Moodboard

I created a mood-board of the overall vibe of the film opening.

Here's a video of me explaining it:

Exciting Update!

WE GOT PERMISSION TO USE A FAMOUS MUSICIANS SONG!!!!! 

We decided to contact a few singers that had songs that fit the vibe of our movie. We decided to do this very early because I realized that it might take a couple of weeks for some people to see our message. Luckily the artist who made the song we were hoping the most for, was so excited to work with us and responded so quickly. Her name is Gatlin and she wrote and produced the song What If I Love You, this song has been one of my favorites for a while and I am so excited that we are able to use it. I was a bit weary that we were going to get permission due to the fact that the song has over 2 million streams on Spotify alone, but I am glad she was so willing to let use us her song.

According to Gatlin, the song is about getting over a relationship, and trying to act like everything is okay.  “I wanted the production to feel more uplifting pop because even in the situation I was trying to always stay positive to mask the feeling of being rejected.” We felt that this was reminiscent to our protagonist's situation, as she is trying to act like everything is okay on her birthday when she is surrounded by chaos. 

We would use the song while she is getting ready, as if it were playing on her iPod. The song will then stop, while the darkness of the pandemic begins, creating diegetic sound. 

Clip of the song:

This is some of the conversation that I had with her yesterday:

Plot & Aesthetic

     The film will be set in the early 2000's, specifically 2005. It will follow a teenage girl on her 16th birthday. The film will begin by showcasing her in her room, with a girly and bright color palette- mostly pink, yellow, purple etc. The scene will cut to different areas of her room, posters, cd's, clothes, and move towards her getting ready for her big day. With her phone buzzing non-stop, she feels excited that everyone is celebrating her (assuming that the buzzes are all texts from her friends and family). Happy music is playing, then her bubble bursts as soon as she checks her phone. As a connection to Covid-19 and the ongoing pandemic, she gets a news alert- stating that a pandemic is up and coming in other countries, and that it has a possibility to spread to the United States. She goes down stairs and sees her mom frantically running around, finding anything to use as a disinfectant. She starts to think that her birthday party might not go as well as expected.......

    We wanted to make a twist on the cliche early 2000's Clueless and Mean Girls Aesthetic, and bring in a modern concept. To ensure the success of this film we have researched two of the most popular coming of age films from the early 90s- Clueless and Ferris Bueller. Clueless follows Cher- a teenage girl- with the whole pink and girly vibe, and her life growing up. Ferris Bueller follows a teenage boy, and his life throughout high school. They all share the same vibe- upbeat music, and neutral with pops of bright colors. The clothing and makeup is all reminiscent of the 2000s era. 

Follow us along as we create a mood-board and come up with more ideas!

Genre Research

 COMING OF AGE

We have decided to go with the coming of age genre. 

Coming of age is a film genre that focuses on the psychological and moral development of a protagonist as he or she grows from childhood to maturity. This genre, which depends on discourse and emotional reactions rather than action and drama, emphasizes personal growth and progress. We chose this genre because we believe it is one to which we can most easily identify, as it is something we have experienced and continue to experience. Because we are teens in the midst of growing up, this genre is the most readily accomplished with the tools we have at our disposal. We also believe that this genre will be valuable to us since we are most aware about it and can create characters who are as authentic as possible.

Knowing how other teens act and interact with one another will make it simpler for us to present a realistic character that is relevant to others of the same age. The intended audience for this picture, like with every coming-of-age film, is mostly teens and very young adults. To capture the attention of this generation, we must guarantee that the characters are as authentic and relevant as possible. Among the most well-known coming-of-age films are Ladybird, The Edge of Seventeen, Paper Houses, and others. They all have a similar plot and depict the hardships that teenagers face as they try to realize their true selves and grow up. As we go, we must develop primary characters, their challenges, and how those challenges will define them in the future.

The Edge of Seventeen

Cambridge Project

    Hi! We are in the process of starting our Cambridge portfolio project, I am working with Paulina Lopez and Berkley Morris. In the process of transitioning to the start of this project, we wanted to make sure that we all have the same drive and motivation to work. We are all motivated people and think in the same ways, so working together will go well as we have the same dynamic. The process of how we organize ourselves, start the project etc. will all be documented here. 

Can't Wait! 

Music Marketing Blog Post #2

    The process of completing this project took many steps. The first step was to do research. For our research we conducted two case studies about two different production companies. Warner Records and RCA Records are both well established companies that represent artists ranging from The Strokes to Maneskin. After conducting the research, we were able to see how indie rock bands have become successful. After this we created a google document to brainstorm ideas, we started coming up with the overall aesthetic and vibe of the band. We made up a backstory for them and came up with ideas. We created a story of how the band originated and what their music is all about. After this, we came up with the name Tears of Jupiter. The overall aesthetic became a sort of beach and indie vibe with the use of browns, blues, and oranges. After this, we were able to create an executive summary about what the marketing would consist of, our target audience is teens and young adults and we will have a beach vibe. This allowed us to start coming up with ideas for our music video. Whilst we were brainstorming and coming up with ideas, we were able to start coming up with a plot for our music video.

     We came up with the idea for our music video to be about a love story, where two people meet in public, fight, and come back. The whole song is about overcoming a challenge and that is what we wanted to replicate through the video. We also decided to make it be a promotional video to show off the band. After coming up with the idea, we started drawing out the story hoard scene by scene to make the filming process more organized and simple. 

      I started coming up with marketing techniques, and we started creating our presentation on Canva. After brainstorming ideas on the Google Doc, we started to write about them in the Canva presentation. I started to edit the collaborations and sponsorships on photoshop. The ideas that we had were, a collaboration with converse, a virtual reality music video with oculus, and a t shirt collaboration with Kith. 

     The converse collaboration was due to the fact that converse and Tears of Jupiter share the same target audience. From a marketing standpoint, more people would be willing to purchase from a brand, if they have heard of it before. Converse would allow people to support the band but also purchase from a brand that they recognize. The collaboration with converse will also allow new audiences to know about our band, as the shoes will be available throughout stores. If a new consumer sees the shows and likes the look of them, they would be more willing to do more research on Tears of Jupiter, and may even become fans and listeners of their projects. 

     The next collaboration is with Oculus VR and Facebook, we will be creating virtual reality music videos to allow different types of consumers to be aware about our band. This is a new and innovative way to promote the music and create conversation surrounding the band. This is also another form of technological convergence that will give us more promotion. 

     The collaboration with Kith will allow people from the fashion industry to be more aware of the band and they will be held to a higher standard. Musicians that have collaborated with Kith in the past have become very well known in both industries and are held to a better standard. After coming up with these ideas, we started designing the presentation on Canva and making it look more eye-catching and appealing. We designed extra ideas such as a fake spotify account, a fake vinyl and limited edition vinyl for the idea of introducing our music to the vinyl industry. 

    After this, we started filming the music video. We came up ideas for the filming location and how we were going to do it. This process took 2 days, We first filmed in a hiking area, where we walked until we found a visually appealing area to film. We shot the last two scenes. The next day we went to Town Center. Town Center has a stage area and that is where we filmed the band scenes. After this, we went around the businesses and asked if we could film with them. Thankfully, they were glad to help us and even offered to set up a fake dinner table for the date scene. This process took about 5 hours. After this, we started editing and putting the clips together.

This will help me with the portfolio project because it taught me how we can stay organized. This project is a lot of steps and it will help me plan out how to get everything done on time. This will also help me come up with more creative ideas.      

Music Marketing Process #1

      This has been my favorite project in AICE Media thus far. Our first step was to create our band's image. We decided on a name and I designed the logo. We then planned out the storyboard for our Music Video, this was the main challenge as we need to make sure that every idea we had matched up with the song's meaning. To complete our research, we first completed research on two production companies to better understand the industry. We started identifying our band's target audience and seeing what types of applications, companies, and ideas appeal to the market. Our band is called Tears of Jupiter, our primary target market will focus on teens and young adults. We brainstormed ideas on Google Docs first to plan out what we were going to include in the marketing campaign. The first thing we researched was the applications most popular for this demographic. We found that most social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok are the most popular. After brainstorming the applications, we thought about how we could utilize those apps to promote our band. We made a plan for each application. For Instagram, Tears of Jupiter will remain highly interactive with fans and followers to allow for a more personal experience. The band will post constantly and always interact with comments and direct messages. For Tik Tok I came up with the idea for a trend, that will allow people to participate, record a video with our song in the background, and therefore promote the song. The idea was to encourage Tik Tok users to create a video showing them overcoming a challenge and putting the band's song Mountain at My Gates in the background. The song is all about overcoming negativity and this will encourage people to promote the single in a positive way. 

     After researching social media, we began to research companies that appeal to the teen and young adult market- especially the type of people that would listen to Indie Rock music. We found that Converse and Kith were appealing. Converse reflects itself as a lifestyle brand of footwear and apparel with its own distinct culture and a sense of humor. Teens and young adults are their primary consumers. I decided that Tears of Jupiter should do a limited-edition shoe with Converse, the shoe will be sold whilst the band is promoting its single. This will introduce the band into another industry and will promote the music. Kith's offering is more streetwear than high-fashion, with weekly drops rather than four seasonal collections. Then there are the limited-edition partnerships with brands like Off-White and Nike, as well as Coca-Cola and Moncler. Many teens and young adults have started to help this brand rise in popularity, mainly due to its collaborations with musicians and other brands that are known to be limited edition, due to Kith's business practice of the "weekly or quarterly drop". Most of Kith's apparel is only available for a limited amount of time ranging from- 1 week to 3 months. Tears of Jupiter will create a limited edition Unisex T-Shirt with Kith, it will be sold while we are in our promotional period. The T-Shirt will feature Tears of Jupiter's galaxy and space aesthetic while being in collaboration with Kith's brand image. This will also help with our promotion. After coming up with the ideas, we started putting together our presentation. I designed the Converse shoes and the Kith T-Shirt and we planned out how to market them. 

     The idea of something being Limited Edition appeals to the younger audience. Many teens now purchase items purely for the reason of them being limited edition. The idea that not everyone has something is appealing and will in turn erupt more conversation about our band. The idea of Virtual Reality and its popularity have also greatly risen amongst young consumers. We came up with the idea of VR Music Videos. People will have the opportunity to "step in" to our music video locations and explore that new "world". This appeals to technological convergence. We decided to partner with Oculus and release a limited edition Oculus headset with our band's logo and image as well. After all these ideas, we put the presentation together. The next step is to record the Music Video!

Converse Collaboration I Designed

Kith Collaboration I Designed

Oculus (Limited Edition Set)

Canva Presentation

Science Fiction

How is science fiction represented in film?

- Science fiction/Sci-Fi films are frequently methodical, idealistic, and creative in character, are typically envisioned through bizarre, inventive settings, specialized film production design, sophisticated technology, and special graphics.

Content

- Science fiction films depict dystopias or utopias of the future. This is portrayed through feelings of suspense. They also depict extremely advanced technology and are usually based around the plots of, technology taking over, or the loss of control due to technology's power. These techniques are used to portray the future society as either highly desirable and perfect (utopia) or as totalitarian and frightening (dystopia). Science Fiction films can also be composed of a mix of sub-genres such as Science Fiction Horror. The overall goals of these films are to alert society of what the world could be if it isn't cared for or vise versa.

Examples of advanced technology in Sci-Fi films: 

Marty Mcfly from Back To the Future was able to use a hoverboard that floated over any surface. (Back to The Future Part II)

Iron Man has powered armor that grants him superhuman strength and durability, as well as flight and a variety of weaponry. (Iron-Man 1)

Examples of utopia and dystopia in Sci-Fi films: 

Disney's Tomorrowland presents a utopian society based on a futuristic theme park land. (Tomorrowland)

The film The Maze Runner presents a dystopian society where a group of teenagers are abandoned, and shows them and their attempts in escaping. (The Maze Runner)

Production Techniques

- Throughout these productions, special effects, different perspectives (ex. forced perspective.) camera angles, sound effects, lighting, costuming, and props are used to convey the story. Special effects are the most frequently used. They are used to portray the innovate inventions, body modifications, and enthralling backgrounds that make Sci-Fi movies. 

- Special effects give meaning to the setting and provide visuals. Perspectives are used to make items appear larger or smaller than they are in reality. Camera angles, such as dutch angles, can portray emotions of chaos in these films. Sound effects can emphasize certain actions. Lighting, props and costuming define the setting. 

Example of special effects in Science Fiction films:

How special effects impact the look of films (Marvel)

Example of perspective in Science Fiction films:

Perspective used to depict the characters as small in Star Wars: Rogue One

Marketing

- The target audience of Science Fiction films was made up of Males ages 18-34, although this narrative has began to recently change, with the release of films such as Dune and the Marvel Cinematic Universe rising to popularity. The Target audience has now become teenagers (female/male) and the secondary target has changed to males aged 18-34.

- Science Fiction films are usually advertised with impressive trailers to catch consumers' attention. The film posters are usually showing impressive shots such as large buildings, space stations etc... Most Sci-Fi films share similar plots. The posters are all made up of neutral colors, but the costuming and lighting shown allow the characters to stand out. As the posters showcase ethereal backgrounds, it gives an idea to the viewer that the film is about something other-worldly.

Samples:

The film Jurassic Park (1993) is the story of a rich businessman secretly builds an entertainment park on a remote island, complete with living dinosaurs generated from prehistoric genetic material. Before the park opens to the public, he invites a distinguished paleontologist, a paleobotanist, a mathematician, and his grandkids to see it and assuage the fears of apprehensive funders. Their trip to the park, on the other hand, is far from tranquil, as the park's security system breaks, the prehistoric creatures escape, and the excitement builds to unanticipated heights. The film includes special effects and robotic machines to visualize the dinosaurs. Sound effects and music were used in the film to build suspense. This film is the perfect blend of science and fiction, as the whole plot of the film revolves around genetic engineering and the process of creating the dinosaurs from prehistoric DNA but also includes aspects that are fantastical such as the idea of cloning dinosaurs as a whole, as it has never been possible to clone something prehistoric. The main theme of the film is Science v Ethics. The use of colors and silhouettes develop a sense of mystery and realism.

The film The Maze Runner:The Scorch Trials (2015) is set after WCKD's first trial was successfully completed by Thomas, Newt, Minho, and the other gladers. They are now realizing that the world around them has been wiped out by a horrible disease known as The Flare, and that they are the only ones immune to it, which is why they are being tested. All of the experiments that WCKD is carrying out seek to determine their efficacy in producing a cure. They're attempting to flee because WCKD is looking for a remedy for terrible motives. This film use methods such as wide angle shots and other camera angles to make the environment around them appear obsolete and to convey a sense of loneliness to the audience. Perspective is also employed to convey a sense of loneliness. Costuming and lighting is used to make it appear to be situated in the future. This film also discusses the abuse of technology and how it has a negative impact on society. This disease that has been plaguing them requires a cure, but they are seeking it for unethical grounds; because of technology, a specific faction has risen to power, and the other residents have no recourse. 

Others:

Interstellar (2014)

Dune (2021)

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)

Snowpiercer (2013)

Inception (2010)

Sources:

15 Filmmaking Tricks Sci-Fi/Fantasy Movies Use To Instill A Sense Of Wonder - Erin McCann

About Me

Hi! my name is Dani, I created this blog to document the creation of my Cambridge portfolio project, here is where I'll post any updates on the process of creating this project :)