I recently created a marketing campaign; here's how it went. 2

It was fine. I mean it was hard, like, challenging to conceptualize branding for a local business, let alone the pressure of creating materials that looked appealing. Ultimately, just like Superhuman, I felt partially unsatisfied after completion.

Our options of businesses to collaborate with were Wonder Paws Rescue (an Animal Rescue Organization) and the Weston Census (a campaign to promote completing the government-administered census in my city). For me and my partner, Ollie, it was an easy choice. As proud animal lovers, we buckled down on brainstorming campaign materials for Wonder Paws Rescue.

From our initial exposure to the brand, we both knew that we wanted to rebrand the organization. The previous logo was extremely medical and professional. Ollie and I created a design more contemporary, personal and unique to create appeal for our campaign:


(Previous logo on left, New logo on right)


I'd never seen both logos side by side.
Yeah, I can already see where there might've been a disconnect from vision to execution.
Ugh.

I'm not trying to be super pessimistic or critical, but I just felt mediocre about the material I brought. I felt like the website was strong and effective in that it eased navigation for the user (which was exactly what needed revision for the previous website) and our brochure was really positive in that it provided contact information for the organization.

The promotional videos though: those were my babies. I captured all the b-roll and edited both videos exactly how Ollie and I desired. I was really proud of the quality of those videos.

At the end of the day, I created the best campaign I could with the time I had. I'm 17 and I have not only classes but other extracurriculars that veer my attention left, right, up and down. This I am and have been aware of: I'm not oblivious to my responsibilities. However, I do need to account for these activities and the time they consume.

I'm gonna work harder this year and plan ahead to make this project better than the last :)

Thats a Fretwell promise.

- Jake

dusting off the ol' blog. 1

It feels great to dust off my blog, crack my knuckles, and start typing again.  Last year I had a lot of fun on my media project; this year I plan to surpass my personal expectations of what I am capable of in storytelling. This year's film will be extremely different.
______________________

Last year, I had a great idea. I combined my love of superheros and fantasy with my admiration for heartfelt dramas. The opening of Superhuman was cute in that it introduced and established the relationship between the student and the teacher and a heartwarming story. In retrospect, there are numerous edits I would make to this project, such as efficiently plan and schedule my filming days over 3 weeks in advance as to maximize my filming days and increase my editing time.  Being the main character in my film was very difficult in that I had very limited control in my cinematography.

Going into my A-Level project, I am setting myself up for success. Primarily, the fact that I am collaborating with my best friend, Luis! We became incredibly close over the course of last year, hanging out frequently and sharing interests in pop-culture (for the most part, although he doesn't like Marvel characters nor uses TikTok). Conversation is easy for both of us in addition to teamwork. The most integral reason why we decided to work together is that we both pour our hearts into our work.

Luis is just fantastic at what I'm not. He is a great negotiator, business-oriented, extremely analytical, not to mention great at giving advice.  There is a lot that I learn from him; he is one of the smartest people I know. Having him as an extra brain on this ambitious project will be immensely beneficial for all aspects of creating and marketing our short film (oh yeah, I'm making a whole film this time instead of just the trailer!! I'm so hyped!!)

I'm really excited to play with camera angles, lighting, and AWESOME character development throughout my film this year.  For my AS project, I was extremely limited in what I was able to do because of all the roles I was trying to play. Don't get me wrong, I'm a theatre kid forever and always so I WILL BE A CHARACTER in this short film, no matter if Luis likes it or not. We have already brainstormed some potential stories for the project (which I will mention in an upcoming post)  because we are both eager to blow people away with our project!!



I'm really excited to experiment and create a piece of media that I can be proud of for years to come. I want to bring my all for this project, so planning is essential.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue brainstorming with Luis and work on my homework.

Till next time,

- Jake

SUPERHUMAN - CCR

Here it is... The CCR.

I hit all four points in order, but here goes nothing!


https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lhhJc0kGgMZIXC23CICiLlG8BoFiuQAW/view?usp=sharing





Hope you enjoy :)



Thank you for allowing me to share my experiences producing this film.  It's been a blast and I'm excited to work on some personal film ventures in the future!

                                  - Jake



TODAY'S HERO: ELEKTRA (Elektra Natchios)



Backstory:
Elektra is a trained bounty hunter and assassin who flew to Japan after the death of her father.  There, she was trained by a cult of ninjas called "The Hand".

Powers:
She excels in Japanese martial arts, and additionally uses two sai to damage foes.

Other:
- She is in an active relationship with the hero Daredevil (Matt Murdock)
- Olympic-level athlete and gymnast
- Attended Columbia University

First Appearance:
- Daredevil #168 (1981)

Movie History:
- Played by Jennifer Gramer, she appeared in the 2003 film Daredevil
- Reappeared in 2005 for the spin-off film, Elektra

CCR - Script

I severely underestimated the video that is the CCR.

Over the course of two days, I have been writing the script, making sure I hit every essential part of the questions I was asked.  For my sanity (and for organization's sake), I answered the questions in order.  Upon writing my answers to the questions, I timed how I plan on delivering these lines in my video.

That's right.  I'm sitting at a comfortable 9 minutes and 45 seconds for my CCR.  This is fantastic.  It's not TOO long, but it's also not too short where I forget information.

As far as recording my voice over for the CCR, I used QuickTimePlayer to record my audio.  I read the script, paragraph at a time, capturing each section of my voice.  I found that the audio had white noise in the background, so I did what any sane person recording their voice would do:

I set up a mini recording studio under my bed sheets to block out all other sounds. This helped me get audio like this:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MkZxTczl8dPs3ogkpM22OY6WP6XgLuxn

Now to go back in the studio and record the remaining twelve more audio clips :) This will be fun.

TODAY'S HERO: DOCTOR STRANGE (Stephen Strange)

Backstory:

Dr. Stephen Strange was a wealthy surgeon that got into a serious car accident, severely damaging his hands and ruining the opportunity to give surgeries again.  In an attempt to heal his wounds, Dr. Strange stumbled on a Temple of the Mystic Arts where he learned how to use magic; he would become so skilled at his wizardry he became known as the "Sorcerer Supreme".

Powers:

Dr. Strange has typical spellcasting abilities that he utilizes as a wizard.  He also possesses artifacts such as the Cloak of Levitation and the Eye of Agamodo which allow him to fly and manipulate time, respectively.

Other:

- He is the guardian of the New York Sanctum, which is the United States entrance to the wizarding world.

- Strange was trained by a being called The Ancient One, who taught him how to use magic

First Appearance:

- Strange Tales #110 (1963)

Movie History:

- Dr. Strange was introduced in the self-titled film Doctor Strange (2016) played by the legendary Benedict Cumberbatch.

- Strange made a cameo in Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

- Latest appearance was in Avengers: Infinity War (2018)