Title Research : Scarface

Scarface

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequence to the film?

-During the film, they displayed 18 different titles.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

-Images of immigrants from Cuba and of the leaders are prioritized during the opening sequence.

What connotations do the images carry?

-These images make you feel like a revolution is happening and something of revolting against the government.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

-The genre of this film is action, through the opening sequence the genre is reinforced by showing immigrants migrating from Cuba. This means that it’ll foreshadow future events in the film.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?

-This film makes an enigma by hinting to what will happen in future scenes of the movie.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeals to a target audience.

-What they did was use a current topic back when the movie was released and make a movie from it. They used a current event to make people want to watch their movie.

How has technology been used effectively?

-Technology was used effectively by using real videos and compiling them together to make the opening sequence of the movie. This was an effective use of technology.

Title Research : The Terminator

The Terminator

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequence?

-During the opening, there were 18 different titles featured in the film.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

-The title of the film zoomed up close was prioritized during the opening sequence.

What connotations do the images carry?

-The titles and the images featured give off a futuristic feel due to the chrome of the letters and the computerized font of the titles.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

-Genre is reinforced because it symbolizes the futuristic which is what the film is about. So by using foreshadowing, the film gives off the genre of either future or action of some sort.

How does the film establish enigma from the outset?

-The film establishes enigma by not showing scenes from the movie. From the outset, the opening sequence is of the title of the movie so it keeps the audience in suspense for the movie.

What strategies are used to ensure the film appeal to target audiences?

-New fancy technological font, suspenseful music, catchy music which is symbolic to the film, and the actual opening sequence all appeal to audiences.

How is technology been used effectively?

-Technology us used effectively by creating an entire opening sequence without filming. This is only the work of technology used to create this entire opening sequence.

Title Research : Black Panther

Black Panther

How many titles are displayed during the opening sequence to the film?

-During the opening sequence there are 34 different titles featured in the film.

What images are prioritized in the opening sequence?

-During the opening sequence, images of Wakanda, Characters, and, scenes from the movie are prioritized.

What connotations do the images carry?

-The images carry the connotations of war and battle.It also gives the feeling of an advanced civilization.

How is genre reinforced through symbolic and technical codes from the outset?

-The genre of the movie is action and science fiction. Through the opening sequence, this is symbolized by showing weapons and armor to foreshadow conflict and action.

How does the film establish an enigma from the outset?
-The film establishes an enigma by not showing scenes crucial to the movies plot right not during the outset, rather they only foreshadow by using imagery.

What strategies are used to ensure to film appeal to target audience?
-The first thing I noticed was the music. They featured popular rap artist Kendrick Lamar to produce the movie’s music which targets people who listen to today’s music.

How has technology been used effectively?
-Technology was used effectively by creating an entire title screen by editing. Nothing seemed filmed rather displayed in some holographic effect. This is an example of technology being used effectively in this movie.

Title Research : Watch the Title

Watch the Title

Continuing my title research for my final task, we were suggest another website called Watch the Title. Watch the Title is pretty similar to Art of the Title with a few similarities. In my opinion, this website is better looking then the other one. Watch the Title is also another website dedicated for watching opening sequences. Researching titles is crucial to our project because this way I can get inspiration for my movie title. This is the main reason I choose this site. When entering this website, the first thing you see when entering the website is different interviews from people who make movies and movie titles. After you scroll down some, you can find different movie titles. This website is pretty much similar to Art of the Title. So this website is another great resource for getting resources for my upcoming movie project. Just like Art of the Title, Watch the Title gave me inspiration for my title sequence. Titles always just show your genre and kind of foreshadow what will happen throughout the movie. This is why titles in a movie are important. To give credit where its deserved and to foreshadow what will happen later in the movie. That's also why watch the title is another great resource for movie titles. 

 

Title Research : Art of the Titles

Art of the Titles

We are researching titles for our final movie task. The first website that I researched on was a website called www.artofthetitles.com . They have lots of titles and opening sequences from movies and different shows. But we are only suppose to research movie titles and not titles for shows. The reason why choose this site is because they have different titles from different movies and titles in an opening sequence is very important for a opening scene. When first entering this site, we are introduced to the top 10 movie title sequences. After exploring this page for longer, I saw different movie sequences which have given me inspiration for my movie's opening sequence. I learned that your movie sequence should automatically tell your genre just through the opening sequence. All movies have the same/similar titles but they all show these titles in different ways. This is what I've learned through researching movie titles through the website, Art of the Titles. 

Genre Research : Black Panther

Black Panther (2018)

Cams in Black Panther

Camera Angles : High and Low Angles

Camera Movement : Pan, Track, Tilt, Zoom

Camera Shots : Mid Shots, Two Shot, Establishing Shot

Costumes : Black Panther Costumes, Superhero Costumes, Wakanda Costumes

Lighting : Well lit movie, sometimes in the night light was dimmer

Actors : Micheal B. Jordan, Chadwick Boseman

Make Up : Wakanda Tribal Makeup and injuries

Props : Weapons (Spears, Guns, Knives) Technology

Setting : Wakanda (Hidden city in Africa)

Editing : Lots of CGI for the science fiction parts

Sound : Score, ambient music

Did Black Panther follow typical action movie conventions?

In my opinion, it did at an extent. While there were some action in the movie, Black Panther sort of also branched into science fiction and not as much action. While this movie did follow normal conventions, the plot is not like a typical action movie. This movie was a lot more complex than a normal action movie. Typical action movies aren't enjoyed for the plot as much but this movie was different. This movie's plot was very interesting and was a really good movie that I watched. I didn't get to watch in it theaters but instead i watched it on netflix.

Genre Research : John Wick: Chapter 3

John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum (2019)

Cams in John Wick

Camera Angles : High and Low and Normal angles

Camera Movements : Tracking Shots, Pan, Tilt, and Zoom

Camera Shots : Two Shots, Mid Shots, Long Shots, Wide Shots, Establishing Shot

Costume : John Wick's Suit, and other people's tactical gear

Lighting : All around well lit lighting to show fight scenes in light but at night the light was dimmer

Actors : Keanu Reeves and Halle Berry

Make Up : Injuries and Blood were all done with Make Up

Props : Money, Guns, Weapons in general

Setting : Different Cities (New York and Morocco)

Editing : Lots of Edited Gun shots stuff and dramatic effects

Sound : Loud Gun Shots, Dramatic Score, Music

Does John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum follow typical action movie conventions.

Yes it does. The whole point of the John Wick series is not for the plot but for the action scenes. In my opinion, every time  i think of an action movie, i think of mission impossible and john wick. John wick is a prime example of a good action movie. While some parts of the movie are more mellow, John Wick is the definition of an action movie.

Genre Research : Joker

Joker (2019)

Cams in Joker

Camera Angles : High and Low and Normal Angles

Camera Movements : Tracking, Dutch, Pan, and Tilt

Camera Shots : Close Ups, Long Shot, Wide Shot

Costumes : Clown Costume and Normal 1980's street wear

Lighting : Usually Dim and Dark lighting to portray insanity

Actors : Joaquin Phoenix and Robert DeNiro

Make Up : Iconic Joker Makeup

Props : Gun, Books, and Microphone

Setting : Gotham City (Fiction City in DC Universe)

Editing : Lots of Cuts to make dramatize situation.

Sound : Loud Gunshots, Ambient noise, Good music

Does Joker follow typical Action movie conventions?

In my opinion, Joker does follow typical action movie conventions but it still is a unique movie. It is not like a normal superhero movie, rather it was the background on a villain in the DC universe. Joker was an action movie at some points but it also could've been categorized as a drama of some sorts. It wasn't exactly an action movie but it had some action movie conventions which could've made it be categorized as an action movie. Joker was probably my favorite move of 2019, which is surprising because i watched a lot of movies in 2019. 

Genre Research : Avengers Endgame

Avengers Endgame (2019)

Cams in Endgame

Camera Angles : High Angles, Low angles, and Normal

Camera Shots : Close Ups, Wide Shots, Two Shots

Camera Movements : Zoom, Pan, Tilt

Costumes : The Costumes in Avengers were Mainly the Superhero

Lighting : Lighting changed throughout the movie. Suspenseful parts were dimmer

Actors : Chris Hemsworth, Robert Downey Jr. and Mark Rufallo

Make Up : Lots of makeup to make the people look like the actual characters from the movie

Props : Weapons, Gauntlet, Infinity Stones

Setting : New York and Planets

Editing : Lots of CGI to make the planets and characters look realistic

Did the movie follow typical action/sci-fi conventions?

In my opinion, Avengers Endgame is what action and science fiction is all about. While it was a bit unconvential due to the plot. It was basically what the genre is all about. So in my opinion, Yes, Avengers Endgame did follow normal conventions.

I like this movie a lot due to me liking the other movies in the series so this movie was a great way to end the Avengers saga.

Genre Research : Genre Decision

My Final Decision on the Genre

     I have decided that my movie is going to be an Action movie. Following the conventions of a normal action movie. The reason for this is because I have some movies that inspired my movie plot. For example, I want to make my movie similar to The Godfather and the same type of action as Scarface. These movies can be classified as Action movies because they follow typical Action Movie Conventions. I have watched action movies for a long time, ever since I was a little kid. So now, making an action movie would be my best decision. If I want to be successful in my project, i have to make a movie that reflects the type of movies that i like to watch. This is why my movie is going to be an action movie. My movie on the Russian hit man is going to be an action movie and that's my final decision.

Genre Research : Different Genres

      Genres

Dance

Cams in Dance Movies
Camera Angles : Wide shots to see the entire stage
Camera Movements : Pan, Tilt, Zoom
Camera Shots : Wide shots to display the entire stage
Costumes : Common costumes in dance depends on the movie. For example, Tights, Feathers, Dresses
Lighting : Any form of lighting to display the dancers
Actors : John Travolta, Natalie Portman, Chris Brown are all actors in dance movies
Make Up : Make up in dance movies is very flamboyant to express the movie's message
Props : Some props in dance movies could be used to express the movies message
Setting : Usually a stage to present the audience the dancing.
Editing : Not much crazy editing in editing, mainly just cuts to stick all the shots together
Element : Body, Action, Space, Energy, Time are all elements of dance
Preference : I don't really care for dance movies because are boring

Action

Cams in Action Movies

Camera Angles : High and Low angle shots to dramatize situations

Camera Movements : Tracking, Pan, Tilt, and Zoom

Camera Shots : Long Shots, Close Up Shots, Medium Shots

Costumes : Suits, Tactical Gear, and Tattered Clothes. Mainly depending on the movie.

Lighting : Usually has bright lights to show everything that's going on. More Suspenseful parts have dimmer lighting

Actors : Al Pacino, Keanu Reeves, Brad Pitt, and Robert DeNiro are all examples of action actors

Make Up : Fake Blood and Fake Injuries to Dramatize situation

Props : Guns, Knives, Money, Bombs, and Gear to complete mission

Setting : Cities and Crowded Places to have cool settings

Editing : Dramatic Cuts, Dissolves, Montages, Flashbacks, and Jump Cuts

Sound : Music, Gunshots, Dramatic Score

Element : Guy goes on a mission

Preference : I like action movies because they appeal to me more due to their dramatic plots

Horror

Cams in Horror Movies

Camera Angles : Dutch/Canted High and Low Camera Angles to create suspense

Camera Movements : Veritgo Effect, Track for Scary Parts, Zoom

Camera Shots : Close Up, Dutch, Long Shots

Costumes : Scary Costumes Such as Ghost, Zombies, and Killers

Lighting : Usually horror movies have dim lighting to create suspense

Actors : Joey King, Patrick King, Jack Nicholson

Make Up : Fake Injuries and Creep Monster Make up

Props : Knives, Crosses, and Old Books.

Setting : Old Houses, Deserted Locations, Forests

Editing : Suspenseful Cuts, Jump Scares, Filters to distort visibility

Sound : Scary Ambient Sounds, Scary Dialogue, Dramatic Score

Element : To make your audience freaked out and scared

Preference : In my opinion, a well directed, good plot horror movie is amazing.

Genre Research : Powerpoint

     Powerpoint
 Back in September, in our AICE Media Studies we did a powerpoint from a randomly selected genre. Back then I was working with my old partner, now for our final task I am working by myself. We got the genre Dance and we weren’t exactly happy. Dance isn’t my favorite movie genre because Dancing is just not something im interested in. Dance is decent as an a activity but I don’t like it as a movie genre. I prefer more like action and horror movies. We finished out powerpoint together. Down below i am going to post the link to the powerpoint.

https://browardcountyschools-my.sharepoint.com/:p:/g/personal/0611022785_my_browardschools_com/Ec8fi3PasqtEjQXIhGUhZ0cBhaSgskMzFoQIPmpB73yWiw?e=3wbIbv

Final Task : Pitch

Pitches for potential movies

     As I stated in my previous blog, I have 3 movie pitches which are potentially my future project. In all honesty, my second pitch about the race car driver was made up because i couldn’t think of anything else. If i had to pick, 2 out of my 3 movie pitches, I would choose my 3rd and 1st movie ideas.My second one would be hard to pull off due to the fact that I’m not going to spain anytime soon and I don’t drive so It’ll be a challenge filming a movie about racing in Spain. When or if I ever become a future movie director, that’ll be one of my movies. Until then, i’ll keep this idea in the drafts. So now im going to talk about my 2 other movie pitches.
      My first potential movie will be about a hitman who works for the Italian mafia. He gets a call from a client and during the phone call, future scenes of the actual murder will appear. It’ll later be figured out that the murder that was portrayed during the phone call was with the client and not the person he was payed to kill. This is influenced from Quentin Tarantino because he has always seemed to have scenes out of orders and big plot twist. The first 2 minutes will be of our protagonist waking up and actually receiving the actual phone call.
      My second potential movie will be about a schizophrenic man who deals with his demons throughout the course of the movie and it’ll end him killing his own son, the person he swore to protect through out the entire movie. If i were to do this film, it’d be in the style of Donnie Darko. In that movie the protagonist has schizophrenia and deals with his inner demons. If i were to do this, i’d want it to be similar to that movie. The only problem is our production budget and equipment. We don’t have the same amount of expensive gear that they used to produce the movie so acquiring the same shots will be a bit of a struggle.
      To wrap this off, i have decided to go through with my first movie pitch. The reason is because I think the end result will look much better than my other 2 pitches. While it was a hard decision i believe its the best option to get the best looking movie out if all the 3.

Final Task : Starting

Starting the Final Task

      Hello my name is Lucas Illanes and I’ve been asked to reintroduce myself. Im a freshman in Fort Lauderdale High. Im halfway through my first year in high school. High school so far has been pretty good because all the complaints i had through my previous years have gone away and school is pretty chill now. I live with my sister and parents and we are from Chile. We moved back in 2010 and while adapting to the language was a bit a curve I eventually got over it. Everything in my life is going pretty good so right now im just chilling.

      We’ve also been asked to describe what we have learned so far in this class. Overall, my production skills have definitely improved since the commercial. I started off with little experience on filming and editing now i can say my skills have definitely improved. My filming skills have improved from actual experience and just watching movies and lastly learning terms. When watching movies, I now know what type of shots, angles, and sounds im experiencing which is not something i’ve been able to do before. This gives me more ideas when it comes to my filming and portraying my ideas when it comes to a video. When it comes to editing, I now know how to do different cuts and different cuts which help me portray my ideas. Overall knowledge of terms and the understanding of different shots and angles have been something i’ve learned in this class.

    For our final task, we have to create the first 2 minutes of a movie. For my first idea i have an idea of a Hitman who gets a call from a mysterious client but later realized the client tries to screw hum over. The first two minutes will be of the phone call taking place with scenes of later events will happen simultaneously as the phone call progresses. My second movie idea is a Fast and Furious type movie. A new guy moves to Spain and tries to adapt to racing there and meets a rival which he laters races against. My last movie idea is of a horror movie in which of a schizophrenic man who kills his own son because his demons are haunting him. The first two minutes would be of the man dealing with the demons living inside of his brain. Those are my 3 movie ideas for my AICE Media Studies class.