Generic Genre Research Blog

 In the beginning of this school year my First partner and I made a presentation on western films and found out allot, and reinforced our knowledge on the films of this genre.

Western

Common Lighting:

Mostly dark lighting in an atmosphere that is mostly natural and scenic.

Lighting used to convey drama and suspense for the upcoming confrontation and gunfight.

Uses lighting to identify the characteristics of characters ie. bright for the protagonist and dark for the antagonist.

Camera Angle:

Use of panoramic wide shots to establish the location.

In other westerns the use of point of view is used to depict what the protagonist is experiencing.

The use of tracking, panning and crane shots to emphasize the action of the film.

A key feature in westerns is the composition of the shot, so the camera angles try to include as much of the background as possible.

a picture from the presentation.

Camera Movement

Panning shots are used to involve the audience in the environment of the scene and setting.

Quentin Tarantino used quick flashes and cuts between characters to show action and reaction.

Zoom-ins into the character’s facial response shows the depth of the scene.

Mis en Scene

Within the frame of a Western, earthy colors get complimented by the sandy atmosphere of the scene.

Often there are old outhouses, shacks, saloons, and banks all there to represent the American frontier.

Props and wardrobe like guns, rifles, bandanas and etc… build the characters as stereotypes like the Sheriff, bandit, and the classic cowboy.

Animals are almost always present in a western and the trusty horse is a definite in most westerns 

Element of Genre

Revenge stories are prevalent in classic westerns. The story of a lone cowboy seeking revenge for they loved being killed is quite common.

Escaping urban expansion and industrialization and the developing of populous cities is seen as the enemy in many westerns.

The fight between the lawfulness and unlawfulness are common themes of westerns as it furthers the motif of “civilized” society versus the perceived “uncivilized” society. 

Lawmen, bandits, cowboys, and prospectors are common characters in westerns.

Sounds in Westerns 

Diegetic sounds like the wind whistling on the sand set the setting of the scene. 

Instrumental scores with high bravado are used to indicate the harshness of the wild west.

Sound motifs used include the rattling of a rattlesnake, the crackling of a whip, and the click and clang of saddles and spurs.

In some westerns you can somewhat hear the abandoness of the scene as it depicts the wilderness of the west.

Positives and Negatives

Positives: The Western genre encompasses the pure will to be free. The American frontier has long been an escape, a new life for those who seek to escape the rustle and bustle of the cities. The Western genre also comprises of suspenseful action sequences that bring the audience closer to the aims of the protagonist.

Negative: Some negatives of the genre are the less than stellar character development or character evolution. Many of the characters stay the same, they have the same directives throughout the film and very little changes in their resolve.

  a slide from the presentation on the Mis en Scene , of western films

(other slides were only words)

Final Pitch

  When coming up with our final pitch, we came across various bumps. Our group came up with 3 though, in the end, managed to narrow it down.
  For our dirst pitch that did not make it, called “235”, it was too similar to “Chernobyl”, the mini series about the nuclear disaster that had taken place in real life, four decades ago, in 1986. Upon further inspection we realized how hard the production would be, and figured out we could not get the right lighting to pull it off, where a post nuclear disaster interview that reveals a deeper tragedy in the eyes of a hardworking man working towards freedom. It would basically be a direct copy of another work.
  For another pitch, we had the idea of doing a sort of “DomCom” but ultimately decided that comedies usually never resonate, unless they use Elements  from another genre to leave a lasting effect.
All in all, we ended up deciding on the Horror/ Thriller genre as it came up with our most original idea, which would be the female lead, where the main character is basically a hitman, or hit women , in this case;as they kill, multiple unsuspecting men. Though we may have the pitch down, we secised that we would still be open to idea changes down the road, to clear up any confusions other team member would have, or things that would make it easier on us, so we won’t make any permanent mistakes.

Intro Blog: The Final

  Upon the completion of our music video, and some weeks to cool off and relax, our instructors told us that we would be starting a new project. Our final project it would seem, this time. It all seems way to fast. Since, after this year, I will be OUT of school. It’s all really scary when I think about it. This project is going to be a 2 minute original film/ trailer, based on what I was told.
  I was absent for the first couple of days after our winter break , and was left with a lot of catching up to do.
  My partner, while I was gone decided to merge our group with another to have a larger one, making it  4 of us in total. I did disagree with his decision, as I felt that we could have made something great with just the two of us, and also, one of the girls, Katie, made the project revolve around her idea, and it didn’t really feel like we had the room to explore other ideas.
  Though, it’s only the beginning.

Editing Blog: Music Video

     A couple of days ago, My partner and I made quick work of the editing needed for our music video. There wasn’t anything major that needed to be done. We made sure to film small pieces of the song while singing so the most we would have to do was align them in the editing software, Pinnacle Studios.In the beginning,  we synchronized all of our shots with the song that we had chosen.
     That song being  “Thrift Shop” by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis featuring, Wanz. Upon synchronization, the original audio had to be muted, to prevent clashing.After that, editing became a simple process. We had only filmed in two places, so the idea was to show multiple cuts between the two. The first scene being sped up to show us rummaging through clothes at a thrift store, then to a cut of my partner waiting, then to a scene of me being pushed in a shopping cart by the store owner.
   Ultimately, the editing was easy. We ensured it would be this way by shortening our filming time, and ended up with a compilation of shots where my partner and I are singing the lyrics. Our video only really consisted of cuts, and jump cuts really.

Music Video Filming Blog

In the past week, my partner and I filmed, and edited our music video. Though there may be some minor edits that still need to be done, for the most part , our video is completed, I would say. My brother helped film a part of the video, when it comes to outside help.

For our filming locations, the first we filmed at was Little Thrift Store, where the owners were exceedingly generous. We were filming a video to their favorite song “Thrift Shop” and ironically enough, in their thrift store they wanted to be as helpful as possible. One of the store owners named Joe, gave me soothing to wear and also agreed to pushing me in a shopping cart.  A kind gesture for someone whom I had just met. We filmed there for 2 days. The first being pretty difficult for certain parts, though when we recruited our brother for a certain part( cut from one person to another behind a shoe rack) it became way easier to pull off.

At Goodwill, we had previously thought were would be denied permission to film at the store though, upon entering the store with our equipment it did not seem as they cared. Filming in there was pretty
Easy. However, there were allot of people who couldn’t seem to keep their eyes off of us.

In editing, finding the right time to end the video was problematic, as it didn’t seem that we had enough footage to stretch past the time barrier. Thankfully we managed, not to mention, the editing that we did being pretty rudimentary, and not needing much to be done expect for a couple of jump cuts back and forth from two different places. It was really how the camera captured our shots that made the video.

All in all, we are proud of this video, especially since we used our own personal cameras to film bringing better quality.

Filming blog

 Coming into our Music video assignment, I realized that it might become more difficult for us to film. My partner and I did not take into consideration what the store managers would say when we  ask to film; hopefully, we will not be rejected, though it happens allot from what I’ve witnessed, on countless online videos. Other than that, depending on the decision of thrift store owners, we will be well off from there on due to the concept of our video being quite simple.
  To be specific, the locations we chose were GoodWill, and Little Thrift Store. I feel that the LTS would allow us to film for possible , promotional reasons as, clearly stated in its name, it’s a pretty small store on the more unnoticed part of a plaza, I personally feel that the owners may be generous when it comes to  allowing the filming of our music video; however, for our other location there may be a problem. GoodWil, is a thrift store , though on a corporate level. There are many of them through out the country , and they may take the filming of our video on a more serious note. They may prevent us from filming, as they might feel that us simply filming with in a store could ruin there image, based on the music video. Not that we have anything defaming, it  just may simply not be in their best interest.
  My partner and I decided that we would try to film  over the weekend. Since during school we can’t be productive, when it comes to filming since our  location is else where. Though, for other students , they may begin filming as of tomorrow in class. We understand that we are kind of at a disadvantage, in terms of filming, though , we will most definitely try our best  to get things done!

Gatorade commercial end/ Music video start

My partner and I finally completed our commercial. I was glad that he could get some parts done without me as there was a family issue that kept me from attending school for several days. While undergoing the process to create our commercial, I would say, only filming went smoothly. I got to film my partner running on the track, and got all the footage in virtually an hour. However, when it came to everything else, it was hard creating the actual commercial. First off, the recorded footage on the SD card was very hard to find, as it never saved into the correct folders. Secondly, for TWO whole days, the editing software, Pinnacle Studios, was down  and did not work. Finally, while editing, for what I was present for, it was pretty difficult to bring our ideas to life, despite the guidance we recieved from our instructors. Thouh, despite all this, we managed to get the job done!

More over, we  learned that we would be doing a new project.This new prject would be to create a music video , for a song of our choice. I was exited to find out that it would be a music video, as I have prior experience to making them. i think it will be a fun experience to make one for myself, as I usually make them for others and thier songs that they make. The song that my partner and I chose is, Thrift Shop, by MackleMore and Ryan Lewis featuring Wanz. I proposed this song to my partner since it would require a small amount of  experience to pull off. Also, in the songs lyrics, MackleMore speaks on lowbudget props that we already have,so execution will be pretty easy.

The genre of this song is hip-hop/rap. In most songs like this they usualy show the artist showing off their money , with expensive clothes, and cars , or what not; while also, containing allot of women, to show off how good their lives are. However, with this song, we are going against this , by going to a thrisft store to show the theme of the song "making the most of a small budget.