Importing Footage into Final Cut Pro X

 

Today is Thursday, December 31st and today my group and I have begun the importing and post production process for our feature film, 2020 Vision. In the previous blogs I have described to you, the audience, the production process of the film. This included the Day 1 Filming Scenes as well as Day 2 Filming. Day 2 Filming was in fact only completed yesterday, but the results have been spectacular when considering that we only had 2 hours to film. In total on day 1 filming we collected about 10-12 minutes of footage. This is compared to Day 2 of filming in which we collected around 5 minutes of total footage. This difference can be attributed to the use of the iPhone solely, as compared to the drone, the go pros, and our phones. In the previous blogs I described how we dumped the footage. As a basic review, the first step involved  the footage being brought from the camera (the GoPro and Drone to be specific) to computer, also know as dumping. What we had to do was take out the SD card, put it into the SD reader, and plug it into the USB port on our computer. From there we opened the DCIM folder and found the folder containing our footage from a certain time. Then we created a desktop folder on our laptops, making sure to label each individual scene, and it’s significance to the film. A similar, yet significantly different process was used to transfer the IPhone footage. The process involved using Apples specific ability to “AirDrop” footage, without a cellular connection. This made sure the data did not lose quality when being transferred. From there I was able to airdrop my footage from my phone to my computer, since both of my devices are Apple. In total the dumping process took about 20 minutes, but was essential to this blog, which is importing the footage into Final Cut Pro. 

In order to do this. I had to first create a new project. I made sure to name the project "2020 Vision Feature Film," and selected various settings to ensure we got the production quality and product we wanted. From there I went to the top left of my screen, selected "Final Cut Pro X" and viewed the drop down menu. From there I selected the "Import" button. This brought up the Finde tab, and from that I was easily able to locate my "2020 Vision Footage" folder. Then I used the select all command "command + A" and clicked select. This then imported the footage into the tab on the left side of the Final Cut Pro tab (see photo). Finally, I am now able to drag footage from this library of footage onto the time track at the bottom of the tab. This time track is the sequence that the movie will play in real time. Overall, I am very happy with the production and post-production progression we've made on the production film "2020 Vision."

Entering the Vacation Home Scenes 1 and 3 (Filming Day 2)

Today is Tuesday, December 29th and today my group and I got to together too complete our second day of filming for our production film, 2020 Vision. Customarily, I will provide a review of previous blogs to ensure you stay provided with current and relevant news. On Friday, December 18th my group and I got together to complete our first day of filming. Our goal that day was to complete the opening scene, the car rolling shots, and the first scene. Despite this reality, due to some logistical errors we did not end up completing the first scene. Then, on December 22nd my group and I discussed our arabilities and the possibility to film another day towards the end of December. After all was said and done, we agreed on Tuesday in the morning since it seemed as if everyone's schedules were open. However, this couldn't be further from the truth. The Monday before, it seemed as if a lot of plan were made impromptely and 2 of our group members were unavailable. So we obviously had to reschedule. We agreed on today, December 30th, but with a very narrow time frame of 2-4pm EST. This meant we had to complete 2 scenes in a matter of 2 hours, with the hope of 0 distractions. 

Brining my back to todays blog, I can safely say everything went well and I personally believe it was the most progress we've made in the shortest amount of time. Surprisingly the first scene our group completed was the third scene. This scenes involves the main characters turning on the television and learning from a breaking news report information about the virus and the possibility of a vaccine. The characters know they need to get supplies and socially distance themselves from others to prevent the spread of the virus. We knocked this scene out within 45 minutes and moved onto our scene 1 filming. Where we left off in scene 1 involved the characters walking into the vacation home. Then they all have very different stances on the house. For instance, Sabrina seems to be very disappointed, Skye seems to love the house and is overly energetic, and Jordan seems to remain neutral. This scene took us about an hour to complete, and gave us the reaming 15 minutes or so to discuss further filming/editing dates, in addition to blog ideas. Overall, I am really proud of the progress we made in these 2 hours of filming and it has pushed us back onto schedule. 

Planning for Day 2 of Filming.

Today is Tuesday, December 22nd and today my group and I discussed the possibility of a second day of filming. As per usual, a slight recap of the progression of our film is necessary. First of all, we have completed  a basic script and storyboard outlining the overall plot sequence of our film. This has proven to be a great aid in the production process as we do not have to come up with scene pitches, but rather have our planning to fall back onto. The next step that we completed in the production process was our first day of filming. On that Friday morning we were able to complete all of the opening scene, the car rolling shots, and a significant portion of the first scene. This first scene involves mostly the main characters descending on the house for their vacation. They lay out their stuff and begin to get settled. Despite this reality, when they turn on the news they learn of a shocking virus that has begun to infect the world. However, much of that scene, such as the characters turning on the television, was incomplete due to schedule complications. For instance, I had to leave at 2:00 to go home and help my family with an ongoing situation and later travel to Miami. 

Back to the purpose of today’s blog, those schedule complications left us slightly behind schedule, and we still needed to film. Even our schedule had outlined us to begin full on editing of the film, and only re shooting next week. However, this obviously just did not work for our group. Appropriately, we once again held a Group FaceTime call to discuss possible limitations for when we could film. Some key factors brought up were scheduling at work, Christmas Eve and Day, and New Years Eve and Day. However, we all agreed on either Tuesday or Wednesday to film continue filming the first scene. In addition we also plan on filming the third scene, which involves the characters learning about the scientific breakthrough with a vaccine. We plan on filming from 2-4 and this would have us almost 75% with the production end of the film. 

Dumping Footage

 

Today is Monday, December 21st, and today we began the editing process of the film. While in the previous blogs, I detailed the filming process of the film, the post production process is a much different. It involves tweaking, editing, and minipularing the footage capture in the production process and organizing it in such a manor that you form the film. However to recap as to what we have filmed is a good place to start with the editing process. First of all we have completed the opening scene, the car rolling shots, and a significant portion of scene 1. This was done on the Friday before winter break, and I blogged about it in the previous 2 posts. In total, we captured around 10-12 minutes of film, just for these scenes. This was spread across 3 different devices aswell. Including, but not limited to: a DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone, Go Pro Hero 8, and an IPhone 11. What the use of these different forms of equipment meant is there was different ways we needed to upload our raw takes, to edit as the scene. The first step involved  the footage being brought from the camera (the GoPro and Drone to be specific) to computer, also know as dumping. What we had to do was take out the SD card, put it into the SD reader, and plug it into the USB port on our computer. From there we opened the DCIM folder and found the folder containing our footage from a certain time. Then we created a desktop folder on our laptops, making sure to label each individual scene, and it’s significance to the film. Then, we transferred all the footage from the SD card to the folder on our laptop but using the select all command, and dragging it to our desktop. In total, it took us about 10 minutes to transfer all the footage, but it was a very important step in the post production process. Afterwards, we safely ejected the SD card by right clicking on devices and selecting “eject”. This made sure no data was lost on the transfer on the device. A similar, yet significantly different process was used to transfer the IPhone footage. The process involved using Apples specific ability to “AirDrop” footage, without a cellular connection. This made sure the data did not lose quality when being transferred. As such however, we all needed to get the footage to blog and edit about, so we decided to use the original phone and airdrop everything to everyone. From there I was able to airdrop my footage from my phone to my computer, since both of my devices are Apple. Finally, I once again brought the footage from my downloads to the folder with the specific scene headings to ensure we were able to keep track of all our footage. 

Vacation Home Filming (Filming Day 1)

Today is Sunday, December 20th and I am pleased to say once again I am happy with the progression of our film. While we may not have had the most immediate success in terms of planning, filming and editing, there has been a healthy progression, which has meant steady success. For a recap, on Friday the 18th, my group and I decided to film around 10am to 2pm EST. Our goal that day was to accomplish the jeep drone filming as well as scene 1. Scene 1 details the main characters, including myself as Ryan, Sabrina, Jordan, and Skye walking into the house, and critiquing their new "Air B&B". However, Sabrina, a character in the film whose supposed to come off as snobby and spoiled, seems to be unappreciative. At the same time, Skye, an overly energetic and outgoing person, seems to love the house and the friends she is with. Planning of the script and the storyboard really seemed to aid in the process of filming this scene. The script for example, covered almost 2 pages of dialogue. Additionally, there are heading detailing a very general description of the actions in each scene. In terms of the storyboard, it also proved to be a great aid to reference when filming. It showed us the camera angles, shots, and techniques that e needed to use in each scene. For example, we mad great used of mid shots, over-the-shoulder shots, wide shots, and two-shots. 

In terms of a specific scene we filmed, it involved myself, and the other characters, getting out of the Jeep, and then walking through the main door. The initial getting out of the car we had to recruit a camera man in order to ensure we could have all four of us in the scene. We ended up recruiting Hillery's, "Jordan," brother who stood near the door, while I pulled in the car, and we all got out. While we did have a great deal of success there are some things that we did not complete in the first scene. The most important thing that we did not finish was Sabrina critiquing the houses and Ryan turning on the news. Specifically, the turning on the news is a huge plot development for the story and allows the movie to continue to flow. As such, we are going to need to schedule another day to film these scenes, in addition to other scenes such as the grocery store. But overall, I am happy with the progression of the film, but we still need to complete other work to remain on track.

Jeep Drone Photography (Filming Day 1)

(Drone to the left side of the car)

Today is Saturday, December 19th and yesterday we just completeted our first day of production filming. In this day of production filming, we tasked ourselves with completeing the first and second scenes. However, in the previous blogs I had discussed how our group had identified and reviewed some of our logisitcal concerns that could hamper filming. These included time for work. baseball practice, softball practice, tenis and volleyball conditioning, and just other priortized duties. Additionally, I had mentioned yesterday, Friday the 18th, was in fact a shortened school day for midterms. Despite this reality, the filming process went over very smoothly and we did not have interferance from school work as much of it could be completed before the filming date. 

Not to be carried too far off topic, the purpose of this blog today was to discussing the proccess on which we shot the car drone and aeriel shots. In these scenes we made use of my DJI Mavic 2 Pro Drone. The Mavic 2 Pro is a drone that allows you to capture stunning aierl photography with it's 4k camera while still maintaining a standard of saftey with its all around sensors. This matched our needs for the film perfectly as the resolution on the camera would match that of the GoPro's, another device we were going to be using to film with, and prevented any collisions with pedestrains, vehicles, or ambient objects. The first takes that we took, were taken in the nearby house of which we were filming at. We took some car rolling shots from the front and behind, in addition to some birds eye pov shots from a sum of approximently 200 feet above the ground. However, one technical difficulty we ran into while trying to film at this location, was the quick shots feature, was restricted on the the drone operators screen. What we later found it was, this was caused by a flight restriction, due to the drones proximenty to an international airport. It was really cool to see this feature implemented, however it slightly hamped how we were to film. Despite this reality, we switched locations to another one of our group members houses to complete the filming for scene one. This location was out of the flight restricted zone, and allowed us to complete all the "quick shots" for the first scene that we needed. Additionally, this location had a lot less obstacles to worry about while flying, so the operator could come lower and closer to the jeep/ This is what allowed us to conlude this scene with some stunning shots. Overall I am very pleased with how the day went, and look forward to sharing my thoughts on thee second scene we filmed yesterday.

Group Meeting Discussing Filming Techniques

    Today is December 14, 2020 and as of currently it looks like we will continue to remain on track on the filming schedule. In the previous blog I discussed some limitations in regards to my groups availability. We shared these concerns on a Group FaceTime call on December the 12th. Some of these concerns were they I have to attend my work occupation once a week from 4-8pm and on Sunday 9-5pm. Additionally, at the start of the new year I will be attending baseball conditioning from 3:3-5:30 every day from Monday-Thursday. Other group members also did bring up some concerns. For instance, 2 out of 3 of my group teammates have to either attend softball, volleyball, or tennis practice/conditioning. Overall, there are a lot of multitude for concerns in terms of the logistical process of the film. Despite this reality, I believe we will be able to conquer these concerns and establish a time to film, edit, re-film, and re-edit.

    Bringing the discussion back into today's purpose, just today we had another Group FaceTime with all of our members. We sought out to establish a time we could all film this week, so we could begin with the production process of our Final Task. While this was difficult to plan with regards to the logistical concerns, we decided to film this coming Friday, December 18th, from 10:30am-2pm. You may ask however, why on a school day would we film in the morning? Well, another logistical error that I've failed to mention throughout the previous blogs is this week is midterms at our school. Each day starting Tuesday, December 15th to Friday, December 18th, we will have 2 mid-terms and school will end at approximately 12:00pm everyday. What allowed us to film on this date is my group and all shared our study hall period, in addition to one other "easy" class, that we would not have to take a midterm for. This just allowed us to log on at 7:40 and 9:40 respectfully and continue filming. Overall I am  really excited to begin filming on Friday. I plan on taking all my production equipment and putting a significant dent into the timeframe of the film.

Planning for Short Film Progression

 Today is Sunday, December 13th, and as of currently our film is on track with our schedule. In a previous blog we outlined a calendar we were going to use to ensure we stayed on track during the production process of the film. We separated the calendar into serval very specific times, including but not limited to, not filming, production planning, group meetings, fining dates, editing dates, and reshoot/re-edit dates. This week, December 6th through the 13th, we were outlined to begin the production planning for the film. This includes lining up the order of shots and scenes that need to take place and securing locations to film. In addition, it also meant we would need to later find a date to actually film and put our work into action.

    Despite this reality, this week we did not accomplish as much as would've liked due to some logistical errors that I am going to discuss. For instance, as I am sure we are all very much aware we are in the time of a global pandemic, and meetings for any kind, are highly discouraged. This has been a major setback for us as a group, we have made the decision to limit the possibility of exposure and instead remain virtual throughout most discussions. However, once again we encountered even more logistical errors, that interfered with the amount of time we had to plan. Speaking for myself, and other members of my group, many of us have jobs or other occupations that have to be prioritized in our life. I for the most part work mostly on the weekends, from 9-5, and am only available during the week or after my work time. 

    With this all being said, while it may have looked mostly negative there was some positive feedback to come out of the production planning. On Thursday, December 10th, our group got together on a FaceTime call to discuss some of the opening sequences for our film. We specifically laid out a gameplay for the individual houses and guard at the gate scene. While there may be some complications during filming, I believe the laid out plan for the scenes, in addition to our draft of our dialogue script should be very helpful. Additionally, on Saturday, December 12th, we held another group call after I got off of work and everyone was available. In this call we discussed, as mentioned priorly, securing locations to film and additional actors that were needed. Some concerns were brought up with regards to corona virus and limited exposure to prevent cancellation of plans on the Winter Break. But, alternatives were proposed in the event that the original location could not be secured. Overall, while we did not "complete as much as we desired," a significant amount of planning took place and I look forward to begin filming this week.

Decision on Filming Over Thanksgiving Break

    Today is Monday, November 30th, and overall the pre-production process of the film in all aspects is moving on quite gracefully. Previously, during the break we discussed our marketing campaign and the design of the social media accounts. We are happy to say, we are proud of the results and look forward to promoting the film on our individual platforms and our website. Additionally, in Friday's blog we discussed certain planning aspects of the film. For instance, in regards to the props that we would be using to film and safety considerations that were being made. I also had mentioned that we had created a rough draft of the script we would be using throughout the production process of the film. Despite all the pre-production planning, this week and the last have been a very challenging time for my group to meet up in person and begin the production work. However, before I begin elaborating on the decision not to film over the Thanksgiving Break, I may add that the in schedule posted on a previous blog we did account for the fact we would not be filming. As such, this decision has not left us scrambling for time. 

    To begin with, there were many reasons as to why we choose not film this Thanksgiving Break. One of which, virtually everyone in our group was going on vacation. Me specifically, I went down to Marathon, Florida which is located in the Florida Keys. We towed our boat down and had a blast. Although it was windy, we enjoyed many of our favorite past-times such as wakeboarding, tubing, and fishing to name a few. However, where my situation differs from most is I wasn't surrounded by a family from out-of-state, elderly folks, or visiting a different state. In this case of another one of my group members, she needed to quarantine a few days prior to her vacation to see her family out of state. This group member plays a significant role throughout the film, and it is vital she is present in the production process. However, we cannot discount time with family or vacation, when we have enough time ahead to still complete the project. Simply put, for most of the group it did not make sense to ruin vacation plans for a brief period of time we had previously decided not to film. 

Beginning of Film Preparation

Today is Friday, November 27th, and today we have begun to make considerations for how we plan on actually filming our production film, 2020 Vision. In the previous blog I discusses the marketing campaign and the design for our website. Overall, I am really proud with what our group was able to design and market in that aspect of the production process. Despite this reality, the most important part of the film, is the actual film making process. As such, our group knows it is essential that we most plan to ensure the process goes without a hitch. An important and often overlooked aspect in the process is what we will be used to actually film the scenes. With a brief discussion, our group was able to identify 4 separate devices that could be used to film certain scenes. For instance, 2 of us have GoPro 4k Cameras which should provide high quality, raw footage for the film. In addition, I have a DJI Drone that we can use for high quality drone / birds eye view shots. Finally, the two other devices were apple phones, which we all have in the event we are unable to attain the previous 2 devices, and a camcorder which is provided for our class by the school. In terms of the shots and camera angles we will use throughout the film, we have created a basic script that we will use in the filming process. This script provides a synopsis of the scene, the dialogue that will be present throughout the scene, and the camera angles/shots that will be used. The script should be a great aid when trying to create each scene, opposed to creating everything on a scene by scene basis. However, one thing that was not addressed throughout the script was certain aspects of the mis-en-scene. More specifically, we did not discuss props that we would use throughout the scenes as the script was only a basic coverage of the film. But, what we failed to realize is the winter season is the holiday season, meaning there are frequent delays in shipping or item arrivals. While we would use Amazon Prime for some of the orders, ensuring a relatively fast delivery, we cannot ensure all our props will be here on time. Fittingly, we decided it was appropriate to get ahead of the problem and order some of our props, for instance, a lab coat, a stethoscope, and a mask shield to simulate a hospital environment, Finally, once again a previously "overlooked" aspect of the film making process is safety, however this year due to COVID-19, it may be one of the most important. It is important we have appropriate safety gear to ensure everyone's well being and good health. Appropriately, we have decided it is going to be necessary for everyone to wear masks at times were it is not important for the film making process. Additionally, we will frequently use germ sanitizer and have a first aid kit on us at all time. 

Marketing Campaign

    Today is Wednesday, November 25th, and as of currently our film, 2020 Vision is ramping up our marketing campaign. Marketing is an especially important aspect of our film, as it will drive the audience to come view our final product. However, marketing does not just happen on one form of media, let alone one social media platform. As such, we created 4 social media accounts under the official "2020VisionShortFilm" name. The platforms we signed up for were Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube. Despite this reality, our team realized if our audience sought out to look for our social media accounts it might be a good idea to have them all in one spot. As such, as a team we created a website to host links to all of our social media accounts. We choose to use wix to design the website as they had a great selection of templates and features that would complement the idea of our overall design. Additionally, we plan to regularly update the website so fans who may be interested in the progression of our film throughout the production process can stay up to date. 

    Beginning with my contributions to the social media accounts I was tasked with creating the logo of the movie. My plan for the logo sought to match the retro vibes that we had established when designing the website. As such I thought a luminescent red and light blue would be fitting, similar to the old school 3D glasses. Another aspect that I wished to include was a mask somewhere in the logo. The overall idea of the movie surrounds a fast spreading virus, and similar to what we are seeing in today's current events, preventative measures need to be taken to stop the spread. Finally, one mores aspect I wanted to include in the logo was a blood splatter. The blood splatter is used to symbolize the genre we are going to be following for the production of the film. It is not trying to create a sinister effect but rather heighten emotions and anticipations for the movie. The draft of the design was as follows:

    Another aspect of the social media account design that I helped with was the creation of the bio for all of the platforms, more specifically, Instagram. For the bio I drew inspiration from other short films and knew I had to include key terms such as "Official" and "Feature Film." As such our bio reads off as follows:

"Official Account for the feature film #2020Vision starring Blake Booysen, Chloe Stein, Hillery Brinkworth, and Tess Pancera."

 Following that bio, we also included a link back to our website incase our audience wished to view our website or other social media platforms. Overall, I am really proud of how our team has begun our marketing campaign, and I am excited for the progression throughout the production process.

Storyboard for Short Film

Storyboard Pages 1 and 2: Road Trip to the Vacation House (2020 Vision)

Throughout these 2 pages, our goal through the storyboarding process was to portray the overall purpose of the scene. In the early interpretation of this script, the heading read, “Four high school friends are on their way to their vacation home to celebrate spring break 2020. The city is packed with tons of spring breakers and traffic is at an all time peak. The four friends continue happily into Fort Lauderdale, and are excited for the warm weather and beautiful beaches.” As such, we thought it was appropriate to include drone footage of a lot of the scenery. Additionally, we included multiple mid shots of the individual characters as they shared their thoughts and ideas. Finally, we also included multiple shots of the car the characters would be driving in. This adds an additional action packed element to the scene, as the car rolls down the street with the drone following it with a profile and head on shot. Overall, we are really happy with this portion of the storyboard and are excited to continue planning the following scenes. 

Storyboard Pages 3 and 4: Guard at the Gate (2020 Vision)

In the portion of the script, we decided it was necessary to plan out 2 storyboard pages for the guard at the gate scene. In the original draft of the script for the 2020 Vision production, the scene header read as follows, “Ryan drives up to a gate that is the entrance to the neighborhood they will be staying in. Ryan is greeted by the guard at the gate, who he must show his check-in information for the airbnb that he booked. The guard seems confused throughout his conversation with Ryan.” In the terms of the shots used throughout the scene, the first and most obvious connecting scene was the establishing shot of the guards tower. Then, we used a drone shot to follow the car as it pulled up the guards post. Finally, we used mid shots and pov shots to connect the dialogue throughout the scene between Herb, the guard, and Ryan, the main character. All in all, we are excited with how the planning process, will benefit us throughout the production time, as we are planning ahead of time.

Storyboard Pages 5, 6, and 7: Vacation House and Grocery Store Scenes (2020 Vision)

In this portion of the script, we decided it was necessary to split these two individual scenes across 3 pieces of storyboard. For the general interpretation of the vacation house scene, we originally wanted to include, “The four friends pull into the driveway of the house that they are renting. It is beautiful, and they start exploring the rooms and backyard. They decide to turn on the television to relax after their long car ride. However, the channel that comes on alerts them of a looming virus that interrupts their plan for the day.” Fittingly, many long shots and establishing shots were included to depict the setting, overall aspects of the houses, and the breaking new scene. Additionally, we decided to once again make use of mid shots for the dialogue between characters. In regards to the grocery store scene, we once again referenced the original script for the scene. “All four of the friends park at the grocery store, get out, and go inside. While inside Jordan takes the lead, deciding what supplies to get. They stock up on food, water, and toilet paper quite frantically and all the while Ryan is receiving weird looks from people which he shrugs off as a paranoid response to the virus.” Throughout this scene we specifically looked to incorporate multiple long shots to introduce insignificant characters and provide insight into the actions of the characters. For instance, we plan on using a long shot as Ryan grabs toilet paper or other necessary supplies. 

Storyboard Pages 8, 9, and 10: Breaking News and Vaccine Administration Scenes (2020 Vision)

For the final portion of the storyboard we wanted to make the shots as intense and dramatic as possible in order to follow the theme of the movie. In the second breaking news scene, we decided to film with close-ups and mid-shots in order to establish a sense of intensity, the scene header says “As the friends are arriving home from the store they receive an urgent message from the government alerting that a vaccine has been found. All US citizens must receive the vaccine as soon as possible. The friends rush to make an appointment at the vaccine center.” For the administration of the vaccine, we focused our shots mainly on Ryan since the story ends up revolving completely around him and his intense hallucinations. In this scene, the header reads “The next morning the friends drive to their 10 AM vaccine administration appointment. They pull up to the center and are greeted with a doctor coming over to their car. The doctor asks Ryan to step out of the vehicle because of Ryan's unusual behavior. Ryan is administered the vaccine and in an instance his friends are no longer in the car.” Almost every shot in this scene is of Ryan or the doctor in order to really emphasize the disappearance of Ryan’s friends. The final screen will most likely be a sudden blackout following Ryan’s last line.

Planning for Short Film

Schedule-



The schedule for the 2020 Vision Production goes as follows: throughout the first week of December, we are going to wait on further guidance from our respective teachers, as the situation with the ongoing pandemic is unknown. Moving onto the second week, with an anticipated due date of early spring, we want to begin an in-depth plan on how the production process will go, including the shots, camera angles, mise-en-scene, and other various aspects. On the third week of December, the filming process will begin. On December 16th and 17th, filming will take place at actors' respective houses. This includes the scenes of the actors arriving at the houses, the news broadcast, and other various scenes. Then on the 18th, we will go to our local Publix, assuming permission is given, and then on the 19th, to the testing center. In the third week of December, we will first begin with planning the editing techniques and timeframe, and then follow up with 3 days of consecutive editing. Finally, we plan on being finished with the production aspects of the film by late December to early January, to meet the timeframe of the submission process.

Locations-

1. Car

2. Guard Gate

3. House

4. Grocery Store

5. Testing Facility

Each of these locations are in a very close proximity to one another, so it should be very easy for our group to get to each spot. These locations are key to use being able to properly convey the characters’ situations. The car will be essential to showing our characters traveling to their spring break destination and throughout the area of their rented house. The guard gate will serve as the entry point to the neighborhood they will be staying in. The house will be the location that the characters spend the majority of their time. The Grocery store will be a very important scene for the characters because it will show what the outside world has turned to. Lastly, the testing facility will reveal the plot twist for our character, Ryan.

Participants-

Hillery Brinkworth (as the role of Jordan).

Philip Stein (as the role of news broadcaster)

Tess Pancera (as the role of Skye).

Chloe Stein (as the role of Sabrina).

Blake Booysen (as the role of Ryan).

Spencer Regli (as the role of security guard / possibly the test administer)

Health and Safety-

The main health concern is making sure we are safely around each other during the Coronavirus Pandemic. We will all be getting rapid tests before filming so that we will know that no one will be spreading the virus. In most of the scenes, we will also be wearing masks. When filming in public, everyone else around us will also be wearing a mask. Any time we are in a car, everyone will be buckled in and legally driving. Parents will be present during all filming experiences to make sure all minors are safe. There will be first aid kits present throughout the process. All phones will be charged so that, if necessary, emergency calls can be completed.

Props Costumes-

For the costumes, Ryan, Jordan, Sky, Sabrina will be dressed in normal, everyday clothes. Each actor will carry a mask with them to wear during the grocery store scene and when they are around others. Props used in the grocery store scene will be a cart, food, water, and toilet paper. The covid-test administrator will be wearing a white lab coat, gloves, goggles, a mask and a face shield. The news caster will have on a suit and he will have glasses and a notebook as his props.

Research 9: Short Film vs Feature Film

Overall, I want to start off with saying both films were amazing in their respective ways. For a young producer to be able to sell his idea to a large conglomerate like Universal is strikingly amazing, and from a film festival as well. The first film I wanted to talk about is the Short. To begin with the duration of the film was around 7minutes in length. It featured two protagonists, 9 and what we now know as 5. Additionally, the was a robot antagonist that was chasing the two of them, trying to harness what I believe to be their souls. The short did not include any dialogue between characters but rather fancied for a spooky and gloomy sound track accompanied by sharp sound effects. The overall plot structure had some depth, considering the short duration, but obviously left much to be desired by the audience. 

On the contrary, the feature film was much longer having a duration of about 1 hour and 15 minutes. With this extra time, there was obviously much more time to develop the characters of the protagonists and the antagonists. As such, from memory there was an additional 8-9 extra characters that served alongside the protagonist 9. Their names were also numbers: 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, etc. Additionally, there was a new antagonist. This human brain like robot, was much large than the predator that appeared in the short. It served as the brain for a robot manufacturing plant. It had previously wiped the world of humans when robots took over. Additionally, unlike the short, this film actually had dialogue between characters. A relationship that stood out to me was between 9 and 5. Similar to the short, they stuck together throughout the course of the film, and ventured out together taking many risks along the way.  

Despite these differences, the films as they should had many common aspects. A prominent feature as stated previously was the relationship or bond between 9 and 5. In the short, 5 had sacrificed himself for 9, while in the feature 5 at first saved 9, and then they stuck together. Additionally, another common occurrence was the tones these movies portrayed. While in an animated form, they portrayed a dark and gloomy tone which left the audience excited to see what would happen next. A key aspect that assisted in this was the sound tracks. Both movies carried a low, yet gradually building track, that did not feature dialogue  but instead built suspense. Overall, as stated previously, the films were amazing in their own respective ways and I believe this is much my group can take away and use to enhance our own Final Task.

Research 9: Feature Film

Overall, the movie 9 was an amazing production considering the idea for the movie was chosen out of a film festival and not "professionally" planned out. However when compared to the short, the plot of the feature was not directly apparent. I was impressed with how Shane Acker expanded on the gloomy, animated film with no dialogue, into something that was an hour and 10 minutes long. He introduced multiple new characters that were friendly with the protagonist. Their names were all numbers, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 etc. In addition, a new antagonist was selected. Unlike the short, the "predator" was not the main antagonist. Instead, the antagonist was a robot, that acted similar to a human brain, that controlled a robot factory and was engineered by the same engineer who created 9.Throughout the plotline of the feature film, there was much more character development than the short. As stated prior, there was previously only 2 protagonists in the short. However, with the addition, of new characters the dynamics changed significantly. Despite this reality, the character that I saw the most development was 1. In the beginning of the feature, 1 appeared to be a smug leader, who ruled for the good of himself. It was made apparent that he was the one who directed 2 to "scout" which ultimately led to his demise. Contrastingly, towards the end of the feature, I found 1 to be slightly humbled by the situation at hand. He had lost his body guard 8, had his sanctuary burned down, and had many near death encounters. There was many characters that developed throughout the story, this was just the most prominent to me.

In addition to the new character development, I found the sound additions made to the feature greatly benefited the overall production. The feature made us of intense yet spooky sound tracks, loud and explosive sound effects, and real dialogue just to name a few. Additionally, the world simulated in the production appeared to have diegetic sound. This is a testimonial to the production quality of the film, as the animated world almost simulated an entirely real world of its own, which in itself it amazing.

Overall, this film was extremely action-filled and intense. The well developed plot line, in a relatively short duration for a production film really made the film worth while. While the film did not exactly convey the same emotions to me the short had, I thought the overall production was amazing. The ability for the producer to simulate a real world scenario in an animated film is certainty amazing. This film is definitely a testament to the power of producers, no matter how big or small, and their backgrounds.

Research 9: The Short Film

     
After watching the 7 minute sort film 9 it was very apparent to me the craftsmanship of the short and the depth the producer likely went into. However, with no previous knowledge of the film I was skeptical at first. The short does not include any opening sequence or background information, and instead jumps right into the film. The opening 20 second of the film appears to be the character 9, in an unknown world, alone by himself, matched with a much larger "predator" in this portion. This left portrayed tone of loneliness and gloom is very apparent through the authors choice of dark lighting, a mysterious sound track, and props such as the "baby doll" in the background. When the flashback transition took place, things began to look a lot more optimistic. Now 9 could be seen with another character, who appeared to be more "worn down" than him, which to me made it seem as if the character has likely been around longer. Despite this reality, this perceived friendship is short-lived and the audience learns the characters are being hunted by the "predator" in the opening sequence. The predators size and ominous tone, made it very well apparent that the outcome for 9 and his friend would likely not be ideal. And not my surprise, the 9's friend sacrifices  himself to give 9 enough time to escape the wrath of the predator. I was amazed by how well produced the mute and animated film portrayed emotion, as I was genuinely upset when 9's friend died. However, I was intrigued by how 9 was going to survive the ordeal, and as such, I kept watching.

    Eventually, the flashback appeared to end, and we were brought back to the ominous and lonely time that was previewed in the early stages of the short. It was not a surprise when green lights started blinking signaling the predators presence. The predator the last time had made quick work of his friend, and with his perceived youthfulness my hopes were not optimistic for 9. However, as the plot thickened a strategy seemed to arise. Slowly, 9 led the predator down the cave, which at first seemed like a restriction of options for the protagonist and would likely end in 9's demise. But then, a trap was played out, in which the predator actually attacked a decoy, and 9 jumped him from above. He managed to steal an additional green blinking light, but once again I was not optimistic as 9 had failed to due any "real damage" with trap. Eventually, 9 went down the cave far enough where he reached a ravine, with a plank like structure holding out over it. 9 was standing on the edge of this "plank" and it felt as if all hope was lost. But then, to my surprise, 9 had come prepared and once again pulled a trap on the predator in which the predator fell down the ravine and was further impaled by the plank structure.  At the end of the short, what appeared to be ghosts of all the previous victims of the predator, including 9's friend, appeared as green ghosts. It was very heart warming to know that 9 was now safe from the predator, and had some resemblance of his friend. Overall the production of the short was amazing, as it drove my emotions up and down like a roller-coaster, and I am excited to watch the feature film next. 

Genre Choice for Film

The three genres researched by our group were action, horror, and thriller. In our research for the action genre we found consistencies that greatly contribute to the aspects of action films that make them what they are. Some of these consistencies were appealing to us, such as the building of suspense, gradual building of sounds, jump-cut and action match editing techniques, and the common settings. However, the prolonged chase scenes, weapons and martial arts, and dangerous stunts are not among the characteristics we are looking for for our film. We are glad that we chose to research action films because, although our movie will not be within the genre, we will certainly take advantage of the different features we can adopt in order to enhance the quality of our final product. Following action, we chose to research the horror genre since our pitch sets the scene for a somewhat suspenseful and eerie film. Within our horror research we found the editing techniques to be the most helpful and appealing parts of the films. The use of cut away and eyeline matches to portray the message in the film will be beneficial to our movie. Yet, the genre fell short when we attempted to match it to our film due to the use of gruesome props and actions as well as the dark color scheme. When we researched the thriller genre we were automatically very attracted to its conventions. The fast pace, the emotional behavior of the characters, and the more chaotic/suspenseful filming style could all make significant contributions to the outcome of our film. In addition to these, the camera shots and angles that are usually consistent within the thriller genre will also be extremely favorable in our own filming process. There was very little overall that we did not like about thrillers. We are hoping our film will be able to deliver a very powerful message to our audience, 2020 has been quite the year and all of a sudden the notion of a virus that overtakes the world and changes the lives of so many is not so bizarre and actually quite imaginable. With the fast pace we will have acquired from thriller movies, we should be able to create a complete and well-developed storyline in our limited time frame. In our film we are also planning on there being a number of scenes that create a heightened sense of anxiety. Our pitch: “Friends go on a trip together and the world suddenly gets shut down by a virus. The virus is much more powerful than expected.” is already conveying intensity and creating the prospect of a high stress situation. One of our favorite things about our film, that also helped us to come up with the pitch, is our plan to include a plot twist at the end; the thriller genre only contributes to this inclusion and helps enhance its overall effect. As of right now we don’t think that our pitch will need to be tweaked, but there is still a lot to be determined as we move forward with the process. The thriller genre fits our current pitch almost perfectly and we are so excited to use it as a basis for our movie.

Genre Research - Horror

Horror films are designed to incite fear, panic, and shock while still being entertaining for the viewer. Movie producers use camera angles, camera movements, editing techniques, sound, and Mise-en-scene to create horror films. Horror films traditionally use high angles, close ups, tracking shots, low angles, and establishing shots to convey the message. For example, a tracking shot may be used to create the image that a character is being chased. Diegetic and non-diegetic sound is extremely important in horror films to help enhance the fear and shock. Diegetic sound in horror films may be the sound of a chainsaw, a character screaming, footsteps, or creaking doors. Non-Diegetic sounds may be creepy music as well as eerie sounds. Mise-en-scene is also a key part in the production of horror films. Typically, the setting is in a dark, maybe abandoned or isolated area. This creates mystery and suspense for the viewer. Props may be knives, axes, chainsaws, or some type of weapon. Makeup may include dark eyes and fake blood. Black, red, and brown are colors seen throughout these films. The victims in these films may be dressed casually, just like someone is society. The villains may be dressed in a way to create an image of a character that incites fear upon the audience. Common editing techniques used are cut away, jump cuts, fades, and eye-line match. The editing is highly important to create the scary and gruesome parts of the film. Three examples of horror films are Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, and Night of the Living Dead. When researching horror films, we identified some elements that we liked but also many that we did not. For instance, we like the use of cut away and eyeline matches to portray the message, but we do not like the use of gruesome props and actions as well as the dark color scheme. Although the horror genre fits some elements of our film we will continue our research to find the genre that best fits for us.

Genre Research - Action

A movie enrolled in the action genre, also known as an "action adventure," is defined as, "a genre of film, TV, literature, etc., in which the primary feature is the constant slam-bang of fights, chases, explosions, and clever one-liners," according to literaryterms.net. Action adventures often follow a certain set of conventions or codes that producers either choose to follow or go against to convey the purpose of their film. These conventions include, but are not limited too, the camera angles and movements, the lighting, the editing techniques. and Mis-en-scene. To start off with, movies or productions in the action genre, that follow the conventions of the genre, typically use two-shots, tracking-shots, drone, shots, high angles, and finally close ups. As an example, tracking shots are typically used to convey a sense of high suspense, such as in a high speed car chase or an antagonist running from a protagonist. On the other hand, two-shots may be used to convey a sense of safety, as typically people are safer in groups. Another key aspect of the action genre is the mis-en-scene. Mis-en-scene by definition, "refers to what we see onscreen in a film. It’s the film’s visuals; meaning, all of the elements that appear on camera and their arrangement." This includes, the costumes, staging of the set, makeup, the actors, props, and locations. To kick it off, costumes in the action genre are typically used to convey the roles of an actor in the film. For instance, a cop may be dressed in their full uniform or a criminal may be dressed to blend in with the local area. In terms of lighting, action films are typically well lit accompanied by large bright flares such as explosions or flames in order to convey a "rebel" like character. Actor gender and racial profiles are typically not of significance, but in recent years we have seen increasing minority casts in large and significant roles, to protest social injustices. Furthermore, settings are usually in well populated areas to convey a sense of suspense as typically the antagonist is putting others in danger while the protagonist is in hot pursuit. Finally, props typically consist of weapons, such as handguns or knives and fast cars. Another important aspect of the Action genre is editing. Many post-production techniques, are used in action films, as if they were to happen in "real life" many actors in addition to the common public would be put at risk. As such green screen overlays, flashbacks, flashforwards, cross-cuttings, jump cuts, and actions matches are used to convey the purpose of the action genre. At last, action films make use of certain sound effects that convey or break suspense, for example gradual and slow building sounds that peak at the climax of an event or sharp sound effects. 

Generally speaking, the action genre makes use of multiple, smaller, aspects in the 4 aspects of general film. However, in terms of the overall plots common themes consist of continuous movements, quick plot developments, multiple stunts or dangerous tasks, battles or armed conflicts, martials arts or hand to hand combat, and prolonged chasing acts. A few examples of action films that have been produced include Spectre (2015), Skyfall (2012), The Incredibles (2004), Enter the Dragon (1973), and Kill Bill Vol. 1 (2003). 

In conclusion, after extensive research into the Action genre there are both elements that we do and do not like. For instance, the building of suspense, gradually building sounds, jump-cut and action match editing techniques, and common settings are all aspects we like, and believe would benefit the overall production of our film. However, there are certain aspects that we believe are not fitting to the overall theme of our movie. For example, the fast and continuous pacing, prolonged chase scenes, weapons and martial arts, and dangerous stunts. Overall, the action genre seems to be a relative fit for our movie, but is missing key aspects that are important to convey the purpose of our film. We believe we may need to go back to the drawing board and dive into the thriller and horror genre to make an appropriate decision.

Genre Research - Thriller

A movie in the thriller genre is often characterized as having immense conflict, tension, and unexpected twists. This genre is extremely intriguing to us because of its conventions. We are very interested in the prospect of creating a film that would have a very intense or powerful meaning. Common CAMS in this genre include close up shots, tilted angles, handheld shots, and high angle shots. These shots are key to a genre like this because it gives the audience a heightened sense of anxiety. For example, close up shots convey especially intense emotion and tilted angles make the scene appear more daunting and confusing. Common sounds in this genre may include footsteps, gun shots, car engines, or banging. Oftentimes, thrillers will include car revving or scared whispering to convey something stressful and that the characters are somewhere they are not supposed to be. Common mis-en-scene in this genre could be guns, clocks, and harsher lighting. There are often elements of “time running out”, or something that threatens the well-being of the characters, so the use of clocks, televisions, or guns would be appropriate. Common editing in this genre includes shot-reverse-shots, eyeline matches, cross cutting, and cut away shots. These shots provide very quick connections to be shown throughout the films. These elements of editing are very helpful to creating a thriller film. Including a split screen or cut away shots allow the audience to track a fast-paced storyline, which is very common in a thriller film. Example films in the thriller genre are “Get Out” and “Bird Box”. The common elements of thriller movies that we like are the fast pace, the emotional behavior of the characters, and the more chaotic/suspenseful filming style. Our idea directly coincides with these common elements. We would like to use shots and angles like the ones listed above to illustrate the high stakes that the characters are in. The elements of the genre that do not appeal to us as much are the very complex story lines because we do not have the ability to do that in such a short film. We must make our film concise enough to fit in a five-minute time frame, so we would like to implement the mood and feelings of a thriller movie, but not the complicated and long progression of the plot. We believe we can make our plot follow these conventions to illustrate our vision.

Genres We Would Like to Researh

In the previous blogs, our group came to the conclusion about our pitch decision. We decided we want to to pursue, "Friends go on a trip together and the world is suddenly shut down by a deadly virus. The virus is much more powerful than expected." However, a key aspect of the film we did not discuss amongst ourselves during this early planning period was the genre which we were going to center our film around. The selection of a genre is of uttermost performance as it will likely ease how the film's  purpose is conveyed to the audience. Additionally, genres have attached conventions, or codes, surrounding them, for example in the camera angles/shots, mis-en-scene, editing, and sound aspects respectively. With these "attached conventions" a director needs to choose whether or not they would like to follow or go against them. Overall, the selection of the genre is VERY important to our Final Task and such we need to make an appropriate decision. In more current deliberations we have decided upon the 3 following genres: action, horror, and thriller. Their loose definitions are as follows, cited from literaryterms.net:

Action Genre: A genre of film, TV, literature, etc., in which the primary feature is the constant slam-bang of fights, chases, explosions, and clever one-liners.

Horror Genre: is a genre of fiction whose purpose is to create feelings of fear, dread, repulsion, and terror in the audience—in other words, it develops an atmosphere of horror.

Thriller Genre: is a genre of literature, film, and television whose primary feature is that it induces strong feelings of excitement, anxiety, tension, suspense, fear, and other similar emotions in its readers or viewers—in other words, media that thrills the audience.

Despite this reality, to ultimately make a decision regarding the genre selection, much research is going to need to be done. As stated previously, the conventions entailed to these selected genres is going to have a large impact on our films overall meaning. This includes, but is not limited to, the camera angles/movements, the sounds, the editing, and the mis-en-scene. It is important we get this right. Appropriately, we are going to do our homework and determine how these genres' individual conventions either match or reject our overall idea for the movie. From there we will have to make some serious considerations and a judgement call.

AICE Media Studies (A Level) Pitch

 Pitch:

Friends go on a trip together and the world is suddenly shut down by a deadly virus. The virus is much more powerful than expected.

Attached Media Ideas:

Meet the Team!

Today is September 19th, 2020 and today we were instructed to officially begin planning for our final task. This initial step even included selecting team members for our Final Task! As a recap for those who may not have followed my previous blogs, last year for my Final Task I worked individually. The main benefit of choosing to work individually was time flexibility. During last years spring season I played for Fort Lauderdale High's baseball team in which we practiced 6/7 days of the week. Additionally, I would not know it yet, but the ongoing global pandemic would begin to spread and any outside activates would be cancelled because a Stay at Home Order was in effect. In hindsight, this choice of working individually was likely my best option as I could trust myself to complete the work objectives by the deadline, however, it proved to be a large work load at times. Thus bringing me to the largest downside of working individually, the large workload in a relatively small time frame. The opening sequence needed to be 2 minutes long, however, the actual filming, editing, re-shooting, and re-editing processes took a lot of time and I only had myself to conduct the videography, actors, lighting, and editing techniques used. Thus this brought me to a realization of why movies in real life are produced usually using multiple personal, even teams, as the workload and cost in time would simply be too much for an individual. As such, this year I have decided to work with a group to ease the workload and to complete the Final Task in a time efficient manor. The group that I have chosen to work with has proven to me that they have a strong work ethic and match the quality of work that I produce. Their names are Chloe, Hillery, and Tess. Furthermore, beside their strong work ethic, they also bring videography/photography equipment and editing software's to the table. I believe with the work ethic and combined technology that these members contribute, it will greatly assist myself - and the team - in producing a high quality product, worthy of a film festival or studio. With this being said, as a team member myself I need to bring something to the table to contribute to the progress of the Final Task. Specifically, I want to mention the equipment that I will have access to use during the filming/editing stages of the Final Task. For instance, I have access to a DJI Mavic Pro 2 Drone, a professional Nikon camera with video capability, a GoPro Hero 7, and Final Cut Pro. These technologies combined, as stated previously, should allow my group to produce a high quality product worthy of the audience's time. Stay tuned as I continue to blog through my journey of the class and producing my Final Task with my new group!

Intro/Welcome Back

Hello, and welcome back to my blog! My name is Blake Booysen, and I am now a Junior at Fort Lauderdale High School. Last year I was enrolled in the class AICE Media Studies AS Level. However, I am excited to join the AICE Media Studies A Level class this year! As a recap, last year I individually produced a short opening to a film, called the Coastal Killer. It centered around the idea of a young man being put in harms way as he is circled by a Great White Shark. The film ended with blood in the water, as the audience can visually see the shark lunging at something in the water. Prior to AICE Media Studies AS Level, I had never enjoyed reflecting or documenting my progress as I typically liked having free-formed thinking and open options. Despite this reality, blogging and reflecting on my work taught me the value of scheduling myself and setting my expectations for my work. Additionally, I can now reflect on my work and visualize my though process as I was working through each stage of the Final Task, and other assignments. In regards to my opinion of the film, I believe I produced and edited the opening section to the best of my abilities. I was able to incorporate different forms of camera angles/shots, simple transitions, color correcting, and so much more. With this being said, this new found time freedom, has promoted growth in myself regarding my filming talents that will serve as an improvement to the prior year's project. Specifically, over the summer I have conducted drone footage of yachts that my dad lists in his brokerage. This has taught me to incorporate action, lighting, and editing to convey a message of subtle strength, yet pleasant and comfort. I can add dramatic filters, animated strokes, and so much more techniques that has just come with experience. But I must not forget my roots, and it all began with this class. Overall, I am satisfied with the work that I produced on the AS level, including but not limited to the Final Task. Despite this reality, self-promoted growth in my skills this summer has left room on the table for this year's project to expand on my skill sets and be a well-produced short film. So stay tuned, as I document my journey with this Final Task with blogs, in addition to other media platforms!

Audience and Institution Practice Essay

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

            “Visual marketing does not just sell a product or service – it sells an experience,” Rebekah Radice, a marketing expert, once said. Marketing and previewing your product to the public is the most important aspect of any modern film. The effort in marketing often determines the success a film has in its premiere at the box office. Industry experts use, and I have identified, three different techniques most used in the marketing/promotion of the film: Cross promotion advertisements, TV trailers and ads, and special events involving the film or its cast.

            Although marketing often relies on in house promotion and funding, cross promotion advertisements can bring great benefits. Cross promotion advertisements for instance not only involve a film, they promote a company’s product/brand as well. An exciting from of cross promotion was apparent in the recent blockbuster, Black Panther. Select scenes showed the brand-new Lexus LS 500, a partnership that Lexus made with the film company. They claimed the vehicle drew inspiration from the movie, specifically its sleek design. Overall, the promotion helped both companies, as Lexus profited from the increased sale of the vehicle, while the film made money from the deal itself. Another specific example of cross promotion was in Universal Pictures recent hit, Jurassic World. The cross promotion involved Sony and their help with the production process of the film. In the commercial it was specifically stated Sony technology made the film possible. Similar to the results of the Black Panther cross promotion, Sony benefited from the brand exposure while the film benefited from the influx of money. Overall, cross promotion advertisements are an effective form of advertisement that benefit both the production company as well as the partnered company.

            Additionally, another form of marketing that production companies as well as marketers use is TV commercials and ads. As said previously, Jurassic World, one of Universal’s largest grossing films utilized many forms of marketing strategies, including TV commercials and ads. In total 4 trailers were distributed in anticipation of the Jurassic World as well as some TV spots. This gave the movie exposure to the general public as well as Universal’s targeted audience. Thus, the marketing left its impression on the audience and successfully drove audiences to the theaters. In total 1.67 billion US dollars were generated due to the films creative marketing and captivating story line. Another instance of how TV ads and commercials led to a large grossing film is Universal Pictures and Despicable Me. According to the article How Comcast and NBCUniversal Used Minions to Fuse an Empire, “The promotion across Comcast was wide, including a trailer on NBC’s “The Voice,” a Super Bowl commercial during NBC’s broadcast of the game, a promotion on the cable guide, a theme park scavenger hunt, talent appearances across NBC broadcast and cable networks and much more.”  And luckily this large investment in marketing payed off. In total is estimated “Minions” earned 115.2 million dollars on its opening weekend, in addition to 1.16 billion worldwide. In summary, the strategy of investing in TV ads and commercials is an important form of marketing in the film making industry and is essential for a high grossing film.

            The last form of marketing that has proven successful in creating block buster hits is special events. By definition a special event is “is an uncommon, unique, noteworthy, or extra occurrence of a specific activity open to the general public and designed, advertised, or promoted for an identified purpose. (otr.cfo.gov)” A scenario in which special events aided in the marketing of the film is with the movie Fast and Furious 7. Universal Pictures premiered the trailer by hosting a special event in which fans would be able to watch the trailer and ask the cast questions. This special event led to increased interest in the films premiere and may have created a connection between the cast and the audience, potentially driving sales. Similarly, Marvel Studios, the creator of Black Panthers, hosted a New York Fashion Week special event. During the vent models were wearing movie inspired clothing. This was the movies attempt to reach a broader audience, specifically the fashion industry, which was the success. The apparel is easily identified and can be traced back to the movie giving it welcomed exposure. This tactic contributed to the films making 361 million just on its first weekend alone. All in all, special events are important forms of exposure that can connects audiences with cast members or the movie itself, generating revenue.

            In conclusion, marketing is an essential and necessary investment for any film. This is due to the fact that it encourages audiences to go the theaters generating more revenue in the box office. Cross promotion is an effective way of marketing in which two companies gain exposure in which they both benefit. The advertiser increases sales and exposure to their product while the production company earns a monetary sum. TV ads and commercials are also essential in promoting the movies trailers and creating anticipation among audiences. Finally, special events are hosted to gather relationships among audiences and the film being produced. Combined, these 3 forms of marketing are an excellent form of exposure and can be seen as one of the main reasons’ movies such as Black Panther and Jurassic World were such big hits.

           

AICE Media Studies Extract: 24

In the American action drama TV show, 24, the director is suggesting that sometimes it is necessary for good to overcome evil by any means. This conclusion can be drawn through the extract provided through the camera angles, editing techniques, intense sounds, and a well-developed mis-en-scene. When the extract of the film opens, it is immediately apparent that the setting in an interview room, and the two main characters are a criminal and an interviewer. The first line of dialogue states, “Lets keep this simple. If you want to stop the bomb, I need to be on a plane to Vessella now.” The interviewer than proceeds to say, “Did you pick Vessella for a reason, or does anywhere outside of the blast radius work.” The dialogue presented, suggests that the criminal was involved in planting of a bomb, and that it is the job of the interviewer to disarm it. However, the interviewer lacks pertinent information, that would be relevant to the task at hand, and the criminal is the only one able to give this information. As stated previously, the theme of this extract is to achieve justice by any means necessary, and that’s when the interviewer takes it into his own hands.

In the beginning scene of the show, 24, I find that that the camera angles, choice of sound, and certain editing techniques are being used to convey the overall purpose to the audience. For instance, at approximately 00:03, an over the shoulder shot appears. This is a commonly used shot in interviews or employee/boss scenes. The over the shoulder shot depicts the male interviewer entering the interview room from the criminal’s point of view, suggesting on a deeper level, that the male interviewer has dominance over the criminal. The use of dialogue additionally reveals the director’s purpose for the sequence. The dialogue between the two characters in the opening scene reveals that there are lives at stake with the explosion of a bomb, and the interviewer is look for answers fast, no matter the cost. Finally, an eye-line-match, is used to show the interviewer acknowledging a security camera in the interview room, implying that he knows his colleagues are watching him. However, he still proceeds with aggression towards the criminal, revealing his belief of “by any means necessary.’ Overall, the authors choice of techniques helps to reveal to the audience that justice should be achieved by any means in the first scene.

In addition, in the following scene from the excerpt of the action drama, 24, I find that various aspects of the mis-en-scene, in addition to the build up of ambient sound, creates a sense of intensity, further revealing the directors purpose. This scene involves the building of intensity as the interviewer is desperate for answers, that only the criminal can answer at the moment. Tactics such as flipping the table or shout at the criminal and tried but to no effect as the interviewer searches. Despite this reality, some aspects when creating the mis-en-scene are effective and reveal a portion of the director’s purpose. For instance, the director employs dim and dark lightning during the interview, revealing potential intimidation in the criminal. Additionally, the director makes use of the setting, the interview room. Since the setting in this scene is the interview room, the director is objectifying the positions/roles of the characters and pointing out the interviewers retains majority of the dominance in this setting. Finally, the use of building ambient sound is revealing to the audience the temperament of the interviewer is increasing, and the control over his actions is decreasing. All in all, the combined techniques in the mis-en-scene, as well as, the building of suspenseful ambient sound help to evoke emotion in the audience, as they prepare for the interviewer to lose his grips on his emotions.

Furthermore, in the third and final scene in which the interviewer loses his grip with his emotions and actions, the director employs close ups and the split screen editing technique. At approximately 02:30 in duration, the interviewer cans be seen choking the criminal. During this time period he states, “You are going to tell me everything I want to know or I swear to God I will kill you, and no one will stop me.” The close up used here, put the audience in close proximity to the two characters, revealing the vulnerability of the criminal and the ruthlessness of the interviewer, despite knowing the consequences as shown earlier. Also, the split screen utilized shows the reaction of the colleagues meanwhile the interviewer is choking out the criminal, demonstrating the disapproval the interviewer’s actions from his colleagues. In summary, the close up and the split screen effect, are a perfect combination to demonstrate the interviewer’s/director’s belief of “by any means necessary.”

In conclusion, throughout the various scenes of the extract, certain techniques employed reveals the director’s belief that sometimes it is necessary for good to overcome evil by any means. The first scene employs dialogue, eye-line-matches, and dialogue to reveal to the audience the severity of the situation and what is at stake. The second scene involves the build up of intensity and emotion, as the interviewer struggles to retrieve answers for the current crisis. The dim and dark lighting, the setting, and the ambient noise all contribute as an intimidation factor but, to no avail. Finally, in the third scene the interviewer snaps and proceeds to choke out the criminal. A split screen technique as well as close ups are used to show the interviewers colleagues disapproval and the intensity the interviewer was feeling. I believe the director made great choice of techniques that reflected to me the idea of Justice by any means necessary.