Not Everything is Rainbows and Unicorns...

Hello again!
You must be wondering "What is up with the titles of this blog post?". Well, today I will be discussing some issues that have been occurring in our Final Project. It is so important to discuss these things because in writing it all down is when you can improve on what is going on.

First and for most, CASTING. Casting has been a drag because of how specific our characters' ages are, especially because of our adult main characters. I had contacted some family friends that were of the perfect age for the part and they're, very conveniently a couple. Sadly, they have a very busy weekday schedule and if we were to have them be our actors, we only had one day to film, so it doesn't work. Anna's aunt is willing to be Eliza and it is very convenient that she is on spring break right now. Our main issue was that we can't find someone to act for Spencer and Ryan and they are both very important to the plot. This has helped throw our schedule off and it has been extremely stressful.
Here's when our teacher Mrs. Stoklosa comes in for the save. She gave us the great idea of not showing Spencer but implying that he's there. This gave us the idea that we could use literally any boy for this part because we aren't showing Spencer's face. Instead of showing our actor's face, we could just shoot the scenes facing his back. This allows us to not only solve a problem but also add mystery to who this Spencer is.

We are very behind schedule. We were scheduled to start filming the Monday of this week, but we haven't even finished our storyboard, or scripts. The most stressful part of it all is that next week starts spring break and I will be out of the country! I feel terrible because I don't want to leave Anna to do all this work and I also don't want to leave her frustrated because we aren't being productive. The plan was to have the main portion, the two trailers, filmed and edited by the beginning of spring break so we could both have some time to relax. It is Tuesday and we haven't started filming and I have a feeling that this trailers won't be filmed and edited in the next 9 days. This is all becoming so overwhelming and we are very stressed about the whole situation.

I will keep you updated,
Isa

Update

Hello.
Today's post is an update on how Anna and I's project is going. We met yesterday to figure out some important details of our project. Here's a run down of what we figured out.

We figured that we needed to create a production company name and a small marketing campaign for the production company.

We named our production company A&I Studios and this is a rough sketch of what our logo will look like.

This is important because one of the genre conventions of film trailers is to show the production company logo.









We also sorted out the character names, ending of the plot, and film title.
The character names are:
Husband/ filmmaker: Spencer
Wife: Eliza
Daughter: Ryan

Plot:
Just to recap, I will briefly explain the plot of the film.
 Spencer is in the park and he sees a beautiful girl and wants to talk to her. He decides that he was going to film the moment in which they first interact so he takes out his camera to say that he will go talk to her. He walks up to her and sets camera down to film the moment. They talk for a while and hit it off. In every significant moment in their relationship, he has his camera out to capture even just a couple of seconds. For example, first date, anniversaries, and even insignificant moment in which they are just together, keeping each other company. Spencer wants to make a film in which he tells stories with the clips that he captured. Over the years, Spencer edited the clips together and had it on a file, named For You, where at the end he would put them all together.
  One specific moment that will be included is the moment in which the name their child. This moment is before Eliza is even pregnant but they were planning their future together. Over dinner, Eliza asks Spencer if he wants children and he says of course, they start brain storming names and they come up with one that is unisex and works perfectly, Ryan. One day, Spencer comes home and Eliza runs out of the house with a pregnancy test that is positive. Spencer is so excited and tell Eliza to hold on. Spencer runs across the street to get two flowers, one for Eliza and one for Ryan. He gets the flowers and runs back across the street and sadly gets hit by a car: he passes away and his film is left unfinished, Eliza doesn't finish it but she has it all on her computer. Ryan has now grown up be 17-18 years old and is very unmotivated and lost, she doesn't quite know what her purpose is in life. One day, she's on her mom's computer and finds this file where all of these clips are. She sees that some of the clips are ruined and that motivates her to fix them. She fixes them and finishes the love story about her parents over the course of a couple of months and names it For You. She decides that she wants to be a filmmaker just like her dad and she wants to go to NYU. She applies there and sends the finished film to NYU. They accept her with honors into their film program.


Film title: For You

- How did we come up with this?

Well, it was simple, we thought of naming the whole film after what the Spencer wanted his film to be named.

Target Audience

     Developing a specific target audience is very important to market a film. Anna and I decided that for our target audience should be young women, ages 13-25, in the upper-middle socio-economic status. We think this target audience will bring in the most exposure and revenue to our film. 

    Motion Picture Association of America states that in 2016, three of the top five grossing films attracted mostly women. Females have taken the lead of frequent moviegoers, 52%, while male frequent moviegoers is at 48%. Also in 2016, young people, aged 18-25, went to the movies about 7 times a year, which is an increase from the year prior, and teenagers aged 12-17 went about 6 times a year. These two groups are the highest attendance per capita of all other groups. Between the age groups 12-17 & 18-25, the percent of tickets sold has been 29% which is greater than other age groups. Robert Levin, president of worldwide marketing at Sony Pictures Entertainment. ''A while ago everyone was really focusing on the young male audience: young male action movies, young male comedies. Now we're saying, 'Wow, there's really a young female audience out there that we must be attentive to.' '' Our target audience has the grand potential of bring in lots of views and revenue for our film.

   Titanic is the highest-grossing film in the Romantic Drama genre, making $659,363,944.  

''When we tested the first trailers, the young girls were the highest quadrant in their interest in seeing the film. And when we screened, the girls were one of the highest-testing groups who enjoyed the movie.'' said Robert G. Friedman, vice chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group.
This quote shows that young women are interested in romance films and the revenue supports the claim.

   The Fault In Our Stars  is another example of a Romantic Drama targeted to young women that has been very successful and grossed $124,872,350. This enchanting love story stuck with the viewer because of how relatable it was and the representation of sick teenagers. The young couple attracted the younger female audience to watch the film. The couple lives their relationship out until the male character dies because of his illness.

  Paper Towns grossed $32,000,304 which is significantly lower than the prior examples but it is still quite successful. Like The Fault In Our Stars, the couple, or should I say almost couple, are teenagers and this is very relatable to other teenage girls. The female character feels like she doesn't fit in, which resonates with lots of teen female viewers, and runs away. With this the male character goes looking for her with her friends.












Citations:
“Paper Towns (2015).” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=papertowns.htm.

“The Fault in our Stars (2014).” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=faultinourstars.htm.

“Titanic (1997).” Box Office Mojo, www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=titanic.htm.

Weinraub, Bernard. “Whos Lining Up At Box Office? Lots and Lots Of Girls; Studios Aim at Teen-Agers, A Vast, Growing Audience.” The New York Times, The New York Times, February 22, 1998, www.nytimes.com/1998/02/23/movies/who-s-lining-up-box-office-lots-lots-girls-studios-aim-teen-agers-vast-growing.html.

 "Theatrical Market Statistics (2017)" Motion Picture Association of America, https://www.mpaa.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/MPAA-Theatrical-Market-Statistics-2016_Final-1.pdf

Genre

Hello!

I will be discussing and researching genre in today's post. My partner and I chose to do romantic drama as our genre because we felt like the rom-com and chick flick genre didn't really pair well with our vision as they are seen as "cheesy". 

Research

• Romantic drama is a fusion of the romance and drama genres
• Romantic drama films revolve around a central issue that keeps the lovers from being together.

Romantic drama conventions

Shots:

• The most frequently used shots in romantic drama are: over-the-shoulder and close up. These two types of shots show the viewers what the characters emotions are directly and also helps create an intimate relationship between the viewer and the character. 
• Close-ups get up close and personal with the character and the viewer can see the character's emotions and reactions. 
• Over the shoulder shots have the viewer feel that intimacy of being in the conversation.

• This close up in the film Call Me By Your Name is an example of a close-up that captures the character's emotions and evokes emotion in the viewer.

• This over the shoulder shot in Titanic demonstrates the conversation going on between Jack and Rose and gives the viewer the sense that they are watching the conversation.

Editing:

• Editing in romantic dramas is usually slow which represents the slow nature of this genre of films.
• The editing can pick up the pace when scenes are more dramatic like for example an argument scene. This entertains the viewer with not only the dialogue but also with the quick editing pace. 

Mise-en-scene:

• Spending on time frame of the film, the mise-en-scene differs, for example in Titanic, it is set in the early 1900's so the mise-en-scene would be different from that of Call Me By Your Name. 
• Photos or video can be used as looking back on past memories of a previous relationship. 

Setting:

• Settings are usually in light outdoor spaces such as the beach, a park, or watching the sunset. These are typical date spot that are romantic and usually have a light, airy, and romantic connotation.
• Another typical settings are at restaurants or cafes for date spots. These settings allow for development of story/characters.
• In this scene in Dear John, the two protagonists are at the beach.

Plot:

• Begins with two people meeting each other, development of relationship, obstacles faced, then ends in a happy ending.
• The story is supposed to make the viewers escape their own lives and for the duration of the film be engulfed in the love story. 

Citations 

Romance film.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, February 28, 2018, .https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romance_film 

Steele, Shania. “Romantic Drama Film Conventions.” Prezi.com, February 11,2015, .https://prezi.com/c_dumcs4-o_s/romantic-drama-film-conventions/ 

Film Trailer Conventions

Hello, welcome back!

In today's post I will be researching trailer conventions. Embracing trailer conventions will most likely lead to a well promoted and successful film. Although challenging conventions can be fun and unique, embracing conventions, at this point in our film career, will show we are well educated about what works and what doesn't.

Film Trailer Conventions

Text in trailers

• First things first, the film rating. Film ratings are very important because the display the films intended audience. If a movie is unsuitable for younger audiences because of sex, violence, etc, the parent is warned during the trailer.

• Usually, trailers start with the film production company logo. This helps create a brand for the production company by having the company be associated with a certain type of film and also have the viewer recognize the company and have an immediate incline to watch the certain movie. For example, if a viewer watched Moonlight, an Academy Award winning film, and really enjoys the film, then later goes into the theater and sees a trailer for Lady Bird and recognizes the logo of A24, the viewer automatically associates the two films and has underlying inclination to the film. 

A great example of this is A24 production company. A24 specializes in independent films rather than any other genre. Popular movies that were produced by A24 are Lady Bird, Ex Machina, Moonlight, The Florida Project, and so on.

• Other forms of text that are shown during the trailer are other film producer/ distributors, director's name, and actors' names. This, like the production company logo, creates an underlying inclination to watch the film. If a viewer sees that one of their favorite actor or even musical artist makes a cameo, this make the viewer want to go watch the film.

• The last piece of text in the trailer is most important: the title of the film. The title of the film comes at the very end because it needs to be remembered by the audience. If it is placed at the beginning or middle, not only will it not make any sense but it will not be memorable. The purpose of the trailer is to promote the film and have viewers come out and watch the film, so it is very important to have the title in a place where it will be memorable.

Sound in trailers

• Some trailers have either a voiceover from a narrator or a character in the film. This gives the viewers a sense of familiarity when they go watch the film because in the trailer they heard the narrator or main character speaking. 

-  I, Tonya is a great example of a trailer that uses narration in the trailer. Throughout the trailer the sound consists of clips from the film and narration from the main character, Tonya Harding.

•  Most film trailers have either a song from a soundtrack or score of the film. The soundtrack or score usually reflects the mood of the film so that the viewers can get a glimpse at the mood of the film. 

  - Dunkirk is a combination of the two sound techniques in the trailer but the score is much more poignant than the voiceover. The score in incredible because it evokes an emotion from the viewer to feel that anxiety that the soldiers were feeling on that beach.

Editing in trailers

• The editing in trailers consists of important clips from the actual film to interest the viewer to go watch the film. Trailers are usually quite fast pace due to the fact that it is kind of like a compilation of important clips. These clips aren't put in any sort of sequence so that the plot isn't given away.

Duration of trailers

• The usual duration of a film trailer is from 1 minute  to 2 minutes and 30 seconds.

Film Idea!

How We got Our Idea

   One night, my partner, Anna, and I were watching a cheesy film called Home Again. Home again is about a trio of friends who are broke, aspiring filmmakers trying to get their movie produced. One night the men go to a restaurant to get some drinks and the director, Harry, meets a separated woman, Alice, at the bar. They hit it off and the filmmakers and Alice's group of friends get together and long story short they have a great night of drinking and partying. They all stay the night at Alice's house and early in the morning Alice's daughters are brought home by their grandma. Grandma hits it off with the filmmakers and offers her daughter's guest house to the boys, they take the offer. 

  Towards the end of the film, the boys are pitching their film idea to a big producer and the producer mentions "found footage love story" and a light bulb went over Anna and I's heads. 

The Overall Plot of the Idea

   Although we don't have specifics like, setting, character names, title,etc, we do have the first stepping stone to our film idea. 

   Our film will be about a widowed mother who has two children. One day the mother asks the kids to get something for her in her room and they find a drawer with tapes and a camera. The kids go down stairs and ask their mother what those were and she explains that in school she was asked to due a project in which she films herself for a month straight. The tapes consist of her and her husband's love story. She tells the kids that they can go through the scattered tapes with one condition only, and it is to put the story together like puzzle pieces. 

    The plot obviously isn't completely put together with a beginning, middle, and end, but we think the idea is unique and can we fun to put together. 

An update on the details will be posted soon, so stay tuned! 

Until next time,

Isa 

Our Schedule

  In order to have a successful and smooth process during the Final project, we have created a schedule. This schedule is of what we will be doing throughout every week of project and what we need to get done by what week. This is subject to change due.

Week 1
- Introduction of project
- Schedule post
- Introduction to film idea post
- Research of trailer conventions

Week 2
- Research of genre
- Research and discussion of target audience
- Research of characters
- Research technology/technological elements
- posting of outlines, storyboards, etc

Week 3
- Filming day 1
- Filming day 2
- Filming day 3
- Key moments/changes to plot etc.

Week 4
- Editing day 1
- Editing day 2
- Editing day 3
- Update on how editing is going

Week 5
- Problems with not being in country
- Poster Progress
- Overall process

Week 6
- Website process
- Overall Changes
- Start on CCR

Week 7
- Final touches/comments
- Post all project aspects
- Post CCR