Group meeting #1

 In our first group meeting we were able to talk to each other and share our ideas. The goal was to build off of each other, provide feedback, and help. We started off by sharing our genres that we chose, I noticed that the majority of the group chose thriller. We read each others blogs and talked about some positive and negative things we did to help us in our previous projects.

By sharing our plots and ideas, we helped each other fill in the gaps. For example, I was stuck between two title options for my opening, and I got my groups opinions. Most of them suggested I go with "Haunted Memories". This group activity helped me get feedback for my blogs and my ideas for the project so far. We all helped each other, Santina didn't know where to add her title in, and we collectively came up with a solution. We suggested she incorporates her title into the diary, which is her main prop. Instead of editing the title onto the screen, she can handwrite it in the notebook, she though this was really creative and liked the idea. 

We had uplifting and constructive conversations flowing, where everyone was always chiming in. We related some of our ideas, and shared our reasoning's behind decisions. 

(Group photo)

To help each other during the meeting, we shared a document and wrote critiques for each others plots and blogs. Under our names on the document we each shared our blog link, plot, setting, genre, title, and location. This is what we wrote...

https://gabeaicemedia.blogspot.com/ -Gabe 
Genre: Thriller 
Setting to film: Park, or any house 
Plot: Not sure about idea yet, has a couple options. Like relaxing at his house after a long day of work and he goes about his day. He then gets a phone call from a mysterious person, once he answers the voice says, “YOU HAVE TO WAKE UP! WAKE UP NOW BEFORE...” and then the man wakes up. 
No title 
Critique-Nicholas: Overall, solid idea, try to add more detail and make longer though. 
https://nickminds.blogspot.com/ 
My name: Nicholas 
Genre: Horror/Psychological Thriller 
As of Monday, my group does not know what we are going to do but we have some ideas and some films we are inspired by.  
Plot #1: One idea was a zombie apocalypse with 2 survivors in a forest running away from a monster on a dark, foggy night and they stop running after a couple seconds thinking they escaped. The 2 survivors start walking with the map they got of the park and then they suddenly hear the sound of something breaking but don’t think much of it. They suddenly hear a monster creeping up onto them and the scene would end with the zombie on top of the person about to eat them. 
Critique: -Gabe, minimal running. Running is boring, no one wants to see running. Terrible idea. 
Some films I am inspired by films like the shining, Halloween, and jaws as I really enjoyed these movies and would want to be created something like this 
https://superawesomekidcook.blogspot.com/2025/02/researchanalyzediscuss-three-film.html 
Name: Adil 
Genre: Thriller  
Plot: A godzilla inspired film, given by Stoklosa due to the fact that our group had no idea what to do. The setting takes place in a dark forest (Mark and park), story dynamic may be derived from Jurassic Park (T. Rex Escape scene) and how science will be humanities un-doing (Life finds a way) Take the new Jurassic world rebirth trailer for example, the new abnormality that is the main focus is a dinosaur called D-Rex/Deformed Rex. This can be a mirroring towards my film as my monster escapes from containment as scientists got too full of themselves and thought they had full control over the monster. (That is all the information as of now) 
https://santinamp.blogspot.com/ 
Santina Moreno 
Genre: Drama 
Title: Dear Diary; 
Plot: The main character is a girl who is very isolated and doesn't have a lot of friends, so when the last day of school ends, she goes directly home to find no one there either. During her car ride home, we want some non-diegetic music in the background and start the credit sequence until she goes into her room and closes the blinds, and the title appears. When the camera pans into the bed, the girl is going to be writing in her diary until her mom comes into her room and takes her out for some ice cream. 
https://anasblogrincon.blogspot.com/ 
 
Genre: Thriller & Coming of Age  
We don't have any title yet 
Setting: At the beach during the sunset  
Plot: A girl who just turned 21 and went to the beach to drink and celebrate her birthday with some people who she thought were her friends; (There's also a scene where she is in the car with her friends getting to the beach) she gets really drunk and one of her friends takes a picture of her lying on the sand and posts it online. The picture becomes viral, and her parents found out that she was in a bad state and no one was helping her.  
 
  Critique- Beatrice: I think your movie examples are good but maybe you should offer more analysis and responses with depth. This way you can learn more about how to use things and what to add into your opening. Maybe try to research more recently produced films, to have better examples.  
 
Beatrice: my blog  
Genre: Horror 
-Plot: A girl gets cursed and is watched by a killer, she is trying to break the curse. The curse feeds on depression and can be broken with happiness and love. She is depressed because her mom passed away a while ago and ever since her dad has been taking out his anger on her, making their house unsafe and their relationship weak. When she gets cursed, we see a tattoo appear on her, its matching with the killer. The title will be seen when she's looking at herself in the mirror, distraught, after being cursed. 
-Setting: house of the family  
-Title: Haunted memories (?)  
Critique- Santina: develop how she got the curse with a flashback 
Gabe: add more depth on the curse 
 

Overall, I found this activity helpful and I would love to do it again when we are deeper into the project, and need feedback and help on new tasks.

Cast and locations

 For the openings story two to three locations are needed, but they are all within one main location. This would be a house. Two house options are available, and the rooms used within the house would be a bedroom, an office, and the hallways between rooms. A representation of the main character will be reflected onto her bedroom. This is the main filming location within the house. She's a pretty quiet girl, and she's going through rough times at home, she finds her room to be her only escape and sanctuary. Her room would have photos and posters on the walls, dark lighting, a little bit of a mess, and a comfortable vibe. To obtain this setting for filming, a bedroom would be tweaked to fit the aesthetic. 

    

       (Poster examples, these can be printed and put onto wall)

(Example of how other photos on bedroom wall would look like)

(Inspiration for bedroom)

For the office, it wont have any decorations like the bedroom, all it needs to be able to set the scene would be laptops set up to look like they are watching camera footage, and dark lighting just like the bedroom. The lighting in both settings is important to the film because it works into the aesthetic and the mood of the story. Most of the office room wont be seen in these scenes, as we will be using tighter shots that focus on whets being shown on the laptops for these particular parts.

                                                          (Inspiration for office set-up)

For the cast of the film, we need a total of three characters. Besides characters, we would need a person to film us. For the cast we have the daughter, father, and the killer. The daughter will be played by my partner Anabella, and her brother will play the father. I will play the killer, and we'll take turns filming each other. For scenes with both me and Anabella in them we'll have her brother record us. The next step is to figure out costumes, makeup, and special effects, especially for the killer. All of these minor details in the settings will help us create our films mood through the environment. 

Busy plans

 To stay on track and make sure I don't fall behind, planning out my research, filming, and editing schedule is the best thing that I can do. Through this plan I can make space in my busy day-to-day schedule with tennis and homework, for my project. 

Week 1: (2/3-2-9)

-Research films within the genre

-Polish details on idea for opening

Week 2: (2/10-2/16)

-Finalize idea (storyboard, costumes, makeup, locations, and actors)

-Plan days and hours for filming, when all are available

-Potentially begin filming 

Week 3: (2/17-2/23)

-Film all scenes

Week 4: (2/24-3/2)

-Edit content (add sounds, effects, title, credits, etc.)

Week 5: (3/3-3/9)

-Edit content

Week 6: (3/10-3/16)

-Finish editing

Week 7: (3/17-3/23)

-Final revisions

-Submit final project

With this plan I can visualize all my work and set priorities. There is a little wiggle room, especially with week 7 being a buffer week, but I don't want to rely on that. I'm going to try my best to stick to this schedule as much as possible, so I don't procrastinate!

The big ending

 After my previous blog research about how a proper horror opening will be created, I researched how to properly end said opening. Without doing the ending and credit sequence correctly and together, the ending could be bad and leave a poor final impression on viewers. This is the opportunity to wrap things up and even end on a bit of a mystery. I researched three outstanding films below, all part of the horror genre.

The ending credit sequence for the film Saw, is a really good example of a well-done credit sequence. As the final scene wraps up, it ends on a black screen and a character is heard yelling. The yelling persists into the credit sequence and the credits begin to roll really rapidly. This maximizes the amount of credits they can get in to the sequence in the fastest amount of time. The flashy and quick credits also match the films aesthetic of thrills and stimulation. Credits are a though thing to make appealing because the film is over and all that's left on the screen is words. Pairing the credits to playful imagery could fix this, or having a black screen but rapid flashy credits can fix this as well, just like how we see in Saw. 

(Saw credit sequence, right after scene goes dark and yelling begins)

Scream VI has a very different way of portraying their credits. After presenting some of the major credits, the star actors are shown through shots of their characters, with the actors name on screen. This is a really nice way to give a sense of a wrap up at the end of the film by showing all the characters from the story one last time. It also brings a good amount of well deserved spotlight to the actors, by personalizing and recognizing each one with a clip of themselves. The music we hear is an upbeat almost empowering song, that fits appropriately with the films strong ending. This pairing is crucial, as viewers linger around the credits after watching the film and process what was seen, appropriate music should go with it.

(Scream VI credit sequence showing star actor, Jenna Ortega)

The final credit sequence I watched was by far my favorite and really struck me. The sequence in the film Pearl, was really creative and tied in with the era and age the film was representing. For about 2 straight minutes, we see the main character (Pearl) standing there smiling uncomfortably. The sequence begins with a classic and old "The End" in its iconic font. Its followed by all the credits, layered on top of Pearls face, still allowing us to see her. The sequence was creepy, and the audio was dramatic orchestra music. I loved how the ending was creative and really displayed Pearls character and complexities one last time. The end of the sequence is Pearl still smiling, but crying, and a black hole slowly closing in from the sides. The ending is dramatic but fitting, for the story. 

(Beginning of Pearl credit sequence) 

After all the sequences, I have inspiration and ideas for my openings credit sequence. I want to be able to successfully link it to the story and ending of the opening as much as possible, through sound, coloring, lighting, and even speed. 

Thanks for reading my blog! :)

Sources:

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

Exploring viewings

 To be able to create an opening that fits the horror genre as well as possible, I need to research and watch examples. With that being said, I've found three openings that really stood out to me and incorporated nice elements to add to the overall horror theme and plot. 

The opening in the film 28 Weeks Later, is done spectacularly well for a horror genre film. The opening is jam-packed with action, it explains what is happening without using words. Heavy gore and graphic scenes show the brutality and severity of this infection that takes people over. The handheld camera motion and the funky angle shots distort the whole opening and add chaos. Especially when we see characters being chased, in a fight, or even dying. For my opening, I want to follow this sort of layout, that is starting with heavy scenes, and eventually working it's way to the backstory. This way my opening can engage viewers right off the hook and start with a thrill. Using a hand-held camera is something I had in mind for my opening before this viewing, because it adds a raw touch to the scene, and makes it original. 

(Character running away from infected people in opening of 28 Weeks Later)

When I was looking for horror openings to view and analyze, I came across Midsommar. The cover of the film struck me and surprised me that it was listed as horror. I decided to watch the film's opening, and found that it was significantly different compared to the opening of 28 Weeks Later. It had a really slow pace, and the scenes stayed consistently on a darker color pallet, while using low-key lighting. It left me confused, because as it was wrapping up, and the real film was beginning, not much of the backstory or the plot had been revealed through the scenes. It left me really curious, and wanting to finish the actual movie in its entirety. This is a really playful way to create an opening, but it could be risky if the opening doesn't stay engaging, because it could easily loose viewers right off the bat. 

(Scene in Midsommar)

The third and final opening I chose to watch was It. This was really different to the other openings as it was heavily script-based. It focused on a conversation between two (main) characters, throughout said conversation the plot begun and grew. The antagonist was revealed right away, with some eye-catching features. He had big bold eyes, heavy makeup, and big red lips. It really made his character stick out, considering he is one of the main parts of the upcoming plot, he was portrayed in a memorable way. This is a really important detail for an opening, these features are chosen intentionally through mise-en-scene costume and makeup work, details and specifics for the protagonist and the antagonist are really crucial.  

(Pennywise from It)

These viewings expanded my ideas, and showed me what areas need more details in the creation of my plot and my opening. I had a lot of fun watching these film openings, they were all done really well and I was able to see my reaction when watching them as a first time viewer. Some openings caused curiosity, fear, and even confusion. This is important to take into consideration because the main focus is to keep viewers engaged, while getting the genre and story across, which in this case in horror. 

Sources:

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

                                          

Ideas and inspirations

After my last blog post where I narrowed down my genre options to two, I have made a decision. My opening will be a horror genre, and I have been able to construct an idea for a possible storyline for the opening... 

My idea is an opening where the film is filmed solely through security cameras. Things will take place to this character but us viewers won't get to see all of them, as they are sometimes dragged into non-recorded areas. 

The idea of the vibe is that it could take place in an abandoned establishment like a hospital or office. Unfortunately, a hospital is a really unattainable filming location, so an office would probably work better. As for my title, I have no ideas yet, but I would like to have it be included somewhere in the first minute of the production, in a 'subtle' and almost hidden way. 

The story could incorporate a time is of the essence component. Basically, something along the lines of the character having to make it out of a specific location, or make it somewhere before a certain time, or else they would face death.

As for the antagonist, I think it should be something fictional. A creature that haunts this abandoned office, this creature feeds on humans and is really violent. The creature would have some advantages, "powers" in a way. Some examples could be that the creature could be really fast, or really small. To contrast, it should also have some disadvantages of course, in the characters favor, to allow them to have somewhat of a chance in this escape. An example could be that the creature has vulnerabilities, or something specific that would kill it. 

From some research, I found a good example to build off of for a creature. In the series Stranger Things the main antagonist/creature who is out for human lives is the Demogorgon. It's weaknesses include having poor eyesight, can be dissolved and killed by one humans specific power, and reliance on smell. On the other hand it has some advantages, such as being able to detect a drop of blood from a mile away, regenerate from serious injuries, and cast and throw spells against the humans. 

(Eleven and the Demogorgon in Stranger Things)

For my idea of the content being filmed on security cameras, I took inspiration from this film I watched called Paranormal Activity. The film follows this couple through a camera the husband bought because his wife was complaining about having nightmares and hearing things in their house every night. They set the camera up and record throughout the whole night with time stamps, as the nights go by the camera catches certain moments that prove the wife is being haunted.

The catch is that at times, the creature haunting her drags her outside of the bedroom, where the camera does not record. This builds a lot of suspense as we viewers cant see what's happening, which leads us to wonder. 

(Footage from the camera in the couples room in Paranormal Activity)

I think this is a really good start to my brainstorming, I now have an idea me and my partner can go off from and potentially start our storyboarding. 

Sources:

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

Introduction

We have officially begun our Cambridge portfolio project! I'm really excited to be as creative as possible and make something I'm proud of by using everything I've learned in this class thus far. Todays blog is a basic introduction and some research about my general ideas for this project.

 From our previous projects and blog posts I've been able to learn how to research films and genres properly, this is really helpful when building the foundation of a project, which is the key to a good final piece.

For my project I'm debating between 2 genres, horror and thriller. They are somewhat similar but they have a lot of distinct characteristics. I personally love to watch thriller films, and most horror films as well, but nothing too scary..

An interesting psychological thriller I found for my research is, Blink Twice. This film was released in 2024, by director Zoe Kravitz. The story stars Channing Tatum, Naomi Ackie, and Alia Shawkat. The film delves into some heavy concepts of abuse on women, by men. We see this through a young woman's emotional states and how she goes through manipulation. 

(Channing Tatum in Blink Twice as Slater king, the antagonist)

Using symbols to convey messages behind my project is something I would love to include, whether its a thriller or a horror genre opening. It keeps the important message below the surface, and isn't blunt. This keeps viewers thinking and engaged, along with the stimulation components of a thriller. 

To make a thriller film a thriller, we see suspense build up, and tense music in scenes. In the example Blink Twice, which is a physiological thriller we see heavy topics get tackled, to add a psychological component to the film.

For the horror genre, I focused on the movie Scream VI. The newest one was released in 2023, it's director is Matt Bettinelli, and Tyler Gillet. The movie is the sixth sequel, all of them are a continuous timeline of the infamous Ghostface, who is a serial killer. The seventh film is set to release in 2026. 

(Ghostface in Scream VI)

What I took away from this horror movie was how to include jump scares that give a startling reaction to viewers, and how important it is to create the right antagonist for the story. In this case they built this character Ghostface, who is a slasher. All of this would add to my horror element and build the genre if I choose to do a horror opening. 

Something similar I noticed in Scream VI and Blink Twice, is that they both used a pallet of darker colors and lighting. A lot of the scenes in their trailers that I watched used low-key lighting, and this created mystery and suspense for both genres. This is something I think I will definitely add to my opening to create a tense mood, and keep it intriguing. 

Overall, I'm excited to begin my brainstorming and put together ideas for my opening. This genre research definitely helped me narrow down my options and know how to create a opening of that specific genre by using different techniques. 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog, see you soon! 

Sources:

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

-Click me!

Music Marketing Blog #2

Vlog

Music Marketing Blog #1

 To create our marketing strategies me and my group analyzed and dissected previous marketing tactics used by big artists and groups. For our research, we looked at two different perspectives to see in comparison what would work best for our campaign. We looked at what worked well in the past and what didn't work well, along with the why. 

An example of some of my research is about Kendrick Lamar's strategic collaborations with streetwear style footwear, such as Converse, Nike, and Reebok. This really effected his target audience, because of the correlation of their general age and the popular trends around style and footwear. 

Similarly, for my groups marketing project our planning was done altogether on a shared Google document. We all added in ideas and research that fit the qualities and traits we gave our band. Some of this included, West Coast band from LA, touring the tri-state area, and other basic background. Using this information we built ourselves online platforms on social media. We planned out an Instagram identity, by making a profile picture that embodied the band, and planning on how we will rely on the base to interact with fans and increase positive popularity for the band and the music.

Our research for our social media contact with the fan base is that we will use polls, stories, responses to DM's and comments, and post raw behind the scenes/raw day in the life videos, to keep the authenticity and relationship with the fans alive.

Another way we plan on marketing ourselves is to use a website, on the website we would have a brief page about us, and how we began, along with a strong merch collection. Our merch would be advertised on TikTok as well as Instagram, and would be mainly inspired by our music. 

Finally, our last strategy developed to market our band would be through physical (and a digital copy uploaded as well to Instagram) copy of a tour poster. Our tour poster would have a catchy design on it, to captivate from afar. All venues would be published on the poster, capitalizing the states we would preform in to make it easy for people to skim through and look for their area. By distributing this on a physical copy in populated areas, we would be able to reach double the amount of people interested, because we would not only have the poster advertised online. Seeing things physically in front of someone can entice them more because its not just something you can scroll past or click right through. 

Overall, to market our band me and my group have found some strong ways we have seen work in the past. By doing all of this, we would be able to further connect and reach our target audience, while simultaneously expanding our fanbase and growing our music.