Multimedia Mise-en-scene Project

 For our Multimedia Mise-en-scene project, we were given a prompt about a person and told to create this said character through interactive activities based on our imagination. We were instructed to create a character description, setting, and incorporate an audio element into the project. After making all of this, we would go to class and create a presentation for our peers through a character station. We were given 15 minutes to set up our station, and then people would have 7 minutes to explore our station and all of its elements.

The character that we had was an athlete who had a secret passion for poetry, which we named Noah Cook. Noah Cook is a 17-year-old school football player. He is blonde, wears glasses, has blue eyes, and loves poetry. 

The first portion we developed was the audio portion. We had one of our partners create a 3-5 minute speech that would direct people at our station through each separate part. The second part was our mood board, which would make visitors understand who Noah Cook is as a person. For the setting, we created a shoe-box representation, which was interactive, making our visitors love it. Finally, we also created an Instagram profile for our character in order for our visitors to see his passion and social life.

To organize our station, we relied heavily on the audio portion. This was because it was the main way of guiding our visitors through the station, since we could not guide them. In this audio, Noah Cook introduced himself and showed off all the elements. We made sure we followed what our character said in the video, so we put all the computers and the shoebox in a line to keep the station organized.

We developed our character mainly by following the stereotypes of poets and football players. One main stereotype about poets is that they are smart and wear glasses, so we gave our character glasses. For the football player stereotype is that they are all muscular or fit, so we made our character in shape and semi-muscular to fit the build. We were very selective about what elements we added in order to give the most realistic experience to our visitors.

Overall, I feel like my partners and I worked great together. We split up the work equally and all put in all of our effort.  Although our project was great, I feel like there are some aspects we could improve on. For the project, Andres created the audio representation, Sally took care of the mood board, Ceaser did the setting representation, and I took care of the character description.

Genre Research Blog Activity

Genre:

    Action

 Genre Conventions - Content:

    Action films are mainly portrayed through stunts, conflict, and high-paced storytelling. Common features of action films are heroic main characters, obvious villains/bad guys, and gripping fights or chases. Plots in action films are mainly seen through themes of survival, justice, or revenge. Common things that are seen in action films are explosions, fight scenes, shootings, and rescue arcs. 

Genre Conventions - Production Techniques:

    To create intensity, directors heavily rely on energetic cinematography, fast-paced editing, and most importantly, choreographed stunts. Routine camera techniques that are used are tracking shots, mainly used in chase scenes, quick cuts, and close-ups during fight scenes to intensify the audience's emotion. Sound is a very important technique in action films. Examples can be sound effects like gunfire and explosions, and music, to increase the pace of the film or even add tension. To maintain realism, directors heavily rely on CGI and practical effects. Lighting is used to highlight contrast and movement, while costumes and props help the audience identify the characters' roles.

Institutional Conventions - How the Genre Is Marketed:

    Action films are often marketed through performance and charisma. Trailers focus on explosions, stunts, and key action scenes, often using dramatic voice-overs and/or music to help create a sense of excitement and tension. Another technique used is posters, which mainly feature the main character using bold titles and intense colors to grab the audience's attention. Social media campaigns are also extremely important in order to attract more people around the globe.

Film Sample #1: The Dark Knight (2008):

    The Dark Knight, made by Christopher Nolan, is an amazing example of the action genre. This is due to its use of amazing fight scenes and cinematography. This film follows Batman's difficulties in attempting to stop the Joker, who has been causing chaos across Gotham. This film heavily relies on stunts and huge set pieces to create the most realistic action. Its use of fast-paced editing intensifies immersion and tension. The main themes found in this movie are justice, heroism, and sacrifice, which perfectly fit in the action genre.

Film Sample #2: John Wick (2014):
    John Wick helped renew the modern action genre with its elegant use of kung-fu and gunplay through an emotionally driven plot. This film follows the ex-hitman John Wick as he seeks revenge after his dog's death, mainly using kung-fu and guns. Long takes and neon lighting highlight precision and flow. The main theme explored in this film was revenge through fight scenes, aligning with the action genre's emphasis on determination and justice.

Examples

1. Taken (2009)

 

2. Fast and Furious (2001)

3. Top Gun: Maverick (2022)

4. Gladiator (2000)

5. The Matrix (2003)

Sound Projects #1 and #2

During the sound lesson and assigned videos I learnt multiple useful sound techniques. We were to later use these techniques for our future projects and analysis essays. 

For both projects we were told to develop a sound outline for sounds that would be present in our project. For the first sound project I conveyed a basketball story only using sound not actual film. We were also told to create 4 sound effects using foley which were easily completed. While in the second project I was told to use the One Word Film project and add sounds according to the film. Me and my partner both gathered the sound effects needed and created some according to the film. 

For the first sound project my partner and I both brainstormed countless ideas and ended up creating a basketball game only using sound. We later created an outline using the sounds that we would need to create or find. This outline was extremely useful during the project since it organized our ideas and made it easier to implement these ideas when editing. We used the editing resource Clipchamp to create our project. I feel that we edited the sounds perfectly but the overall topic that we chose was boring and hard to fully convey. 

For the second sound project my partner and I created a sound outline during brainstorming. We then split up the sounds between each other and categorized whether we would need to use foley for them or just look them up. The outline allowed us to split up our scenes in the OWF project and add sounds accordingly. I also used Clipchamp for this project since it allowed me to use more than 3 sounds per line, allowing more layering. I feel like the editing could have been done better but the organization for my sound was done perfectly. 

OWF with sound

https://browardcountyschools-my.sharepoint.com/personal/0616008868_my_browardschools_com/_layouts/15/stream.aspx?id=%2Fpersonal%2F0616008868%5Fmy%5Fbrowardschools%5Fcom%2FDocuments%2FVideos%2FClipchamp%2FSound%20Project%2FExports%2FNicolasOrtega%5Fsoundscape%5Fper2%2Emp4&referrer=StreamWebApp%2EWeb&referrerScenario=AddressBarCopied%2Eview%2E8623f713%2D4c7b%2D416d%2Da5cc%2D162d91bfd1c6