Storyboarding Session #1

    So today I started storyboarding. My goal was to visualize the first chunk of the opening. This portion sets up certain portions of the story to come. The first shot of the tapping pen and the dots left from it show the stalled output from the animator. The initial second and third shot would cut to show some of the sketches the animator has around their desk, along with some focus drawings. I soon decided cutting from the high angle first shot to another high angle in the second shot could be a bit confusing, so I decided to insert a shot between the two. The new second shot is another angle with the tapping pen, but the focus is on a blank document on a laptop. 

    Follow this we'd cut to an over-the-shoulder of the animator, but unlike the usual over-the-shoulder from behind, this shot would position the camera in front of the actor to face the back calendar on the wall behind them. Has X's every day up until the circle. This also is the first of a short sequence that draws focus to the circled date. Understanding that today is the deadline and that the animator hasn't made any progress adds a level of tension. We then finally cut to a close of the the animator's tired eyes. During this time the pen tapping would stop. Cutting to a medium from the front, we reach the end of the first chunk. 

    While the next chunk doesn't require much thinking about different shots, since I plan to stay with this angle, it will introduce the animated aspects of the opening. I have begun with some brief character designs and sketches that could be includes in this portion of the opening. I may also replace one of the focus drawing in the 4th shot with a page with a sketched out character, so I can have that drawing be the first to "come alive" and eventually change into other ideas that animator has. Some of these could also be included in the fully digital portion in the 3rd chunk during some of the credits.

    For now I'm going to take a break to think about possible characters or art techniques that can be used for this 2nd chunk of the opening.

 

Initial Outline

    Now that I feel pretty confident with a story idea, I should probably think of an outline for the film opening. The idea of an animator in a “writer’s block” while also showing their ideas to the viewer is ironic and something creatives may relate to. What I feel is important to remember is that this is only a small part of a much grander story. 

    To make planning this opening a bit simpler, I’d probably break up the 2 minutes into 1 minute or 30 seconds chunks. The goal with this opening is to focus on the struggle with putting thoughts on paper as well as establishing the aesthetics of the full piece. And after meeting with my instructor, I know that I can’t just have the character frustrated for the whole 2 minutes. 

    The first 30 seconds would likely establish that this character is an animator with the production design. I’m thinking the character’s room/studio could have papers with character designs, art styles, a workstation where final pieces are made, a calendar with a deadline, and the character with a sketchbook fidgeting with their pen. Within these 30 seconds we establish that this animator is on a deadline, and they’re struggling to make something. 

    During the next 30 second, the animation would begin to bleed through. It could start with motion streaks coming from the fidgeting pen and then it spirals out and linger in the frame for the rest of this portion. The animation serves both to show the character’s thoughts as well as their frustrations. The animations in this chunk would be the different ideas that come to the character, but towards the end of this chunk the character switches from idea to idea quicker and quicker. The different ideas begin to taunt and further frustrate the character until they reach a breaking point throwing the sketch book at the original spirals from the pen.

    The 3rd chunk would begin with the sketchbook hitting the wall and an explosion of animation stemming from the impact. The explosion would fill the frame and serve as wipe to transition into fully digital space that would include some of the imagined ideas from before as well as different art styles. This portion would also provide a space for some of the opening credits. Towards the end of the I’d want to switch back to live action with a match cut. The ending would be a quick phone call where the main character is calling their boss to ask for an extension. Halfway through the word, it’d cut to a title card EXTENSION.

    This outline isn’t concrete. Something might get moved around; the credits for example might get moved around because if it’s too long in that one chunk I might split it so that some are at the very beginning and then some are in the fully digital portion. Tomorrow I should have a more solid idea because I’m going to start my story board. Being that this opening focuses more on visuals than dialogue, by the time I’m finished I’ll have a good understanding of the timings and the overall flow of things. I’m also going to be sketching out possible character designs and art styles that could be incorporated in the final opening.

How People Use Mixed Media

 

    In the past I've dabbled with mixed media, but only to an extent. My most recent project that included mixed media was for a music video I made back in October with two other students Isabella Chiappini and Luis Rodriguez. For the video we incorporated only a few bit of animation that we planned in advance. 

Sketch book page of what we wanted to include in the final music video

While We're Young - Music Video

    Working on the While We're Young Music Video really opened my eyes to the more formalistic approach to telling stories. For this project I want to do more than just adding a few emoticons and expression symbols every now and again. I want to expand and improve my skills in this area of filmmaking by experimenting and having more thought behind certain decisions. And as a way to broaden my view of mixed media, I've done a bit of research on a few films that incorporate different mediums into their stories. I just want to see how others have approached this art form.

H.A.G.S (Have A Good Summer)

    This film from Sean Wang, follows adults as they reminisce back to the eighth grade and the time  since then. Visually the film is like a white board, with text, images, videos and drawings coming and going through out. Wang's inclusion of these mediums invites the viewer look back with Wang and his old school mates.

Rebooted

    Rebooted is a sweet piece from Michael Shanks about older technology fading away in the modern age. The story follow a stop-motion skeleton as they face being replaced by newer technology and traditions. The film blends both stop-motion and live action almost seamlessly as way to literally show how lively tradition methods could be, compared to things like CGI.

Lawrence Becker Stop Motion + Mixed Media Animation Compilation (2015-2017)

    Lawrence Becker is an online creator who most known for his stop-motion animations, but he has a bit more up his sleeve. As long as he's had an online presence he's been blending mediums in order to make things that look unique and tell stories that can't be told solely through live action. His use of different art styles and collage also makes for a visual interesting final piece.

    

    

Narrowing down the Narrative

    Up until this point I feel like it seems that all I've been doing is just talking about what I want to do instead of actually doing something, so I'm here to change that. Recently, I've been brainstorming possible stories for the film opening. This post will show both my different ideas as well as my thought process through out each idea. And of course, not all of these are fully thought out, but they've gotten to the point that I am now.

Mixed Media Idea #1

    When I said I wanted to do mixed media, I wasn’t lying. By far the biggest challenge so far has been finding a story where the use of mixed media would be motivated. The mixed media should be as much part of the story as the characters. And with that said, this first idea was my first idea for this exact reason, I couldn’t motivate it (not to mention there are barely any story to it). This opening would follow a person going through a routine as their mind wanders off. What this idea made me think about was whether these bits of animation would be solely part of the character’s imagination or if it would interact with the environment. I thought about how the story could start with the animation being part of the character’s imagination, but at the very end of the film opening, it would interact with the real world in some way, which would tease the idea that maybe by the end of the story this person’s imagination could becomes a real tangible thing. It would also follow the same idea that certain things would have to be covered up by animation afterward, like in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Which would be a fun task to plan around.

Robotic on-set double covered by the animation in Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

    That idea itself was cool, but I couldn’t quite figure out what the story would actually be about. And by that I mean, why do I care about this character? All I had was just that this person is imaginative, so what? What are they trying to achieve, and what about this story would motivate the mixed media.

Summoning Spirit Idea

    After the first idea, I struggled a bit to find a new idea also mixed media, so I decided to just start back at the drawing board as a way to not limit every idea I had. I thought back to the storytelling idea of pulling from what you know, and I admit that kind of sounds like I’m an avid spirit conjurer but I assure you it’s not that. I feel that when some people begin to pull from what they know, they immediately think of physical things like going to school or hanging out with friends, but I wanted to pull from emotions. In this case, I’d be focusing on people’s natural curiosity and how it can sometimes go a bit too far. This came mostly as a result of some of the research I did and how certain directors prey on a viewer’s curiosity to have them engage with the story.

    The opening would follow the “first death” of someone who was enthralled by some sort of scripture or spirit. This character would be shown to be way too far off the deep end to be saved. It’d an opening similar to that of It Follows (2014) and Drag Me to Hell (2009), where this first scene would establish the threat with someone who for the most part is disconnected from the main story. It’s an idea that is relatively common in the horror genre, so if I did want to go with this idea, I’d want to have evident  mise-en-scene. In videos I’ve made for my TV production class, I love using motivated and creative light settings (they’re annoying to set up, but the final shot is worth it). For this opening I was thinking of a contrasty look with harsh lighting in a mostly dark room. The frame itself would have a warmer tint to it since I’d likely have a few candles and/or flames present. It’d be Roger Deakins-esque with heavy use of motivated lighting, and set ups that are realistic.

No Country For Old Men (2007)

Skyfall (2012)

The Assassination of Jesse James (2007)

    Overall I think this is an idea that I can have fun with, but I’m most likely not going with this. I said it before, but this is pretty similar to a lot of other films and I still had that itch to continue with mixed media.

Horror / Mixed Media Idea

    After having considered the last idea, I thought about continuing with horror since it plays with emotions and tension building. I also considered the similarity that the last idea had with other films, so I thought about starting off the story with a flash forward a bit before the climax. In this story the main character would be contemplating a decision (perhaps they are about to enter a haunted house or something or that sort) and it’d be the main vs a spirit manipulating the person to make the decision. The spirit would be shown via mixed media and would be tethered to the main character, sort of like how Eddie Brock is the host for Venom.

Venom (2018)

    While with this idea I was about to combine the horror genre with the mixed media concept, I just didn’t feel it. The reason for that I believe is because I wasn’t really pulling from what I know. I guess it's just an issue with the fact that I try to avoid situations where people try to manipulate others, but either way I just wasn’t really super happy with this idea. And there was also the thought the cartoonish style I initially thought of probably wouldn’t fit too well with a horror piece. Maybe if it were a style with heavy use of graphite, it’d work, but I’m not sure how it would go about transferring it to a digital medium.

Mixed Media Idea #2

    Let me paint the scene for you, it’s midnight. I got school the next morning and I’m trying to at least get one last idea before clocking out. I begin to think about the whole process up until this point where I’ve had all these ideas, but I couldn’t quite find the story to fit them in. And just like it hit me. This story would follow an animator who has all these ideas, but they can't for the life of them put them to paper. And the way I’d show this character’s ideas is via mixed media that is a visual representation of their mind and emotions. So hypothetically if there was a moment where this character gets so frustrated that they throw their sketchbook at the wall, when it hits the wall there would be impact marks or a small explosion. The overall tone would be light hearted for the most part, since they’d be a heavy layer of irony in which the viewer can see this person is creative, but they’re in a sort of writer’s block.

    Out of the 4 ideas here, I see myself motivated by this idea. Off the bat, I’m pulling from what I know; there have been so many projects that I’ve done where I have all these ideas for shots or color schemes, but I struggle making the story around it. And in this story, it actually makes sense to include mixed media because it’d be part of the story and not just something to make the opening look pretty. Of course there are still a few aspects I’d have to iron out, but this is the first idea I’ve had where I’m actually motivated to continue with.

So What Does Work?

     When this project was first announced I felt a bit overwhelmed with the shear amount of freedom I was given and it was hard to think of what exactly I can do. A lot of my initial ideas were cool, I didn't feel they work as openings. So I'm taking a step back to doing research on some films and directors I like to see how they open their films and whether they are effective.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD

    Now of course I'm going to start with some classic Edgar Wright. Shaun of the Dead is a Rom-Com from 2004 that follows Shaun, someone who lacks back bone, as he's forced to face his failing relationship, growing up, and zombies because his life just couldn't get any worse. The opening takes place in a bar and for the most part is just a conversation between Shaun and his girlfriend, Liz. The brief scene introduces not only the character, but the major conflict that Shaun must face: remaining the same with his best friend or improving his life without him. Some of the dialogue and editing also tease some of the humor that is to come. 

OLD BOY

    I personally don't remember many movies that jump right into everything in such as way like Old Boy. What this opening does so well for me is captivate the viewer's attention almost instantly. The director, Park Chan-wook, relies on peoples' natural desire for context, and it works. The swelling music and harsh back lighting make the main character seem ominous. Not to mention the actually situation of someone holding someone off the edge of a building is interesting. And when the person hanging off asks for the main character's name, it seem as if the viewer will finally get some context, but it really just leaves the with even more questions. By the time the movie actually begins to develop its story the viewer is already hooked. 

IT FOLLOWS

    Unlike most films, It Follows has a unique antagonist that people both in and outside the film can't see. The film opens with a woman in distress running in the middle of the street. The score and acting both signify that something is wrong. The camera follows the action with slow pans and subtle push ins that further add a feeling of slowly building tension. This opening doesn't establish a physical threat, but more how this threat affects its victims. The mystery of what the threat is, keeps the viewers on their toes and paying attention to all the production techniques because that's all they're given.

 

FERRIS BUELLER'S DAY OFF

    At its core Ferris Bueller is just another movie about teens wanting to make the most of the time they have, but the reason I'm looking into this film when there are probably hundreds of teen movies because the opening literally makes a promise with it's viewer. One of the more talked about aspects of this movie is it's use of direct addresses, and of course the film opens with one of Ferris telling the viewer what he plans on doing. This doubles to establish the light hearted tone as well as the style and techniques that will be used throughout.

THE PRESTIGE

    I feel many tend to overlook The Prestige when looking through Christopher Nolan's filmography. While known for his many accomplishments, Nolan has a consistent ability to create openings that more integral to the story than they may initially seem, and The Prestige is no exception. Rewatching the film's opening I was genuinely surprised by how much it reveals about the final story. This opening serves to grab an audience's attention, but is open to interpterion meaning that different viewings that change how people go into the movie. On top of all of that, the narration from Michael Caine's character explains the basic 3 acts of a stage magicians, and this narration also mimics the "pledge" act, promising to the viewer what is to come in the story.

    From looking at these openings I know that for my opening I want to both grab the attention of my viewer and promise them that the full film would be worth their time. I also want to plant the seeds to major plot points in this opening. If someone can rewatch the opening knowing the full story and interpret it differently I'd be happy.

     

Friends and Feedback

    A few nights ago I was called up by my buddy John. I personally wanted an excuse to take a break from homework, so I answered the call. I personally thought it'd be a conversation about something silly, but low and behold, it actually became a conversation about our approaches to tackling our portfolio projects. While we're close friends, we go about creative endeavors and separate manners. I myself am more of a visual thinker and have experience with the production process. John on the other hand, prefers to write things out and is new to the production process. 

My buddy John with a gift I gave him

    John initially approached me to get some incite on how he can show what he has written. We briefly spoke about the kind of equipment that we each would likely have. During this time I came to the conclusion that since I will be making a film opening individually, I plan on not relying too heavily on camera movement. I want to focus more on composition, lighting, and potential animation.  Like I said before, I toyed with the idea pf mixing mediums, and especially if I'm working on my own, I feel more confident than if I were to work with people who don't share the exact vision I save. I've had a few negative experiences in the chat and it'd save times.

    We then went on to talk about music. John mentioned how he was going to work with a music producer, and it got me thinking about what kind of music I would include in my opening. I’m most likely going with copyright free music because honestly there is a lot of good stuff out there, you just have to know where to look. My primary source will likely be Epidemic Sounds, since they give you the option to search by genre, tone, artist, and speed so I can be as specific as I want in. As for the music itself I’d probably stick with an instrumental track because if I were to look for something with lyrics I’d have to do extra research to make sure the subject matter of the lyrics and vocal intonation both fit with what is visually happening. And in the end I want the music to further immerse the viewer and perhaps be used to develop the tone.

    By the time the call ended, I felt satisfied by how we both helped each other further think about our openings. Talking with people about what you’re making is something I will most likely do more of in the future. Not only do they provide an outside opinion, they can also lead people to think about stuff that they maybe overlooked.

Out With the Old, In With The New

     The time has finally come, we've begun with our portfolio project. It wouldn't be much of a surprise to many that I am very much excited about this project. Every discussion, every lesson, and every project has lead us to this point. It's not every day you're given the opportunity to spend about 10 weeks working on a single project. It's very much a change of pace for me, someone who's used to making videos for CBTV in about a weeks time. 

   Over the course of this year I've developed a visual style through out all of my projects, so I'm excited to develop it even further. And this project being a solo venture, I'm forced to imagine each and every aspect of the final piece. I admit that does sound scary and a tad overwhelming, but I'm going into this with an open mind.

     I'm not completely sure about what exactly I'm going to do, but hey that's part of the process. I've toyed with the idea of mixing mediums and certain shots, but its not exactly much to grab on to. At the current moment, I'm trying to think of what would make for an interesting full story. Whether that be a visual aesthetic or a concept. With that decided, I'd work backwards, to know what seeds of the story I should set up in the opening. A while ago I saw a video on YouTube about the opening shots in movies. In that video he talked about how some directors establish everything they want their audiences to know within that first shot.  And I personally agree with that sentiment. Now that doesn't mean I'm going to do a oner or not develop my opening with other shots, but the idea of pulling in an audience while giving them an concept to grasp on to is brilliant. 

    For now that's about it. I will be updating this with just about every piece of progress for the next 10ish weeks, so be on the look out for updates. And you know it's funny because this blog post is like an opener to the opener. Any how I'll see you soon.

Music Marketing Campaign Vol. 2

After about 3 weeks, my Music Marketing Campaign Project has come to an end. For this project me and a group were tasked with making a Marketing Campaign for an up and coming artist. The only thing we were given was a song and it’s genre, we had to do everything else from scratch.

Band Logo

One of the first things we did was research on the genre and successful artists and bands. We focused on 2 case studies from Universal Music Group and 2 from Warner Music. For UMG the two bands we referenced were AFI and Amaranth. And for Warner Music, we referenced The Orwells and The White Stripes. Through our research we were able to narrow down the target audience of the genre, people between the ages of 14 to 25. With this research, we decided to make social media a big part of our campaign.

While doing this research, we found difficulty finding new punk rock bands that were releasing music. Most of our case studies were older bands that were just still releasing new music. This made us realize that there is a distinct lack of new punk rock bands, meaning we wouldn’t have much competition. And when we’re able to make a name for ourselves, not only will it open the door for us for new opportunities, but also inspire up and coming punk rock bands and as a result add a spark to the genre that has been missing for over a decade.

We created an Instagram and Twitter account for the band. Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms in the world. About 40% of Instagram users are between the ages of 14-25. Another useful feature on Instagram is its Discover Page , the app is known for its constant the app is always collecting data in order to accurately recommend posts to the masses. We also made a Twitter account. While it has a smaller user base than Instagram, Twitter is primarily targeted towards older audiences. 

Distribution of Instagram users worldwide as of October 2021

Distibution of Twitter users worldwide as of April 2021

When it came to making a brand, we came up with The White Roses. When roses are grown, they are naturally white. The signature red color is actually added after the fact. Punk is generally known for its rebellious representation, so for the band we wanted to go against the classic red in exchange for something more real.

A major tool we wanted to incorporate in our marketing campaign was a music video to go along with our first single, Righteous One. Of course before beginning anything major, we did research about what kind of music videos are made for the genre. In the case of AFI, their 4 most popular  music videos from the last 5 years were promotion based. Similarly, many of Amaranth’s music videos were promos, or a combination of promo with storytelling and artistic. Promos typically are common for new bands, since it's relatively cheap and gives the band a face. The main planning we had to do was thinking up cool and interesting shots and fast pace editing. Before filming we made a storyboard of possible shots to include. And lastly the final bit of planning we did, was location scouting for the video. Ultimately we decided to film at Regional Park’s stage

Storyboard

Regional Park Stage

For filming we used the storyboard as a jumping off point; we followed it, but did not stick strictly to the list. We first got a wide of the whole band to use as the main video. After that we got mediums and close ups of the individual band members that we were able to add in throughout the video. Overall the experience filming was fun and helped bring the band/group together. We filmed with editing in mind, so we tried to get a variety of shots. When we wrapped we got the promo photos of the band that we’d be able to use from the album, social media, or just for behind the scenes. In editing we kept with our campaign’s color scheme, highlighted the band members, and made the video energetic with quick cuts.

The White Roses - Righteous One (Official Music Video

So with the research, band,  marketing campaign, and music video we had to condense it into something presentable. For the presentation, we started with our research and why it led us to certain decisions. We then began to go in detail about our campaign plan, including our social media, step-by-step plan to boost engagement, and of course the music video as well as how it works to aid our campaign. Our presentation was geared towards potential investors.

I honestly really liked this project. Doing research and applying what you’ve learned is always cool and informative. Throughout this project I’ve learned how important working as a team is as well as how a simple dynamic can change a lot about a project. I would’ve liked to spend more time working on the presentation since for this project it was more rushed than what I would’ve liked. For the portfolio project, one thing I’m definitely going to work on is time management. We have about 10 weeks, which sounds like a lot, but can easily fly by. I want to make sure that we use the valuable time we have to not just do something by the books. And after this project, I want to make sure the people behind the camera work together as good as all the production techniques we use in the actual project.