Creative Critical Reflection Rough Draft #1

How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues?

After re-recording the audio and re-editing the footage together, Marin and I became more focused on the comedy aspect of our film. As the film we are trying to create is a romantic comedy, we realized we needed to resemble our film to represent a entertaining situation through a comedic relationship between two characters. We wanted to portray the affect of petty disputes and use their actions, words, and relationship to convey a comedic mood to the audience. By employing the use of bright colors, sunlit scenes, playful music, and hilarious and flamboyant characters we can encourage the audience the laugh thus fulfilling our goal.

Throughout our film, Marin and I attempted to use popular conventions and techniques employed in other romantic comedy films. We had done research to gather the ideas needed in order to recreate those certain techniques by finding popular romantic comedies and high speed scrubbing through the film and picking apart scenes to find specific elements we wanted to incorporate into ours. For example, within the movie The Kissing Booth we see two main characters, Elle and Noah, sharing a long anticipated romantic moment and sealing it with a passionate kiss. To demonstrate the importance with this union, the camera begins to spin around the pair. As the kiss grows in intensity, the camera rotates faster and faster, singling them out, making it seem they are the only people in the world. Sparks literally fly as the big, illuminated "KISS" sign behind them shatters and bursts its bulbs. We decided to employ this technique in a slightly simpler form to use within our film. As our two protagonists come together in a forced although comedic romantic moment, we filmed as the camera spins around them, symbolizing the union and intimacy as they finally meet in a more peaceful way. By using this tactic, we the filmmakers can communicate to the audience that there is great significance in the kiss between the two.

Overall, our film challenged few conventions. However, the main challenge was the twist at the end. After our two bickering protagonists share a sweet and fleeting kiss while rehearsing a scene for the upcoming school play, Romeo and Juliet, there seems to be a moment of peace between the pair as the two gaze into each others eyes. They seem to find some common ground and maybe even a spark of romance between them. This tactic of using opposing characters who are forced to be civil due to a certain situation and, conventionally, will eventually fall in love or at least become close friends. However, within our film we decided that we would employ an unconventional technique by having the characters continue their dispute as a final twist. This surprise leaves the audiences wondering what happens to the two. This then has captured the audience's attention and will encourage them to watch the film to find out what happens.

Within the our film, the social groups that we chose to represent consists of high school youth and teachers in a humorous light. By incorporating these two groups, we created a silly tone over an comedic dispute as well as being inclusive in representing more than one social group. This not only appeals to teens who enjoy comedy and seeing other teens on the big screen, but older people who also find romantic comedies entertaining and wish to view their social group in a dramatic and humorous way. We hope this joining of two groups will encourage parents to bring their children and vice versa to enjoy a comedic film with characters who can relate to the them as well as connect with their family/friends.

Quarter Three Final Submission

Distribution Research - My Plan

Once my project has been advertised to the public and has gathered attention and interest from my target audience, I need to find a method to distribute my them. After learning about software programs, where independent film companies can issue their products out to paying subscribers, I have decided that I will be using the website IndyRed, in which professional critics provide independent film reviews and indie movie reviews and funding for low budget films and small film companies. I decided I will be using this as it is an effective technique to getting the attention and my film out to watchers. By using IndyRed, I feel I can be successful as a small film producer as this website can provide funding, reviews, and a space to display my work alongside other independent film companies. Also, as the critics who review these movie are directors and scriptwriters with years of experience and many connections within the film business, this could also help promote my movie and give it a chance at becoming a popular and famous film.

Distribution Research - Isn't It Romantic

Isn't It Romantic, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, is a romantic comedy released on February 13, 2019 that portrays Natalie, played by comedian/actress Rebel Wilson, a young architect in New York City who gets knocked unconscious during a subway mugging and magically wakes up to find herself in an alternate romantic comedy universe, where she is the star of the show. As this film is a romantic comedy, Marin and I are trying to appeal to the same audiences through our films. Isn't It Romantic was digitally distributed through iTunes on Apple devices. The film can also be ordered on Amazon digitally or on DVD or Blu-ray. This is yet another form of digital distribution. The impact of huge online selling sites broadens the audiences to people who prefer movies on computers or other smart devices to people who enjoy watching it from a DVD. Marin and I learned that allowing people to choose their preference of film watching will expand our audience population as well as please them that a company is accommodating their preferences.

  

Distribution Research - Aladdin (Live Action)

While attempting to understand how Marin and I are going to digitally distribute our product to the public, it is important to look at the techniques that other films have employed to promote their film. For example, the new and unreleased live action film, Aladdin, coming to theaters May 24, 2019, aired their trailer over multiple social media outlets. YouTube, Disney.com, and more were all promoters of the film. But Disney filmmakers also released the trailer on popular teen social media platforms such as Snapchat, Instagram,and Twitter. Snapchat is a messaging app where you can send pictures, watch "stories", and text. Snapchat is funded by ads placed throughout stories, and Disney paid to have their trailor added between these stories. In doing this, they can attract a teen audience by placing an ad on a social media app they use almost everyday. Likewise, Instagram and Twitter are also funded by ads, and Disney repeated the same ad placement in between photos and "tweets" to display their trailor and promote their movie to regular Instagrammers and Twitter users. This not only expands their audience to the younger teen population, but to the older population on social media apps who saw the original animation film as children and encourage them to revisit their youth.

Distribution Research - Traditional Distribution

While trying to produce our film, digital distribution is very important. Digital distribution is the delivery of media content of media content to the public. It would be hard for Marin and I to distribute our film to the public as we are not part of a mainstream production company and are independent film producers in high school. However, there are many sources for independent filmmakers to digitally distribute their content to the public. In an article we discovered by PBS, they explain the many resources of production of digital distribution. For instance, CreateSpace on Amazon allows creators to post their films and have customers pay to download it online. Likewise, the website IndieReign is directed to fans of small production company films and allows filmmakers and connect with their audiences. Although these websites are a great aid in getting their content our there, many filmmaker can have trouble attracting audiences to their films. If we were to post our film to CreateSpace, it would be directed towards audiences with all audiences with or without a paid subscription to increase our viewer rates. From there, we would post the video to YouTube to expand our viewer rates even more. YouTube is a great alternative as many videos are connected by similar content, and if someone is watching a trailer for a romantic comedy playing in theaters, then our film may come up in the "Suggested Videos" bar on the side.

Marketing Plan

Based on my marketing research found within other films, I have decided to use social media to promote my film. Similar to many films and television shows, I will make an Instagram account for my company and film. I will include behind the scenes footage as well as inspirational acting quotes and updates within our company. Including multiple aspects of filming, such as editing, recording, filming, meetings, and updates on the film will intrigue a large audience as it has something for everyone. As I needed a company name, I was inspired me to create BluLight Films, as a means to show that I am a small filming company interested in making more movies and a name for my company is the film industry. I am using Instagram because it allows followers and fans to follow, share, and like our account and posts, spreading the word about what we do. This is extremely beneficial to getting our company and film name out there. Below is the homepage for my Instagram.