Research - Exploration of 3 different genres

Comedy: 

    Comedy is a genre in TV, theater, film, and live performance that strives to entertain and make people laugh through comedic styles like satire, wit, jokes, and irony. It is an important tool for societal commentary that can emphasize life's craziness while producing the pleasant release of tension that everyone needs.  

Characteristics of Comedy: 

    Comedy will guide people down one path, then it will smack people with a twist. The format of the joke creates a specific viewpoint or path in the listener's mind. The punchline then presents a shocking shift in perspective, compelling the audience to reinterpret the first assumption in a completely funny and new light. The component of surprise and the unexpected change in logic are what initiate the laughter. 

    Overemphasizing characters or situations past what's logical is a typical comedy move. The blend of foolishness and excessive elements as well as authenticity results in an amusing combination that audiences love. Exaggeration tends to emphasize a characters flaws, generate humorous misinterpretations, or provide social commentary in an intensified way that makes the fundamental truth more enjoyable or visible. 

    The delivery of a punchline, physical gag, or joke can make all the difference in obtaining a crying laugh or giggle. Past delivery, timing is also about establishing tension and knowing when the right time to release. A well-composed joke can fall through if poorly executed, while proficient execution can make even a average joke hilarious. 

    The greatest comedies make people think by delivering tough truths and social criticism in an attainable way. By using humor, performers and writers can address debatable or delicate topics that might otherwise be hard for an audience to interact with directly. 

Examples of Comedy: 

    The Book of Mormon comedy pertains to the wildly successful, satirical Broadway musical by South Park creators Matt Stone and Trey Parker as well as Robert Stone, about two innocent Mormon missionaries sent to a village in Uganda, mixing religious irony with humor and catchy songs, becoming a societal phenomenon. 

     Home Alone is a popular family comedy about troublesome 8-year-old Kevin McCallister, who is mistakenly left behind by his family for Christmas vacation and has to protect his home from burglars. 

It is widely considered to be a traditional holiday film known for its mix of adventure, heartwarming themes, and slapstick humor. 

    The Office is a comedy series, particularly known as a mockumentary-style workplace and sitcom comedy. The show focuses on the humorous everyday life of employees at the fabricated Dunder Mifflin Paper Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, using an no laugh track orchestra cast to create a distinctive blend of heartfelt and humor moments. 

Romance: 

    Romance is a type of genre that explores themes of intimacy, passion, and emotional connection, taking place in literature, television, and film. It is a type of storytelling that focuses on love and romantic bonds between characters, often exploring the difficulties of human relationships. 

Characteristics of Romance: 

    In a romance genre, the main plot should focus on the evolving romantic relationship between the central characters. Any subplots, like a character's career or a mystery, must be secondary to the development of the romance. 

    The story usually highlights two prime characters (a love interest and a protagonist) who viewers anticipate to fall in love. They are typically well-developed, with recognizable flaws, motivations, and personalities, often obtaining some form of attraction or powerful emotional connection that directs the story. 

    The romantic relationship should confront external or internal difficulties that produce strains and impede the couple form getting together effortlessly. These conflicts, which analyze the intensity of their love, can vary from misunderstandings and individual difficulties to collective obstacles or opponent love interests. 

    The story must end with the characters defeating their barriers as well as making a commitment to each other, giving the viewer a feeling of hope and emotional contentment. In most (not all) romance genres, this is a non-negotiable. 

Examples of Romance: 

   The Notebook is a remarkably iconic and popular romance movie, known for its extensive, emotional love story between Allie and Noah. It captures the journey of a rich city girl Allie and a poor mill worker Noah falling in love in the 1940s, later getting disconnected by war and class, but eventually making their way back to each other years later. 

    The TV show Friends is a classic sitcom that highlights the romantic relationships of six friends living in New York city. The show excellently blends cheerful comedy with applicable, developing relationships, focusing on the high-minded concept of friends becoming family, particularly the "friends to lovers" trope, which provides intense emotional intimacy, comfort, and trust, all while examining universal themes of growing up, finding love, and journeying through life's challenges. 

    The movie Romeo and Juliet tells the classic Shakespearean disaster of two young "star-crossed lovers" from clashing families who fall intensely in love, guiding to unknown romance, vicious conflicts between their families, and eventually, a disastrous double suicide.  

Horror: 

    Horror is a genre of television and film whose motive is to produce feelings of fear, disgust, dread, and terror in the audience. The main goal is to develop an ambience that scares and puts the audience on edge. They do this by exploring deep-rooted fears, taboos, and the unknown through paranormal, monstrous, or psychological themes. 

Characteristics of Horror: 

    The main goal of any horror film is to obtain initial emotions of terror, disgust, shock, or fear in its audience. This depends on unlocking universal human anxieties like death, the fear of the unknown, helplessness, and loss of control. Producers use numerous techniques, including graphic violence, psychological manipulation, and jump scares, to produce a innate response in the viewer. 

    Horror films relies extremely on producing a particular sense of unease and mood through their technical delivery and setting. This usually includes using run down and isolated locations such as dark woods, old mansions, and abandoned mental health facilities. They utilize techniques like shadows, muted lighting, and abnormal camera angles to confuse the audience and mask potential threats. To build suspense and tension they use unsettling musical scores, unexpected harsh noises, or the tactical use of silence. 

      A prime element is the threat to "normality," which normally takes the role of a monster or villain. This antagonist can be a physical being, a psychological force, or even a supernatural entity. Legendary villains, whether they are a vampire, serial killer, or a malicious spirit, supply a crucial point for the conflict and fear in the narrative. 

    Past effortless scares, horror films usually serve as a mirror to the joint anxieties and social issues of their time. The identity of the "monster" usually develops to demonstrate present-day fears. The capability to modify and remain relevant plays a part in the genre's lasting power. 

Examples of Horror:

    The Exorcist is usually considered one of the scariest films ever made, this classic follows a mother's efforts to save her daughter from demonic possession with the assist of two Catholic priests. It established extensive religious and psychological terror, mixing demonic possession with understandable family drama, using lifelike actors and authentic scares to shock the audience. 

    The horror film MEGAN magnificently blends well timed AI fears with classic killer doll conventions, utilizing a campy-but-creepy voice, viral marketing, and understandable themes of technology dependency, making it fun, relevant, and legendary for a new generation. 

    Scream is a classic popular horror film because it regenerated the slasher genre by mixing classic scares, a familiar suburban setting, and a killer who stalks victims by way of phone calls with a self-aware, witty, and smart script that recognizes and mock horror movie conventions, making it both authentically funny and scary. 

    When choosing what three different genres I wanted to explore, I decided to go with ones that I am familiar with and that I typically lean towards when choosing a movie that I want to watch. After carefully going through the different genre options, I chose to go with Comedy, Romance, and Horror. In terms of research, I looked for websites and articles that distinctly explained all of the standard conventions for these genres in depth. Moving forward, I am going to be researching different subgenres that correlate with these 3 genres. I am excited to continue progressing until I ultimately choose the genre that I want to do for my film.

Resources: 

1. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/comedy-genre-guide-78017/

2. https://nofilmschool.com/romance-movie-genre

3. https://nofilmschool.com/horror-genre

Magazine Cover Conventions Reflection

My learning of magazine conventions:

    To learn about the conventions of a magazine, I took notes in class. I learned about the most important conventions such as the masthead, cover image, feature article, coverlines, puffs, plugs, boxouts, strips, banners. Taking the notes helped me understand what each convention was and what they are used for. It was also very helpful to look at examples of each convention because the visual made me knowledgeable in what each convention is supposed to look like on a magazine.  

My genre choice for the magazine and how my magazine cover conveys my genre: 

    I decided to choose a travel genre for my magazine. This was mostly due to the fact that I love going on vacation and love to visit new places. However, my summer trip to Hawaii came to mind which further pushed me to choose a travel genre. Since, I was picturing my trip, I decided to look back on the pictures that I took when I was in Hawaii. I came across a picture of me on a platform, looking out at the ocean and mountains surrounding me. I loved this picture of me because it showed how freeing I felt in the moment so I knew that this would be the perfect magazine cover. 

The magazine conventions I used and how it contributes to the effectiveness of my cover: 

    To start, I used "Summer Travels" as my masthead because I know a lot of families go on vacation in summer because kids and teenagers are off of school. The cover image of the magazine was also during summer in Hawaii so I thought that correlated with my masthead. For the feature article coverline, I decided to put "Ocean Breeze, Island Ease: Your Ultimate Hawaiian Summer" because it paints a picture of a tropical and relaxing vacation while also encouraging extensive information. In terms of the coverlines, saying "On top of the World", "Aloha from the other side", and "The magic of Hawaii: Unforgettable hike experiences", captures the attention of the viewers by using vivid phrases that captivate adventure and the distinctive, magical feeling of Hawaii. Using a puff and a strip allows me to put information that the viewers can find in later pages, it is used to give a sneak peak on interesting information that they might want to know about before visiting this location. 

My challenges and successes: 

    I had both challenges and successes when creating my magazine cover. My biggest challenge was learning how to use Adobe InDesign, not because it is a difficult platform to work on but because I was unfamiliar with it and it was my first time ever using this platform. For example, figuring out where the circle icon was so that I can do my plugs was difficult but after I asked my teacher, I was able to learn how to get and where to find the icon. On the other hand, my biggest success was effectively creating specific coverlines that correlate with my genre and that capture the viewers audience, making them want to spend a summer in Hawaii. 

Important takeaways/How it will help me with my portfolio project: 

    I will now be able to create and design a magazine cover due to all of the things that I learned, this can help me with future projects or assignments I might do that require InDesign to be used. I am not planning on doing a magazine for my portfolio project so this will not be helpful to me. 

 

    

    

Video Editing Practice Reflection

The process of learning Premier Pro:

    I have never used Premier Pro before so it was important for me to learn how it functions and works. To do this, I watched individual video tutorials that showed the process of editing a video. In total, there were 13 videos and each video was on a certain skill set. This was really helpful for me because it showed the individual steps that I needed to follow in order to be successful. Since it's something I am not use to it is going to take a little bit of time for me to feel fully comfortable using but I think watching the videos were a great first step! 

My experience of creating the clip: 

    If I am being 100% honest when I first started to create the clip I was very lost and confused. I had watched all the videos the class before but then when I actually started to create the clip I completely forgot everything I learned. This definitely got me a little frustrated but it ended up being a quick fix because I was able to watch the videos over again. Although, I wouldn't have been able to create the clip without watching the videos, working in Premier Pro hands on actually allowed me to grasp all of the information and skills better.

My challenges and successes: 

    I had both challenges and successes during this process. First I will start with my challenges, when creating the clip it was hard to get used to all of the tools that Premier Pro offers. I am not used to editing clips with any platform so it took me a longer time to understand. It was especially difficult for me to cut the clips because I could not figure out which tool to use but I was able to ask a friend and they showed me where to find it. My biggest success was being able to effectively edit and create my clip in a correct an timely manner.   

What I learned throughout the process of creating the clip: 

    Throughout the process of creating the clip I learned how to edit separate videos and put them as one. To do this, I first picked out and cut certain videos that I wanted to include in my clip. This was a very easy process because I just had to use a certain tool to cut the clip and then I dragged each clip to the timeline to create one clip. I made sure to put the interviews on the V1 line of the timeline and then I put the b-rolls on the V2 line so that I stayed more organized. 

Important takeaways/How it will help me with my portfolio project:  

    The next thing that I will do with all the information I learned is practice editing and creating different types of clips so that when it comes time for the portfolio at the end of the year I will be able to successfully accomplish my 2-minute film opening. 

Camera Work Reflection

Camera Shots and Angles Project: 

    To learn about camera shots and angels I first used resources to absorb and understand each definition of the different shots/angels. I also did a camera shots scavenger hunt which allowed me to choose any film of my choice, watch it and find 5 different camera shots. 

    For this project I had to create and tell a narrative story of a inanimate object using 15 different shots, including using different camera techniques. It was required to include an establishing shot, long shot, mid-shot, close-up shot, point-of-view shot, low angle (used with any shot) and high angle (used with any shot). This was definitely an interesting experience because it was a little difficult to use my creative side to make up a whole story on just a object. Once me and my partner figured out what our story was going to be the actual picture taking and putting together part of the project was very fun. 

    My biggest challenge of this project was creating an interesting and captivating story. I knew I wanted to do something about school because we were taking the pictures at school so I wanted the setting to match but other than that I was at a complete lost of thought. After a lot of thinking I was able to come up with a story about a pencil finding its group of people. My success of this project was being able to choose different camera angles and shots that fit the story I was telling which helped established what the story was about and showed how each shot conveyed meaning to the audience.  

    Throughout the process of creating this project I was able to learn about when and why to use different camera angles/shots in different situations. This ultimately helped me create a story that had and showed a deep meaning throughout each of the pictures. 

     For upcoming projects I think I would try to spend a little less time planning and spend a little more time actually taking the pictures. This is because me and my partner spent one whole class planning and creating our story so when we finally got to taking the pictures we were rushing. 

Click Here to View the Camera Shots and Angle Project

    

Camera Movements Project: 

    To learn about camera movements I first used resources to understand and absorb each definition of the different movements. I also watched a YouTube video that said the movement and then explained what it was, when to use it, and it gave an example of it. 

    For this project I had to create a short video that includes different camera movements with the prompt "surprise". I had to have a minimum of 6 camera movements which were static, pan, tilt, push in or pull out, tracking, and one movement of my choice. This was a fun and enjoyable experience not only because we got to create a imaginative story but we also got to film an actual video around the school that tells our story from beginning to end. 

    My biggest success of this project was creating and putting the video clips together. This really helped me understand the different camera movements while also allowing me to do it in a fun and entertaining way. 

Throughout the process of creating this project I was able to learn about when and why you use certain camera movements in film. Thankfully, with the help of my partner I was also learned how to take separate video clips and edit it into one complete video.

    For upcoming projects I think I would have used a different story that could have maybe captured and explained the movements in a better way. This will help the audience better understand the meaning of the story.  

    

                                                                                                                             

Introduction

Hi, my name is Ava. 

My favorite color is purple, specifically lavender. 

I prioritize school during the week but I love hanging out with my family and friends during the weekend. 

I try to be active by lifting weights and playing club volleyball. 

My favorite season is summer mainly because there is no school but also because I love going to the pool and beach. 

I love going on vacation. The most recent place that I went on vacation to was Hawaii. 

I am in 11th grade and just started taking AICE Media Studies. 

I have had a good experience in Media Studies so far because it seems like it will be an interesting and fun class. 

I have also had my Media Studies teacher for all 3 of my high school years so I am very familiar with the way she teaches and how she runs her class which is helpful. 

During the portfolio process I hope to gain better creative production skills and I hope that it will allow me improve my technological proficiency. 

I am considering to do the 2-minute film opening because I want to be able to produce a type of media that shows my creative skills while also being able to gain the viewers attention.