Femme Fatale

Hi and welcome back!

Since Riley and I have decided on the main character being a femme fatale (a film character of a seductive, mysterious, and disastrous woman), I decided to perform more research on these characters as well as their appearance in films.

Upon watching the opening sequence of the TV Show “Femme Fatales,” I noticed how grand the emphasis was on the appearance of the character. The show opening featured the femme fatale getting ready. For example, there was a close-up shot of the woman applying bright red lipstick which, according to Google images, is popular for this character.

The show opening also featured overlapping videos of crime-related objects, like caution tape, police cars, and guns. This is something Riley and I could focus on. When our main character is having flashbacks or even in the scenes in the interrogation room, we could add overlapping videos of the crime or other crime-related things.

As for the props for the main character, since we were planning on setting our movie in the 1900's (we were thinking the 1950's but we're not positive on this yet), we wanted to have the woman hold a cigarette as she's being interrogated. Since we're not going to actually be smoking and it's difficult to fake smoke, we wanted to buy a long cigarette holder (I found one for $3 on ebay) and have the main character hold the cigarette on that instead. This seems to be a very popular prop for the femme fatale, so we're definitely going to buy it.

As for the costume design, most femme fatales wear fancy and seductive clothing, usually red or black. They also usually wear heavier makeup, like bold red lipsticks and dark, prominent eyeliner. This makeup still fits into the color scheme of black and red. Again, since we're probably setting the movie in the 1900's, we will have to change the main character's hairstyle, eyebrows, clothing, etc. to fit into the trends of that time period. 

We wanted to set our film in this time period, since that is when Hollywood's classical film noir period extended (the early 1940's to the late 1950's). Because our main character being a femme fatale is heavily inspired on films from the film noir genre, we felt it would be more appropriate to have the film set in this period. Hopefully, we will be able to portray this effectively!

Femme Fatale On Leather Couch stock photo. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.istockphoto.com/dk/photos/femme-fatale

Productions, A. (2011, September 14). Femme Fatales Opening Title Sequence.

Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W2WSnSYFgQM

The Research Continues...

Hi and welcome back to my blog!

As I stated in my previous post, Riley and I have decided on a film opening of the crime drama genre. In my last blog post, I mostly researched the conventions of this genre, like the setting, characters, and title. Today, I'm going to research this genre in more depth, focusing more on sample openings for films of this genre.

I mentioned the Netflix Original show Elite in my last post. This show was what inspired me to further research this genre and eventually to choose. I really liked how Elite started, it was the beginning that really drew my eye and kept me interested. I decided to rewatch the first five minutes of the show and take notes of its elements, as if I would have to write a visual analysis essay on it after. I'll type out my notes below.

Elite Notes

- Introduces production company first on a dark screen
- Production company is introduced while a loud nondiegetic sound is heard in the
background
- This transitions to flashing blue and red lights - reminiscent of police sirens - while
a dark song
plays in the background
- The camera zooms out to reveal the main character, a teenage boy
- The boy slowly turns, looking directly into the camera
- Low-key lighting is used - suspense
- Many jump cuts as the character walks, creates a sense of confusion and despair
- High pitched noise heard, similar to those used in horror movies
- The sound of the boy’s heavy breathing is magnified, shows his unease
- In this flashback, his face is shadowed (low-key lighting), creates mystery
- Transitions to the boy and an older woman in an interrogation room, boy has tears
in his eyes, the lighting is stronger, his face is visible
- Shot reverse-shot of the boy and the interrogator

I really liked the layout of this film opening and plan on employing a similar layout for my own. First off, I liked that the production company was introduced first and on a black background. To me, this looks much better than if it was introduced while the scenes were playing. I also really liked how the film starts with flashing lights and doesn’t initially reveal the face of the character.

I was thinking of starting my film opening with shots of the crime scene and/or the crime that the main character has been accused of. Similar to Elite, I would use low-key lighting for these scenes. This would create a sense of mystery and suspense that would draw the audience in and keep them interested. This would transition to scenes in the interrogation room, where the main character’s (who will be either me or Riley) face will be fully revealed, as the lighting will be brighter and harsher.

As the interrogator (we’re not sure who this will be) asks questions, the main character will have flashbacks from either the actual crime or from the aftermath of the crime. We will frame this with scenes similar to the initial scenes with low-key lighting. The name of the film ("The Sirens") will then pop up. I'm still not sure when we should introduce the name of the director, actors, etc. We probably will pop their names up on the corner of the screen as the initial scenes are playing.

We also need to keep in mind that Elite is a TV show and we are producing a film, so obviously there will be differences in the layouts of both openings. It will be difficult to center the film opening on the crime committed in a way that will be engaging and interesting, but also in a way that doesn't expose or spoil the actual crime, as that would ruin the rest of the movie. It's difficult to plan this out, but if we loosely plan out the rest of the movie, we can solve this issue.

Thank you for reading, I'll see you in my next post!

Researching Crime Drama

Since we have decided on our genre, it is vital to research its characteristics and
conventions. Crime drama focuses mainly on the lives and actions of criminals,
offering a serious and grim portrayal of the criminal environment. Usually these
dramas emphasize the notion that crime doesn’t pay.

Typically films of this genre take place in popular cities, such as large or
capital cities. This is because there are higher crime rates there and/or people
are familiar with the place and will be able to relate to it. The crime drama tv show
Luther, for example, is filmed mostly in London, in popular locations like the
Renaissance Hotel and the Westfield Shopping Centre.

For our film opening, we were thinking of filming mainly in an interrogation room.
Since Riley’s parents are both cops, we might have access to this room and other
parts of the police facility. We were also thinking of basing the film on an earlier
period, like the 1950’s. This will make it harder to perfect the mise en scene, but
we will work hard to make it happen.

As for the title, the name of the programme usually hints that the show or film is
about crime. This is seen in the British tv series, “The Bill,” as the title is a slang word
for the police. For our title, we were thinking of “The Sirens.” We plan on the criminal
being part of a woman gang and also being a femme fatale. According to Merriam-
Webster, a femme fatale is “a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or
compromising situations.” “Siren” is a synonym for this and since it also relates to the
crime scene (police sirens), we thought it would be a clever title that fits the
conventions of the genre.

Characters in crime dramas are separated into crime solvers, criminals, victims, family,
and friends of the victim. For our film opening, we are planning to focus mainly on the
femme fatale and her interrogator. During the interrogation, the woman will have
flashbacks to the crime in question and the other women in her gang, so they will also
be shown in our film opening.

Top, Ditte. “Media Studies: What Are Conventions of TV Crime Drama?”
Prezi.com, 14 Nov. 2018, prezi.com/sox5gwopmozt/media-studies-what-are-conventions-of-tv-crime-drama/.

“Luther (TV Series).” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_(TV_series).

“Subgenre - Crime Drama.” AllMovie, www.allmovie.com/subgenre/crime-drama-d574.

“Femme Fatale.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/femme%20fatale.

The Researching Begins!

Welcome back!

We are finally starting our portfolio projects and I'm very excited. My teammate, Riley, and I haven't decided yet on an idea for our film opening, so we thought deciding on a genre first would help us choose.

Originally we were thinking of producing a film opening for a horror movie, but upon further research of the genre, we didn't feel like our vision for the film opening matched the conventions of film openings for horror movies. When researching this genre, we looked at the opening for Paranormal Activity (2007). Most horror movies begin with calm scenes and build up tension and suspense throughout the film. We didn't want to start our film opening like this; we wanted to open it with suspenseful and dramatic scenes from the middle of the film (media res technique).

We then researched the film noir genre. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, this genre is a "style of filmmaking characterized by...cynical heroes, stark lighting effects, frequent use of flashback, intricate plots, and an underlying existentialist philosophy." Even though we were both very intrigued by this, we felt like it would be hard to achieve those undertones and characteristics in only the film opening. Once again, since we wanted to have a film opening with high intensity and drama, we felt that there would be another genre better fit for this.

And then, finally we found it! We're not 100% sure on it, but we were both intrigued by the crime drama genre. I first thought of this when watching the Netflix original show, Elite. This show is a crime, drama, and mystery film, and utilizes the media res technique. It begins with a scene of the main protagonist covered in blood. The occurrence of a murder is soon after revealed. This film opening greatly caught my eye, as it had the intensity and suspense Riley and I had been searching for.

We plan on further researching the crime drama genre, and the different conventions and techniques that exist within it. We will research this next class and will discuss our different ideas. I can't wait to continue this process!

Britannica, T. E. (2017, September 26). Film noir. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/film-noir

Theorangutan86. (2009, November 07). Paranormal activity opening. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlXCIZllanU

Music Marketing Campaign

       This project required us to create a music marketing campaign for an upcoming musician/band. This campaign included various types of marketing methods, like the creation of merchandise (shirts, hoodies, stickers, pop-sockets, etc.), and distribution methods: streaming services (Spotify, iTunes, and Apple music, etc.), social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube, and a music video showcasing our band/musician's new single. 
       For our video, we could choose to make it promotional, storytelling, or artistic. My group and I decided to make a storytelling video, focusing on love and heartbreak, as this fit into our song's meaning.

When researching for this project, my group and I focused on bands similar to ours. Since our band’s genre was Indie Rock, we focused on bands like Death Cab for Cutie and Arctic Monkeys, as they produced music similar to ours and had a similar aesthetic. By researching these bands, we were able to create specific merchandise and marketing items.

It was also vital to thoroughly research the target audience of our band’s genre. We discovered that this audience was comprised of teenagers and young adults from ages 16 to 25. From this information, we catered our marketing and distribution plans to this age, incorporating digital technology to many aspects of our plan, such as distributing our tracks mostly through digital streaming services rather than focusing mainly on CDs, cassettes, or vinyl records.
From knowing the target audience, we also decided to focus our initial campaigning through Instagram, as it is one of the most popular platforms for our target audience.

For our marketing plan, we decided to focus mainly on our website (https://nicolealesso.wixsite.com/website) and our Instagram account (@rocknature_official). On our website, we included background information on our band, like its history, personal information on each member, and a list of its upcoming shows, with buttons to RSVP and buy tickets.
We also advertised and sold our merchandise through the website. This included logo shirts, hoodies, stickers, and pop-sockets, which can be seen below.

     On our website, we also allowed fans to subscribe to our blog, which offered stories of us on tour and helpful music advice, and to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns. These messages would be answered within 24 hours by a band member or staff.
Our Instagram, however, was what allowed for the most interaction with our fans. Since a large portion of our target audience is active on the Instagram, we used the app's features, like its hashtags and location options to increase our visibility.

From this project, I learned the importance of researching target audience and catering my work to this audience. I also learned the importance of establishing a concise yet specific marketing and distribution plan. For the campaign project, my group and I discussed and established our distribution plan before our marketing plan. This was not logical at all, as marketing comes before distribution in a campaign, and I will make sure not to make this same mistake for my portfolio project.

Since I will be creating a film opening for my project, the music video aspect of this project greatly exposed my group and I to the filming and editing process. Many critiques on our music video were regarding the loose editing of our video; many of our shots were on the screen for too long. For my portfolio project, I will make sure this is not the case. I will film many different shots and angles of a scene, so that I have ample footage to choose from and can produce a tighter edit.