My Critical Reflection

Following the completion of my short film project, several topics can be reflected on. From the birth of the film pitch to the last shooting, this project progressed from a mere idea, to a complete composition. Through extensive research on social issues, conventions, advertising and branding, the finished product evolved to be media that shows growth.

            The theme/moral of my film was heavily influenced by my prior research. By the end of the film, a resolution is reached that suggests that drugs are harmful and should not be used by teenagers, even if just for “harmless fun”. The protagonists in the film learn this lesson after extreme misuse of recreational drugs throughout the film, before the eventual climax of the death of a friend. The social issue of drug and substance abuse is represented by the depiction of this plot point in the film. As a teenager, this social issue is one of the most prominent issues for my age group. As of January 2024, 8.33% of 12-17 year-olds reported participating in drug use. 83.88% of this age group reported using marijuana. These statistics prove the prominence of drug and substance abuse within the youth; specifically teenagers. Often times, organizations (typically run by adults) may attempt to discuss drug abuse with the hopes of preventing teens from participating and contributing to the alarming statistics. However, their attempts frequently go unnoticed because of the manner in which they try to get their message across. At my high school, faculty will often schedule assemblies that feel like punishments to some of the student body, despite their purpose being to enlighten students on the dangers of drugs. Which is why I chose to take this project as an opportunity to bring awareness to this social issue in a comedic manner that may be easier for audiences to absorb. Especially the teenage demographic.

            Following the research that eventually led to the theme of my film, I created several other forms of media to create a sense of branding. This includes social media accounts such as Instagram and Youtube, as well as a postcard and a website. These products that advertised my film created a sense of branding by showcasing my movie in a professional sense. For example, on the Instagram page I created for this project, I posted content weekly. This content ranged from promotions for the movie such as “sneak peek” clips, behind the scenes, to extra information on its release. By posting this particular type of content on the weeks leading up to the film’s release, I made a certain ‘brand’ for my movie. I also included a link to the movie’s website in the bio of the Instagram account and a short description of the movie’s plot as well. These elements gave the page a specific mood which coincided with the brand that I was trying to create for the film. I used a similar method to create such branding, when making the YouTube account. I would routinely publish short clips of the movie before its scheduled release date in order to create a sense of anticipation and attractiveness. All of the videos I published on both YouTube and Instagram included the same two emojis (the purple heart and the pill) that I thought best fit the movie’s “brand” or mood. The website and postcard, although they were made by my groupmates, also followed this preestablished branding. The postcard also includes the pill emoji and accents of bright purple and pink that are similar to the aesthetic of the social media accounts. The website also follows these accents. By creating these other media forms to promote the film, a strong sense of branding was achieved and replicated throughout the rest of the project.

            In relation to such branding previously discussed, I also used this advertising to reach and engage my audience. Though my movie is available for the general public, my target audience is the social group of teenagers. The topics and themes in the movie like drug abuse greatly affect the teenage demographic (as discussed prior), so the youth is the audience I targeted the most while making this film. Having said this, I used advertising (such as the social media accounts), to promote the film and appeal to teenagers. The bright colors and loud aesthetic of the Instagram page for example, is very attractive to the youth who heavily participate in social media trends and general use. By creating the pages like this, I appealed to my audience and gained several followers as I continued to post content. Another way I engaged my target audience was by choosing to depict a serious theme through the genre of comedy. By discussing the theme of drugs and substances in a light-hearted and outwardly comical manner, teenagers watching can stay more engaged. This opposes the school assemblies and presentations I previously discussed, which often bore the students who are supposed to be attentive. So, the use of humor to get my seemingly humorless theme across (although the two juxtapose) allows for better absorption and engagement to my target audience.

Furthermore, the genre of comedy has several stereotypes and conventions associated with it. My research proved this and helped me decide which conventions of the genre I wanted to use and/or go against in my film. For example, the most obvious convention of comedy that my research led me to is the use of humor. Most directors I researched aimed to make people laugh when creating a comedic film. However, as I continued my research, I realized that there are many different approaches a director can take when using comedy. One of these being the “dramatization” approach. This approach uses exaggeration and over-the-top displays to provide comedic relief to the audience. This includes making the actors behave in a silly and dramatic manner, that people in a normal context would not usually behave in. It is also often used in children’s cartoons and films of a similar nature. With the help of the opinions of my groupmates, I decided to take this approach because I knew it would be the most effective way to get my theme across to the audience. This common convention of the comedy genre allowed me to make the film more entertaining for my intended audience. However, the research I carried out when I began this project also led me to go against certain conventions that are associated with comedy. For example, I researched the conventions of different comedy short films that were also made independently. In these short films, there was little to no music (or non-diagetic sound) playing throughout the development of the storylines. Without the use of a score, all of the ambient sounds in the movie can be clearly heard. This includes doors creaking, shoes squeaking, wind whipping, trees bustling and more. The inclusion of these authentic noises without the buffer of background music or sound effects, created a realistic mood for each of these films. This convention made the short films have a sense of awkwardness and relatability. This made every joke the characters cracked funnier to me as a viewer because it felt like they were genuinely being aimed at me personally. Having said this, while I was making my film I decided to stray from this convention in order to make the humor in my film unrealistic. By going against this convention, the plot twist has a greater effect on the audience because they are distracted by the seemingly harmless antics that the characters are performing as the plot thickens. Therefore, I chose to both use and go against certain conventions to benefit my film and engage my audience.