Monday, October 27, 2025

                             Mise-en-scene  

The goal of our project was to create a multimedia character station, so that the audience could learn about our character. We had to choose a character description and discuss how we would develop our character through physical representation, setting, and audio. Our station had to be creative and engaging, having a visual, audio, and tactile experience. We were able to utilize 3-4 computers/headphones and any other objects we wanted to bring in. We had to have a character description, mood board that represents our character, setting representation, audio elements, and tactile representation. We were able to organize these elements however we chose, but visitors had to be able to easily access all elements with minimal direction. On presentation day, we had 15 minutes to set up our station. The station had to be self guided. None of our group members were allowed to be at the station when there were visitors. Visitors spent 7 minutes at every station.

Our characters name was James Lewis. He was a very quiet and mysterious British man who hides his past. He likes to watch things from the side; a private person whose eyes see everything but tells nothing about himself. He only speaks when necessary; his voice is low; his tone portrays no emotions. His silence and keeping to himself makes him seem like a puzzle. As his story moves forward, the secrets he's kept safe will be revealed: he used to be a big fan of the furry community and was also very involved in the community, and he also had a major problem with gambling. He now enjoys gardening and has a garden of his own. To illustrate our character, we created a mood board of pictures we thought represents his character. We also made a thing on audio elements to show what music he would listen to. 

Here is the mood board we created to represent James lewis:

Here is our audio elements. We made it interactive, so that when you were to tap on one of the artists
name, it would start playing a song of theirs.

We created all of our elements using multiple websites. We created our character description on Microsoft word, our mood board/setting on Canva, and our audio elements on Powerpoint. We developed our character through set design, props, and costume design. For costume design, we brought a navy blue hoodie as a tactile item to portray his everyday clothing. We also brought a prop, which was a plant from his garden. For set design we had an image of his bedroom and what it would look like. 

I think me and my groups portrayal of our character was well made. I really liked our representation of audio elements for James Lewis. I created the mood board which I think also did a good job on representing our character through images.

Here is the folder of all elements: Multimedia Mise-en-scene 

Genre Research

 Monday, October 20, 2025

                           Genre Research

How is comedy so comedic? 

Comedy, films designed to amuse audiences and provoke laughter, typically resolving in a happy or positive outcome. The comedy genre has a very broad audience, but often segmented by sub-genre: 

- Children/Families: animated or visual humor

- Teenagers/Young Adults: simple relatable story lines or teen-focused situational comedy

- Adults: Romantic comedy, dark comedy, or satire

Content

Humor: The primary goal, which is achieved through various means (satire, irony).

Story structure: Generally follows a pattern where a protagonist faces personal stakes or absurd obstacles, leading to an inevitable  happy ending or resolution. 

Characters: Often featured an exaggerated or flawed protagonist and supporting characters who act as a "straight man" to the comedy. 

Production Techniques

Lighting: High-key lighting is common, especially in romantic comedies, to create a light, cheerful mood and clearly show comedic facial expressions.

Cinematography: Wide shots for slapstick/physical comedy to capture full-body action, use of slightly wide-angle lenses for subtle exaggeration, use of dynamic compositon (like Dutch angles) for visual tension/unease 

Editing/Sound: Fast-paced editing and techniques like crash zooms or smash cuts for emphasis or shock humor, heavy reliance on exaggerated sound effects to amplify physical gags 

Performance: Requires mastery of comedic timing from actors, often relying on reaction shots to magnify the humor of a situation 

How is genre marketed?

Narrative Image: Posters, key art, and trailers typically use bright, cheerful colors and high-key lighting to immediately signal the genre. They often feature ensemble casts or a famous comedic lead with exaggerated expressions or in a funny predicament 

Marketing Hook: Campaigns focus on the "emotional promise" of happiness/laughter, often highlighting the funniest scenes. The USP is often centered on the stars or a high-concept, absurd premise.

Distribution: Marketing efforts heavily use social media (TikTok/Instagram for teen comedies) and influencer marketing to generate engagement with the target audience.

Film sample #1- The Parent Trap (1998)

This film is a Family Comedy and a Romantic Comedy for kids. The humor comes from the silly situation of the identical twins meeting each other for the first time at sleep away camp and then tricking people (their parents, their dad's fiancé) by trading places. The production is bright to keep the mood light. It follows a basic comedic goal of getting the family reunited and having a happy ending

Film sample #2- Captain Underpants: The First Epic Movie (2017)

This film is an Animated Slapstick Comedy for kids. The humor is based on physical jokes and the absurd idea of a mean principal turning into a superhero in his underwear. It uses cartoon sound effects and fast editing to make the visual gags bigger and funnier. It's built on a simple, repeated joke (the principal getting hypnotized) that creates all the chaos.

Other comedy movies 

- Home Alone (1990)

- The Goonies (1985)

- Goosebumps (2015)

- Home (2015)

- Daddy Day Care (2003)

- Freaky Friday (2003)

Sound

Wednesday, October 9, 2025   

                                                

                                                Sound

During our class lesson on sound, we learnt that sound gives dimension to a scene, adds emotional impact to a scene, drives character personality, and compliments visuals. Two of the many types of sound that are often used, are synchronous sounds and asynchronous sounds. Synchronous sounds are sounds that are synchronized with what is viewed, for example sounds associated with objects (door opening). Asynchronous sounds are sounds that do not match the source on screen. An example of asynchronous sound would be a couple fighting and hearing rain in the background. Music is used very often in scenes. It is used to accompany a program/character, it sets a theme. When music is used non-diegetically to develop tone, you would reference the techniques as music. We also learnt about foley artists. Foley artists create and record realistic sound effects for films.

In our first project on sound, we had to come up with a 1-2 minute scene where the plot could be portrayed only through the use of sound. After choosing a scene, we had to create an outline of the sounds we planned to use and only seven spoken words were allowed in the entire scene. We then had to record and edit the sound file and add at least four sound effects that were made with everyday objects on a "foley stage" and record ourselves creating them. 

In our second project on sound, we had to analyze our One Word film project and brainstorm what sounds we would utilize to add to our film and create an outline of the ones we ended up planned to use. We then had to collect the sounds as a group and edit our own version of the soundscape into the original film. 

When approaching our first project on sound, me and my partner did a lot of brainstorming and came up with a couple different ideas before deciding on one to do. During brainstorming for both projects, we created an outline of the primary sounds and secondary sounds we planned to utilize. The outline helped us a lot when planning so when we went to do our project we had all the sounds laid out in front of us. We used Clipchamp to edit both projects. 

I think both projects ended up turning out really good. Me and my partner for the first project, really took our time while editing and also when creating our foley stage. For the second project, I put in a lot of effort when editing, making sure everything overlapped right where I wanted it to and I made sure to find exactly all the sounds I planned to utilize. Although, I think in the first project there could've been more sounds added and for the second project, I think I could've added a foley stage to create a more realistic feel.

Here are the links to both projects:

Sound Project #1:https://browardcountyschools-my.sharepoint.com/:f:/g/personal/0614053316_my_browardschools_com/Ehsnf1DKwkVLuosRgsymnjsBeVd8gDerZnS0g9rYDzBaDQ?tdid=eb9a2b8c-c306-4d35-a60b-f944f0ae88b9

Sound Project #2: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1l6CKREkZX4HbimRuLJqZK7dxyToxxcXH/view