Group Meeting #2

 

    The second group meeting was held today. The feedback that I got was in regard to the thumbnails/ posters. For the second thumbnail with the title "Porcelain" that wasn't readable against the background, Mariana suggested that I do a brown outline as to match my hair color. When I tested her suggestion on Adobe Express, this is how it turned out:

    This is still a bit unclear, I feel. So I have decided to just scratch the whole poster and make a different one, possibly a horizontally oriented one.

    The other thing that was suggested to me was also in relation to the thumbnails. Ryan suggested that I make a horizontal thumbnail as these are commonly seen on Netflix. I think that producing a horizontal thumbnail will aid in the versatility of the marketing of the production. I will make a horizontally- oriented poster centered around the lilies when they are in bloom to test if I like it. Using the flowers will reinforce this metaphor that occurs throughout the production. It will give them more prominence within the narrative. And due to the flowers, in bloom, representing the outside perception of the central character and the cracks in the central character's face on the other poster representative of the inner turmoil that slowly seeps through the surface, there will be variation in the tone of each poster, similar to the function of the trailers. 

    At the group meeting, we all shared our progress thus far. All of the students in my group have made good progress, whether that is of the actual production's filming/editing, or the digital or print component. Most of the group members chose the short film package, so they all have everything for the production filmed, but the progress of editing varied. If the film wasn't edited, there was significant progress on the print component, which is a post card for a film festival, or the digital component- the Instagram page. I definitely fell in the middle, with my print component pretty much completed and my digital component, while lacking around 15 posts, well on its way of development. 

- Lauren ♡

Research for the Critical Reflection

 

        For the critical reflection for A level Media Studies, we are to write a one thousand word essay. The goals of this essay are to evaluate our own work through the lens of specific topics, support the argument by citing specific details associated with the project, and offer criticism (if necessary). 

    Before writing this essay for the documentary, which is detailed in one of my previous blogs, Ms. Stoklosa had provided a lecture over the critical reflection and I noted a format to follow to effectively answer the below questions:

•     How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?
•     How do your products engage with the audience?
•     How did elements of production work together to create a sense of "branding"?
•     How do your products represent social groups or issues?

    For the intro/ thesis, it must be short and focus on a major theme/ idea that is conveyed through the project, so in simpler terms, what the goal of the production is. The goal of Porcelain is to convey that perfection is something that is unreachable- no matter what extremities one goes through to achieve perfection, it can never be achieved. 

    The suggested order of answering the questions is as follows- How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?, How do your products engage with the audience?, How did elements of production work together to create a sense of "branding"?, How do your products represent social groups or issues?

    1- How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

    This question should address the specific productions and samples that were reviewed, techniques that were researched, genre conventions, and why these matter to our specific production. For this question, I will reference the major productions that I visited during pre-production that are in the psychological drama/ coming of age genre. 

    2- How do your products engage with the audience?

    This question should be approached by addressing and describing the target audience and specific ways that the three components engage with the audience (or not for that matter, but I will always strive for it to achieve engagement). Since my target audience is young adults, more specifically females, I will discuss how my social media engages with and targets females through the feminine branding- being sure to address the small details that keep the social media page within the narrative. I will also address the design of my thumbnails and how they draw female audiences through the colors and font. The production itself embodies qualities of both of these, so it will be straightforward to discuss the elements of mise-en-scene- especially costuming that draws a young female audience. 

    3- How did elements of production work together to create a sense of "branding"?

    This question must be answered by describing the brand that we wished to develop, how or how didn't all three components work to develop brand, and what change would help improve the brand development. For this question, I will address the design of all three components, and currently, I am striving to not have to answer that last question as I am curating my components to be fully consistent in branding. 

    4- How do your products represent social groups or issues?

    For this last question, it can either end the essay or it can be jointed with the target audience question, but I will be ending with this question. It must discuss representation in groups, ideas, events, etc. and the project's successfulness in representation goals must be considered when answering this question. Personally, I will discuss my central character's role in representing teenage girls with obsessive compulsive disorders, eating disorders, and body dysmorphia, but it will not be limited to these categories as it will generalize to all disorders regarding body image that teenage girls face. I felt at the beginning of this project when I was in pre-production, that these issues are underrepresented in the media and teenage girls are such a large population and most face issues like these that disrupt their lives. 

Here is the physical version of my notes that I took a few months ago in class:

- Lauren ♡

Social Media Posts- Continued

 

    As of today, there are currently nine posts on the Porcelain Instagram page (@movieporcelain). To create the postings, I have been using the footage that I have gathered from filming last week as well as still images that I captured on filming days. Like I mentioned in my last blog post, I have been keeping the Instagram page within the production's narrative, rather than directly marketing the film. The posts are aesthetically pleasing, with a clear color palette that reflects the femininity that my brand adopts. The pink color is consistent in almost every post- whether the flowers or makeup/perfume bottles. 

    I have been posting a mix of both reels and regular posts. The reels serve as a way to display clips from the production to provide sneak peeks to the audience. I pair the reels with the classical music that I will use for the trailers themselves to maintain a sense of branding consistency. I have been playing with different elements in Canva- that is where I got the idea of putting the lace elements in some of the posts. Lace definitely adds a sense of femininity that my branding adopts. The background colors are a mix of a light grey and black to display the contrast in how the central character presents herself to society vs. her inner turmoil that is hidden. This corresponds to the two trailers- one is more light and playful with slight hints at the climax, but the other is darker and more melancholic. 

    I plan to post the thumbnails soon. I have been experimenting with outlines due to a problem in the readability of one of the posters. This has been a challenge for me as I have tried a lot and I mean a lot of different colors for the outline and nothing has been working. When I do find a solution though, I will post the thumbnails on the Instagram page. 

- Lauren ♡

Starting the Digital Component

 

    For the digital component, I am choosing an Instagram page. Instagram will best accommodate to a broad audience and allow for me to effectively create a consistent branding for the production. It provides the option to create standard posts, reels (short form videos) and highlights (click- through posts that are located near the top of the Instagram page). Though the concept of highlights is good, my social media research (detailed in a previous blog post) revealed that it is not conventional to utilize the highlights for film social media pages. 

    Starting the Instagram page entailed the creation of a profile picture. To create the profile, I went to Canva and typed out the title name and changed the colors to enhance the readability and maintain the feminine branding. In the curation of the profile picture on Canva, I learned of the Instagram link that Canva offers. It allows for creators to link their Instagram page to Canva and upload the design directly to the page. Canva also offers post and reel templates so that the content that is uploaded is formatted correctly. This feature will be very valuable during the creation of my Instagram page to heighten my organization. 

    The first post that I published to the page is intended to serve as a way to display the release date of the film. Reflecting on this now, it would be beneficial to post about the release date of the trailers themselves as well as a future post. 

    To create a sense of branding, I will rely heavily on the flower metaphor within the social media posts to create branding consistency. My second post displays a progression of the flowers as they die. It is a carousel post of four days of the flowers, linking the inner conflict of the central character with the flowers in the caption of the post that states "nothing beautiful lasts forever. °❀.࿔". This demonstrates the inner turmoil that the central character faces as she strives to accomplish perfection-- grounding the moral of the story as this perfection, this beauty she is working toward will not last forever- she will experience burnout. 

    The next post that I created reflects the aesthetically- pleasing social media presence that I strive to achieve. The post is a still post that shows the flowers once they have been knocked over and the caption says "whoopsie daisy!". This reflects my social media presence remaining in the narrative of the production, rather than straightforwardly as a marketing tool. 

    Here is a screenshot of the social media page as it is developed now: 

- Lauren ♡

Production of the Print Component

    Using the research that I have compiled on my previous blog, I have begun the print component, the movie posters. Plural due to the fact that my distribution plan entails a streaming release.

    During the first day of filming, I took various photos in preparation for the print component. This part was particularly difficult as I had my younger brother taking the photos for me. I had to guide him quite a bit to get the framing how I wanted, but I eventually got what I wanted. 

    I started with the first poster that is detailed below. I knew that I wanted to make my face look like it was cracking, in order to convey the porcelain doll image that my film centers around, so I looked in the elements and was able to find the ones that I added to the forehead and cheek. I trimmed them down to size because they were large at first, and I feel that my vision was executed well. 

    Due to the fact that I used a font from Canva called Pinyon Script, the font was not available on Adobe Express, so I looked up the name of the font on Google fonts and from there I  inputted it into Adobe Express. This was definitely a tedious process as I wasn't sure how to add a font to the app, but after a few quick Google searches, I was able to input the font. I made the font as large as possible to fit the page and arrived at the color white for maximum readability. I then added the date of release in the bottom right corner. The decision on June 3 was guided by research on the best dates to release the genre on streaming platforms. In addition, I added the Netflix logo by looking up a png on Google. I wanted it white to create a cohesive typography color. 

    For the second poster, I added the same 'Porcelain" title at the top due to the framing of the image. I wanted to keep the 'June 3 Netflix' on the bottom right to correspond to the last poster, but I had to change the color to black to enhance the readability against the lighter background colors on this poster. 

- Lauren ♡

Production Filming Day 2

    Today was day two of filming. The filming location was Markham Park Butterfly Garden. It is an area within a local park that is designated for flowers and butterflies. Its sort of a protected area to allow for the plants to flourish. When I arrived, the weather was gloomy and it stayed that way for the duration of filming, which was convenient for the consistency of the footage. The overcast weather was also beneficial to creating the melancholic tone that I had hoped to develop during the degrading scenes. In other words, the date, time, and location of filming day two were all perfect! The one thing that I would have hoped to be different was the effects of the extremely high humidity on my hair. Ew. 

    Before arrival, I created a shot list to guide the process. I have attached a screenshot of it below, but I made a physical copy of it for shooting day. I brought the stabilizer for filming, any props (such as the bow), and some makeup for touch ups. My kind mother and father drove me to the park and helped at the shoot. My father was my camera man, he did a wonderful job, as you can see below with the behind the scenes footage. My mother helped record the behind the scenes footage, which was also a huge help. 

    The shoot went extremely well. I got all of the shots that I wanted (and more!), so I would say it was a successful day. Oh. I just thought of the one thing that was unexpectedly a fail. I had a scene planned where I trip and fall. It was one of those things where you think it won't be an issue until the time comes to actually act like you trip and fall. So when that shot came, (I arranged for it to be shot last as my knees would probably get dirty) it was difficult to pretend to fall and not like actually injure myself. I began to run and trip, but it looked just so ridiculous. I figured that I would do closer shots of my hands hitting the ground to replace it. I am not sure if they will make the cut. 

    Here are a few behind the scenes videos: 

 - Lauren ♡

Production Filming Day 1

    Day one of filming was very successful. Day one is designated for the indoor scenes, so all of the scenes that are set to be filmed in the bedroom, dining room, kitchen, and bathroom. Today was definitely the longer of the two filming days due to the reliance on indoor locations that is conventional of the specific subgenre of coming-of-age films that my production adopts. 

    I began with the set design. I scattered makeup, perfume, jewelry and the flowers on my dresser to create an altar in which the girl takes items off and where the flowers will eventually die on. A before and after picture of the flowers is below. After designing the set I took some images for the digital component, my Instagram page, and then I began filming. 

    After filming a few initial scenes, I began to take pictures for the posters. I will detail this process further in a future blog this week when I move on to the design of the print component. 

    I then moved on to the kitchen scene where almonds are counted in a glass jar. I had two jar options, as detailed in the video below. I ended up choosing the glass bowl as the footage looked cleaner and it felt more sterile and intentional- which was exactly what I was going for within my production. After, I moved on to the pea scene in the dining room, which required some rearrangement of furniture. I had to move the dining table to ensure that the window did not interrupt the shot. The framing of this specific shot was meticulous as I wanted for the tablecloth to be in the shot as my dress was this green color with pink florals that matched very well with the tablecloth. This was an intentional decision that allowed for my central character to blend in with her environment, making her less noticeable and almost passive in the narrative. For the close up shots of the peas, I ensured that the peas were arranged in a perfect circle and for that circle to be ruined by her fork. This was also intentional and was executed well over film. 

    When sunset arrived, the 'darker' scenes were filmed in my bedroom. I had to put in eye drops to act as if I were crying, which was an interesting experience, but the footage came out well. 

    

    The last interior scenes that I have to film will be of the flowers when they eventually die. This may take a few days, but to accelerate the process, I took the flowers out of water, so hopefully that is effective. For the digital component, the Instagram page, I also plan to create a post of the progression of the dying flowers, detailing how they looked each day as they died. I thought this would be good content for the behind the scenes category, so I will take a picture of the flowers each day to track their progress. 

 - Lauren ♡

Planning- Shooting Schedule

 

        Update: When searching for planning materials, I arrived upon this website. The website provides templates for so so many different aspects of planning- from storyboarding to scriptwriting. I will definitely benefit from many of these materials to remain organized throughout the duration of the planning phase. 

    Back to it. A shooting schedule is definitely necessary in order to achieve smooth filming days. To ensure that there is alignment in my vision and the production outcome. Shooting schedules are also efficient to ensure full preparedness when the day arrives and, when shooting at locations that involve travel, to have all of the necessary materials on hand so that the production process doesn't become delayed. 

    I began the curation of the shooting schedule by searching for templates. Acquiring a template would be the most efficient method of making the schedule as it serves as a guide in what to consider. After some searching, I arrived upon the template that is indicated below. I conducted some minor alterations to ensure that the schedule I create is effective for my situation. 

Click here to view my complete shooting schedule!

- Lauren ♡

Planning- Mise-en-scene

 

    For the trailers, mise-en-scene elements are of the utmost importance, especially with the themes of femininity and perfection that my trailers adopt. The first place I went to develop the costuming is my closet. I own a pretty decent amount of dresses, which is what I have chosen best depicts the attempt of feminine perfection, so gathering potential elements of costuming wasn't difficult to come by. The difficult part will be narrowing down. I do plan on incorporating more than one outfit in the duration of the trailers to display the length of the narrative. Below, I have attached images of potential costuming. It is also crucial to pay attention to minor details such as a manicure. To develop the seemingly perfect image of this young woman, it is necessary that she has a manicure. A light pink, short french tip is the most common depiction of the clean, feminine look. I am going to use press on nails so that I do not have to commit to a full manicure. I have also attached a picture of the nails below. For other elements regarding makeup, I will lean toward a clean, flawless makeup look. For hair, I will do curls and possibly a hair bow to further elevate the femininity. 

Here is the nail set

    Another crucial element of mise-en-scene within my trailers is the props. The first scene in the first trailer I will produce includes a slow, floating camera pan over intricately placed makeup, perfume, jewelry, and the flower (really any props that set the narrative in a feminine atmosphere) on the young woman's dresser. I searched in my jewelry box for pieces that depict femininity such as pearls and flower printed necklaces and bracelets. For makeup, I just pulled a few glosses, mascaras, and a few beauty tools. I also found some polishes and a journal that I thought may be useful. I have attached photos below of the props:

    In addition, the pink flower/ flowers. I have yet to decide if I want the flowers to be in a bouquet or singular. I plan to go out to the market and buy flowers tomorrow, so I will update this blog and include a photo of them. 

    After a quick trip to the good ole Trader Joe's, I decided upon lilies. I chose these lilies because they're just so dang gorgeous. No. I am only joking. They are pretty, but the significance of pink lilies is the most important aspect of this choice. Pink lilies symbolize grace. Gracefulness. What my central character strives to achieve. They are also popular for funerals... just an extra little detail. 

    

- Lauren ♡
 

Print Component

 

    For the film promotion package, the print component entails the production of a poster advertising the film. The choices within the poster are dictated by the distribution plan (whether the film will be released theatrically or directly to streaming services). With either direction, the key art must be evident for marketing purposes. 

    With a theatrical release, there must be the title, key art, production credits, and a tagline. Within the production credits is where the theatrical release deviates the most from the streaming release. Theatrical release posters include a longer list of credits at the top or bottom of the poster (detailed below). The tagline is also different from the streaming release, involving a line that conveys a certain aspect of the film that the producers desire to convey. There is no specific outline for this line, therefore allowing for full creative freedom in what the line says. 

    With a streaming release, there must be multiple thumbnails with key art, the title, and minor production credits. For the streaming release, it deviates the most from theatrical release due to the multiple thumbnails aspect. The purpose of producing multiple thumbnails is to gain a wider viewership. Due to streaming services existing online, there is a level of control that the streaming services garner, enabling them to alter the poster that is displayed to comply with each customer's interests (the algorithm). The example that Ms. Stoklosa provided aided in explaining this aspect with more clarity- when a customer's algorithm on a streaming service indicates their interest in romance films, the thumbnail that displays in their feed for a romance film will concentrate attention toward the central couple- more so than a customer that interacts with action films more, they might want to focus on a comedic aspect of the film. This will draw them into the film more effectively. Despite the divergence in the content on the multiple thumbnails, the branding consistency must be maintained. The title should be in the same font and font color to maintain this consistency. 

    The past few weeks of research and planning have led to the conclusion that my film will benefit most from a streaming release.     

    I will research the streaming release posters for a few media texts to further my knowledge on the necessary components. 

Blonde (2022)

    The Blonde (2022) streaming release posters utilize a consistent color palette, maintaining the branding of the film. The colors are red hues that transition to pink, which are typical shades to convey femininity. The consistency in the font color and font further the branding that is created, with an intentional font choice that conveys femininity. The posters both have a release date, September 28, and the streaming service in which it will become available on, Netflix. These are crucial details to include on a streaming poster as, contrasted from theatrical release posters, the film will only become available on a specific streaming platform. There are minor production credits on both posters, but they are not full production credit lists like theatrical release posters have. 

To the Bone (2017)

    The To the Bone (2017) streaming release posters create branding consistency through the color palettes that are adopted. The grey, muted tones display the melancholic branding that is being conveyed. With these posters, there is an inconsistent font color, which is definitely something to avoid when producing these streaming release posters. The first poster displays the streaming platform and date in which it will be released, while the second poster fails to do this. There are minimal production credits, limited to actor and director names. 

- Lauren ♡

Planning ⋆˚࿔

 

    Brand Identity Prism- Social Media

    [Backstory time] At the beginning of this school year, Ms. Stoklosa had us complete a 'brand identity prism' to convey our own personal brand. This was a very self-reflective task- it allowed for each of us to reflect upon what makes us.. well us. The prism entailed the following components: physique, personality, relationship, culture, reflection & self- image. 

This is what a brand identity prism looks like- it is an organized depiction of the components that I detailed below. 

    For the digital portion of the portfolio project (social media page), a brand identity prism will immensely aid my planning process. It will allow me to remain organized and depict an initial image for how my brand will appear and remain cohesive. After completing research on other media texts' social media pages, I have been familiarized with aspects that are conventional and non- conventional to the social media marketing pages for films. I acquainted a sort of dos & don'ts list if you will. I created a blog post detailing this process, you can find that in one of my recent posts, prior to this one. 

Physique:

On the Instagram, there will be a heavy presence of the color pink, specifically a light, pastel pink shade. I intend to make the pastel pink a visual motif within the film in general, so all of the typography will appear in this color. This choice originated from research that I conducted that acquainted me with color theory. Pink is conventionally used as a representation of femininity/ innocence. For the typography, I intend to use a cursive font as it is a reinforcement of these feminine aspects. Below is a depiction of what the profile picture for the Instagram account will look like. This is a draft. I feel that it may not be readable, so further edits will occur (I was thinking maybe increasing the black border, without it conflicting with the light aesthetic that I have going here).

Personality:

Calm, more centered around the aesthetic of the film rather than the actual promotional aspects- I want it to be immersed in the narrative's purpose rather than eye-catching promotional tactics. The main vision is for the social media page to remain in the narrative world. 

Relationship:

Interactions with the audience ential the inclusion of small clips from the film- to tease them if you will- about the release of the film. For this section, I also considered including purchasable merchandise if I can appropriately create that. 

Culture:

Values young girls who are coming of age that deal with body image issues. Assuring them that they are beautiful in their current form and do not need to change anything about their appearance. 

Reflection:

As a psychological drama, the scenes are implicit of disorders regarding young womens' appearances. The messages uncover the parts of media that have low representation. 

Self-Image:

Understanding that the film may be sensitive to some viewers and the concepts addressed are not pleasant, but believes that they are a necessary aspect of the modern world and they should be addressed in the media. 

- Lauren ♡

References

https://nofilmschool.com/color-psychology-in-film

https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/film-movies-color-psychology/

Planning ๋࣭ ⭑

 

    For the initial planning portion of the portfolio project trailers, I compiled a document where I simply emptied my mind- I wrote down everything from color schemes to shot ideas. This process was extremely beneficial to my planning process as I now have a more specific idea of how I would like aspects of mise-en-scene, shots and music to be represented within the trailers. This process also allowed me to compile my filming spots. I want to include my bedroom as a primary filming location, but I also would like to employ a local parks' butterfly garden due to the visual appeal. I visited this garden quite a while ago, but when I visited, it was just so so stunning and it somehow clicked with me during my brainstorming process that the location would be, potentially, a perfect location.  In addition, I was able to produce a title that I feel is so so fitting and perfect for my plot- it is Porcelain. 

    When brainstorming ideas that resonated with/ symbolized perfection, I arrived upon a Smithsonian article that details the symbolism of porcelain dolls as perfection and delicacy. These are aspects that are critical to the development of my plot, making the title of the film very appropriate. 

Here is a link to my planning document

- Lauren ♡

References 

Hart, M. T. (2022, November 1). How porcelain dolls became the ultimate Victorian status symbol. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/how-porcelain-dolls-became-the-ultimate-status-symbol-180980945/

Group Meeting ۶ৎ

 

    The first group meetings during the span of the portfolio project took place today. The meetings, particularly the one that happened today, are immensely helpful to the development of the portfolio project. They give us a chance to share our projects to a smaller group and offer suggestions/ be offered suggestions. It provides us with insight from a varied outside perspective, which is immensely productive.

    So here is what went down:

        Nikita 7606- Nikita has the majority of his short film already planned. His film centers around a character who has a mundane life and attempts to 'fix' it by resorting to drinking and drugs to numb his boring life. The ending was an overdose that ends in his death. So yeah. Prrrretty depressing. His plan is clear though as far as costuming goes, he plans to use typical, everyday clothing, he mentioned a misfitted suit. The color scheme is well established- using grays/ mundane/ muted tones pre- drug use and a shift to brighter colors during the period of drug use. 

        Nico 4888- Nico has a general idea of his short film. His film's central character will break the fourth wall. He described the character as egotistical, similar to Ferris Bueller. The conflict arises when another character (antagonist) tries to steal the 4th walls' attention I guess you could say. I love this idea- the entire time he was explaining it, I just imagined Ferris. He doesn't have much of the specific details like costuming/ filming locations all that good stuff, but he says he will get all of that sorted out this weekend. Promisingggg. No he will, just jokes. 

        Andrew 7558- Andrew talks about a possessed person who ends up killing their sister within his short film. The plot seemed pretty developed, but similar to Nikita's, this one is interesting. It is very dark. Well, I guess it's supposed to be. The genre is dark comedy. He mentioned that the comedy portions are being written by Joaquin, so I know this boutta be pretty good. It's a very bold idea, but with proper execution, it will be great.

        Lauren (ha! thats me!)- I was suggested to create a metaphor for the internal struggles of my central character. When I addressed my prior research of the text Black Swan, a few of the group members suggested that the internal struggle be portrayed in a similar fashion as this film. Since my mise-en-scene elements are the most developed portions of my project in this current planning phase that I am in, I detailed all of that jazz. I think this was definitely a good suggestion to develop a metaphor as it will draw a closer audience connection to what is actually occuring. 

        Audrey 7396- Audrey has a very well- developed idea for her short film. She details that the film will be introduced by a therapy session that takes place a year post-events that she will depict while the therapy session occurs. A voice over will serve as the narration to the visuals that depict the events. The costuming that she mentioned is developed well with the therapist in typical professional clothes and the central character in unplanned clothing. The coloring of the therapist's office will be mundane, neutral colors, which is a really good decision. I really really liked the idea, I think it will turn out well. 

        David 4840- David. The idea for his comedy short film is so so cool. He plans to revolve the narrative around a central character that is kind hearted. He likes to perform good deeds. A penny is what decides his fate and teleports him to different countries. David is going out of town -to Spain and England I believe- over spring break, so he plans on filming the central character being teleported to these different countries. Honestly, I admire his dedication to the project, being on vacation and all and still filming.

        Kenna 4440- Kenna is producing a coming-of-age film revolving around a technique rather than a plot. At least at this moment. She plans on employing a still shot from the perspective of a seed (that eventually grows into a plant) that a young woman is gifted. She goes through many traumatic experiences, breakups and all that, but she finally realizes at the end that she was still growing (as communicated through the plant's growth). I love love this idea- I feel that its super innovative and- if executed well, which I do not doubt- it will turn out really sweet!

Here's the group!

- Lauren ♡

Social Media Research .☘︎ ݁˖

    The digital portion of the portfolio project entails the development of a social media page for the production. To ensure my success in this portion, I researched the Instagram pages of prior theatrical release films to acquaint myself with conventional aspects of the pages. 

Media text: 

Priscilla (2023)

Social media tool: 

Instagram 

(@priscillamovie)

^^Above are the first few posts displayed on the Instagram page

Description of types of posts: 

• Still images from film with soft lighting
• Clips from the trailer and teaser (teaser is the first post pinned)
• Full trailer (the second post pinned)
• Interviews with Sofia Coppola (director)
• Close ups of Cailee Spaeny (Priscilla)
• Behind the scenes photographs
• Magazine articles regarding the movie/ prominent actors/actresses (Jacob Elordi & Cailee Spaeny)
• Award nominations/ awards won

Description of how branding is developed (or not):

• Consistent soft/ muted pastel color scheme 
• Soft, cursive 60s- inspired font across all posts with text (with a Tiffany Blue-ish color)
• Feminine/ intimate visuals (corresponds to romance genre)
• Focuses on creating a consistent soft tone
• Careful curation of aesthetic to brand the film- less like a tool for promotion (subtly promotes film)
• Captions are intentional- effective in stylization as they are emotionally driven 

Analysis of how you will use this to develop your own social media presence:

• Creating consistency in text is a key aspect of the branding- I like the fact that there is a motif in the coloring of the text as well (the Tiffany Blue-ish color) 
• Rather than overcrowding my page with excessive text/ graphics, I will maintain a minimal Instagram page, intentionally curating every post 
• Ensuring consistency in color grading/ lighting across posts to accelerate the development in branding 
• Captioning will be intentional and minimal-- this will help refrain from giving too much away regarding plot details/ other details of the film-- I feel that this adds to audience engagement 

^^Above are the first few posts displayed on the Instagram page

Media text:

Little Women (2019)

Social media tool:

Instagram

(@littlewomenmovie)

Description of types of posts:

• Promotion-heavy posts (Big Night In, Film & Food Series, & Movies Anywhere)
• Film quotes layered over stills
• Clips from film
• Awards/ award nominations
• Features (ex: comedian Taylor Tomlinson sponsoring film) 
• Costume depictions (sketches and images)
• Then vs. Now- costumes as it is a period piece
• Magazine covers of prominent actresses/ actors 

Description of how branding is developed (or not):

• The page attempts to use a warm, vintage inspired brand (is more effective in the posts published near the date of the release)
• Typography is fairly consistent in posts created by the film producers, not promotional features
• Some posts reflect the period setting through costume/ muted, pastel color scheme
• Page is not fully visually consistent as it features promotions that do not match the vintage look/ typography is inconsistent in some areas 

Analysis of how you will use this to develop your own social media presence:

• Ensuring my Instagram page remains visually cohesive, even during promotional posts
• Awards/ announcement postings will correspond to my established color scheme/ font choices
• Prioritize maintaining the 'world' of my film rather than switching into promotion heavy (staying intentional with every post)
• Emphasizing the brand development does not alter with time (Little Women has consistency in earlier posts, strays from that in later posts)

Media text:

La La Land (2016)

Social media tool:

Instagram 

(@lalaland)

again, ^^Above are the first few posts displayed on the Instagram page

Description of types of posts:

• High-resolution stills of iconic musical scenes
• Short performance clips (dance numbers, piano sequences)
• Anniversary celebration posts (ex: 9 years of La La Land)
• Cast centered posts (Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling)- mostly because of their prominence as actors/ actresses
• Soundtrack promotion posts (jazz music references)
• Fan reposts (the mood board is one of my favorites its so so pretty)
• Merchandise advertising for film (t-shirts & mugs)

Description of how branding is developed (or not):

• Strong consistency in saturated/ pastel color palette (deep blues, purples, sunset pinks) that corresponds to that of the actual film
• Intentional captions that depict the film's drama genre 
• City lines- a prominent motif in the film (Los Angeles skyline, observatory scenes) reinforces setting in the film
• Musical brand identity is developed through visuals of performances/ instruments
• Overall aesthetic is cohesive and instantly recognizable as La La Land

Analysis of how you will use this to develop your own social media presence:

• Ensuring that the Instagram page correctly reflects the genre of the film
• Similar to La La Land, I will repeat key visual motifs (for example: a specific prop, color, or location) to reinforce brand consistency 
• Captions will be intentional to develop themes in the film-- creating a consistent tone in the brand and intentional conveyance of tone

 - Lauren ♡