What Are Silent Films?

        I really wanted to do a silent film, I thought it would be a cool way to make my group stand out and be unique. I was also thinking of using a bit of American Sign Language elements to incorporate parts of my life into whatever I create, however, most films that use ASL also have sound, so this is why I was thinking of something soundless.  One of the major things I like about having a soundless opening is that it could possibly be pared with any genre, from comedy to drama and more. Below are some of the varing examples I have seen, some that have also given me some insperation for my project.    

Examples of Movies:

Charlie Chapman: (Silent)

        The topic of silent films hasn't been seen in the public eye for quite a long time. When we search online for examples they're mainly from the 1920s. One of the most popular creators was Charlie Chapman. He had several unique elements that makes him recognizable, he had made himself look like Hitler, which was the style for most Germans during the age of fascism, and he made several silent films that mostly retained the genre of comedy.

Switched At Birth: (Sound, but has ASL)

        This show is from the 2010s incorporates ASL into the film. We see hearing and Deaf worlds collide into this TV show because it has people who sign, speak, or both. The ASL elements are there, but because it's mixed with a  hearing cast, they decided to have sound in each episode. It takes place in many different settings because it covers the typical family life with a twist. We see where the parents work, the schools the teens go to, their jobs, and their social lives outside at friends' homes and other public places. 

A Quiet Place 1 & 2: (Sound, but has ASL)

        A Quiet Place is a hit and pretty recent movie franchise from 2018. This film has no dialog but does include syncronized sounds. The characters communicate through ASL as they live in a dystopian world where they can't make a sound; the movie concentrates on their inhability to communicate and how they live and solve this problem. What kept the films so captivating was the characters emotive acting, the camera movements, angle and setting changes. The syncronized sound in this film shows teh audience how much sound people make on a dailey basis

The Brainstorm

         Trying to come up with a theme and or genre is becoming difficult. We are trying to be coming up with some basic ideas for the project, so I thought I could work a little bit backward. I originally wanted it to be completely soundless, but Julieta thinks it could be a bad idea so I started looking for copyright-free music and thought that I could build off of that. I know I have to pick a genre to go with the music and the plot but I need some help with creativity. I found a couple playlists on Spotify, Sound Cloud, Youtube, and other sources.

Spotify:

        Spotify was founded in 2006. The songs on this playlist are called NCS (non-copyrighted singles) mainly EDM and really fast-paced. I'm pretty sure I've heard many of these songs on this game called Beat Saver. I'm not sure if that's what we want for our opening.  Spotify is more filled with music released by official artists such as Taylor Swift or The Weeknd, but I know there's also a very minuscule amount of independent artists on the app as well, but it is less known for the little names and more for using bigger names. 

        Some of the songs I considered using on this playlist are:

Arcade Dwellers by Chime and MDK

        I thought we could make an opening based on life being a game, similar to Ready Player One, but not exactly the same thing. We would be the players of our lives. We could show multiple hearts on the screen to symbolize different lives we could have. We could also make a nod to who is "really" controlling us/our lives. I was thinking we could make it a bit metaphoric.

Levitate by Neoni

        An idea I had would be we used this song to show a breakup and a girl's anger and outrage. It would contain her throwing paint to create something beautiful with her anger with quick cuts of the relationship that are of them fighting or having good times. A possible scenario of the middle and end coming first and then the start, which is also a thing in a lot of present-day films.

Anything by Toomuchpiano

        Toomuchpiano is a personal friend of mine and he has published music on Spotify
(go listen it's really good!), he's currently attending a high school for the arts nearby. his genre is typically jazz, but I'm wondering if he would want to write a song with me for this project, even if it's not his usual work. I know he's a person of the arts, music specifically. I've heard a couple of the songs he's made and they're really good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E6mJ7Etb_pE&feature=emb_title

Sound Cloud:

        Sound cloud was created in 2007. It's a place where a lot of teenage rappers try to become something. I have had friends release music on this platform, and I have heard some of the mixes made and published on here. One of my personal favorites is the Bake a Cake remix, if you go to listen to it, keep in mind that the platform isn't used for official artists most of the time. I don't think this platform is a viable option for us, however, I think a couple of groups might benefit from it.

Youtube:

        Youtube was created in 2005, and after Google, is one of the most popular platforms. It's a social platform that can be used by anyone for anything, not just music. Most artists tend to use other social media if music-related. People watch more videos than listen to music using the platform. I'm not sure if this platform is a thing for us just because I wouldn't know how to transfer the song into the video we create because that would require taking a video, cutting the visual, and putting our own video or it would contain us recording the audio on a different device and going from there. I'm not sure if we should use this or not.

    

What is Genre?

   gen·re

/ˈZHänrə/

Learn to pronounce

noun

1. a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature, characterized by similarities in form, style, or subject matter.

        Genre has been a concept since the beginning of time. From Disney to Pixar to Apple and more companies coming out with many more movies per year grossing billions of dollars. The genre is what appeals to the audience. It is part of what determines interest and wonder. Some stereotypical genres include, but are not limited to: action, comedy, drama, fantasy, horror, romance, thriller, and western. Sometimes you can even mix and match them to create a sub-genre from there.

Action:

        The genre of action films has been very popular in recent years, starting in the late 1900s. The target audience is between 16-25 years old.  Some examples include the Fast and Furious franchise (one of my favorites), Jason Borne franchise (love this), Red Notice, Black Widom, and Die Hard. These films usually contain violent scenes, car chases, shootouts, a hero/villain, with a plot that is fast-paced, they often contain stunts and special effects.

        I found this interesting because over time action movie elements can change. Over time new elements become incorporated and it still stays within the confinement of the action genre. Such as technical elements that have changed. For example lighting, CGI elements, and they have more cuts.

Romance: 

        

        In recent years romance movies have become popular among 20-70 year olds. The characters incorporated are meant to intrigue an older audience than a younger audience. Elements of this genre include love at first sight, tragic love, destructive love, sentimental love, drama elements. The entire point is to invoke the emotions of the audience. The stereotype of people that watch romance movies is women. Any movies that show the characters watching a romance movie incorporate snacks, ice cream, and tissues.  Some of the most popular romance movies are The Notebook, The Fault in Our Stars, Titanic, 10 Things I Hate About You (A personal favorite), Midnight Sun, and The Last Song (pretty good). As you can see I totally hate this genre ;).

Drama:

            

        This genre typically has stories with conflicts and high stakes, it tends to have many twists and turns, many unexpecting things incorporated through plot elements. The target audience is typically women aged 17-50, but that doesn't stop my grandmother in her 80's from watching her telenovelas (soap-operas in Spanish). Some examples include Black Panther, Moonlight, House of Gucci, Grey's Anatomy (yes I watched 17 seasons of this and loved it), and Jane The Virgin (this one is another personal favorite, I watched all 5 seasons and enjoyed it, but I'm also related to Gina Rodriguez (Jane)).

                               

Comedy:

       

        This genre was made to make the audience laugh. The target audience tends to be very generalized, meant for all ages. It tends to be identified through exaggeration, language, and characters. There are stand-up comedy shows as well as movies with the genre. Some examples of comedy movies include the Grown Ups franchise, Ted, American Pie, Legally Blond Franchise. Some of the stand-up comedies include Kevin Hart's " Let Me Explain", Ali Wong, Kee and Peel, Lily Singh, Iliza Shlesinger, Liza Koshy,  Chris Rock, Seth Rogan, and more.

    

Sci-Fi:

        Sci-Fi stands for science fiction. This genre usually includes fantasy elements, futuristic elements, more unrealistic elements (time travel, parallel universe, magic, etc...). The target audience is people in their 40's. Some examples include The Walking Dead, E.T., Dune, Venom, The Host, The Giver, Back to the Future, and Guardians of the Galaxy. Sci-fi films tend to have CGI, conflicts between science and technology, human nature, magical elements, social organization, or/and the impact of science on human society.

                                   

Sub-Genre Examples and Ratings:

Drama/Rom: 

- After - Movie Franchise                                        7/10    Teenage version of 50 Shades of Grey

- Jane The Virgin - TV show                                   8/10    One of my fav TV shows

- LOL                                                                       9/10    Similar to 10 Things I hate About You

Action/Drama: 

- Twilight - Movie Franchise                                   4.5/10    Its literally twilight

Sci-fi/Drama: 

- The Magicians - TV show                                     7.5/10    Was Good but became trash

- IZombie - TV show,                                               8/10     I loved this one, it's a good show

Rom-Com: 

- Young and Hungry - TV Show                               6/10    Remember Hanah Montana, 

                                                                                             Emily Osmond. 

- Love Hard                                                               5/10 - love Nina Dobrev, but it's a bad movie

- Shes The Man                                                         9/10 - funny and similar to 10 Things Movie

Action/Comedy

- The Hustle                                                               4/10 - not memorable

- Despicable Me - Movie Franchise                          10/10 - if you hate this, you're a monster

- Jumanji- Movie Franchise                                       8/10  

- The Zohan                                                               10/10 - a personal favorite, pls watch with                                                                                                           caution, some people get offended 

                                                                                               from this movie.

- The Starving Games                                                10/10 - so funny my friend laughed so hard 

                                                                                               soda came out of his nose

Sci-Fi/Action

 

- Divergent - Movie Franchise                                   6/10 - watched as a kid, not memorable       

- The Hunger Games - Movie Franchise                    6/10 - not memorable

- The 100 - TV Show                                                  8/10 - was really good but then became

                                                                                               trash at the end                                                           

- Ready Player One - Move/Book Franchise              8/10 - enjoyed the movie, but wouldn't be

                                                                                             the first movie I chose to watch

 

What Could The Genre Of The Upcoming Film Be?

        The topic of what genre my film opening is has Julieta and I a bit puzzled. We both have ideas, some that even contradict. She was thinking of maybe doing drama. She likes soap opera type dramas and she wanted to brain storm something similar. I'm not sure f incorperates her personal experience in the project. We haven't had enough of a time to meet to talk about it, but we are starting to get more organized.

        An idea I was thinking about was having it be completely soundless.The benefits of having less editing in the long run, plus I am fluent in American Sign Langauge and was thinking of incorporating it in the project. In addition, I think that a soundless opening would make an impact on the audience, keep their visual attention, and maybe even open up their eyes a bit more to some issues that the Deaf community faces.

        We were both thinking of using personal experience for our film opening to "write what we know", but whos story are we going to tell, mine hers, ours? We both have completely different experiences in life and views of society. I'm not sure what we are going to do for this project, but we will meet up  again in the upcoming week to find out. I've been doing a bit of research on royalty-free and NSc (Non copyright singles) music to find some ideas, maybe we can conclude to a happy medium on the subject at hand. Were playing around with some ideas, but I don't want to say anything unless it's official. We're spit balling, but you'll find out later this week.

Let us know in the comments below!

xoxo, good luck Charlie

How Did We Develop the Team?

         Today I spoke with a past project partner, and decided to combine forces for the portfolio project! Her name is Julieta Gedikian, her blog is  https://jbgblogms.blogspot.com/  Who is she? She is this girl in my class who moved from Argentina 5 years ago and so she is fluent in Spanish. Since I speak Spanish as well, we get to communicate our ideas easier switching back and forth between languages. Her hobbies include taking art classes after school and playing volleyball. She is a great partner because she is open to many ideas and can add on to them as well as propose her own twist to them. She loves to cook and binge a good show. She likes horror movies and I like drama movies, so this would help us come to a happy medium of both parties to make something that is unique to us. She came to the team because she was also looking for a partner and said she had enjoyed working together on our past project as a team. She can also help contribute artistic and creative ideas using her influences of art.

        In the past, we have worked together on a separate project and learned that we work really well together. We formed a rock band and created a marketing presentation. Even though our band was short-lived, it was a lot of fun and became a bonding experience. Also, she lives really close to me, so having her as a partner is a step in the right direction for the portfolio. 

                                                

          As for our planning, we worked out a schedule that would work for both of us and decided that we would be meeting every Tuesday and Friday after school to stay on task and make sure we get everything done on time. Pacing out the project is important to both of us because we don't want to run behind on our school work. So far this week we have planned out what we are going to do, including discussing the genre and the theme of our current project.

New Project - Plans and Approach

     Today marks a new beginning, a project in the works. I need to find a spark in my creativity to tell the right story. The ideas are flowing left and right, but I have no idea what I'm going to pick. I was told that the best ideas come straight from the soul. "Tell what you know," my teacher says. I'm not sure if I'm ready to. I know the stories should be fiction and that students need to draw from personal experiences, but should I tell some experiences that are personal? Would people be ready to hear it?  Does it need to be complex or simple? Does it need dialogue? Should it be quiet? Should it be loud? I want to make an impact, but I'm not exactly sure what I need to include or disregard. 

Some of My Ideas:

Simple: 

Person 1 trying to communicate without realizing person 2 is Deaf, they feel as if person 2 is ignoring them, even though Person 2 is just shy. Then one day Person 1 trips and needs help and Person 2 looks up to help. Person 1 speaks and person 2 doesn't realize. person 1 thinks they are being ignored and gets upset but then taps person 2. A person holds up a 1 (as in hold on a minute) and grabs a piece of paper, writes "I'm Deaf". Instead of person 1 getting upset, they spell out "my name -----". They become friends. The end.

Complex:

Two people walk past each other in the halls like strangers, then it goes into a flashback. The story begins with 2 people are arguing and all that is heard is white noise yelling. We see arms flailing in the air. One runs away crying. We see the person who ran away calling a friend for help and they start to live with the friend. They do everything together. Eat, do homework, goof off, watch movies, and have fun hobbies (swimming, painting nails, cooking, hanging out with friends), it works out, but not for long. They start fighting after a while and then the person who once moved in moved out. They are both upset about fighting with each other and talk to friends about the grief they both have. Then they pass one another in the halls and the start begins again, kind of like a loop.

To begin the project, I'm looking for a partner who is open to sharing ideas and such from the class. I want to gather supplies, ie: lighting, costume, a camera, and more. Then we'll create dialogue if any. I know it's fiction, but I want to keep it as real-life-oriented as possible. Tonight I'm going to search amazon for lighting and stuff that is affordable to create the project visuals.