Audience and Institution Essay

Below is the essay for the Audience and Institution
5. In relation to the media area you have studied, discuss the ways audience consumption has changed overtime

Imaging walking into a packed theater, waiting to watch the release of a new popular movie. Sitting on the comfortable reclining cinema chair while chugging down a large soda. Your eyes captivated by the beaming lights shooting out of a 90-foot-wide screen while your ears are receiving the loud sound being emitted from the speakers. Better yet, imaging kicking back on your own couch with a movie appearing on your television screen with a click of a button. However, people fail to recall that this was not always the case. Throughout the years, the way the general population consumes films has changed.

One contribution to the audience consumption change is technology. Technology is a vast, ever-improving concept. Many things have changed due to technology, including films. With the help of technology, films were able to advance from moving pictures so a digital software. This can be seen in the article, HOW TECH HAS SHAPED FILM MAKING: THE FILM VS. DIGITAL DEBATE ISPUT TO REST. The article states, “Distribution through YouTube has been the most common form of marketing for quite some time. Studios have released big-budget trailers, while indie film makers have sought funding and interested eyes posting content through various YouTube channels.” Now, audiences can view clips and scenes of films before they are released. This provides insight into the movie through a free and easily accessible software. Sources such as YouTube provide the audience with options to like and dislike the trailer videos. This allows early outside commentary to the filmmakers by the audience. One big film that promoted on multiple platforms was Jurassic World. This movie was distributed in 4 different trailers through the internet and Television.

Films are not always consumed by audience in one way, they can be consumed in various ways. One of these ways include cross media convergence. Many big film companies use this strategy to promote the releases of their movies. One example is the release of The Beauty and The Beast. Walt Disney found it fit to use cross media convergence to promote the film on multiple platforms. This was seen by special iMessage stickers on iPhones and Twitter. With these stickers, the public may unconsciously be familiar with the movie. With the stickers making their way on Twitter, audiences are bound to be affiliated with the title in some sort of way.

Another contribution to audience consumption overtime is Merchandising. Many successful film companies use merchandise to promote their movies to audiences. These items can adhere to many categories, whether it be young or old. Black Panther, produced by Kevin Feige and directed by Ryan Coogler, used marketing brilliantly. This strategy implemented T-Shirts, Toys, and Posters to the Audience to boost the stardom of the movie. Personally, I own 2 Black Panther T-shirts and one action figure. Once I was introduced to the merchandise, I was encapsulated by the concept of the movie which caused me to watch it.

With all that is going on, watching movies online is as vital as ever. Audiences can still enjoy the entertainment of films while still undergoing social distancing. Instead of being bored in a house with nothing to do, we can all enjoy watching movies in the comfort of our homes.

Practice Extract Assignment

Below is my practice extract assignment

Component 2 Question 1
In the extract from “24”, an intense interrogation took place. In the extract, the interrogator wants
answers and will not allow himself to be manipulated. The woman being interrogated will not
budge and so the interrogator takes matters into his own hands. The director wanted to portray
an intense and suspense-filled scene to show the severity of the issue being discussed.
Almost immediately the first scene is set by the set design and the over the shoulder shot. The
set design of the table, chair, handcuffs, and papers were used to show it was an FBI/police
interrogation. This type of set design is common in shows and movies that are about the police
or government when they have an interrogation or questioning. The over the shoulder shot is
commonly used to film interrogations. In this extract, it was used to enhance the interrogation.
The incidental music in the first scene plays at the beginning of the interrogation to build up
suspense and intensity before beginning the dialogue.
The dialogue in the third scene is used to discuss the bomb and the plans to stop it. The
dialogue shows the severity of the issue at hand. The lighting design of the dim light around
everything, but their faces in this scene was used to set the mood of intensity. The dutch angle
used when the interrogator flipped over the table, leaving the woman there just sitting her chair,
was used to portray the scene as extreme. The actions that took place and the dutch angle
used to film it take place showed how the interrogator did not like that the woman was not giving
him what he wanted.
In scene six the director used a shot-reverse-shot when he finally sat down after flipping the
table to build up suspense as he seemed to become angrier with the woman. Shot reverse
shots are also commonly used when filming questions. In this case, it was used to enhance the
interrogation. Immediately after this build-up the interrogator violently attacks the woman.
In scene seven you see the reaction to this violence. The use of a reaction shot to the
interrogator getting violently aggressive showed the extreme moment taking place.
You can see through that director’s choices of camera angles, shots, and movements, along
with the sound, editing, and mis en scenes used that he wanted the audience to see the
seriousness of the scenes. Each aspect had either or all intensity, severity, suspense, and/or
extremity to it. The issue of the bomb itself was serious. So it was clear that the director wanted
to portray that.

The House on 10th Ave Creative Critical Reflection

This is my opening sequence, "THE HOUSE ON 10TH AVE"! Below, I only attached the opening sequence in Google Slides. Out of all the films I created, I enjoyed this one the most and with my group, it was also the easiest to film compared to the others. Currently, there is a lot going on in the world so I wanted to do more editing on the titles. It was disappointing that we could not make the titles how I originally wanted to, because it would have added so much more to the film. But, I am still content with the outcome. I came a long way to be able to film such a project, with all my hard work and skills coming together in the end. The biggest thing for me during this film was the acting. In my previous projects, I never really had to act or follow a script. I will admit it was not entirely easy to film. The first issue we had was searching for props because many stores didn't have any scary props(it wasn't Halloween), so my group made fake scar wax and fake blood. Next, was meeting up and having to film several weekends to film(including re filming) at different locations. This is because of the weather or members of the group weren't able to film, but we figured it out by scheduling. The last issue was to change the shooting script and sound script throughout filming. Although this may happen when filming, we ended up having a completely different script, but this helped make the acting more realistic. Surprisingly, I created this horror film, but it's a genre I don't like to watch. Thus, it wasn't the easiest to be my character because I’ve never done anything like it before. Regardless, I believe it is interesting and there's an entertaining, complete story line. Overall, this is the last of my filming journey and I would like to say it was something that has impacted me in a positive way. That being said, go ahead and watch the opening sequence and decide for yourself if it creeps you out!


Below is the creative critical reflection and the film itself

The Lazy Song Music Video Creative Critical Reflection

This is my music video. Below, I attached the music video in Google Slides and the CCR. This was the second filming I did in AICE Media Studies. This was the second hardest film, but it was also the funniest for me. I genuinely enjoyed myself whilst filming this with my group. One disadvantage my group and I had was getting the film to match up with the audio of the music. The second disadvantage was the editing process. There were a couple of scenes that were short, so the frames stopped. Moving on, my favorite part was the matching transitions we came up with. Even though we matched the lyrics to our actions. The ending was also very fun and was only shot once. However, it was difficult to find props to help portray the lyrics and costumes. I decided to organize it. As a result, I used some items at home for props and bought matching sunglasses for all the character's costumes, except for a "birthday suit" for one of my scenes. For this project, I truly had to get out of my comfort zone. This is because the location of the music video was my house and the only person who's gone before is Nick. Everyone else in the group was just friends from school and unknown to my parents. I just asked them for permission and of course, they accepted and even helped us film. As a result, this video had a ton of retakes throughout the two days of meeting up, because of mistakes in acting or when creating the transitions. Overall, this was a great continuation of my filming journey and the most fun!





 

Vans Commercial Creative Critical Reflection

This is my commercial blog. Below, I attached the commercial in Google Slides and wrote the CCR. This was the first filming I did in AICE Media Studies. It was the shortest film I did, it was also the hardest to actually film and edit since it was my first film. It was difficult to reach the time because the constraint was so minimal. My group and I kept going over the time requirement. Besides that, it was the first time we all got to match and show off our product together. I enjoyed working with them. But, I did have a couple of other friends help me with some filming and editing. It’s amazing to see how far I came with my acting, filming and editing skills. I remember I had a huge interest and would be the first person to begin editing. Although it would go wrong at times, I found it fun and rewarding. Good thing I had experience from using video editing apps on my computer and phone before. However, I didn't enjoy the fact that this film took place at school. This is because I wasn’t outside of my comfort zone and I would prefer to go elsewhere. I am a very social person who gets along with just about everyone, so this type of project is my specialty. Honestly, working with my partners was great and I'm glad I got to three of my good friends . Ultimately, I believe our commercial came out well. It was hard work but fun nevertheless. Overall, I really enjoyed the beginning of my filming journey!

Below is the Creative Critical Reflection of my Vans Commercial



1. My product uses conventions in many ways. One way it uses conventions is when the characters all wear Vans clothing. This appears to the audience that the people wearing the product enjoy wearing it. Another convention I used was when one of the characters used Vans skateboard as the prop. The fact that the character knew how to skateboard and do tricks helped create the idea that people who skateboard would like and tend to wear Vans. Using the natural light and having a bright natural background makes the atmosphere seem calm. However, that convention of calmness is challenged when the main character falls down the stairs and declares, “I can’t do anything in these!”. My product represents all different social groups including races, ethnicities, and genders. This is showcased by having four different stereotypes: the runner, the skateboarder, and the model within the film. All these characters have different lifestyles, jobs, and roles but come together at the end of the film to help the character who fell down the stairs due to their worn-down shoes. The film embraces that not only can these stereotypical characters in Vans only be people who can wear this brand, but a runner, skateboarder, model, or anyone else can wear it. Ultimately, Vans is for everyone! The film does not discriminate, it evenly has male and female characters. My product represents the issue of having things that need to be replaced. The main character’s shoes that are old and worn-down to the point that you start to trip and fall, which is harmful. So, my product is advertising that you should buy new Vans shoes that are reliable for running, skateboarding, fashionable, and more.

2. My product engages with the audience in many ways. There is a cliffhanger in the opening scene where someone is falling down. The audience’s first reaction would be questioning if the person is okay and what they will do next. Unless they are people who find falling or getting injured humorous, then they would keep watching. Following this is a scene of someone running and skateboarding, which would catch someone’s eye if that is something they were interested in or enjoyed watching. During this, there is a voiceover who is speaking in a happy tone and is excited about talking about the company. One of the goals of this film is to make the audience feel engaged and together. The reason for this is to get the messages across that Vans are the best product for different activities, such as running, skateboarding, and modeling. I gave the company a good representation so that the audience will have thoughts of buying it. Although, “Vans” is already a popular brand and the audience will want to see how the company represents itself. The product is shown to the audience as reliable, comfortable, and trendy. There are many ways my product in this film can be disturbed as real media text. This film would be the type of film on any social media platforms. For instance, it could be a YouTube ad that targets people who like to run, skate, or model. It may also be on TV, between breaks of a show or movie. It would be your average commercial. Therefore, it would be distributed the same way any other commercial would.

3. This project helped me develop so many skills related to production. At the beginning of this project I did not know much about making a film, how to use a camera professionally, and how to edit. I had to research a lot about how the films are made and learn step by step the three main stages of production. Throughout the project I started to learn more, so my production skills developed. I have seen a great improvement in my production skills throughout the making of my film. We had to learn a lot of editing techniques to complete this project, such as voice overs, sound reduction, and background music cropping. Before starting this film, I knew only the basics of film production, but this project has forced me to increase my skills. In addition, I learned to work as a group and share my thoughts with my friends, be able to communicate, and gain some confidence when my ideas are being noticed and developed. As of a result, my group and I edited the film together and it advanced all our production skills. The more practice, the better we will get at our production skills. The more films we create throughout this class, the more advanced we will get at creating them.

 4. I integrated technologies, such as software, hardware, and online all throughout this project. The hardware I used was the camera to film the commercial. My whole group along with an outside friend were in the film advertising the product. One software I used was the school’s computer. On the computer, I used Pinnacle Studios to edit.  I transferred the footage from the camera to the computer and it also was what I used to edit the film into a 30 second film. Originally the amount of footage I recorded was about 5 minutes as the raw film. We recorded the same words for the voice over multiple times so when we edit, we would have options to choose from and we would be able to see what would fit in the film. Technology was a huge part in creating this film and if it wasn’t for having technology, I wouldn’t be able to have created this film. If I used the online program that was provided on my computer, then the process of creating this film would have taken a lot longer than using the school’s computers. It was important that I was able to use a camera instead of another option like the camera on my computer or phone. Filming on my phone would not have made the video as beautiful and crisp as it turned out to be. Filming on my computer would have caused many issues such as angles, use of shots, placement, etc. Even though my phone was not used for filming it had other purposes. One of these purposes was research. I researched the conventions and the editing techniques used in commercials to advertise the product more efficiently.  Then, I decided to use my phone to watch a vans commercial in order to look for eye-grabbing techniques Vans perform in order to make the advertising of their product more appealing to the audience. I also used my phone to keep in touch with my group and contact my teachers for any help. My personal laptop was another form of technology I utilized. I used my personal laptop to view Vans commercials on the laptop. The school computers were useful but were limited. The computers gave many problems such as speed. One example of this is when I was trying to edit a scene in my commercial and the computer took several minutes to edit the scene. Another problem I faced with the school computers was the crashing. For example, when I was trying to import several raw scenes into pinnacle studios, the computer shut down the pinnacle studios application and gave an error notification. Aside from the crashing and speed, the computers were very effective in helping create my film. Without all of these forms of technology, it would not have been as convenient to create the commercial.

 

Re-Editing blog

Re-editing our film has been a top priority for the past few classes. It has been quite a struggle due to the inconsistencies of the laptop speed of the school's laptops. In the worst scenario Pinnacle Studios would just never load and we did try multiple different computers. When we were lucky and it worked that’s when we were able to edit. We switched between Pinnacle studios and my computer programmed video editor. This is because we wanted to start at home and continue because the computers at school would be unreliable when it came to speed. So, I imported all the scenes from the SD card reader onto my laptop and put them in order of the storyboard. Therefore, we’d only have to split each scene in order to add specific details. For instance the titles design, transitions, and special effects. Since the titles in my editing software did not have anything that would go with our theme, we used Pinnacle Studios to edit the design of each title. This process was grueling because we had to decide which fonts and styles we wanted to use. Many fonts were very similar and were only different in tiny aspects.



First, we wanted to find a scary font for the title of the movie, but at first we couldn’t so there was a basic one. We also wanted to fix the rest of the fonts, so it would match well with the title font. Anyeska and Jazmin found a scary dripping font which we changed to red and a green background. It looked as though blood was dripping, which helped create spookiness. The other titles were changed also, and the color is now red. After this, Britania began looking for transitions to add between each scene. It would be more entertaining and create suspense, and overall improve the smoothness of the film. So we thought about adding them at the beginning, when the girls are playing Frisbee as their title appears, to transition to the next person. Another detail we did was special effects. Lesly added a scream in the scene where Britania is separated from the group and sees the entity again before she gets possessed. I also added a screeching effect when an eye-line match was created between the monster and Claire. Below is a picture of the editing software I used on my personal laptop.

Editing Blog: New Software

Today the group and I re-filmed some more scenes that did not turn out good from before. So, once again we have to dump those scenes from the SD card to the computer. We cut unnecessary parts from each scene and continued to edit. We added titles and decided on a regular font for now. The font is white and does not appeal to our theme, but this will be changed later on. We added all of the titles we needed in the beginning. I added a creepy transition to the title of our movie. This will let the audience know the movie genre is horror. Along with this I added creepy music in the beginning. Lesly and I looked for copyright free music online and found plenty of amazing options.

I edited the music to lower and completely disappear by the time the characters started with dialogue. Creating suspense from the very beginning. Since we couldn’t use a computer from school due to the coronavirus epidemic. We decided to use Lesly’s computer editing software. Using his editing software we designed a scary edit to compliment the audience’s watching experience. This technique was found from previous horror films that have been made. This technique was to edit some quick pans of scary objects we filmed. One of the props was a scary doll, spiders, and a broken mirror. For the edit, the filter of the pan was changed. I also changed the color to black and white to adhere to the horror-like theme of the film. Below is a picture of the new editing software on my computer that we are using.