Institution and Audience Essay

Antonio Gatica-Moreno

          There are different types of audience consumption that has changed over time. There have been multiple ways to involve a film with other things with advertisement. Advertisement and propaganda have been an essential when it comes to film marketing. There have been different ways that the audience can partake into a film. Audience consumption has changed in the past couple of years.

            One of the most successful franchises in Universal Pictures is the Fast and Furious. If you don’t know about the Fast and Furious franchise you probably don’t know anything about Universal Pictures. According to Arts & Culture, “the Fast & Furious film franchise has made more than $2.3 billion at the worldwide box office, and Forza Motorsport games are the most-played racing simulations on the current generation of consoles.” This means that two successful companies are coming together to make an experience for people who play these consoles. This would allow an experience of what it would feel to drive one of the movie cars. This is great because people want to associate themselves into films to get the full experience. Now not only can you enjoy the film in theaters but, you can control the cars at home on a console.

            Another famous franchise is Jurassic World also owned by Universal Pictures. Jurassic World original came from Jurassic Park. A way to go gain audience consumption was to have a partnership with Lego and now this can gain the attention of young children. The official Jurassic World website stated, “Fans embraced LEGO Jurassic World with our initial product launch, and we couldn’t wait to come back and give them more of what they love with new ways to play and new opportunities to interact with the brand.” That was a direct quote from the President of Universal Brand Development. This is perfect because since the original 1993 film, people have been wanting to see this. The only thing that helps a company is giving the people what they want.

            Marvel Studios is the owners of the Spiderman franchise and their recent film is Spiderman Homecoming. They had a recent commercial with Audi and Audi Media Center had to say, “Before the official world premiere, the new Audi A8 appears on the silver screen. The flagship of the premium brand makes a guest appearance in the Marvel blockbuster ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming,’ in theaters worldwide in July.” This was great for families because in the commercial they showed Peter Parker having his drivers test. This is a target to families with teens showing how they can drive safely and easily. To add on they added the film to multiple streaming sites.

            Another example of audience consumption is AT&T and their promotion with the film Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. According to AT&T themselves, “AT&T*, together with Warner Bros., begins the national rollout of the first joint, large-scale marketing campaign since the merger was approved in June.” AT&T did this by hanging up huge posters of Fantastic Beasts worldwide. This is good for both companies because now the audience will have a place to watch it in the comfort of anywhere they desire. To access the film, anywhere is beneficial to certain people in the audience because some might not be able to go out to the theater and acquire a ticket. They can watch it on the go with AT&T app and services.

            To conclude, the evolution of audience consumption is a great thing to see. How films are giving people the chance to participate in activities similar to the film is wonderful. More companies should focus on this because even if people don’t enjoy the film, they can still find a way to pay and watch the film and money can come in.

Practice Extract Essay

Practice Extract Essay- Antonio Gatica-Moreno

4/24/20

            The director of the film 24 has a theme off as time comes close to an end tensions rise, and decision-making becomes harder. Emotions an adrenaline kick in. It all comes down to this final moment. The director of the film is trying to convey that there isn't enough time and they need to get answers or else the bomb will set off. This message seems to be based off most of the examples throughout the film.

            To begin with, the actors of the film 24 were a male and female. The male was interrogating the female and trying to find out how to stop the bomb and this was seen throughout the whole film. The male actor was trying to intimidate the female to give up information and he did this by being aggressive. This would give the audience a feeling of seriousness. Before anything else you can see that the location is an interrogation room. This room was giving off a dramatic vibe since you must be honest and not get into trouble although, in this scenario the actress doesn't care and want things her way.

            The film starts of with the first camera angle that is clearly shown. The first camera angle is an over the shoulder shot that can be seen throughout the film. This shot shows focus on the conversation and understanding of the situation. Before the conversation begins there is a cutaway edit effect that focuses on the camera watching him. The point of the camera was to control the male actor because he knew he couldn't be aggressive or else he can get into trouble.

To carry on, the camera angle that can be seen is a low angle and it can be found when the female actress looks towards the clock. When she stares at the clock it demonstrates that time is ticking and there needs to be some sort of compromise soon. then comes the dialogue that was being held also throughout the film. The point of the dialogue was to explain that there is a conversation about what seems like an atomic bomb that will set off soon. That also increases the tension knowing millions of lives can be lost.

Towards the end of the film there was an example of non-diagenetic sound. This sound was due to the impact of the woman being slammed against the wall in her chair. This would show us a trait of exaggeration because it shows the audience that his slam was powerful and might’ve hurt the woman in the chair. This transitioned to a split screen of the people who were interviewing the interrogation and can be seen of them running into the room. The split screen shows the reaction of the other actors who know he is not allowed to be physical and needed to stop him.

            All these things combined would indicate that the director is trying to give theme of a rush to give answers in order to save others. The director doesn’t want to give any other feeling because in this part of the story the atomic bomb has a limited amount of time before it blows up the world. With the aggression in the male actor would reveal how eager he is to try to get the answers he needs. It kind of gives the idea of there is stress going on where the actor wants to know but in order to save the reputation of the actress, she wants to do it her way. As she states she wanted it to be “simple.”

Practice Extract Assignment

CCR Game Show

This was my CCR that was supposed to be a talk show format. My dad and dog were the actors that helped me out. My editing was also on point in this film. I think that if I continue editing I will get better and better. This project was a hassle because it was so long. I feel bad for movie editors who have to edit 1 or 2 hour films.

Final Task

This was our final task between my partner and I. I loved the editing improvements of mine. I edited the whole film and I was honestly proud of myself. The point of the film was to create a 2 minute start of a movie. In my opinion my partner and I killed it although we could have improved on certain clips.

Music Video Blog

My music video was my first solo project. I had a couple of friends who helped me, they were actors and camera man. My idea for this video was a guy who went through a lot and gets jumped by a couple of guys who run into him by accident. Then the main character sits by a dock and thinks his life and to give him a wake up call he falls into some water that suppose to kind of look magical. My original idea was better although with the time limitation I could not use it so this was my second idea.

Nike Commercial Blog

    This video was my first project with my group members. In this project I was supposed to create a Nike commercial that was 30 seconds long. This film was fun to make because it was so quick and easy. This film was the first film I got to edit.

Reshooting Blog

     The Coronavirus completely ruined our plans for reshooting. My group and I did schedule to reshoot although we couldn't do anything. We wanted to reshoot because some of the acting could've been better. For example, the one scene where I get hit in the head by a fake gun needed to be redone because it was horrible. As well, we wanted to reshoot due to the lighting and angles. One of the scenes at the end when the car drove off was a bit dark. The film wasn't horrible but in our opinion of my groupmate and I, we concluded that we should reshoot just in case. After the peer reviews, we noticed there was a lack of diversity in camera angles. We thought it would be a good idea to redo some shots and include better angles. Unfortunately, it won't be anytime soon.
     The Coronavirus has cut off our interaction with schools, stores, and certain restaurants. We are in a pandemic. This has taken the lives of people in different countries. Now it is in our state and county. We are not safe and will be taken away from school for almost a month. This is horrible we cannot focus on school issues and tests and Cambridge is expecting us to know it all. This is completely unfair due to the fact that we won't be learning anything and we have to deal with self-isolation from the world. There are other students who are working more now to provide for their families and aren't focused on school. Cambridge is not seeing our side of things and how we live. We can't suffer like this and be expected to know all this without major help. There is a petition for Cambridge that hopefully, they will take into consideration. Just because we're in a new generation of things doesn't mean others are having it just as easy.

Editing Blog

     We finished the video and included our titles and audio. We included a song that was suspenseful to give the film a dramatic vibe. I had to buy it off of iTunes, the song came from a track off of some movie. We didn't use different editing software. There was a situation that hit us. There is a dangerous virus called coronavirus and we are social distancing. This stopped communication with my partner and cancel our reshoots for now. We aren't allowed to leave our homes. My partner and I are suffering because we cannot communicate too much on what we're going to decide. We did recently on a call because I was able to finally get ahold of them.
     I was able to include sound effects as well during certain situations. For example,  a scream when the girl gets kidnapped. The editing process is completed until we can do reshoots. If we can do the reshoots and manage to include some better clips, then there will be improvements. Until then, we have to roll with the program and continue with what we got. This coronavirus has stopped everything and there is nothing we can do all unessential stores will be closed. For any equipment that we will need, we cannot access it. I'm stuck at home and am not allowed to leave due to the social distancing. The beach is closed and there isn't anything available. It sucks and now the classes are being messed up and cambridge won't help us.

Editing Blog

     My group and I finished most of the editing all we have to do is fix minor complications for the video. We managed to add in our title sequences perfectly. The only situation we have is the font and the transitions weren't our original choice. We tried to put it in with our editing software but it didn't allow us. There wasn't a choice for us to add it in so we came up with something that we enjoyed. We also didn't include music. This is because we haven't found a soundtrack that we like yet. We want to get one that's very dramatic to the film, giving off an intensity vibe. My part of the group was to not only edit with my partner but I had to store the project in a file to find later. There might be another editing software to add in other parts to benefit the film.

     My partner's job is to look at the minor complications and help fix them if I missed any. When working hard your eyes get tired and you don't realize it. This isn't a hard task we just get agitated with minor mistakes because we want it to get our full potential on the project. There was a lot of commitment and sacrifice. Overall, this editing process is always going to be slightly complicated although I understand it and so does my partner who is helping me. By next week, everything should finally be completed. If not it would be in the week after. I'm satisfied with our project I believe my group and I did well. We got with our own material and edited it with our own material. I can't wait to see the final product.

Editing Blog

     We already started a bit of the editing process but we haven't gone in-depth. We were able to edit enough to create the video itself. We are missing not that many things and can complete this film within about an hour or two. We are only missing the title sequences and how we will put them. Unfortunately, we won't be able to place them on how we wanted to originally. We don't have the correct equipment and if we did it would cost a lump sum of money. Depending on the reshoot it could be readjusted to our liking but we don't know yet. There are minor edits that don't seem noticeable such as the car pulling up is sped up by 1.25. By speeding up the scene, the film got shorter which was a benefit for us and it looked better as if there was some speeding involved. The film will have another scene that is sped up if we want to insert a specific scene during the reshoots.
     This project is very fun and I believe we are getting more than enough time. There hasn't been a problem that would affect when this would be delivered. We will be considering the peer review of the other group. For example, we agreed that we haven't put a song in the background. That'll be added once we figure out what we are gonna put. My partner didn't agree but I wanted to put some background music from Batman because I felt that it would make our project dramatic. She disagreed because she said there are more songs out there that will create the same effect and are better for our project. We continued to look and so far we haven't found a song yet but that'll come soon. During reshoots, we will need to insert new clips with different camera angles, we slightly lack some diversity with our camera angles. I'm excited to see the final outcome that will come soon.

Peer Review Blog

     Today, we reviewed another group's final project along with a group reviewing ours. They would be given a sheet of paper that would make us answer some questions about the project. It would include the shots used, the length, and etc. It was a fun activity to do seeing that we could compare our projects to other groups. The group we were reviewing had a plot of a dramatic medical reaction that the main character got. It seemed amazing and it caught my eye with the ending. In the ending, the character hears a knock and gets up to answer. Once the girl got to the door and opened it the scene cuts. This was perfect because it leaves the audience on a cliff hanger. A cliff hanger makes the audience want more and get them curious to see it.
     My group's project was pretty good but not all the way finished. We still need to edit and add in the title sequence. We did film it perfectly, we got exactly 2 minutes. Now with different editing software, we will be ready. The group that graded our project seemed fair we had a nice small conversation and we agreed on m st issues with it. Peer reviewing was very fun and essential to have. Group to group conversation agreeing and disagreeing to certain things about the video allows each other for constructive criticism and creative ideas. Inspiration is in the air and both groups can bounce off ideas. Maybe one group will listen maybe they won't, we will never know. The other group was sweet with it nothing harsh so it was nice to feel comforted.

Filming Blog: Final Shooting Day

     The final shooting day of the final task will be on Saturday. Hopefully, after that day it'll all be over with. Although, after editing if the film is too short we will redo some scenes. There might have to be an adjustment in the plot of the film. This all depends on how the film turns out and if everything goes well. This right now will be a rough draft to my partner and I. We believe that once we know what we like we can improve it after the peer reviews. We will still have the same actors and nothing will change other than the days it is being shot. The first scenes of the film will be done in the morning so in the film it'll look strange if someone pays attention to the background. Everything else will work like a charm.
     The way that I will contribute is by provding transportation. I will be picking some of the actors and bringing them to the park to help film. I will also be an actor for the next couple of scenes. I play as the guy who gets knocked out with a gun. Another responsibility I have to maintain is the camera angles. I need to teach whoever will be the camera man what angles to do and how to properly do it. This project is quite fun although a bit stressful. I cannot wait to see the final outcome. It'll look like an actual film and have beautifully edited title sequences. The title sequences might be a little tricky but not impossible.

Filming Blog: Next Few Days

     This Saturday that just passed was a day of filming. I had to pick up all the actors and transport them to our set. I also helped them dress up along with my partner. They had to dress up in all black and luckily some brought masks to hide their face like a real criminal. We added another actor because we needed more help for the scene where the girl gets kidnapped. The weather was rainy and gloomy which was perfect because I wanted the bad guys to bring a bad vibe to them where the mood changes. It all went perfectly well and the actors did an amazing job. I was filming some of the shots and one of the actors that weren't in the shots would film too. It was a diverse setting for the title of the cameraman. It the end we got the shots that we needed and now we got to focus on the future scenes.

     Next weekend, the plan is to finish up the beginning scenes with the couple. We need to get about  8 to 9 scenes. We wanted to knock out the scenes with the bad guy that way we can edit some of the shots within this week. This allows us to see what needs to be redone or left the same. Hopefully, everything was done properly and we don't have to reshoot. My partner and I will take turns editing the scenes. The editing process won't take too long especially since it isn't completely due soon allowing more time for review. Now, the only thing left is to find where we will put the title sequences. My partner and I will still be choosing how exactly they will be put. I'm excited to see the steps to the final task.

Filming Blog: First Days

    My group member and I started filming Tuesday and we also filmed Wednesday. There will be more filming days because the weekdays have limited hours. This is because we both have a curfew and have to be home so we don't have much time. We had my father be with us to take us because he is also there to help us with safety. It was a fun time because it was very challenging and we still have to continue on this weekend and we can almost be finished. I was able to help my partner with certain angles that I wanted to get. She was amazing and I wanted her to film this time because she wanted to learn how to get those angles. She shot the video with her iPhone 11 and later on some other scenes will be shot on my iPhone XR. I was also included in shooting some scenes too. There was one scene I was messing with the angles to see how I can get the low angle properly with the car.

     I believe I still need to reshoot it because I want to improve it and I want to get a Fast and Furious angle of the car where the camera is slightly slanted and low angle. For this scene, there will be a low angle, oblique shot, and a pan. This mixture is used in films to give off a mysterious and cool feeling to certain cars. We couldn't get the other actors so we specifically focused on scenes that don't have or need actors in it. We couldn't get them in because they were busy. Saturday everyone will be free although, I have to get a new boss because the other one can't make it to the shoot. I'm glad we got to start filming sooner to have more time editing. This project has to be better than anything I've ever made. More great things will come our way especially actors who will win the Oscars. I can't wait to see the final result.

Planning: Storyboard

For this portion of our filming project, we were told to make a storyboard. This helps us in the future for many reasons. We will know during the filming process what we will include. A storyboard is generally a script but in picture form. It also gives us details like angles and movements and types of editing show what we should include when actually filming. This was a very complicated storyboard. It was quite confusing managing to fit 60 scenes for a 2-minute video. This is completely unrealistic and impossible. This wasn’t the greatest thing to do and hopefully, this is never done again. Hopefully, the shooting of this project becomes easier.

Planning:Title Design

 Our plan is in place and we have everything prepared such as our location, participants, schedule, etc. Now, all we have to focus on is our title design and how in-depth this needs to undergo because it is going to show the audience a hint of the type of movie. If the audience is interested then the titles were done correctly. The point of our titles is to give off a secret spy mission type of film. The transition should give it the main hint because it is a key of spy mission films. This is actually a fun assignment because it allows the creator to be creative on how they will present their film. We are lucky to include back up plans because if our original concept accidentally blends in then we are able to change it. This won't be a hard task and will be quite simple to make and not a lot of other groups will do this because they will stick to the basics. The font although could be changed depending on what looks best with the typewriter transition. Overall, this film will be the definition of a secret spy mission film.

Planning: Location, Sound, Participants, Health, Schedule

     While still in the planning stages, what we have done next is the information about the location, participants, health, and schedule. We use this to help us when we will begin filming. For example, we know where our scenes will take place, we wanted it to be a place that fits our story. We also have important information on what we need to keep us students safe, which is in the health slides of our planning. We have also included the participants in which will be in our film, friends and even family. Furthermore, is our filming schedule, we need to stay on track to get everything done. This is the most important step because it helps us know when we will do each thing to not confuse us. Me and my group-mate find that this way of planning is much easier rather than the projects we did in the past. These slides will contain all we need for the next step in our planning which will be the storyboard, it helps us have everything set. This helps us feel organized with all the work we have to do so nothing causes confusion. 

Planning: Sound Script

     In our sound script, we are giving off ideas of what we will include. My partner and I broke apart our roles so we could help each other. I am doing the sound script blog which involves dialogues and types of sound in this 2-minute film. We each chose our own script because we have more strengths in the one we chose. We put a lot of time and work into these scripts to help us for when we can finally film our ideas. I contained dialogue of the main couple in the story and the bad guys. We are putting as many ideas as we can to benefit our film. My role was pretty much a dialogue storyboard which is very helpful in the long run. I enjoy doing this blog because planning ahead gives me confidence in how our sequence will turn out. We will continue to plan and blog about further stuff like people in the film, health and safety, and location.

Planning: Shooting Script

     This was supposed to be a script describing what would visually be on our film. We needed to include camera angles, movements, and lighting. We also needed to include the lighting. On our film, there was unfortunately not much lighting change we can do since it'll be in a public park. There will be a lot of movements because it is a film with a lot of action going on. Our pitch was improved while creating this google slides project because we realize certain flaws. Our original pitch was too long and had too much action compared to now. The film will be hard to create since we are only given 2 minutes. In our opinion, we believe more time given would bring out more creativity. This is good to guide us on our final task.