Mise-en-scene blog post

    Around a week ago, I was assigned to a group to make an interactive peace around the life a man named David Gonzales. This man is a single father who is also a community librarian. He enjoys connecting with kids and his patient, thoughtful, and helpful personality helps him enjoy his profession that little bit more. We first used a website to design a visual of David be able to better visualize him, however this ended up only consuming time instead of bringing a meaningful contribution to the final product. We then created a mood board of David, this helped give people a simple and concise way to understand the overall idea of David. After we had all this set in stone we then went on to tackle the second question of our project. How are we going to make this experience interactive?

(David Gonzales Mood Board)

        After a bit of debate and discussion we decided we were going to use a video to anchor our costume interactive experience. We made a detailed Word document illustrating what we were going to do and how we were going to make it interactive. This process alone took 3 days, but eventually we has a neat plan on what we there going to do, now it was time to bring the idea to life. When we wrote out how David was going to be like in the video, we decided that he should be a guy who has an artistic side of him. Because of this we used a touch of formalism in our video, but also incorporated realism into the mix, this combination would go on to maximize the immersion of the peace. The whole video was shot at a Barns and Noble to emphasize his job as a librarian, and for the costume design we chose a casual ascetic to match which his easy and approachable personality. I would say that overall these factors translated the final construction of the project being very well executed.

    After the project was completed, I was given time to reflect on my group and how we performed. From not just an individual stand point, but also more importantly, on a collective effort stance. Overall, we did a very good job in the beginning planning stage. We were able to effectively spread and agree on ideas efficiently, and we had little to no issues during this stage of out project. However, we started to have noticeable issues towards the filming and production part of the assignment. A mix of miscommunication, confusion, unclear intentions, and lack of professionalism in some moments lead to us ultimately being significantly less efficient in this section of our work.

Link to word doc:

Video timeline Word Doc

Link to video:

Interactive video

Genre Research Blog Activity - Action

Action, whats in all the energy?

The genre Action has been a crowd favorite for years. This genre, which is wildly agreed as a form of media since the early 1900's has allot more to it than just the purpose of making a persons heart race and hands clench to a seat.

Content:

Action driven peaces primary focus on high-stakes conflict, heroism, and intense physical challenges. The genre focuses on a storyline involving a main hero or team working to stop a threat or complete a dangerous mission. Themes often include loyalty, courage, sacrifice, and survival. Peaces that are action driven are basically guaranteed to be fast-paced with frequent scenes of events such as chases, combat, and explosions. The setting of an action peace is relatively flexible. Some may be based in urban areas, and others can take place in developed areas such as cities or military locations.

Production Techniques:

Content focused on the action genre incorporate quick editing and fast camera movements, especially in moments of the peace that involve peak intensity. This is used to further help guide the emotions of the viewer to match the moment. On top of that, directors like to use a sequence of wide shots (during large scale moments), carefully crafted soundtracks, close -ups (to emphasize emotion), effects made by computers, and real stunts to further amplify the intensity that comes with action films. Not to mention use of slow motion and tracking shots which are frequently used to help the audience connect with the character on screen.

Marketing:

When it comes to marketing a peace, considering the fact that an action films are focused on primarily people ages 15-45 who enjoy environments of high energy and excitement. Trailers often highlight action packed sequences with the main character frequently the center of attention. The use of the main character is intensely important as it is normally the primary driver of attention in the peace. In other words, the main character in these peaces is what makes it in any way engaging, hence why it is important that the main character is as present as possible in the marketing side of things. On top of that, most of these films are set to release during summers and holiday season to attract the largest audience possible. However, this is more a generalized trend rather than being an exclusive factor of the action category.

Does this all sound familiar? Sounds similar to the plot of many Tom Cruz centered peaces right? Well, that is no coincidence!

Film sample #1

Mission Impossible (Fallout):

Analysis: This film is a prime example go the action genre. It has all the key factors beautifully presented. It is fast paced plot, with high complexity, and tremendous stunt work. The movie has a focus on teamwork and moral choices, and a sequence of quick cuts, wide landscape shots, and realistic sound design to add lavers of tension to the peace. The main character, Tom Cruz, performs many stunts that embodies his personality that he has built through all his peaces. Some examples present in this movie are helicopter chases, risky leaps, and danger. All prime factors that work together to make this a great action movie.

Film sample #2

Top gun Maverick:

Analysis: This is another incredible example of the action genre. The film incorporates tremendous realism with the use of real fighter jets and a strong focus on cockpit camera shots, all working together to make a tremendously immersive experience. The movie focuses on allot of teamwork and bravery. The whole movie builds up to a moment where the main characters have to face an enemy force. There is strong conflict, moments of highs and lows, and a fast paced nature. All coming together to add up to make another incredible example of the action genre.

Other examples of peaces that focus on the action genre include:

1. John Wick (2014)

2, The Matrix (1999)

3. The Batman (2022)

4. Fast X (2023)

5. Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One (2023)

6. National Treasure (2004)

Sound Projects Aice Media Overview

Opening Paragraph;

     During the past two weeks I have been exposing myself to the various aspects of sound design and how it corresponds to the world of media and content creation. I was given two projects with the primary goal in mind of trying to master this concept. The first involved telling a full one to one and a half minute story with nothing but sound, and the second involved adding audio to a previous project that was designed without any auditory aspects present. During the process of making these two projects I grasped the true value that audio has on visual content, and learned how to incorporate what I was taught into a functional purpose.

Sound Project 1:

    The first project we were assigned was my first true exposure to introducing audio into my story telling for the class. Me and my classmate on the first day after some brainstorming decided on making our soundscape inspired by a traditional car race. First, we thought of what folly sounds we could incorporate which is were we realized the human voice was a surprisingly effective way to to make car noises that not only sounded really but were costume to out liking. After thinking through how what sounds we were going to look for online and create on our own, we used a paper to organize our thoughts. This outline that we created lead to us having a clearer vision on what we wanted in our final project and it especially proved to be an easy way to check that we had all the sounds we wanted and intended to use for the project. Once we had all the peaces we wanted for our project, we used Adobe Premiere to put together our project. In the end, while we did a good job recreating the feeling of being a race car diver in a race, we could have done a better job with the volume control of certain peaces and making the audio not feel as fast paced as it did. 

(Link to project): Sound Project 1

Sound Project 2:

    Shortly after completing the first sound project, we were assigned another with a sightly different objective to further strengthen our practice with the material. We were tasked to add audio to our One Word Film projects that we did a couple of week ago which were made without any auditory devices. Me and the person I did this project with instantly went back to the drawing board to make an outline of the sounds we would use for this project. This time the outline we made was less focused on organization, but rather with how we planned on layering our sounds in the final outcome. Once we had a clear idea and structure for our sounds (Ex: whether they would be primary or secondary) and where they could be placed, I made my own interpretation of how the soundscape should be using iMovie. While I believe it is arguable that I did a good job with the choice of sounds and how they correlate to the theme of the film especially when it comes to the use of the heartbeat throughout the peace, I could definitely next time do a better job making the audio feel more layered and intricate then I did on this particular project. 

(Link to project): Sound Project 2

OWF Project analysis

    Me and my classmate were assigned a couple of weeks ago to complete the One Word Film project in a span of 9 days, this task composed of making a mini movie no shorter than 60 seconds and no longer than 90. We were required to use no less than 15 shots in our project. The task was our first real exposure in the class to using proper filming techniques including camera shots/ angles and a wide variety of editing techniques to help move the story forward. In fact, a unique characteristic of this project was that we were instructed to make a peace that conveys the word "Threatening" without the use of any auditory devices. 

    Our approach to excelling in this assignment was practicing proper organizational skills from the beginning. While we were told to do both brainstorming and a story board sheet, we found the brainstorming sheet especially helpful. We used the paper to not only describe what was going to happen during each shot, but also to describe which shots we planned on using, this lead us saving a considerable amount of time when it came time to film the project. The image below is our brainstorming sheet.

    The use of hyper organization translated to us being able to make the whole process allot more streamlined, and when it came time to edit; the paper helped us quickly remember where we had to place things in the timeline. During post-production we used iMovie as our preferred editing source to edit and put this project together.

    I believe that we did a good job properly incorporating the techniques in a way that felt natural and not forced on the viewer. We used the correct facial expressions and body language to convey a sense of building tension throughout the peace. We especially dominated with the extreme-close ups of my eyes widening and the other the shoulder shots making the "treating/fearful" environment more evident to the viewer. I especially liked how we used the book in the story. The book was used to represent how the person should be in a state of peace, but an outside force is delaying this state of mind. The one thing I wish we did better was the continuity as it is clear that we lacked in this segment. Two primary examples of this, are that we changed clothes and the book changed in this peace when they shouldn't have. 

Link to our project-

OWF Galarraga Olvera

Blog Post: Camera Shots/Angles Quiz – 

“The Written Frustration”

Description of the Activity

We were given the task to tell a story not with words, but with visuals. We used a series of 15 different camera shots and angles each with their own sense of depth and meaning. The directions given to us mandated that we used the specific types of shots and that we learned in class in this project. The goal was to practice visual storytelling and to show that a powerful message can still be delivered without the use of words.

Summary of our Approach

For this project, titled “The Written Frustration”, we chose to make sheet paper and a pen the main characters. Me and my partner used ourselves to move the plot along, but we made sure that our presence never made the significance of the paper and the messages being sent back and forth lose its significance. We set the stage with an establishing shot of the paper to clearly introduce it as the focal point. After that we used a mix long shots and medium shots to show the interaction between the characters and the paper. On top of that, close ups and an extreme close ups were used to reveal the tension building as information was being written and erased.

As the project progresses, a conflict is developed becoming more and more clear the deeper one explores the project. The female character reacts with strong emotion to what she reads, she expresses strong frustration by scratching out words and eventually crumpling the paper. Low angle and high angle shots were included to exemplify emotion and perspective; making the viewer feel the ever growing frustration and intensity. The story closes with a close up shot that reveals the written messages, this provides a sense of closure, while still leaving the viewer curious for more.

Reflection

We think we did pretty well in presenting the paper as the focal point of the story, even though it is an inanimate object that most people would overlook in any normal situation. We believe our careful use and planing of the different shot types we utilized ultimately helped us make the story more engaging and visually clear. We are especially proud of how the extreme close up built suspense while looking very visually appealing, and how the low-angle shots gave power to the emotions of the characters, especially the female character.

If I were to pinpoint something to improve, I would work on improving the variety of my shots and descriptions as some shots and descriptions felt repetitive at times, and we feel that if we stretched out our variety a little, it could have made the story significantly stronger. We would also spend more time making sure transitions between shots feel smoother in terms of storytelling, as some of them felt a little forces at times.

(Here is my project)

Camera Shots Quiz