Genre Research: Romance

 One of the genres we are researching is romance. Examples of romance would be the Twilight series or the movie Your Name. Two-shots, over the shoulder shots and mid-shots are the main shots used in romance movies. Tracking shots would also be used when the character walks  to or runs away from their love interest. Pans would also be used during romance movies. The camera is normally angled at the same level as the subject, there isn't really a high or low angle used. Most actors in romance movies would normally wear everyday clothes as costumes, or dress for the occasion they're attending. The lighting depends on the scene. If there's a dance it would have darker lighting than if it was a brunch date. The actors could vary to anyone, but the main actors in most films are Caucasian. Makeup is normally used for special occasions the characters attend. Common props could be anything from keys or a phone to a cake or a car. The setting also depends on the scene, it can be anything from a castle to a sketchy ally way. There are a lot of shot-reverse shots and an eye-line match to capture the characters' dialogue and some cross-cutting to show what events are about to happen. The main sound in romance is the dialogue but there's also ambient sound and score. Elements of the genre we liked were the versatility and the feel good effect. Romance is very versatile in the way love is portrayed whether through tragedy, happiness, etc. There is also a feel good effect that romance has when the couple is together and happy that makes the viewer feel happy. We disliked the lack of diversity in romance movies as many of them are heterosexual with white leads. We also disliked how many romance movies follow the trope of falling in love with someone who bullied you or did bad things to you. We think that arc is somewhat toxic because many of these bullies/ bad people do not have a good redemption arc all that happens is they apologize once if at all and the main character falls for them or stays with them.

Genres I Would Like to Research

 For the movie my group and I will be filming soon, we have to pick a genre. There are three genres we decided to research. The first genre is romance. The second genre is comedy. The third genre is coming-of-age. We felt these genres would be potentially the best fit for our movie. Our movie's main plot revolves around a girl who likes another girl. This is why we chose to research romance. Also, when planning this movie we didn't want the mood to be heavy we wanted it light and comedic. This is where we got the idea to research comedy. Our movie is also set in high school which is where coming-of-age movies are primarily placed. That is why we decided to research coming-of-age. These genres not only go with our pitch but we also have interest in these genres aside from that. Coming-of-age movies especially have an impact on us since we are high school students. There also many romantic and comedic elements in coming-of-age movies. This also influenced our chosen genres to research. We have seen many romance, comedy, and coming-of-age movies that are set in high school. This will give us experience and a feel for what our movie will be like. We are excited to research these genres. Since we have watched so many of these movies casually it is nice to analyze these genres. It's fun to see what makes that genre so nice to watch. 

Throwing the Pitch

A romantic movie with comedic elements that is based in high school and is about popular girl interested in a skater girl who has a boyfriend. 

Finding the Group

For the final task, the class was assigned to do a five minute short film. We were permitted to work in a group up to four people. I have decided to work with the one and only Alicia. We decided to work together because we were previously friends. We already worked together on all of the films we made last year as well. We also didn't know anyone else in A Level Media Studies. We have agreed and been helping each other with the class because we're both on the introverted side. We decided it was better to work in a smaller group as well. When we did work in a big group with others, some people wouldn't do their part of the project. We also wanted to find a way to integrate our friend group into the project. I wanted to make a plan to do something fun that our friends can be a part of. COVID-19 has been affecting our lives for the past few months. At an isolated time right now, I wanted to mentally check up on my friends and do something eventful for them. The main problem we have at the moment is the different periods. I have Media Studies 7th period and Alicia has the class in 8th. Being in different periods is a disadvantage because we are not able to work face to face at the same time. However, it's better we have the class the same day so one of us isn't ahead of the other. I am looking forward to the production of this film. I think our group will be amused and creative in the process. I am excited to see what we create.

Welcome Back to The Series!!

 Hello everyone, it has been a while last time I've talked to you guys. Not much has really happened these past few months. It honestly feels like I've been re-living the same day over and over again. The United States have limited social interactions due to COVID-19. I've tried my best to stay inside. I've explored many different hobbies to take up my free time. I'm currently taking an online class to help me receive my required graduation credits. Art and embroidery has been one of my favorite hobbies so far. I also am trying to be more active so my body doesn't quit on me at 20. I started to swim and do workouts. I've started doing workout and yoga programs to help increase my muscle and flexibility. I've had a few plans to meet with my friends during the summer. We enforced masks and social distancing when we did meet to stay safe. One of the best thing that happened during quarantine is getting a new dog. My mom allowed my and my sister to get a mini Australian Shepard. We decided to name him Grey because of his grey coat. The biggest difficulties is trying to potty train him. I'm glad we're going back to school so I can do something productive. I'm not really sure it's the best idea to open up schools. I think it's safer if we continued to learn online. However, I'm excited to go back into the work ethic.

Audience and Institution Practice Essay

Assess the importance of marketing in the media are you have studied

Entertainment is one of the biggest interests in media. Many think the actual production of the film is the only priority in the industry. However, there’s a tedious process to it that takes many factors into consideration. Marketing is important in media because it helps with distribution, consumption, and economic growth.

First of all, distribution plays the main role in marketing. Most filmmakers would have their own separate production company to control what gets made. Filmmakers would then propose deals with several producers with their suggested option fee. Many subsidiary companies would have the parent company release and copyright their products. This is an advantage to subsidiaries that don’t have the budget to market their own items. Having connections with popular parent companies, like Walt Disney, can help others acknowledge smaller subsidiaries as well.

            Additionally, audience and production expenses are both benefitted by marketing. Comcast and NBCUniversal became a conglomerate by taking over the NBC broadcast network, television networks, film studio and theme park business. Comcast has its own cable company, an internet company, and phone service to millions of customers. Brian Roberts united with an entertainment company to distribute to their clients. AT&T did something similar by taking over Time Warner. Cross-media convergence help increase both company profits. Projects that cost above $250 million before marketing is expected to gain $1 billion globally. Marketing is vital for the cost of production. Obviously, not every project costs that much. However, the cost is subsidized by the revenue of the project.

            Lastly, marketing products exponentially help with company sales. Universals several subsidiary releases gained $1.1 billion in ancillary sales and several No. 1 films of 2019. Conglomerates with many subsidiaries help place the company in the domestic market.  The Despicable Me movie was promoted across Comcast’s network, making them one of the biggest animated openings which accumulated $970 million with an 80% increase from the first film in the series. Conglomerates are more successful due to the range of audience they can connect to.

            In conclusion, marketing is a significant in media because of dispensation, disbursement, and financial gain. Parent companies issuing subsidiary products helps the both parties and the recognition of subsidiaries. Having a conglomerate also helps with the distribution and profit. Both of these factors drastically help with profits.

Extract Essay: 24

            The author's vision is to create something unexpected and thrilling. The theme of the extract is suspenseful. There’s not a direct message the director is trying to convey. Instead, the director is trying to get the audience to feel a certain rush of emotion.

            The scene starts off with a mid-shot of a guy enters the interrogation room agitated. This already hints to the audience that a confrontation is about to happen.  The incidental music that plays as he places a folder on the table in front of her, gives the audience an unpleasant feeling. There’s a cross-cut to officials outside of the room watching on camera which indicates the case they’re working on is critical. The man and woman continue to converse about someone who can potentially disarm the bomb. This reveals the significance this has to the publics’ safety and the importance of the amount of time being used. 

The guy describes to her how cold-hearted she is and flips the table. This strikes fear in the audience from how quick things escalated. The camera cuts to officials on the camera looking concerned. This suggests the audience expects something else to happen. The woman flustered the man causing him to attack her aggressively. He continues to threaten her that he wouldn’t stop until he proves she’s credible. This threat causes the audience to become intimidated by the man. The screen splits to the officials running to the room to stop him. This makes the situation more intense because they can’t access the room.

            The author can portray many meanings in the extract. They squabble and actions of the actors represent the intensity in the scene. The conversation helps to leave the audience on edge waiting for what will happen next. The calmness in the actor's voice and pace of action surprises the audience a bit as well because the mood will swiftly change.