Portfolio Project - Week 1 Update 1

 This week, we were introduced to the portfolio project that we will be transitioning into and working on up until the exams. I had already chosen my group beforehand as my teacher had mentioned the project prior. Me and my group are currently workshopping ideas and have already made contacts with music artists to use some copyrighted music.

As can be seen on the images above, we have permission to use Elliot Fullam's music. I have created a playlist of the songs we were given permission to use. The link to this playlist as well as the links to the individual albums are listed below.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/23UZoa0TsWpOA6dJbEOiaE?si=4e0ffd8e198e423e

https://youtu.be/QsMwHiIZrGA?si=QJHRTaJbW-KBUU4V

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_mPX71xB4kBOP7E54VtWcoAgWLXVizNeuY&si=xRhGlW7cRTopnIRa

Me and my group have only developed one of our ideas so far, which follows the story of an addict and the effects of his addiction on those around him. Genre-wise were thinking about psychological horror, as we are all large fans of said genre and would really like to put our ideas together in order to make this happen.

We will use the remainder of this week to come together and plan out how we will approach this project as well as do some research on the psychological horror genre.

Music Marketing - Video

Music Marketing - Research

 Our project for AICE Media was a music marketing campaign. It was an important assignment, as it made up part of our midterm grade and required us to work in a group. After being assigned the genre of R&B by our teacher, Mrs. Stoklosa, we got straight to work.

The first step was researching the R&B genre. Nina and I focused on gathering information about well-known R&B artists and production companies, such as SZA and Steve Lacy. We explored everything from their official websites to online forums for details. Meanwhile, Joaquin and Simón finished their research closer to the end of the break. Once we had all the information we needed, we started planning the project and dividing tasks. Nina and I worked on the presentation, Joaquin created the storyboard for our music video, and Simón designed the brand logo.

For the campaign, we developed an artist persona named Richard Spice. He is an R&B singer inspired by the records he inherited from his late mother, who loved jazz and R&B. Listening to those records sparked his passion for music. Richard Spice represents a mix of classic and modern R&B, and his style reflects themes of resilience and creativity.

To market Richard Spice, we focused on two main strategies. First, we leaned into the nostalgic appeal of vinyl records, producing them to attract an older audience who appreciate classic music formats. Second, we used modern social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram to reach teens and young adults. By taking advantage of the platforms’ algorithms, we aimed to increase his visibility and connect with a broader audience.

This approach allowed us to create a strong foundation for our music marketing campaign while appealing to a diverse demographic.

Genre Research Activity

For the Genre Research activity, I chose to research horror.

Horror is all about scaring the audience, getting them on edge, and playing with emotions like fear, shock, and suspense. This genre will dive into themes like death, the supernatural, and the fear of the unknown, made in such a way as to play with both your mind and senses.

Genre Conventions - Content

Horror usually features creepy themes such as the supernatural, ghosts, isolation, and people facing their worst fears or fighting against evil forces. Horror also has a lot of well-recognized character types, including "the final girl," who's normally the last one standing, and "the monster" or killer; there's also "the wise old person" who usually tries to warn everybody. They are usually set in creepy, dark locations such as forests, haunted houses, or abandoned towns that create tension and make things feel a lot more isolated.

Genre Conventions - Production techniques

The horror genre usually consists of dark lighting and shadows in order to maintain the eerie, creepy, themes as mentioned before. Horror is also known for the large variety of sound used, such as sudden loud noises or unsettling music; silence is also present throughout the majority of horror films to keep the audience on edge. Horror also uses lots of close-ups and POV shots to immerse the viewer, therefore making them feel as if they were experiencing what was on the screen.

Institutional Conventions - Marketing

Horror movies usually play up how intense or scary they are in the trailers and posters. They’ll tease some of the scares without showing too much, making you wonder about the real danger or twist. They’re often rated R or have warnings to let people know these films are a level up in scariness.

Film Sample #1 - The Conjuring (2013)

The Conjuring is one of those classic supernatural horror movies. It’s set in a creepy, isolated house and has all the ghostly things you’d expect. The lighting is super dark, and the background music is unnerving, which just builds up the tension. They show very little of the actual ghosts, which makes it scarier because your imagination does the work.

Film Sample #2 - Hereditary (2018)

Hereditary mixes family drama with horror, which makes it even more disturbing. The film uses long silences, close-ups, and unsettling visuals to build up a sense of dread. It doesn’t rely on jump scares but instead has creepy moments that stick with you. The marketing focused on how this was a horror film that would leave a lasting impression.

Other Film Examples in the Horror Genre

1. Psycho (1960) - Psycho (1960) - IMDb

2. Get Out (2017) - Get Out (2017) - IMDb

3. A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - IMDb

4. Birdbox (2018) - Bird Box (2018) - IMDb

5. The Shining (1980) - The Shining (1980) - IMDb

6. The Exorcist (1973) - The Exorcist (1973) - IMDb

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Overall, horror movies keep drawing people in because they take you out of your comfort zone and make you feel scared and curious all at once. They let you experience fear without the real danger, and that thrill is what keeps fans coming back.

Sameless - Representation

Shameless is a show about the Gallagher family, who live in poverty and face many tough challenges. Two main characters, Fiona and Frank Gallagher, show very different ways people can deal with hard times. Through them, the show explores serious issues like addiction, family responsibility, and how society treats the poor. 

Fiona Gallagher is the oldest sibling and takes care of her five younger brothers and sisters. She is strong, smart, and does her best to keep the family together. Fiona’s story shows how difficult it is for women, especially in poor families, to carry so much responsibility. She works hard and tries to give her siblings a better life, but the system often makes things even harder for her. Over time, we see Fiona’s struggles take a toll on her as she faces more stress and pressure. 

Frank Gallagher, the father, is the complete opposite of Fiona. He is selfish, addicted to alcohol and drugs, and does whatever it takes to avoid work or responsibility. Frank’s character is often used to criticize how society blames poor people for their problems without understanding the deeper issues. Frank constantly makes bad decisions and relies on his kids or scams to survive. While his character is exaggerated, Frank shows the darker side of poverty and addiction, revealing how these struggles can destroy both individuals and families. 

Other characters in Shameless also show different ways people handle poverty and difficult situations. Lip, the smart brother, tries to escape the family’s cycle of poverty, but he faces his own challenges. Ian, who is gay, shows the difficulties of being part of the LGBTQ+ community in a family and society that doesn’t always accept him. 

In the end, Shameless gives a messy, real look at life in poverty. Characters like Fiona and Frank force us to see beyond simple ideas about poverty and understand the bigger social problems behind their struggles. The show doesn’t offer easy answers but instead highlights the complexities of surviving in a world that often overlooks the poor.

Sound Project

My teacher taught us a lesson on different kinds of sound techniques and different ways they're used in film.

For this project, we need to brainstorm a 1–2-minute scene, keeping it school-appropriate and realistic for that time frame. Scenes like getting ready for school, cooking, and robbery are off-limits. We'll focus on identifying the sounds that naturally occur in the scene, and we can only use seven words. After brainstorming, we will create an outline explaining the sounds needed to tell the story. For the final product, we’ll record the sounds, with at least four being made using random objects (not digital sounds) on a “foley stage” and then make a video of the process. We’ll submit three files: the sound file of the scene, a video showing how we made the four foley sounds, and a screenshot of our audio editing timeline.

The first thing that came to mind for me was a party scene, me and my partner followed the directions like a recipe and completed everything in the order it was shown in the directions. We spent a solid 30-minutes brainstorming and creating our outline, those 30 minutes consisted of general conversation and agreeing on what we both wanted to do. Afterwards, we immediately jumped into creating the project, Editing took around 2 hours for me since it had been a while since I edited audio on premiere pro, but I picked it up pretty quickly and I was able to get through it relatively fast.

Overall, I'm very satisfied with how my rendition of the project turned out, I feel like If I brushed up on how to use premiere, I would do an even better job. This project also showed me how little I know about sound techniques; I'm definitely going to study more of that.

My project:

https://youtu.be/9i-Op9CBiM0

Camera Shots/Angles Quiz report

For the Camera Shots/Angles Quiz, we were tasked with creating a 20 slide PowerPoint/Google Slides presentation that detailed a story using an inanimate object as the main character. Each slide consisted of a picture of the object going through its story. (Similar to a storyboard but rather than being drawn/sketched, it was pictures we took ourselves)

Me and my partner originally struggled with deciding which object to use but ultimately decided on an umbrella.

Overall, me and my partner did pretty good, nonetheless we still had room for improvement. Some of the angles/shots were labeled incorrectly (2 or 3 of them), and we also put too much emphasis on the people participating in the pictures.

Camera Shots/Angles Quiz