I have good news and more good news

Okay do you want the good news or the other good news?


Nice choice... so the good news is we have the complete family that will be in the opening. Jessica Briceno(me as the daughter), Susana Briceno (as the mother), and Jim Briceno(as the father).


The other, better good news is we still have a way to still depict our idea but it won't be cheesy or montagey!!!


We are going to begin the piece with a black screen and laughter coming into the background. Then the visuals will appear and the first moment will begin which we listed below. We want to vary the emotions that the daughter(me) and father(my actual father) experience together and include a couple with the mother(my real mother) to show that in the past, they were a complete family. All these moments are also real things that I have done with my family


Memories will include:
1.Happy (watching a movie and biking)

We want to include happy moments to show the close connection there was between father and daughter. The movie shows a heartwarming moment with the complete family. The biking scene will portray an activity that the daughter and father like to do together.


2. Frustrated (math hw and driving)

Life is never always happy and we want to show the moments where the daughter is angry and thinks her life sucks. The dad helping with math homework is a classic teenage moment that is relatable to our audience, 18-30 year olds. The driving scene also can be relatable with a parent teaching their child how to drive a car. This happened with my father and I and we can really show the frusturation in each point of view.


3.Sad(crying and he comes over)

We want to touch the hearts of our audience and emphasize that the dad cares for the daughter and has a close, strong connection with her. A moment where the daughter was crying and the dad comes to console her and make her feel better can clarify this.


4.Silly(pancake making include mom)

A silly, cute moment we thought of is when my dad and I used to make pancakes with each other on saturday mornings. We want to include the mother in this scene too to show there was a happy, complete family.


5.Nervous (you got this about to play in soccer game)

Last we want to show how the father is always there for the daughter in times of need and is her #1 supporter. I played soccer with my dad as my coach for the past 10 years, he was my guide and taught me how to play the sport I still love, though I play lacrosse now. The scene can show me being nervous to go in and my dad saying, you got this I believe in you.

Overthinking sucks :(

Our final idea is set.... or what we think is our idea. We want to make sure that the memories we are planning to show in the opening aren't cheesy and emphasize the pathos connection. We keep agreeing on a certain idea and then someone says but "what about this" or "what if..." and we come back to square 1. We are all stuck in a spot where we can definetely create an effective product that will clarify the drama genre and our idea but we don't know how to start it and steer away from that cheesy effect. Once we get into a clear path, I'll have a better update.

BIG CHANGEEE

We originally had the idea of recreating Jenn finding out about her father's passing. Today was a major change because after watching the example film openings, we realized our idea would get boring quickly and not achieve the effect we were going for. The idea will still be the same of depicting the loss of loved one; however we are changing the way we convey this to become more engaging.

We want to show a variety of photos from happy memories in the girl's childhood. With each photo, there will a camera zoom into the real memory and how happy Jenn was with the loved one, possibly a parent or sibling. Then the coloring will change emphasizing the sadness of the memory since the loved one passed. Jenn becomes sad and frustrated so she decides to slam the photo book. The book closes and the title will appear on the cover completing the film opening.

Here is an example of the effect we want to try to recreate that what shot in the music video for "Story of my life" by One direction

(Begin at 0:52)

As you can see through the video, the picture was displayed of a distant memory and then there is a transition into the actual scene where the singer, Zayn, began to move. This happens multiple times throughout the music video and also emphazies how the people pictured have grown up. You see the child version of Zayn and then he changes into his adult self highlighting our reminiscent theme.

This is the style we are attempting to emulate through our film opening and storyline and I'll update with further information as the brainstorming process continues.

Scheduling!!

As the vision is setting in, we need to begin with planning what is going to be accomplished for the current week and weeks ahead. Here is a planner with the dates we are trying to go for. Some dates will probably change or we will procrastinate and miss what was scheduled but for now.... here it is!

This is the ideal vision for the rest of the month of February

Here is the calendar going into March, an important month with heavy productivity.

Schedule

We have agreed on the idea and started a storyboard rough sketch to envision what the shots would look like and the style of drama we were trying to emmulate.

 We wanted to start the scene establishing the setting so we have Jenn laying in her bedroom and she gets up to go to school for the day. We want to convey a very positive attitude and lifestyle for Jenn. Everything is going good in her life and it will be another successful school day for her. We wanted to incoporate a symbol in the beginning that would foreshadow a scene later in the opening. Since the ending is Jenn answering a phone call and discovering her father's passing, we will have a beautful healthy flower in the beginning when she leaves for school. Once she returns the flower is more dead and gray to show that something is about to happen engaging the audience more. There are several shots of her at school, talking to friends, enjoying the rest of the day. Towards the end of the day, we want to convey the message that despite Jenn being in a crowded room, she begins to feel alone. Her car ride back will be quiet and give a sense of sadness. The coloring, lighting, and mise en scene will also emphasize this effect.

  This page is a continuation of Jenn walking into her room and seeing that the flower looks dead even though she watered it that morning. The next set of shots are going to be edited faster and the pace of the film will pick up with Jenn's phone ringing and her mom calling her. Maybe a split screen can show the mom's emotions to how Jenn is going to react. Then as soon as Jenn hears the breaking news there will be a close up as her emotion changes completely. Her phone is going to fall with the camera following it and then the title will appear of the movie.

Brainstorming

Our group thought about what we knew and how to apply it to a successful film opening. A coming-of-age drama film was a theme that kept circling back and we decided to stick with it. Jenn mentioned that we could do a real life depiction of her life and how she dealt with her father passing away a few years ago. This can be an effective film opening that represents our genre and can be relatable to any one who has experienced the loss of a loved one.

We will see how this idea develops and what there is to come in the film making process.

Who doesn't like drama?

We have made it all this way and now it's time to take everything I have learned and apply it to the masterpiece I am about to create. I'm excited to take you guys along with me and hopefully learn more about the struggles, accomplishments, and fun moments in the film making process.


Let's talk about drama!

Drama film heavily relies on the emotional and relational develop. Most of the time, the dramatic themes, that are important too, are taken from intense, real life issues. Drama film aims to tell an honest story of human struggles. (thescriptlab) The main focus of a drama film is to build the characters with the audience as they engage further into the story.


The drama genre is the broader term for the smaller spectrum of subgenres that are out there. Here are some of the subgenres that coexist in the drama genre title.



1. Crime Drama

Most likely following a character involved in criminal activity, the justice system, or some business with law enforcement. 

                                                               

2. Historical drama

Focus is on dramatic events in history such as war films

3. Comedy Drama

genre that balances serious event with humorous content 

                                                                 

4. Melodrama

uses plots that appeal to the heightened emotions of the audience,

can be also known as "chick flicks" when targeted toward the female audience

and "guy cry" films with the male audience

                                                                 

5. Romantic Drama

focuses on the elements of a romantic love

                                                                     

6. Period Piece 

concentrates on a specific time era, often based on a novel 

Music

Music is a very powerful art form that can inspire and motivate many or get them through a tough time. Music videos go along with the song to illustrate an image or bring representation to a group of people. I had the opportunity to delve deep in the music industry and create a music video of my own. I highly enjoyed this assigment and want to share what I took away from it.

Alternative rock describes music that comes from the genre 'rock' and emerged from the independent music of the 1970's. With the research my group and I investigated, there were several common trends. Alternative rock artists know their target audience leading us to conclude that 16-24 year olds, both genders in middle class were our main group. Engagement is crucial and social media truly helps with exposure and getting your name out there. Instagram, Twitter, and newly Tik Tok were the main platforms we saw being used to interact with the target audience. For example, the band 'The Neighborhood' effectively uses Instagram by "going dark" with every album release. The goal is to delete every post and then as time gets closer to the official release, post a sneak peek video or picture that will give more information as the day goes closer. This makes fans curious and willing to check their account more for any new photos. Foster the People has a partnership with Spotify for fans to participate in. They have art contests where fans can sumbit a piece of artwork that could be featured on an album cover or a merch design. Engagement is included here as fans want to see their stuff on a band they look up to. We also noted that distribution on Spotify and Youtube greatly spread the avaiblabilty of the band's music beacuse of the easy access and cleanliness of the platforms.

NY Revival was the name of the band we created that included Ryder Bennett (the vocalist), Dylan Dwane (electric guitartist), and Ayshe Gokk (bass guitarist). Our intended theme was a 90's theme alternative rock band entertaining 16-24 year old rebellious teens and young adults. To incorporate our theme, our powerpoint included several colors and the mise-en-scene reprsented the 90's from the costuming and props. Since NY Revival is an up and coming band, marketing was crucial to expose our name. We started with a website (https://camicriscola.wixsite.com/nyrevival) that would be a clean, accessible site to read the background of the band, click on any social medias, see our music video, and most importantly purchase the merchandise.

For social media, Tik Tok is a new, grossing platform where many songs have grown fame such as Electric Feel by MGMT surpassing 1 million views beacuse it went trending on Tik Tok. This is a beneficial platform because the app is free and once we get an acheivable amount of likes, money begins to pour in. Moreover, dances are extremely popular and if a dance is choreographed to our song, there is more exposure highlighting our band.

As mentioned before, our website provides access to the merchandise that effectively brings us revenue. We thought about how our target audience is the next generation in charge of the planet and protecting it from being harmed. For this, our products are environmentally friendly with biodegrable phone cases and reusable clothing.

                                      
This will spread awareness of the protection of our planet while giving exposure to our band. To go with the theme of preserving the planet, we hope to collaborate with OneTree.org where one dollar from every purchase is donated to planting a tree in Australia among the ones that were lost in the recent fires.

Shooting the Music Video

I definetely learned some valubale lessons through my own, my group, and the other groups mistakes. Personally, time managment is a crucial thing that needs to be taken seriosuly. Even though our group began filming certain shots a week before the due date giving us time to decide if we needed to film again or keep the edit, I could notice the quality of the video was rushed as groups scrambled to get all the clips together. Work ethic and quality can be improved so much with the proper managment because you are thinking correctly and at your own pace without feeling pressured. Also, we researched many bands and marketing trends in general for musical artists. We felt that social media, the website, and merchandise were great ways but we didn't provide our why. My teacher pointed this out because its one thing to be able to understand what goes well on paper but to understand why it makes sense to type or the benefit is a new skill set. Overall, there are a variety of elements that come into play to create a video from the costuming to the actors to the film location. Planning is for sure required and this project prepared me for the greatness that is coming in the next one.