Extract Practice: Game of Thrones

Extract Practice: Game of Thrones

The franchise, “Game of Thrones”, is a popular HBO television show that was inspired by historic events of Medieval England. By using fantasy elements, the franchise explores a multitude of different themes such as power, love, and sacrifice that will be tested in its ongoing wars and struggle for power in the Seven Kingdoms. In this particular extract, the director of “Game of Thrones” portrays the following theme: people would fight for their beliefs even if there are dire risks involved.

The extract opens the first scene with an aerial shot of a ship with red flags sailing on the ocean. The aerial shot of the ship might create an idea the people on the boat are less weak because it appears a “greater” being is more dominate. Not only it demonstrates the lack of power the people on the boat have, the aerial shot of the ship’s red sails help show the type of characteristics the people on the boat are. Since the color read symbolizes determination and power, the aerial shot of the ship’s sails may develop the pursuit of power.  Following this, there is a two-shot of the main characters, Stannis and Davos, standing on their ship. This may demonstrate and foreshadow their close relationship and how these two characters are determined to reach their goal. In the two-shot, there is a zoom-in of the main characters emotions. This emphasize their seriousness tone and determination for power as they enter the harbor. Also, there is a zoom-in of the costumes. This zoom-in may illustrate and further develops the type of characters the men would be portrayed. For instance, the blue-gray color of Stannis’ suit may reveal Stannis is honest, wise, fair, and loyal because blue symbolizes these traits. Stannis’ suit may imply many people are loyal to him because of his honesty and fairness. The style of Stannis’ suit may suggest Stannis is a king while Davos’ layers of black. This might suggest he is a loyal advisor who has a past since the color black symbolize a villain or the “bad” in a character.   As Stannis and Davos enter the harbor, the incidental sound has significant amount of effects on the audience. The incidental sound may emphasize the importance of the decision of the Iron Bank. It might also demonstrate the nervousness of the characters as they enter a dangerous or enemy territory of the Easteros. The first scene ends when there is a zoom-out of the character on the boat. This zoom-out may demonstrate the great opportunity offered at the Iron Bank and might demonstrates the contrasts of wealth and class between Stannis, Davos and the Iron Kingdom.

The seconds scene begins with another two-shot of Stannis and Davos waiting for the bankers at the Iron Bank. Upon arrival, three men joined. The costume of the three bankers illustrate the contrast between the two kingdoms: Easteros and Westeros. While Stannis is wearing a blue suit and Davos is wearing layers, the bankers are wearing brown jacket of a more expensive material. This may illustrate the difference in wealth and power between the Iron Bank and Stannis.  The dialogue spoken by Stannis, Davos, and the lead Bankers help show the cultural contrasts of the kingdoms. Stannis has a different dialect from the Bankers whose resident is in the East. The difference of dialects demonstrates the regionalism that deprives Stannis from his rightful claim on the Iron Throne. This and the costume develop the theme of fighting for beliefs because it demonstrates how differences in cultures can act as an obstacle for Stannis’ pursuit for power. Throughout this scene, there is a significant amount of shot-reverse-shot of the conversation between the Bankers, Stannis and Davos. This help convey and reveal the doubt, or the untrustworthiness of Stannis, given his status and distant relationship with the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms. An example is where the Banker asked Stannis about his military resources. The lead Banker decline his request for money because he had “zero bags of wheat, barley and pork to feed 4,000 soldiers, 32 ships”, despite the fact all Stannis’ soldiers remain loyal to him. This further prevents Stannis ‘from reclaiming his throne.  As the scene comes to end, there is a low angle of Davos speaking and defending Stannis’ credibility and honor. This low angle demonstrates the passionate and respect Davos commands when he is defending Stannis’ leadership despite the lack of resources to maintain an army. As Davos defends Stannis’, there is a cutaway of Davos’ hand. The cutaway of Davos’ hand help emphasizes the reliability and good leadership of Stannis. When Davos removes his gloves, it reveals Davos only has a thumb. The cutaway of his lack of fingers reinforces Davos’ defense that Stannis is an “honest man” and the Iron Banker should side with them. The scene closes when Davos’ ask the Bankers who they will be loyal to. As this conversation is discussed, there is lighter lighting of Stannis and Davos portrays the men as good or the “hope” that would end the conflict of true claim ship over the Iron Throne between Stannis and Lannister, “a bastard born from incest.”

      In summary, it is apparent that the theme is about someone fighting for their beliefs. In this case, the theme was portrayed by Stannis and Davos fighting for their beliefs that Stannis should be ruler on the Iron Throne. While this was the most apparent theme, Game of Thrones demonstrates the complication of how wealth and cultural aspects can be used as obstacle on someone getting what they desired: power.

Creative Critical Reflection: CCR

The last blog of this four-part series is my Creative Critical Reflection video. This video is the second part of component 1 for AICE Media Studies. The objective of this video is for students to reflect on their experiences in making their Final Task. This will include experiences on how skills advanced and how different technologies were integrated into making this project. Other parts of the video will consist of how students applied their genre conventions to their Final Task, how they were able to represent social groups/issues, and how their movie will be distributed. The requirements for this video is to make a creative video that is between twelve to fifteen minutes of students answering questions. I liked making this video because it demonstrates my abilities and how they improved.

While making this video, it was very stressful and tedious yet, fascinating. The main reason why it was stress is the uncertainty of the Coronavirus and lack of resources. I was fortunate to have the camera equipment when schools closed. However, a couple of weeks were used to re-film and re-edit the Final Task. Once the Final Task was finished, I was able to begin writing my responses because I couldn't have an effective reflection about my Final Task if I pre-record my experiences. By the end of this CCR, I had two filming days and two re-shoot days. Like all the film projects, I drafted a storyboard to figure out how I wanted the video to be formatted. I also made a script for Hannah when filming the intro and outro of my video. Besides, I figured out the set design of the video and the type of lighting. Filming the CCR was the easiest project to film because I was in charge of everything and if I made a mistake, I wouldn't have felt pressured to continue. The duration of my Post-Production was six days. This was a tedious process because of the amount of footage that needed to be reviewed and edited. The first couple of days consist of reviewing footage and formatting the takes. I would have to trim the takes to be more precise or remove any mistakes or mess-ups. On the third, fourth and fifth days of Post-Production, I inserted clips from my Final Task, graphics, and a few split screens. On the last day of Post-Production, I edited the micro-details. This day consists of editing out prolonged pauses, adjusting lighting, placement, sound volume, and inserting a soundtrack.

Although there are a few things that still need to be fixed, I am proud of how the video came out. This was stressful because I was under the impression the due date was April 9, 2020. However, I received an extension. Today, there was a glitch. This glitch caused the perfectly timed graphics to appear at the wrong time. I spent about half an hour trying to replace all the graphics in the correct order. This moment allowed me to understand these events happen in real life for editors. The file embedded is the video of my CCR.

Final Task: "Dysfunctional Spies" Opening Sequence

The third film project I was required to produce was a Final Task. This Final Task is a two-minute opening sequence of a film. One of the main differences between this project and the two previous projects is the Final Task is a requirement for AS and A Level AICE Media Studies. The two previous projects were "practice" runs for this final project. Compared to the previous projects, the Final Task demonstrates how my film making skills developed and improved.

My Final Task is called "Dysfunctional Spies". My film is an action movie where two spies are tasked to locate a briefcase that can globally impact the world. Compared to the two previous film projects, it took a prolonged amount of time to create this film. I began this project during mid-January and I finished around mid-April. The reason why this Final Task took a longer time to produce because of the research, filming, and re-editing. I feel creating this Final Task allows students -including myself - real-life experiences on how films such as movies, tv shows, and documentaries are filmed. The beginning stages consist of development and research. I research different genres and conventions to determine the type of genre of my film. Then, I researched how movies of that genre use or challenge conventions. I also researched conventions for the working titles. The reason I had to research titles because I did not use them during my commercial or music video project. After weeks of extensive research, I was able to plan my Final Task. In the Development stages, I drafted the storyboards, scripts, and plan. Immediately, I would alter between filming and editing.

This process was very tedious and interesting. I have to admit, there were times where I wanted to smash the computer because of its delay. Due to the global pandemic of the world, it created problems for this class and the entire world. I learned I have to find solutions and adapt to sudden changes. The next blog will be a video about my experiences producing this Final Task.

Music Video Project: "Honey" Music Video

The second video I will be a blog about is my music video project. This file is the second video apart of the four-part blog series that will demonstrate how my skill improved. The requirement was to create a music video for any song. The duration of this video has to be at most a minute and ten seconds and be school appropriate. One of the main differences between this project and the previous was creative freedom. Before, I was restricted to the location, actresses, and props. With creative freedom, I can experiment with different locations and actresses to produce a better quality film. My music video is to the song "Honey" by Kelhani. The reason I chose this particular song is its LGBTQ+ representation and acoustics. Although there is an increase in representation for the LGBTQ+ community, there is still not enough. I wanted to demonstrate anyone should love whomever they want no matter the age, race, gender, sexual preference, etc. 

Out of the Gatorade Commerical and the music video, I prefer the music video because of the team dynamics. During the Gatorade Commerical, it was difficult to produce something with four people because there was only one computer. Also, I felt the team dynamic wasn't the most efficient. So, I decided to partner with another person and produce this music video. This music video shows how my skills improve. One example is the quality and speed. In the Gatorade Commerical, I thought the actions were fake or not authentic due to the fast speed. In this music video, the actions were the right speed because the audience gets to understand what events are occurring. 

During this project, my main roles were organizer, set design, director, and editor. Since I am an organized person, I helped coordinate with the actresses with filming and location. During Production, I made a cheese platter with an assortment of berries because I wanted the picnic scene to look like a date. In addition to the cheese platter, I brought a red and checkered picnic blanket and I brought a guitar to create a date-like effect. Moreover, during Production, I would direct the actresses on what type of emotions they should be expressing and actions. I would play the music while said command words to the actresses to have events correlate with the lyrics. In Post- Production, my main roles were sound and clipping footage. Since I was the most experienced in sound design, I was tasked to download the song and import it. I would adjust the volume and trim it to fit the duration requirement. I liked how the music video even though I had very little experience. The next blog will be about my third film project.

Commerical Project: Gatorade Commerical

After filming and editing my Final Task, I was required to answer questions about my experiences in a video. The following blogs will demonstrate my growth as a filmmaker this year. The file that is embedded in this blog is the first film project that I've created. The first film I produced was a commercial. The requirements for this commercial was to create a 30-second commercial from a list of brands. I decided to make a Gatorade commercial because of its simplicity. Since there is a multitude of commercials for athletic apparel or sports drinks, I referenced them to research the conventions for a sports drink commercial. Another requirement for this commercial project was to film on my school's campus. Although it seemed to be difficult, I was able to utilize my school's track field to film my commercial.

The film making team consists of three other people and myself. During the film making process for this commercial, my primary role in the film making process was organizer/ recorder, actress, and editor. In October Blogs, it details my exact experiences and research for a sports drink commercial. The reason why I was the organizer/ recorder because one of my strengths is organization. I played one of the main actresses because of my athletic abilities. Compared to my teammates, I had better hand-eye-coordination and I had the endurance to run laps while filming. During the Post-Production stage, my main role was editor and sound. I was in charge of researching and importing sound into the computer. Also, I was in charge of adjusting the volume on the soundtrack. While editing, I learned how to color correct the images and how to create a split-screen in Pinnacle Studios.

After re-watching the Gatorade Commercial, I can see the tremendous difference in my film making capabilities compared to the Final Task and the CCR. Before the Gatorade Commercial, I had very little experience in editing a video. So, while I was editing this project, I was able to practice new production and post-production skills. Also, it was my first time using the official editing software. When I was editing the student play, I used editing software on my mobile device. The last reason for poor quality of the commercial project was the deadline. I think I was given about two and half a week to plan, film and edit the commercial project. The next blog will consist of my second film project.

Editing Blog: Re-edit Blog

During my extended Spring Break, I went over to Hannah's house to edit our Final Task. Since the deadline for the Final Task and the Creative Critical Questions did not change, Hannah and I took the initiative to get our work done. The global pandemic of COVID-19 caused the Production and Post-Production to be challenging. One of those challenges was editing. Hannah's family generously bought Pinnacle Studios for our project. If we followed the 30-day free-trail, it would put a watermark on the video when exported. Our Post-Production was delayed because it took about an hour and a half for Pinnacle Studios to be downloaded and for the footage to be re-imported,

Once all the footage and music were re-imported, Hannah and I watched our Final Task. I suggested re-editing the entire thing after the trunk-shot. The reason why I suggested to re-edit the "ending" because the footage wasn't recognized and there was some awkwardness. I reasoned it was easier to re-edit the ending. So, during the ninth day of Post-Production, my main role was the organizer. Similar to the beginning of the Post-Production, I would read the number of the selected footage to piece the footage in the track. If we needed to re-watch footage, I would offer comments and opinions about each one. I would comment on the lighting, actions, emotions, and volume. For instance, I suggested to use particular footage of Kat pronouncing her dialogue because it was loud, had a serious tone, and the lighting was fine. Also, I would comment on the duration of the footage. I would phrase like "there" and "stop" to signify places where I wanted the footage to be trimmed.

Another primary role I had during this editing day was sound. Compared to Hannah, I had the most experiences with sound. So, I was tasked with all elements with sound because I was more efficient. I re-imported the sound from my flash drive into Pinnacle Studios. Once the selected music was placed in the track, I trimmed the music because I felt a certain part of the music helps develop the Final Task to become action-like. In addition to importing sound, I detached audio from some of the shots. The reason why I detach the audio because I needed a specific part for a voice-over. This voice over will help transition to a suspenseful ending. Other tricks I performed with sound was volume. Since the changes in dynamics is a key convention in Action movies, I had to be tactful in its placement. I added a couple of fades to gradually increase the sound. This fade will help build the suspense and adrenaline rush because the dynamics of the music correlates to the intensity of the action. Moreover, I adjusted the volume of the actress' dialogue and background music because it was difficult to coherently hear the actresses.

One of those challenges was actresses. According to our rubric, my Final Task needs a shot-reverse-shot. Originally this was achieved when I had a comedy aspect. However, I cut that scene out because it caused the movie to not make sense. A solution was to replace the dialogue with another dialogue. However, this required another Monitor scene. When I was editing the "new" scene, a shot-reverse shot would cause some awkwardness. I suggested adding another line in the beginning and the ending to achieve a shot-reverse-shot. Due to fear and anxiety that manifested from the Corona virus, our actresses' could not meet up for another filming day for a shot-reverse-shot.

On the second day of the Post-Production, my main role was titles because I am a more efficient typer. Inserting titles was a frustrating process because Pinnacle Studios wouldn't allow me to add transitions. I spent a significant amount of time drafting and creating titles. Once I acquired the knowledge from Hannah, I was able to insert all the titles in under 30 minutes.


It is really difficult to perform my student obligations while there is a global pandemic.

(This is me adding titles to my Final Task. )