Critical Reflection

Link to Critical Reflection

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cEC2mwqcWURrIH5w1DmtQfMNZY2LVhc-XWMJXQ1nXVg/edit?usp=sharing

 1.    How do your products represent social groups or issues?

Our chosen social group is the victims of alcohol abuse and addiction. The general understanding of alcohol use is consistently represented in the media as casual and normal. Within the media all groups are seen with alcohol, no matter the age, race, or gender. Laws are in place to protect people from the effects of alcohol, as well as to inform them of the dangers it can bring. Media seems to nearly always ignore these laws in their productions for the sake of a relatable story. The average teenage movie will include people under the legal drinking age drinking far more than what could ever possibly be healthy, as well as with increasing frequency. This does nothing but promote a sense of normalcy on the topic, or, even more dangerously, a sense of  competition. The public lack of understanding of what being an alcoholic means is a dangerous issue. Frequent use and developing dependence on alcohol to consider a night “complete” - or even just “fun” - is targeting younger generations and trapping them into a future of substance issues.

Substances, especially alcohol, have the power to warp your perception of your surroundings. As shown in our film, the mental effect and damages of alcohol are very complex and can cost you your life. False security in one's abilities while consuming alcohol can kill anyone. When a substance has the power to impair your cognitive abilities, it's very important to understand you cannot perform the most basic of tasks the way you could sober. Drinking and driving is often the result of this overconfidence. “Sober enough” is never enough. Alcohol is dangerous and it is important to understand its effects before use. We showcase how quickly everything that you find safe within your life can be lost to one decision. Within our film promotions we link hotlines for people struggling with these issues, as we hope to promote awareness and encourage viewers to get help and educate themselves before it is too late.

2.         How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

Each production has several components coming together to form a sense of branding. The fact that each product has readily available links pointing the viewer to other parts of the short film bundle is only one relationship between them. The usage of the movie's catchphrase in other media is another evident link. The phrase, "Experience the Awakening," is not only a play on the movie's title but serves to establish a connection between the advertised goods and the movie. The trailer, which has links on social media and the website, the postcard, and the website, all use the same phrase. Specifically onto our trailer however, another mutual form of branding becomes evident. In the beginning of our film, there's a minute of suspenseful music that appears to indicate something horrible is going to happen, however it’s revealed to be unrelated and very upbeat instead, setting the tone for a misleading film that you cannot trust as a viewer. On our social media, we upload a trailer of only the suspenseful portion, which worked with the film to further this unreliability to build up suspense. Through the usage of different platforms this experience was further enhanced, showing an example of the cohesive branding in this product.

3.         How do your products engage with the audience?

Every product interacts with the consumer in a unique way. In terms of the movie, a complex plot that develops and builds up suspense keeps viewers interested and on the edge of their seats. This appeals to audiences of various tastes, rather than only fans of classic mysteries. This is thanks to the plot being simple to understand through the use of clear visual aids such as recurring props, the characters being likable - as conveyed through their actions with upbeat songs and positive body language - and the story being engaging. The song "Ulterior Motives" is also used extensively in the movie, throughout Jack's "dreamlike state." However, upon first glance, the song is nothing more than a recurring soundtrack. It isn’t until props such as the speaker are utilized to reveal that though through Jack eye’s it’s ongoing background music, it’s later shown that the speaker is unplugged whilst music plays, and the viewer understands that something is off even though the specifics are unsure. The implications certain shots of specific props bring to the viewer allows for them to see there are things off about this world, and engages with them by allowing them to come to these conclusions themselves. Later on, the truth about Jack’s world is revealed - however, it’s not before allowing the viewer to do some detective work on their own. Outside the film however, our product still engages with its audience, specifically through the use of social media. In the film industry, social media is commonly used to generate online traction by posting teasers, trailers, and exclusive content. Our Instagram @kamy.studios was used to not only promote our film, but to also view the demographic of those interested in our product. Instagram’s features show you exactly which accounts interact with your page. This feature allows for us to tailor the content that is put out to those demographics, allowing us to have this form of cold media. For instance, we saw in the beginning that our first posts were being interacted with the most by a younger audience, so we subsequently decided to upload funnier content, such as a post of a banana - that, while relevant to the film, is niche enough to be entertaining to the younger audience that is engaged with our content.

4.         How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

The default imaging of a structured household will include a working man and a housekeeping wife. Income comes from career success in a man, and the women of the house maintain at home security and children. Within our film, we challenge this by including a successful working woman, with no children, focused on her career, while the man of the house is seen cooking, cleaning, preparing the table, and overall completing tasks within the home. This challenges the general theme in films of normative gender roles. We also show this family as a generally happy, functional family, conflicting with the accepted idea of alcoholism being born within unhappy environments and nurtured in toxicity. This conflict of scenery tricks the viewer into a sense of security within our characters and scene building. This works for our transition into showing how the scene is nothing like what was first perceived while in the perspective of Jack, our male lead. Alcoholism can be in any circumstance or situation - it has never been limited to negative environments. We chose beer as our drink of choice, as it is the most common alcohol - deemed as ‘casual’ and normalized within households. The media's perception of beer is associated so regularly with consistent casual consumption that it has reflected heavily in society. Within our film, we show just how quickly the casual consumption within your happy life can become the end of everything you knew and loved - and even the end of your life.