Connecting and reaching out

     As the project filming date reaches closer and becomes more time consuming, I have realized that connecting is extremely important to continue the project process. This was especially hard as this week, I was not in class at all, which made it much harder to continue efforts and to remain connected with the group members. In order to remain connected, and essentially continue the planning process outside of the classroom and over more frequent periods of time, a group chat was created with all the members, and we began brainstorming locations, plot lines, and further strategies we could use to generate a successful project. Here is our group chat profile that was established. 

    As for a follow up for the previous connections that I did, reaching out to bands and musicians for possible musical input and sound for our project, it turned out to be a success. Astrobrite, one of the 90s shoegaze bands I reached out to, successfully responded, giving me full permission to use any of his work in the project. I still am unsure if this would actually be used in the project, possibly as synchronous sound as the friends drive into the everglades to set the opening off with a disturbing tone, but the option still remains open. Down below you can see the screenshot of the interaction that I had with the account. 

Finalizing plot and shooting

    As the production for the piece has continued, our plot has finally been finalized as a concrete idea, rather than just a variety of smaller ideas. The plot will revolve around a group entering the everglades for either hunting or fishing or exploring, and will encounter a cult, in which sacrifices one of the members of the group in a horrific way. The plot will be shown somewhat through the opening horror montage shown, and through the creepy entrance in the driving of the beginning of the actual sequence of events, which will begin after the title sequence is shown. 

    The concrete date for filming will be March 2nd, as the group members have all concluded that it would be a good day to begin the process. The project will take place at Everglades Holiday Park due to its nature in the everglades and a wide variety of area to cover, which will result in a good project being shown. More dates will be available to film however, as footage may not be complete and concrete for the full project. Down below is an image of Everglades Holiday Park, the intended area for filming our project. 

Forming a plan

     Due to my absence from class throughout this week, I have been essentially attempting to plan out all of our tasks and brainstorming from outside of school. My group has come to the initial conclusion that filming will take place next week, which will require extreme preparation with people, a filming site, costuming to create the scary nature and the main characters personalities (likely will be more rural country people), and a camera. Preparation will begin throughout this week, along with a storyboard that will be split up and worked on in class as well, as the creative process works much better for me in collaboration with others in person. Shooting will likely be carried out on Saturday throughout the day, with both daytime and nighttime shots being required for our piece.

    As for our initial plot description, it will revolve around a group of country/fishing gear dressed friends as they travel deeper into an everglades wildlife center. The beginning of the opening will reveal a horror inducing title sequence with flashes of scenes and the cultish antagonists, and after the title sequence flashes, will begin chronologically with the friends entering. We plan to film next weekend, and possibly begin next Wednesday, a day where an SAT testing day is occurring. The schedule of our planning process looks somewhat unconventional, but is efficient.

Organizing ideas and searching for supplies

    As our project becomes more consolidated in terms of ideas, supplies and specific incentives and ideas for the project have more or less become stronger and more unified amongst the group. In order to receive further inspiration, advice, and overall technique/musical tips, I reached out to two separate accounts, Sematary (the musician previously mentioned) and 90s shoegaze band Astrobrite, who's blurred atmospheric image has been inspirational to the product we seek to create. Although both bands and artists did not further reach back out yet, their art, music, and videos have still been deeply inspirational to the process. 

    For the camera and filming process, ideas changed due to viewing the price limitations upon the cameras. Due to the cameras extremely expensive price for the specific camcorder we sought to purchase, the group has begun to explore alternatives such as using an older iphone with certain grain filtering in post production to create the intended effect.

    The older iphones more grained and less precise quality, as shown in the image above, could be a useful alternative to the expensive cameras that we sought to use, and would be a very efficient and free alternative depending on the groups resources. Further investigation regarding filming will be taken on throughout the week, and will be essential to the project creation.

Research continued!

     As my partner and I hone in on more specific ideas, I wanted to continue to research extremes of the stylistic aura we seek to go to and horror itself. In one instance, I researched an area of the music industry, one particular artist, Sematary. The hip hop music artist includes various extreme editing choices and video designs involving horror involved imagery and intense grain and bad video quality, creating a certain theme and feeling to all of the work he creates. I seek to create similar work in the way that it conveys horror effectively, however, would make changes to create a more realistic and story centered video, rather than relying on harsh imagery solely. I think that using a naturalistic environment to convey horror would be something very new and exciting. Down below is an example of one of Sematary's videos for his music, and although very extreme and experimental, utilizes many similar techniques to what I would want. 

                                                                                                                                                                       

    I also want to utilize and create a vibrancy similar to the one created in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, which used harsh imagery, dirty mise-en-scene, and other techniques to convey horror and fearful imagery. I think that it would be extremely beneficial to the film opening, as if I want to accurately convey horror and disgust, I think harsh and dark imagery and lighting is essential. If we end up going the handheld or found footage route, lighting will be much harder to control, as the naturalistic environment would be important to our story and our themes if all goes under control. Both the Sematary video and the film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre are inspiring to the type of film I want to make, and could serve as important for our future endeavor. 

     As we have developed the plot line and our intended thematics for the story, further research was conducted on the characterization necessary for a successful horror portrayal. Due to many larger than life character types commonly present in horror productions, my group and I discussed the possibilities of using certain character tropes, as many are commonly featured in horror productions, and successful ones. 

The state of the horror movie trope

    This article, one that I had read during research stages, gave much insight to the tropes that should be utilized, and gave much advice to the certain techniques that we should and should not use. Our film however, may be much different than many of the conventional films that were showcased in the article, as many of our techniques are going to be extremely unconventional. As for the antagonist, my group has more strongly turned to the route of a cult, which would feature our characters uncovering a group that seems out of place and fearful. This could create an interesting dynamic between the naturalistic environment, and a highly specialized group or cult. I think that this would be much more innovative and effective compared to a more conventional serial killer route, which has essentially been overdone in the type of environment and film we seek to create.

Brainstorming (pt 2)

     As my group became more sure of the theme and ideas of the project that we wanted to accomplish, further research and brainstorming was conducted to find ways to convey our story. Areas for filming were discussed, as our intended area of the everglades has many different areas and filming locations. A swampy area behind regional park was considered, but we didn't know if the area would be too commercial or public to truly represent the feel that the film opening was going for. The camera model and acquisition process was also discussed, as we wanted the video quality to be clear, but also have enough grain and distortion (which could also be added in post production) to illustrate a fearful environment and tone.

    This camera is one example of the type that we may seek to utilize throughout filming, although finding something cost efficient and cheap may be more difficult, as we want to stay in constraints of a smaller amount of money. The antagonists of the piece are also a focal point of debate and discussion for the group, as many different ideas have been illustrated and explored. A cultish group, a singular serial killer, and the environment have all been ideas expressed, and the group is still in early stages of deciding the plot and specific story elements of the opening, along with how we will express it. More discussion will be held very soon, and more progress will come about in the coming weeks.

Brainstorming process (pt 1)

     As my group and I had formed together and met for the first time as a whole, we begun to think of specific ideas and layouts for our video, and how we would film it. After previously mentioning the 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I thought of an idea that felt in touch with the naturalistic and disturbing imagery that we sought to convey. I had proposed that we hold the video in the everglades, somewhere I have been before previously in a certain region, and somewhere that is not conventionally used to express horror. Similar to the beginning of the 1974 film, various friends are introduced in a van together before any events occur, and I thought this may work for a basic premise. My group discussed different ways to express horror through only a two minute opening, and I had concluded that a disturbing and chaotic opening credit sequence featuring various suspenseful and disturbing short scenes from the film could be displayed before the title sequence, and the exposition sequence could take place after. 

    The title sequence shown here could be a similar thing we do in our film, however the content shown would be more story related to the direct plot line, and could feature short scenes of the characters to express footage. The found footage possibility was also further discussed, and the logistics of that were pondered. Found footage was a method that we greatly considered, and looked up certain handheld older cameras that could be used to distort quality. 

(Footage from The Blair Witch Project trailer, a film inspirational to our opening)

    We think that The Blair Witch project opening sequence was very interesting and one that draws in audiences, however not enough direct horror was displayed for the project that we had in mind, and ultimately sought to create something structured very thematically different. The text description was a new idea to us however, and could be something that the group envisions in the future as more ideas are discussed. 

Portfolio Project Beginnings

     While beginning to shift my focus away from the music marketing project and toward the portfolio,  I wanted to have a different outlook on how to present my project and the final product that I create. The portfolio project is quite a big undertaking, and I want to be able to manage my time much better to begin this massive project. My partner and I have begun to contemplate different ideas on to how we want to film our project, and what we want the genre and 'feel' of the film opening to be, along with being sure to artistically include the necessary title sequence and credits. The project approach for us two essentially concludes to doing something experimental, to deviate away from traditional ways of filming a common movie introduction to do something new and exciting. 

    The general ideas that we have begun discussing stems around using an older camera, possibly some handheld techniques, and other unconventional filming and production methods to create an immersive and creative opening. We hope to convey the raw and unsettling emotions that may stem from the lack of professional oversight, all within the realms of not appearing unprepared and cheesy as well. I hope that through the project, we are also able to have fun with it, and to create something that we both truly enjoy and respect. 

    The genre that we had brainstormed was horror, as we thought that horror and fear would be a good genre and emotion to convey through the use of the unconventional editing and production techniques. Movies that come to mind through the methods are Eduardo Sanchez's 'Blair Witch Project,' and Lars von Trier's 'The House that Jack Built.' 

(Photo from Blair Witch Project film) 

Both films convey very horror and thriller-esque narratives and styles through the use of unconventional techniques such as the use of handhelds, which are present in both examples. We however, want to differ greatly from the films, and hope to create something totally new through various methods, such as a vastly different styled script and a more controlled and refined feel in comparison to the raw footage of the handhelds. I hope to replicate the similar success that the two films had in conveying thrill and fear through the technique, and hope to create a successful opening that draws in audiences and viewers of our project. 

Music Marketing Post 2

     The music marketing project as a whole was one that felt ultimately successful in my eyes, accurately representing the genre and song that my group and I were given. The project began when we were assigned our song, in this case, 'blind' by Korn. The song was one that was most certainly not in my musical range, which posed a challenge that we needed to overcome in researching traditional genre characteristics and marketing strategies. My group and I conducted a majority of our research on similar bands such as Turnstile and the group that produced our given song, Korn, in order to more accurately represent the marketing that the groups had used. Our marketing chart was completed around two days into the projects assignment, and overall we had found through research that the most successful advertising strategies surrounding touring and physical copies of music, which would help get the name of our group out there. 

    Following the research into other genres, my group began developing and brainstorming who we wanted our band to be. Following a variety of ideas and discussion, we came to the conclusion that our band needed to have a casual, young, and modern feel to contrast and heighten the extremely intense music that was being created, in order to intrigue audiences and do something new. The band we brainstormed involved a few friends from Iowa in a group called 'aloof', meaning cold and distant, to represent the music we had to illustrate. We decided that I should be the face of our band, and the personality of the lead singer should be utilized and explored throughout the project to ensure that audiences understood the decisions made. We used our google document to organize our initial thoughts and had the rubric available to ensure that project constraints and rules were being followed. Brainstorming initially was a roadblock, as the group all attempted to have new ideas that would be considered acceptable by the other members, however the band status and image was finally cemented as the one described before, and work on the presentation began. Below is pictured our initial document for organizing our ideas. 

    As our image and overall ideas were solidified, the actual music video was soon discussed. The group and I had wanted to do something that felt experimental and abstract, but told a clear story and followed a narrative that would be central to the album being marketed. The album was decided to be called "The Regression From Myself," and featured a track list including blind that told a full story. The video was eventually decided upon to be an illustration of one into the use of drugs through anxiety, and I was chosen to be the star of the video, consistent with my status as the lead singer and face of the band. Storyboarding for the video began, with the shot placement and specificities of the video being left for one of our group members to decide. A date for recording was set for Sunday, a few days before the video was due. 

    Throughout the next week, work on the presentation and specific details surrounding our marketing campaign were honed in on, and the powerpoint made progress in development. A casual instagram account for the band was created by me, and is pictured below. 

                       

Artwork for the album cover, title slide, and concepts for the video were created, and the conceptual album cover is pictured below.

                            

    The project felt to truly come together, and although the group experienced some minor disagreements regarding ideas such as merchandise, we mostly agreed on how the band was to be shown and advertised. I made a tour poster for the band with fictional dates, and our strategies were linked to previous research, specifically to the similar band Turnstile. Our powerpoint was more detailed and created a greater overall image that represented the band. As for the music video itself, good equipment was secured from the CBTV room, and one of our group members houses was used to be the central filming location.  The powerpoint was finalized, and a more dark theme to the slides were all implemented. 

    Close to the submission date, the project was set to be filmed on a Sunday, however, problems arose when not all of the group members were able to attend. The filming date had to be moved a day later, and editing had to be completed in one day. We filmed Monday after school, and although we only had an hour and a half to film due to me having to attend work that night, the video was ultimately completed, even in the frenzy of filming fast. The video ultimately turned out extremely well, with the post production and editing creating a beautifully crafted video that was well edited. Below is pictured a screenshot from the video itself. 

                    

    The project was finally completed, and the preparations for the presentation began. However, some issues arose with the presentation aspect as one of our group members could not attend the presentation date. We improvised before presenting, and finally finished the project. During the presentation, we went through all of the information and presented well, although maybe sounding a bit unprepared at times due to the change in presentation order. Comments we received around the project centered around some of the marketing choices, and the subliminal nature of the powerpoint itself. Overall, I am extremely impressed with how my group succeeded in the video and project, and thought that the grade we received was very reflective of the hard work that we put in, and the widespread acclaim that our video received from the class.