Production Schedule

It is difficult for me to put a production schedule for me for this project, as I am unsure which aspects I am going to be tackling first. So, this is what I would like to do for each week.

2/24- 3/1- finish instrumentals for first verse

3/8- finish lyrics for first verse

3/9-3/15- finish instrumentals for chorus, start and finish storyboard

3/13- 3/22- finish song, begin filming

3/23- 3/29- final adjustments to song, finish filming

3/30- 4/5- edit opening together, final post-production adjustments

Making Progress!!!

So, I discovered one major obstacle I have been encountering in this process- I'm trying to do everything at once. Luckily, I now know that with the music, I need to take it one step at a time. I have decided to mess around and see which chords work best for the mood I'm trying to create. In the process, I came up with this:

It's not perfect, but I truly do feel as if the violins are creating that effect that I want to create. Next, I experimented with the beat.

This is just an update on how I'm developing each sound step by step, and how this is a culminating process that will take a lot of time and is being built from the ground up. My next step will be to start writing the lyrics for the verse.

Portfolio Project- Genre Research

For my genre, I have been drawing a lot of inspiration from other musicals. The main one that inspired me is "A Star is Born", more specifically, the parking lot scene.

I feel as if the concept of the parking lot represents something that I am looking for. The setting would be at night, and a slow zoom onto the character. This movie draws a lot of inspiration for me, especially because of its score. It is constantly full of acoustic instruments such as guitar, piano, and violin. The emotions that are created are also very similar. The lack of instrumentals give it a lot of power and raw emotion, which is how I plan on starting the opening. The final song I'll Never Love Again, creates a very similar effect to the one I am trying to create.

This song has the power that I am trying to manifest. It's so full of emotion and deep passion, and although it is an ending to a film, it has a similar effect to the opening I am trying to create. It establishes a deep pain and deep yearning for someone. So, I just came up with an idea- I could alternate my opening with flashbacks of my character reminiscing of times with someone. This would explicitly state that the person is heartbroken.

Although not very similar to what the scene actually is, I want the feeling created by my song to be similar to Celine Dion's My Heart Will Go On. The power comes from her vocals, and it really helps develop the raw emotion of the song. I seem to have a very good understanding of how vocal technique works, so I believe that I can do this. Of course, I will have to edit my voice because my singing sounds like a cat being thrown into a blender, but it'll have to do.

Music Production- Roadblocks and Film Production

So, I went to my second class on music production today, and I realized how little I know. I have been experimenting with different sounds, but I'm still coming up short on how to create the melody. The violin is coming in well, but it just isn't what I need it to be. 

I have learned how to use the smart piano, in which I simply press the chords I want and plan out how they'll play out. Being an inexperienced piano and violin player, this is quite difficult for me. Instead, I will work with some experienced piano players to create the sounds I need.

However, I have moved on to the film production part of my project in the meantime. I have been considering if a master shot for the opening would be a good technique. I feel like it would allow me to capture the continuity of emotions I want to evoke (I have no idea if that even makes sense but, hey, it's what I'm trying to do). In fact, that's the whole purpose of this project. To evoke a feeling that I cannot create with words. 

As I have hit a roadblock in my music production, I have emailed Universal Music to request the rights to use Florence + the Machine's song The End of Love, which is the song I used to create the title of this film. This is merely a backup plan. The overall cinematography of the opening will be the same no matter which song I use, so I am moving on to that part. I know which feeling I am trying to create, so I believe it would be wise to move on to my next step.

If I don't use a master shot, then I would probably use a lot of cuts. My idea is to have the opening flashing between black and film with stings. I'm not sure how to explain it, but it would look something like this:

This is from Beyonce's Formation World Tour. The stings would be of a similar sound, and the images would flash between black and video just like that. It would be a very hefty editing process, but I feel as if I can pull it off with enough patience.

Basically, I just realized that this project will be a lot more work than I anticipated. But I'm sure that with enough work and patience I can really culminate a beautiful work of film.

Portfolio Project Music Production - Lyrics

The music production aspect of my project has become more difficult than I imagined. I do have experience when it comes to songwriting, but this would be the first time I actually produce the instrumentals to it. I tend to draw inspiration from other artists and their work, and this is what I am planning on doing. I have recently began to draw the theme around the lyrics from this song:

I feel nervous in a way that can't be named

I dream last night of a sign that read "the end of love"

And I remember thinking even in my dreaming

It was a good line for a song

And in a moment of joy and fury I threw myself

In the balcony like my grandmother so many years before me

I've always been in love with you

Could you tell it from the moment that I met you?

This is the mood that I am trying to create. Therefore, I have decided on the name of my film- "The End of Love". The title is the feeling that I am working to create in this film- one that makes the audience believe that love is dead. To create this feeling, I have come up with the following lyrics:

Love has been a street that I cannot follow

I turn and turn at every intersection

And I feel as if maybe for some reason

I'm just not meant to be able to follow

To aid me in the songwriting process, I have been exploring several music writing podcasts, such as that of Song Exploder. Here, I have learned two crucial components of my songwriting process. The first was an interview on Janelle Monae's songwriting process for her song "So Afraid". Monae speaks on how you have to make yourself vulnerable to write a song. So I came up with this. I decided to vent about one of the most painful experiences of my life. I woke up over night and wrote this at around 4 in the morning in my bed after a painful dream.

"From the moment that I met you, I knew you were the one. Maybe not the person I was meant to be with for the rest of my life, but I knew that you came into my life to teach me something. What that is, I was not sure. I’m still not sure what I was supposed to learn. I felt like you were made for me. You told me “why are we perfect for each other?”, I thought: “you’re perfect for me”. And as someone who was a perfectionist, I was unable to find one flaw in you. You felt like destiny. I truly felt love. Not immediately, of course. But far after we separated. I let the concept of you marinate and develop over time, and I began to form a nostalgia for those moments we spent together. I will never forget the way you held me in the car that night, or the words you spoke to me that were so powerful that made me cry. I miss you everyday of my life, and I will never stop yearning for the chance to meet you again. Maybe we’ll meet again another time, when we’re both ready. But until now I wish you the best."

And so, as Monae told me to, I began to write from the heart.

I was always told to close my heart and to open it slow

But meeting you made me want to open up a little more

Again, I'm writing this as I am thinking. Another podcast I listened to from the same show was one by Solange. She remembers writing her hit single "Cranes in the Sky" in Miami, when she literally saw cranes on buildings in the sky. She thought of Miami as this place of peace and tranquility for her. But when she went to write, she was it full of cranes. This represented how she continued to build up (grow), while ignoring the actual problems at hand that she is experiencing. This is what I did in the previous lyrics. I took a concept that is dear and true to my heart and expressed it through a metaphor. This metaphor I felt would properly express how it is I feel about my pain and my struggles.

I don't know where this song and film will end up, but I feel like this will be more than just a graded project for a class. I was talking with my therapist, and I told her I had trouble expressing my feelings in words. In literal sentences with literal meanings. So I decided I should turn this film opening into a way to express myself. Use these lyrics and these sounds and visual techniques to express my pain. Now, I will begin to draw an outline of what I want the opening to be, since I have established the mood I want to establish.

Portfolio Project- Music Production

As of this weekend, I have began writing the music to my project. I want to create a melancholy feel to the film opening. I intend for the opening to begin on a dark screen with the credits, with the main singer singing acapella. The scene will show shots between the credits and the main character singing, in a location that I am yet to determine. I want there to be a sense of mystery; that there is something wrong with the character. My character is singing to release and express a deep sorrow. Therefore, I have scrapped my previous song and began on a new one. I believe that by first creating the tune and cord progression of the song, I will be able to better evoke the mood of melancholy and mystery.

I have began my first set of classes on music production. I took a class at the Apple Store in Ft Lauderdale to learn how to use Garage Band over the weekend. I've began to learn the basic instruments I would need, such as guitar, piano, drum, and violin. If this scene will be anything, I want it to have impact. I want it to have power. I want the audience to know exactly what this character is experiencing, and I want them to believe that this is a story worth telling. How do I plan on doing this? With a great deal of effort, trying, learning, and patience.

I have an outline on how I want this song to carry out. Music to me has always been about a feeling. A story it tells. Songs are the most beautiful and elaborate pieces of art. There is a story that is there, but you need to dig in deep to not just see it, but to understand it. To truly feel it. That's what I want to do with this. I wan my audience to feel the sadness of this character.

The melancholy mood I plan on creating is not one associated with crying or heartbreak. It is one of being tired. Tired of trying to be happy, tired of trying to make it day by day, trying to be yourself. This character needs to be someone that represents who I am. There needs to be a mirror reflection of who I am, combined with who I want to be. This character will be a product of my song writing, of my emotions being laid out on a computer keyboard through my fingers and transformed to sound. This opening will be about more than just my cinematographic talent- it will me a demonstration of my ability to express myself to others.

Portfolio Project- Genre

I have began to write music for my project. Although I have not produced the sound, I have began the lyrics. I have began writing a song called "No Heaven, No Hell", which talks about my agnostic beliefs. I want to be able to reflect my real life struggles and beliefs in this film, as well as how others' religion has caused complications in my life- especially in terms of my sexuality.

Portfolio Project- Musical Genre

I have decided on doing a musical opening for my portfolio project. I am unsure of what I will be doing exactly, as I first want to see what song I will use for the project. The genre will most likely be pop, and I plan on letting the song drive the narrative

Music Marketing

Genre

I have recently pitched my alternative pop/rock band "Fire Meets Gasoline". This genre involves artists starting off performing at small club shows to draw attention, since pop rock is a genre that sounds similar across most artists. Artists market their media through live performances, primarily at popular musical festivals. For example, when Foster the People were starting their career, they performed as a sub performer at Coachella Valley Music and Arts festival. Hozier promoted his work at Oxygen Music Festival when he was beginning in 2009 and 2010. This is a local music festival in Ireland, which allowed him to establish a local audience. The genre also involves artists creating music videos for their songs. This worked for both Foster the People's debut single "Pumped Up Kicks" and Hozier's "Take me to Church". Their videos accumulated hundreds of millions of views on YouTube VEVO, which is a common distribution method by these bands. For example, Foster The People's "Pumped Up Kicks" video has now accumulated over 600 000 000 views.

Marketing Fire Meets Gasoline

When developing the band Fire Meets Gasoline, I made several conscious decisions that I knew would help create our image. First of all- the color scheme. Being that our name and album name were related to fire, we decided to brand ourselves with the colors of fire- red, orange, yellow, and black. We use these colors throughout our webpage, merchandise, and album design to promote this image. This allows for the audience to have a set vision of our band when they think of it, making us more memorable and unique. We also used the motif of fire throughout. We include this on the webpage, album logo, artist logo, and merchandise. This allows us to further develop our brand. We become associated with a symbol of fire, making us seem "hot" and "burning up".

Marketing Products

By creating our merchandise, we can help promote our brand further. Artists can show their love and support for our band and help promote it to other people.

The merchandise follows simple color schemes that focus on promoting our brand. We have different styles of merchandise for those who prefer smaller, less flashy merchandise. We also compromise for those who want to show off their love for the band, with a bigger logo shirt. The hats are simpler additions and less expensive, so people are more likely to buy them. 

Production of Music Video

Through this music video, I learned how to create a theme and convey a message. Specific choices in camera movement helped convey the awkward theme of the song. For example, the extreme close ups on the eyes and the smiles of the characters during the date help convey the feelings of awkwardness and how uncomfortable they feel. This is further developed in the zooming in of the hands being smacked away at the stairs.

The fast paced editing during the stalker scene shows how rapidly the pace of the music and theme is changing. It develops a feeling of anticipation and fear, and how the stalking occurred out of nowhere.