CREATIVE CRITICAL REFLECTION

MOVIE: FACESBY AYLA ZAMAN TAREEN

How do your products use or challenge conventions and how do they represent social

groups and issues? Through out the making of my movie “faces” I have

used a number of conventions in order to show the Drama Genre. I have shown his through the use of various camera shots, music, storyline and I have also used a reverse video effect in the climax of the film. Conventions of the drama genre include having stories that show real-life situations with realistic characters and the purpose of such stories is to present something which the audience can relate to. I have used many conventions of the drama genre such as using dim lights to symbolize the darker period of a fake friendship, and have shot the first half of the movie in day light to show the period when everything seems alright amongst the two main characters. Furthermore I have used different soundtracks everytime the situation

changes. This further builds tension In the movie and keeps the audience engaged with the movie till the end. It wont be wrong to say that my short film as an element of the thriller genre as the mystery through out the movie attracts more attention. One keeps guessing the story till the very end.

I have also used a one worded title for my short film “faces” which describes the main idea of the film which is to show how everyone has different faces and may not be what they seem like. I have used a one-worded title similar to movies like taken, The revenant, Heat, Zipper, Waves etc.

Futhermore, I have used the conventions of the drama genre by using dull lighting, close ups, low-angle and high-angle shots to portray the strengths and weaknesses of the characters.

Such low angle shots are also used in many movies like spiderman.

Typical props of the drama genre are drugs, alcohol, cigarettes which I have shown in my short film, which is again a use of the conventions. A drama film is typically a drama film because of the way it makes the audience relate to the story and I think that my story is something everyone will be able to relate to as everyone has faced this problem of fake friends in their lives.

The soundtracks in my short amplify the whole situation and makes It more interesting for people to watch. However usually in such movies the antagonist is a male but in my short film the antagonist is a female, here I have again challenged the conventions.

I have used the reverse video effect to create a more dramatic look and have shown the past with a black and white effect. This is again a use of conventions.

I have used the fast forward effect as also used in many drama thriller movies like wicker park, paranormal activity, final destination etc to create a more dramatic effect. There is a lot of suspense in my movie as the plot takes an uncertain twist towards the end, which is also similar to what happens in the drama movies. However I feel that the use of masks to symbolize different faces of people is a unique and new idea which may serve as a unique selling point for my short film.

Like other drama movies I have used music which further creates suspense leaving the audience curious to watch the movie till the very end.

All in all I think that I have both used and challenged conventions in my short film. Used them to attract the audiences who are a fan of the typical drama movies at the same time challenging conventions to keep the audience engaged with the film till the very end. Also since my storyline is extremely realistic, people will relate more to it and hence I hope the storyline will appreciated as well. Fake friendships are so common nowadays and my short film gives a social message to everyone about being careful while choosing friends, and to be aware of two faced friends as they may backstab you.

The protagonist in my movie is a character with whom a lot of people will be able to relate to, this is also a convention of the drama genre. Plot twists, realism, emotional peaks are some other conventions I have used in the movie.

An important element of a drama movie is suspense, giving the viewers uncertainty and adrenaline rush making them more curious to watch the movie. My movie scene is a combination of mystery, curiosity and realism.

My short film basically shows a normal Asian teenage girl dealing with the problem of friendship in life and how to overcome her loneliness she gets blinded by how her friend kept poisoning her.

Having said this, I can say that my short film not only portrays the problem of two faced people but also shows the basic problem faced by all teenagers, as they are innocent and immature they must always be very careful. Further I have used extreme close ups as used in many other movies to show the expressions in a better way.

Also I have challenged the conventions as my movie is a silent film unlike other movies.

Branding is an important element for the success of a particular media product. I intend to create a synergy throughout three of my production works a short film, a film festival invite and a webpage in order to market my short film ‘faces’. The role of post cards in the marketing of a film is extremely important. The post card is an invite of a film festival where my film will be screening. Te invite is for the Toronto international film festival and I have used a specific picture in every element to market my movie in a unique way. Through this I have created a sense of branding as I have used that particular image as a USP to promote my short film. The connotation behind this image

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding?

Is that its bright, lively, attractive and also covers the main idea of my entire short film ‘faces’. This is also portrayed in the webpage and the postcard.

Furthermore I have mainly used black and white colors and Cambria font for the movie name and descriptions in the short film, webpage and the post card.

As I made my website I wanted to continue linking my elements hence as backgrounds for the webpage I used stills from the short film itself, and continued with the same black and white color theme, this further created a link amongst my production works.

When creating my products I made sure to create a brand for the audience, In order to promote it in a more efficient manner. That branding style will serve as a unique selling point for my short film, marketed through the post card and the webpage. To do so I have used similar color themes( black and white), similar pictures, and similar fonts in my production works so that they all are somehow linked together and can be promoted in a more effective style. I feel that this brings a sense of branding in the promotion of the film and when everything is linked like this products can be promoted and marketed in a more efficient manner.

How do your products engage with the audience and how would they

be distributed as real media products?The storyline for my short film is something which I have

made so that people can relate to it easily. My story revolves around fake friendships and two faced people which is such a common problem nowadays and as most of the people, specifically teenagers undergo this issue, my target audience will be people aged 14-25 as I feel that people of this age-group will relate to the story more easily. However I wouldn’t say that its not suitable for younger or older people as it is a drama movie and has such explicit scenes, but I do feel that it might destroy the outlook of friendship on the younger lot hence I would prefer teenagers to watch it. My short film also has no dialogues hence it may be

Difficult for younger people to understand the main purpose of the story.

If I were to pick a distribution company I would like universal studios to distribute my film as I think they are ready to distribute both high budget and low budget films, and are very well-known. Their name alone is a big way of promoting a film as it is one of hollywoods big six production companies.

I would also like to distribute my film through DVDs as I feel my movie targets a wider audience and I’ll be able to cater that audience more easily through DVDs. Furthermore I think that as my movie is meant for a wider age-group the risk for failure will be rather limited as some age group will definitely be able to relate to this since I have exhibited a very common social issue people face hence I would prefer a medium accessible to more people. However being distributed by universal studios has its own pros, its name can be used as a promotional strategy itself hence we may be able to cut down on our marketing budget.

How do you integrate technologies- software, hardware

and online – in this project?I feel that I have really developed my production

skills through out the making of this short film “faces”. Firstly I learned about properly using technical stuff like a tripod, how to pan, how to zoom the camera while panning the tripod, how to properly use a digital camera with different features. I learned about editing the movie through windows movie maker, how to use different visual effects, fast forward effect, animations etc. I created a reverse video effect for the climax of my video through stupeflix.com. I learned how to make a blog

Through websites such as blogspot, wordpress. I learned how to upload videos on vimeo, youtube etc. I used different sound effects through mp3 skull, sound bible and audio micro for my short film as I feel that music is the soul of a movie and adds more energy to it.

Furthermore I created a post card for my short film in order to promote it through an app called photogrid. I used the same theme colors for all my production pieces and linked them through similar pictures.

I also learned how to make a webpage for my shortfilm, I had never created a webpage before so it was something entirely new for me

I created a website through wix.com. It was complicated at first but eventually I got through it and again created the webpage with a similar theme as of the postcard and the short film, I also used pictures from the short film as wallpapers and background pictures for the webpage.

I used google and dailymotion to search for soundtracks that best fit the scenes of my short film. My film didn’t have any dialogues hence it was crucial to portray the scenes with the right type of music hence I used google to search for the soundtracks that best fit the scenes so that their meaning can be easily portrayed.

What I have learned through out the making of this film is that everything I interlinked to create a final project . In order to execute a movie in a proper manner you need to integrate all the technologies, first shoot a film, edit it, research for music and then execute it. In my work I have also made a webpage and

A postcard which gave a clearer idea of how films are promoted and marketed through such mediums and how one must make use of all such mediums in order to make a successful film.

Sites like wordpress, vimeo and blogspot not only helped me upload and submit my projects but they also helped me keep track of my work.