Start of Planning

Planning

My biggest obstacle that is stopping me from moving forward with this project is finding one good, enticing idea for my film opening. For the past few days, I have been constantly trying to think of a good idea, and with the help of my research, I think I have begun to settle on one.

My Inspiration

From research that I did in a previous blog post, I analyzed The Perks of Being a Wallflower and gained a lot of inspiration from it.

This film follows Charlie Kelmeckis, as he goes through his struggles as being a freshman in high school. The film explores Charlie's journey with post-traumatic stress disorder, and how his life is effected when he meets two new friends. I want my film to touch on similar topics to this film like how the people you are surrounded with effect your mental state. I decided that my plot will focus on a teenage girl as she struggles to be her own person in the fabricated world around.

Next Week's Schedule

As I am approaching week 3 of this project, I will be sure to finalize my entire plot. Throughout next week, I plan to complete my plot outline, begin creating the storyboard, and to schedule out the filming process. Planning everything out will be sure to lower my stress throughout this project as well as make sure I am being efficient since it easy to lose track of time with a long term project. I am excited to see what next week brings!

Beginning the Brainstorming Process

 Brainstorming

Now that I have finally chosen my genre, it is officially time to begin the brainstorming process. I have been feeling so stressed and frustrated with not being able to come up with a good plot for my film opening. I decided I wanted to get an idea of what other students have done in the past, so I went to my teacher's website www.tstok.net to view some past projects. 

From viewing these projects and thinking of tips that were mentioned in class, I realized the importance of using personal experiences for my film opening since that is the best way to get an authentic storyline. I began to think of my own experiences that could be used in a drama film, but I quickly noticed that I haven't really had any earth-shattering ordeals...so I decided to go back to the basics and think of any issues that I've had throughout my teenage years.

As a 16 year old girl, many of the most common issues we face include our appearance, social status, and self-esteem. I started to ask around to my friends about their personal experiences with being a teenage girl, and there were many similar answers which included these issues. This helped me gain some insight on these common experiences  and I decided that I would like to explore them in my film opening, so I decided to begin writing my ideas down. 

I am leaning towards idea 2 since I think I can come up with a better wow factor for that than I could for idea 1. I am definitely having a mental block with coming up with ideas for my project but I think it's from overthinking it. I am going to continue watching more film openings to see if they spark any ideas.

Drama Research

 Drama Research

Yay!!! Step one of my plan is finally done, I have chosen my genre! But now, it is time to do some more research on popular drama film openings.

The drama genre really interests me because it allows you to explore raw emotion and real issues. Dramas tend to follow authentic conflict from everyday life. I enjoy how this genre can be based on very relatable topics that the viewer may identify with.

There Will be Blood (2007)

This film opens with its title which is displayed in a grotesque font which is followed with disturbing music by John Greenwood which sets the distressing and menacing tone of the film. What I love about this film opening is that it was able to introduce the main character, Daniel Plainview very clearly to the viewers. The use of little to no monologue allows the viewers to be focused on Daniel's actions along with the silence contributing to the overall tone. We see the scene begin with Daniel working at a silver mine, it continues on to show him peacefully sitting by a fire with a drink while there is a storm going on. He is later badly injured while mining, but he perseveres and we see him begin to crawl backwards as the camera moves on to a view of the mountains. With a combination of these simple scenes, it helps the viewer learn the basis of Daniel's character which throughout the film is shown to be stubborn and relentlessly focused. This opening did a great job at engaging the viewers and subtly hinting to the character's future plot line.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

This film opening is a great demonstration of introducing a character's personality extremely well. It follows the main character, Charlie Kelmeckis, as he explores the troubles of teenage life. The different scenes of him walking through the middle of the hallway as everyone around him has fun throwing their papers, as well as everyone in class raising their hand to volunteer except him, really shows the viewer a clear picture of him being the awkward introvert. This opening does a really good job at showing the dynamic Charlie has with his peers and it causes the viewer to anticipate how this may effect his future.

My Thoughts

After analyzing both of these drama film openings, I definitely think I am leaning towards similar themes of The Perks of Being a Wallflower, as it is touches on relatable issues that teenagers go through. I also enjoy how its film's opening clearly illustrates those issues of not fitting in and feeling alone. This has helped me a lot with beginning my brainstorming process and I am so excited to continue!

Genre Research

 Genre Research

Hey there! I am finally beginning the first step of my Cambridge Portfolio Project and I could not be more excited! I have narrowed down the genres I want to explore for my film opening to be drama and coming of age. I am having trouble deciding which I want to do more, so the best solution was to research both.

Drama

I think the drama genre gives me a lot of freedom to explore more serious topics and I think many film openings within this genre are extremely enticing and great at setting the tone for the entire film.

Trainspotting (1996)

Personally, this film opening is one of my absolute favorites of all time! With a combination of the monologue, camera movements, and music, it introduces its characters and the plot of the film very well. The scene opens with a group of heroin addicts and their audacious behaviors as they run through the streets of Edinburgh. This film opening quickly moves through the various characters and uses freeze frames to introduce each one. Within each freeze frame, it really reflects each character's personality. This opening also features a monologue from the main character, Mark Renton as he displays his mindset through his speech stating, "Choose life...But why would I want to do a thing like that? I chose not to choose life. I chose something else. And the reasons? There are no reasons. Who needs reasons when you've got heroin." Throughout this opening, it also features "Lust for Life" by Iggy Pop as its opening song. This was a perfect choice as the song is literally about Iggy Pop's lifestyle as a heroin addict, and because it contains a very fast paced beat which correlates with the scene's content. Film openings set the tone for the rest of the film and should be used to hook the viewer in with anticipation, I think this film does an incredible job at that by showing a clear view of the character's personality.

Coming of Age

I love the idea of doing a lighthearted coming of age film opening that goes into the life of a teenage girl for the project. My only concern is that this genre of film does not tend to have the most interesting openings.

Sixteen Candles (1984)

I really liked how simple yet effective this film opening is. It begins with the scene of a hectic family who seems to be occupied with a million different events. As the parents discuss their day's schedules and the younger siblings antagonize their older sister, Samantha Baker, we see her just sitting down on the staircase listening in. The picture of her bustling family as she calmly sits is really effective as it shows the viewers that she is divided from her family. It becomes even more apparent that this means something with the dialogue ending with Samantha rolling her eyes as she says, "I can't believe this, they f*****g forgot my birthday." I enjoyed how after this, it cuts to the opening credits which includes scenes of high schoolers doing typical teenager things, like a girl putting on lipstick, a couple holding hands, etc. This opening scene did a great job at introducing the plot of the film as well as the family's overall dynamic.

My Thoughts

Both of these film openings did a great job at introducing the film's plot and enticing the viewer. This research has helped me realize that I want to lean more towards the drama genre as it can allow me to incorporate similar features of a coming of age film but in a more serious way.

Portfolio Project Introduction

 Cambridge Portfolio Project Introduction

After first hearing about this Cambridge Portfolio Project, I was overwhelmed by the idea of compiling all the information we have learned this year and applying it to one, single project. Where should I even begin? What genre should I choose? Should I work with a group? What should my story's plot be? From the many worries running through my head, I realized my only solution is to make a step by step plan for this project. 

My Plan

First: Choosing the Genre

I will begin this methodical process by researching an array of genres like romance, drama, comedy, horror, and much more. I will look at popular movies within each genre, as well as which I enjoy the most. By learning about the conventions of each genre, I can decipher which interests me the most and inspires me with different ideas for the plot.

Second: Brainstorming

Once I settle on a specific genre, I will start the brainstorming process. After watching filmmaker Andrew Stanton's TED Talk in class, his emphasis on the importance of stories beginning with a promise that shows that it is worth your time to keep watching really stood out to me. Just within the opening of a film, using the right techniques can hook the audience in right away. This is my exact goal and is something that I will keep in mind throughout the entire planning process.

Third: Building the Story

After creating the foundation of my story, I will do more in-depth thinking about the characters. Something that was also mentioned in the TED Talk by Andrew Stanton was the importance of each character having a spine that drives their motives. This idea will definitely help me create a clearer storyline with characters that make sense with the plot. Once I am finished with all of this, I can move forward to more detailed planning like a storyboard. I am so excited to see the development of this project!

Music Marketing Reflection

 Music Marketing Project Reflection

Research 

After receiving the rock genre and choosing the song "Many Shades of Black" by The Raconteurs for our Music Marketing Project, we were sure to do in depth research about marketing techniques used by popular rock artists and groups. Focusing on the groups Foo Fighters, Måneskin, Greta Van Fleet, and The Warning, we learned about the different ways they began to develop their brand. For example, our research on The Warning provided us with information on how social media impacted their brand when they posted a YouTube video of their cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman" which launched their rise to fame. We used this information in the planning process of our artist's marketing.

Planning

Beginning the brainstorming process of for our artist's brand was by far the most difficult part. We had to be meticulous in choosing each aspect of his brand and campaign. We began with choosing a mysterious and easygoing vibe for his brand. We also created his stage name to be OBSID¡AN, purposely choosing an upside down exclamation point to replace the letter I in order to add to his overall style. We also decided on a black and gray color palette to create a muted mood. After creating a good foundation for our artist's style, we began on creating his campaign outline. Despite the rock genre's target audience being older within recent years, we decided that OBSID¡AN would be aimed at a younger crowd between the ages 19-30, who have an economic status of lower to middle class. Based on this, we chose Instagram as his main social media platform as it reaches a wide audience. We created his account but refrained from posting pictures with his face in order to continue his mysterious style. We also created a website for him which would sell his merchandise and provide links to his music. Throughout all the Instagram posts, along with the website and merchandise designs, we made sure to clearly incorporate his style by using a dark color scheme. We chose to have his concerts be pop up shows in order to show his spontaneous personality and also contribute to his brand's motto which is "live life in the moment". Pop up concerts would also be a way for him to connect and be present with his fans, helping him grow his brand. For our music video, we chose to do a storytelling video about a breakup which related to our song's lyrics. We also incorporated artistic elements with our editing. We planned this out by creating a storyboard for each scene in the video.

Campaign Outline

Instagram Account

Merchandise

Production

After creating the storyboard for our music video, our production process began. This part was definitely the most fun part of the project. We finally got to bring all of our planning to life. We filmed at Isabella G.'s parent's photography studio as it had many good spaces to use as backgrounds, along with a tripod, light sticks, and backdrops which we used in for the artistic elements in our video. Isabella G. and Lucas played our couple for the music video. We chose to not include Lucas's face in any clips since the main focus was supposed to be on Isabella G. By following the storyboard we created, the filming process was fairly simple. We began with filming all scenes that required daylight and finished with the scenes that were using the backdrop since we filmed in a dark warehouse with the help of a light stick for a dramatic effect. Grace, Angel, and I all contributed to the camera work while filming.

Scene with Backdrop

Post-Production and Presentation

Once we finished filming, Isabella G. edited the music video together and added many effects onto it. The decision of changing to the black and white coloring was chosen while we were storyboarding our video. The order of the scenes was determined by our storyboard which made this whole process much more efficient. For the presentation, we created a PowerPoint which outlined the rock genre, our artist and his target audience, and the marketing plan for him. We designated multiple slides to each person and prepared to explain each part that we had on the slide. The presentation overall went well and we were able to elaborate on our marketing plan with many details.

Slide from Presentation

Reflection

This project has been the most complex one that we have done all year. From all the research and planning, I have learned so much new information about marketing techniques used in the rock genre and how each artist/group utilizes it to develop their brand. I have learned the importance of incorporating your brand's essence in each choice you make, whether it is the design on the merchandise or the type of concert the artist will do. Each choice contributes greatly to the success of your artist/group. When developing my Cambridge portfolio, I will keep in mind the importance of doing in depth planning and research for the project in order to be most successful. Without doing this, I wouldn't have a good foundation to begin the production part of the project.

Music Marketing Process

 Music Marketing Project Process

Research

When we first got the rock genre for this project and chose the song "Many Shades of Black" by The Raconteurs, we wanted to gain knowledge on the marketing techniques used by popular rock artists. Doing in-depth research on bands like Foo Fighters, Måneskin, Greta Van Fleet, and The Warning, allowed us to find different ideas from the ways they began growing in popularity. After researching The Warning, we read how they began their rise to fame from a simple YouTube video of their cover of Metallica's "Enter Sandman". Seeing how social media was able to impact this band really helped us begin to brainstorm marketing ideas for our new artist.

Planning

After researching the rock genre, we began with brainstorming our new artist's brand style. We decided on making our artist have a laid back, mysterious vibe. We came up with our artist's name to be Jude Corvin Walker, but his stage name is OBSID¡AN. An upside down exclamation point in his stage name was purposefully used as a stylistic choice. We chose to have his color palette be focused on mainly black and gray to create a soft, muted atmosphere. Once we had the basis of our artist's brand style, we began with outlining his marketing campaign. It was extremely challenging to make decisions on how we wanted to market our new artist since everyone had many different ideas, but we were able to collaborate and make a simple outline of his campaign. 

Campaign Outline

From the outline of the campaign, we went through each step and elaborated on it. Beginning with his social media presence, we knew we wanted him to mainly be on Instagram for marketing purposes, but he would be more private due to his mysterious vibe. We chose Instagram because it reaches a wide audience and as his target audience is 19-30 year old young adults, it works best. We created his account and posted photos that match his dark color pallet as well as don't show his face in order to continue his mysterious personality. We also created a website for him which would sell his merchandise. While creating the website and merchandise we focused on making his style clear throughout each choice. We made the decision of having his first performance be a pop up show as it will show his spontaneity and go with the flow personality. As we move forward, we will continue to make decisions that help build on his brand.

Instagram Account

Merchandise