Thriller Credit Sequences

                         Research for thriller credit sequences

 Hello everyone, in this fine afternoon we will now be disccusing AND analyzing the credit sequences within the thriller sphere. The whole purpose of doing this is to have an idea on how to give the credit to the director, producer, actor and ect. We want our opening credit sequence to mimick or look exactly as it would as any other thriller film. And for those who don't know what an opening credit sequence looks like, this would be an example of one:

Now I will be discussing 3 different credit sequences that are all thriller films. The first one is "Psycho" (1960).  When the credit sequence begins, we see Alfred Hitchcock's name being displayed along with  sharp moving lines and intense music. The aggressive movement of the text and visuals creates anxiety for the audience. This shows how a credit sequence can use sound and motion to create discomfort for the viewers. 

Another is "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo "(2011). Its credit sequence is dark, and is paired with intense music, creating an unsettling tone. The sequence feels chaotic and overwhelming, which reflects the film’s disturbing themes. This demonstrates how thriller credit sequences can be used as warnings in the beginning rather than spoiling anything or giving too much information. 

On the other hand , "Black Swan" (2010) takes a different kind of approach. The credits are subtle and minimal, allowing the visuals and the music to sort of take over. This choice creates uneasiness when watching the credit sequence.. The simpleness of the credits helps establish the mood for the audience, showing that thriller credits do not need to be very visually for it to reach the audience on a deeper level. 

Overall, this research helps how we should form our own credit sequences, and making sure it enhances the thriller tone. 

Thriller Film openings

 Hello everyone, in this blog post I will be disscussing and analyzing three different film openings that are thriller genres. My group and I chose thriller as the genre that we would choose to incorporate into our protfolio project. 

Now, thriller is meant to povokes ones thoughts and create tension. The film openings for thrillers are very important because they help establish the mood and the tension form the very beginning. The openings of Children of Men (2006), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), and Gone Girl (2014) are great examples of how the thriller genre draws audiences in by creating the suspense form the very start.

The opening of  "Children of Men" first begins with introducing the audience to an unsettling world.The film begins with a tracking shot inside a cafe, where people are watching a news report about the death of the world’s youngest person. This moment establishes the situation or the problem of the film. A explosion then happens right after, which reinforces the concpet of it being an unatural world.

This opening is effective within the thriller genre because it combines realism with violence. By using the tracking shot , it shows the chaos in the world and immerses the audience to feel the experience. Rather than explaining the chaos , the film allows the audience to make an understanding with information like the setting and dialogue. This helps creates a sense  uncertainty, which is a key for thrillers. 

The opening scene of "The Silence of the Lambs" focuses on this woman who is running through an FBI training course in a foggy forest. This opening is quiet ,with minimal dialogue, which intensifys the isolation. The setting immediately creates discomfort, as the audience is unsure whether she is being watched or something else.

This opening showcases the psychological tension within the thriller genre because it establishes unease through isolation. The lack of music allows the sound of woman's breathing and footsteps to be the sound that is highlighted and is contrasting the setting. Without revealing any danger, the opening builds suspense and psychological tension, which sets the expectations of uneasiness.

Gone Girl opens with a disturbing voiceover from the husband as he describes his wife. The opening visuals are neat showing normality, which contrasts with the husbands unsettling thoughts. This immediately creates suspicion from the audience.

This opening is effective as a psychological thriller because it introduces the concept of misleading narration. Rather than presenting a clear message , the film encourages the audience to question Nick’s \intentions from the very beginning. The opening establishes themes of manipulation, aand deception, which are key to the thriller genre.

Citations: https://www.ranker.com/list/haunting-opening-scenes-thriller-films/orri-grey

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt35629774/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Silence_of_the_Lambs_(film)    

Transitioning into the Portfolio Project

                                     THE BEGINNING OF MY PORTFOLIO PROJECT

 Now, it is that time of the year where I need to start working on my portfolio project and update you all on my progress. From here on out, my blog posts will be regarding only the updates on my project. I'm looking forward to this project because when it comes to thinking of ideas and finding a story that fits the purpose you're trying to go for, it feels exhilarating. 

As I transition through this project, i will be researching on developing my project and start planning out the timelines and ect. By doing this it will allow me to discover more media techniques, structure of plots, and my overall ideas. Also, I decided to work with a group, so I'd have to share all of my ideas and come together to create some sort of result. I'm looking forward to it, since we share similar opinions on how we want the opening to be. We want some tension, suspense, and thriller to be involved. 

This image here shows the plots that have been thought of. This image also shows the process of one storyline that has been specifically worked on with ideas and details. 

Building on this, our goal is to create an opening that captures the audience’s attention and establishes the tone of the story. We plan to focus heavily on atmosphere, using elements like sound,  angles, and lighting to build the tension and suspense.

 Overall, I will be documenting the proccess of the portfolio project, and display the challenges and changes made along the way.  I am excited to begin this stage, as it will allow me to plan the ideas we have been developing.
I hope to create a compelling product that effectively uses media techniques to engage the audience.

Portfolio Project Genre #2

The second genre that I'm considering for my portfilio project is Thriller. And for the subgenre I'd like to go with is Psychological Thriller. 

Psychological thriller is a genre that focuses on the stuggles of character and their situation in life and this may come from the idea of trauma, morality, and just right from wrong. The whole point as well is to be in the characters mind when it comes to making lasting decsions. Now, the typical audience for this type of genre are usually older teens and adults who engage with topics like these. For example, the movie may want the audience to question their own moraltiy when watching a film with this kind of genre. 

The content of the genre may focus on the mental conflict within the character rather it being shown physically. The characters may also experince situations like trauma or conflict within themsleves. These stories may also include dreams and hallucinations. 

As for techniques, if the characters were to experince trauma, you would expect to see a lot of flashbacks inserted to see the back story of the character. For this, tight close ups are used to show the expression of uncomfort form the character face. Items and props may be used a lot throughtout the film to showcase the characters obssessivness. As well as dark tones and dark shadows, to illustrate the depressing vibe. And dim lighting can be added as well for the tension and the unexpectedness. The sound that comes along with this genre is very minimalistic, with very little music, since this genre wants people to think and not be distracted with loud music. 

For the marketing , trailers would definitely be used to display the film with its dark vibe and tension towards it, to attract the audience. The trailer would also really want to sell it with the moments of emotion and the situations rather than special effects. This films are usually premired in festivals, and after sometime may be distributed onto big streaming platforms. 

One of the two films that really bring this genre to life is "Black Swan". The main character Nina has this idea of obssession of being perfect when it comes to ballet. This movie portrays the pyschological struggles of overworking for your goals and sometimes can harm oneself. Really the mental state of Nina is what really drives the plot, like the extreme close up shots to show Nina's emotions. 

The second film that represents psychologica thriller is "The Shining". The character has a lost of santiy in the film at one point and that becomes the highlight of the film with its unexpectdness and the loss of all morality. Techniques that are used are long tracking shots that shwo uneasiness which adds to the tension. 

Citations:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychological_thriller

                https://www.vaia.com/en-us/explanations/media-studies/filmmaking/psychological-thriller/

                 https://www.imdb.com/search/title/?genres=thriller

Portfolio Project Genre #1

The genre that I'm considering for my portfolio project is drama. As for the subgenre, it would be realistic fiction drama.

                                                                             DRAMA

Realistic drama is a genre that displays the lives, struggles, and goals of people with drama and authenticity. It represents the hard truth and the complex things in peoples lives. I thought of this genre firsthand, because I thought I could somehow demonstrtae the realities of young lives in this world today. Mainly the struggles is what I thought of orignally since this type of genre is well recognized by young people. 

 Now, realisitic drama aims to engage and resonate with the audience emotionally and intellectually. The audience, such as myself, like to seek a sense of understanding from this genre. For example, struggling with fiances may resonate with others, or struggling to make friends in a different country as a foriegner, these are examples of what the audience may find to be resonating. Not only that, but the audience may enjoy the life lessons from these type of genres. 

Generally speaking, relaistic drama usually has a life lesson added to it, and apply to the majority of society. This genre applys realistic situations and explore issues from there. Common content that goes along with this genre is identity, morals, personal growth, and even love. It also often ends with no resolution as opposed to another type film with a different genre. This goes to show the realsim, since in our day to day lives there isn't always a resoultion to certain situations but we have to move on. 

The techniques that are used for this type of genre are technqiues like natural lighting, to reinforce the realsim of the genre. For emotional appeal, it may use close up shots to capture expressions that may be significant. And medium shots can be used to show the setting that is being established. Now, rather than music that is added, it may use diagetic sound as the genre is trying to be as realistic as possible. The characters aren't usualy loud, the tone is more soft and calming. If anything, soft music can be applied as well for moments that are emotional. As for mise-en-scene, practical clothes are used, as well as realistic props and setting. Settings like, work, home, or school are the usual settings for this type of genre. 

For Institutional Conventions, instituions that work with this type of genre are institutions like A24 which is a indpendent studion as well as Magnolia Pictures, and Sony Pictures Classics. The marketing for this focuses the emotional aspect, like the character and their realtionships. The poster for this type of genre can be mnimalist as it is made to be realisitc with the character in a natural setting. The trailers may emphasize the hardships and the relationships of the character, and really highlight the mood. 

One of the two films that illustrate this genre is "Past lives". This film has the factors of realism like the natural dialouge and the natural setting and clothes that is used. This story also is about love, identity, and a sense of connection, which all go to realsim. 

The second film is titled "Lady Bird", which is a film that centers around a teenage girl and the conflicts with her close ones. This film uses real life situations for storytelling rather than a more dramatic  kind of plot. 

Citations: https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/tv-drama-audience-demographics/28493255

               https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Past_Lives_(film)

                https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Bird_(film)

                https://www.clrn.org/what-is-realism-in-drama/

Music Marketing Project #2

 https://drive.google.com/file/d/1watF2CIxpPMI2qUFg5wZ_iLYADVgyCik/view?usp=drivesdk

Music Marketing #1

 For my music marketing project, I focused on two  artists from Interscope Records: Billie Eilish and Lady Gaga. I chose these artists because they represent different branding and marketing strategies within the same label, which helped me understand how music companies target different audiences.

For Billie Ellish, I noticed how much her whole brand is authenticity. She leans into being vulnerable and emotional and which is why her fans connect with her so strongly. I paid attention to her darker aesthetic and the way she uses social media. Interscope lets her be herself, and her personality basically does the marketing on its own.

Then I moved on to Lady Gaga, who's career is built on visuals, statement fashion, and storytelling . She has one of the most dedicated fan communities, and as well as her connection to her audience. I looked into how she portrays herself album after album,and how Interscope uses her dramatic imagery to build  marketing strategies. 

Once I had good understanding of both artists, I then researched Interscope Records as a whole. From what I researched, I found that they are very flexible with their artists. They let them express themselves freely and allow them to build their own brand. 

After finishing, we were then assigned with the music marketing project. Unfortunately I left for vacation the day our teacher gave us notes on the project. Fortunately my partners informed me online of what are tasks we’re. We chose the song “We are young” and we must create a music video and give ideas on distribution and the marketing campaigns. Our teacher gave us a list to put down every members names and assigned tasks. I will be taken on the task of helping recording the music video, helping with the final statement and the overview. We really have to start taking action once we get back from break. Overall, I’m very excited to see how our process for the project turns out