Group Feedback Reflection:

Today in class my classmates and I formed small groups (each person was from a different portfolio-project group,) and were told to share our concepts and ideas with each other in order to receive feedback and/or constructive criticism.

After going around the circle and listening to my peers' ideas, I realized that we are kind of behind relative to everyone else in class, because we haven't come up with an entire concept that we both agree on. My partner Lexi and I are, however, on the same page about the general vision for the movie: A protagonist who is living a better life now, but had a rough past/background. I wanted to introduce the main character's struggle through the use of flashbacks (super quick jump-cuts to a different setting with the subject in the same position throughout, like the 21 Savage video).

While I have the vision for a number of creative shots, I am struggling trying to come up with a movie plot-line that I think is adequate. I mean, if I am going to be working this hard on a film opening, I want to make sure that it makes sense to an audience! I am really impassioned to create something impressive, but time is running out! Lexi is going to be away for spring break, which starts the 22nd, and the project is due to our teacher the 7th of April...meaning, we have to rush to lock down a concept and just roll with it. Wish us luck.

MORE Research

My partner Lexi and I have decided to change our scene’s genre from horror to drama. The reasoning behind this decision comes from the fact that I believe the horror genre may be too ambitious, as well as not original enough. After discussing project ideas with friends, I soon realized that most of them were going to try to make a scary scene. With this new information, I deduced that if we continue to go in that direction, there would be a chance that our project would have the possibility of being very similar to someone else’s―which we obviously don’t want. Therefore, we are going to continue to brainstorm concepts this week, but this time in the context of drama conventions instead of horror.

1. Genre: Drama
2. Genre Conventions:
1. Content:
1. Realistic setting, characters, and storylines
2. The purpose is typically to tug on the audiences’ heart-strings and move them emotionally
3. Conflicts include realistic struggles depicting hardships, difficulty, and pain
4. A form of realization/epiphany at the end (may or may not have a happy ending)  
2. Production:
1. The use of gestures, objects or people will be utilized to emphasize the deeper meaning that is beyond the literal material
2. Color schemes will be used to signify the overall tone of each scene in a drama
3. “Dramatic” music (strings, soft piano), is often used to affect an emotional response from the audience
3. Institutional Conventions:
1. Marketing
1. Opening scene usually introduces/alludes to the main conflict but does not reveal the resolution
2. Main characters appear on talk shows and participate in interviews and promotional tours to build the hype of the film
3. Celebrity actors appearing in film help increase anticipation
4. Quotes from popular critic sources are typically embedded within the trailer (towards the end)
4. Drama Film Example:
1. A Star is Born (2018) https://youtu.be/nSbzyEJ8X9E
1. This film is the epitome of the drama genre, encompassing several standard conventions of the genre.
2. The trailer vaguely introduces a realistic struggle, alcoholism, but doesn’t reveal the resolution, if there even is one.
3. Production values were quality, showcasing the love story of the characters by including several dramatically intimate scenes of the couple meeting, falling in love, arguing, etc.
4. Lady Gaga appears as the female lead in the film, while Bradley Cooper directs AND stars as the male lead role. The double-celebrity appeal increases audience anticipation.