Character Development

 After the first draft of my screenplay, I realized I needed more consistent and well-developed characters. A little backwards...but it'll work out in the end. I began doing my research with StudioBinder again, as they have an article about character development. Here they explain how there are two main character types, dynamic and static characters. Dynamic characters change and have an arc throughout while static characters stay the same throughout. 

In regards to the robbers, I want them both to be amateurs and they shouldn't really know what they are doing. They should both be butting heads the whole time, so their personalities should be opposites. I want robber #1 to be more scared and anxious about the whole situation, while robber #2 will be more stubborn and rebellious, borderline dangerous. Robber #2 almost reminds me of Jon Ham's character in Baby Driver, but inexperienced. 

For robber #2, he should be a static character as he is blind in his greed and stupidity. Regardless of the consequences, he will return for one more job. In this sense, he would be similar to a character in the game Red Dead Redemption 2. In RDR2, the character of Dutch Van Der Linde is the leader of a cowboy outlaw gang that is constantly trying to go back for their last big heist. In the game, Dutch slowly begins going to more and more extreme measures for his goal which only damages the group. His greed, paranoia, and leadership are what lead to his downfall in the end, which is something that I would like to integrate into my own characters. An article by Screen Rant outlines this transformation and the foreshadowing and events leading up to it. I likely wouldn't touch this too much in my 2 minutes, but keeping this in mind will help me write my characters better and have their goals in mind. Dutch is pictured below.

Sakellariou, Alexandra. “Who Was Dutch van Der Linde before Red Dead Redemption 2?” ScreenRant, 18 Sept. 2020, screenrant.com/rdr2-dutch-van-der-linde-red-dead-redemption/.

Robber #1 would be similar in this sense, but instead of staying static throughout, he would have doubts and guilts, but ultimately still make the wrong choice for, in his head, the right reasons. 

And that leads me to their goals. What do these guys want? Why do they do what they do? Robber #1 should definitely be doing it for "good reasons". I say that in quotes because although they may be positive for him, there may be other, better ways to go around it. His character would be somewhat similar to that of Robert Pattison in Good Time, trying hard to help out his brother in really poor and wrong ways. I want robber #1 to be a lot more relatable as he would be the main character we would follow to the end. 

Scott, A. O. “Review: A ‘good Time,’ If in Name Only.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 10 Aug. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/08/10/movies/good-time-review-robert-pattinson.html.

Although we are also following robber #2, he would be more of an antagonist or conflict starter, looking out mainly for himself above all else. When researching, I found some information about kleptomania, which is the impulse or irresistible urge to steal things. When I looked into it some more, the Mayo Clinic explained that stealing could cause dopamine, which releases pleasure in the individual and makes them want to seek it again and again, which leads to addiction. Then I started thinking about how I could integrate this into robber #2 having him as a kleptomaniac and addict. He gets pleasure from stealing, which is a big part of his character.

Both my characters would be of lower class as they feel a need to rob homes for cash. In terms of attire and clothes, they should wear brandless, simple, and worn-looking clothes. A simple hoodie, sweatpants, and maybe oversized clothing indicate that it's a hand-me-down. 

Aliexpress, www.aliexpress.us/item/1005003951204364.html?src=google&aff_fcid=097e51c97f4b48469dcd4038ba7592a7-1709093006548-02004-UneMJZVf&aff_fsk=UneMJZVf&aff_platform=aaf&sk=UneMJZVf&aff_trace_key=097e51c97f4b48469dcd4038ba7592a7-1709093006548-02004-UneMJZVf&terminal_id=7664fdf52c1f4089822ab772119cabb3&afSmartRedirect=y&gatewayAdapt=glo2usa. Accessed 27 Feb. 2024.

Something like this is what they would be wearing. Very bland, boring, cheap clothes. At least for robber #1. For robber #2, he would fit the same aesthetic but, I like the idea of him wearing red since he's dangerous and rebellious. Wearing red during a robbery is also stupid as it makes you easily identifiable and stand out, which fits with what I'm trying to make of robber #2.

Finally, their names. In my script, I just chose random names to have them there, but now I think I want to officially decide. From looking at some of my peer's work and the group meeting I had, I saw that some are researching names and their meanings to choose one that fits their characters. I liked this idea and decided that maybe I should try and do that as well. To start, I just searched "names that mean chaos or blind" for robber #2 as he is blind in his ignorance which leads him to make rash decisions. I went down a crazy Wikipedia rabbit hole and eventually ended up finding Samael, literally meaning "Blind God". I thought this was pretty fitting so I looked into it more and found out Samael is traditionally the king of all demons and the angel of death....so...I think it'll work out. Instead of Samael though, I'll just go for the more common Sam. For robber #1, I was trying to search for names meaning unlucky or misfortune, as he will just get put through bad situation after bad situation, but didn't really find anything I liked or it just wasn't English.  One I found was Mallory, meaning unfortunate. But instead, I think I'm just going for Malcolm as it is a similar male name for Mallory.

I think for my purposes, this is all I really need for my characters. It's good to have an idea of what they will become and how they will transform throughout the film to try to capture that in my 2 minutes. So now, I think I will begin working on my storyboard.

Group Meeting

So today in class, we all got in small groups of about 5-6 people and began discussing our projects and ideas and asking for help for any trouble we ran into. Listening to other people's openings and thought processes was interesting to compare to my own as I can see some of the similarities and differences that we all have. I just think that's pretty cool.

Sharanya Rao  Content Marketing Strategist at Talent500. Innately curious about things in general. A strategic planner who loves to make lives easier. An optimist holding on dearly to a glass half-full.        , et al. “Top Group Discussion Tips for Interview Success.” The Talent500 Blog, 24 Sept. 2023, talent500.co/blog/top-group-discussion-tips-for-interview-success/.

This is pretty much what it looked like...just a lot less professional...and a lot more disorganized.

Anyway, everyone really enjoyed my idea which made me SUUUPER happy. I was afraid they wouldn't like it or think it was too ambitious but they all seemed to be really into it which made me pretty content. But they did bring up some things that got me thinking about different choices. 

They liked the first shot with the long shot of the house and then contrasting that with the quick and fast pace that it takes on inside the home. But a classmate brought up a good point, should I do quick cuts or a long shot with whip pans whenever a character is speaking. It's something I had thought about but sort of put aside. I think the long shot would add a sense of underlying dread, as it may feel like the moment is going on forever, and with the whip pans, they could add some extra movement and make the viewer feel some extra...I don't even know how to explain it. Like an extra "AHHH". Maybe like an additional energy and make the action feel more exciting. HOWEVER, straight cutting gives me a lot more control over the edit later on and lets me play around with the pacing a bit more. If I limit myself to only doing whip pans when I film, I'm going to prohibit myself A LOT later on when I begin editing and then find out I didn't like how the conversation flowed. With just having straight takes of the characters arguing, one or two shots for each one, I can make their audio overlap, control the speed it's going, and all that good stuff. I think (if I have the time and still like the idea) I may do both just to have the whip pans there in case I may want to use that, but I think I'll stick with quick cutting.

Another point brought up that I didn't really think of was the body. How are they going to carry the body? I just kinda assumed I would have them carry the real body, but that sounds like...not a great idea, especially since they have to drop her. So they just said I should put her in a trash bag made to look like a body. It would make sense in the context since the robbers wouldn't want anyone outside to see them carrying a dead body, and it makes it a lot easier on my actors too, since they don't have to carry an actual body. But now I just have to add the body bag to my list of mise-en-scene elements I have to create. 

Another solid point brought up was the competence of the robbers. I explained how they were pretty amateur and didn't fully know what they were doing, one bringing a gun without the other knowing, brainstorming stupid ideas to hide the body, etc. A classmate asked whether the characters were going to be stupid and more comedic or have them be dumb and more serious. Not sure if that fully makes sense, so I'll elaborate. If the characters were stupid and had no clue as to how to do robberies and deal with a body, I could definitely lead towards a more comedic route. However, if they are more just dumb and ignorant with a more serious tone, then it would just be them stressing out about this new situation they are unfamiliar with. If had more time with it, or maybe just another scene, I feel like I could go into the comedic direction, but since I'm limited to 2 minutes, I really want to focus on my goal of stressing out the viewer, so I will be sticking with my more serious tone. But it was definitely interesting food for thought. There are a couple of different approaches that can be taken with the same plot. 

When I explained the back-and-forth arguing and how my main dilemma is really just being worried about the dialogue coming off weird, unnatural, or forced, they suggested having my actors adlib and improv their arguments. This was an idea that I reallllly liked, as it would make the dialogue a lot more realistic and could end up with some really good moments. The main thing here is just that I need two actors who can really play off each other and work well together (I have something in mind I will talk about later). I would have to make sure the actors hit certain beats to move the story along and try not to get them too off-track, but I think it would be a solid idea that I definitely want to try out. 

The group session was pretty useful overall, I got some useful tips and approval for some of my ideas and was able to help out my other classmates which was cool too. 

Writing Time

Going in to write my script I am a little nervous. It means that I am finally putting my idea to paper (not really in this case since I'm writing it online, but you get the idea) and it just makes everything feel super real. But, I feel pretty prepared for it thanks to the research I did in StudioBinder in my last post. This time,  I'm still using StudioBinder since they have their own screenplay software that formats it and helps you out if you've never done it before, which is the case for me. 

This is a screenshot is the software in question. The highlighted icons at the top are different aspects of a screenplay such as sluglines, characters, parentheticals, dialogue, etc. This helps me write my script in the correct and proper format. 

My first obstacle was figuring out what the owner would look like. It may seem like a minor detail, but overall I think it's pretty important. The robbers are breaking and entering these homes so they can pawn them off later. They are looking for quick money. So their targets should be of upper middle class as they will have more valuables in their home. So the owner should be relatively wealthy and well-off. So I settled that the owner should be a female woman dressed in yoga attire. as it is typically a hobby of the upper-middle class and wealthy. 

Another thing I had to do was keep my goal of causing anxiety in mind. To accomplish this I have the robbers argue about what they are going to do about the body. While they argue, I am going to have them cut each other off and talk over one another to create a tense atmosphere. I integrate this into my script by having some of their sentences end abru-. I also included a phone ringing multiple times throughout. It would act as an intensifier for the tension and lead to even more anxiety and also transition the conversation into different topics. 

Writing my script didn't end up being too bad, especially since I already had an outline and a format for a script ready. All I needed to do was fill in the gaps in the dialogue. Here is a pdf of the first draft. Next, I will shortly figure out the character's designs and then begin storyboarding. 

Script Research

I have no idea how to write a script. I've seen some, but I don't have the slightest clue on how to format it or even begin. So I turned to the best resource for video makers I know. StudioBinder. Here they have a whole blog going over what exactly a script is and breaking down the different aspects of it.

Above is a breakdown of what a script typically looks like, including all the different elements and having a short explanation for each, which is super helpful for me. 

The first step was sluglines. This establishes the when and where the action is taking place. For my own script, I would open outside, or EXT., with a wide shot of the house that the robbers are...robbing. It would cut to the inside of the home, or INT., after the robbers shoot the owner of the home and we would stay there for the remainder of the opening. 

The next step would be the action lines. The studio binder blog explains that they should "always be written in the present tense and as visually descriptive as possible". The action lines include everything you will see and hear other than the dialogue. For me, it would consist of the owner coming home and the actions of the robbers inside the home. This would include them pacing around, their location in the home, etc. 

Dialogue is the next big step. Since it's so important to my piece, I want to hone in on this and make it as good as possible. Dialogue is pretty straightforward, just letting the characters speak for themselves based on the situation and what feels natural for the goal of progressing the scene. Different characters speaking is made clear through character cues, which is their name before dialogue. These cues may contain extensions that describe how the audio is heard by the audience, including CONT'D, V.O, O.S, INTO DEVICES, and PRE LAP. I would mainly be using O.S. or off-screen at the beginning of my opening when I have a wide shot of the home and the dialogue of the robbers is heard. 

Another important part of the characters and their delivery is parentheticals. It informs the actor of the delivery of their line and how they should be acting. It not only has to be external emotion but can also be more internal conflict. This could be important when directing my actors on how they should be acting and behaving. Some parentheticals include AS LOUD AS POSSIBLE, PAINFULLY, WHISPERING, ETC.

One can also include types of transitions and shots in the script. Studio Binder explains that this is more the case when the writer is the director or editor, which in this case, I am. Shots can include angles and movements and transitions can include smash cuts, dissolves, match cuts, etc. However, I think I may stay away from this since I can talk about it more in-depth in the storyboard that I will be making next week. 

Overall, researching and looking into the StudioBinder overview of how to write a script really helped me learn all of the little details. StudioBinder even has its own script/screenplay format that I can use to help me out when writing my own script, which is what I'm going to do and cover in my next blog. 

Story Outline

As soon as I decided that I wanted to capture the feeling that the Safdies and other stress-inducing thrillers create, I had an idea in my head. I want it to focus on a small cast, only two main characters. I knew I wanted a crazy situation that would cause anxiousness, so I began centering on a robbery since it seemed most reasonable compared to something like First Man. At first, I wanted to do a bank robbery gone wrong, but it would have been too ambitious and a bit too similar to Good Time for my liking. So I began thinking about a home robbery since it would be a lot more practical and doable for me in terms of location scouting. I thought the idea of a person coming home in the middle of their home being robbed was interesting and could accomplish what I'm going for. 

So now that I'm thinking of a home robbery. It's not exactly hard to find the location since it's a...house...which are everywhere.  I want it to focus on the two male robbers inside the home and they need to be freaking out. Condensing my characters down to two reduces a lot of issues with scheduling and people not being available. Anyway, so how do have them freak out? The owner should come home and walk in on the robbers in the middle of it. My first instinct now is to have the robbers kill the owner and get rid of the body while squabbling and bickering the whole time. But when considering I only have two minutes, I think I should cut out them getting rid of the body and just have them freaking out over killing someone. However, I do think a good ending would be to have the criminals watch the news channel talking about themselves, leading into the "rest of the film". I am just not too sure how to get there.

A dilemma with this would be how are their photos on the news if they are CURRENTLY robbing the place. Them on the news would imply that it already happened. I could get past this by having the criminals go on a robbing spree, so the photos are from a previous crime. To turn the TV on, I might have them carry out the body and then accidentally drop it on the remote controller, directing their attention to the news broadcast about themselves. To get the photos themselves, I would have to schedule a small photoshoot with my actors in different clothes. Below is a picture pretty much showing what I am going for. For something like this, I may need another actor as a anchor for the news station, or at the very least someone doing VO. 

 

Billingsley, Jacob. “Anchor, Doppelgänger’s Mugshot Appear on Screen - at the Same Time.” NewscastStudio, 10 Feb. 2016, www.newscaststudio.com/2016/02/10/anchor-doppelgangers-mugshot-appear-on-screen-at-the-same-time/.

Going in this direction means that the big chunk of the two minutes will just be dialogue and the characters arguing, and I'm afraid that it may get old quick. I would have to write the characters in a way that is engaging and try to avoid repeating information and keep the conversation flowing naturally. It should begin with robber #1 being flabbergasted that robber #2 had a gun this whole time, as their intention in these home robberies was to just get in and out without any interference. They can fight about this for a while before discussing and arguing over what they should do with the body. They can discuss leaving the body, burying it, putting it in a freezer, dressing it up as a homeless man and leaving it on the sidewalk, etc. They eventually settle on dropping it in the ocean. I think this can fill up the time I need with dialogue effectively. After deciding what to do with the body, they should pick it up and start moving it before they drop it on accident, falling on the TV remote, shifting their attention to the news report about them. The news would show blurry ring doorbell footage of the two breaking into another house, conveying that these two are on a home-robbing spree. Something like the footage below would be what I'm going for.

H, Bill. “Blurry Images of Moving Objects in Lower Light Conditions.” Ring Community, 4 Jan. 2020, community.ring.com/t/blurry-images-of-moving-objects-in-lower-light-conditions/2693.

This would be the rough outline of the story, so my next goal would be to write out my script for the opening. 

My Future

To keep myself organized throughout the process, I'm going to create my own timeline for the next few weeks outlining what I want to hit.

Week 2: Picking a genre, looking at different film openings in that genre, and setting up a calendar to keep myself organized.

Week 3: By next week I want to really work on an outline and then flesh it out in my script. Then I would work on developing my characters.

Week 4: After making my script, I want to make a storyboard and shot list while also figuring out where I want to or where I can film it. 

Week 5: I would need to develop the mise-en-scene elements I may need by now. I also want to start filming as soon as I'm done with pre-production. 

Week 6: I want to wrap up filming if I'm not done yet. After finishing filming, I want to start editing right away. For editing, I need to find sounds and music. I also have to start working on CCR questions.

Week 7: I want to finish up editing and researching any editing techniques I may need. Will need to figure out the title and work out how I am going to integrate credits. Also should continue working and researching information on CCR.

Week 8: Continue researching info on CCR questions and begin working on two CCR approaches.

Week 9: Create a final reflection of the overall project and post my final product and my CCR.

Inspiration...Inspiration...Inspiration...

Heading in the direction of a drama/thriller, I want to look more in-depth into the openings for Uncut Gems, Good Time, and First Man. 

Uncut Gems. Directed by Benny and Josh Safdie. In the first few minutes, the Safdies open on a mine in Ethiopia. The tone of the entire film is set up in this moment, with chaos erupting as a drone shot reveals the mine inside of a crater. The sounds of men screaming and shouting, paired with alarms blaring and a low droning, constant synth create an anxiety-evoking feeling in the viewer. This feeling is further emphasized when the smooth drone shot cuts to handheld close-ups. Using the techniques of sound and shots, I can create the tension and anxiousness that I want the viewer to feel. 

Good Time. Also directed by the Safdies. This opening is a bit calmer and more controlled, which is very intentional. The film opens with two characters talking, the therapist and Nick. The first few minutes feature purely tight closeups of Nick and the therapist as they are speaking producing an underlying tension, but it is overall a normal and calm scene. However, as soon as Connie, the main character, enters, the room erupts and they all begin shouting and cursing at each other, establishing that the character of Connie is the catalyst for the conflict. The Safdies develop the chaos mainly through overlapping dialogue. The prior scenes that feature only the two characters having a calm conversation in a quiet room help to juxtapose the rapid change to a loud and uncontrolled environment Connie creates when he comes in. I should definitely use and focus on a combination of tight close-ups and overlapping sounds and dialogue in my own opening to create that tense atmosphere I'm going for. Check out the scene below:

First Man. Directed by Damien Chazelle. The opening follows an astronaut as he goes up into space and barely makes it back. It's nerve-racking and stressful, exactly what I want to convey. It uses a super shakey camera since the spaceship itself is shaking like crazy in the scene, which immediately puts you in a concerned and worrying mindset. The lighting is dark to obscure details. There are a bunch of inserts and point-of-view shots that portray the claustrophobic nature of the shuttle. And again, the sound is a big part of the anxiety that you get from this. It's loud and unnerving. I could definitely use certain aspects of First Man, I think the lighting could be an interesting thing I could play around with. I probably would want to stay away from point-of-view shots since I don't really like how they turn out, most of the time it's just cheesy. Below is the opening:

All of these films make the audience feel stress, anxiety, and concern mainly through SOUND. Sound is about to become a big part of my opening whether I like it or not. The best way I can do this is by overlapping conversations like in Good Time, especially if I focus on characters more since a situation like First Man, with the loud sound effects of a space shuttle, wouldn't really be possible. I can also take some inspiration from Uncut Gems and have a droning and constant sound effect in the background, like a synth. Another tool I could use would be juxtaposing and contrasting calmer scenes with really harsh and abrupt sequences. Good Time does this when Connie enters the room and First Man also achieves this when the astronaut leaves the atmosphere, bringing a sense of serenity, acting as the eye of the storm. I can have an event break into all hell when a trigger sets it off. My next step would be to set up a timeline of what I should do to keep myself organized. 

Baby Steps

Making the first big choice in my film opening: the genre. So much to do, so much to choose from. My gut instinct is to go with a suspenseful drama thriller, with aspects inspired by the Safdies, creating a stressful and engaging piece. But this scares me quite a bit because I am unsure if I could pull it off effectively. The Safdies, in Uncut Gems and Good Time, provoke pure anxiety and stress on the viewer, through their choice of closeup shots, sound design, and arguably most importantly, their plots.

An example of a close-up shot in Good Time

This would mean I need a script with a pretty compelling story. Both of these films have a rather slow opening that ramps up to the big plot points later on, but if I were to approach this genre, I would probably have to start my opening right in the middle of the mess or climax to evoke that same feeling that I get when watching these films. 

Another genre I have in mind is a more psychological thriller, with odd and abnormal sequences, something kind of like I'm Thinking of Ending Things or Killing of a Sacred Deer. In these films, a strange and ominous atmosphere is built up through the shots, dialogue, and editing. Editing is a big one. If done correctly, making the editing purposefully off-putting and conventionally incorrect can evoke an unnerving feeling in the viewer, which is exactly what you want to do in this genre. Below is an example of a scene from I'm Thinking of Ending Things doing just this.

Performances also become pretty important though, as they are what drive the awkward or odd feeling through their dialogue and acting, so I would probably need decent actors for this.

The idea of comedy has also crossed my mind, but I'm a little hesitant. Comedies are NOT easy. At all. It's pretty hard to have a joke land and make people laugh and I personally just don't think I'm a good enough writer to really go through with something like that. I definitely plan to implement elements of comedy in my opening, regardless of the genre. I think it adds a lot of character to a film, an example being Edgar Wright having a very distinct style in his films, including Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. Wright uses fast-paced editing (quick cuts, match cuts, creative transitions) to create visual comedy. My use of this would be dialed back, but I think it could add a lot to my opening. Below is a compilation exemplifying all of Wright's techniques which I would have in mind if I go for comedy.

   

Overall, I think I may end up going for a thriller akin to Good Time or Uncut Gems. It is probably the genre that interests me the most at this current time and I think with sufficient planning, I may be able to pull it off. My next step would be to research film openings in the genre and look more into the techniques that are used and how I can utilize them myself.

Moving On

    I'm finally going to begin the big portfolio project. It's pretty exciting having the freedom to create anything. It's one of the few times in my life where I've gotten that ability. I've been in my school's television production class for the past two years now, but the closest thing I get to true creative freedom in there is a music video, which is still incredibly restricting. I've been having ideas for different short films or just things I think would be cool to create for years now, but now that I'm presented with the opportunity, I feel a little stumped. Some of them wouldn't really fit as an opening or just straight up cannot be made by me at my current level of skill or resources. I think I just need to narrow down my ideas and figure out what would work best. 

    In class, we went over different approaches we can take when tackling the film opening. One that really intrigued me was developing a character. Character pieces have always caught my attention. I think the ability to fully exhibit the characteristics and motives and having the audience familiarize themselves with mannerisms and ideals of a character is super powerful stuff. I would be a bit limited in what I can do in just 2 minutes though. I think that showing instead of telling is a much more powerful way of depicting someone as well. I wouldn't want some boring exposition dump about how they do this or feel that. I'd want to focus on the character's appearance and interaction with the world around him. 

     I think a focus on developing character and developing character vs. self would create an interesting piece. Having the character be his own worst enemy, whether its through his actions or thoughts or whatever. The main issue both of these approaches is needed a decently good actor. Especially with the more subtle approach that I would prefer to take when walking down this path, an actor capable of going through with them and getting that on camera successfully seems DIFFICULT. I'll have to see how my ideas develop, I may completely shift gears and make like...a rom-com...or something. 

Music Marketing Blog #2

     Over the past few weeks, I have been working on a music marketing project to not only make a music video revolving around a new and upcoming band but also create a presentation on how my group and I aim to market the band and distribute the music.

Korn Album featuring "Blind"

    My group of 4 had to develop a brand for a whole new band from the ground up. However, we were given a folder of 4 songs from a specific genre that we randomly picked. My group happened to receive the genre of heavy metal/nu-metal, featuring songs from Slipknot and Korn. After discussing which song would be best for each type of music video (story, promo, and artistic), we settled that from the options, Blind by Korn would be the best choice for a promo/story music video, and it would also be especially easy to edit to the beat. Even though we were using the song Blind, we still had to create a band around the song and disregard that the song already existed. 

    After deciding on the song, we had to make a research chart on different bands in the same genre from two different record companies. Using this research chart documenting different marketing and distribution strategies, we would be able to effectively assess which we would use for our own band in our marketing presentation. Our chart featured System of a Down and Payable on Death from Columbia Records and Avenged Sevenfold and Disturbed from Warner Records. 

    Once completing our research chart, we began storyboarding our music video and deciding when and where we would record. This was one of the more difficult parts of the project since we had to decide what our brand and public perception would be since it would decide how our music video should go. Many ideas were thrown around, from clowns to crazy blind people, but we eventually settled that a promo of the band would be most optimal for us. To make the promo video interesting and fit our theme and image, we decided that we should all wear prison and psych ward outfits to convey the idea that we are crazy, uncontrollable, and rebellious, all aspects that fit with the sound of nu-metal. 

Frame from Music Video

    The initial idea was to have all 3 of the band members wearing prison outfits, but unfortunately, we could not get all of them on time for the scheduled time we set to record. So instead we improvised and had me, the main singer, differentiate and have a ripped-up outfit with a muzzle over my mouth. This not only served as my costume and fit with the theme of prisoners but also served as a way to partly cover my mouth when I was singing to make editing and syncing easier later. On the day that we had to shoot, our team member who was meant to be behind the camera and film us had something come up and couldn't come, which caused a lot of problems during filming.

    On the day of the shoot for the music video, with only 3 team members, we did the best we could to make the most of our surroundings. When the shot would have to include all 3 of the band members, we would have to prop the phones up to desks or doors to get medium and wide shots of all of us performing for the promo. This lessened the variety of shots we could get of all 3, which is unfortunate since a promo music video should have a wide variety of shots. However, we used close-ups and mediums to our advantage so that only having one or two members in a frame would make sense in the context of the space.

    As we were storyboarding and organizing the music video, we were also working on our marketing presentation, making a list of all the major points we wanted to hit and what we wanted to include. We used the information from the research chart to influence our choices as well as keeping in mind that our band was a new one that would be limited in its resources and power. In our presentation, we had to include information like the genre overview, our brand, image, target audience, etc. to fully market the band. On top of this information, we decided to take a step further and make a website where the band would post information such as shows, upcoming music, and merch.

    In terms of editing, I took the main load. Editing to the beat proved to be harder than I thought it would've been, especially with some stylistic choices I made such as having multiple videos in one frame. Finding clips also started becoming a hassle the more I edited because I realized that we had not filmed as much as I had hoped which led to me struggling in some areas of the music video to find an appropriate clip that hadn't already been used. After making the main line edit, I chose to stylize the video quite a bit since the basic edit turned out relatively bland and boring, which is the opposite of what I wanted with a music video and song like this. I started to mess with the color of the clips and the layering of multiple clips as well. In the end, I was pretty happy with the end product. 

    Overall, this project taught me to utilize my time a lot more wisely, as I found myself scrambling to record the music video with only a few days left before the due date. I also learned to always prepare for the worst, as my group was not ready for our cameraman to be absent from recording, forcing us to cut down on a lot of ideas and visions we had. I think for my Cambridge portfolio, taught me that I must dedicate my own time to working on these projects and not just rely on my time in class.