AICE Media Studies

      I have decided that my final project will be in the noir genre. For those who may not know, noir ( as defined by Oxford) is a genre of crime film or fiction characterized by cynicism, fatalism, and/or moral ambiguity. Noir isn't very cheerful or happy-go-lucky is tone, often the opposite. If you've read my previous blogs, then you might know that I enjoy making more light-hearted and enjoyable content. That might make you wonder why I would chose to make my last project in a genre so uncharacteristic of me. Well, my biggest reason is that it is what work best with my idea. The pitch is about a travelling conman trying to make a large haul in a casino, and I figured noir would be what would best fit the tone of such a story. A person who makes ends met by deceiving others probably wouldn't be the most relatable or likeable person, and a story revolving around such a person would likely reflect that. Out of all the genres I could find, noir seemed to be the best match f

As I resource genres for my project, I come across many different ones. Two of my favorite genres are comedy and mystery. To see if the elements of these genres will work well with my project, I'll be examining some of the things that distinguish these genres. This is simply a continuation of my research, you should not assume any of the things mentioned here to appear in the final product.   What are some common CAMs in the genre? A common CAM in the comedy genre is the two-shot. A common CAM in the Mystery genre is the over-the-shoulder shot. What are some common sounds in the genre? Common sounds in the comedy genre is the direct address. Common sounds in the mystery genre is the sting. What are some common editing techniques in the genre? A common editing technique in the comedy genre is the shot-reverse shot. A common editing technique in the mystery genre is action matching. What are some example films of the genre? Two examples of  a comedy movie are "Dumb and Dumber&qu

 Recently, I've been studying the different genres that I can base my movie on. A genre is a type of movie defined by its tone, atmosphere, and subject material. Examples of genres are action movies and westerns. Once I started, I was quickly reminded of a project I had worked on before where I did exactly that. In this powerpoint, I go over common film techniques and tropes I like and dislike from the horror genre. I won't go over anything in the powerpoint except the the elements that I think will actually assist me in the creation of my video.  Common Camera Angles Common angles in the horror genre are the close-up and the point-of-view shot. Horror as a genre exists to instill fear into the audience. The close-up is so important because it allows characters to visually express the emotional impact of a scene. Often during close-ups, the character's face is distorted in shock and terror. Since the audience is experiencing these events through the characters, how the char

      After spending a considerable amount of time thinking, I came up with an idea. A vagabond makes his ends meet through scams and hustling, and one day he tries to make it big in the casino, but things don't go as planned. I particularly like this pitch. It is simple yet effective. The premise is realistic and easy to execute on. Filming can be done indoors, so I can avoid having my schedule ruined by inopportune weather (or the judging looks of my neighbors). The grounded premise means there is no need for CGI, which is one of the projects requirements. I especially like how the pitch is still vague enough for me to exercise some creative freedom. I had many ideas for what my pitch could have been, but this is the only practical one I have found. The rules I told you about in my last blog narrowed the selection pool quite a bit. I'm working alone so something that requires multiple people to do is out of the question. I wouldn't have done it anyway, but the restriction

    Today begins the day I start working on my final assignment. This is going to be the biggest assignment yet, or at least it feels like it. This one will be longer and more 'cinematic' I guess than the last two projects. With the lessons I learned from the past two projects, I think this will be the best one. It is a little nerve-raking, but it is too early to start to get nervous.     Before anything, I need to figure out what this last  project will be about. I do not know that yet. I will be giving my idea on what it will be in my next blog, but for now I'm still spit-balling. I wonder what it should be about, maybe something funny or melodramatic? There are only a few rules I have to follow. First and the most obvious, it has to be school appropriate. Next, the video has to be realistic. It doesn't need to have a grounded story, I'm creatively unhindered, but everything you see in the video needs to be real. That means no CGI ,or green-screen action ,or anyth

1. How does my product challenge conventions AND represent social groups or issues?        The genre of the music video I have made is parody and the conventions of parody are relatively consistent. Since parody exists to emulate a work of art while exaggerating its most memorable qualities for comedic effect, there are traits that would be similar in any parody. Parodies have a comedic tone and they are meant to imitate a specific artist/work. My desire was for my video to be enjoyed by itself while still being able to clearly identify where it got its inspiration from. The song I made the video for was a parody of "Trapped in the Closet". The original music video told the story of a specific person as they navigated their way through some obstacle. The music video was meant to do the same thing, but the obstacle was some everyday inconvenience that juxtaposed with the grand, dramatic tone of the original song, using the conventions of an average parody. I tried to integrate