Here is the link to the drive folder where I have placed the two trailers:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13rmIXcpFOw1RG-D7BxnRJzdZo-3d_9x-?usp=sharing
Here is the Poster:
The Menace was a project that I toyed with from the moment the options on how to present our final piece were given. The trailers for the film are designed to draw the viewer’s attention to the action that takes place on screen, as well as subtly commenting on vigilante justice and it’s place in society. The final underlying message of the piece is asked by the reporter at the beginning of trailer one, who is cut off after asking the following question: if someone is willing to put themselves in harm's way to break laws and catch criminals, why don’t they stop future crime from occurring by ‘putting them down the first time’.
The Menace is an action thriller that focuses on the double life of the titular hero, whose true identity is never given in the piece. Inspired by various artists currently working on similar dark pieces such as ‘The Batman’ and even newer content like ‘Moon Knight’, The Menace is an attempt to bring elements of believability and nuance to these superhero spectacles. Much like these new projects, the piece relies heavily on obscurity and misdirection, giving the audience no real clue as to what is going on or when the main conflict will escalate. Darkness is a heavy stylistic choice for all three of these pieces, with The Menace utilizing darkness to shroud the hero, in an almost pastiche sort of similarity to the latest Batman film. This genre of media is heavily embedded in nostalgia, which isn’t something that The Menace has to offer fans as a new and independent film. Thus instead of picking big moments based on comic book parallels like the latest Moon Knight trailers, this piece relies solely on the action and the bizarre nature of the character’s faceless appearance to draw the eye and ensnare the audience.
Yet another key difference between the projects that inspired The Menace and the film itself is the constraints of the producer. Being unable to use pyrotechnics and lack of access to professional stunt rigging/equipment meant that all of the action for the film had to be done in-camera and with amateurs. This steps away from the crisp and visual effects-heavy action sequences that have permeated Hollywood and returns to a much rawer and grittier aesthetic. By leaning into this The Menace challenges genre norms and interprets action sequences in a much more down to earth manner, adding both a sense of danger for all parties involved and a rougher visual, which is a real fight is more realistic, something that will inevitably draw the audience further into the piece. An easy example of this is the slip on the ground in the end of the second trailer, where the hero slips as they run from police sirens. That fall feels more grounded because there is nothing supernatural or otherworldly about the stunt, and there are no distracting visual effects to make you question the reality of what happened on set. It’s raw and real, something that most modern action films lose because of their sheer budget and size.
This detraction is something that the target audience of the piece has been extremely vocal about. Most males from teenagers all the way up through men in their 40s consume action and superhero flicks, with the suspense/thriller subgenre attracting a few more intelligent viewers into the audience, similar to what was seen when the public realized that The Riddler’s ciphers in the latest DC film were solvable clues. This target audience is volatile and difficult to please, with minor details such as the green vial in The Batman being blown up on social media for being unrealistic and terribly conceived. This issue of criticism is a double-edged sword. The raw and complete in-camera action approach is one way to reduce this type of outrage over small details, but the outrage can also prove to be useful. The fact that this wide range of males in the audience enjoy chatting to one another about the issues they found in a piece lends itself to this project’s favor. Since this is a small production running on a limited budget, any conversation about the film that promotes the active searching of its content is publicity that is needed.
The other genre norm that is being broken comes with the casting. Although superhero films in the greater Marvel and DC universes are becoming more inclusive, most films still center around a troubled white male whose problems are primarily first world or extremely overarching, like Superman’s alter ego conflict. Although it doesn’t appear as a major source of conflict in the trailer, both my villain and my hero are of Latin American descent. Instead of playing them as stereotypes or as just crazy individuals(see Tuco Salamanca in Breaking Bad), they’re both treated as normal characters, who are simply present on screen. This choice was made to just naturally include the representation, without needing to call onto vast culture or delve extremely deeply into the nuances of the situation. Simply having them in these roles and as leaders should set a standard. The other reason this representation issue isn’t elaborated on in the promotional material is due to the target audience, who for the most part doesn’t care about who plays the hero because the audience is invested in the action.
The final note is in regards to the branding of the piece. Given that there was a limited window to work on this project(most of which was relegated to the research and planning), The Menace didn’t have an opportunity to fully develop its brand with the audience. However, there were a few things done that would continue if the project were beyond the scope that it currently is. The first is the ciphers. Riddles and clues that indicate where the promotional events are happening or in this small window of time informing the audience they were getting not one by two trailers for the film are subtle ways to keep engagement, with the ciphers helping to match the dark and puzzling nature of the project. If more time was to be devoted to social media and brand growth there would be further developments of this dark color/lighting scheme, more quotes from characters as trailers and teasers continued to drop with new voice lines, and more ciphers for the audience to solve.
Overall The Menace is a project that comes together to form a spectacle of thought, with action to appease the mindless and subtle nuance that hints at greater conflict in the story and the world. Whether or not that second level is picked up relies solely on the audience and the brand as it continues to develop further.
The poster for this film is gritty and rough, not even remotely as crisp as the design I'd originally looked at. On filming day, Daniel(who played the character) was standing near a tree and light just happened to reflect perfectly on the hood of his jacket. So I grabbed him and took a couple photos, and this was the result.
This is a very low-budget project with 0 pull whatsoever in any sort of industry. Considering that I'm going for something stylistically that matches some of the newer blockbusters like The Batman, reaching out to people was difficult and I struggled at coming up with a way to reach someone that would have opportunities for me. Then I realized that my cipher 'riddle'(which tells you that there are two trailers instead of one) has a commonality with the Batman film, because in the trailers for those films the Riddler puzzle(which wasn't even a marketing gag) was solved in less than a few hours. So I reached out to that social media account.
If I could gain more insight into how they were able to maximize the Riddler's appeal it would allow me more time to develop my brand within this piece. So I sent them this message:
"Working on a project for media studies and beginning to hide riddles and ciphers within the images starting from today's posts. How did Y'all incorporate the Riddler's antics into your marketing and is there anything you'd want to pose as advice or partnership if this project was to really get off the ground"
Given that this project operates on a limited time window I do not think this will pan out to anything greater but I'd continue to try and push forward using similar tactics reaching out for other opportunities for collaboration.
I dropped the second teaser for the film which is just the villain posing a question to the hero. I plan on starting the ciphers on the images starting today. The ciphers will tease the film’s planned release date, live events, and will also give more lore details about the film. As far as the cipher that I’m going to use, this is the box cipher and what it looks like. The cipher is technically known as a pigpen cipher and the reason I know of its existence is that I have a ring with the cipher that runs around it.
I think giving the cipher to the images is something that can add excitement to the film. The target audience's reaction is something similar to the riddle from the Batman movie, where the postcard(which played no huge role in the film) had a cipher that was solved by the internet in less than a few hours, simply because it was something obviously present that required a solution. If I’m drawing on a similar target audience I can reward their curiosity and give them details about production or the piece by hiding those ciphers into the scene, just as a small riddle for them to solve. If I had more time to develop the brand I’d make the ciphers more complicated or layered as I went.
So IMovie has been drastically reuploaded. There have been various attempts made to figure out which text to use and I almost gave up. That's when I opened IMovie to quickly stitch together something and I found out one of their text wipes has a really cool font that comes with it. So that's what I ended up using. It was a simple yet effective solution to something that I thought was going to become a more complicated issue. The text is easy to read and has a visual pop to it, matching the dark aesthetic and everything else that comes with the piece.
One thing I will say though is that it feels too crisp, and there isn't much I can do about that because I'm filming on an iPhone and thus my camera quality is terrible with the settings I had it on. This was a problem I tried to adjust from last year and certain scenes look great but some of my nighttime footage looks rough, so the text feels a little too crisp at certain points.
I finished the masking and editing for the first 30 seconds of trailer one and need to overlay the audio but I figured I'd discuss that here. The poetic dialogue blogpost has a quote on it that I plan to use as the camera pans from one idea to the next, as the hero walks about their room and takes off the mask after a long night's work. I think the shot speaks for itself and I'm really happy with how it turned out. I wanted to see if I could pull off a one-take shot and I did so I'm super excited for the final versions of the trailers, which have started coming together.
The first social media post is finally going up. The fire image that I used in a previous blog post will be placed on the screen with a little warning that something is coming. For the hashtag, I think #menacethemovie has a nice ring to it because it's alliterative and catchy. The warm hue is in direct contrast with the darkness but it gives the mask an almost hellish look, which emphasizes the fear factor in my opinion. As far as story posts go, I want to do them to where they're continuous and spell out questions for the audience to put together, forcing them to ask the central question of the piece. It's what I think is a creative way to get them engaged in the content as a whole.
Since I'm behind I need to accelerate my timetable. The first teaser drops Monday along with the final word 'executioner for judge jury executioner, and it'll just be an introduction to the movie's villain killing someone before asking why the hero is necessary seemingly to nobody, forcing the audience to think about what the vigilante does and what they look like, since the mask doesn't make an appearence.
Since I have a limited time window I will be working on a very specific social media plan. Each day from Monday onward I will drop a post that gives the number of days before the trailers drop as well as a few teasers in order to hint at future production/sales opportunities. These will include the story post questions that follow after each other as well as a hidden cipher that spells out when the film will release in theatres. This will be done using a grid code that I've used multiple times and the boxes will be hidden rather obviously in the post, being in the caption themselves before the hashtag.
As far as following people, I have a small list that I want to use as part of this project.
Today was not something I'd anticipated in my schedule. I'm a spoken word poet and today was the qualifying round for LTAB(Louder than a Bomb), a competition hosted by the Jason Taylor Foundation. I had no idea this was coming up until a few days beforehand and spent all of Monday night trying to rememorize the pieces that I was slated to perform during the competition.
I understand this is a short update but I still have LTAB prep to do and I am quite stressed.
I will be making my first social media post Monday next week. I've looked extensively at multiple social media pages on Instagram for various films and have come across a few that will inform me on how best to proceed for this project. This is the list
1. Moon Knight. Disney does this thing with every new marvel show where they announce 2 weeks, 10 days, 7 days, then count down from either 5 or the 7 on the release day of the show. Now I won't be doing that for the actual piece because the release date for the film is not the day the project is due. However, I'll be adopting a similar style of post for when the trailer drops because the trailers are the last posts that we make for the film.
2. Batman: This account focuses more on the content of the film itself and relies on keeping that consistent energy throughout. This was done with the red text and overall aesthetic.
This odd video(ignore the voices) will be the framework for the first post, which will be the mask on fire in the darkness. This will be the first post announcing that something is coming, and I can't wait to open aftereffects to find out how I'm going to make this look even cooler then it already does.
Misleading blog title. I think our fight scenes turned out perfect. My villain actor, whose nickname amongst our friend group is Tic-Tac, and Daniel, had excellent chemistry together on set. Even I got a chance to wear the mask for some of the practiced choreography, and if I'm allowed to toot my own horn, I think that some of the stuff we filmed tonight looks really well put together. I'm glad the movement looks as good as it does. We also made use of actual impacts, such as the kick to the chest and uppercut in one of the later scenes. I had such a fun time tonight and I can't wait to see what else these guys produce with each other. I'm glad I rescheduled reshoots to work with these guys all at the same time because they have amazing chemistry as stunt performers.
I found my action-heavy music piece. This one is extremely heavy but still maintains that darker aesthetic. This piece was located on Youtube and after checking the creator's licenses and requests, I will be able to use it for the piece. This one will probably have limited dialogue or will need to be spliced because I do not think that there are enough places to naturally put gaps in it.
One thing is certain though. I will need to use two different styles of editing to make sure that the trailers each match the audience that I want them to. This one must be quickly paced, with flashing lights, quick cuts, and fast action. The other will need to hold shots for almost uncomfortably long periods of time, and give people a sense of dread because everything will feel like it's building to something. The tension will be mounting in both but the methods to get there will be different. I'm excited to reshoot and I am slightly concerned that not everything will be done in time(especially considering I'm behind on the social media page) but I think everything will turn out ok.
I have found the first piece of music for my trailers. Epidemic sound has become an extremely useful resource and has given me the ability to search for all sorts of music, which I have since begun to use for the project. As far as the underlying track I have two styles that I wish to achieve. The first trailer is going to be more subtle and psychological, focusing more on closeups and individual character conflicts. The second is going to center around more of the action or fight mechanics of the film. Since neither one of my characters has clear powers I'll need to convey their skills with wide shots for action scenes, which I've choreographed with my actors already. I'm splitting the trailers up in this way to achieve a wider reach to target audience. A show that is doing something similar at the moment is Moon Knight, which has released teasers that focus on the character's unstable mental state, as well as TV spots that showcase the absolute takedowns that he is capable of.
I say all of this because my first trailer track has been found. This is going to be the one with less action in it. The melody of the trailer has an eerie piano playing throughout and although it does get heavy, the lack of thumps and thuds throughout will give me room to mess with the audio so I can put voiceovers onto my work. I love this song it's fantastic.
Just in case the video doesn't work, The song is titled Sacrifice and it is on Epidemic sound: https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/search/?term=sacrificeRepresentation in the realm of superheroes has come a long way. Just look at the picture of the Marvel lineup at the bottom of this post. There are various things to consider when presenting anybody on a pedestal in these types of films because they are taken from fiction and capture our imaginations, forcing us to wonder what would happen if they were real. This is what makes casting for the hero, villain, and any major supporting character extremely important.
Hero: My hero is a Hispanic male, which was done completely based on an opportunity sample but can have profound consequences on my film as a whole within represented works. This is a departure from the archaic, Captain America archetype, which is a white man fighting for truth justice, and the American way. By making my hero of the younger demographic and a Hispanic American, I am placing the spotlight on those individuals and creating someone who is more connective with individuals of similar descent. Given that there have been pushes recently to cast/showcase more diverse heroes, I think this is an extremely appropriate choice for both the industry and the audience retention.
Villain: My villain is in a similar boat. He is also of Latin American descent, however, I am not playing him as a typical 'Spanish' villain. There are no drugs. Nothing crazy and ridiculously grand is going to be shown. This young man will be calm, collected, calculated, similar to the depiction of Russians or other 'evil' Europeans in classic action films. He will not have an exaggerated accent and will speak normally. This will be a departure from what we've seen in the past with powerful Spanish villains, with the most topical example(to my project at least) being Tuco Salamanca from Breaking Bad. I think this departure is interesting and one that could be grouped for commentary later.
This filming schedule is going to be miserable. Here's a list of conflicts:
1. My hero gets his wisdom teeth pulled out in the middle of the week, making him useless for the days that follow
2. My parents are taking me out of town for a few days. It'll be fun but I'm losing valuable time.
3. I am a poet, and we're competing in a state tournament with the school team the day we get back from break. My pieces have been written, but the choreography, memorization and overall preparation will take up quite a bit of time.
4. I have 2 tests and 4 other assignments due the first day of the fourth quarter.
5. My villain has a soccer tournament early in the week and if they win, I've lost him for most of break.
I love this website. Honestly, I'd end the blogpost there if I could. This site is fantastic in every way and the class has already found ways to access more music without using up free trial days, which for a project like this is precious.
There are a lot of options when it comes to sounds and such that I can pick, and I need to solidify those noises and overall musical pieces so that way I can time shots in the trailer to the exact frame they need to be placed.
Good News:
I work on Fridays and this has provided me with an issue for today. We were supposed to film a bit Friday and a bit Saturday, with Friday's shoot happening after I got home from work. Regrettably, that just didn't happen. For reasons outside my control our kitchen(I work at an Italian restaurant in the pizza kitchen) was much busier than usual and I was forced to stay a lot later then I usually do because we were so backed up in the kitchen. Thus the plans I had for this weekend have been pushed back as times have not worked out. Even now as I type out this blog post I feel terribly because I was planning on shooting earlier this year, with Spring Break(none of my guys are gone) as a time for reshoots and finalizing everything before I submitted the project. That's just not happening and it looks like I'm going to have to scramble to get more shooting done over break than anticipated. To prepare for that I'll spend class finalizing a storyboard for both trailers and I will send it to my actors so they know exactly what to expect and when, so I can get dialogue and voiceovers done as early as possible. This weekend will have to focus on what I already have and there will just be less time to film. Disappointing but something we can work around.
Here is the link to the drive folder where I have placed the two trailers: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/13rmIXcpFOw1RG-D7BxnRJzdZ...
