Friday, February 7, 2025

Staying on Track - Schedule

    “Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton 

Time truly flies in the blink of an eye -- in fact, it's already week two. So, before it's too late, my group and I created a schedule to keep ourselves on track. Time is a valuable element in any production, and having a schedule helps with such. Especially with this class, I have implemented scheduling and planning for most of the projects we have completed. So, before going into anything else, let me present the schedule we are planning to follow. 

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Continue the inspiration - Part.2

"Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton 

And the inspiration must continue... After looking over different film openings and seeing the aspects they include, I realized that credit sequence is one of the most important elements. Credit sequences are the next step in understanding the conventions of a film opening. 

Some films I would like to discuss the credit sequences utilized are: Superman (1978), Mission Impossible - Fallout, and Gattaca.

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Time to get inspired - Part.1

“Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton 

As I mentioned before, research is the most important part of this new journey. Especially when going into the unknown waters of an unusual genre that is not my go-to every time I want to watch a movie. So for that reason, it is time to get inspired... I will be presenting some interesting film openings I have found and will help me in the process of correctly developing my own film opening with the right elements that sci-fi and drama films entail. 

1. Back to the Future (1985)

Here I have attached the film opening of this film:

This opening represents the film's genre, as certain elements revealed in just a few minutes foreshadow the setting and the concept of time travel within the film. This movie was directed by Robert Zemeckis with its release being in 1985. There are different choices made during this scene as it includes an array of important information for the development of the film.

The long sequence used allows the audience to follow along and intake the little details that were strategically added to understand the flow of the film. For example, when the TV is seen in a broadcast channel talking about the plutonium stolen it foreshadows the end of the scene when the box of plutonium is seen under the table, giving the audience insight on upcoming scenes and wonder what will be happening next. 

2. Start Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

 The film Star Wars: Episode IV- A New Hope truly made an impact within the year it was launched. The film truly knows how to captivate the audience and bring back the sci-fi genre to life during this period it wasn't as popular as in previous years, but this film helped to bring it back into society. The film opening includes special effects techniques that were new at the time, yet still have an impact in the present day. The opening reveals a wide range of information by showing the space and main elements that will be key for the content of the film later on.

The opening crawl gives another level to the film as it gives the viewer background knowledge on why the film might be starting that way and it gives the audience something to think about. This film's opening truly establishes the setting from the beginning through the elements displayed even with the style choices within the titles, music, and the futuristic looks of the characters. 

3. Omni Loop (2024)

The film has an interesting approach, as it doesn't reveal the characters at first and instead, it starts with some type of flashback or younger self viewpoint. The younger self-view is a common strategy seen in movies, yet as the opening scene develops - more events are revealed. For instance, we get to know that the younger self-image seen at first is from the lady at the hospital and that she doesn't have much time left in her life. 

Another element that could be an important aspect of the film later on is the green pills seen just at the start that are carried by the girl. This film is categorized as a sci-fi drama, which could be suggested by the dramatic event of the lady dying and the events she is experiencing with her family. The sci-fi aspects are later revealed as she meets the other girl and tells her how she has gone through it multiple times and has yet to figure out how to fix it. However, the opening scene of the little girl could imply a foreshadowing of events and a connection of time within the film. 

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Overall, each film portrays different aspects that a film within the sci-fi genre should include. There are multiple approaches one can go for and analyzing the three film openings will truly help my group and me in the decision we make from now on. 

Sources

Guild, J. (2020, December 4). The Genius of Back to the Future’s Opening Shot. Cinema & Sambal. 

https://jamesjguild.com/blog/2020/12/4/the-genius-of-back-to-the-futures-opening-shot 

Swehla, T. (2024, September 19). Omni Loop Takes the time loop idea in a new direction. Movie Jawn.

https://www.moviejawn.com/home/2024/9/19/omni-loop?srsltid=AfmBOori4ZgKah6KRAeYw5hpV5sNQtTz-MlAHNOgk9gQop8BuG3oFQN8 

Weitekamp, M. (2019, December 19). How Star Wars Revolutionized Entertainment. National Air and Space Museum. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/how-star-wars-revolutionized-entertainment 

Sunday, February 2, 2025

Searching for the perfect genre!

   “Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton

As I progress in my journey, I must take my time and further develop the story I wish to share. Therefore, researching is an essential step of this fun journey. Today, I bring forth some of the research I have been doing these past few days about the two genres I am interested in. 

Genre is an important part of any media form due to the different elements that it offers such as creating audience expectations, guiding the story, and creating a certain connection between the film or piece being shown and the audience. Some of my favorite genres are comedy, romance, and action. I love the different aspects of each one and I like certain shows like "The Good Place". However, with this opportunity to try and bring my creative vision to life, I wanted to go out of my comfort zone and try other genres. So, I will be explaining a little bit about the background of drama and sci-fi which are the two genres my group and I are interested in developing.

After all, what is drama and sci-fi in a few words? 

  This short video truly helped me understand all of the genres specifically drama and sci-fi in just a few words as well as examples of movies that include the genres such as Titanic and Star Wars. Drama often includes emotions, realistic subjects, and intense feelings which are portrayed to the audience. On the other hand, sci-fi contrasts this genre as it is focused on a futuristic and most of the time, not real world. 

The genre of drama has different aspects such as the setting, characters, and obstacles. The genre usually shows individuals in their best and worst moments, creating conflict and developing emotions that later resonate with the audiences. The films or TV shows can range from a variety such as being based on real people or it could all be fiction stories. In fact, these films at times include strong messages about the world and society.  

Some tips that I found interesting are the following: 

I will be keeping these tips in mind for the rest of my film opening, so I can achieve the end product I want to make.

Moving on to science fiction... This genre is quite the opposite of drama, yet it could be mixed with it. This genre has been known for decades and it has evolved as time goes by. It even dates back to the 19th and 20th centuries in which major evolutions were seen which revealed the more fictional aspect of the genre. Nowadays, it is a genre that is common and well-known, however, it may be implemented differently by different people. Overall, this genre brings a different approach and special aspects that bring are an amazing addition to the idea in mind for the film opening. Bringing technology, futuristic elements, and new items into a story in which drama could be expected due to chaos, yet, it might all be a new world never seen before... 

Sources: 
De Guzman, K. (2024, December 3). Getting Dramatic: Your Guide To The Drama Genre. Backstage

Hellerman, J. (2025, January 31). Sundance Film Festival 2025 Award winners. No Film School.          https://nofilmschool.com/sundance-film-festival-winners-2025

Sterling, B. (2025, January 21). Science fiction | Definition, Books, Movies, Authors, Examples, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/science-fiction






Friday, January 31, 2025

Coming up: My upcoming creative journey!

  “Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton

I hope you enjoyed my latest post and saw the short recap on the music video! It was a great project, but now more comes our way… I will work on my portfolio project for the next few months!!

I am excited to start this journey and let you know ALL about it. In class, I have learned multiple techniques and approaches that are a guide and just the first step to being successful in this long but interesting journey.  From the lessons, I learned new information that has enriched my knowledge and invested in learning more techniques I would be able to work with. Here you can see just a few of the topics I learned: 

In this project, I am planning to work alongside three other classmates. We are all thrilled to start the project and have been talking about a few ideas. Our group has gotten a unique inspiration for the 2000s aesthetic, yet it is still in discussion of other aesthetics such as the 80s-90s. Furthermore, there are more elements to take into consideration such as possible genres and the story to develop. But we a so excited, that it is impossible to think about the many ways we can produce and execute the film opening. 

One approach I found interesting from the lesson was the ways to establish tone as different elements could be implemented in pre-production, during, and post-production. Some elements that could be used during the production are the lighting scheme to help set the tone. Later on in post-production color schemes can be helpful such as color grading and saturation.  Furthermore, the use of lighting and coloring could help to demonstrate the character's tone and personality depending on the situation. 

Wednesday, December 18, 2024

Monday, December 9, 2024

Music Marketing #1

 “Dearest gentle reader,” - Bridgerton


It has been some weeks, but do not worry I am back. 


This time I will present what I have been up to in the past few days. In the last few days, I have been working on the Music Marketing Project, which consists of various steps and it takes a lot of planning to produce the best of the best! Let’s get right into it and look at what this project is truly about. 


Before starting the Music Marketing Project, I completed some music research related to the assigned genre. The genre my group and I got was alternative. The research done before starting the planning of my artist helped me to have background knowledge of what a marketing campaign takes and the different factors that come into play. 


Furthermore, after researching the alternative genre and obtaining the song for the music video, the artist's planning started, and the plans towards the campaign. As stated by the instructions “You will be building the brand from the bottom up and use this marketing campaign to introduce your musician(s) to the public.” 


The second part of the process was to create a schedule, so therefore each of us would be on track with our assignment and on time. Here is how it looked: 

It was divided into different sections, so we would know which part we were on and submit the part needed from our campaign on time! 

After having a set schedule, we got ready to create the artist's brand followed by the storyboard of the music video. 

In regards to the artist, his name is Ace Dimitri, and here is an inspo picture of the style he goes for: 

Part of who he is and what inspires his looks is the 70s era. The music video represents part of this influence by having colors and decorations of that time. 


Furthermore, the song that this artist will present himself with to the world will be “The Man”. For the planning of the music video, the first step was to create the storyboard, here is a peak of it: 



The storyboard gives a visual of the idea that will be shown, and the music video will include storytelling as well as an artistic look. 


This is what I have been up to, talk soon, and stay tuned to see the vision come to life!


The End!

 “Dearest gentle reader,” -  Bridgerton   For one last time my gentle reader, it is time to show the final result. Our film has been complet...