmates describing this movie as a happy, uplifting film.

Darkness: Although my classmate had a close guess by saying mental illness, the name is very cliche and is too broad. I can come up with a name better than that.

Guardian: This name is misleading. My classmates' guesses were way off.

Rebirth: My classmates' guess of a new beginning was correct, but I want the film to be the beginning of a negative occurrence. This is another name that is too positive.

There are now seven names that I am considering. In addition to these seven names, I have come up with two more while writing this blog. They are "WELCOME HOME" and "HOME SWEET HOME"

I am going to narrow down those names and choose the most effective one soon! Stay Tuned!

What's in a name?

“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” -Spoken by Juliet, Romeo & Juliet, Act 2 Scene 2

What's in a name? Seriously. What goes into a name? I researched this topic because now is the time where I develop a name for my film. A poorly named film could throw the whole undertaking off balance. For example, if the name is too hard and does not roll off the tongue, people may not post or talk about it. The lack of promotion will greatly damper its success. In addition, an improperly named film can lead to bad reviews. For example, a film with a romantic sounding name will primarily attract audiences who enjoy romance films. Typically, those same people do not enjoy action films very much. If the film featured a lot of action and a small number of sobby love scenes, the audience would not be very happy, as what was shown is not what they are interested in. For these reasons, it is imperative for a film to be named appropriately and effectively.

Effective names are usually short and related to the material. Most of the time, they are based on a character, location, or situation that is featured in the film. This gives the viewers some sort of knowledge of what the film will be about. Using these guidelines, I have come up with the following names:

• Stranger Danger
• Rosewood
• A New Life
• The Long Road Ahead
• A Mother's Love
• Held
• Held at Home
• Momma
• My Son
• New
• Vacancy
• A Mother's Kiss
• Darkness
• Guardian
• Black Street
• Columbus Hill
• Rebirth

That is a lot of names. It looks like I'm going to have to narrow them down. I'm going to test them out by having my classmates read them. If they can't tell me a general idea of what they think the film will be about, I will cut it off the list. Then, I will choose from the remaining list. Stay Tuned!

References:
Script Reader Pro. (2018, 22 Nov). MOVIE TITLE IDEAS: 3 WAYS TO COME UP WITH COOLER TITLES. Retrieved from https://www.scriptreaderpro.com/movie-title-ideas/

Storyboards Part 2

Hello! After brainstorming how I should create an effective ending for my film opening, I have created a storyboard for it! I have now completed all the storyboards for my film opening, and I am ready to continue with this process to make it a reality!

I hope these storyboards give you an adequate view of what my film opening is going to look like!

NOTE: Excuse me, as I am not the most artistic student. At least I tried my best!

Storyboards Part 1

Hello! Yesterday, I developed the storyboards for the first two scenes of my film opening. Storyboarding is extremely useful when developing a story because it is a tool that clearly conveys how the story will flow and it gives you an accurate view of how your shots will work together. Additionally, it reveals potential problems that would need to be fixed, saving you time and money. Please note that this is a general outline of what my opening will look like; there may be some changes to it as I begin the production process. Take a look!

I will continue to develop storyboards and conduct more research throughout the week. Stay Tuned!

Project Schedule

Hello! I have begun to realize that this is a huge project. In order to stay organized and ensure that I complete all components on time, I have created a project schedule. Here it is:

By adhering to this schedule, I will be sure to stay on track and ensure that all components of my project are completed effectively.

Developing a character

Hello! As you already know, the primary purpose of my film opening is to introduce the main character. The main character in my film is a mentally-unstable female criminal. I wanted to do more research on female kidnappers, sexual abusers, and serial killers in order to effectively create an accurate representation of a woman of this character.

Here are my findings:

Kidnapping:
When there is a kidnapping, 49% of the time it is by a relative of the victim, 27% of the time it is by an acquaintance of the victim, and 24% of the time it is by a stranger to the victim. During a stranger kidnapping, victims are usually females and are teenagers and school-age children. These kidnappings are associated with sexual assaults in the case of girl victims and robberies in the case of boy victims (Bilich, p.2).
Sexual Abusers: There are a number of theories as to why women sexually abuse children. According to Mallett (2017), a significant number of females who sexually abuse are women in their 30s. On average, they abuse males who are 12 years of age. Women tend to abuse because they see the relationship as love; they fail to see it as inappropriate or abusive. Female abusers are primarily driven by a desire for intimacy and abuse as a way of trying to compensate for emotional needs not met elsewhere (p.2-3).

Serial Killers: Through my research on female serial killers, I found that 16% of serial killers are female. According to Bonn (2019), these female serial killers usually operate in a specific place that they know well, such as their home. Although they commonly target their lovers and males that are close to them, an important U.S. study found that their victims also included children and the elderly (p.1-2).




I plan to create a female character with the following characteristics:

• Average on the outside, troubled on the inside.
• Predatory Behavior
• Lonely
• Lives in a dark, bland home
• Has experienced loss
• Addictive tendencies

I also plan to create a victim character with the following characteristics:

• Male
• Stranger to the abductor
• Young

This blend of characters will produce a product that both squashes stereotypes and creates a suspenseful story. The event that will take place will be very out of the ordinary as males usually aren't kidnapped by females who are strangers. This combination of these factors will develop a story that has never been told before.


References:

Bilich, K. (Unknown). Parents. Child Abduction Statistics for Parents. Retrieved from https://www.parents.com/kids/safety/stranger-safety/child-abduction-facts/

Bonn, S. (2019, 24 June). Psychology Today. The Unique Motives of Female Serial Killers. Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/wicked-deeds/201906/the-unique-motives-female-serial-killers

Mallett, X. (2017, 19 Feb). The Conversation. Women also sexually abuse children, but their reasons often differ from men’s. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/women-also-sexually-abuse-children-but-their-reasons-often-differ-from-mens-72572

Something you've never seen before...

Hello! Today, I decided on an idea that I will create my film opening on!

Mason's Media Studies Studios will create a...

Female Criminal Film

I decided on creating a female criminal film because it was a unique and engaging idea that challenges societal stereotypes.

Here is a rough outline of what the film opening will look like:

1. Opening
1. Mason's Media Studies Studios (MMSS) logo
2. Title- Fade to establishing shot of female in the car outside of a park
3. Close-up of a boy playing on the playground
2. Home 
1. The female drives home and eats dinner alone in a dark house.
2. Series of shots with pictures of (assumed to be) deceased husband on the wall.
3. Female prepares basement for child
3. Park
1. The female gets out of the car, clearly distressed.
2. Female walks to the child sitting on a bench.
3. The child turns and faces the female.
4. END

I will work on more details this week, so stay tuned!

Brainstorming

Hello! After doing more research, I have come up with a few ideas for what I want to create. Here are a few (very broad) ideas I have come up with:

Virus Outbreak

In this film, a group of scientists trying to control an unknown, deadly virus make a mistake that will plummet the world into chaos. The film opening will set the tone of the story by conveying a sense of impending doom that will be caused by the outbreak of the virus.

A.I. Takeover

In this dystopian film, artificial intelligence takes over society and seeks to destroy humanity in hopes to replace it with a more superior race of A.I. The opening will serve to engage the viewer, as it will feature an A.I. attack that shuts down Earth's networks and power grids in order to insinuate chaos and harm the human race.

Female Criminal

Read NOTE for explanation

In this film, a seemingly normal yet mentally-unstable female character will kidnap a young child. The film opening will serve to introduce the main character by showing her unstable character and foreshadowing the horror she will cause throughout the movie. This film would be unique, as films rarely, if ever, feature a female pedophile character. Has a parent or guardian ever to told you to "stay away from mean men if one was to approach you?" I most definitely have. This film will serve to break the stereotype that all kidnappers and criminals of related crimes are male. It will tell a unique story from the perspective of an (unexpectedly) female criminal.  

NOTE: I tried to include a photo of a lurking female for this section but I couldn't even find one! This further proves my point that females are never expected to commit crimes like this and therefore will make this film unique.


I am going to take some time to decide which of these ideas I am going to pick. Stay tuned!

What in the world do I create?

As I dive deeper into this project, I am beginning to feel overwhelmed trying to pick what idea I will follow through with. I can do anything with this project; there are so many possibilities! While brainstorming what idea I will follow through with, I found a TED Talk from Disney Pixar filmmaker Andrew Stanton. 

TED Talk

His advice on storytelling was eye-opening for me. The most important lesson I learned from Mr. Stanton was that when telling a story, it is effective to "give the 2+2 but never the 4." He further explains this by saying "The audience actually wants to work for their meal. They just don't want to know that they're doing that. That's your job as a storyteller, is to hide the fact that you're making them work for their meal." 

This technique would be very effective with the horror genre as horror is all about anticipating what is going to happen next. I explained this in my description of the Final Destination 3 film opening, where I found that I was hooked on the movie just by watching the roller coaster accident unfold and wondering what would happen next to all the characters. 

I now know how I want to tell my story, but I don't know what I want to tell. For now, I'm going to get back to brainstorming ideas and continue researching my genre.

Portfolio Project- Horror/Thriller Film Openings

Hello! This week, I made the decision to create a horror/thriller film opening for my portfolio project. I have researched my genre and have viewed film openings of various horror/thriller movies. Here are a few of my favorites:

Jaws (1975)

According to WatchMojo, the number one horror film opening of all time is from Jaws. I agree with them, as it is the best horror film opening I watched during my research. From the start, it grabs the viewer's attention with the silhouettes of two naked adults running on the beach. When the female is peacefully swimming and something begins circling around her from under the water, suspense is being created. The suspense is what will make the viewer want to continue watching. In fact, I ended up watching the full movie after watching the film opening. What I found was that the film opening also served to introduce the problem in the film and allude to later conflict. During the opening scene, a leit motif is established to represent the dangerous, lurking shark below. The motif is used throughout the rest of the movie whenever the shark is going to attack/put someone in danger. The combination of audience engagement and tone establishment is what makes this film opening incredibly effective.

Scream (1996)

The film opening of Scream is a perfect example of an effective horror/thriller film opening. In this case, the opening primarily serves to establish the tone of the rest of the movie. I found a few parts of this quite interesting. First, the use of stings during times of panic/danger helps to invoke fear in the viewer. Also, the editing during the hectic parts of the scene was fast-paced in order to create a sense of chaos. Lastly, the transition from bright lighting at the beginning of the scene to bluer lighting at the end conveys a dark, scary tone. These techniques help to make this opening effective at establishing the tone for the rest of the production: dark, ominous, and suspenseful.

Final Destination 3 (2006)

The film opening for Final Destination 3 is another example of a film opening that engages the audience from the very beginning. While the coaster is making its way up the hill, a series of close-ups of the scared girl and the repeated view of the faulty equipment helps to establish a strong sense of suspense. These shots paired up with chaotic music do a great job of showing that something bad is going to happen next. As the scene goes on, the roller coaster malfunctions and people start falling to their deaths. The detailed depiction of each person dying serves to incite feelings of terror into the viewer. The producers want the viewer to be terrified yet interested when watching this scene. It definitely did the trick! The whole time, my palms were sweaty and I was on the edge of my seat waiting to see what the fate of the rest of the characters would be. The suspense built from this film opening is extremely common between successful thriller films.

Results

After doing extensive research, I have discovered that the most important quality of a successful horror/thriller film opening is that it is engaging and suspenseful. For the horror/thriller genres, consumers expect to be in a constant state of suspense. They watch horror films because they enjoy the fear and suspense that are created by them. When I am creating my horror/thriller film opening, I will be sure to create a product that creates strong feelings of fear and suspense in the viewer that will make them want to keep watching. 

References:

Brayton, R. WatchMojo. Top Ten Horror Movie Opening Scenes. Retrieved from https://watchmojo.com/video/id/12992

Portfolio Project Research

Hello! In class this week, we started our portfolio project! My teacher explained to us what the project entails and how we can use what we have learned so far to make it incredible. I am so excited about this project, as I will be able to freely express my creative ideas in a film opening! After doing research on film openings, I have decided to create a horror/thriller piece.

Horror is a genre, usually fictional, that is intended to frighten, scare, disgust, or startle its viewers by inducing feelings of horror and terror. Horror movies target 15-25-year-olds because younger audiences are drawn towards graphic images and themes than older ones. Additionally, they focus on males over females as the horror thrills are statistically enjoyed by males more. According to author Mekado Murphy (2017), horror movies raked in a whopping 733 million in ticket sales in 2017, making it the biggest year for horror films in history.

Thriller is closely related to horror. But instead of featuring scary monsters or other fictional characters, thriller takes a more realistic approach to scare the audience. Additionally, horror relies on visuals of blood and gore to gain audience interest. Thriller, however, is psychologically stimulating. The sense of fear that is evoked when watching these films is caused more by what the viewer thinks will happen next rather than the graphic visuals commonly featured in horror films. 

The purpose of a film opening is primarily to engage the audience so they want to continue watching. It can be compared to the "hook" in an essay; it serves to make the consumer want more. I have chosen to do a horror film opening for my portfolio project because the film openings for horror films are usually more engaging than that of other genres. By following the conventions of the horror genre, I will be able to create an engaging film opening for this project.

This week, I will be researching film openings from other horror/thriller films. I am interested to see what I am going to find!


References:

Murphy, M. (2017, 26 Oct). The New York Times. 2017: The Biggest Year in Horror History. 
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/26/movies/top-horror-movies-box-office-it-get-out.html?auth=login-google

AMC filmsite. Thriller-Suspense Films. Retrieved from https://www.filmsite.org/thrillerfilms.html

Music Marketing Campaign Project

In class this past month, we were assigned a music marketing project. The goal of this project was to create a marketing campaign for an imaginary artist/group that we create. We were responsible for building the brand from the bottom up and using our marketing campaign to introduce our imaginary artist/group to the public.


For our project, three other classmates and I created a new band called Reckless X. We wanted to develop our brand based on the ideas of freedom, independence, and rejection of mainstream ideas for our brand. To accomplish this, we decided that the target audience for our band was a mixture of both male and females from ages 16 to 25. At this age, teens go through the struggle of wanting to be free from life holding them down; they want to be independent in their daily lives. The brand we wanted to develop would be easily relatable by people at this age, thus making it more successful.


For this project, we studied a band called “Vampire Weekend” to see what the current marketing trends were within our genre. What we found is that Vampire Weekend uses services like YouTube as a tool to live stream their concerts to viewers, which will show them how much of an incredible experience they are and will encourage them to come to a show themselves. Because of this, one of our marketing tactics was to use Periscope as a platform to live stream our concerts. We would utilize Periscope to live stream our concerts to our own followers, so they can get a sneak peek of how engaging our concerts are and will be inspired to attend one themselves. For the alternative genre, live concerts are still a very successful tool as they have not been grossly impacted by the modern increase in the digital distribution of music. Alternative consumers tend to crave a more personal connection with the bands they interact with, and the use of live shows accomplishes just that.








We also studied an alternative brand called “The Script.” We found that in addition to distributing their music on streaming services such as Spotify or Apple Music, they also continue to distribute tangible media on their website. The Script utilizes tangible media because of the personal connection it establishes between the artist and the consumer. This concept is necessary for the alternative genre; so, in our case, it would allow us to be more successful.






Additionally, we decided to create a website to act as a hub for all of the platforms from our brand. On our website, a user can: buy merchandise, purchase tickets to a live show, learn more about the band, take part in discussions with other music lovers, and access all social media and music distribution platforms. Our website serves as a marketing tool to connect our users with all aspects of our brand.











Throughout this project, I learned how each aspect of a marketing campaign is a conscious choice that is made to develop the brand. Moreover, each choice must be consistent between all aspects of a production/campaign. For example, it would not be wise for an artist with a target audience of 15-20-year-olds to do a live show at a 21+ nightclub. Their desired audience would not be able to attend the live show, resulting in an inconsistency between how they want to develop their brand and how their brand is actually being developed. In the music video we created, we made sure to include multiple shots of the band riding into the sunset in a beautiful convertible. The deeper meaning behind this is being free from anything holding you back. This reinforced the ideals that we wanted to build our brand off of: freedom, independence, and rejection of mainstream ideas. Each decision we made throughout the whole project was a conscious choice that served to develop our brand.