Creative Critical Reflection

This is my Creative Critical Reflection for my film opening project.

Film Opening Video

This is the final video for the film opening. Hope you enjoy it.

Click Here To Watch the Film Opening on Google Drive

Change of Plans

We were planning on doing a dramedy for this film opening, but now we have to change those plans because of the whole quarantine and coronavirus situation. We are doing a action/sport movie now and it is going to be based on a boxer.
Our film opening will be to introduce the character. It is based on a boxer, and training and fighting will be included. There is going to be no dialogue because that is not how we want to portray the film opening. It is going to show his hard work and determination, which is going to set the flow and introduce the character.
Before we were going to have multiple people, but now we are doing two people because of the health precautions. We are going to use props and supplies that we already have. Some of these include the boxing gloves, the workout equipment, and the clothes. These changes have been difficult, but we're able to do it.

Dramedy Target Audience

In order for a production to be effective, it has to appeal to the target audience of the genre. My film opening is a dramedy, so the target audience will be a mix of comedy and drama.
First of all, the opening is a teen dramedy, so the main target audience will be teens in high school from 14-18 years old. According to Red Rock Entertainment Ltd, target audiences are specific groups of people that have similar characteristics such as, age, gender, and interests. Also, sometimes it could have aspects that appeal to others that aren't specifically included in the main target audience. This could be related to my film because it could be enjoyed by others that aren't teens. Adults could be interested in the film because it highlights elements of teen life that may be unknown to adults. Times have changed and the issues that adults went through when they were teens are different to those that may exist nowadays.

Overall, the main focus will be teens, and that will be a major influence for the choices of the film opening.

Sources:
https://medium.com/@red_rock_films/how-to-uncover-the-proper-target-audience-for-your-film-bfbb101d078

Film Opening Decided

After adding and discarding many ideas, we have decided what we want our film opening to be. I noticed that some of the ideas I wanted to include were just over-complicating it and they were not necessary for a good opening.

The main purpose of the opening will be to introduce the characters. The opening will sustain of teenagers who threw a party at their house while their parents were away. It will take place the morning after when they have to clean up the house so the parents won't notice when they get back. They also have to get everyone who is still there to go home.

The characters will be introduced in different ways. I plan on having props around the house that represent the characters. There will also be interactions between the characters that reveal character traits. These interactions will also foreshadow and hint at possible conflicts and events in the future. I want to introduce them without revealing too much information. This will keep it interesting and make the viewers want to know what is going to happen later.

Before, I wanted to include a conflict where the teen was supposed to be taking care of his little brother, but in the morning he's nowhere to be found. Introducing a major conflict like this would make the viewers focus more on the conflict, and the other elements wouldn't be expressed how I wanted. I decided to remove this idea because it would stray away from the main purpose of introducing the characters.

Team Meeting

Today I met with some of my classmates to discuss each other's projects and give feedback and ideas. They provided a lot of helpful information and it opened up my mind to different things I can include in my project.

In my film opening there's going to be a little kid who gets lost from his house when his older brother was supposed to be taking care of him. Since it is a dramedy there needs to be comedic elements. A suggestion was that the kid is a sleepwalker and he leaves the house not knowing what he is doing. Then, the kid goes to sleep on top of the car outside because he can't get back in the house and the parents come back to see their kid like that. Another idea was that the kid gets lost because he follows something that would add comedy. I still have not come up with what that thing could be, but I think I like the first idea of sleepwalking better.

I also need drama elements in the opening. A suggestion was that the teen is doing college applications and his parents are very hard on him. He is really stressed out, so he does irresponsible things like throwing parties.

Overall, the feedback I received was very helpful and I will see how to integrate it into my film opening.

Planning

It has been quite a difficult process to come up with an idea for our film opening that fits the framed genre. We decided to go with a teen drama where it revolves around teen life as the main focus. 

For our opening we need a child who looks like they are aged around 8-10 years old. It will not be easy because we don’t have any siblings around that age, so we need to find someone who is available.

We also need to have around 2-4 teens and a house to film what’s left after the party in our film opening. This will not be as difficult since I am a teen and my peers and I can take the roles of the teens. Also, the party props are not expensive and we can include props that we already have in the house.

Film Opening Genre - Dramedy

Dramedy (Comedy-drama)

My group and I have decided on a dramedy (comedy-drama) as the genre for our film opening. It is basically a film that is a comedy and a drama, and "dramedy" is just a mix of those two words. Dramedies portray events with comedic and dramatic elements integrated as part of the development. The genre is not meant to be a drama or comedy with only some elements of the other genre integrated. It is meant to have a balance with approximately the same amount of elements from each genre.

These films must focus mainly on drama elements such as character development, intense emotions and inner conflict for the plot. Other movies such as adventure, action, and scifi most of the time, do not pertain to the dramedy genre. What separates these movies is that the main story line is primarily adventure. Even if it still has comedy and drama, it is not considered to be a dramedy.

I am looking to focus more on teen dramedy for my film opening. These films contain mostly teenage characters and problems relating to teenage life. The conflicts are usually related to other teens in the film. It could be a conflict in between themselves or a conflict between themselves and a situation. Also, it includes the irresponsible, reckless, and rebellious nature of teens and uses that to develop the plot.

Source:
https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Dramedy

Music Marketing Project

Genre: R&B (Rhythm and Blues)

Current marketing trends within R&B

A well known R&B artist is Bryson Tiller. Most of his marketing is done through social media and digital platforms. He communicates with his fans through Instagram where he teases and makes announcements about his music. Songs from his albums have been released before the actual album is released to get people interested in future content. He releases his music videos on big streaming platforms such as Vevo and YouTube. He also releases his music through digital streaming services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Deezer, Google Play Music, etc.

Artist Development

My artist is “Hooded Angel” who is an upcoming R&B artist from Inglewood, California. I chose to develop his brand by portraying him as a person who was raised in a high crime area and he had to use crime as a way to support his family, but he eventually got out of it. He would be promoted on social media such as Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. The target audience are teens and a lot of them can relate to where he came from and the struggles he went through. This helps to develop his brand because the audience can really enjoy and understand what he is trying to communicate through his music.

Marketing Products

Website: Hooded Angel Website (<-- Click Link)

I created marketing products to promote my artist, one of them being a website. On this website, photos of the artist can be seen along with links to all of the social media. It includes a free snippet of his music and the music video can be viewed. Also, there are tour dates and a description of the artist himself.

Music Video

Another marketing product I created was a music video. It was released on YouTube and promoted on social media. It tells a story of his past and some of the things he did. It symbolically uses fire, and it shows how life keeps passing by and you eventually have to make something worthy out of it.

What I Learned

I learned that there are many elements that are part of the marketing and production process. It is difficult for an upcoming artist to become well known because everything has to be just right. Through the production of the music video, I learned that new ideas can come that improve the quality and content of the video. Also, you have to be very prepared with all the resources you need for filming because if not, it becomes more difficult than it already is. Through marketing, I learned that you need a lot of time and sometimes people to efficiently control all the aspects of marketing. For example, all the social media needs to be updated consistently and there needs to be a minimum amount of errors.