Creative Critical Reflection Questions and Answers

 Hey guys! It's Lindsay and here below are my creative critical reflection questions and answers!

Question 1: How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues? 

My product used various conventions of a murder mystery. From the appropriate sound effects to the suspense built up by the end of the film. Conventions of a mystery film may include eerie costumes, dimmer lighting, spooky music, and suspense throughout the film. My product did use spooky music and sound effects, and it did have lots of suspense by the end of the product. However, unlike a typical mystery film, where suspense would start building up from the beginning, my product had a light mood for most of the first half, and then suddenly, suspense built up quite quickly. It also challenges conventions in the way that there weren’t any eerie costumes. Again, my group mates and I wanted to keep a lighter mood in the beginning, so appropriate mystery costumes would not have worked. The social issue my product represents would be disloyalty and betrayal within friend groups. As my product’s storyline was based off a friend group of three, with one being the murderer. There was a clear representation of the social issue of betrayal and disloyalty. When creating the film, it was important to keep in mind that the correct message had to be delivered. All in all, my final task did not disappoint in delivering a suspenseful product.  

 

Question 2: How does your product engage with audiences AND how would it be distributed as a real media text? 

My product engages with audiences because it is centered around a relevant, relatable topic. Compared to a film with an uninteresting main idea, my product is based off betrayal and disloyalty. When writing the storyline for this film, my group mates and I wanted to put together a media piece that not only individuals in our generation would appreciate, but something that would be overall interesting. Audiences are also more likely to engage in my product, because it can be easily accessed. This ties into how my product would be distributed as a real media text, but specific themes and topics can be represented, to keep an audience engaged. This is important for a variety of reasons. First, your media will be reached by a larger-scale audience, if it has a relevant topic represented. Additionally, awareness and attention can be positioned onto your media if it is relevant. My product would be distributed as a real media text, through the main platform it was posted on, which was YouTube. This is how I made my product accessible in the first place. After this, it could then be spread through social media. Platforms such as tik Tok, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and generally most social media apps would be suitable to distribute my product as a real media text.   

 

Question 3: How did your production skills develop throughout this project? 

Towards the beginning of the final task, my skills and knowledge on editing and filming had already progressed a long way from the beginning of the year. But this project made me research different conventions about mystery movies. This allowed me to further extend my knowledge about how specific, different genres of film can get, and after learning about this, it helped me when filming scenes. I was able to incorporate the elements of the mystery genre into my final task, to improve the quality, and make it more effective. As for editing, this project presented itself as an opportunity for me to fully take over and explore the extent of the creativity I could have when editing. By working to produce a high-quality media piece, I had to put the skills I have learned all year to work, and it really paid off. It was important to create a film piece that would connect to audiences and generally be enjoyed as well. This meant keeping in mind the specific conventions of a mystery film, and making sure that when filming, to keep to an appropriate storyline, and when editing, add spooky music/effects. Overall, I would say that my production skills have developed tremendously, from my editing to the process of filming and adding style to finished product. 

 

Question 4: How did you integrate technologies – software, hardware and online – in this project? 

The integration of technologies within this project was mainly the use of CapCut, in addition to the usage of my cellphone to film this project on. In the beginning of the project, once the storyboard was drawn and planned out, the filming process started. After several days of filming, the clips were ready to be put together. CapCut was extremely helpful in making this happen. This editing software is probably one of the most user-friendly editing softwares out there. With its free program, I was able to work with my group mates to productively edit this project. The tasks that had to be completed were combining clips together, editing the sound effects, adding voiceovers, music and titles. Titles were a big part of this final task, and CapCut allowed for seamless transitions, and appealing titles, appropriate for our movie genre. The usage of smartphones in this project was crucial. Before taking this class, filming was new to me and my group mates, so being able to use our phones instead of buying an expensive camera was worth it. The high-quality video clips a smart phone can capture is unreal. The quality is almost identical to a professional camera. By incorporating hardware such as smart phones into this project, I was able to bring it to life. Next to CapCut, my smart phone was certainly the most crucial technology, integrated into this project. 
 

Creative Critical Reflection Questions