Creating Costumes!

    Helloo! I'm just going to get straight to the point of this blog because I basically did nothing today, it was so boring. So, today I will discuss how we will make our costumes for our two-minute film opening.

    For the outfits, every girl will be wearing black dresses, this includes Olivia and Lily. For the outfits for them, we both already have black dresses that we already discussed wearing, but I want there to be some kind of subtle things for symbolism. 

    One thing I was thinking of adding was bags, but handheld instead of with a strap, which could symbolize the subtle and unrecognizable control that the government has on the people and how they unknowingly comply without a second thought. I have already started making these by crocheting them, although I'm still doing trial and error to find a good pattern for them. I have been crocheting for years now and I like to believe I'm quite good at it so this task should turn out to be no problem for me. I only have a few colors of yarn right now, but if we do add more characters, I want the bags to also symbolize rank with the different colors of them. Something I added to the backs was also a mesh kind of design to show how the government must know everything. 

    This is all I have done for one of the bags, but I have also frogged this many times, meaning I have unwraveled the stitches and completely started over. I actually find crocheting quite relaxing, so I have enjoyed doing this for the project, and I can use them after we finish the project! I will probably add straps to them after, though, because I honestly don't like handheld bags. I like the color white for the bags because it adds a pop of color while keeping the conformity and neatness. I might try to make these bags in black as well but I just don't have black yarn at the moment.

    I haven't started on anything else for the costume creation process because there are some things we will just buy from the store, so this is a pretty short blog, but I will definitely keep updating when I start on more things! 

    

    Thank you for reading, and have a great day!

Sound Lists

    Hello! My friends were at my house all day today, so I didn't have any time to do this blog post until now! We were supposed to go to the gym together, but we decided not to and just hung out all day. It was super relaxing and nice. My friend just went back to her house, so I can finally do this post! Today, I want to discuss the specific sounds I want to use in each scene and find some resources from which I can get sounds, especially music, if we end up using any.

RESOURCES

https://pixabay.com/music/

https://www.bensound.com/free-music-for-videos

These two websites are perfect for finding royalty free music that we can use if we choose to during any of our scenes, and during out credit scenes as well. 

https://freesound.org/

This website is actually familiar to me, it is one I used during the beginning of the school year when we were assigned an audio project and had to make a scene solely using sound. This was a super fun project and great preparation for the sound portion of this entire project!

NEWS REPORT (SCENE 1)

    This scene most likely won't have much diegetic sound because the voice is what should be focused on, and most sounds are blocked out during news reports anyway. I assume the actual reporters have tiny microphones so their voices can be heard loudly and clearly, and I have been thinking of buying some tiny microphones from Amazon and putting them in the actors' clothes so the voices are coherent and understandable for the audience. 

- very quiet, muffled background voices

- footsteps

- Papers (if the anchor uses some notes)

- chair creaking

- TV buzzing

- quiet outdoor noises (wind, rain, traffic, etc..)

HOUSE (SCENE 2)

This scene will definitely have much more sound than the previous one due to its location, nature, and whats actually going on in the scene

- footsteps

- wind

- TV news report (in the background)

- coffee pouring

- birds chirping

- dogs barking

- AC hum

- coffee machine brewing

- fridge hum

- ringing from Lily

- Olivias voice

- door opening

- creaking of sofa

OLIVIA RUNNING (SCENE 3)

This scene will be filled with a lot of loud diegetic sound, since that will be the main focus on this scene, there won't be any voices that are specifically focused on leaving the outdoor noises clear to the audience.

- running footsteps

- door closing

- dogs barking

- wind

- stepping on leaves

- heavy breathing

- honking

- muffled conversations

- birds chirping

- clothes rustling

- garage doors opening

- water sprinklers

- car engine

- dog leash

- children laughing

- slow walking footsteps (from neighbors)

MEETING UP (SCENE 4)

This scene would most likely have fewer sounds than the previous one, and they'd be more muffled because there will be conversation and dialogue between Lily and Olivia.

- many different background conversations

- leaves crunching

- Lily's and Olivia's voices

- wind blowing

- phone notifications

- footsteps

- knuckles cracking

- car doors closing

We will definitely think of more sounds when we are actually doing the editing of the film, but these ones are ones we will definitely add, the other ones we might add will probably depend on the scene and what actually happens there as well. Looking at the scenes after we record them and listening to what actually goes on will also help us think of more sounds to add.

Lily Allen and Olivia Kelly

 Hello! I just got back from the gym and I'm so tired but I remembered that I should do my blog post for today so here I am! Today I want to talk about character development for the 2 main characters Lily Allen and Olivia Kelly. Olivia Kelly will be played by me and Lily Allen will be played by my partner, Sofi. 

I'll start with Lily Allen, she is the best friend who actually wants to get chosen by the government for the special powers, just like everyone her age does. She is a super social, sweet, and somewhat popular girl. Her character will be developed early in the opening, starting off with her name, which will be directly shown in the phone call between her and Olivia. Her bubbly personality will be revealed through the dialogue in the opening, both while they are talking on the phone and while they are talking in person. Her personality and character will also be built through body language, showing how she is energetic and always happy. Lily Allen has light brown eyes and blonde hair, which can also add to her character of being light-hearted and sweet. Like I said in my previous posts, she will be wearing black along with Olivia.

Olivia Kelly is pretty similar to Lily but she is a bit more closed off. She is still very sweet, and an overall likable character with a good amount of friends. The difference between the two friends is that Lily wants to be chosen by the government for the powers, while Olivia has a weird feeling about it and doesn't want to be chosen. Her reasoning is she wants to stay with her family and friends and not be far away from them. Her character will be developed in the same way as Lily's, through dialogue and body language. We see Olivia on the couch in the beginning watching the news, when Lily calls her and she immediately picks up. This also shows how good of friends these two characters are, showing their bond and relationship. Olivia has long brown hair and daekbrown eyes, and just like lily, she wears a black dress.

Thank you so much for reading and have a wonderful day! 

costumes

  Hi! I've been so bored today, it's awful. I stayed home all day and I was planning to cook something I saw online and it looked so good. The problem is it takes forever and it's made in a CrockPot, which I don't know how to use. So I was waiting for my dad to get home and I fell asleep instead. It's now 10 p.m. and I just woke up and here we are! Today I'm going to be talking about the kinds of costumes our characters will be wearing. This will be a somewhat short blog but you'll see why soon.

    In my previous blogs, I mentioned how I want one of the main concepts to be sameness since the movie is dystopian. This is why I assume this won't be a long blog, because most characters will dress basically the same. To be fair there will only be a few characters from what we have in our storyboard but that can obviously change.

    For the two best friends, we were thinking of them wearing black dresses, since me and my partner both have similar simple black dresses. We could also wear normal clothes but I would like to show how society is different and sees dresses as casual wear rather than sweatpants or jeans. The black dresses will be the standard for most of the women that appear in the film opening, if we decide to have anyone else in our opening of course.

The only other apparent character in our film opening will be the news reporter. My partner and I haven't discussed who will be playing the reporter, since it won't be one of us, but I am assuming we will use one of our parents. If the reporter is my father, I can ask him to wear a plain black suit, which I know he has because he is always going out of the country for work. If the reporter is either one of our moms, we can ask them to wear a more formal dress, like the ones they actually wear on the news. I don't know if they should be black or some other color, but I think it makes sense to have them black.

The reason I say black for the news reporters is because I think it'd be really cool to show rank or class by what they wear rather than how they live. For example, government officials could wear white or some other color, and the kids chosen for the powers could wear a different color. This most likely won't be shown in the film opening but it's just cool for me to think about.

Anyway, you can see why this was a pretty short blog post but thank you so much for reading and have a nice day.

Opening set!

Hello to anyone reading this! Today has been so random. I went to school like normal but like I said in my last post, this day has also FLOWN by. I literally cannot believe I went to school today because it just went by so fast. Anyway, I'm not going to talk too much nonsense because I'm sort of in a rush right now to do this!

Today I want to talk about how we're gonna do the set for the 2-minute film opening. 

So me and my partner ultimately decided on a dystopian society because of the area we live in. But we're doing a kind of dystopia where everything seems perfect and amazing which correlates with how our city is.

For the outdoor scenes, we will use either one of our neighborhoods. I live in a neighborhood with pretty big houses and my partner, Sofi, lives in a neighborhood with townhomes. The reason we're conflicted about this is because the big houses will convey the dystopia of the society because of the class differences but I honestly think it would be better to use her neighborhood because all the homes where she lives are exactly the same. This gives The Giver (2014) vibes, where everything is seen as the same, which is where we took some of the inspiration for our film. We still need to discuss this but we will 100% be using one of our neighborhoods to film the short outdoor scene we have planned for the opening.

P.S. These aren't our actual neighborhoods, but these are basically what the houses look like in the different ones.

Now this is one of the harder parts, the indoor scenes. We won't have to change much for the scenes but we haven't discussed this yet so I might talk about this in another post again but this is basically my idea for the indoor scenes. I live in a pretty large 2-story house and I have a spacious living room, so I think we could use my house to film the first scene with the girl watching the news and the clip of pouring coffee. It also works pretty well because my finish room is right next to my living room, so it would be accurate sound-wise as well. I will definitely move some things around if we do decide to do the scene in my house because I have a cat tower in my living room so my 3 adorable cats can be with us when we go downstairs. I will definitely have to move that if we do decide to do it in my house. The photos below are just to show how my house is sort of laid out, obviously, it's not exactly like this though.

This is, without a doubt, going to be the hardest part of making a set, which will be the scene of the news reporter speaking. The reason this will be difficult is because they use greenscreens for the news. I have plain grey walls in my room which we could use as a greenscreen but we will have to learn how to edit greenscreens and actually make them look good, which could be super hard, but obviously, we have to research that. The other option is maybe getting blue cloth because I feel like that's always the color used in the background of the news channels and just draping it on the walls, and putting a desk for the reporter to sit at. I was going to delete all of this but I want to show my complete thought process so I won't. I just remembered a way easier way to do all of this, just placing a desk in front of a big screen TV and having the news reporter sit in front of it. This will be kind of hard to get the angles right and make the background proportional to the reporter since we don't have the huge TVs that news companies use, but this is a way better option than the other two. 

Thank you for reading!

Audio

 Hi! Honestly, this week has felt like a fever dream. I have been super sick for the past few days so I didn't go to school and literally just rotted in my bed for two days straight. Today I finally went back to school but the day literally felt so short it was so weird. I even had to take 2 tests today, one for math, and one for Spanish, and they completely flew by. This week has been so weird but honestly, I'm living for it, I think every week should feel like this. Anyway, enough about my life, today in this blog I'm going to discuss the type of sound and audio I want to implement into my project.

First, I want to talk about how sound can impact a scene. Sound can do many things for a scene or entire film but I want to talk about the main things it can do. 

Sound can give a scene dimension, meaning it can add more background and realism to what you're watching, also making it more entertaining for the viewer simply because there is no silence, even if the average viewer thinks there is. Another thing that sound does is give a scene an emotional impact. Sounds such as music can give a certain tone to a scene that wouldn't be conveyed without the music. For example, a sad type of music could be played during a character's death, or more upbeat music can convey a happier kind of tone. Audio also can drive a character's personality, helping develop the audience's perception of what they see the character as. The last two go hand in hand, complimenting visuals and assisting a viewer's perception. They go together because complimenting visuals ultimately ends up helping the viewer's perception. Say there is a scene in the forest, sounds of wind, leaves, animals, and more would be added which lets the viewers perceive and understand the location way better.

Now onto the fun part, how I'll use sound in my project!

We want our opening scene to start with a clip of a news reporter. For this, it will pretty much be silent besides the reporter's voice because normally, these reports use microphones to only pick up on their voice so they are clearly heard by their viewers. I will add diegetic sound, though it'll be very minimal to capture the actual feeling of watching the news.

The scene will then cut to a home, having a close-up of coffee pouring. This scene will have lots of diegetic and synchronous sounds. Obviously, the audience will hear the coffee pouring, along with the new reporter in the background, birds, talking, and any sounds you would normally hear in a home. You will hear the news reporter talking because the scene then cuts to a girl on the couch watching the news. This basically provides more context to the viewer.

The scene cuts to the girl turning off the TV but that will have the same sounds just without the news reporter. So I'll skip past explaining that and go onto the next clip where the phone is ringing from her best friend. I might make the other sounds a bit quieter so the audience really focuses on the ringing from the phone, making it apparent to the audience that this is significant. When she answers, the background sound will still sound lower for the audience to focus on their voices rather than the background.

It'll then cut to the girl running out of her house. When she opens the door I want to make all the diegetic sounds louder to make it clear that she is now outside. Sounds such as birds, wind, leaves, cars, animals, etc.. will be louder as well as her fast-paced footsteps. For the footsteps, I think I will do foley in order to synch them up perfectly. I just think this would overall be easier than trying to speed up or slow down pre-made sounds.

It'll then cut to the title and credits, which will have the theme song which I want to represent the entirety of the movie as a whole rather than what you're just seeing. I'll have to look into sounds that are available to use, since I can't copyright anything. 

After, there's a cut to the two girls, Olivia and Lily talking. This will also focus on the voices, but the diegetic sounds will be louder since they are directly outside rather than inside and on the phone.

Thank you for reading and have the best day ever! 

Storyboard

 Hi once again! Today has been super busy. I slept over at my friends house, went to go buy some clothes with her, went to Barnes & Nobles to chill out for a little bit and then we got some food after! It was super delicious and I love hanging out with her, shes one of my best friends since I was little and she is my favorite person ever. Anyways in this blog I'm going to show me and my partners storyboard for the first 2 minutes of our film about a dystopian society!

We did 12 boxes just showing the basic just of things. I plan to make a more detailed one in the future after I make my script, and I will definitely be showing that throughout this blog. I'm not 100% sure if were going to keep this idea for the storyboard but it's nice to have a general idea of what we're going to do for the opening. I'm also expecting the plan to change a lot which is why I plan to remake the storyboard after we make the script. Thank you for reading and have a wonderful day!

Theory?

    Heya! Today has been super fun and eventful. I first woke up and decided to tan because lately I've been looking like a ghost. I then went to my cousin's birthday party which was super fun because there was delicious food and a bunch of people I could talk to. Now, of course, I'm doing this blog, and later I'm going to go sleepover at my best friend's house!

    Anyways, Today I want to talk about media theories, and I'm going to focus on one specific one, the Agenda-Setting Theory.  

    The Agenda-Setting Theory was founded by Maxwell Mccombs and Donald L. Shaw. According to them, the theory states that communications, through the way they find and publish major issues, play a vital role in the problems that gets attention from the government, international organizations, and public opinion about certain issues. This theory is basically all about how the media plays a role in shaping the issues we as a society focus on, talk about, and act it. It's not necessarily telling us exactly what to think but it definitely does influence what we think about.

    The theory was first proposed by Maxwell McCombs and Donald Shaw in 1972. They discovered that media doesn't tell people what to think but it does tell them what to think about. This is important because media can highlight specific topics like politics, climate change, and health issues, while hiding others, guiding public attention, and shaping what people talk about. Basically, if something is being covered extensively, it's likely to become a major topic in the media, such as the California wildfires that have been happening recently.

    There are 2 levels within the theory. The first level talks about object agenda setting which is the media's ability to emphasize certain issues or events. For example, if the media covers an upcoming election over and over again, there is a high chance that people will focus on politics. The second level is called the attribute agenda-setting. It looks at how the media actually shapes our perception of these problems by focusing on certain portions of them. If the news outlets focus on the negative aspects of a politicians past actions, if will change the perception of that person to the media.

    While agenda setting has been studied, its also important to know that other factors like social media can influence the process. With platforms like Instagram, stories can go super viral and impact public perception faster than conventional media ever could. (The Conversation 2024).

References

McCombs, M., & Shaw, D. (1972). The agenda-setting function of mass media. Public Opinion Quarterly, 36(2), 176-187. https://doi.org/10.1086/267990

Pew Research Center. (2024, January 10). How the media covers climate change. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/climate-coverage

The Conversation. (2024, February 1). The role of social media in modern agenda setting. The Conversation. https://www.theconversation.com/agenda-setting-social-media

First Group Meeting

    Happy Valentines Day! You probably won't be reading this on Valentines Day but today is February 14th, 2025 and today was a great day for me! This is done a little late because we had our first group meeting earlier in the week but I've just been so slumped with homework lately and haven't been able to do it until now. Today I'll be talking about our first group meeting with Ren, Ale, Gaby, and Addison. Ill be summarizing their plots and criticism in sections and then I'll discuss what was recommended for mine!

Ren:

    Ren's idea for their movie was a Western film following a Cowgirl somewhere during the 1800s when being a girl was generally frowned upon in that profession. So the main character is disguised as a boy who saves towns posing as a boy because people wouldn't take help from a cowgirl. 

    The opening is the main character saving someone in the town still dressed up as a boy because they most likely wouldn't have accepted help from a girl. After the person is saved she does a dramatic reveal of her actually being a girl and everyone is shocked. The movie basically follows her journey as a cowgirl in the 1800s.

    There wasn't really any criticism for this idea, but we did help Ren think of a way to reveal the main character as a girl, and the reveal being dramatic. We kind of played around and laughed, pretending to flip our hair as an idea to reveal the character as a girl.

Ale:

    Her plot was really interesting, and she said she got the idea from her AP Spanish class. Apparently, in this class, they discussed the cultural differences in countries, such as Colombia, where girls got nose jobs for their 16th birthday as opposed to the USA where we normally get cars or something of the sort. This was how her idea came to life. 

    Ale's story follows a girl who hates herself, her skin, and how she feels in her own body. Because of this she decides to try to change everything about herself, from the way she looks, eats, speaks, behaves, etc..

    We actually helped her decide how it would open, with it kind of starting how the movie The Butterfly Effect (2004) starts. She didn't really have an idea of how to open the film and we suggested that she start it with the ending of the movie at the beginning, foreshadowing how much this really affects her life. The opening scene will basically be her in a hospital with bandages all around her face, showing that she got some drastic surgery to ultimately change herself.

Gaby:

    Gaby's movie idea is a coming-of-age story about a girl dealing with drug abuse after her little brother died. Her parents also don't have a good relationship and are always arguing, mostly about the fact of her little brother's death.

    All she knew was that she wanted the opening scene to start off showing her messy room which reflects how her mind is because of everything going on. She also wanted to show some type of bottle, whether it be of pills, or alcohol, under the bed, to emphasize her drug abuse to the audience. 

    The opening scene will be a long shot of her room, showing the bottle, but not emphasizing it, because it is supposed to be "hidden". We helped her think of an idea where she then leaves her room to her parents arguing loudly and her name is mentioned and they are arguing about her little brother. The end of the opening scene will be her leaving the house without her parent's knowledge, just going for a bike ride without saying anything about where she's going.

Addison:

    I was kind of confused about how this film would go but from what I understand it is a psychological thriller following the story of a woman who muders her husband. I'm not completely sure why she killed him, whether it was because she is insane or he did something, I honestly just don't know. 

    The opening scene will be of the woman murdering multiple people and basically digging a hole in the ground to bury them. 

    Looking at her blog posts was interesting because one of her blog posts was on how to make a fake dead body which I found pretty funny. Her blog posts were really interesting to read because they were sort of unconventional and fun to read.

Me:

    You already know the plot and opening of my film so I will just get right into my criticism.

    They all really like the idea of a dystopian society, all of them saying they hadn't heard of anyone doing a dystopia. They did say I could start the movie at the end just like Ale's but I'm not completely sure how that would work out, just because I don't think it'd make too much sense, but of course, I'd have to look into it.

    They also gave me ideas on the different powers the children could have such as super-intelligence, super-strength, elemental powers, and more. There wasn't too many suggestions, but that might've been because it was nearing the end of class and we were running out of time in class.

    Thank you for reading and have an amazing day!

    

Project Idea Summary

 Hi again! Today I want to tell you about my project idea for the 2-minute film opening. Obviously, I'm doing the Dystopian genre for my film and I took inspiration from the films that I researched. The films I took inspiration from were The Giver (2014) and The Hunger Games (2012).

    Our movie will follow two best friends, Lily Allen and Olivia Kelly, who live in a dystopian city. So far, the only thing we are completely sure about is the names of the main characters, but we unfortunately don't have the names of the city, side characters, or the actual title of the film, but that can all come later. For now, we just have the plot of the story, and how we want the first 2 minutes to go, or at least a slight idea of it.

    Lily Allen: 

Olivia Kelly:

    The movie surrounds a "perfect" town where everyone seems to be happy. This is all due to government control though, with the government watching over every move of their people to make their society seem so perfect. Everyone and everything is the same, obviously, there is some give or take to the personalities between person to person, but their houses are the same, their food options are the same, and most importantly, their desires are the same. 

   Every child going into secondary school is super excited and happy for the selection of the 4 "lucky" children who will be given superpowers by the government and trained. Lily Allen and Olivia Kelly are both going into their first year of secondary school, meaning they can be chosen for the superpowers. The selection happens every single year, choosing 4 children that are 14-15 years old for the government to train and control.

    Lily is very excited and really wants to be chosen for the program like any child would want, but Olivia is different, with the government control not completely reaching her, she doesn't want to be picked because she wants to stay home with her family, where she is familiar with all her surrounding. They end up both getting picked, and the whole plot will follow what the girls and the other 2 people selected experience in their time with the government training them with their powers. 

    Since this society is dystopian, the government is very corrupt and they actually train their "students" for military use as weapons, making them endure a whole world of torture and abuse. I will talk about how the opening will be in my next blog, showing the storyboard for the first 2 minutes, and next week I will do a script for it! I took inspo from the movie The Giver with the way the dystopian society works, as it is seen as perfect, while the selecting process was inspired by the reaping in the Hunger Games.

Finding My Target Audience

   This is just a little life update but I was planning to do this blog post tomorrow but I remembered the Super Bowl is tomorrow and I want to go watch it with my family! So I'm just doing the blog right now since I have some free time and am doing literally nothing. In this blog, I'm going to be researching the target audience of dystopian films with 2 examples and seeing how I can implement this into my project.

    Dystopian tend to attract a younger audience, especially teens and young adults, because they focus on themes like rebellion, survival, and fighting against an unfair system. These movies also usually throw in some action, adventure, and romance, which makes them even more appealing to a younger audience, usually ages 15-25.

                                               The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1 (2014)

    The Hunger Games is a perfect example of this. It follows Katniss, a tough and relatable main character who's forced into a deadly competition controlled by a corrupt government. Young audiences connect with her underdog story and the idea of standing up to authority. Plus, the mix of action, high stakes, and a love triangle keeps things super exciting.

                                           

                                                                      Divergent (2014)

    Similarly, Divergent hits the same audience by focusing on identity and not fitting into society's expectations. Tris, the main character, realizes she doesn't belong in just one faction, making her a threat to those in power. Her journey of self-discovery and rebellion speaks to young viewers, while the action and romance makes it fun to watch.

    Both movies do a great job of pulling in their audience by combining intense dystopian worlds with characters who refuse to follow thee rules, making them both exciting and relatable.

Initial Portfolio Project Schedule

 I just made my initial schedule for the portfolio project, although I most likely will make changes to it in the future. These are just my best-case-scenario expectations for how I want this project to go. I know I probably will not meet all of these expectations, such as finishing production in two weeks, but I think its beneficial to set a goal for myself because its not impossible and would really help me in the long run if I reach those goals. Anyways, here's my schedule. (I'll also input a picture of the notebook paper that I planned on at the end)

Week 1 (1/29-2/2)

RESEARCH

    - research different genres

PLAN 

    - plan decided genre

    - general plot of the movie

    - establish characters

    - begin script

Week 2 (2/3 - 2/9)

FINISH PLAN

    - create a storyboard.

    - find filming locations

    - find extras

    - discuss filming days

Week 3 (2/10-2/16)

PRODUCTION

    - begin filming

    - understand flaws and strength

    - find sounds to input

EDITING

    - begin identifying good clips 

    - start putting the good ones together

Week 4 (2/17-2/23)

PRODUCTION

    - continue filming

    - revise script

    - create foley

    - record VO

EDITING

    - start inputting Foley and VO

    - see if anything needs improvement

Week 5 (2/24 -3/2)

EDITING

    - continue editing

    - finish first cut

    - finish recording anything else needed (VO, Foley, clips)

Week 6 (3/3-3/9)

EDITING

    - analyze first cut

    - find and fix mistakes

    - begin re-editing in a different style

Week 7 (3/10-3/16)

REVISIONS

    - continue and finish re-editing

    - compare and contrast both versions

REFLECTIONS

    - researching info regarding the reflection

    - edit and review CCR

Week 8 (3/17-3/25)

CCRS

    - reflect on project

    - discuss production and post production of CCRs

ENJOY

    - celebrate my birthday! (3/25) :)

I want to plan with my partner days we could film, and hopefully we are able to film in school but I also want to have a designated day or two every week so we could film at specific locations that would help with the film quality. I think I'd want the day to be on Sundays. Those are the days I'm less busy because I am done with most of my school work and everyone is home on Sundays because of school. Anyways, that's my blog for today! Thank you for reading!

Researching the Credit Sequences

     Hello again! I've been really enjoying doing these blog posts and it's mostly because I get to sort of chill when doing them and I actually enjoy researching these kinds of things. Today I'm going to be researching the credit sequences of 3 dystopian films which will be the same films that I researched for the openings. I will be doing The Matrix (1999), The Hunger Games (2012), and The Giver (2014). I'm doing the same films to stay consistent and also I just really like these movies. I've actually read the books for both The Hunger Games and The Giver and the books were amazing which might be why I enjoy the movies so much. On the other hand, I just think The Matrix is an amazing film.

RESEARCHING THE END CREDITS

                                                                       The Matrix (1999) 

    The movie kicks off with the now-iconic green digital rain - a bunch of glowing symbols cascading down the screen. This instantly tells the audience that technology and virtual reality are major themes. After a moment, the title "The Matrix" appears, and the film jumps straight into the action with a cryptic phone call between two characters, Trinity and Cypher. Unlink many films, there's no long list of opening credits. Instead, it drops right into the mystery, making the audience feel just as lost as Neo will be. This minimalist yet striking intro sets up the film's cyberpunk aesthetic and mind bending narrative.

                                                              The Hunger Games (2012)

    Instead of flashy visuals, The Hunger Games opens with a simple text introduction explaining the history of Panem and why the Hunger Games exists. Right after that, we see an unsettling Capitol TV interview with two high-class characters, which contrasts sharply with the harsh reality of District 12. The title appears plainly on the screen, and the movie moves forward without the traditional credit roll. This no-nonsense approach keeps the focus on the dystopian world, emphasizing the divide between the privileged Capitol and the struggling districts. The lack of elaborate credits also helps maintain a grounded, almost documentary-like feel in the opening moments.

The Giver (2014)

     The film starts with a grayscale visual palette, reinforcing the idea of a world stripped of color and emotion. A brief voiceover explains "Sameness," the society's strict philosophy, before transitioning into the main story. Like The Hunger Games, The Giver doesn't use a big opening credit sequence - just a simple title card before moving forward. This minimalist approach mirrors the movie's theme of control and suppression, making it clear that the world is not as perfect as it first appears.

    Overall, each of these films uses its credit sequence (or lack of one) to set up its world.  The Matrix creates intrigue with its iconic digital aesthetic, The Hunger Games keeps things stark and serious, and The Giver reinforces its theme of emotional suppression through its muted visuals.

Researching Dystopian Film Openings

  HOW WE DECIDED THE GENRE

   My partner and I, Sofia, finally decided to talk about what we plan to do for the final genre of the two-minute opening for the portfolio project! When we were researching, Sofia researched coming-of-age and action. Since we both researched action our first thought was to choose that as our genre for the project but we thought about it and didn't really like the idea of an action movie as we thought it would be somewhat difficult to create a storyline. As we were pondering ideas for the final genre we decided on a Dystopian film with some fantasy aspects on it.

    In this blog post, I want to research the openings of 3 dystopian films, which are The Matrix (1999), The Hunger Games (2012), and The Giver (2014). These are all movies I've watched before and have thoroughly enjoyed so I know that the films are good examples of an opening scene and great movies to analyze.

ANALYSIS OF DYSTOPIAN FILMS

      The Matrix (1999) 

 

   The Matrix (1999) is a famous dystopian film known and loved by many people. The story follows a man in a dystopian world overrun by computers to give all the people their utopia when in reality every single person is being controlled. He is given a chance to stay in his fake utopia or see the real world and never go back to the perfection.

    

    Right from the start, The Matrix throws the audience into something weird and mysterious. The green digital rain sets up a tech-heavy, almost otherworldly vibe, and the audience immediately gets an intense action scene with a woman escaping from agents. There's no explanation, just fast, fluid action and a sense that something bigger is going on. This opening does a great job of making the audience feel just as lost as the main character, Neo, will be later, setting up the film's core themes of reality, control, and breaking free from an illusion.

The Hunger Games (2012)

    The Hunger Games (2012) is another widely known dystopian film. The movie follows the story of Katniss, who lives in an awful dystopian society where two kids from each district (there are 12) from the ages 12-18 randomly get chosen to play in vicious games that are broadcast live on TV. The goal of the games is to be the last one standing which means all 24 of the contenders are fighting to the death. 

    The movie opens with an explanation of what the Hunger Games are before throwing viewers into a polished TV interview with Serena Crane and Ceasar Flickerman. It's flashy, upbeat, and even a little unsettling, at least when the scene cuts from that back to Katniss in District 12, where things are grim and colorless. The shaky, documentary-style camerawork for most of the film makes her world feel raw and very real, really bringing out the huge chasm between the rich and the poor. The intro immediately sets the scene as dystopian through the Capitols control and a tough, caring, survivor, Katniss.

The Giver (2014)

    The Giver (2014) immediately begins with a voiceover about "Sameness", which sets the tone for something being off, even in this place that seems all so perfect. Black and white visuals make it all really sterile and controlled which can possible translate to the thought of a work devoid of real emotion and humanity. It's a quiet opening, almost unbearable so, but what sets up the whole movie is the fact that there's so much beneath the surface, and the protagonist, Jonas, is going to start asking questions about the truth of their society.

Researching the Action Genre

    Hello! This is my second blog towards the portfolio project for the end-of-the-year AICE exam. After researching more about the comedy genre I didn't really know what other genres I could research so I decided to think of my favorite movies and one that I thought of pretty quickly was Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: (2023). This movie is a sequel to the very loved film Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse(2018). 

                    

                                Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)        Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

    These movies are in the Action genre with tons of interesting storylines and enticing action scenes left and right that really captivate the reader. I enjoyed both of them but the second movie has left a lasting impact on me and even two years after its release it's still one of my favorite movies.

    To understand how action films establish their tone, I've analyzed the opening of Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023), an animated superhero action film directed by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, and Justin K. Thompson. This is a sequel that follows Miles Morales as he explores the multiverse and meets different versions of Spider-Man.

ANALYZING ACTION

    The action genre is one of the most exciting film genres, ranging from superhero movies to spy and martial arts films. What makes action movies so appealing to audiences is how they manage to combine fast-paced storylines with eye-catching scenes. Successful action movies often contain captivating chase scenes, explosive combat sequences, and conflicts that keep viewers continuously engaged. I could study action films, trying to figure out how those elements can be effectively intertwined into an opening sequence that will engage audiences.

     In Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, the opening sequence immediately heads into the conventions of the action genre with a fight scene with exhilarating visuals and fluid choreography that starts with one of the characters, Gwen Stacy, also a Spider-Man, fighting Vulture, a villain from another universe. She then meets one of the main antagonists in the movie, Miguel O'Hara, the head of the Spider Society. Gwen Stacy then runs into her father, trying to arrest her for the murder of Peter Parker. With no options left, she unmasks herself, revealing her identity to her father, but he still tries to arrest her. Seeing this, Miguel allows her to join Spider-Society, leaving her own universe behind. The film then transitions to Miles Morales, setting up his story. The film uses a mix of fast-paced combat, gravity-defying stunts, and visually dynamic cinematography to create a thrilling experience for the audience.

    If I choose the action genre, I'll be working on a two-minute opening sequence of an original action film for my final project. Based on the research on genre and case analysis of "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse," fast motion, vivid action, and an engaging conflict will be considered the key elements that grasp the audience's attention in the opening sequence immediately. 

    I would want to create an explosive, visually stimulating opening that gives a taste of both character motivations and the high stakes involved. This, though, can sometimes be tamed by trying to balance action with storytelling so the audience is thrilled and literally connected to what is unfolding on screen. To do this, I want to try different camera angles, dynamic movements, and suspenseful pacing, all in refining my script through multiple drafts and feedback from friends, family, and mentors.

Starting Cambridge Portfolio Project

     Hello! From now on all of my blog posts will be focused on the development of my final Cambridge portfolio project for the AICE exam at the end of the year. The blogs posted prior to his point have helped me develop my knowledge and experience in studying and analyzing the media sphere. Honestly, I am quite nervous and anxious to start this project but I know that will wear off with time and I will be excited and happy to keep researching and growing this beautiful experience.

    Ever since I was young I have always enjoyed comedy movies because they take my stress away and let me laugh and have good time. Even though I have interest in these types of movies, I want to research more genres before choosing the one I will ultimately use in my portfolio project. I want to research 2-3 genres to analyze the opening and see which would be the right pick for me to do. To start I will research the Comedy genre.

ANALYZING COMEDY

    Comedy is one of the broadest genres of film because it contains any subgenres including rom-coms, satire, and parodies. What really makes comedy a challenging genre is that humor is subjective. A joke that sends one person into hysterics might leave another completely emotionless. A successful comedy film will keep the audience laughing though the use of dialog, physical humor, and strong storytelling. In studying comedy, I hope to learn how such elements are effectively included into an entertaining opening sequence.

                                                                                                                                                                                 

White Chicks (2004)

    One of my favorite comedy movies is of all time "White Chicks" (2004). To understand more about how the tone is set in comedy films, I'm deciding to examine this well known and loved movie directed by Keegan Ivory Watans. The story is about two FBI agents posing as two socialite sisters after they got "injured" in a car crash.

     The comedic tone is immediately established in this opening scene, with the highly exaggerated disguises, physical humor, and over-the-top performances. The film sets up its light and absurd nature through a combinations of verbal and slapstick comedy. For example, the disguised Wayans brothers are disguised as Latino shopkeepers, which is awkward yet humorous and establishes the film's use of cultural and situational comedy. The scene effectively captures the audience's attention, introduces key characters, and sets up the comedic style that will be carried out through the entirety of the film.

For the AICE portfolio project, I will prepare a two minute opening sequence of an original fiction film. One direction I could take is the comedy approach, drawing from the reseacrh on genre and the critical analysis of "White Chicks". I would include features such as exaggerated character reactions, dialogue and situational comedies.

If I choose this approach, I want it to be a really entertaining, humour-filled introduction to establish both the personalities of the characters and the comedic premise of the movie. The main problem I most likely would run into is managing how much humor can be balanced within such a short and small window to make sure the narrative still gets across in an interesting enough manner. In this regard, I would practice various comedy approaches and revise my script many times with feedback from friends, family, and teachers.he portfolio project represents a rather exciting and enlightening journey into filmmaking. Studying 

The portfolio project represents a rather exciting and enlightening journey into filmmaking. Studying genres and analyzing successful examples and using these insights to inform my work should enable e to create an effective opening in a film for audience engagement and entertainment. The project will contribute to the development of my filming skills and a deeper understanding of how and why different genres work on screen. 

I look forward with enthusiasm to bringing my vision to life and really sharpening my storytelling skills through this creative process.