Movie Opening Samples

Coming of age Openings

Once my team and I identified the specific genre we wanted to focus on, we began the process of searching for movies within that genre, which is coming of age. This is a very important step in our process as it allows us to get a better understanding of the genre and potential themes that are commonly associated with it. By analyzing these movie openings we can draw inspiration from when developing our own opening scene. I choose to look into the opening scenes for the following films: Lady Bird (2017) and The Virgin Suicides (1999). Both of these being very popular movies in the coming-of-age genre.

Lady Bird (2017)

The opening scene of "Lady Bird" is a remarkable display of filmmaking that immerses the audience in the complex relationship between Lady Bird and her mother, laying the emotional foundation for the rest of the film. It captures the essence of Lady Bird's rebellious spirit and her strained relationship with her mother, foreshadowing the challenges she will face as she navigates the transition to adulthood. The conversation between Lady Bird and her mother highlights the generational differences in their perspectives, reflecting the broader theme of the evolving parent-child dynamic. The main approach for this opening is conflict, the conflict being that Lady Bird wants to go to college on the East Coast while her mother does not want her to mainly due to financial issues. This approach is one that my team and I were planning to go for too. 

One aspect that could serve as a source of inspiration for our project is the simplicity of the credits and title used in the movie. The credits are displayed towards the end of the scene with a relatively small font size, which does not take away from the focus on Lady Bird at her school mass. This approach allows the audience to remain engaged in the moment without any distractions. When the title "Lady Bird" appears on the screen, the use of big, fancy font makes it stand out and creates an impact. It is a subtle yet effective way to introduce the movie's title and leave a lasting impression on the viewers.

The Virgin Suicides (1999)

The opening sequence of "The Virgin Suicides," directed by Sofia Coppola and released in 1999, is a wonderful introduction that sets the tone for the entire film, meaning that is its direct approach. The cinematography in this sequence creates a dreamlike atmosphere. This opening shows the approach of the film's tone and introduces the sisters as central characters, while also introducing the setting where these sisters reside. The Lisbon family residence, featured in this scene very strongly, takes on a character of its own which shows the importance of it very well. 

This opening has an amazing soundtrack, which not only complements the visuals but also plays an important role in establishing the emotion in the narration. It is a noteworthy element that I find worthy of considering for our own project since it can really enhance the viewer's engagement.

This opening relies a lot on narration. The narration comes from the commentary of a group of neighborhood boys who were captivated by the Lisbon sisters. This perspective adds a layer of reflection, framing the events through the lens of other people who are on the same page as the audience. I really like the use of keeping even some characters confused, to me that means people will pay attention more to detail. Something that leads to more engagement which is just what an opening should do. This technique shows the balance of offering content without fully revealing everything, keeping the audience intrigued and curious.

Lastly, I think my favorite part of this opening scene is the title. It is such a wonderful take on an artistic and unique title. It also really resonates with those who watch coming-of-age films, something like "silly doodles" makes it more relatable. That title slide makes the audience remember the film and plot better since it captivates them.

Researching My Genre

Coming-of-age

Here I have included some well-known coming-of-age movies.

First things first, I have decided to work in a team with my two close friends Alex and Lucia, this is something I am very excited about. As a team, we have been putting a lot of thought into our upcoming project, which is a 2-minute opening scene. After much contemplation and discussion, we have decided that the coming-of-age genre would be the perfect fit for what we have in mind. Our decision to choose this genre was based on our collective experience and knowledge of the genre. As a team, we have watched many movies belonging to this category, and we believe that our understanding of the genre can be put to good use in this project. 

We are fully aware of the current popularity of coming-of-age films worldwide, and we are confident that this particular genre will resonate well with teenagers like us. Coming-of-age movies typically revolve around the themes of youth, growing up, and maturing, with a strong focus on a central character arc. The genre often explores the emotional and psychological challenges that these characters must overcome to reach the next stage of their lives.

In these movies, a protagonist is usually a young person who is facing the first major event of their life, such as leaving home or starting college. The protagonists in these films are typically relatable and engaging, and their transformative journey toward adulthood can be both entertaining and inspiring. Coming-of-age films are a popular genre that captures the emotional turmoil, challenges, and transitions that young people face while growing up. 

These movies often incorporate a mix of dramatic, comedic, and musical elements, occasionally blending in other genres like action or horror, although this is relatively uncommon. While most coming-of-age films include a degree of romance, which often depicts the protagonist's first romantic experience, there are exceptions to this. 

The genre delves deep into the complexities of teenage life, portraying the protagonist's journey as they navigate their way through this challenging phase of life. The common themes and pacing of coming-of-age films lend themselves well to slice-of-life narratives and highly personal stories, making them a compelling and realistic portrayal of teenage life. 

Many coming-of-age films take on an autobiographical or semi-autobiographical nature, using the writer or director's own life and experiences as the basis for the protagonist's journey. For instance, the critically acclaimed film Booksmart is a perfect example of a coming-of-age film that explores the personal experiences of the writer and director. As a result, it offers a highly relatable and realistic portrayal of teenage life, making it a must-watch for fans of the genre.

After all, we believe that a genre all about younger people is our best bet in what we want to create. It is a genre that me and my team feel like we understand very well. I am excited to dive deeper into this project and tell you all about it. I will be here soon again to tell you more about my project. 

Transition Blog Post

Hi everyone! I am excited to share that today, February 9th, I have started working on my portfolio project which I will be documenting through my upcoming blog posts until April. The highlight of this project is a two-minute-long film opening that I have to create as a part of my AICE exam. I'm looking forward to the challenge and can't wait to share my progress with you all. Every week I will be coming on here and explaining my process, giving updates, and sharing my decisions.

For now, the approaches I am looking to take include tone and character. I will be approaching tone with the use of colors. A great and easy example of this is having this very melancholy and sad character while having a blue tint shown on screen. When this character can expand and grow to a better version of themselves there will be more colors shown. The difference in colors and brightness shows the change in mood. A change in saturation could also be used in this example.

A different approach I would take involves the development of a character. To achieve this, I plan to utilize a variety of mise-en-scene elements such as costumes and settings. By using these elements, I can show the growth and development of a character. Going off the same example I used from the tone approach, I could show the character's growth in costume and setting changes. In the beginning, the character could be shown with dark and baggy clothes but ends in fitting brighter clothes that correlate with their personality. Also, the change in the character's room is a great way to show someone's growth. 

I hope that my project goes well and that I can achieve all my goals for my portfolio. I know that I will have to stay focused and keep pushing forward, even when encountering obstacles along the way. I am confident that I can make great progress and achieve the success that I am hoping for.

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

My Marketing Campaign

    As part of our project, we were given the task of creating a campaign for a pop artist and a music video, and we chose the song "Send My Love (To Your New Lover)" by Adele. As a group, we conducted research on the pop genre to gain a better understanding of its trends, popular artists, and successful companies. This research was crucial in helping us come up with effective strategies for our campaign. We drew inspiration from Adele, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, and Harry Styles to create a plan.

    We started by brainstorming the brand and music video's look, which we wanted to have a feminine touch. Since the song is about a guy who can't commit, we decided to depict a relationship ruined by his immaturity. The small storyline part of the video showed our artist, Rayn, finding out about her ex's new girlfriend and making her think about how he treated her. The video ends with her knowing her worth and knowing what she deserves. We faced some challenges in coming up with a coherent concept, but we overcame them by creating a storyboard to help us organize our ideas.

    Our primary goal was to develop a presentation that would resonate with our target audience. This was the most challenging aspect of the project since we had to develop ideas that made sense and connected everything. We wanted our marketing strategies to be well thought out and make sense for our target audience. We aimed to create a unique brand that would appeal to our specific audience. I really believe we were able to show and explain everything just how we wanted in our presentation.

    During the video production process, we encountered several challenges, with the most significant being scheduling a day that worked for everyone. Coordinating everyone's availability was a bit frustrating, but we were able to figure it out. Despite that, we managed to wrap up filming in just one day. We knew exactly what we needed, and we were able to get more than enough shots to create a mix of promotional content and storytelling. We chose to focus more on the promotional aspect of the video since we believed it would complement our artist, Rayn, better. We wanted to highlight Rayn's DIY approach to music videos, and we thought a home-video vibe would be the perfect way to achieve this. Here I will include some behind-the-scenes of our filming. 

    During our project, we found that editing was definitely easier than other tasks, except when having to line up the song with our video. One strategy that worked particularly well for us was to upload the clips into our editing program as we filmed. By doing so, we were able to keep track of what scenes needed to be re-filmed and what was missing from the final project. This approach provided us with a clear idea of what we needed to do to improve the quality of our work and helped us to stay on top of the editing process from start to finish.

    I had a great time working on this project, even though it was stressful at times. I learned a lot from it, like the steps involved in creating a successful campaign or music video. Working in a group also taught me the importance of communication, which was crucial for our project to work out. It was eye-opening to learn about how artists establish themselves and make a name in the industry. I realized that it's not as easy as it seems, but it's definitely possible. I also learned the significance of planning, which played a key role in the successful completion of this project. In my  Cambridge portfolio, I know that I need to focus on planning and giving myself specific deadlines and steps to follow. I hope I can fully focus on my portfolio with appropriate time management.

Music Marketing Blog Post #1

My Team's Marketing Campaign

     This project began with receiving our assigned genre, which was pop, and chose our song (Send My Love (To Your New Lover) by Adele). With that, as a group, we were put to research about this genre and learn a lot about it. We created case studies, which are very crucial for our campaign and learned about companies and artists surrounding pop. This research I find immensely important as it gives us a stronger and better understanding of the pop genre, something we need when building our campaign. The artists chosen (Adele, Ariana Grande, Taylor Swift, Harry Styles) are very successful. The strategies that they use or have been using show great results and inspire us on our own campaign project. Here I will include a part of our research done. 

     Now that we knew more about the genre we decided to start brainstorming the look of our brand, with a bigger focus on the music video. We knew that our song held a feminine look. After kind of analyzing the song we knew it was about a guy who could not commit or try to be in a relationship, someone immature. We agreed, for now, on having our music video be a mix of promo and storytelling as a way to really grasp people's attention. We want to show the acts of a man who isn't mature and how that ruined a relationship. I do believe this was one of our biggest challenges. At first, it was just hard to think of something that made sense with the song and correlated with our brand. Then it was challenging just choosing one idea and seeing what flowed better. We were able to create a good storyboard to help us sort these ideas out.

     The final part involves creating a presentation. However, this requires a lot of careful planning, which we are still in the process of doing. We face many challenges, especially when it comes to marketing and distribution that will work with our brand and lead to success. One of the critical areas we had to focus on was our brand, which we all had to agree on. We wanted our brand to be unique and targeted towards our specific audience. The presentation is the most challenging part of this project since we, as a group, have to come up with specific details that will resonate with our audience. The strategies we use in our campaign must be well thought out and make sense while tying everything together. We have to ensure that our presentation is enough to get our audiences' attention. While we are still thinking about more specific marketing like with products and collaborations, we have a good idea of our campaign as a whole, and I hope that in our presentation we can put that all together.

Representation in Coco

   

Image 1:Image 2:

The 2017 Disney movie Coco (cover shown in image 1) does a great job of representing various important aspects seen everywhere. It represents Mexican culture, and it also has representation of genders and stereotypes. This film is based around "Los Días de los Muertos", or "Day of the Dead", a very important Mexican tradition in which people get to honor those who have passed. Throughout this movie, the audience can learn about Mexican culture. The creators of Coco most definitely took the time to research and fully understand this tradition and with that, they were able to break the norms made by society. This movie broke gender roles, and Mexican stereotypes, and promoted diversity. (The main character, Miguel Rivera, and his grandma, Mama Coco, can be seen in image 2 in front of the ofrenda or alter made for their relatives.)

Representing different cultures in media is immensely important. This is because media can affect how people perceive things, and this can easily impact how cultures are perceived as well. Hollywood has often depicted people of color with horrible stereotypes. Stereotypes like that have tormented Hispanic culture, but Coco was a big change in that. Coco accurately represents how meaningful Mexican culture is. The storyline of this film helps very well in understanding the purpose and meaning behind the Day of the Dead. This film showed how media is, finally, becoming more diverse. Coco was perfect for promoting the diversity needed since it can educate individuals.

Although it was meant to represent people of color who are proud of their culture there were some criticisms. The film did not show how Mexican people can be of different complexions, lighter complexions. Coco's characters were of slightly darker complexion. This was something that caught people off guard but it is still very important to appreciate that this movie was a step in the correct direction of diversity.

A very important aspect of this movie was breaking traditional gender roles. Hispanic cultures are usually known for having very male-led families with the women just doing housework. Miguel's great-great-grandmother (Mamá Imelda: shown in image 3) took matters into her own hands when creating her own business as a single mother. This is very uncommon to see. But this movie took the perfect opportunity to empower women, especially women of color. This shows that women can be independent and strong even if their culture says the opposite. Even after Mama Imelda passed away, the Rivera family stayed a very successful matriarchy.

Image 3:

Ultimately, representation is extremely crucial in the media world. Coco was a wonderful example of how cultures can be represented in the right way. This film represents the Mexican culture while breaking gender roles and also keeping it educational and entertaining. The entertainment part, which was done by the addition of music (an example of some of the music used is below), tied the film up really well and gave it that light-hearted aspect in needed. The success of this film shows a step in the right direction in having more diverse and correct representations of people of color in media.

Genre Research Activity

The comedy genre aims to make people laugh and provide entertainment. It relies on humorous content to achieve this goal. Two great directors in this genre are Wes Anderson and the Farrelly Brothers, known for their comedy films. 

Over time, comedy has evolved and created several new subgenres, each with its own target audience. Children's comedy is geared towards kids between the ages of 5 and 12, while parody comedy appeals to a younger audience of 15-30-year-old men. Romantic comedy, on the other hand, is a genre that is more popular among women aged 13-24 due to their connection with romance. A great example of these subgenres would be Freaky Friday (2003) a children's comedy. This is a classic comedy movie geared toward a younger audience. Scary Movie (2000) is on the complete other side, meaning it is for a completely different age group. A very popular romance comedy is How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), this movie was a hit for the target audience and still is often talked about to this day. 

We never stop and think about what truly makes comedy, comedy. In the film industry, comedy usually includes a very positive outlook, everything in this film would be light-hearted to contribute to the genre. Another key content in comedy is personal experiences. Most situations in this genre come from familiar and personal events, having the audience make humorous connections with said situation. Happy endings are also frequently found in comedy. The point is not to disappoint the audience with a controversial ending, it is better to have the audience enjoy the ending as much as the whole film. Having simple and understandable plots, for all ages and cultures, is a very important characteristic of a comedy. Lastly, this genre is all about clever writing at a fast pace. The humor is often sarcastic which is enjoyed by the audience, as well as the fast pace. Keeping the audience engaged is just what the fast pacing does, this genre is all about having the viewers enjoy the film and not get bored of it.

Production is a really big part of this genre. This is because the choices in the production can make or break the film. Timing is a key technique for comedy. It is essential for the delivery of punch lines and is responsible for the audience's reaction. Another technique is messing with people's expectations. Comedy is meant to catch people off guard and have unexpected turns of events, this captivates these individuals much more. 

Comedy is the ideal genre for marketing campaigns. The marking of this genre is in complete correlation with the genre itself. Comedy movies can be marketed in such humorous and silly ways, just as the movies are, meaning those influenced by the marketing will get what they expected and signed up for. An example of marketing in a comedy movie is Deadpool (2016). The advertising for the movie perfectly conveyed the genre. One of the marketing decisions was the many billboards around towns and cities, these billboards ranged from funny quotes or a ninja figure doing odd poses. A very memorable marketing technique was for The Simpsons Movie (2007). This movie transformed a famous convenience store, 7-Eleven, into Kwik-E-Marts (a convenience store in the Simpsons world). They were able to advertise their movie uniquely, by using famous convenience stores. Some truly believe that this marketing was funnier, more creative, and better than the actual movie.

Film Sample #1: Good Boys (2019)

Good Boys is a film about three sixth-grade boys who are Max, Lucas, and Thor. This is a 2019 film directed by Gene Stupnitsky, and produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. In this film We see the three characters going on the journey of wanting to learn how to kiss, this is to impress their crushes at a party. This film is all about exploring the complications and challenges of growing up throughout middle school and managing friendships. The comedy or humor is the most important element in the film as it can engage and entertain the viewers. This also helps in being able to tackle those uncomfortable but relatable moments and experiences growing up. The humor helps balance out the more serious parts of the movie with some comedy that fits in with the overall context. Overall, this film can use comedy to make it have a less serious tone. It does involve some issues a lot of people go through and this comedy helps viewers relate and be able to see they’re not alone. This genre gives a lighter mood, which is very necessary with the topic talked about throughout the film.

Film Sample #2: Clueless (1995)

Clueless is a film about the life of Cher Horowitz. She is a high schooler known for being very rich and beautiful, and of course popular. It is known that Cher has just about everything she wants, but the only thing she can't seem to find is love. She and those around her are very self-centered but this film shows her progress. Her evolution of learning empathy and how to not be selfish. This comedy is very classic and is full of many humorous moments. The most important thing about this film is that they use comedy to convey the lesson in the film. The message in this film is all about evolving and having new morals in life. Cher was able to acknowledge her selfishness and was capable of fixing it as well. With the humor in the film, we can relate to the characters and their personal moments. The film's humor is what makes it such an enjoyable film to this day.