What should I do?

Alright, now that I've settled down what story I want to do and have a clear vision of how everything will look, I need to decide other things. First of all, I need to decide the title of my filmo opening. I feel like the title of a film is very crucial, it is able to catch the attention of the audience with just the name. Here are the ideas I have come up with, I am open to other ideas it doesn't have to be these:

The Call- I chose this name because the note that is found on the quote has a phone number in it so later in the film there would've probably been a call involved. This name is short and to the point.

The One That Got Away- This name is a little bit longer and the audience would've had to watch the rest of the film to understand. In the film, the girl that seemed in a hurry and in trouble could possibly be a part of something horrible (maybe something like human trafficking?) and is the one trying to get away by doing things such as leaving that note for anyone to find and hopefully help her.

Vice Versa- This name was a suggestion from a friend. I don't feel like I understand this one as much as the others because I did not make it up. Vice versa means the other way around, therefore it could be seen in two ways. One could be the comparison between the life of the first girl who seems to be crying for help, while the other one is happily shopping because she felt like it and came across the note. The other way to see it is that the movie will be based off in trying to turn the situation "the other way around" for the first girl.

Runaway - This name was the one I had for the other film opening idea but I noticed that it fits well with this plot too. I liked this name a lot ever since I came up with it for the other one. It would fit with this opening too because the first girl is clearly trying to runaway from something: someone, a situation, a lifestyle.

Another decision I have to make is where I will shoot my whole opening film, the set design. I looked up boutiques or clothes stores near me and I found a few:

Isabel Boutique 

Marcella’s Fashion Boutique

Turnstyle

Via Moda

Something Else Boutique 

Eli & Pearl Boutique 

Next week I am going to go to these locations, tell them my situation, show them my schedule and see where they give me permission to do it. I want to have these two things decided by next week so that I can begin filming. We've got this.

LETS DO THIS!

I AM SO HAPPY!!!!!

Alright I finally concluded what I am going to do. After getting feedback from my teacher I feel confident about what I am doing. The second idea, the one with the coat, is the winner. I decided to do that one, however, I am gonna add some twists to it so that it is not as complicated to film and so that it looks AMAZING. I will begin the opening film differently now. It will begin with chaotic, short cuts of a girl with her face not showing. She will have a stressed look on her face as she quickly writes something down on a paper and rushes into putting it in any piece of clothe in the store that the film would be shot in. The scene ends and cuts into the title of the film, which I have to come up with. After the title scene, the scene of another girl begins. This girl is shown trying on different outfits in the changing room. As she is trying on a variety of outfits, she puts on a coat that she really liked. As she is checking herself out, looking and herself in every angle, she puts her hands in the pockets to see how it would look. As she does this she feels what seems to be a piece of paper in the right pocket so she pulls it out. She unfolds the piece of paper to find a phone number written down and the words "please help me." The confused look on her face is shown and that is when the opening film ends.

I decided to change the amount of settings in the film to not complicate things, instead of showing the girl in the changing room, paying for the coat, her drive home, and her trying it on in her room, I will just show her in the store trying on clothes, finding the coat, and finding the note there. As I previously mentioned, I also changed the way the opening film begins, adding a more chaotic scene in the beginning. This will not only catch the viewers attention, but the face of the person leaving the note not being revealed creates suspense. The viewers might ask themselves: Who is that girl? Why does she need help? Why is she in a hurry? Why does she seem scared?

I was also thinking about the problem I previously had with this film, driving 20 minutes to the mall every time I need to shoot and deal with the other customers around me, the extra noises, babies crying, people getting in the way, etc. I think it would be best to shoot in a small shop or boutique that is more calm and near my house. I am going to ask my mom to see if she has any friends that own a store like that one to see if we can shoot there. Well I finally feel like I am doing the right thing and I am so excited jfnsgwjdbdhjxj!!!!

XOXO
-Corina

Final decision made...Almost made

Alright I feel confident about the decisions I am making. After getting feedback from a few friends and thinking about every option with myself, I have come down to two ideas only: runaway and the one of the note in the coat. I thought about making an opening film on teen pregnancy but I decided to let it go since I couldn't expand my idea any longer than that. 

I really like the runaway opening film. It was the first idea I came up with, I automatically visualized what everything would look like; every shot, every angle, the tone, the credits. I know that I would put a darker tone, find the right font for my title and credits, the perfect music for the film and film the teenage girl packing everything with a frustrated, stressed, disappointed look on her face. While this is going on there would be really small, short cuts of her abusive parents, domestic violence issues, etc. I also really loved this idea because I have always liked when films open up with someone getting ready, for example a girl getting ready for a date. I grabbed that idea and tried to add a dramatic twist to it, a teenager running away. This film would lead to a series of events in which the girl experiences being homeless, her parents' reaction to her decision, etc. The only problem with this idea is that I would have to work hard to make it look like a film opening rather than a teaser or a trailer. 

The opening film about the note in the coat could also be great. This film would be of a teenage girl at the mall trying on different clothes in the changing rooms. This scene would have "positive" music as the credits show and change as she is changing the outfits she picked to try on, checking herself out in the mirror. The film would then cut to her paying for a coat that she decided to purchase. After so there is another cut and she is then in her room trying on the coat that she just bought. You know how we sometimes come home from the mall and try on what we just bought? Yes, that's what she is doing. She is checking herself out in every angle and puts her hands in the pockets just to see how it would look and she feels something. She is confused and she pulls out a folded, little piece of paper that has a phone number and the words 'please help me' written on it. It would end there. This one would not have the problem of getting it to not look like a teaser BUT shooting at the mall might not be as easy as I think it is and I would need to think on what the rest of the story would look like.

I was planning on having my mind made up by today but I think I am going to sleep on it today and make up my mind tomorrow. I promised myself I will not make any impulsive decisions anymore. It is really late and I am tired so I will try to dream about them and see which one looks better. 

XOXO

-Corina

Making a plan

The best way to make my opening film the best possible is by planning out everything. I grabbed my go-to agenda and wrote down when I am going to do everything in a balanced way. By February 24th I will have concluded what story I choose to do, including how the costume design, set design, etc will be. By the end of that week, February 28th, I will begin filming. By March 1st I will have all my all by props, layout, script, music, costume design, setting and make-up design done in order to dedicate most of the month into filming. I will film from then and hopefully finish by March 29th so that the next day I can start editing the film. I will finish editing by April 4th so that by the next Monday, April 6th, I can do my CCR and have a week to do it since the project is due April 11th.

I am still debating on what opening film idea I like best. I am leaning more towards the one where the strange note is found on the coat that was recently bought but I want to get feedback from someone that is skilled and has knowledge of media. I have texted a few friends who are into media and film but one of the left me on OPEN :(, the other one said they liked the coat one and the runaway one the best and my other friend gave me an idea but it was way too dark and violent for my liking. I am going to try to text my friend that left me on read last time (rude) because he is very talented in film and that’s what he wants to study in college sooooo I feel like I can trust his critiques. 

I’m not going to lie, I am a little stressed but excited at the same time. I have been working at a restaurant nonstop, my other classes are being a little annoying lately and I am working on my scholarships. I think that because of that time management is crucial for making my film work out the way I want it to. Like I’ve said before I am really excited and a little nervous but I have a good feeling about working on my film for the next 2 months. 

An indecisive person making a decision.

Reality has hit, I need to come up with what I want to do now. I have came up with a few ideas of what my opening film could look like BUT making a final decision is not as easy. The problem is that it is time to start doing my storyboard, filming schedule, outline, etc.....I really need to make up my mind.

Idea #1: Runaway
The first idea I came up with consists of a teenage girl running away from home. The film will have dark tones as the girl is packing a bag with a sad/stressed out look on her face. As she is doing this there would be short clips of flashbacks of her abusive parents treating her in a harmful manner in various situations. The opening scene would end with the girl looking back at her room, closing the door and the title appearing on the screen.
Pros: I feel like this could come out amazing if it’s well done.
Cons: I don’t know if it’s creative enough.

Idea #2: (No title yet)
The other idea I came up with consists of a teenage girl at a party with the credits showing up on the party scene. In the middle of the party she receives a text from her mother telling her to go home right away. By the way that her mother said it she knew something was up so she hurries home. As she comes come, she opens the door and her reaction to what she sees is shown but what she is seeing is not shown.
Pros: It could make the audience want to keep watching to find out what she came home to.
Cons: It is not my favorite and it could be harder to shoot due to the party scene.

Idea #3: (No title yet)
This idea consists of a “happy” beginning as a teenage girl is at a store trying on clothes at the changing rooms. The credits are shown as she tries on various outfits and looks at herself in the mirror to see which one she wants to buy. She purchases a coat that she was very happy with. It then cuts to a scene of the girl at home trying on the coat again in the room because she liked it so much and wanted to try it on with the rest of the outfit. As she puts her hands in her pockets as she is checking herself out in the mirror at home, she feels something. As she reaches in she finds a paper that says please help me along with a phone number.
Pros: It could make the audience care and wonder what the message found in the coat is all about.
Cons: I am not sure how to make the cut from the store to her room look perfect.

Well now what I’m going to do is present my ideas to my peers and get some critiques, think about which idea is more appealing to me, produceable, and which one will the the PERFECT opening film. Let’s see what happens! :)))))

XOXO
-Corina

What films inspire me?

It is now time to brainstorm about what films are inspiring me to choose the drama genre for my opening film. I honestly feel a little bit of pressure coming from me about what I will finally choose to do, I want to feel extremely happy with my work. As I started thinking about what opening scenes from well-known drama movies inspire me, I came up with a few.

Room (2015)

Room is a movie about a mother, Joy, and her five-year-old son, Jack, being held hostage in a one-room shed. She was abducted by a stranger and was kidnapped for over seven years. Even though this movie was extremely inspiring and eventually turns you into an emotional wreck, it begins showing the daily life of Joy and Jack, making the audience want to keep watching to understand how they got there, what they do there, and if they will make it out. 

The Help (2011)

The Help is a movie that tells the story of black maids working in white Southern homes in the early 1960s in Jackson, Mississippi. This is another example of how I approach doing my opening film. This film begins with the maid of a white Southern home doing a voiceover/interview while showing clips of the interview and of some flashbacks. 

Thirteen (2003)

Thirteen is a film about a thirteen-year-old girl that is having problems with her mother as she comes face-to-face with drugs, alcohol, sex and petty crime with the company of a new best friend who  is trouble. This opening scene is another example of what I could do. The film begins with the two teenage girls high on drugs and things go wrong, then the movie goes back in time and shows the sequence of events to show how they ended up there. This makes the audience wonder and care about how two teens ended up in that situation, therefore they’ll keep on watching to know. 

American Beauty (1999)

American Beauty is about how Suburbanite Lester Burnham tells of the last few weeks of his life, after his death sometime in his forty-third year, during which he had no idea of his impending passing. This film’s opening is of a girl ranting about something facing straight towards the camera. This is a way to make the audience question what happened to her and what will happen to her, making them want to keep on watching. 

XOXO,
Corina.

The beginning: Genre

It is finally the time to start working on our AICE Media Studies portfolio project. My mind has been running on what I’m going to do all year long, somehow it’s been so hard to come up with something. To begin deciding what I’m going to do it is best if I start by choosing a genre. It sounds so easy yet it is not. Which one should I do? Horror? Coming of age? Comedy? Romance? Action? 

After sitting down and brainstorming in my room I decided what genre I wanted to do. I finally chose to work with drama. This has been a genre that I’ve always been really appealed towards and I work best with. Drama is an exciting, emotional, or unexpected series of events or set of circumstances. Drama film is a genre in which realistic characters depend on emotional and relational growth. Although they rely heavily on this type of development, dramatic themes often play a significant role in the story. These themes are often drawn from serious, real-life problems. Either heroes or heroines face an external conflict within themselves. Drama films aim to tell a truthful story of human struggles. Usually women aged 17-50 are the main audience for drama. However, because of the material drama genres cover and its range of characters and various plotlines, it has a broader target audience than some genres such as teen movies. 

Films examples: 

-Lady Bird (2017)

-Moonlight (2016)

-Roma (2018)

-A Star is Born (2018)

-Schindler's List (1993)

-Pulp Fiction (1994)

-The Godfather (1972)

-The Help (2011)

I am really excited to begin this journey, it means so much more than just a grade to me. I want it to be something I will be proud of and show to all my friends and family with confidence. I hope this opening film won’t only be a success but an opportunity to grow my love for media EVEN more. 

XOXO

-Corina 

Music Marketing

Music Marketing 

In the music marketing project, my group and I decided to work with the pop genre. This is currently one of the most listened to in the music industry and tends to appeal to the younger crowd, mostly people in their 20s. The target audience for our artist's music style are females that range from 13-26, who are middle class, and usually have part time jobs or are full time students due to their ages. Not only that but they tend to be more fashionable, follow the newest trends, and spend a lot of their time on social media. 

In the pop genre, there are certain marketing trends that are used due to how beneficial they are for not only their target audience but the artist. One of the strategies most pop artists use is presenting their content on social media platforms. Just as our case studies, Beyonce and Bruce Springsteen, did, we relied heavily on the use of social media to get our artist out there. Instagram users are mostly 18-29 year olds, since it fits the target audience for this genre it is heavily used by pop artists. For example, one of our case studies, Beyonce, uses Instagram. Beyonce is a well-known and respected artist with over 138M followers on Instagram, which she uses heavily to advertise  on Ivy Park release, posts mainly fashion pics/portraits for her audience to see, promotes events, heavily advertises Lion King and homecoming and posts music video teasers. Beyonce also takes advantage of other social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook to promote her upcoming album or music, Beygood, Ivy Park, Homecoming, and the Lion King movie/soundtrack. Our other case study, Bruce Springsteen, also relies heavily on promoting his content through social media. In this variety of platforms, which we used as well, he exposes his music release information, interviews, pictures and videos of him performing and even uses the hashtag #TeamSpringsteen on his posts so they're exposed to a wider range of people. Both artists also have a website where they are able to own their platform and display not only their newest albums, songs and music videos, but merchandise and products too. Apart from that, we also concluded that our artist, just like Beyonce and Springsteen, will heavily market through YouTube by posting teasers, music videos, behind the scene videos and the newest productions. YouTube gets over 2 million users that stream videos every single month so the artist's content has more exposure and chances of growing. 

When it comes to developing our artist's brand, my teammates and I agreed on a variety of ways in which our artist, Wayne Parks, could enhance a reputation. Apart from taking advantage of social media platforms and creating a website for our artist, we decided to create a reputation by using colors. The colors yellow and purple were used on a variety of posts on social media, on the merchandise that's available to the public, and were used the theme colors on the website. The purpose of this repetition of colors is so that the fanbase can feel a sense of belonging to a larger fan community since they feel as if those colors represent that artist they look up to. This connection between the audience can get them to feel as if they relate to each other as they represent the artist themselves, getting them to converse about the artist and express their thoughts about new releases on social media, giving the artist feedback as well. Additionally, we decided that Wayne Parks would collaborate with other small artists, or as an opening act to bigger ones, on the pop genre. By doing this, he has more exposure, hopefully grow his fanbase, and enhance a reputation as an artist. Another idea my teammates and I came up with is that our artist would appear on as many podcasts and interviews as possible. This way more individuals get to know who he is and what he is all about, coming directly from him. Also he could release news on new gig dates or EP releases and even play his music, creating a name for himself and hopefully giving himself more opportunities to attend more interviews and podcasts if it goes well. 

We as a group created a few marketing products, mostly merchandise that was available for purchase on our website and promoted on the social media platforms. We created t-shirts with the choice of black and white or purple and yellow, hoodies, stickers with the logo, and the camera used on his latest music video. When making these decisions we took into consideration the amount of money that people are willing to invest for our artist. Since our target audience consists of young adults, we made sure the prices were adequate for the product being sold. The purpose of creating merchandise was to get our fans to brand and represent Wayne Parks, giving him more exposure. A few examples of our merchandise were:

   

         

In the making of this project I learned a lot of lessons. From the lessons taught to us by our teacher, I have noticed that I need to start taking risks in the decisions I make when I am producing something. There is always room for improvement and I acknowledge that, because of that I enjoy receiving critiques and just asking myself where I could’ve reached a greater level of creativity or of knowledge. In the making of this project, I also noticed that there is so much more behind than just being a successful artist. The process of marketing and campaign of the music industry is more challenging than what the average person thinks, every step and decision has a purpose and every single detail needs to be analyzed before it is put out there because we, the audience, are the ones that bring success to artists. The amount of consumption of the audience is what determines how far each artist will go, therefore, there needs to be a lot of thought put into the content that would be exposed to them.