Mise-en-scene Blog Post

The goals were to create a description of the character, to create a mood board, representation through setting of the character through setting, audio elements, and tactile representations. Our character is named Peter Cook and is a single dad of three. His children are named Amelia, Aurora, and Oliver. He is employed at the local library in New Jersey. He was born in Birmingham, Britain, and moved to New Jersey. His wife died giving birth to Oliver, their youngest. Peter enjoys his job as a Storytime facilitator at the local library.

We used an AI voice to create Peter's voice throughout the presentation. Peter read through every slide in the British accent we gave him. We also created character profiles and descriptions for all his children and him, including hand-drawn avatars. We asked questions like why he would stay at this job, and we made him explain it from his point of view. We illustrated his workplace inside and the kids' area where he would spend most of his time since he's a Storytime facilitator and likes kids. All elements were organized through the presentation, including tactile, by giving instructions on the back of the answer key of the scavenger hunt I created. We also used stuffed animals to represent his kids and organized them on top of books he would read to his kids.

We used stereotypes of white men to create his name Peter Cook. Also thinking about what a librarian's personality would be like and even dictating what clothes he would wear on a daily. His hobbies were influenced too, making reading and writing a daily routine for him in the character descriptions and mood boards. While creating the scavenger hunt, we ensured the people moving through the stations actually read through the descriptions by asking questions about them. The tactile setting included a stuffed animal owned by one of his kids and illustrated in the moldboard, and childhood books were also explained in the presentation. The avatars were hand-drawn and then digitally sketched over and eventually redrawn and colored. Overall, the presentation came out to be exactly what I had envisioned, using all the elements possible to immerse people in the world of Peter Cook. 

Genre Research Blog Activity

 Genre Action

Action is a genre that often utilizes choregraphed fighting scenes accompanied by special effects that amplify the experience. Action movies are usually set in an urban setting in a city with a clear protagonist and antagonist. Many are used to highlight the contrast in which the protagonist and the antagonist live. An easy way to spot an action movie is fast paced editing. The setting is used to create more dynamic fights including car chases, shootouts, and confrontations in busy cities. 

Content 

The Protagonist usually has sidekicks or mentors by their side. These sidekicks or mentors can be killed off for dramatic effect right before a final battle raising the stakes to avenge them. The protagonist has the ultimate goal to stop the antagonist and whatever plan they had some more cliche like to "rule the world". Mainly the goal is to stop the "villain" from killing or harming innocent lives. Many times, there is a specific item that needs to be acquired to take down the antagonist and this specific item will be incredibly rare and need multiple people including a crew of sidekicks or mentors to obtain it. 

Production Techniques

Action movies are often characterized with their fast-paced editing sequences including elaborate props and settings. Car chases, shootouts, or bomb threats are all used to raise the stakes and create a sense of urgency in the plot. Fight scenes use heavily choregraphed stunts that are used to fit some pieces of dialogue and further push the plot forward. The camera movements then need to reflect and capture every character's position. They also frequently use slow motion to extenuate every movement being made and emphasizes the characters facial expressions. It can also be used with comical musical and used for satirical purposes. 

How is genre marketed?

The typical target audience of action is teenagers with a particular common interest of teenage boys. Therefore, most promotional content will feature things that will get their attention such as car chases, explosions, and faced paced battles. Fans often expect charismatic and conventionally attractive actors to play the characters often being bulky to make it believable they can really achieve all the stunts in the movie (event if they are executed by stuntmen). Because many of this demographic has their own hypermasculine idea of what the protagonist should look like many big-name actors are cast such as Dwayne Johnson or Tom cruise with the goal of attracting this demographic and possibly early adult males. 

Film sample 1# 

Fast & Furious (2001)

 Fast And furious is the embodiment of this genre taking full use of the elaborate car chases, shootouts, and action scenes. There is a clear antagonist and uses elaborate action sequences to further the plot. Throughout the film they used fast paced editing and an urban setting further fitting the genre. 

Film sample 2# 

John Wick (2014)

The film John Wick is particularly infamous for its incredibly intricate and elaborately choregraphed fight scenes. The rapid cuts allowed the audience to see every movement and detail of the fight chorography. The movie was so successful it grossed roughly four times its original budget. What made John wick Different was the landscape of action movies in 2014 and the incorporation of martial arts with kung fu. In usual Asian stories incorporating martial arts with it comes a set of rules or strict moral compass the protagonist must abide by having this "power". John wick was no different also following this strict code of ethics usually used followed by East Asian protagonists. 

Examples 

Die Hard (1988)

Raiders of the lost ark (1981)

Lethal Weapon (1987)

The Dark Knight (2008)

Gladiator (2000)

Blog Posting - sound project 1 & 2

 Sound project 1# 

During Sound Project 1, I learned how to create an outline, brainstorm, and edit sounds. I used multiple effects, such as layering and making an audio fade in or out for dramatic effect. Our task was to create a scene that could feasibly happen within a 1–2-minute timespan, conveying it only through sound. My approach was to do it in order to do 13 seconds for the first scene, 30 for the main scene, 20 for the aftermath, and 10 seconds of a heartbeat to raise the stakes. 

 Brainstorming consisted of researching different natural disasters so we could find one we preferred. The outline helped me find out precisely how long I wanted every scene to be, and the sounds expected for each one. With 4 scenes in total, it made me plan out how long I wanted a specific sound to last. I utilized Clipchamp. I think the footsteps didn't sound urgent enough, and the earthquake portion of the scene specifically went on for too long. I really want to improve on fading in and out of songs. What was done well, the heartbeat at the end leaves room for interpretation of what really happened. The usage of creaks at the end also made it feel like the roof was actually creaking.

Ayed_soundproject1#

Sound project 2#

In sound project 2 the directions were to add sound to a previous project making sure it fit the context of the film. While brainstorming we thought about the natural sounds that would occur in the outdoors we don't usually think of. My outline again helped me organize exactly how long I wanted each individual sound to go for. I utilized Clipchamp. The zipper foley was well done as well as the clothes rustling. What I would like to improve is the timing of the footsteps.

Ayed_soundproject2#