Character Mood Boards

I decided to create a mood board for each character to help visualize my ideas for what I want each character to look like. Sophia Davis will have long dark brown wavy hair with a medium skin tone. She is from Miami and enjoys hanging out with her friends and playing beach volleyball. Her color palette is filled with bright pastel colors because of her outgoing and optimistic personality. I included a short red string in her board because she will be the character that opens her box to reveal a short string. 

Olivia Wilson is from Detroit and is intellectually curious. She enjoys reading and learning about new things. She chooses to not open her box as she feels there is no benefit to knowing what is inside. Her color palette contains earth tones that match her calm personality. She enjoys winter sports such as snowboarding. 

Amelia Taylor is from Salt Lake City. She enjoys outdoor yoga and photography. She likes to participate in extreme activities and decides to open her box to reveal a long string. Her fashion taste reveals clothing made from natural materials such as cottons.  She favors baggy shirts and pants paired with sandals. 

    These three characters come from different places but will all be faced with a similar decision.

Sources: 

https://www.pinterest.com/

https://www.canva.com/

Introducing the Cast

As I previously discussed, my film will follow three main characters. They will have no connection to each other and live in different areas of the country. The only thing they have in common is they are all turning eighteen the same day and get sent this mysterious box. I’ve decided all the characters will be teenage girls. To create the fictional characters' names I used a random first name and last name generator. On both the first and last name generator I entered the year the character would be born in and filtered their nationalities to American. The first name generator provided me a list of ten names and out of those I chose Sophia, Olivia, and Amelia. In the last name generator I entered those three first names individually and then was automatically provided a list of ten last names to choose from. The final names for my fictional characters are: Sophia Davis, Olivia Wilson and Amelia Taylor. 

The first main character is Sophia Davis, an average teenager from Miami Florida. Davis is a fun, outgoing, lovable person and has a positive outlook on life. In my film, she will open the mysterious box and find a short string. The second main character is Olivia Wilson, she is from Detroit, Michigan. She is more of an introvert, but has a questioning and curious personality, she is also rational and practical. Wilson decides to not open the box and not be influenced by what the string might signify. The last character, Amelia Taylor lives in Salt Lake City, Utah. She is carefree and makes her own rules. She chooses to open the box and finds a long string inside. Taylor will test the limits of the string by participating in risky activities and tempting fate.

First Name Generator

Last Name Generator for Olivia character

Last Name Generator for Sophia character

Last Name Generator for Amelia character

Sources: 

“List of Names.” Name Generator. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://www.name-generator.org.uk/?i=2itnjp6v.

“Last Name Generator.” Name Generator. Accessed February 16, 2023. https://www.name-generator.org.uk/last/.

 

What’s the movie going to be about?

 In the science fiction/dystopian genre there is usually one main plot line and a few subplots. My idea for the opening scene of my film revolves around mysterious boxes that are left at the front doors of a person's home as soon as they turn eighteen. The film will take place in the future year of 2043.  The boxes will be inscribed with the person’s first and last name and inside the box are strings of various lengths. None of the characters will know where the boxes came from or how they were delivered. The strings represent how long the individual has to live. It is up to the character to decide whether or not to open the box. If they do, what will they do with this information, if they choose not to - is ignorance bliss? The film will follow three main characters that get sent their box on the night of their eighteenth birthday. One character will open the box and see they have a long string and take risks because they think that they will live a long life no matter what they do. The second character will open the box and find a short string and will have to make decisions on how they want to live their life based on this information. Do they want to tell their friends and family about their short string? If they do, will they be treated differently because of this knowledge?  Maybe they will decide to keep it to themselves. The last character will not open the box and live their life without knowing. They may die young or they may have a long life.

Selecting a Genre

 Choosing a genre for my film opening requires researching some of my favorite films to help me think of ideas for my project. I have decided to make my film opening under the genre of science fiction/dystopian as it will allow me the freedom to explore the unknown and unexplained. I started by researching some case studies so I can better understand the genre. I chose to look at the films The Hunger Games (2012) and Ready Player One (2018). These films have a similar theme and contain some of the same features that make them fall into the dystopian genre. Some important elements in this genre include either governmental or technological control over the characters, environmental destruction, loss of individualism, or survival. My film will also incorporate several of these elements and themes as well.

The Hunger Games is one of the most well known films in this genre. It follows the main character, Katniss and her quest to win the Hunger Games. The film takes place in the fictional Capitol of Panem.  The Capitol controls its 12 districts by making each one choose a boy and a girl, known as Tributes, to compete in a nationally broadcast competition known as the Hunger Games. Every person is required to observe as the youths engage in death matches until only one is left.  In order to win the game, Katniss Everdeen has to rely on her hunting prowess and astute instincts to guide her to victory.

The next film I researched was Ready Player One. This movie takes place in The OASIS, a vast virtual reality environment developed by James Halliday, that offers hope to humans in 2045 as the world is on the verge of anarchy and collapse. When Halliday passes away, he makes a huge financial guarantee to the first person to find a hidden digital Easter egg in the OASIS. Young Wade Watts enters the competition and soon finds himself on a reality-defying treasure hunt through a fantasy world full of intrigue and exploration. These are two films that have inspired me to create a film opening in this genre. 

Sources: 

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1392170/

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1677720/

Starting the Process

On Friday, I was introduced to what seems to be a big, well thought out and long project. At this point, we have only been introduced to the elements and components of the project and the main task at hand. I am going to be updating my blog several times a week with my thoughts and ideas on how I will complete this project. As I begin, various thoughts are running through my mind as I try to narrow down how to even decide what I want to create. I am asking myself questions such as: What genre of film should I create? Romantic? Comedy? Adventure? Thriller? Coming of age? There are so many genres to pick from that I need to really think about which one would help me create the best film opening and allow me to express my ideas. I will brainstorm by watching several of my favorite films and hoping they will give me inspiration. After watching some movies, I will review my ideas to see what would work best. I think this will help me narrow down to see which genre works best with my thoughts. As I think about this long term project, running over seven weeks, I will try not to be overwhelmed and will concentrate on each task as it comes due. Come join me on this ride and see where it takes us! Stay tuned for what genre and idea I will choose.

 

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

Taylor Swift, Lizzo, Beyonce. How did these music icons get to be where they are today? This assignment helped shed some light on what goes into marketing an artist. What turns a singer into a star. We began our music marketing project by researching major recording companies such as Sony Music Entertainment and Capitol Records. We studied the background and history of both companies and a few of their star clients such as Black Eyed Peas, Harry Styles, Halsey, and Katy Perry. For each musician or group, we described the artists’ marketing strategies, distribution methods, audience interaction tools, and the various ways they became successful. For example, TikTok creators made up a photo trend of posting old photos side by side to current pictures to coordinate with Harry Styles’ new song, As it Was. This was done in an effort to promote his latest album as the song dropped before the entire album was released.  We decided that our artist would try to do something similar and could create a dance trend to her new song on TikTok. 

When we first started thinking of ideas for the project, we knew we wanted a young female artist who would promote herself through social media and could relate well to her younger target audience. We decided that the artist should use the stage name,“w3areyoung”. This name comes from the song title, but we added the three to make it more unique. We brainstormed possible sponsorship opportunities and the hashtags that would promote the artist and her song. For instance, we could partner with a food delivery service company, such as UberEats, to promote the collaboration by using the hashtag #w3arehungry. Social media will be the perfect avenue for this new artist to gain exposure. She will post behind the scenes clips on Instagram and TikTok to allow her fans to get to know her and see the real person behind the artist. We created some local and streamed performance opportunities at local malls and clubs to widen her demographics. Additionally, Youtube live streams would be another avenue to promote her brand. 

The idea for our music video was collaborative and each member contributed to the final result. One member of the group worked on the storyboarding, another worked on the filming, and another worked on the editing. We all chose to make a promotional music video as it really highlighted the singer and the lyrics. Since it was the artists’ debut song, we wanted the video to be personal and showcase her and her raw talent without a lot of distraction. The video will be posted on her social media platforms, including her website, so it can be seen by the largest audience. This way it will reach her target audience but also others who might just catch it as they scroll through TikTok.   

We filmed the music video at Weston Town center with another student portraying our artist. We used the camera on the iPhone and a tripod to follow her around the plaza while she lip synced into a microphone. It took about an hour and half to film and then approximately two hours to edit. We edited the shots to create a cohesive story.  

On the day of the presentation, I was feeling a little nervous about getting up in front of my classmates and presenting our presentation. My group members and I planned who was going to discuss each slide to make sure all the information was covered and no one spoke over each other. The presentation went smoothly with a few minor technical issues that were quickly rectified. Some of our classmates asked some questions about our presentation and artist and we were able to answer them confidently.

Overall, I really enjoyed this project. I liked how I could be creative and design a music video and promote a brand new artist. I am really interested in media marketing and gained valuable insight on what it takes to make something successful. I learned how to work together with others to make decisions, how to use other successful artists’ tactics for my artist, and effective time management to get our project done on time. Working together as a group is a skill that can help me in creating my Cambridge portfolio. Additionally, the experience of creating the storyboard, brainstorming music video ideas, and filming the video will contribute to making my Cambridge portfolio successful.

 

Music Marketing Blog Post #1

     One Direction, Big Time Rush, Coldplay… these are all bands that now are household names but started out needing help from their marketing team to share their music with the world. For our project, we were assigned the music genre of pop and were required to choose one song out of a list of four. My group and I conferred to come to a consensus decision on the song “We Are Young” by the band Fun. Once we picked the song, we watched the original music video and read through the lyrics so we understood the song's meaning and the band's intentions.

    After watching the video, we thoroughly reviewed the instructions for the music marketing project and made an organized schedule with due dates. (see attached schedule below.) After creating our schedule, we started the music research chart. Each member of the group was assigned one case study to research and complete that section of the chart.  We ran into some challenges when researching the case studies as it was sometimes difficult to find specific information. 

    Next, we began brainstorming different concepts for our music video. We all threw out a bunch of different ideas and ways we could film the video. Eventually we all agreed on one solid story and our vision would be portrayed. We discussed the different jobs needed to create the video and made tentative plans. When we shoot the video this weekend, we all agreed to be flexible and change parts if necessary. Finally, we started sketching our storyboard and creating a list of shots, angles, composition, and movement. 

    In class on Wednesday, we split the group in half and had one half working on the storyboard and the other starting to work on the campaign presentation. The storyboard is almost done being sketched and the presentation is partially completed. On Friday, we will complete the storyboard so it can be submitted. We plan to film on Friday evening.  We will also work more on the campaign presentation so everything can be completed by the due date of February 2.