Music Marketing Blog Post #1

    For this amazing blog project, my group (consisting of Lorenzo, Daniel, Camila, and I) were given the music genre of pop. From this genre, we were additionally given four songs to choose from and make a music video out of. TOGETHER, my group decided to make our whole project based on the song, "We Are Young' by the band called Fun. Apart from the music video, my group would need to produce research on music marketing, create a sales pitch and presentation, and investigate different types of music distribution. And so, the work began. 

    Once the group decided on the song they wanted to work with, they knew they needed to start work ASAP to keep efficiency to a maximum. Tasks were delegated with everyone's consent as follows. Lorenzo and Camila would work together on the music research sheets and would print and distribute them to the rest of the group. Daniel would work on the beginnings of the sales pitch presentation, and I would work on the storyboard, music video, and planning. Everything went great until about 10 minutes passed. During the early stages of planning for the storyboarding, I asked everyone when they could film and several time constraints came up. At the end of the day, the only day to film would be the next day (Saturday). With less than 24 hours until filming, the storyboards needed to be finished as well as all the ideas for the music video. With Lorenzo and Camila, everything was finished in the nick of time, and filming would occur that morning at around 11am. 

    Making the storyboard and whole essential storyline for the music video in under 24 hours was extremely difficult, but we were able to overcome it through brainstorming and planning. At first, we analyzed the lyrics of the music video to get a realistic interpretation of what Fun meant when they wrote the lyrics. To double-check our analyzing skills, we looked up interviews with the artist about why he wrote the lyrics he did about the song. Once correct on our analysis, we just started thinking of ways to show these lyrics through video, but also manage to maintain a semi-promotional type of music video. The solution was to switch between clips of the singer and the actual storyline. Once this stage of planning was complete, the next stages needed to occur.

    The music research papers were filled out, but I'm not entirely sure how they were planned or brainstormed since I wasn't part of that task delegation, however, I do have some quotes from Lorenzo regarding it. As Lorezno states, "There were three main aspects the presentation needed. The first was accurate information. Using a range of sources, the group compiled information on the marketing techniques used by successful pop bands. Two groups and two studies per group gave a good idea of what marketing techniques work in the music world." As you can see, once the music research chart planning was filled out, the group needed to focus on the presentation and sales pitch, as well as the filming. 

    Once filming started, everything was going great! That is until the time reached 4pm and certain actors needed to leave and attend to their own needs. I attempted to hastily record the other scenes that we didn't get to, but at the end of everything, the scenes really didn't come out that great meaning more hassle to deal with while editing. While we didn't record all the scenes as much as we would have wanted, every scene WAS recorded, which was at least one good thing. 

    The presentation and sales pitch have not been completed yet and are currently in the process of being brainstormed/planned. I would personally love to intertwine my DECA skills with this sales pitch, and part of the reason the planning has occurred slowly is that everyone has been focused on the music video filming. However, the plan is to watch sample presentations and get ideas from that, and then make a presentation that we, ourselves would want to see, and is something that would make us want to invest in. That about sums up the brainstorming for that.

    The future plans of the group are to finish editing the music video and finish the presentation and sales pitch. While the group did encounter some challenges, they managed to overcome them and get to where they are currently. To show more emphasis and to provide a better description of the research and planning of the marketing project, I am attaching pictures of the work of our project. 

The pictures show the brainstorming of the sales pitch, storyboard, music video filming and storyline, and music company research papers, in that order. 

Action-Thriller Movie Research

 What are Action Thriller movies?

    Action thriller movies, also known as action movies, are among the most popular genres for young audiences. According to statista.com, 88% of individuals surveyed stated that action/thriller movies were their favorite genre. Some of the most famed directors of these sorts of movies are John Woo, Tony Scott, and James Cameron, who have directed movies from The Matrix to Avatar. 

    Action thriller movies typically have specific factors and features. These usually include an obvious villain, hero, and victim. The story's plot often revolves around the hero stopping the villain to save the victim, who is often a love interest. There is an obvious division of power and weapons such as guns and bombs are normally included. Typically, the end of the movie will result in a victory for the hero in both the battle, but also the heart. Action thrillers also are known for creating suspense throughout the movie. Audiences often will not know what the next part of the movie will be. To create some of these tones, low-key lighting may be used as well as lots of cuts to keep the scenes progressing. Camera movements such as pans or tilts are often used as well. 

    Action thriller sets are best known for consisting of lots of layers and detail. They are typically very bright and exciting to look at, and may or may not represent real settings. The costume design is very fun and excites the viewers through unique colors, designs, and capes. The costume design helps to appeal to the target audience by using their assumed interest in video games and fast-paced movies. They include special effects like the explosions in The Dark Knight. 

    The marketing that action thrillers undertake relies heavily on bright colors and exciting posters. This technique is used in order to attract the target audience of teen males aged 15-25. Below is a perfect example of a poster for the movie Bullet Train. This poster embodies the action thriller marketing ideals by containing bright colors, as well as action happening within the poster (the train plowing fast.) 

    The poster draws in the audience by giving little hints of what the movie will be about, but also providing some mystery as the audience has no idea who the characters are, except that something dangerous is brewing. Bullet Train has already grossed more than three times the budget for the movie, proving that this marketing method does indeed work. 

    Marketing for action thrillers also heavily involves the use of social media. Since the target audience is young people, who have a habit of using social media a lot, having a major social media presence is huge for marketing. Companies will use posts, stories, and reels to showcase clips of their movie to excite their audience. One great example of this is Marvel Studios. Marvel posts around 3 times a day and has a following of over 35 million. 

    The first movie example of these factors all mixed together is the Hunger Games movie. The target audience of teenagers to young adults aligns with the target audience for action thrillers. . There is a long list of weapons used but primarily they use bows and arrows. The hero is Katniss Everdeen, the villain is President Snow, and there are many victims which are all very easily identifiable. There are numerous explosions and a variety of other special effects to keep the interest of the audience as well as plenty of camera movements along with many cuts and a sense of suspense. The separation of power between the capitol residents and district residents is shown with their wardrobes. The rich have excessive and over-the-top costumes while the poor dress simply with slim to no color or expression in their outfits as shown below:

    Another example is Jurrasic World, directed by Steven Spielberg. The target audience is teenagers to young adults and the same for the action thriller category. The weapons used are mainly shotguns and rifles. The villain is Lewis Dodgson, the hero is Alan Grant, and the victims are all the lives lost throughout the film and the other tourists visiting the park in the car. The special effects make the whole movie - there are literal dinosaurs created from CGI. Not to mention the many explosions and other cool effects used in the entire movie. The division of power is shown through each individual character, there are children, a rich guy, a worker, and many other different levels of power in each character. At the end of the movie, the day is saved when the T-Rex appears and saves the remaining people. Although the efforts of the protagonist allowed for their lives to be saved, the plot twists when the humans end up getting saved by the thing they were trying to escape from.

    Some other great action thriller movies are listed down below, with links for each movie. 

1. The Dark Knight
2. Furious 7
3. Skyfall
4. Inception
5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
6. I Am Legend

Introduction Posting

 My name is John. Just kidding, it's Josh. I am a student at a high school somewhere in the world, and I am participating in an assignment given by my teacher.

 This assignment is to create a blog for potential future projects throughout the year. Now, you might be wondering, "what is this random assignment?" Well, my young padawan, this assignment will be to create a 2-minute intro for a movie. 

"So why would you need a blog for that?" To document my work, and the steps I took to make this movie. 

Simply put, I am creating this blog to show YOU how good this video will be. And you're going to love this video. Just watch! 

Visit me on youtube to check out my other videos at 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-qBvjl262IfH_vQNBo5zpA/featured

Thanks, and can't wait to see you soon!