Movie Outline Part 2

Hey guys! As I mentioned in my last blog I developed my idea for the opening so I am going to go over everything in detail including shots, angles,composition and lighting.

The scene will begin with a mid shot of a girl getting ready in her room. There is warm lighting to show comfort and familiarity. As she leaves her room and arrives at the bar the lighting turns cooler. Most of the mise-en-scene is dark colors to make her stand out.

A midshot of the bar scene includes the girl meeting her date. As the dialogue progresses ans he puts something in her drink a P.O.V shot of the room slowly going blurry becomes apparent. This scene ends with another P.O.V shot of her eyes closing as she falls to the ground.

The final scene begins with the same shot but of her eyes opening. The lowly lit room and old and dusty items show she is far from the world she lives in. Her costume design changes from a nice outfit to a ragged, black shirt that looks like a cloth. As the credits and the music begins, it alludes to something ominous. The last shot will be of the shadow of the man who drugged her holding a knife.

I am still not sure as to the specifics of what I want to happen, which is why most of these explanations are brief and leave room for change.

Movie Outline

I will be focusing on alluding to conflict in the intro of the movie and that way establishing suspense and mystery all together. I will also be focusing on introducing the main character (the protagonist), the antagonist and the setting of the film.


For example in the movie Psycho, about half of the movie went by before the main character was killed or there is any serious element of horror. Most of it was a build up, so I'm trying to create a similar aspect except that in the first two minutes there is some sense of mystery or suspense in order to make the viewers feel as if it is the horror genre.


With this being said I will not include much action in the introduction of the movie. It will begin with a young girl getting ready to go to a bar where she will meet a guy and begin talking to him. He will offer her a drink and she will black out. When she wakes up in an unknown location tied up, ominous music will begin playing and the credits will appear as she begins looking around to figure out where she is. As the door opens and the shadow of a man holding a knife appears the title will come up, concluding the intro.

Color Theory

The color schemes for many horror movies include the colors red and black. Red is used to symbolize death and danger while black is used to develop fear and mystery.


The lighting used in horror movies is unlike those used in comedies or even action movies because the lighting is much darker and gloomy in order to properly establish the tone. Some movies include blue filters and low key lighting in order to establish this. In about 80% of horror movies the color palette is monochrome or sepia tone intertwined with hot or cool shades of red and blue to create a dark and eerie settings alluding to death, rather than bright colors used in fantasy such as yellow and pink which establish the opposite mood.


For my film opening the mise-en-scene and costume design of the film will include neutral colors along with black and white and details of red. The main character will wear white to resemble purity while the antagonist introduced will be wearing black with hints of red. I will be using the same techniques and include a sepia tone with cool shades of blue along with the red mise-en-scene.

Horror Genre Part 2

Hi guys! This is the second part of the horror genre research for the film opening where examples are available.

Mystery 

The movie, Scream, does a good job establishing a sense of mystery in its introduction. The girl in the beginning is seen alone in her isolated house talking to an unknown person on the phone. The person behind the voice is not seen for most of the intro until someone with white mask and grim reaper costume is seen. Even then, it is not clear who this man is. The unknown entity and uncertainty of the killer is what lead to a mysterious movie.
Suspense
 
In 2018's A Quiet Place the use of sound, or lack thereof, was perfect for establishing suspense. In this movie the demon was sensitive to sound, so there was very little dialogue as the characters communicated through sign language. Most of what was heard was the monster or nondiegetic music to make the viewers feel on anxious. The audience was very attentive and on the edge of their seat waiting for a sound that when paired with the music, caused a feeling of suspense throughout the whole film.

Fear
 
The opening for IT created suspense that ultimately lead to fear. The costume design of Georgie of a bright yellow raincoat on rainy street drew attention to him. As his paper boat fell into a sewer drain, two eyes appeared in the drain. Suspense was created as the interaction between the boy and the clown developed. As the clown's intentions are seen as malicious and a sting is used, fear is created because the audience knows something bad will occur.

Horror Genre

For my portfolio film opening I have decided to work along the lines of the horror genre. There are three main characteristics of this genre that will be essential for the opening; mystery, suspense and fear.

Mystery

Mystery in the horror genre is not the same as the one seen in thrillers. While in both it involves an unknown situation or identity, within the horror realm the mystery does not have to be solved by the end. The supernatural, such as demons or ghosts, are often used as the source of mystery for films as the protagonists encounter it or battle against it. This can be done through mise-en scene elements to create mystery. Horror movies often take place in dark, abandoned locations that arouse the feeling of suspicion and doubt that later becomes mystery. 

Suspense 

Suspense is a crucial element to creating the opening that will keep the viewers enticed. This can be done through editing and audio. The editing will be quick paced and will speed up as the scene climaxes. The use of quick cutting will leave the audience disoriented and understand the sense of urgency of the scene. This as a result will create a feeling of  uncertainty and anxiousness. The audio chosen will be one where the wavelengths are not compatibles. When these wavelengths do not meet, they form an inharmonious sound which will in turn make the sound unpleasant or "scary". This will build up tension that when paired with the fast editing will create suspense. 

Fear

After mystery and suspense are established, fear comes into play. Utilizing the same elements as suspense and mystery, lighting and sounds will generate this from the audience.  As humans it is our innate fear of the unknown that will allow for the use of low lighting to scare the audience. Since suspense is already built up, any shadow visible will be interpreted as frightful. Pair it up with high pitched sounds and the audience will be in fear. A jump scare will be inserted right at the height of the scene that is ensured to cause fear by the end. 

Music Marketing Campaign

Young + Free
Pop Genre

Marketing Trends
Current marketing trends include the usage of teaser trailers along with reliance of social media to market it. For Ariana Grande's hit song "Thank You Next" she released small parts of the video as teaser trailers on her social media to create wonder until she dropped the song. Audience involvement is another trend as well. Maroon 5 was seen doing this for their song "Cold" where they made fans send in 15 second videos of themselves to include in their music videos. This allows for the engaged people to become intrigued and advertise through word of mouth since it may involve them.

Development of brand
The brand of the band will be developed through marketing techniques and the reliance on color branding. As previously stated, social media will play an active role in the marketing of the band. Instagram will be the "hub" where behind the scene photos, teaser trailers, and live streams will be available. The Twitter account will include hashtags and retweets to posts relating to the target audience to create the brand of relatable and nostalgic. Color branding usage will be used as well. All the social media platforms will include the colors navy blue, light blue and yellow in order for people to associate those colors with the brand. The icon, or image, of the band are two ASL hand signs of the letters "Y" and "F" for Young and Free.

Products
Some of the products created include shirts both short and long sleeve, hoodies, hats, phone cases and stickers. This allows for a range in prices depending on how much fans are willing to support the band. Since the target audience is mostly teens and young adults, there are inexpensive options such as the stickers. The shirts and hoodies are available for those willing to spend more.

Production
Through the creation of the music video it was evident that production relied on representation. The band is intended to be relatable to many people, which is why the members were not the typical white males seen in pop bands. It was important that the video followed the same aesthetic as the rest of the marketing campaign and conveyed the same messages in order to create a solid brand. Previously knowing that a promo music video is tricky because of the syncing of mouth movement to the song, the video included long shots where the mouth of the lead singer was not very visible and errors would not be easily detected.