Music

     Welcome back to my blog! In today's blog, I will be discussing what music I will be including in the background of my opening film. What I decided to do first is do some research with regards to the important role background music plays within the film. What I was able to gather from this post was that music is meant to set the tone of the film. Also, the post states how music can also introduce the type of genre the film is based upon. All of these factors are indicating towards the fact that background music, although seems like not a big deal, can improve your film in various ways. 

Website:

M Alankar. (2020, June 19). The Role Of Background Music In Film. [web log comment]. Retrieved             from The Role Of Background Music In Film – Mystic Alankar

  With this new perspective in my head, I went ahead and browsed some copyright-free music websites. Since I did not go ahead and chose a song before filming my project. This website that I found offers the option to filter the songs they have by mood, artist, genre, etc. With so many options to choose from it is making it difficult to narrow it down to one song. 

Music Catalog | Stock Music | Soundstripe

    One thing I have to keep in mind is that my film opening includes dialogue. Therefore, I have to keep that in mind when choosing my song. What I think is going to be the best choice is to wait until I have gathered all of my shots, and once I start editing, I will choose a song. 

 

Filming Day #1

    Welcome back to my blog, so if you have kept up with my previous blogs you would be aware that my first day of filming was today. I am going to give a brief overview of how today played out. So as I mentioned before, my friend and I had to meet up at her house because she is the one that owns the camera. Before going to her house we picked up some clothes that I would be using at the beginning of the film. We were only able to record the first few shots of the film. Regardless, I am going to start editing the clips I have and putting them together. 

    The first pictures of the glasses were the glasses Maddie was wearing. This was a costume design to further illustrate her side of being geeky. Along with the glasses, the Micky Mouse sweater was a choice of wardrobe made to further elaborate on the idea of her being different. Considering that not many teenage girls wear Micky Mouse hoodies. Lastly, her E.T. stuffed animal made an appearance in the background of the film. The reason we kept him in was to implicate the lack of maturity she holds. Since most high school adolescents don't keep a stuffed animal around.  

Shooting Schedule

     Welcome back to my blog! Today I will be going over a brief idea of what my shooting schedule will look like throughout this process. Since I will be using my friend's camera and she will be helping me record the scenes, I will have to also work with her schedule. This could become a problem, considering that we are both busy people that have responsibilities we have to account for. For example, she works during the week, and I work on the weekends. This was something I knew I would have to work around. Regardless, I believe it will be worth it in the end since the outcome of the film opening will be spectacular. 

  Current schedule 

  02/25/2022

-Get together and start filming.

03/04/2022

-Continue to film

03/18/22

-Last day to film

03/25/22

-If any shots are missing then this day will be used.

    So far what we both agreed on is that Friday works for both of us. This is perfect since I can go home with her after school and get straight to filming. We are unaware of how many days will be needed to gather the shots. It all depends on how much we get done on those days that we have chosen. If it is necessary, then another day will be separated. I will keep you guys updated!

Outline

 Adjusting to the Bubble Wrap 

    1. Scrolling through Instagram 

        -Lays on bed

        -Opens laptop 

        -Starts scrolling through Instagram 

        -Begins to compare herself to her friends 

        -Notices how different her profile is to theirs

        -Gets frustrated and shuts laptop. 

2. Mirror

        -Stares at herself in the mirror 

        -Realizes how plain her outfit is 

        -Wants to make a change to herself. 

        -Takes off her glasses 

        -Fidgets with her hair

3. Text message 

        -Hears her phone go off (bing)

        -Starts to freak out because it's a text from a boy 

        -The popular kid asked her on a date 

4. Phone call

        -Calls her best friend to tell her what just happened 

         -Conversation consist of her doubting if she's good enough for him

5. Preparation for the date

        -Goes to her closet 

        -Starts to try on different outfits 

        -Looks completely different 

        -Turns to camera and says, "Oh no!"

      

        

        

       

        

Meet Madison

 

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    Hi blog, welcome back. Today I felt inspired to further develop my character. Although I did create a previous blog post about Maddie and what her back story was. I thought it would be a good idea to put her personality into visual images. Considering that most people retain information more effectively through a visual aspect. 

    I am going to start by explaining what every image means and why it correlates to Maddie. First, the four colors on the left bottom corner are just a list of her favorite colors. On top, it states her official name "Madison Levy". You also see a heart with a lock on it. This represents how Madison is originally very closed off to love. Next, the A-plus image is just a preview of her grades. Then, you see an image of a basic bed that includes pastel colors. Which shows what her room would look like. The girl with a grey hoodie and backpack is also another representation of how neutral she is when she dresses and is not a person that stands out. The clip art of the girl that is blushing, is a visual representation of how Madison is shy around her peers. Lastly, the rack of shirts with pastel colors is a representation of the types of shirts and colors you would see in her room. 

Technology

   Welcome back, the topic for today will be technology. I was already aware before starting this project that many different types of technology we're going to be involved. What I had in mind at the beginning was to record my film opening with my iPhone 13. The reason I was set on doing this was that I researched, and I found that the iPhone 13 has a dual 12 MP camera system: wide and ultra-wide cameras. This led me to conclude that my phone would acquire shots with exceptional quality. 

This is the phone I have:

     However, once I was discussing this over with one of my friends, she mentioned how she recently had bought a new camera. Then this immediately made it clear that I should ask if I could borrow it. Of course, she said yes, and I got so excited. Considering that even though my phone could've gotten the job done, I know that nothing would compare to the camera quality from her camera. The camera that she has is called the Canon EOS Rebel T7. Even the name sounds cool! I am so excited to start recording my film opening. 

Picture of camera:

Let's Discuss Plot

    Welcome back to my blog. Today I was brainstorming ideas for what the plot of my film may consist of. Since in my last post I revealed what the main character of my film would be like, I figured that the next big step would be to decide what the storyline would be. 

  A storyline I had in mind is that the main character (Madison) would constantly have the urge to fit in with what her friends were up to. In which case what she longed for was a relationship. Madison was willing to do whatever it took. So, what she decides to do is to start going out with guys in hopes of finding the perfect fit. The only problem with this is that in the process of doing so she tends to lose herself. The cause of her losing herself was because of the preparation she would follow before every date. 

The steps were: 

1. Find out what the guy was into. 

2. Adjust her wardrobe to something the guy would like. 

3. Then, adapt to the guy's personality. 

    This routine was something she followed every single time. This apparent change in her even led her friends to question her new personality. Throughout the film Madison will encounter many different types of guys. 

Main Character Moment

    Welcome back to the insight of my film opening. I have been thinking and trying to figure out what I want my film opening to consist of. Since my project is going to be a Rom-Com I feel like my main character should be a female. Considering that most of the main characters in this genre tend to be females. Like in the film 13 going on 30 (2004).

    This led me to conclude that my main character will be a female. The character's name is going to be Madison. She is a calm and quiet girl. Madison is not the most popular girl in her School and is mostly just closed off to her small circle. The character is a senior in high school and has never had her first boyfriend. Seeing all of her friends around her being in long-term relationships, made her feel left out. She has a very simple and typical style. 

Some outfits that you would see her wearing would be:

    Maddie all her life has felt like she has to fit in. Especially once she got into high school. Every trend that came was another one she felt social pressure to follow. She never got herself into trouble and her parents knew they didn't have to worry about her getting good grades and staying out of trouble. 

The world around her felt like a bubble. 

Juggling Genre's

     It has now come to the time when I have to finalize my main genre focus. In my previous blog post, I mentioned how I had been thinking about basing my film opening around the genre Rom-Com. I am in between doing that genre or just basing it on a romance film. Both are relatively the same, but I believe that Rom-Com can focus a less serious side to the film. In which case can cause the viewer to be entertained throughout the film. 

      I was building some research about the genre Rom-Com. What I learned is that this genre has no specified target audience. Considering that it can apply to everyone. Simply because everyone craves love. Also, another thing that I learned is that most movies from this genre typically end with a happy ending. As well as if there are two specific main characters in the film then the chemistry that is shared within is essential. That is also an objective that can't be forced upon two characters. Which is something I will take into consideration if I include a guy actor by my side. 

    If you are interested in looking at films that are known to be the most popular in the Rom-Com genre then the article where I received my research was Leah Asmelash and Scottie Andrew, February 14, 2022, The anatomy of a romantic comedy - CNN

   On the other hand, I was also looking into just romance drama films. Although Rom-Coms have their similarities, it should be noted that romance dramas don't always have a happy ending. I feel like for me it would come down to what film ideas I come up more with. Since there is a key difference then what I think I'm going to do is develop two different story plots and see which one I can carry out the best. 

    Now that I have researched more in-depth about the genre and the different types of romance films that I can develop, I feel a lot more educated. Therefore, what I am going to do now is just start brainstorming different plots and character stories I can incorporate. I am also going to watch some romance films this week and get more of a deeper look into the genre. 

The Beginning of Something New

    I am very excited to announce that I will now be working on a new project. This project is something I have heard about throughout the months but now the time has finally come. All though I was a little nervous since this is a project that is held to a high standard. Once the project was explained to me in-depth, I knew that it was a project that I would thoroughly enjoy carrying out for the upcoming months. I am excited to take advantage of the creative freedom I have. This is not typically common when it comes to school-based projects. I have considered many ideas for what relative topic I want my film opening to be based upon. Regardless, I want to make sure to have many different ideas and then narrow them down to one. 

    I know that to properly brainstorm I have to choose one specific genre. This will be a great way to be able to think of many different storylines and then begin to think about where and what I can film. In which case the genre that I decided to base my story film upon is Rom-Com. As cheesy and corny as this genre can be there is nothing, I love more than a cute love story. For some reason, these movies tend to hook me in the whole time. One of the films I enjoyed was The Lovebirds (2020). 

    The storyline that was portrayed throughout this movie had my eyes glued to my computer. I loved everything from the setting and the production style that was incorporated. Even though I don't exactly plan to incorporate the whole murder mystery aspect in my film. It does still fall under the genre of Rom-Com. 

    Moreover, the movie To All the Boys: P.S. I still love you (2020) is also great. Although this movie has mixed reviews, I watched the entire film and even watched the ones that came out prior. My ideas that I have developed would not reciprocate anything specific from the films. These two films were just some of the many that I enjoyed watching. With that my decision based upon genre could change but for now I believe it will remain the same.  

Music Marketing Blog #2

 The music marketing project was a long-term project, which I don't tend to generally work on projects like those. Therefore, it made the process that much more interesting and exciting. Of course, like we would with any other research project we did our research on the topic. Our topic is country music. My group and I educated as much as possible on the trends that are currently being used for the marketing of country music. We did this through the completion of music marketing charts. We then chose two labels along with specific artists that work with these labels. Then we noticed a constant pattern in what they use to promote themselves as an artist. Therefore, we implemented these ideas throughout our marketing campaign.

We came up with the artist Paulina Davis. She was going to be the best next thing. What we did was create her an account on all social media platforms. Such as Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and a TikTok. What we learned within our research was that the target audience for country music was 25-54. We kept this factor in mind when thinking about the platforms that Paulina Davis would be active on. On her Instagram account, we would post pictures of her in her performances. As well as a new teaser for her upcoming drops. While on her Facebook we would make sure to provide personal interaction with her audience. Through the use of the daily update feature that Facebook holds. Also, the reason we incorporated Facebook was that since the country targets the older audience then Facebook is the platform to focus on. With TikTok, we would use the app as free promotion for her new songs by correlating them with challenges that can be recreated by others. Lastly, her YouTube would be simply to upload her music videos and also be another outlet to promote her work. 

Then we begin to brainstorm the perfect music video for her new single "Need You Now". What my group and I decided to do was create a storyboard with all of the scenes remotely drawn out. The music video we decided to carry out was about a couple whose relationship ends, and the video takes you through a roller coaster of emotions with remembering the good and bad parts of the relationship. The recording of it was actually really fun. We went to a plaza to get the scenes of me singing. As well as recorded in the wave. Lastly, there were some scenes throughout my house. After we got all the clips together Marshall began to edit them, and we incorporated some black and white scenes which was an indication to the viewer that those were the bad parts.

Once the music video and the song are out, we planned a pop-up show in Nashville Tennessee. This event will be hosted at the Red Saloon Bar from 9-10:30. The reason it will be hosted in Nashville will be due to the fact that country music is the #1 genre that is listened to in that area. Therefore, this will be a great opportunity to continue to promote Paulina Davis and make a name for herself. Also, the event is going to be free, and everyone is invited. We will go around handing out this flyer to promote the event. 

To prepare for the presentation my group was able to prepare beforehand since we all worked effectively to complete the presentation. Therefore, what we did was split up the slides and therefore focused on perfecting how to present the information on just those slides. This way we could be prepared for the day of the presentation. It was nerve-racking because of the fact that it was just us three in front. What was really helpful was the preparation done prior to the presentation.

 Overall, this project taught me how to develop a product for a long period of time. I learned how important the marketing aspect is for an upcoming artist. That it is not as easy as some people make it seem. There are many steps that are involved as well as people, in order to make the process flow. Another thing I learned was how country music is not that bad. The music marketing project is really going to help me with my portfolio project. Considering that it is also a long-term project, the goal of the projects are similar. Such as developing an idea and turning it into a product.