Hello again,
Julia and I began discussing a rough planning period. We have a several ideas we want to incorporate into our film opening.
Plot
Julia and I began by making a list of what we value most and wanted to make a message about. We want our theme to be around alcohol abuse and negative relationships. However we are thinking about breaking a genre convention where the boyfriend will be the one who is receiving domestic violence. This will be between two high school students and a few friends. The boy/girl relationship will have the boy being abused by the girl. Most likely physically or emotionally but he is expected to "be a man" and not show how it effects him. The boyfriend will start to slowly turn to alcohol to forget about the relationship he is in. The setting will start in the girl or boys bedrooms in the morning then have then be in a middle class high school. The costume design will be modern and brightly colored. We were inspired by the film "Sixteen Wishes" because of how she woke up in the morning and how she started getting ready for school. We want to mix our coming of age drama with a comedic satire spin. We want the main character to be sarcastic and witty with how she interacts with the world. She won't be cheerful about waking up instead she will act tired, grumpy and slowly move around has she does her routine. The goal here would be to make fun of movies that have done an exaggerated version of how teenagers act. We got this idea from the film "Not Another Teen Movie." We hope to convey our message in the first two minutes or so of the film.
Technological Elements
As we learned in our research the lighting will be normal/everyday for a more realistic effect. We were inspired by the film "The Breakfast Club" because the lighting always seemed like it was just the lights at the school. We are leaning towards a voice over so the main character can be more connected with the audience and explain what is going on in their head. Most teenagers tend to keep their negative thoughts to themselves especially around family or peers they dislike. We may have stings of the school bell ringing, students talking in the hallways, phones ringing and car radio. If we have music it will be using an alternative rock song by The Breeders for an upbeat but a not too happy vibe. We are currently in the process of asking the band if we can use the song in our film. The props will include cell phones, headphones, computers, alcohol bottles and food. The costume design will have personalized clothing for the characters personality.
Characters
We want the female lead to be direct and have an attitude of not caring what others think. Even though all teenagers really care what others perceive of them we may highlight her that. We would let her use her humor and wittiness to express the downsides of teenage years. She will wear bright non trendy clothes because she wants to be different. Overall we want her to be comedic and a bit rebellious. The male lead may have the same dominant personality as she does. He will wear darker clothes but will have a laid back attitude. However he will show a more vulnerable side later on when he is feeling upset about what to do about his abusive relationship. The friends that will somewhat be involved in the film should have characteristics we see in most teenage films. However they will highlighted and made fun of to show how unrealistic they are. Possibly having someone look one way but their personality says otherwise. We want the lines to have today's slang to relate to the Target Audience (teenagers.) The characters may have the stereotypical characteristics however we want to break some conventions in a humorous way.
Come back next week for a new post about more detailed plan, reflecting on research and more!!
Sunday, February 24, 2019
First Step: Research
Today my partner Julia and I have started our research for our portfolio project. We have decided to do a film opening for a coming of age movie. We focused on drama and comedy for our teenage to early twenties target audience.
Genre/Plot
The coming of age genre focuses on teenagers perspectives and their character development. The comedy helps break awkward or unfortunate events that happen to the protagonist. The barriers usually involve social aspects in school or at home with family. (Thind, 2017) Specifically:
1. Drug abuse
2. Alcohol abuse
3. Peer Pressure
4. What's after high school?
5. Parents not getting along
According to Mindmeister this genre also has a theme of psychoanalyst Erik Eriksons' theory "Identity vs. Role Confusion." The infamous line "No one understands me" is mentioned with many teenage films such as Mean Girls when Cady wants to start acting like Regina George but her parents are against her choices. Another example is when Nadine from the Edge of Seventeen struggles the relationship she has with her mother. She feels that her mom does not pay attention to her or understand how to understand what Nadine is going through.Both movies also demonstrate a need to be accepted and have friends which reflects almost every teenager acts in reality. (Hestand, 2018) In films such as "The Inbetweeners" the protagonist tries to win over their crush. The romance usually isn't to evident however the Target Audience does enjoy seeing a few sparks fly.
Characters
The main character is usually a teenager who is self discovering. The clothes are normally light and trendy depending on the time period. Whatever they wear they wear it with strong pride so costume design is essential. This is also a way for them to freely express who they are to the world. The characters start off "shy and submissive" in films such as "Perks of Being a Wallflower" or not with the "cool" kids. (Thind, 2017) The antagonist can be a high school bully that is stopping or at least slowing down the character from their goal. These last two aspects lead to the main character being an outcast in most cases such as Bianca in the movie "The Duff."There are stereotypes such as the dumb blonde, preppy cheerleaders, mean jocks and awkward nerds.
Props/Settings
Props can include bottles of alcohol and drugs during more mature scenes. For girls in high economic classes such as Cheer and Deon from Clueless there are designer book bags, clothes, makeup and accessories. With more modern films there have been more phones seen because of our booming digital age. This is called Iconography where there are items the Target Audience can relate to or may even have themselves. (Bourhaba, 2014) The settings can include can create a mood of lonely or excited such as in:
1. High School
2. Cars with the parents/friends
3. The teenagers bedroom/ safe place
4. Public hang out places with friends
5. School sporting events
Technical Elements
In these films normal lighting is mostly used for a realistic fiction ambiance. The sounds are usually with music that is upbeat and fairly new when the movie came out. Stings can include cell phones ringing, chatter in the hallways and the school bell. There can be nostalgia if the song are picked well such as The Smiths being used in the film Perks of Being a Wallflower. Voice overs are common because they can give a quick update on the persons backstory and the teenager can be more intimate with the audience.
References
Longworth, C. (2016, November 14). Codes and Conventions of Coming of Age Films. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/svyzdw4qndq4/codes-and-conventions-of-coming-of-age-films/
Thind, G. (2017). Conventions and Iconography of the Coming of Age ... Retrieved from https://www.mindmeister.com/714294408/conventions-and-iconography-of-the-coming-of-age-genre?fullscreen=1
Bourhaba, S (December 17, 2014). Generic Conventions- Coming of Age Films. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/sabrinabourhaba/generic-conventions-coming-of-age-films?next_slideshow=1
Sunday, February 17, 2019
Make Your Artist Go Big !
Hello movie lovers,
I will be talking about a recent project my team and I produced. This was a Music Marketing Campaign for an European indie rock band we created called Eight Hours. We conducted research, made meticulous choices and marketing strategies.
Summary of my project
This objective was to create an outline of how my team would promote an upcoming band. This project started with a storyboard for the music video. My team did two case studies on already existing Indie Rock bands/artists as inspiration to help our campaign ideas. Then we broke down our plans starting with what the social media will have on it at certain times. We focused a lot on social media (Instagram, Twitter, YouTube) and made the website user friendly. Then we did the merchandise and the time line for which and how much merchandise would be released. First we researched Frankie Cosmos and saw how she was authentic with her fans. Then we looked into Arctic Monkeys who are much more dark and their music is more rock. We saw how both bands used their websites to provide easy access to:
1. Social Media- Mainly Instagram and Twitter but there was also Facebook and Tumbler.
2. Merchandise- There were clothing items but also creative items such as water bottles and bags.
3. Music- There was easy access to the artist profile on streaming apps including Pandora, Spotify and Apple Music.
4. Concert/ Tour Dates- There were calender's for tour dates and fans could go to the purchase area to buy the tickets directly.
Research and Choices
First my group saw how bright and aesthetic Frankie Cosmos was with her whole style. Cosmos did has a quirky clothing style that she wears in her music videos and in her everyday life. On her social media she had unfiltered pictures and had captions that usually interacted with the fans and updated them on her life. Her website had easy access to merchandise was bright and cute. Her merchandise was similar to her quirky personality. Arctic Monkeys was much darker and focused more social media. Their social media was an easy gateway from their website. The entire aesthetic for the band is black including the music video. There was section called "news " that updated the fans on information. The streaming apps for the music and music videos were easy to find. Also, the tour dates were easy to find so fans could automatically purchase tickets.
My group took inspiration from Frankie Cosmos by interacting with our audience through social media. We kept a dark tone like Arctic Monkeys throughout the website and merchandise. We did this on most of our social media as well. Indie Rock tends to have an aesthetic theme with the pictures posted. Our Target Audience was teenagers and young adults so our topic for out music was relevant to them: how society treats open gay men. My team and I decided our marketing techniques mainly on what established bands/ artists have done.
Marketing Strategies
The main characteristics we focused on were:
1. Interviews
2. Opening for bigger artists
3. Social Media Engagement
4. Live Shows
For the merchandise my group made a specific timeline for the amount and type of merchandise that would be released. Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube are the main contributors to the band’s social media debut. Social media is a method for the band to introduce themselves, gain exposure, make announcements, and remain in touch with audiences, which is critical. This is mainly because of the digital age we are living in.
Next the social media was planned based on how popular we would get over the first months then years.
Months 1-3: Personal posts, references to personal work, introduction to band members
(Posts on songwriting, instruments, personal details, etc.)
Months 4-12: With the release of first songs and music videos, begin announcing special dates, and releases with posts
(Posts on sneak peaks of new video, label announcements, hints at new music to come, posts on local concerts, bar gigs, etc)
Year 1-2: Begin posting on tour and event specials the band is participating in, continue posting on new songs and things being worked on similar to “Months 4-12”
(Posts on tour dates, Q & A, radio interviews/plays, live events, etc.)
The website would have all of our music and clothing products for fans to easily purchase along with concert dates and tickets that can be directly sold.
Samples/Links
YouTube- This will have the logo, repetitive name "EightHoursofficial" and all the music videos.
Instagram- The social media will be interactive, have the logo, updating with new content and have the "eighthoursofficial" so fans can use the same name on the platforms. The bio gives a brief description for potential fans and for current fans they can easily know what is happening with the band.
Twitter- The bio will have information on who the band is and what they are working on. The name will be similar and the website will be easy to find just like the Instagram. The posts will be interactive and continuously updating fans what the band is doing.
Website- The website will be dark and aesthetic to follow the marketing trend. The merchandise, social media and music will be easy to access. Viewers can scroll down or can go to the tabs for more information. All products/ music can be purchased directly from the website. The music video will also be easily found.
Merchandise- Of course with the logo to promote the band and income comes in from fans.
Conclusion
I plan to use these techniques by enforcing social media to promote the film. I know that the creative and producing of the music video or film is very meticulous. Every choice matters and should go reflect your purpose. It is also good to follow a theme so your brand is more recognizable to fans such as the cover picture. Also the name on all the platforms you will have. Overall I truly enjoyed this project because of the amount of creativity I was able to put in. The project was a big help me see how I to produce, market and distribute a new band to the public.
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