Genre Research: The decision

Choosing between Thriller and Drama was a very tough decision for me. Both genres provide a creative platform with endless opportunities for me to produce a successful film. While thinking it over, I finally came to a consensus. I decided to go with drama, because I believe it perfectly fits my film. I want the viewers to feel my film, and be connected as if they were in it. It was also more convenient for me, because of how accessible a drama film is. I can film anywhere at anytime of the day, and not have to be worried on how I'm going to figure things out. Also, adding sound effects and editing won't be as difficult as a thriller, because of how time consuming editing a thriller film is.

Continuing Genre Research

Drama

Common types of camera angles and movements in this genre are zoom, pan, tilt, dolly etc. They use different types of shots to give a different effect to different scenes. For instance, to dramatize a situation directors will often zoom in on the subjects to get a clear view of their reaction. Also, to get a view of what the subject is doing, film makers will use a tracking shot adding effect to the scene. Furthermore, common shots used in this genre are long shots, medium shots, and close up shots. Depending on the situation of the scene, the shot will differentiate. For example, capturing two people dramatically arguing could either be long shots or medium shots, depending on the authors choice.

Common costumes in this genre is depending on what the movie is about. In movies like Romeo and Juliet the actors would wear something more conservative and older. Common lighting in this genre is natural light and key light. Film makers use natural light to make the scene more realistic and natural. They also use key light to highlight the main subject in the scene pointing out its importance. Acting in this genre is very exaggerated. Actors blow things out of proportion to make the film entertaining and exciting to watch. The actors to have completely buy into their role to make the movie dramatic. Makeup is also very common in drama. Actors wear makeup to enhance their look in the film. and to resemble their character. Additionally, any kind of props could be used in a drama film; from couches, to lamps, to even cellphones, can all be used in drama movies. The setting of drama movies is often where the movie takes place. It establishes the environment, and usually the types of people or creatures around it.

The types of editing in this genre is endless. There's cuts, cross cutting, cutaway, fades, iris in, iris out, jump cuts, etc. Editors edit drama films to make scenes more dramatic and capture viewers attention. They also include different types of sound in drama films. Editors will usually include suspenseful music and sounds. Examples of this are: diegetic sound, non-diegetic sound, natural sound, and dialogue. They include these different sounds to enhance the film and make it more entertaining. Examples of drama films are: The Godfather, Boogie Nights, and 12 Angry Men.

Thriller

Common camera movements and angles used in this movie genre are pans, zooms, tilts, tracking shots, etc. If the situation is intense, the angle will be focusing on the subject while zooming in on the subjects reaction. Common shots that are used in these films are closeups, extreme closeups and long shots. Directors will use closeups and extreme closeups to capture the reaction of the subject, while making it suspenseful.

Common lighting found in thriller movies is low lighting because of how suspenseful and exciting of a feeling the lighting makes. Sound that is heard in thrillers would be diegetic, where a character can hear whatever is in its surroundings. Costumes for thrillers all depend on the type of movie it is. When the film is about a killer they will be dressed in something suspicious, like a mask or a hoodie. Thrillers are usually real life situation that could happen, causing people to be nervous while watching. Regular clothing would be worn, but if the actors get harmed in any way, their makeup and clothes will definitely show it. Actors have to buy into their character, and pretend they are going through the situation themselves as if it were reality.

Some elements that come from thrillers are when the movies create a suspenseful feeling to the audience, giving the anticipation of what is going to happen next. Examples of this are movies that keep you guessing, and you don't know what's going to happen next. Audiences want to be entertained, and kept on the edge of their seats. It gives them a reason to continue watching the movie to see the final outcome of the situation. Although, thriller movies are amazing, they have a downside, because of predictable they can be. On the other hand, thriller movies can have very surprising endings. These can leave the audience jaw dropped and is a perfect example of irony.

Dance Genre Research

The final pitches

After bringing all my pitches together I know I had to narrow my pitches down to two. I decided to keep my pitches about Basketball, and a kid being separated from his mother in a city. I thought these two were the most creative and exciting ideas out of the three. The third pitch was very cliche and average in my opinion. I see tons of movies and films about kids being bullied in school and other places. The pitch about Basketball seem very interesting to me, because of the versatility of the idea. I can add so much intensity and suspense to the film with a great story line. To add on, the idea of a kid lost in a city is very versatile also. I can film all the natural things around him and all the obstacles he faces. Both are very good pitches so it was easy to narrow these two down to my final options.
My first pitch about Basketball is an amazing option for this assignment because of the dozens of ways I can make this film. A story line about a young teen losing someone he loves and playing a basketball game soon after. He goes through multiple memories between him and his loved one. Without a doubt, this idea is different from many of the other ideas I've seen and have been hearing about. I plan on both filming and acting in this film so this may be tedious. On the other hand, I will have assistance from one of my friends so at least I won't be alone. My plan is to include a flashback of a memory of the him and the person he's just lost. He'll be emotional, but can't be sulking forever, because he has a basketball game. The game is going to be close so the film will be eye grabbing and suspenseful for the audience. It'll include both sad and dramatic effects to help portray the emotion of the film.
My second pitch is also a great option which is about a kid who's separated from his mom in a city, and has to find his way back to her. This a fantastic option for this assignment, because it wouldn't need a lot of props or items for me to use. I could just go to a local city and film. Everything would be as realistic as it gets, there would be tons of natural lighting and diegetic sounds that would compliment the film. The only downside is that I would need other actors to act in my film, because of the story line. Also, when and where will drastically affect how the film comes out. The circumstances have to be almost perfect for the film to come out the way I want it to. All together this pitch is one of my favorites out of all the ones I came up with.
In retrospect, I have came to the consensus of one final pitch that I've decided on. All in all, I believe that the Basketball pitch is the best fit for me and this assignment. It represents who I am as a person, while providing an exciting film to watch. This is by far, the most I've been excited for an assignment, and I can't wait to see how my final result comes out.

Start of the final task

Hello my name is Angelo, I'm fifteen years old and I attend Fort Lauderdale High School. I'm in the Cambridge Program which is a program that consist of various difficult college level classes that prepare me for the next level. If I complete the program by passing seven AICE classes and getting my AICE diploma I will receive a Bright Futures Scholarship. This year I am taking 3 AICE classes. I take AICE English Language, AICE Media Studies, and AICE European History. These courses are extremely vigorous and time consuming. I have to spend a lot of time and effort studying and doing work for these classes. In the end i'm hoping it will pay off, and help me pay for my college expenses. Besides academics I play Basketball for my school. Balancing academics and sports is extremely challenging, but so far it's been working out. My grades are where I want them to be, even though I want to do better, and I'm performing relatively well in Basketball.
In my AICE Media Studies class, I've learned a multitude of information about film and film making. I've never known how intricate the film industry actually is. There's a plethora of fascinating things I didn't know about filming such as camera angles, shots, techniques, etc. Creating videos and movies is a lot harder than just holding a camera at people talking. You actually have to edit your footage, plan, and an abundance of other things just to get the final product. All of the techniques and information I've learned in this class is going to be extremely helpful for my final task, and I'm extremely excited to use what I've learned. I plan on using tons of different camera angles, shots, and editing. I also plan on adding different sound effects and music to enhance my final product. The class has taught me how to efficiently plan my project and execute what I have planned. My goal is to have a perfect final project using all the knowledge I've obtained.
A Pitch is a short verbal presentation describing your film to someone that you need support from. For instance, a producer, a director, or a financial aid. I brain stormed three pitch ideas. The initial pitch is about a young teen basketball player, who just recently lost someone who he dearly loves. He has a basketball game, and decides to dedicate his entire game to the person he's lost. My second pitch is about a young kid who's been getting bullied and gets peer pressured into doing the wrong things. He goes down a bad path leading to horrific experiences, and how he deals with them. My last pitch is about a kid who separated from his mother in the middle of the city. He roams the city looking for his mom and he goes through a lot just to see her again.

Editing the music video

My group and I finally finished our music video. We started editing our footage to bring it all together. If i'm being honest editing isn't my strong suit. It isn't Emily's either. Editing is more of Rafael's thing. He's a huge tech guy and definitely good with online programs. Rafael without a doubt edited most of the film. We did contribute though. The first thing we did was pick and choose which scenes we wanted to include. The quality of some of the scenes wasn't up to our standards so we didn't use them. Meshing the scenes wasn't too difficult because we planned it according to our storyboard. We did film some of our scenes before others. For example, we filmed our last shot of the sun before any of the other scenes. Editing this video wasn't as hard as previous projects because we had our audio already. We just had to match the scenes to our song. This made filming even easier because sound didn't matter. Acting was the only thing we had to really worry about. We based our acting off the lyrics of our song. We had to make sure the length of each scene was perfect or it would throw off the whole video. This was the more difficult and time consuming part of editing. After we finally put all the scenes together smoothly we added transitions. We used a variety of different transitions like fades and changing filters. My group and I decided to keep it basic and simple with the transitions. We mostly used fast and abrupt transitions similar to our song. Emily came up with the idea to add filters to differentiate one scene from another. Unfortunately, we were basically done editing the video so it was necessary to go back and add it in. Editing our music video was both simple and tedious at the same time. I'm just glad we finally got it done. There's things I can still improve on when it comes to editing, but it's a learning process. Slowly by slowly I improve on my skills and techniques. Overall though my group and I are pleased with the editing of the music video and the quality of it.

Actually filming the music video

My group and I got the opportunity to meet up during thanksgiving break to film our music video. It was such a relief to finally meet up. We previously couldn’t film because I had a personal emergency the weekend prior to our break. We went to our friends house after school, where we would film. Our friend, Mariapaula took us to her house and took part in our video. Her house was an ideal setting because of it’s accessories. The song we decided on using is “We Are Young” by Fun. The lyrics are about a male and a female in a bar. This was perfect for our video because Mariapaula’s house has a countertop and a kitchen similar to a bar. We also filmed during the evening to give off the vibe of a bar. Everyone in the film dressed accordingly to fit our roles. I wore dark colors. I dressed up in a black sweatshirt, black ripped jeans, and black shoes. I was the main character in the film. We began our music video with me walking into a bar hesitantly. I was not sure if I should go in, but I did anyways. As soon as I walk in I see my lover, Mariapaula, across the bar. I want to go sit with her, but there’s already a man wearing sunglasses next to her. The next scene immediately cuts to her coming up to me angrily. We begin to argue and bicker with each other. She keeps getting in my face while I try defending myself. The lights soon turn off and after having one to many drinks she falls into my arms. After I help her up we look into each other’s eyes in a romantic way. The video then cuts to three other multiple scenes including confetti, a bond fire, and the sun. We spent almost all night trying to perfect every scene. We had to reshoot a multitude of scenes till we had the quality we wanted. Just filming took us about 4-5 hours total. To add on, we used tons of props like shot glasses, beverages, and bar chairs. I had so much fun acting in our video because of how much I enjoy the song. It was also a relief for me to finally finish our film and not have to worry about it anymore. It was extremely difficult for all of us to come together because of our different schedules. We found a way to make it happen and we were all happy with the final product.