SOCIAL MEDIA TIME

 Like I said in the blog before I had completely forgotten about the whole social media component of the project 😬 oops. That is why today in class we focused and talked a lot about this whole component and guess what that means? More research…

To begin with we decided to promote and share our film through Instagram and TikTok and you might be wondering why. Well, like I said in my target audience blog we plan to target this short film to a younger audience which is why TikTok makes sense because these kids are attracted to TikTok the most and it is where they spend most of their time online. Moreover, it is a great platform to make videos that interact with the audience such as TikTok challenges. In addition, we decided on Instagram because it would reach a greater audience of younger teens and where we can promote the short film, the most and do fun activities. 

Instagram: 

The first thing we did was create an Instagram account for the film and now it was time to post on it but we were a little stuck on where to even begin. What should be your first post? How do you keep building from that first post? So many questions to be answered which is why I went on my phone and searched movies and TV shows with Instagram to get some inspiration. I checked out Free guy, everything everywhere all at once, not okay, and A24. 

The first thing I noticed about the first post for each film was either the trailer or an announcement of when the trailer was coming out. And after that, they are different posts about promoting or interacting with the audience or meeting the cast or behind the scenes, etc. there are a few posts that stood out to me I would love to incorporate on our Instagram. 

For the movie "Free Guy" the thing that I noticed the most about their social media is that they post a lot of videos and not a lot of pictures. They posted the trailers and many teasers many times throughout the movie and special videos with the main protagonist kinda like interviews. Nonetheless, I liked these posts because it highlights some BTS pictures of when they were shooting the movie in addition, to the soundtrack of the movie which is a nice touch that I would love to add to our social media for greater audience interaction. 

Now the movie "not okay" used these really nice graphics to show what critics said about the movie and I honestly loved it, I think it really adds a nice aesthetic vibe to the whole Instagram and it is something different. In addition, they used the same vibe and brand to introduce the cast and the character and their connection in this diary form that shows the cast's script notes and symbols that represents their character which I absolutely loved. 

TikTok: 

TikTok would be mostly used for videos that interact with the audience and in a way to create a platform in which the audience can relate to the casts by posting "TikTok challenges" or "TikTok dances". Nonetheless, it Is also going to be used for gaining a higher following in which the same videos that will be posted on Instagram will be posted on TikTok, that way if we are able to grow TikTok Instagram will immediately get more attention as well. 

I know that is a lot of information but be prepared for that because time is moving fast and so do we. This is where everything gets real but that is all for this social media post and let me tell you this is my favorite part, I think social media for marketing is fascinating which is why I plan to study this in the next chapter of my life. But anyway, the next tasks to finish this week are: creating the Instagram, deciding on a title, begging posting, and lastly, creating a logo or profile picture for it. Stay Tuned!!

GROUP MEETINGS!!

Class today was very eventful and productive. At first we started the class with Ms. Stoklosa giving us a lesson on social media and how to develop a brand for this project. This opened my eyes because I had completely forgot that we had to open a social media account for this project so that was added to my mental to do list for things to do this week, so keep your eyes open for some social media content. 

But nonetheless, that is not the point of today. Today we had the opportunity to break into groups to talk about our projects to get some help and let me tell you it really helped, it made me feel a little more clear headed for what we hope to achieve for this project. Here is my group...

We really had such a nice conversation and we really helped each other with our projects. I told them all about our project and our ideas and I mentioned how we are struggling on how to show the beginning, middle, end and how we can transition between the three and Sachate told me to watch the movie "Moonlight" for some inspiration because it shows three stages and it had some really cool transitions that we can do so now I plan to watch that movie for some inspiration. In addition, I told them how we wanted to play with color and have the beginning of the film just like in warm or dull colors and at the end bright color to show the contrast and the different feelings throughout the film, my group told me to at the beginning keep the color normal and it progresses lower the saturation and at the end put the saturation higher, I thought this was a great idea and plan to implement it on our film!

Today was a successful day! It is already week three into the project and time is flying by!! We have a lot of work to do!

TARGET AUDIENCE

 Target Audience

A big part of making a film or anything that has to do with media is having a target audience to target the film so it’s successful. Since this is a big part for every component of the project it’s only right that we dedicate some research on it don’t you think? 

To begin with since our film is about sports, more specifically gymnastics the film is most likely going to attract female gymnasts since they can relate to it most. Therefore, the target audience for the film would be females of all ages because the sport of gymnastics spreads throughout every age. Which is why if we were to rate the short film it would be PG that way it attracts every age. In addition to that the age range of the target audience would be any age or 8 or older. Lastly, the socioeconomic status of this audience would be low to middle class because the short film is based on gymnastics and it really doesn’t reflect any high class.

Because our short film is mostly targeted to young people I asked myself what do I need to add to this film to make it so that these young people go watch it and actually enjoy it. So I read a very interesting article let me show you what it said “I think people use stories to live out their fears, anxieties, and fantasies. Stories help them sort their feelings and cope with complex emotions that are hard to explain and live with. But as we get older, we need less help with that. We come to terms with the disturbing parts of the world, with the dreams that will never come true, and with our own mortality.” article

 

I liked this because i think it explains so well what the young audience is looking for while watching a movie or a short film. this made me think that by showing the struggles of not only gymnastics but something that happens in every sport maybe it would help this young generation of athletes understand these feelings that they go through as they grow into the sport and hopefully it would help them see that these things happens and it doesn’t have to defeat them. Lastly, since target audience is a big thing throughout this process we will need to continue researching this for the social media page and the post card because since we are planning on targeting it to a younger audience we need to figure out what those social media apps they use and what we need to develop. 

Well tomorrow is a new week which means more progress with the project! stay tuned! 

STORYBOARD

As you may have guessed this post is about planning!! This is really the most important part of the process and we want to be really organized and prepare and plan everything before me film so the short film comes out really good. Now in class we also worked on a story board to kind of sketch out the type of shots we want and kind of organize the film. But remember this is a very very rough draft this is most likely going to change but let me show you. 

Like I said before this is a very rough draft of what we want to do but we just wanted to get an idea down right away to organize our brains to see where we want to go with this and what we really want to show. As you see we want the beginning shots to be of her as a kid enjoying gymnastics. The middle part of it its when everything builds up because it is when she starts competing herself to the other gymnasts and wondering if she has what it takes, and i think like a POV shot would be cool to show this part of the film. Then it cuts to her working on her skills at home and just really putting in the work yet, she is still not good enough in her eyes. The parents try to help her get back into to it but at the end of the day she doesn’t stick with it (as of right now i dont know if that is really going to be the ending). The purpose of the shots at the beginning is to empathize what she goes to through emotionally and mentally and i really think we can use inspiration from the short films that i watched but that’s a story for another day. 

Thanks for reading todays blog, catch you on the next one!!!!!

BEGINNING, MIDDLE, END…

 Since we had class yesterday we were able to come up with the final topic as you know if you read my last blog and we also came up with a rough very rough plot line of what we want to show at the beginning, middle and end. Let me show you… 

 

Beginning:

·                main character as a little kid enjoying the sport (practice, smiling, laughing)

·                admiring older gymnasts, olympists, and college athletes

·                growing up and continuing to improve skill 

·                start comparing skill to other gymnasts

 

Middle:

·                starting to not be able to do a skill

·                practice outside of gym

·                watching others out of anger not enjoyment

·                not wanting to go to practice

·                struggle to stay positive

·                self-deprivation

End:

·                giving up on dreams

·                parents notice and try to help

·                quit to relieve stress

We want to show how you grow as a person in the sport and how everything becomes more difficult as you go. The beginning is all about the main character as a kid enjoying gymnastics, seeing herself in the future accomplishing incredible thing and just growing up in the sport. However, as you grow into the sport it is when negative mindset and all the pressure takes over, this is the part when the sport is not fun anymore and it becomes self sabotaging in a way. Now the ending is a little in the air right now because we don't know if we want to end it with her quitting the sport and show that she is happy now which we would do that with showing her with dull colors and then super bright colors at the end or have her overcome this challenge and come out stronger mentally and physically. 

The story itself it is about the progression of one person in a sport trying to becomes the best and how that affects a person mentally, physically, and emotionally especially in the sport of gymnastics where you have to be “perfect” all the time. 

Stay tunes for more planning blogs but hopefully we can get this part done super fast so we can start recording!!!

 

 

DECISION TIME

 Well, I have some good news for you. To start the week off right we have finally decided what our short film will be about. Drum roll please 🥁🥁🥁

The topic for our film is trying to be the best at sports, working so hard and giving it you all for at the end not get any results or satisfaction and fighting that mentality you gain as you progress through the sport. 

Now dont think I’ve forgotten about the beauty standard topic because we have also included the topic in our film, let me tell you how. The sport that we decided to focus on is gymnastics because this sport is so mentally draining and it can really do a number on the way you look like. Gymnasts are always stereotyped to be these tiny petite women and if you dont fir this body type then they tell you you are not good enough to for the sport. What does this do the kids that are just trying to enjoy the sport? It spirals into a whole mentality of comparing yourself to your teammates whether that is physically or skill wise, body dysmorphia etc… that is why we chose this sport because it allowed us to include both of the topics that we discussed to do and let me tell you i have lived though all these issues and expectation because little did you know that I have been doing gymnastics since I was five and was getting weighted and told to watch out what I ate since i as 7. 

Yeah i know pretty shocking but you learn how to live with it as a kid. I’m excited to make this short film about this topic and show a little bit of the dark side of the sport and send an emotional message at the same time. 

Alright we have a topic now can you guess what comes next? YOU GUESSES IT!! Planning, planning and more planning so stay tunde for that. 

GENRE GENRE GENRE

Genre genre genre... the thing that everyone loves. To make any film successful because it provides the plot and content, you need to put on your film. For our particular short film, we decided to deal with the drama genre even though we haven't decided on the topic. Nonetheless, the topics that we are debating on both will fall under the drama genre. So went to my little friend called google to do some more research. 

PLOT

Dramatic films are plot-driven and demand that all the characters and plot move the story forward. This means that the plot in the film is the most important part of the film. What I take away from this is that our group needs to spend a lot of time working and developing a fast-paced plot. Now the next important thing about the plot is that dramas follow a well-defined narrative plot that is real-life scenarios which is exactly our idea for our short film. We want to take a real-life problem as our inspiration for our short film and send a message through the short film which works perfectly for the genre. 

CHARACTERS

In the other article I read it said that the characters play a very important role in the drama genre and a brief description of each character is necessary. This is another thing to add to the mental checklist for short films. 

TECHNIQUES

I decided to do some research on the techniques used for dramatic films and I fell upon this wonderful article that explained major editing techniques for drama films. The first technique they described was faced which means that in most dramatic film scenes they open with a close-up of the main protagonist's face to show the emotions and the tone of the film. The film uses the movie "Saving Private Ryan" as an example because the opening scene is filled with close-ups of the soldiers which gives the proper emotional context to the audience. 

this is the illustration that the article used to show the faces used in the opening scene. 

The next technique they described was observations which means showing the pov of the character and what he is seeing as well as helping the audience understand how this affects them. Some key elements that the article suggests are the eyeshot followed by the POV shot and back to the eyes. 

again an example from the article from the movie "Saving Private Ryan" 

The third technique is reactions which means a sequence of cutting between the action and the reaction of the character. The purpose of this technique is that it helps the audience realize the character's motivation and it increases the tension of the scene of what is happening. Lastly, reactions can also add realism to the film. 

Here are some visual examples that the article gives you. 

The last technique is vulnerabilities which makes the audience gain empathy for the characters. and by reminding them that the characters have weaknesses and are not perfect like humans it connects the audience to the character. During these types of scenes when we are trying to reconnect the audience to the character it is important that we slow down the pace to really feel the vulnerability and the emotions. 

Well, that is it for this research, I mean obviously, have to do more research but this is only part 1 and I feel like I learned a lot. Part 2 will get inspiration from other dramatic short films or films. 

here are all the articles I read for this research...

https://medium.com/@english_grammar/characteristics-of-drama-2d42c83e9a08

https://www.filmeditingpro.com/4-editing-techniques-to-add-drama-to-a-cut/

https://www.premiumbeat.com/blog/guide-to-basic-film-genres/

https://medium.com/@supriya.webfare/6-best-genres-for-short-films-db27aeb5bdf4

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-identify-film-genres