Music Marketing Blog Post #1

In this project, my group was given the genre of pop and 4 songs that we could choose to make a music video and a marketing campaign. We chose the song Electric Feel by MGMT because of the creative freedom that we would have with the song. We were then instructed to make 4 case studies about 2 record labels associated with our genre. We chose Columbia Records and Atlantic Records because of their popularity and the wide variety of pop artists to choose from. My group decided to choose pop artists we thought really embodied different sides of the genre like Harry Styles, Charlie Puth, Ed Sheeran, and Rosalia (the four we chose). Since my group consisted of 4 people, we decided to split up the work so everyone could do a case study and also do research on the record label's history and other artists signed. I did Ed Sheeran's case study which I found very interesting because I wasn't aware of his humble beginnings.

 Once we finished doing research about our genre, we began to brainstorm ideas for our music video and marketing campaign. Here is a picture of a brainstorm our group had in class about our music video:

As you can see we had several different ideas but one thing we all agreed on very quickly was that we wanted to do a promotional and storytelling music video. My group member and I have a recreational band in real life so we had instruments and a place to play, which is why we wanted to incorporate it into the video. From there, we began to think of a possible storyline. We knew it had to be simple and straight forward but we didn't want it to be cliche and boring. We ended up choosing the classic boy meets girl and they fall in love story, but with a twist. She was going to have electricity edited on her so that she passes it on to the boy and that is the "electric feel" the song refers to. We also wanted to use dark colors, like blue, black, and grey throughout the video to set the tone of electric, and cool.

One problem we faced was that one of our group members was going to be out of town when we wanted to film the promotional part of the video (which he was going to be the lead singer for), but we found one of our other friends to cover. We also weren't sure what editing software to use for the electricity part of the video, so we asked our teacher and we were given the option of using Canva, Capcut, or Adobe Animations. We decided to stick with  CapCut or Canva for the effects part of the video because of their diverse templates and designs. My group has already filmed the promotional part of the video at this time, but we still have to film the story part of the video and finish the marketing campaign presentation which we have already begun.

Representation.

"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a coming-of-age film that explores themes of adolescence, mental health, sexual abuse, and sexuality. Charlie, Sam, and Patrick, the main characters of the film, have their own stereotype or issue they represent. The directors utilize costume and makeup design to help illustrate the character’s representation effectively.

Charlie, played by Logan Lerman, is portrayed as a socially awkward and introverted freshman. He is the film's main character, yet we don't know much about him when the film starts. He wears oversized and ill-fitted clothes which shows his discomfort and insecurity. This costume choice reflects Charlie's struggle to fit in and be satisfied with himself. Other small details such as Charlie’s dark circles under his eyes, add to the development of the character and the representation of a burdened teenager.

Sam, played by Emma Watson, is portrayed as confident and attracts people with her unique personality. Although Sam seems to be this way, she has trauma from her childhood as she was sexually abused when she was a child and this has affected her confidence and her feelings of self-worth. She doesn't let this stop her being herself.  Her costume reflects her free-spirited personality with vibrant and quirky pieces. Her wardrobe consists of things like floral dresses, denim jackets, and high-waisted skirts, which shows that she isn't afraid to have her own style. She has natural-looking makeup which

makes her look carefree and naturally beautiful. 

Patrick, played by Ezra Miller, is an open, gay teenager who goes against societal norms. Patrick has suffered from bullying because he is different and his sexuality makes him stand out from the rest. His wardrobe also makes him stand out because of his bold and flamboyant choices. He usually wears a lot of colorful pieces that reflect his vibrant personality. He uses bold lip colors and eyeliner to highlight Patrick's non-conformist attitude and personality. The use of makeup also makes a visual statement about his proud and unapologetic expression of his sexuality.

"Perks of being a Wallflower" utilizes costume and makeup a lot to represent the characters and their struggles. The directors understand the importance of visual elements and pay close attention to detail when creating the characters and bringing them to life.

Genre Research Project

   Why are Comedy films so Compelling?

  Comedy films have captivated audiences for generations. A reason for this could be because it has been found to improve your mood, or because they have a broad spectrum of viewers. They appeal to various age groups, and cultures making it a popular genre. The audience of this genre depends on the context of the movie but is usually targeted at late teens and young adults.

Ex: The “Barbie” film, a comedy with a broad target audience of women of all ages, is the highest-grossing comedy film with over a billion dollars.

   Humor is the main convention of comedy. But, It can be shown in many forms whether it's ridiculous situations, dramatic acting, or clever jokes. Characters in these films are usually quirky and different which creates comical situations. These movies are also intended to be relatable as audiences tend to connect more with characters and films when they see things that mirror their life. Directors also utilize timing in these films, as comedic timing is always important in making or breaking a joke.  

Ex: “Catch me if you can”, a classic comedy, has quirky yet relatable characters, and ridiculous situations.

 Comedy also has conventions in its production techniques.

   Directors commonly utilize visual humor, a form being slapstick comedy in movies like “Ted” directed by Seth MacFarlane, and auditory components like a movie’s soundtrack to create a successful and entertaining film. The music in the production is most likely light-hearted and funny unless done on purpose to add comedic effect.

   Institutional conventions in comedy are the building blocks upon which amusement is built. Marketing for comedy films usually entails, memorable characters, slapstick humor, and eye-catching material, all used to intrigue the audience. Some films use famous actors to attract an audience. 

Ex: The directors of “Jumanji” used Kevin Hart, Dwayne the Rock Johnson, Jack Black Karen Gillan, and Nick Jonas to attract an audience to their comedy. 

   Comedy trailers are usually fast-paced and have comical moments, funny characters, catchy music, and sometimes narrations. 

An example of this is the trailer for “The Wolf of Wall Street” directed by Martin Scorsese. This trailer is fast-paced and has narrations, funny moments and characters, catchy music, and more conventions of a comedy trailer.

Film Samples:

“There's Something About Mary” is a classic comedy film that displays the characteristics of the genre through its mix of humor, quirkiness, and relatable characters. Released in 1998 by the Farrelly brothers, the film revolves around a lovable yet awkward boy, Ted Stroehmann, who is played by Ben Stiller, as he tries to reconnect with his old high school crush, Mary Jensen (played by Cameron Diaz). One of the most popular scenes in the film is a scene where Ted is getting ready for his date with Mary and gets his genitals stuck in his pants zipper. The film is a mixture of ridiculous situations, cringy moments, and slapstick comedy. The film uses endearing and relatable characters which is another reason why it falls into this category. The poster shows “Mary” (Cameron Diaz) because at the time she was very popular and it was most likely used to get a larger audience.

“Mrs. Doubtfire,” released in 1993 and directed by Chris Columbus, is a classic comedy starring Robin Williams. The film follows Daniel Hillard, who is a talented but irresponsible voice actor, who goes through a divorce and loses custody of his children. To solve this problem, Hillard created a new persona, Euphegenia Doubtfire, who is supposed to be an elderly British nanny and gets the job as their nanny. This movie has an extra layer of comedy that most films don't have which is that the main character is pretending the be the opposite gender. The film has aspects of relatability, comedy, quirky characters, and extreme situations. The poster shows Daniel Hillard or Mrs. Doubtfire, most likely because of the importance of the character, but also because of the popularity of Robin Williams.

Sound Project

  For this project, we were instructed to create a 1-2 minute scene using only sound. This scene had to be something that could happen in around 2 minutes. For example, walking into a barbershop, and getting your hair cut. We were put into groups of two to complete this project. Once in groups, we filled out a brainstorming sheet where we brainstormed ideas for sounds that we would layer to create the scene. 

  My partner and I chose to create a scene that sounded like someone getting rushed into a hospital, getting zapped by a defibrillator, and then ascending to hell. The scene starts outside then transitions to inside the hospital then in the hospital room, then hell. We chose this scene because of the creative freedom that it would give us. After we chose a scene, we were told to make an outline with detailed explanations of which sounds we would use and where in the scene. When picking the sounds, we had to keep in mind that 4 of the sounds had to be created using Foley. Our 4 foley sounds were the wheels of a chair creating the noise of the hospital bed rushing into the hospital, an electrical buzz created by a light in my room used for inside the hospital, footsteps on tile creating the sound of doctors rushing into the hospital, and a dolly crashing into a wall creating the sound of the hospital bed hitting a bump.

  In the scene, we were only allowed to use 7 words of dialogue. We used all 7 of the words the first one being a doctor saying "We're losing him" while they're zapping him with the defibrillator, the second being the doctor saying "Again," the third being the devil saying "hello," and lastly the man that died saying "oh shit" when he realized he is in hell. When editing we had to keep in mind that there are primary and secondary sounds that create the scene. Here are a few photos of our editing process.

Our most challenging part of the project was the selection of sounds for hell since what hell sounds like is up to interpretation. We used sounds like water bubbling, chains crashing, whipping noises, and screams to create the possible sounds of hell. Overall, I liked our idea and the way we executed it, and this project was an enjoyable experience for me.

Here is the link to the project:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nrdfSGji2gqJJjOGTgE8nw2rHGf5pdev?usp=share_link

Camera Shots and Angles Quiz

 The camera shots and angles quiz was a project in which we had to create a short story using 15 shots/angles and two inanimate objects. I worked with two other people and had specific shots we had to include. For example, we had to include two medium shots, two close ups, a point of view shot and more. The goal of the activity was to illustrate a story using specific shots/angles and organize them in a way that develops the idea and tone of the story. We then were to make a PowerPoint to display our story and write descriptions of each shot.

My group and I decided to use two water bottles as our inanimate objects, a white one and a black one. We created a story about how the black water bottle was really sad and was going to jump off a "cliff" and then a white water bottle comes and stops the black bottle from jumping. The black bottle is initially mad that it was stopped, and then that anger turns into sadness as it realizes what it was about to do. The black bottle then hugs the white bottle and they walk into the distance together. We used a concrete bench to model a cliff, and we drew faces and hands on the bottles digitally to convey the object's emotions throughout the story. We utilized the shots that we were instructed to use to further our story. An example of this is how we used a point of view shot to show that the subject was looking down the "cliff" before jumping. We then put all of our shots into a PowerPoint and wrote descriptions about the type of shot used, and how the shot contributes to the story.

I believe that the shots my group used were effective in telling our story. I liked the way our drawings made the story easier to understand and more relatable for the audience which can be hard to do since we are using lifeless objects. One thing I think we could've improved on is the creativity of our object and story. I noticed that a lot of the people in my class used water bottles as their objects and I think we could've picked something more unique. As for our story, I think it was good but complex. A simpler story would've been sufficient and easier to show. In my opinion, our execution was good, but our idea could've been better.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1QhSz7-uuqJFBqgWTOwp4sYKM9EUMB6wZpe6Ky4VslRg/edit#slide=id.g1e6da7ff9fc_0_70

Link to project^

Introduction post!

 Hi, my name is Julia and this is my blog. I'm creating this blog because I want to record my experience while taking Aice media Studies AS Level. I am a Junior in Highschool. My interests are music, theater, singing, and film.