Outline Change

     The direction of our brainstorming has done a 180 turn. We are still going with the same genre of an action movie opening, however the actual plot has changed. Our original idea consisted of a fast-paced opening with the main character running away from an unidentified thing/person. Now, the project consists of a vengeful-like story of a man (possibly ex-law enforcement) filled with anger and urge to act out against someone who harmed a loved one. This project will take a darker turn and will depict the use of alcohol, weapons, and a huge symbol for hatred/anger. The buildup will be similar to the last parts of The Purge: Anarchy's opening scene. Our scene will begin with a short backstory and plot buildup, then switch to the main character's story arc. Overall, our opening scene outline/layout is cemented but the shots and production will vary from now until shooting

Technology used for project

     As described in previous posts my group is severely behind and lacking in the planning/early production phase. The research has gone well and we discovered certain aspects and trends that we can use but we have been unable to come up with solid, creative, or realistic ideas to execute. This can be attributed to many things but we will strongly focus on that portion of the project as soon as possible. However, we have realized the variety of shots and editing techniques used in action/thriller movie openings. We will need a variety of technology to shoot this project. For the various shots we will use an Apple iPhone 13 and this will be stabilized using the Sunpak Platinum Plus Tripod found on Best Buy for $19.99. Out of the 3 group members we already have the iPhone 13 but the Tripod we will have to purchase, in addition to the compatible smartphone adapter also found on Best Buy for $14.99. The money will be split between the 3 group members, which is an added benefit of working in a 3 person group. That is going to be used for the various shots and angles that we are going to perform in the video.

     For the editing portion of the production process we are going to use one of two softwares: Adobe Premiere or DaVinci Resolve. We are unclear yet of which we are going to use but this will be resolved by tomorrow's class period. There will be various other important forms of technology we will have to use along the way but these are the clear pieces that we have established as of now.

Plot Element Research and Planning

     As of this point in the research and planning, the plot elements have been the hardest ideas to establish. We are yet to overcome the obstacles faced, we have analyzed examples of movie openings and discovered a similar formula for the plot elements of an action movie. However, the actual content of the plot is difficult to brainstorm and research does very little towards developing an original idea. The genre has been established as action/thriller and we are trying to identify more formulaic techniques like amount of shots used, camera shots/angles used, and editing techniques. However, we have identified that we would like to use a fast-paced, intense opening with the purpose of rapidly engaging the audience and building quick interest in the movie. This has been a big struggle for our group but before the end of the week we will have a idea set in place as a layout. This idea will be adjusted along the way but it is most important to have a consensus collection of thoughts towards the opening as soon as possible.

Tone of our Portfolio

My group members and I have decided that we are going to go with the action genre. The action genre as I said, seems to have a sort of formulaic context to it. Most action movie openings focus on establishing two elements: the tone and the characters. For example, Raiders of the Lost Ark opens with Indiana Jones searching for a golden idol which establishes his character and the subsequent adventurous, action scenes establish the fast-paced tone. Furthermore, Avengers: Infinity War opens with a similar formula of Thanos, the antagonist, attacks many of the prior protagonists like Hulk, Loki, and Thor. The scene establishes the characters and sets the violent, dominant tone that will follow for the entire movie.

Based on the research, the formula for a successful action opening scene is to focus on establishing the characters, in our case it will be Juan Mila, and establish the tone for the rest of the film. The plot elements have not been identified yet but we do understand the format for our scene and how we will execute it. 

First Approach to Project

 My project is slated to include Nathaniel Ceant, Juan Mila, and myself as were conquer the task of creating our 2 minute film opening. 

Our initial research has led us in the direction of a thriller or action genre. From our research most lists of best film openings tend to be populated by those genres, which makes it easier for us to find a template or formula to create the best possible film opening. For example, The Dark Night directed by Christopher Nolan is an action film that is widely regarded to be one of the best film openings. 

The Dark Knight is a very highly regarded film in this context as are many other action films. This allows us to research commonalities and add our "touch" to be able to produce the best film opening we can.

Music Marketing Project Reflection

 The Music marketing project consisted of 4 members including myself: Julie, Manny, and Gaby. The entire process was broken down and divided upon assignment of the groups. Once our group discovered it was the Hip Hop genre that we were assigned, we delved into deep research on similar case studies, created a storyboard, and created a marketing presentation that included a music video. 

The storyboard consisted of many ideas that were shared on a google document that was collaborated on by all members. We all used various ideas and Manny used his artistic and creative abilities to physically put together the storyboard. The storyboard was very well planned and almost all of the shots were included in the final project. This was done around the same time as the in-depth market research. The research consisted of similar artists from the same genre to create marketing techniques that could be used for our artist, The Vanquisher. We decided to study the artists Kendrick Lamar, Don Toliver, Travis Scott, and SZA. These artists provided various marketing profiles that we picked apart and chose specific areas to apply to The Vanquisher’s marketing plan.

After gathering this background information and doing enough research, we decided it was time to create the music video and marketing presentation. Manny took charge of the music video in a very efficient way as did Julie with the presentation. Manny was the unofficial director of a very well shot and edited music video. He took most responsibilities of the video as myself and him were the main actors of the storyline/ promotional music video. He led the creation of a very good music video while Julie led the presentation, which we all contributed to. The presentation was very detailed but concise and allowed for us to create a strong artist marketing plan for The Vanquisher. 

The project as a whole was very well planned and executed, in addition to everyone contributing a fair amount. This project and collaborating with certain people allowed me to develop as a presenter and especially as a creator in the media industry. I learned new parts to the production process and feel that I grew as a producer/director. This is going to be extremely helpful for the production portions of my Cambridge portfolio and it also helped me build good research tendencies for future reference.