Audience and Institution Practice Essay

Area: Film

Question: 'Nowadays, everybody consumes media texts in the same way.' Discuss with reference to the media are you have studied.

‘Nowadays, everybody consumes media text in the same way” in the film world this is very much true statement. From the rise of use on social media to the marketing schemes used, people are more likely to see the same things. Or for a more specific group, certain promotions are created differently for different groups to accept or be interested in the film. 

Cross promotion is used massively in this aspect. “Black panther” was based on a hidden city with futuristic elements such as extremely cool cars and vibranium, Lexus later on came out with the Lexus LS 500 while promoting the movie. Viewers now see this as their moment to upgrade their car and live in the moment from the movie. In a way both companies (Walt Disney Pictures Motion Studios and LEXUS) profited off of this moment using the best marketing scheme needed to get their viewers interested in the future. “The LEGO Movie” created by Warner Bros. and Burger King both benefited when “Burger king” sold meals and gave out LEGOLAND coupons. Young consumers were interested in the fact that they were able to be a part of the Lego movie by going to Legoland and eating food at the same time. 

Cross media convergence is used for the audience to understand media text as well. Before “Furious 7” was released we were aware of Paul Walker's death. The song “see you again” was then released with the trailer of the movie. That signifies that the movie was not only about fast cars but also about heartbreak. When the song was released, people instantly got hooked to the song including myself. The song made the trailer more appealing and with the trailer being more appealing, it brought in more viewers. Another soundtrack that brought everyone together was The Lion King Soundtrack by Queen Beyoncé that promoted the new and improved version of the Lion king. Now, many older people love Beyoncé and the youth love The Lion king movie. With the hit song “Spirit”, Beyoncé was able to spread the message that “your destiny is close” as a way for it to correlate with Simba finding himself. 

There are many times in movies, when one does not exactly understand the meaning behind certain text however, cross promotion and cross media convergence brings accessibility. With some of the highest grossing films being connected to other promotion materials, there is a win on both ends. To add on, you are attracting viewers with different techniques to understand the film better.

Game of Throne Extract Essay

For the Game of Thrones extract, the theme was pretty self explanatory. It was a mysterious scene with Lord Stannis and his “Wingman” on a journey. There was no word said on the ship, but the look on their face emphasizes that something was about to happen. The conversations held before and after they were approached by the three men sets the atmosphere that there is animosity. With that strong hostility of different views the wing man is trying to influence them on believing in his partner but we don't know what will happen next. To visualize it better, the establishing scene was set. It was Lord Stannis and his wingman on his ship heading to their desired location. There was an Aerial shot taken as the ship was crossing a territory which can be seen as high angle. An eyeline match occurred. In this scene, the other object was a person, the wingman stared at lord Stannis and lord stannis stared back at the wingman. A shot reverse shot also occurred, the wing man was going back and forth with one of the three men. Sound wise, Diegetic and non-diegetic sound could be heard. The diegetic sound was heard because of the workers' loud movements and the background music all being heard at once. Non diegetic sounds were heard once every footstep was made and when the door door opened. Mise-en-scene essence included costume and lighting. The costumes included a lot of long and heavy clothing that was dark. The lighting had an overbearing amount of cool colors.the dull blue and green with brown and other shadowy colors brought the dullness into the scene. 

CCR III

CCR II

Opening Sequence CCR

Before creating the Creative Critical Reflection, I wrote the questions out. I opened up a document and fully understood and answered every question to the best of my ability. This process took forever but so was my journey. After completing the writing portion I had the perfect idea to do a talk show. Because I’m an only child, no one else was around to join so I was the host and the guest. I decided to make my mom record me as the host first. In those scenes, I asked the questions that were needed. After that I was recorded answering the questions. In some portions of the video, I was looking at my laptop screen. That is because I became a little forgetful after doing so much recording. I later on realized I need to stop looking on the screen. I started to answer the question at the top of my head for the sake of a good quality interview. After recording, I realized I answered every question just like how I wrote down. To make the video better, I added an intro and outro like Youtubers. I realized that I actually like recording myself and talking into the camera. I found joy in editing for the first time as well. I also added examples to spice up the video. I did so, so that the viewers could enjoy watching the video and show that I know what I’m talking about. Making a twelve minute video  was new for me but I believe I found a new hobby. Because of these projects, I believe I will take filming and editing more seriously. 

The next two blogs are part two and three of the blog. 

Third Project: Opening Sequence

Creating the opening sequence was definitely a challenge. We had to create a pitch that we all liked. We chose to do a suspense/horror film. Luckily, in the start of the year we did a PowerPoint on the genre so I had prior knowledge. The story board was another story. There were 10 pages to do and it really made us think. We knew it had to match up with our film so it took a while. It also had to correlate with the location. The day of filming, we lost a member and gained three other members. We all met up at the library and I gave everyone a run down on the script.  There were times when we would be in the middle of film and stop just to make sure we were following the storyboard. That was because I wanted everything to be perfect. I wanted to be captured from a different camera angle. Which meant a lot of takes and improvisation. Everything was filmed on my phone so all I had to do was airdrop everything on my laptop. When home, I converted every video into MP4. I placed all the videos in and later on realized we had to re-film. We did do it but it was in the middle of the pandemic so we didn’t get the outcome we were expecting. I decided to tweak the video that was not up to par for us and tried to make it work. I added the necessary title and sound. In the end, the final project was finalized and matched up with our very amateur expectation. 

Second Project: Music Video

The second project was a music video. In this music video there was a lot of confusion. At first a Christmas song was chosen because the holiday was approaching. I thought a less traditional song would be better though. I pitched the idea to the group and they actually agreed. We chose “No Fear” by Dej Loaf. Research on the genre was done of course. Due to the fact that it was a hip hop/ RNB song, it wasn’t a hard project to complete. The genre is very common and accommodating. The Mis-en-scene element such as clothing is an everyday attire for today’s teenagers. We chose to film on the beach because it gave the carefree feeling we wanted to express in the video. Creating the story board was simple as well. We drew a sign where we would be singing in the car. We tried to do that scene, however it wasn’t working out. We later on just decided to do everything on the beach. We didn't film the day we wanted because of miscommunication. Because we don’t want to mess the other member’s schedule up, we filmed on a school afternoon. Brandon recorded while namya and I acted. After filming the only difficult thing was matching up the song with the video. This was my first time editing on IMovie and that’s when I realized it was an easier program to use. 

First Project: Commercial

For my first project, a commercial was done. this project was actually very easy to complete. My group decided a nike commercial would fit us more because all three of us did track and have nike materials. When creating the storyboard, the only thing that took time was the drawing portion. Before, filming there was research though. I watched a bunch of amateur nike commercials on youtube and later on realized that it was the best. Majority of the concepts are based off of track. The runners on the track were in nike gears. The day of filming, we brought our clothes to school and met up on the track field. The cameraman was brandon, who later on left us. He caught many footages of us(the runners) in different angles and doing different things. There were not much takes taken because of how short the film was. After, filming we imported all the footages to pinnacle studios. We did that so we could edit the video.  The editing portion really testd me. It was difficult because I found pinnacle studios hard. On Top of that, one day we used the wrong laptop and had to restart the whole process over. Overall , I learned alot for the first project. The storyboard was short and we had all the materials. Plus, it was done at school.

Re-editing the opening sequence

With all this madness occurring, I realized that it was still vital that we finish our project. That being said there was a lot more editing done. From the original video to the one that is done now, there are a lot of new details. Editing is definitely the one thing I dislike about creating movies but I know it’s something that is necessary. So that being said, I pushed through and did it all in a day. To start off, I made sure the video matched up. I placed them in the proper order before there was editing done. After that, I added transitions. The thing about transitions in a movie, they are very quick. There is no puzzle or swipe seen in a real movie. Those transitions are for amateur movies, and though mine is, I still wanted it to look professional. So I did less obvious transitioning effects. They were cuts from every video necessary as also. Adding the title was a little confusing. The font we wanted was not available on iMovie so I had to improvise. The font that was similar seemed a little unusual for a horror movie but in the end it worked out. I decided to give the sound job to another member in the group. That is when I realized my laptop was not working the way it should. It was taking forever for my video to export to the other member which was pushing us back. Because of everything going on, all the stores were closed including the apple store. I didn't send the other member the opening sequence until two days later. When the other member got the video, she added the sound but there was a problem. The song was a little overbearing. You could barely hear the actors talk. So alteration was needed. I decided to take the task up and add the song but change volume in certain parts of the film. For some odd reason I couldn't find the specific song my group member used so I inserted a similar one. The song actually worked out well. I modified the sound in the parts that modification was needed. After that, I rewatched the video multiple times to find areas that needed improvement. To end it off, I believe I edited the opening sequence to the best of my ability and worked well with the group.

Forced Editing

With little to edit, my group and I could not edit our video. There were a few refilming shots done. Those shots weren't ideal though. We also couldn't shoot everything we needed to. There are still car scenes that need to be done as well. With everything going on, I'm not sure when I will record again. Even worse, when we will leave our homes to film. The idea of filming now is impractical now. My guardian is not settling with the idea that I need to go outside, meet up with friends and film an opening sequence for school. I don't expect her to understand because she isn't taking the class. The other group members are having similar problems. That being said, I tried to edit with the footage we had. As I am editing, I realize that there is no way we can turn in this video. There are people in the background of our video. There were noises that needed to be blurred out. There is a need for better acting skills. When these elements are fulfilled, better editing will take place. I cannot fully edit an open sequence then and have defaults in the video still. Editing would be a waste of time because it is still not fitting. The only thing that needs to be done is a proper reshooting session then I will be able to re-edit to the best of my ability. 

Production process on a pause

There is a global pandemic going on at the moment. Many public places are now closed. Many schools are also because of the CoronaVirus. There has been a decrease in the amount of students attending school. I recently just found out that the broward county public school superintendent issued a statement that school will be closed early. That being said, teachers have to teach us virtually. Our Aice Media teacher has been contacting us to inform us on the latest news. The problem is, many of us cannot learn through our computer. My group and I have been contacting each other with pure frustration. There is no way we can film again with this virus. We are not sure which direction we should go either. We can not film because Broward County is in a state of emergency. We cannot get proper guidance due to there being no school and our teacher only contacting us virtually. My group and I learn better when we are in class. To add on, some of the characters needed in our video cannot leave their house. Due to their families' fear, we cannot refilm the other scenes we wish to.The only thing we have left to do is continue getting ideas. These ideas will fuel our imagination and enhance our acting skills. With high hopes, this will blow over. And with even high hopes will finish filming soon. 

Reshooting some scenes

Since we realized that we dislike our first couple of videos, we decided to reshoot. Our reshooting session was not as easy as expected. The members in the original footage were not available on certain days. On Top of that, the libraries are closing due to the coronavirus. That being said we had less time in the library than last time. Though it was empty, many people workers were on the edge which is understandable. While in the library, we did some filming but they did not come out exactly how we wanted them to be. There was also one person in our group that couldn't make it that day. The biggest challenge is getting the same angles again. Reshooting is just not the same. We have to wear the same clothes and basically look the same. Without intention, my hair was messy and I had to try my best to make sure my hair looked the same. The overall atmosphere was very different as well. We wanted the same feeling like the first time but with so much health scare it was impossible. Everyone’s biggest discomfort was touching books and being around and being in spots other people were. We tightened up a little and somewhat filmed but it like I said it wasn’t what we wanted to stop the filming process and start editing fully. As we proceeded, we realized that we were somewhat doing something different on our storyboard as well. Not completely different but the exact details weren’t the same. Another day of filming is necessary. With high hopes we will have one more refilming session then fully start editing our opening sequence. 

First Time Editing

Before editing started I had to narrow down on every video taken. There was over fifty footage to choose from. After choosing the videos, I had to convert them

From IMG to MP4. This was one of the hardest tasks and something I never look forward to. There are little to none websites that allow you to convert videos unless you have to pay or get a high definition. It was very tricky downloading over twenty videos and having to find other websites to convert these videos. This process took about an hour and a half. After they were done, I chose to edit in IMOVIE. This is the easiest program I’m aware of that gives me the abilities to properly edit my movies. Before inserting the videos, I rewatched every video to make sure they were what I needed and where I needed them to be. The cutting process was extremely easy. I chose not to do that much editing because I knew there would be more editing needed. While editing I realized I needed to reshoot a lot as well. That being said, my video was very choppy. The placement of everything is exactly how we want it though. I also added a title but not all the title. I just wanted to have an idea of what our video would be like. I plan on reshooting. After reshooting, I will add more titles and make sure the video is not choppy. The final editing will most likely be done after three more editing sessions. 

Peer Review for Opening Sequence

In this film I enjoyed the storyline of the girl. The girl walking through the house with confusion brings in interest. The audience is trying to figure out what was going to happen next. Seeing dead people on the floor brings in more suspense to the film as well. It explains why the knife had blood on it. In the film, the camera movements and angles were demonstrated well. The establishing shot made it known it was at her house. The different angles used for the audience to see what the cast was seeing was also well structured. The camera followed the members well(pan). We knew exactly where the actor was heading. 

For this film there was another member. The boy actor storyline was not straight. He just appeared in it. I believed there was an explanation needed and an idea if he is actually responsible for the killing. It just brings in more confusion than suspense. For example, why did this boy just come to the house then get back in after closing the door. If there was a flashback at the end it would make the opening sequence good. The flashback will include the boy’s involvement in the whole scene. Probably showing him killing the people upstairs and or watching the girl actor kill the people. All in all, the acting was good however, a better understanding of ones involvement is needed. 

Filming blog: finally filming the video

Filming our opening sequence took place after school. My group and I realized the best time to film is when it is raining outside because less people will leave their house. The library was less packed and quiet like we wanted. After doing two other filming lessons we knew what was expected this time. We had to record the same thing over and over again. Our facial expressions had to be the same every time. We kept on forgetting lines so the process was very long. There was a time when I had to record a scene five times due to laughter ten anger. We were getting all upset because of how many takes were put into getting one scene down. There were times when the sound was not clear in the videos because of the distance from the cast member. We had diegetic sounds used a lot in the film. Outside of the library, we found the perfect lot. One of the members has a lot close to a family business that is usually empty and has no interaction with people. That was a very important part of our video because it looks very suspicious. My biggest problem from the jump was finding the right location. I was able to find the location and be with the right people. The library was close to the open lot which worked in our favor. The drive was not long either. We were able to stick to our safety procedure with a new schedule. Our expectations were definitely met. 

Why we didn’t start filming yet

The costumes are now set. The idea is clear. The filming process has officially started for our opening sequence. Over the weekend, my crew and I went scouting for some locations that would possibly fit our liking. We have a vision for exactly how we want our location to look. The tricky part is actually finding the perfect library. Upon going to the library, we advised the librarian that we would be filming. To our surprise, the librarian suggested we didn’t record at this location because people tend to talk a lot even when they are not supposed to. It was filled with noisy college kids who were partaking in their study group. We still tried to record. The external sound of the library was actually affecting our video. The dull lighting didn't fit our liking as well. Finding an abandoned lot is extremely difficult as well. We want our location to have crushed up stone, no trees and a blank background which we realize is realistic in the area we live in. We still tried to record with hopes that we would like it after all. That was not the case in the long run. After rewatching the video we realized we didn’t like it and we need to try again somewhere else. The lighting was not as dull as expected either. The goal is to find better locations to have footage. After The footage, we can start editing.

Filming the Opening sequence

I haven’t started the filming process of the opening sequence because I believe it takes a lot of planning. We (my group and I) decided to start filming last Monday however, we didn’t. I strongly believed we were not ready. On top of that my schedule couldn’t align with the others as well. I plan on filming this weekend. To do so, I will film off of my phone. I find it easier to film off of a phone and use iMovie to edit. Due to how I know how simple it is, I will take the easy way and and help lead my group. This is the first project I have done that will take longer than a minute. A lot of takes and scenes will have to be taken. That being said we need to be more prepared. To do so, I'm currently making sure our costumes are in check. There is no fancy or extra clothing however, every detail matter. Buying a black mask and gloves seems very fishy in the real world, so my group and I are looking for those materials at home. The location is not set in stone yet as well. We’re not sure what city we will be in or which library will be open when the filming starts. It’s clear that we are not a hundred percent ready to film. There is still in depth research we need to do on the locations of the library. Being considerate, we also have to make sure we notify anyone watching us act out these actions that we are filming. My group and I do not want to scare or frighten people. 

Storyboard for Opening sequence

The elements of a horror film starts from slide one through five. these scenes were filled with close up shots of every individual involved. Many of the starting scenes are in the library then it moves to the car. As the scenes go by, the intensity grows.the ending on scene 5 got even more intense. In slide six through 10, it talked about how we are going to go about playing the roles for those scenes. My scenes mainly included medium shots. Majority of the time the scenes are in the car. The scenes get intense as the story goes on. It has an ending thats going to have you wonder what happens next.

Title Design in Detail for our Opening Sequence

This powerpoint is about the title design of our final project. The font is very important. It can create a tone. The title could draw people into the movie. For our title font, we are using Blombat. It is a very creepy horror film font. It looks like blood on a wall that has been painted. We are using "Times New Roman" for our names so, that is is bold. But times new roman also will not distract the audience from the film. The powerpoint goes more into depth about our font.

Location, Health, Participation, and Schedule for our Opening Sequence

This powerpoint has the details about Location, health and safety, participants and the schedule. The filming location is in a few places. We're using a library, parking lot, and trunk. We think those locations will help add the the scary tone of our film. We also have a plan for health and safety. We will be cautious when driving. We also plan to bring a first aid kit. Our main participants are Naiya, Na'mya, and Ambrielle. The schedule is done on a week by week format. The powerpoint further goes into depth about each topic.