I’m back!

           Hi, it’s me again! I am so excited to be in the next level of AICE Media Studies. I learned so much last year and can’t wait to continue to learn even more. I had so much filming all of the projects last year. This year, I am even more excited since I can use everything I have learned and create even better projects. However, with the pandemic going on, it will be a lot more difficult to adjust. The virus has really effected and changed how everything must be done. I plan on working in a group so it is very important that we take safety precautions and wear our masks at all times. It will definitely be a lot more difficult trying to work in these hard times but I will figure it out. I am really looking forward to making the final project for this class. It will be a five minute short film. I have never made a film this long so I am really looking forward to starting it. I will also be making a website, postcard, and blogging throughout. I will really be expanding my knowledge this year and learning more about how the whole production process really works. Branding is also something we will focus on this year. That is something that is new to me so I am interested to know how it works. I can’t wait to do my own branding for my short film this year. In the short film I will be coming up with a beginning, middle and end. Last year I only made an opening sequence. I’m really looking forward to being able to make a plot start to finish. I’m so glad that I’m back and now taking the next level of this class! 

Audience and Institution Practice Essay

Question: In relation to the media area you have studied, discuss the ways audience consumption has changed over time. 

            In relation to film, audience consumption has changed over time in many ways. Institutions distribute films to the audience in different ways than they used to. Audience consumption has greatly changed from physical media, to digital media. With technology becoming more advanced and growing every day, this continues to increase.

For the audience to consume the films, it must first be distributed by the institutions. Back then, films used to only be distributed through movie theaters and DVD’s. The ways that films can be consumed has changed greatly, from cinema, Blu-ray, and DVD, to digital download, digital television, Video on Demand, and Near Video on Demand. Even platforms such as Netflix and Hulu. Trailers for the films are even being distributed on YouTube now for people to watch. Distribution has expanded to home exhibition even more with the use of digital viewings. In the Furious 7 movie, they used Cross Promotion and teamed up with the phone brand OPPO, which hosted events that promoted the movie. Furious 7 included the brand on some of the posters. Cross Promotion was also used when Forza Horizon 2 released a video game that was based on the movie. This Cross Promotion helped distribute the movie. Furious 7 was released on DVD and Blu-Ray in 2015. It was also premiered in the SXSW Film Festival, and released in cinema. In 2019, the release of The Lego Movie Part 2, showed how audience consumption has changed from just 2015. This movie was distributed to audiences through cinema, DVD formats, Blu-Ray, but also on digital and Movies Anywhere where audiences can access the movie through digital streaming platforms. Synergy was used when WAG and Warner Bros came together to produce and distribute this movie. The Lego Movie Part 2 also used Cross Promotion with DISCOVER and Burger King. As well as Cross media convergence when making a videogame for the movie. Audience consumption through digital distribution allows the film companies to release the film electronically as digital files to the theaters. Doing this saves money and resources for the companies. Digital distribution has increased market for companies like Disney and allowed for a big growth in the number of cinema screens in other countries. This also expands the audience consumption by allowing a greater amount of people to have more access to the films.

However, this change is consumption for audiences has led to a negative effect in some ways. Due to the increase in digital distribution by institutions, DVD and Blu-Ray sales have decreased. Disney tried to increase the DVD sales with the Alice in Wonderland movie. To do this, Disney shortened how long it was distributed for in theaters from 17 weeks to 12 weeks. In hopes that it would reduce the amount of illegal copies watched by people. Some companies distribute as a day and date release so that the film is released on DVD and in cinema at the same time. The 2011 film Tower Heist was about to be released to Comcast customers in addition with the release in theaters, but was not taken into consideration anymore when multiple theaters protested are threatened not to show the film.

Audience consumption of film merchandise has also changed over time. Nowadays, merchandise is used to promote the films and attract the audiences. The institutions promote merchandise for the films, where the audiences then consume it by purchasing the products. In the 2017 Beauty and The Beast film, Disney used synergy to promote the upcoming release in a special edition of ‘The Bachelor’ on ABC. Some merchandising of the film included selling clothes, dolls, and more were released on a Disney online store. Disney also teamed up with Hot Topic to come out with t-shirts and more. Merchandise was also sold at Target where you could find costumes for children, and mugs were released by Hallmark for the film.

I can also relate to how consumption has changed over time. Growing up, I would either go to the movie theater with my family or receive DVD’s to watch. I had so many films on DVD and Blu-Ray that I would watch when I was younger. Now, I can access the films digitally on many different platforms. I’m always going on Netflix and Disney+ to watch so many different films. I even see many films streaming on TV to purchase. I still purchase DVD’s here and there, but not as much as I use to. Now, I either go to the movie theater, or watch the film digitally.

            Overall, audience consumption has changed over time through films. Digital distribution continues to exceed disc-based media. Audience consumption continues to grow in different ways as technology increases and grows.

Extract Practice - 24

            The theme of the extract 24, is a crisis situation. A man is interrogating a woman who appears to be connected to the potential attack. He is trying to find out where the bomb is located. As well as trying to get information to stop it from detonating.

            In the beginning, the extract starts off in the first location where a woman is at. The interrogation room is used for the majority of the scenes where the woman is being held, to show that an urgent matter is taking placed since serious questions are being asked and need to be answered quickly in this location. Next, a zoom is used to get a close-up of the woman’s face who is being interrogated to show that she has something to do with the crisis and is important to the situation. Then, an eyeline match is used of the man looking over, which then cut to a shot of the camera in the room shows that he is making sure the interrogation is being recorded, and that the observers are watching. There is then a cutting of the shot showing the woman going to the shot of the man interrogating which manifests the intensity of the interrogation going on and how they are going back and forth.

            In the middle of the extract, the first thing shown is a two-shot. The two-shot is of the observers watching the interrogation on the monitors shows that something serious is going on and that many people are involved and needed. Then, a clock is used as a prop in the extract to help the director’s vision. The clock is used to point out what the woman was looking at to show that more and more time is going by until the crisis situation of the bomb detonating happens. After that, the dialogue begins in the scene. Dialogue is used between the man and woman in the interrogation room to show what is being talked about between them, which gives information on the crisis situation. The final thing displayed in the middle of the extract is a sound bridge. The sound bridge at the end of the scene with the two observers, leading into the scene with the man interrogating in the woman’s face shows how the two scenes are going on at the same time and how the observers are watching what is going on as it happens. The sound bridge carries over from one scene to the next in the middle of the extract.

            Towards the end of the extract, more is going on and happening more quickly. The hand and ankle cuffs were used on the woman to show that she was being held which also made the interrogation more serious since she was locked up. The woman being locked up emphasizes that she knows information on the potential attack and possibly how to stop the bomb from detonating. This helps the director get his/her vision across. Next, there is a split screen of the man choking the woman in the one screen, and the observer and security people running to the interrogation room in the other screen, which shows they can’t let him kill her since they need her for answers. After this, incidental music is used as the woman is being choked and the security is running towards the room to show that the scene is intense and something very serious and urgent is taking place. It adds on to the serious situation about the bomb that is going to be detonating. The last thing observed at the end of the extract was a long shot. The long shot of the man that was just choking the woman shows that he let go and stopped when the people came in and told him to stop. He was frustrated since he was getting answers from the woman about the bomb attack that was going to be happening soon.

            Overall, the director’s vision is that there is a crisis situation on and the actors need information on the bomb that is going to detonate in a short period of time. All of the camera angles, shots, movements, editing, sound, and mis en scene helps to show that this is the director’s vision. These intensify and make the scenes seem more urgent and show that a serious matter is taking place. The interrogation also shows that the woman is a key to finding information out about the potential attack, which is apart of the director’s vision.

Final Task CCR

                 Here is my CCR for my final task! This was by far the most challenging, but also exciting project this year. In these videos, I answer questions and reflect on my finished product. The videos are a total of 12 minutes and are in an interview style format. I also inserted examples from the film into the videos to make them interesting and fun! I have learned many new things and my knowledge and understand has grown tremendously. I elaborate on this as well as many other things. Some of these include, the products conventions, social groups and issues, engaging with the audience, how it would be distributed, my production skills, and even the technologies my group and I used. 

Final Task: The Catch

       This is my opening sequence to an original movie. The name of the film is The Catch. It’s about a murderer that is hired as a hit-man by his boss to kill a victim. A witness sees the attack, and the murderer notices. It ends with the witness running away and the murderer falling trying to run after them. The audience is unaware if the murderer will catch the witness or if the murderer will get ratted out. This was our third project we did this year. This was definitely the most challenging, but also the best one yet. I was exposed to lots of new skills while filming this and learned many things. I had so much fun going through the process making this with my group! 

Music Video and CCR

          This is my music video and CCR. This was my second project this year. My group and I chose to do our music video on the song 8TEEN by Khalid. We chose this song because it’s very upbeat and fun. Making this music video was a lot of fun and I enjoyed it very much! This was definitely one of my favorite projects this year.

 

Commercial and CCR

            This is my Gatorade commercial and CCR. We had a list of products to choose from, and my group and I chose Gatorade. We thought that making a Gatorade commercial would be really fun and exciting. The commercial was our first ever project for this class. It was definitely a cool experience while making the commercial. I learned a lot along the way which helped me in my later projects. 

Creative Critical Reflection for Commercial

1. How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues?

The product is a commercial that is advertising Gatorade. The commercial genre is sports drinks, since it is promoting Gatorade. All sports drink commercials generally include athletes that are usually working really hard while exercising or playing a sport. These commercials also include the athletes drinking the sports drinks and then getting energy and the ability to perform better. The product uses conventions because we include conventions that would typically be in Gatorade commercials.  In our product, we have a scene of one of our group members drinking the Gatorade and filming it close up. Shooting the Gatorade up close made it clear what our commercial was trying to promote and made it clear to the audience. This is in other Gatorade commercials as well to get a good shot of the product. This shows how our product uses conventions because this is what you would find in most Gatorade commercials. Our product also uses conventions because of the music and sounds we used. The sounds and music usually intense and show that there is a lot of action going on and that they are working harder, which our product included as well. Sound effects of crowds were also used. These sound effects intensify the importance and excitement of the commercial. The product uses these conventions just like a Gatorade commercial would. Also, the camera is often moving to show the actions that are going on and is never really still. In our product, the camera was also often moving, and therefore also shows how our product uses conventions. The product also challenges conventions in a few ways. In the commercial, we used natural lighting since we were outside. Usually, Gatorade commercials are outside with sim lights from the stadiums or the field. Our product represents social groups because our commercial is for all different age groups, typically those in the middle-aged group. Our commercial is meant to be for those who usually stay active and either exercise or play sports. It also represents social groups because it is for all different groups of people. The product is for everyone, which is why the commercial is for all different genders, races, ethnicities, etc. Our product is made for all social groups and advertises Gatorade to attract everyone.

2. How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Our product engages with audiences because it attracts those who are into fitness, exercising, sports, etc. Our commercial shows how Gatorade gives people energy and the strength to do their workouts or play in a sport. It also engages with audiences by making people want to buy and drink Gatorade. The product also engages with the audience by the type of music and phrases that are said throughout the commercial. The motivational music and phrases will catch people’s attention and make them interested in the commercial.  It also engages with the audience because our commercial shows someone running the track but then getting so tired that she falls down. After she drinks the Gatorade, she gets energy and is then able to finish her lap around the track. The audience might be able to relate to the product because they might experience similar things. While they are training or working out, they get tired and might feel like they can't do it, but if they drink Gatorade, they will get the strength and energy to finish. The audience will want to get Gatorade to help keep them hydrated just like the person in the commercial. The product also engages with the audience by making them want to buy and drink Gatorade to perform better during their sport, practice or exercise. This commercial would be distributed as a real media text through commercials on sports channels. It would be distributed here to advertise Gatorade and make athletes want to get the product. It might also be distributed on sports or athletic websites to promote Gatorade. If the commercial is distributed on television or websites that promote sports, it will make viewers want to buy the product since they see that Gatorade is a popular drink and benefits athletes' performances. I would also probably distribute the commercial and put it on main channels with the most broadcasting and views. I would also want to air the commercial at times that most people are watching to get Gatorade advertised as best as possible. Overall, the commercial engages with the audience mainly by being a motivational and relatable commercial. That way, people will be interested and want to buy Gatorade. The commercial would also be distributed as a real media text through television and would air at the most popular times.

 3.  How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

Throughout this project, my production skills developed in many ways. In the beginning, when we did our storyboard, I learned how to properly plan a film. This taught me how to be more efficient and be more organized so I can plan the best way. On the first day we filmed, I learned how to use the camera and tripod properly. I was taught how to correctly turn the camera on and off, as well as how to put the SD card in. With the tripod, I also learned the correct way to set it u and how to shut and close it up. Then, I had to attach the camera to the tripod and adjust the knobs on it to get the perfect angle for our filming. All of these skills were new to me, and I can now do it again more efficiently. My production skills also developed throughout this project because I can now better identify camera angles, shots, and movements. While we filmed our commercial, we had to make sure that we were including the requirements for the project. Doing this, improved my skills on these topics since we had to identify them, as well as making sure we filmed them. In the scene of my group member going into her duffle bag to grab out the Gatorade bottle, we made sure to film at a high angle to get the shot of her going into her bag. During the scene of my group member drinking the Gatorade, we filmed a medium close up because we wanted to make sure we filmed the product of the commercial close up, but not too close so that we still got our group member in the scene. When we filmed the scene of her running on the track, we used a pan movement. We left the camera stationary on the tripod, and I moved the camera lens from right to left using the handle on the tripod. My production skills developed throughout the filming part of this project because I learned how to use the equipment, as well as learned and understood the camera angles, shots, and movements better. Filming this commercial works as a reference to me because I can now use it to help me remember what some of the camera angles, shots, and movements look like. I know the type of shots that we used and when they were used, so this will help me remember what they look like. Another way that my production skills developed throughout this project was during the editing process. My knowledge expanded more when I learned how to dump, import and export on the computer and pinnacle studios. After we were done filming for the day, I would go and dump all our footage from the camera, into a file on the computer. Then when it was time to import, I had to select all the footage and import it onto pinnacle studios. At the end of our commercial, we had to save and export the film. I now know how to do all of these skills and do them efficiently. My skills also developed throughout the editing process while using pinnacle studios. I learned how to put the footage together and how to put it on the correct track, as well as how to remove audio from the footage. We had to cut some of the film to make it the correct length, and also add music into the commercial. I recorded the voiceovers while my group member said the phrases, and then we inserted the voiceovers into our film. Overall, my production skills developed greatly throughout this project, and I can now do the process more efficiently since I know how to correctly do all of these techniques.

4. How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project?

Throughout this project, I used three main software's, which included google drive, pinnacle studios, and iMovie. Other technologies and hardware that I used were cameras, SD cards, and SD card readers. While making the commercial, I had to integrate technologies to get my footage from one place to another. On the first day of filming, we received a camera, tripod, and SD card. I then combined the camera and SD card by inserting the SD card into the camera. To insert the SD card, I had to open the little door where the SD card goes. Then, I put the SD card into the slit and made sure that the words on the SD card were facing me. Once the SD card was in the camera correctly, I closed the little door. The SD card was now successfully in the camera and ready to start filming. We first filmed everything that we needed for the commercial out on the track. We filmed each scene a few times to make sure that we had enough takes. This then allowed us to pick the best scenes to use. Once we finished filming for the day, I had to dump all of our footage onto the computer in case we didn’t get the same SD card next time. We also did this so that we had our footage in more than one place. To do this, we had to integrate the SD card and the computer. I went and got an SD card reader, and then inserted the SD card into the reader. Once it was in, I inserted the reader into the computer and pulled up the files. Then, I opened the folder that our footage was on, highlighted all of our footage, and then dragged all of it into a folder on the desktop. We also needed to put all of the footage onto our google drive so that we had another backup place that our footage. I opened google drive and made a new folder that I could put the footage into. Then, I had to download the footage, and wait for it to finish. I could then put all of it into the folder I created on google drive. After everything was on my google drive, I just closed out of it. I then integrated technologies when putting all the footage from the desktop onto pinnacle studios. When I opened up the software, there was a sample film on the track showing up how the software worked. I needed to start fresh, so I went to the top and clicked file, then new, and the track was now empty. To get the footage on pinnacle studios, I had to open up the software and click import at the top. Then I selected all of our footage and clicked import and waiting while it all imported onto pinnacle studios. Everything was now on the software, so we started building our commercial by pulling the best pieces of footage onto the right track. We weren't able to finish our commercial during the class so we decided that we would use iMovie to finish over the weekend. Throughout this whole process, I was integrating technologies from google drive, to pinnacle studios, and then to iMovie. As well as from the camera and SD card to these software's.