Multimedia Mis-en-scene

 Our next project was to create an entire story based on a one-line description of a character our AICE media teacher provided us. My group's goal was to have our audience have a full grasp of what our character was truly like. Including her personality, likes and dislikes, and her hobbies. 

Our character was a former Hispanic jazz singer who lives in a penthouse in New York City, loves to cook, and tells stories to her neighbors. Throughout the members of the group, we all distributed different types of things we believe Josefina, a character name, would like. I created a playlist of different types of music Josefina would listen to daily. For example, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Selena, and Romeo Santos. 

On presentation day, we were allowed 4 computers for the different types of pieces, where each character can be seen. On my computer, I put the soundtrack and a light description of how Josefina would listen to this type of genre of music. My group developed Josefina by using our imagination and figuring out how this one-line description of a character would truly live their life. For instance, another group member and I decided to bring in items that Josefina would have. My prop that I brought in for her was an Etta James record album. The group member brought a dulce de leche snack. Throughout our character mood board, we used warm hues with high-key lighting to create what her typical mood would be. In our description and storyline, we tried to make it as realistic as possible. We created her background story, how she became a singer, and how she is the person she is today.

Overall, my group process when creating this project was challenging in some parts due to everyone having different opinions on how Josefina should live. But with how Josefina ended up, I am proud of what my group has come up with in the time that we had.

Why are musicals considered musicals?

                What makes a musical a musical?

As someone that loves threate, I watch musicals all the time. The usually audience for musicals are different throughout, which involves, theatre enthusiasts, traditionalists, and entertainment seekers. Some might think musical are only about singing and dancing, musicals convention, and some are right. But thats not all what muscials are for. Muscials are produce to either get a message through to their audience, perform a story, or just for entertainment. 

MARKETING-

When marketing a musical productions, throughout both technology and print, it typically symblolises what happens in the productions or what the audience is to expect. This can be seen through ads and posters for the production. The use of a poster, for example, you would see the 2 main characters on the majority on the paper. In the background you would usually see where the muscial is taking place or what happens in the actually musical. Using adverstisments, it would be unexplained clips from the muscial throw into each other to make the trailer. Throughout these clips, there will be climax parts from the flim with would attract target audiences to be wanting to know what happens next. Towards the end of the trailer there would be single shots of which charater and then a shot of who portayed it. Showing that the actress or actor is staring in that role.  

                                 WICKED

For instance, Wicked, the muscial that orginally preimeid in 2003 on broadway. Which got remade in to a movie muscial where Cythina Ervio starred as the main character epphabla and Arina Grande as Glinda. As seen through the poster, both characters are reaching towards each other with diverse backgrounds behind each other. With Glinda, bottom left, her background is a light pink, whismical, with a tree full of fowers. Creating a happy more calmful tone. On the other side of the poster, upper right, we see eplahba, Cythina Ervio, in front of which seems to be dead trees, dark undertone, and dark green clouds. Putting a negative tone on the character. Between the two we see the castle of which the majority of the story takes place. However in between the two characters reaching for each other, there is a quote that is said in the flim; " Everyone derves a chance to fly." Which is perceived to be the message of the story. 

The flim, Wicked, is taken place throughout OZ, and we are introduced to a quick beginning signify that the wicked witch is dead. Now this flim is a presequal to the popular movie " The Wizard of Oz",  so most of what happens in Wicked foreshawdows what happens "The Wizard of Oz''. With the entire city of Oz cheerful and celebrating that the wicked witch is dead, they are singing a song entitled, " No one mourns the wicked". Signifying no one misses the wicked witch and glad that she is dead. We then see Glinda floating down in a bubble to confront the news to the town. We can see here that Glinda is a public firgure and as a voice in what happens to the people. While Glinda is making her speech a character in the town, who is called a munchkin, ask if she knew the wicked witch herself. Glinda then confronts the munchkin with saying she did and that were friends. Glinda then begins to tell her and the wicked witches friendship. While Glinda begins to speak the tone begins to create a swift in setting. Glinda then continues the song" No one mourns th wicked" with telling how the wicked with came to be. Starting with her parents and where she came from. Later throughout the flim there is a time jump to the two of them in college, Shiz University, and Glinda is considered the popular student and Elphaba is considered the werid freak. Elphaba has a sister who is paralyzed from the waist down, seen sitting in a wheel chair. In a drastic turn of events Elphaba is seen having magical powers that are uncontrolable. Now, we known that glinda is a popular girl who has all the attention, so when she gets paired up with Elphaba it now changes what usually happens to her. The next major song in the muscial, Loathing, is about how the two characters hate eachother so and could never change there feelings about eachother. Throughout the rest of the flim we see new characters that change the feelings between the 2 main characters, Glinda nad Elphaba. Now, this flim was left on a cliffhanger ending off with the show stopper, Defying Gravtity, which is sung by Elphaba. This song is to symbolsis how she is spreading her own wings and is going away fromw what people told her to do her entire life. Which leaves the auidence with anticipation of wanting to know what happens next.

                             Into the Woods

The Broadway production, Into the Woods, was first premiered on Broadway which ran for nearly two years. The production was then turn into a movie muscial which came out in 2014. The 2014 flim starred a lot of celebritys that many people knew, including, Johnny Depp, Meryl Streep, Anna Kendrick, Emily Blunt, and many more. The flim is taken place in a fantasy land where all of childern storybook characters live. Little Red Riding hood, Rapunzal, Cinderlla, and Jack and the Bean stalk. At the start of the flim we see a baker and his wife, " portayed by Emily Blunt and James Corden, getting ready to set up there bakery for customers. The first song begins to play entitled, " Prologue: Into the Woods." Throughout the entire flim, there is a narrator in the background which tells what is to unfold. Whild singing the song, we are introduced to the main characters, Cinderella, Jack, Little red riding hood, and the Witch. The Witch entires the bakery where the baker and his wife is and comes to them with a prophecy. The baker and his wife are given three days to obtain rare options to give to the witch and they will be blessed with a child. Throughout the journey to find the items, all off the fairytales are happening at once, to create a timeline so the audience can follow through what is happening. The setting seen through the majority of the forest. Hence the title, Into the Woods, where all these storys take place. 

Production Tehcniques:

Muscials can be seen through many types of techniques. The lighting depends of what the producers want the audience to feel. In the Broadway production of  Anastasia, in the part of the flim where Anastasia is trying to remember who she is, sung through a song entitled, " Once upon a december.", there is people in the background dancing implying there at a ball. These dancers are dressed in rich, formal attire in warm bright lighting. Then we see Anastasia in ragged clothes in not such impactful lighting. Usually in muscials, which are action based,  there would be a fast paced plot. Also in most of there songs, there would be multiple people singing different parts to show is happening to that character and what is going to happen later on in the story. 

Content-

Throughout musical productions, when a character is singing a solo, it is typically extremely dramatic. The character is singing what they have experineced, experinecing, or going to expreince in the future. This shows what the character is feeling. Happiness, anger, love, etc. This is what makes the audience usually love muscials because of the type of emotion the character puts into the song.

                                                            BEETLEJUICE

The musical production, beetlejucie, seen above, we see a character, Lydia, singing about her dead mom and wanting to be with her still because without her she is all alone. We can understand how the character is feeling through the movement throught the song, costume choices and lighting. In most dramatic solos in musicals, the character will have a spotlight on them at all times.

                                                        

                                                             HEATHERS

In the Broadway production, Heathers, we see in the image above, Heather M singing a song, Lifeboat, about how living is like living in a lifeboat in raging ocean. People throwing eachother out one by one and if she doesnt follow the rules she can be thrown off too. This song is less than 2 minutes but still is able to show the impact of what the character has gone through because of how actress portays the song. We also see the spotlight only shining on Heather M,  pulling all the attention to her and only her character.

Here are some musicals to consider watching-

HAMILTON

 

                                                             CABARET

                                                            HAIRSPRAY

                                          

  WEST SIDE STORY

                                                          MAMMA MIA

 

                                                                ANNIE

Sound Project 1 and 2

In our new lesson, we have learned the structure of sound throughout television. Including how to dissect sounds to know what kind they are, learned what the "foley" sound is, and how sound can affect a production.

For the most recent project, we were assigned to create a soundscape for a scene, we were supposed to create. We were only allowed to use sound, no videos at all. My partner and I created a scene of a couple arguing tremendously, leading up to the man killing the woman. 

During the process of brainstorming, we were figuring out how to separate the sounds we would create and research sounds that were already recorded. Finally, we agreed on who would create certain sounds and what sounds we would research through the internet. This helped us put our piece together by creating the backbone of our final product. I believe we did a good job layering the sounds to make sure they aligned with the storyline properly. However, I also believe that we could've improved the sounds we picked. We could've improved the way we edited the sounds so that everything was smoother than it was.

In our connecting project, we went back to our one-word film project and added sound to it. My partner and I created most of the sounds through ''foley". To help us complete this,  we went back to our original project and tried to think about what sounds would go perfectly with the movement, the doors opening, and even the floor creaking. In my opinion, we completed the sounds for the film well. Creating each sound for the exact piece. However, I believe I could've improved the way I edited the sounds differently. Making them last for that exact moment the sound is taking place instead of having the sound last a longer time than it should've. 

Below you will see links to both projects.

MooreShaprio_soundscape_per1.m4a

OWFsound_Moore .mp4