The final product!

My CCR..

Film Poster

Review of final changes

Throughout the development and production of the film opening, we encountered some issues which made our group change certain things about our project, that stands the same for the post production aspect of the film opening.

When editing, our editor Eugenia had to arrange footage appropriately to match the storyline which was developed. Some footage had to be changed, rearranged, and some eventually was deliberately deleted.

There was sufficient footage for the two minutes allowed, so I personally suggested that certain takes of the screwdrivers and other parts of the garage scene should be edited out to make way for other shots specifically after the title of the film. We reached an agreement where the screwdriver part was important but could be cut by a few seconds and shorten some other scenes to make way for footage which gave pacing to the film, such as the shot of Elliot walking out of bed or the room.

Overall, the changes done are reflective of stylistic choices in the way it helps the film tell the story developed.

CCR Research

With the project ending soon, our group and I have begun researching certain details and information needed to answer our Creative Critical Reflection.

The main categories of research were:

- Details on all software used throughout project

- Details on the possible or theoretical terms of media distribution

- Final research on the genre conventions of our genre, comparing of our project

- Design of the presentation

We used various systems and programs to aid us designing, producing, and finalizing our film opening, thus we had to gather the information of the resources appropriately to properly communicate in our CCR.

The distribution terms are a key element of our CCR as it shows how we could think and apply knowledge and information learned in class. I began researching certain events which focused on mental health, such as NAMI. The National Alliance on Mental Illness hosts a yearly conference where various parties are invited to learn, educate, and collaborate on projects and policies centered around mental illness, I initially thought it would be a good idea to feature our film opening at one of these conferences. After thinking I decided it would be good as other methods would not be appropriate due to the nature of our efforts to not stereotype people with the illness. Our TA is younger and would not be found at this events, yet the manner by which this film presents itself and the genre is crucial for positive reviews from audience members. By featuring this film at a mental illness conference it would spark conversation on the representation of mental illness in film and would address our own efforts on appropriately representing people who have OCD.

I decided to research some final conventions of our genre to compare it to our film opening and decide whether we truly followed the genre conventions. This is crucial to answer the beginning of the first question in the CCR. This also shows the manners in which we used technique and design to follow genre conventions.

Finally, I researched the best way to present my CCR in an engaging manner which is professional. I decided to create a PowerPoint slide presentation with various images time to a voice over script, this ensures I have accompanying images presented professionally and clearly. This presentation will be screen recorded to then be featured on my blog.

A Few Thoughts..

Since this week is focused on the post-production and reflect aspects of our project, this has been a time of thinking and reflection on our work through the given timeline of the project.

The beginning of the project went smoothly and was planned out accordingly based on our schedules. This could have worked more efficiently if we also planned and coordinated the date, location, and things to bring, on days we planned to meet (After school, Starbucks, etc.)

I wanted to focus on the group dynamics as well, where some group members where very specific about creative design and planning, where others acted as support, and some as moderators. I personally found myself as a moderator between the strong personalities in the group and support all group members in an appropriate manner that allowed us to work efficiently despite our differences and characteristics.

Throughout the creative process we collaborated and approved large decisions which would affect the main point, design, look, or understanding of the film opening, this included the omission of certain shots, certain set design elements, and narrative details.

Ultimately, the collaboration in our project served to all group members to present an appropriate project which we are all proud of feature our names.

Day 1 Filming review

This past Friday (03/22/19) was our first day filming our film opening. The scene where the main character Elliot is kidnapped and placed in a messy garage was filmed on this day at Elly's garage which hosted a suitable location and set design elements we needed for present the character in a chaotic moment of conflict. This conflict would be juxtaposed with the scene of Elliot's normal morning, suitable for a person with OCD.

On this day I dressed myself in a white button up shirt, khaki chino pants, white shoes, a brown belt, a leather watch, and opaque brown glasses, these costume elements were discussed in an earlier post. These costume elements show the character and allow the audience to understand the situation the character faces as this "posh well dressed" character is placed in a thrilling scenario which is uncomfortable for him. The following scene acts to support the audiences' thoughts on the character and acts to develop the character while presenting the conflict and lens by which the story will be told in later part of the film.

We had certain issues with lightning in this garage due to a yellow/orange light being the only built in source of light, we used a camping lamp and a special camera light to appropriately use light and maintain consistency with the use of lighting throughout the scene.

Before filming we should have investigated the space/set beforehand to note certain issues we may have ran into, and we could have planed accordingly.

Ultimately, our first day of filming was quite successful with a great amount of footage ready to be exported and to be edited. We had quite some fun filming, below are pictures of our group behind the scenes.

Final actor

Previously I have noted our dilemma in finding an actor with a congruent schedule for our filming schedule. We ultimately faced too many issues with the drama club at our school due to a state competition where many potential actors will be leaving, thus leaving us with few options.

We also had many friends and classmates who offered to act in our production, yet the timetables did not match and would interfere with our schedule and possible hold us back.

We settled on using myself as the main actor as I will be on set to direct regardless, and our timetables work perfectly. This seems similar to Quentin Tarantino as he has acted in a film where he acted as director.

I am personally not a great actor but I have been trying to improve my acting skills and I will put in the effort to truly work with the character and explore how the character could be conceptualized and place characteristics I deem fit for the character and the situations Elliot will face in the film opening.

Ultimately, the scheduling is crucial to have an appropriate actor portray the character in an effective manner which allows for a connection with audiences.

Coming up with a name

Since our film opening is based on the personal conflict of the character as well as their mental disorder, we decided to personalize the situation and the character.

We decided to come up with a name for our main character, after discussing with peers we decided to use the name Elliot. By using a name we hope to add a personal "layer" which the actor portraying the character, can use to develop the character. By allowing the character to truly interact with the fictional character we hope this results in the actor associating with the character and properly acting and showing the emotions needed to convey the message of conflict and character development.

We initially had many names:

-Adam
-Alvin
-Theodore
-June
-Simon
-Gerald
-Elliot

We chose Elliot due to the friendly nature of the name and the association with lovable characters in cinema such as Elliot the Dragon from "Pete's Dragon"(1977). This lovable name will hopefully resonate with audiences and allow for a connection with the character and engage the audience.

Changing our storyboard

Since planning our film opening we have been committed to ensuring a great story is relayed through visuals which are appropriate for the situation and exemplify our knowledge on production techniques.

Given feedback from peers, we have decided to change the way which we present our film title, our first concept was to feature the title within a shot which is of a table and has rulers on it. We have decided to change it to the title on a black screen instead, where the title would be differentiated from the composition and aids in the separation of the two scenes in the concept we have developed to show a partial climatic scene followed by a scene which develops the character and conflict experienced throughout the film.

We also thought of possibly tying the character in the garage/kidnapping scene as it would emphasize the intense situation. After thinking over and trying to conceptualize the scene, we decided to forego this decision as it would inhibit the character from interacting in the messy space and would not allow for the development of conflict in the story. This decision would also be an issue in continuity as the scene would continue and would force us to explain greater details with a limited time-frame of our two minutes, we would have to sacrifice parts of the other scene.

Through changes in our storyboard we have addressed the issues and perspectives brought up by peers and will aid in developing a great film opening, this will allow our opening to flow between scenes and create distinction between the situation the character faces versus the situation the character idolizes, which is key for developing the conflict present throughout the film.

*The actual storyboard shots were erased and we edited it by writing that the background is black, we also drew a shot of tied up hands, this shot was later erased

Actor/ Filming dates

With the film opening being formulated and our film dates approaching, we have found ourselves trying to find actors who can film the specific dates we request.

Our group will be filming 03/22, 03/23, 03/24, 03/25

As these dates are at the beginning of our Spring Beak in Broward County, we have resorted to thinking broadly for actors. We may even have use myself as the main actor, as the main actor was decided as a male character due to the nature of masculinity and its presentation with post-modernist society, where masculinity and its effects are seen and are broken.

For the actors, we want a male teenager (16-18 y/o), who can act well and convey expressive facial motions and feelings.

As the actor plays a crucial role in the opening with no dialogue, we are determined to find the proper actor for the role.

Our group identified possible solutions:

- Making a casting call
- Finding actors who are part of our school's drama program
- Using group members

Ultimately, we will find an actor as we request even with this dilemma as we are determined to find the appropriate actor for the character.

Group Critiques

Today in class we held group critique sessions, similar to the critiques we engaged in during the planning of our projects.

With new groups and fresh minds we all presented the content and ideas we had, which mostly drew discourse and suggestions.

When I presented my group's ideas and current state we generally received positive reinforcement on our ideas and current content, with the exception of our scheduling. The group was concerned about the time we had to edit and film, they suggested we overshoot the days that we will be filming as we may not have too much time to reshoot and edit.

Overall I provided suggestions and constructive criticism for the other group's projects, from advice on costume design, mice-en-scene, dilemmas, acting, and storyboard development.

The process of the group critiques is quite beneficial as all parties benefit with the reinforcement of the positive aspects of one's project, while receiving advice from people who have never seen the project before.

Ultimately, our group will hold a meeting before our film dates so we can organize ourselves based on the suggestions given by the groups and find the similarities and discrepancies identified.

Costume design

With previous posts on the mice-en-scene elements of our film opening, we have decided to address the costume for our main actor (the person depicted with OCD).

Given advice from our critique groups, the mice-en-scene of our production will follow the conventions exhibited by people with OCD and would be featured as an association with the mental disorder, these conventions would be a clean, tidy, white shirt, grey/khaki pants, a black/brown belt, and clean shoes.

We wanted to use this costume design as it is clean, modern, yet professional all personal aspects held by our character, we also want to character's appearance and actions to juxtapose the surroundings in the scene before the title of our film opening.

The scene after the title, the character will wake up in their clean white room as they wore white pajamas to bed and the bed sheets are neatly folded and done.

All of these attributes will contribute as they will show the character and his appeals which will be juxtaposition with the scene where he is forced into a situation he dislikes, and the featuring of a clean white room will be his bedroom which shows the environment he likes and thus will convey the message of OCD to the audience so they can understand the character and be introduced to the character and the part of the conflict they will face as the movie/story progresses.

Below I have added sketches done to show the costume design, this will likely be amended to the actor we use and specifications such as the use of glasses or sizes of clothes the actor can fit in.

Group Member roles

For our project we are fortunate to have four people as part of our team, the four of us have many skills and attributes which we can bring to the design, production, and reflection of this film opening.

Since we all have various skills we have decided to enlist roles to later give credit during the film opening, these credits will be; Director, Videographer, Editor, Writer, and main actors.

Throughout the design and production of our film opening we have all collaborated and worked together to address certain issues, to think creatively, and to prompt actions. Since we are asked to place credits for the work done we have decided to give credit as follows:

- Writer - Elizabeth Jaimes

- Editor - Eugenia Scheuren 

- Videographer - Rhea Thomas 

- Director - Gabriel Quiros (me) 

Together we have worked together and will continue to work together to present an a great film opening!

Accurate Depiction of Mental Illness - Story Board

As our story and film opening will depict a character with OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder), we ensured to accurately show the disorder through visuals.

Since we had to design proper visuals which show this disorder, we had to design our storyboard around the composition of the frames and scenes.

We began our storyboard with a scene of our main character being thrown into a garage by a stranger, this is meant to show a forced situation like a kidnapping. This is followed by scenes of the character looking around the room at various objects which seem imperfect. Additionally the fast paced editing and camera movements would aid in developing the tense situation's tone. 

As the film opening develops, one will see the character fixing these "imperfect items", this is significant as the character's actions and appeal will juxtapose the messy and cluttered garage which seems to affect his emotional stability, a common occurrence in people with OCD.

The film title will then be shown, followed by the character laying in bed where they will get up in a white, clean, and organized room, which is very specific to how a person with OCD may decide to live. This scene will place a greater emphasis on the situation which happened beforehand and will show how this character has OCD, as the scene following the title will withhold fast paced editing and certain sounds. 

Below are pictures of our initial concepts and sketches!

Group Meeting

Having our storyboard developed and needing to figure out the logistical aspects of our film opening, our group decided to hold a meeting and discuss certain parts of our project.

The main discussions were on:

- Equipment
- Storyboard edits
- Editing
- Logo
- Production company logo
- Actors needed

Overall the meeting went smoothly and was able to provide the required time not given in class to prepare for filming the opening.

The equipment is discussed in a separate blog posting along with props.

The storyboard was also seen in another posting and features pictures and descriptions of the scenes.

During the meeting we established the logo and design of the production company name, which we decided we would be the first letters of the group member's names. This name would be GEER and would feature a gear design around the G or separate. We decided to feature a production company as it would add to the authenticity of our film opening and would represent the group members who participated in its creation. This design concept can be seen in a picture below!

During the meeting we made sure to talk about the need for two actors, one main and another one who is used for one scene. We need to find an actor who has the proper time for our filming dates and can truly portray the character. We decided to use a friend who said they would be available, in the case of the actor not being able to film, we decided we would use of ourselves (group members) as the actors.

Ultimately, the meeting was very important for our group to communicate past texts and short periods of time during class. The logistics and heart of the film opening were discussed and the preparations for filming are in place, in the meantime we will refine certain aspects such as the storyboard and acting situation.

Font Design/ Title

The title for any film is imperative to design and marketing purposes, thus our team has emphasized this process as any other production would.

The use of the title can add to the mise-en-scene element which can be attributed and associated with the mental disorder we have chosen to feature, OCD. Since we have chosen OCD, we decided to have a clean, simple, and modern font choice for the title of our film, as these are the traits exerted by people with OCD, and would follow the appropriate conventions associated with such disorder.

We drew inspiration from the film "First Man"(2018), which features a clean and simple title which is representative of space and futurists styles.

With this design, we decided to emulate a similar clean and simple font choice for our own film title. Using a font in Adobe Illustrator CC 2018, we identified a similar font to "First Man".

Below is an image our title!

Although the styles look a slightly different, they both hold the same characteristics which distinguish both titles, aid in conveying certain elements of mine-en-scne such as the style of production. The use of the straight lines is a stereotypical but normally accurate representation of the style embodies by people with OCD. 

Image source:

“First Man Opening Card.” Electric Bento , www.electricbento.com/movies/first-man-is-an-emotionally-charged-
     story-to-get-to-the-moon.

Equipment/ Prop use

With our filming dates approaching, our group has decided to have a proper discussion about the equipment needed for filming to take place.

The main equipment would be:

-Cameras
-Lighting equipment
-Sound equipment/ editing
-Props
-Editing softwares.


For the cameras we will be using a Canon T7i. We have access to this camera through some of our group members being part of a television production program at our school, where we will also have access to sound equipment and lighting.

In regards to editing we have access to Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2018, which is a great editing software which all of our group members have experience using.

For props, we will likely buy certain items we may not have, but overall we will be using mostly household items.

We will also be using Adobe Illustrator CC 2018 and Adobe Photoshop CC 2018, which I am personally familiar with, these will be used to design our film title and the production company logos.

Picture sources:

“EOS Rebel T7i EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens Kit.” EOS Rebel T7i EF-S 18-55mm f/4-5.6 IS STM Lens Kit,  
    Canon USA, shop.usa.canon.com/shop/en/catalog/eos-rebel-t7i-ef-s-18-55-is-stm-kit-digital-slr.

“Adobe Creative Cloud .” TechSoup CANADA, www.techsoupcanada.ca/en/adobe-cloud/product/adobe-creative-
     all-apps-plan-1-year-individual-membership-—-access-to-discounted.

Examples of genre conventions

    Having established our genre and identified certain conventions of such genre, I have decided to view certain examples where these conventions are present, and how we could use them in our film opening.

- "Orphan" (2009) -

This psychological thriller is based on an orphan girl who is adopted by a family in the United States, she is originally from a mental ward for children in the Ukraine. This film focuses on the metal health issues this orphan faces and her journey with assimilating with her adopting family. The tone of the film is dark and mysterious, similar to the actions and appearance of the orphan girl.

This tone is achieved with set design, costume design, and editing. The dark monochromatic color scheme present in the set and costumes can be juxtaposed, and therefore are emphasized in contrast with lighter colors and lighting as seen outdoors, in the hospital scenes, and in the car.

This juxtaposition is also evident with the dark "filter" used by editing the film and having a darker look, specifically when showing the orphan girl, particularly towards the ending of the film when darker subjects arise.

Our team looks forward to incorporating these techniques when producing our film opening as it will aid in the development of our tone and subsequently, the story. We plan on using close-ups, low-key lighting, fast paced editing, dark monochromatic color schemes, and a specific design for costumes.

- "Toc Toc" (2017)

"Toc Toc" is a Spanish film based on OCD, potentially the disorder our story will focus on. This film is quite different from a thriller, as it is comedic but overall has a unique way in presenting this psychological disorder.

The opening of the film features a montage of a character's OCD fixations as they are arriving to a clinic for therapy. As more characters arrive in a waiting room, each get to know each other and finally work together to figure out and disrupt their fixations. This lighthearted film introduces the mental disorder by the details of a person's fixations, while contributing to the storyline.

On the artistic attributes this film maintains an orange-brown and blue monochromatic color scheme which is symbolic of the situation the characters find themselves including the environments and acts to emphasize certain character's details on fixations.

This film also features many close-ups to the characters and small details which draw attention and are used for symbolism. Although the reasoning for the technical use is to serve a separate type of film, the same technique along with set design and other elements of mise-en-scene can act to draw attention to certain details, act for symbolism, and aid in introducing certain elements of storytelling, specifically as we are attempting to introduce the conflict a character faces with their own mental disorder.

Ultimately, we can utilize elements of costume design, color, set design, and camera movements to aid in the presentation of our mental disorder in a manner which follows genre conventions, and act centripetally to our storyline.

Conventions of a Psych Thriller

     After being able to get in groups and receive constructive criticisms on our project, a reoccurring subject of discourse was the mise-en-scene elements within the film opening.

Many of the critique group members mentioned how the psychological disorder we chose, should be aligned with the tone of the film and the complexities within storytelling. One way we could develop this tone is through the set design, lighting, color use, and costume. This could be integrated to add to a darker and mysterious tone which is common in psychological thrillers.

I found a helpful guide which shows and discusses the conventions of a psychological thriller, could can access a page to download it from here.

This guide focuses on the use of:

Mirrors as elements of set design used for "horror" elements or narrative development of character's "self", a common theme in psychological thrillers

Additionally, the use of fast paced editing of certain scenes can aid in the development of chaos, also a common theme in psych thrillers, specifically related to a mental disorder or the development of story and character.

Flashbacks are also common ways to introduce information about a character, this is quite specific to psychological thrillers as it could include relevant information in a quick time period.

Low-key lightning is known as effective when showing a personal moment, specifically when directed to a subject character, this technique can also be used throughout the production and adds a mysterious look to the composition of the film. The low-key lighting is seen throughout many films, it adds to the set design and can be incorporated to our film opening to add a mysterious and ominous tone and look to our opening.

Ultimately, the use of technical elements such as editing, flashbacks, mirrors, and low-key lighting can attribute the tone desired for our film opening, which affects the manner in which we present our story.

Making changes!

    With deciding our portfolio project genre; Psychological-Thriller, we have identified certain concepts we want to emphasis. When developing our story, we decided to centripetally use a mental disorder to allow for character development and acts as conflict within our story, once again using conventions of drama.

    We met in groups to discuss our progress on the portfolio projects, during this process we viewed each others work and ideas to provide constructive criticism. When presenting the ideas of our group, the team members identified certain discrepancies within the development of our story and details of our film opening.

Suggestions included:

- Appropriately identifying and portraying a mental disorder

- Using mise-en-scene to appropriately

-Formulating our entire story of conflict around the pressure or personal issue with having the disease

This third point could be reflective of films such as "The Fault in Our Stars" (2014) or "Love Simon" (2018), where one film focuses on a physical disorder, while the other focuses on the struggle of a teenage boy who is gay and is on his experience in coming of age. While these films are not truly on the basis for our film as references, they can allow us to hold examples of character/conflict development, which is a crucial element in the entirety of our story.

By developing our story, we can then decide on ways we could introduce such story in a creative and effect manner, parallel with the message we want relayed to the viewer.

Drama! Thriller-Psych

    Our group recently decided to focus on drama with a specific focus on thrillers and complex topics.  When brainstorming we thought of psychological thrillers and their emotive style which make the audiences think, while still providing a great story. By looking at film openings from "Gone Girl" (2014) and "Shutter Island" (2010).

The except from "Gone Girl" was based on a voice over while dark scenes of the story's environment and setting were shown. In this except the tone and pacing of the film were established rather than elements of storytelling. The dark scenes and shadows give it a macabre tone which is signified throughout the film and eludes with the soft and quiet voice over.

The opening to "Shutter Island" focused on the tone and setting as well, notably similar to "Gone Girl". While certain elements of storytelling were used, such as the conversation between the two men about 1:30 in, the majority and purpose of the opening is to examine the tone created by the color scheme, the diabetic sounds, and camera zooms. Although the conversation between the two men is held, it simply introduces basic background to the situation, where a viewer would be confused, yet the elements of storytelling simply introduce the main character played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Overall, the use of film openings within the genre of drama for Psych-trillers, are based on the introduction of tone, setting, and some attributes of characters, whether physical images or the introduction of composure, through simple and non-significant acting scenes.

Opening Credits; Short Vs. Feature Film

    The use of opening credits in a film can serve a great purpose to use footage to introduce elements of a story. This footage could be used simply to demonstrate a tone or pacing of a film, but it depends on the genre of such film.

A short film can use footage for the opening credits to quickly introduce elements of a story as this is efficient for the short time period to view the film. Feature films may use the opening credit scenes to simply establish the pacing of the film and normally feature quite little information about the story.

By finding this guide to opening credits, the conventions of the credits can be clearly seen. This article mentions the importance of establishing genre for the style and use of the credits. The format of the film is imperative and conjectures point to the conventions used between short and feature films is based on resources or even the director's motive.

Short films normally have less time to work with, thus having to introduce the genre, tone, and elements of the story is a technique used by directors of such films to maximize efficiency. One must also understand the context in which audiences may view a short film, where it is only part of a greater viewing of media, thus the attention of audiences works differently when compared to a feature length film.

Feature length films normally use the opening credits scene to establish the tone of the film rather than parts of the story, as this is an artistic perspective and is more elaborate in the scheme of story telling, so a director may opt to only develop tone as they have the rest of time to fully develop the story based on the pacing of the film. Katy Perry's 'T.G.I.F" music video shows this as the music video was intended to act as the beginning of a short story, where the credits roll as action is occurring, while feature films such as "Peter Pan" (1953), where the credit scene pays an homage to the tone of the film, but is establishing the manner of story telling at the beginning.

Short films quickly capture the audience's attention as needed for the retention of information and the want to continue watching the film, where the short time period may convince audiences to opt out from watching the short film. Where a feature length film is known to develop the story later in the longer piece, and audiences normally know the length of the film and would normally continue to watch the film, knowing further elements of the story may be developed.

While this technique is illustrated between short and feature length films, this technique should be used according to the genre as well, as this affects how a story may be intended to be presented.

This technique in presenting opening credits is important to note as our group will now develop our genre and story where we will create a film opening, this allows us to understand the context of placing opening credits and allows us to decide the genre of our film and the conventions we may decide to follow or challenge. By identifying elements of a short story it also allows use to differentiate between credit usage within the genre as well, so a short drama film may use the conventions detailed by a feature length film, due to the nature of introducing a dramatical scene, or this may break it as well.

Overall, this guide and using this guide based on genre as well, works to develop an understanding of credit usage in the opening sequences of a film. This allows our team to identify the scope and limitations of our project, where we are creating an engaging opening sequence which happens to ask for credits, as the task directs.

Meaning of drama!

     Since inception to film, drama has been used to teach audiences in an impactful and emotive manner. Throughout history the composition of such drama has changed, in the 1950's it was based on important historical figures, while in the modern day it is focused on historical events rather than people. Using this timeline it is very easy to follow!

In the 1960's dramatical films were based on political events, with a resurgence in sport dramas. Sport dramas were about sport icons and normally their story or important event.

The 1970's brought musical dramas and war films which is technically a separate genre, but still noted as dramas. These war films were mostly based on people and their importance within such war or catastrophic event; "Patton" (1970), "Tora! Tora! Tora!" (1970), and "Apocalypse Now" (1979).

The Eighties featured various emotion based dramatical films such as issues with civil rights and catastrophic events. A science fiction based theme emerged throughout the decade, with notable films such as "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982) and "The Blade Runner (1982).

The 90's showed many films with themes of hope and feeling, many famous thriller and comedic films were also released throughout this period. This changed with the turn of the century, as the Gulf War now was inspirational for many films in the early 2000's, many dramas were also focused on people's lives, and the non-specific personal experiences which have had historical significance. Films in the 2000's and after were specific to how the public can view films from a non-icon based perspective, which allows for audiences to resonate with the messages and themes from films.

The dramas in the present day somewhat follow these trends, some of the most popular modern films in the genre also follow these conventions as seen in this critique list.

This timeline and list can be used to analyze various examples of films and the conventions used, to view their openings to find trends within the genre. Dramatical films following modern genre conventions such as; "Boy Erased" (2018) and "Gladiator" (2000) which use a non-specific icon perspective, could be analyzed to find trends.

By finding such films, we can incorporate the themes of films to develop our story as well, we can develop a full story as this is how many producers may begin, by developing the full story we can then find the attributes that would normally be introduced in the film opening, which would follow the conventions of the genre and the theme.

Hello!

Recently for our class, we have had quite a packed schedule with projects, assignments, and lectures. Of which we will be using attributes of each towards the portfolio along with my team members.

For our music marketing campaign we decided to introduce our band following conventional methods for the genre of indie rock music. This entailed our band would have a “grungy” look and feel, which affects how we market our band and their music. By looking at “retro marketing” we were able to adapt our marketing and distribution strategy tailored to the conventions of our target audience which is 16-24 year olds. By following this scheme we decided to add certain aspects to our project such as a self-made look to the presentation and some aspects of merchandise. We could have even released the band’s music on vinyls as they are popular with the TA.

Our research of other bands within the genre affected how we developed our strategy, such as the theme developed by Arctic Monkeys on their social media platforms and how Frankie Cosmos has a personal retro look on her website and social media platforms as well. With this in hand we ensured to use Instagram as our primary form of social media as the TA is specifically involved with this platform. Thus we had information about the band members, follow ups on songwriting, and even announcements and information.

By analyzing our project we found that research based actions work well and receive high marks as this information is proven to be effective. Additionally we can consider issues with time and organization, areas to work on as we continue to our portfolio project.

Thanks for following up with me!

Representation Questions

Hey everyone!

This is my fourth blog post, and it is about representation and regards a few questions asked by my instructor.

1. Immigrant parents, this group is a growing part of American demographics and should be included in media, more specifically defiant representation forms of immigrant women with postmodernism ideals.
2. In Seven Pounds a poor immigrant family is portrayed as poor, uneducated, filthy, and uncomplacent, which reflects poorly on the specific representation of immigrant latino families as perceived in this film.

Crazy Rich Asians has defied norms from immigrant families with conservative ideals, as seen through the parents of the couple. Yet the representation of Asians is incredible and ensures to close a gap between the stereotype, it still emphasizes traditional or even outdated family dynamics.

3. The representation is somewhat truthful to some extent based on the social dichotomy surrounding immigrant life in the United States, yet it does not fairly represent all individuals and cannot ascertain the proper perception such people may have as well.
4. The characteristics of social status I believe should be retained in some part as many immigrant families and specifically the parents of such households are treated poorly and sadly a majority as in the middle to lower social classes, and this would represent how people are treated and how something must be done, but in a manner that does not normalize the situation.

Genre Research #2

Hey everyone! Welcome back to my blog, this post is about some new research on genre and the use of fantasy in film.

Enjoy!

GENRE:

Fantasy

GENRE CONVENTIONS - CONTENT:

Normally most films categorized as ‘Fantasy’ uphold certain attributes relating to the content which are distinct to the genre. Traditionally the film would have an introduction to a specific setting, realm, or time period, then the film would normally introduce a protagonist as well as the subsequent antagonist. In most fantasy films there is an element of magic or mystery behind a force where the characters may have to develop this force and introduce this element. The storytelling of a fantasy film is crucial to understanding how elements of the story are intertwined and form the meaning behind the story.

GENRE CONVENTIONS - PRODUCTION TECH:

In most fantasy films, there can be a great influence on mise-en-scene as there are many attributes such as setting, set design, costume design, and post production elements which can all affect how the composition is presented to an audience. As some stories contain elements of magic or spirituality it can affect how the film should look many times reflective in editing and possibly a non-formalist set design as in Harry Potter where the elements of fantasy affect the use of set design in the wizarding world with distinct shapes, colors, and lighting. A common convention of fantasy films is potential animation which encompasses the whole film or portions, which is commonly seen in films with a younger target audience.

EXAMPLE #1: Harry Potter Series (2001-2011)

This film involves a wizard in a mystical world filled with good and evil as they are surrounded by magic and a whorf of mysterious event and precarious characters. The plot is set around a “chosen” one (Harry Potter) and his best friends as they battle the forces the evil with their newly learned and mastered magic, just as they are learning and discovering things about themselves.

EXAMPLE #2: Avatar (2009)

Avatar is actually known as being one of the highest grossing films of all time, this film may be characterized as Science Fiction, while there are science fiction attributes found in the film, the whole plot and thinking behind the film is descriptive of fantasy. In a the planet of Pandora the Na’vi are a native extraterrestrial  tribe, which live in peace until humans invade their land in a fight of galactic imperialism for resources. The film contains elements of supernatural elements mostly attributed to the environmental setting which is unknown from the audience’s perspective.

OTHER EXAMPLES:

-The Shape of Water (2017) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5580390/?ref_=nv_sr_1

- Lord of the Rings Series (2001) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120737/?ref_=nv_sr_1

-Alice In Wonderland (1951) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0043274/?ref_=nv_sr_2

-Narnia (2005) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0363771/?ref_=nv_sr_1

-Mary Poppins (1964) - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0058331/?ref_=nv_sr_2