All Components

 Here is the short film and the postcard

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1FGlLEJ_9pj_rn-9RRYhxHI_4q5M5SAkV?usp=sharing

Here is the "Instagram"

https://www.canva.com/design/DAGjUD7wufM/unwj5_QNLdiodYtI4a2TbQ/edit?utm_content=DAGjUD7wufM&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Critical Reflection

Over the course of 9 weeks, I have had to develop a 10-minute short film alongside marketing material for the film, including the social media and a postcard to be passed out at film festivals. Throughout the process, I've had to overcome obstacles in all aspects of production, whether its pre-production and writing, filming and directing, editing and post-production, or marketing for the film. Through all of this, I've been able to create a piece that I have become really proud of. 

Early on in the process, I researched different aspects of the production process that would help me later on, such as researching the comedy genre, other comedy short films, and other short films' social media accounts. I implemented many of the conventions I observed from the article in the comedy genre research post. In particular, I used timing to my advantage, with the cult scene having a lot of awkward silences between Bryan and the cult member, either to build up tension or play off a joke. Another convention that I implemented was playing with expectations, with the gas station being locked, leading to the homeless man encounter, and the random and sudden cult member kidnapping when Bryan goes into the woods. I kept these different aspects of what makes a comedy in mind when writing to assure that my comedy would actually be funny. In terms of production, I focused more on studying other comedy short films, and I adapted the production techniques they used to create comedic bits. I specifically used two techniques from the short films Crazy Camp Cult Movie, with the inspired use of wide angle lenses for certain moments, and When in Poughkeepsie, with whip pans to elevate a conversation. One of the last processes I directly applied my previous research to was my social media page, with certain posts being inspired by other short films' social media posts I was researching. For instance, my storyboard vs actual shot posts were inspired by The Lake in The Sky social media page, which did the same. Overall, my research affected all parts of my production process, including the marketing and distribution for the film. 

The shot from Crazy Cult Camping Movie vs my shot of Bryan eating.

These learned techniques and inspiration aid me in sharing my product with my intended audience. My target audience mainly consists of male teens or young adults with a shared interest in comedies and absurdist humor. The primary way that I engaged with this audience throughout the production was in my writing and characters. When writing the script for this film, I wrote the piece with male teens in mind, specifically my friends Bryan, Andre, and Aiden. Being familiar with how they speak in real life, I wrote the characters as if the actors were in that situation to best play to their strengths. While doing this, initially for the sole reason of making writing an easier process for me and making the lines easier for each actor, I ended up writing the piece in the voices and perspectives of male teens, which inherently appeals to an audience in the same age range. Using the same language and speech pattern as the target audience helps them connect and empathize with the characters and, therefore, the overall film. The characters being all male teens also helps, as the target audience can empathize with the characters, further connecting them with the production. My promotional material also engages with this target audience, especially with the first initial posts with the characters' heads in toilet bowls, appealing to the humor that my target audience would have. Later posts, like the physical DVD of the film or CD of Hot Biscuit being available for purchase on the website, engage with the audience differently, prompting them to engage with the film through physical media. 

A still from the scene of
the boys in the parking lot.

While primarily targeting an audience of teenage males, my piece mainly represents the social group of young teenage boys, as they make up my main cast of characters. Although never specified in the film, Bryan, Aiden, and Andre are all teenagers between 16 and 17 years old. I did my best to represent these characters through their dialogue and actions. As I mentioned prior, when writing, I had these friends in mind and wrote the scenes as if they were actually the ones living through the experiences, aiding my writing and easing the acting process for my friends. However, doing this also inadvertently created an accurate representation of teenage males and how they speak, as I attempted to make the dialogue as authentic to the real actors as possible. I also represent this group through the characters' actions. This is apparent in the opening scene, where the characters are standing in an empty parking lot, eating fast food while arguing about absurd hypotheticals. As a teenage boy, I can say that this is an accurate representation of what is done in our free time. I incorporate a running gag of the boys singing to a ridiculous pop song, as the genre typically caters to a younger audience and is representative of music that teens listen to. One can also argue that I represent homeless people in The Dump. In one scene, I have a homeless character screaming and harassing the teenage boys. This radical image of homeless people is not an accurate depiction of their social group and contributes to harmful stereotypes and preconceptions about them. However, I was using the character more for comedic purposes rather than trying to accurately represent this social group.

What sets this course apart from AS level is the ability to create a complete identity and brand for your piece outside of just the production itself. This was an interesting and, at times, challenging task to balance while also trying to make a short film. I had to constantly think about the tone and brand of the film and how I could convey this in my promotional material, mainly through social media. Since my short film is a comedy driven by a ridiculous yet tense plot, I attempted to reflect this in my branding. For instance, I embrace the ridiculous nature of the plot through my initial posts, with the important contributors to the project being introduced through toilet bowls and behind-the-scenes photos being displayed on bathroom mirrors. This not only fits the more comedic aspects of my film but also fits in with the plot centering around the main character having to poop. On the other hand, I take a more intense and dramatic tone with other aspects of my brand. For example, the font I use in my film and the majority of my promotional material is a big and bold font that’s aggressive and in your face.

Some of the other promotional material also features a specific wide shot on Bryan’s face eating a burger, which is also in your face and encapsulates the tone of the film pretty well, being both intense and comedic at the same time. I use this still most prominently in the postcard. The trailer I made for the Instagram also has a much more intense and dramatic feel to it to emulate the more intense moments like the homeless or cult scene, as well as the stressful nature of the plot overall. While the film is first and foremost a comedy, it also has dramatic aspects to it, and I try to represent both of these aspects in all facets of my 3 components. However, this creates a dilemma in my branding, which alternates from taking a sillier approach to an intense and dramatic one. If I were able to go back and do the project again, I’d likely try to create a more comprehensive and clear theme throughout the branding. While I do have the fun and silly bathroom Instagram posts, these are only a couple of posts, while other content like the storyboard vs. actual shot comparison or announcement of the YouTube release deviate from this aesthetic, making the social media and, therefore, the overall branding feel disjointed.

Considering all these different aspects of the piece, I have completed what I set out to do 9 weeks ago, to successfully complete a short film and most importantly, be satisfied and content with the final product. 

Final thoughts

This has easily been one of the favorite things I’ve worked on in a long time. I haven’t had too many chances to fully create my own full-fledged ideas just because of school and time and whatnot, but I’m so glad I have this class that enables me to set apart time for this because…man…this has been great. Not without its challenges, I had one of the worst shoots I’ve ever had with this project, but it’s all worth it. Writing this was fun and challenging, filming was the most fun I’ve had filming anything. Editing was so damn draining and challenging, but so so rewarding. With the other components, it challenged me to go beyond just the production and create a real brand and identity for this film outside often the film itself, which is new to me, but a welcome addition. But yea. This has been fantastic. Oh, let’s not forget blogging too. I honestly really enjoy this part of the project. It helps me stay motivated and on top of my work, and it’s honestly just enjoyable to me. I’ll be sad to end the course if I’m being honest, I wish there was another level I could take. But I’m glad I was able to go through it, and come out the other side as a better creator.

Preparing for critical reflection

 Before going into the critical reflection head first, I wanted to go over the necessary components and my approach for each part as it’s been a while since I’ve seen these questions and I have different things that I don’t want to forget to bring up.

So first, “How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?” The main focus of this question is research and genre. So here I would be talking about all of my earlier posts about research into genre, short film comedies, other films’ instagrams, etc. I’ll talk about how I adapted the different techniques that I saw in other comedy films such as the wide angles lens from CRAZY CULT CAMPING MOVIE or the whips pans in WHEN IN POUGHKEEPSIE. Also a lot of inspiration from social medias, such as the DVD and the storyboard/actual shot comparison. Need to talk about how I mostly conformed to the genre.

2nd: “How do your products engage with the audience?” I think this questions is simple enough for my piece. I need to describe the target audience, mainly teens and young adults, mostly male as all the characters are male and they’ll relate to the characters and their interactions with each other the most, and their shared interest being comdies…especially those that are a little bit more absurd lol. Then I’ll explain the ways that I intentionally engaged with this audience through my techniques, which would be the characters and dialogue, being written with teenage boys in mind, immediately connecting the audience to the boys. Aspects of the social media also draw in a younger audience that has this sense of humor, particularly with the main actors being introduced inside of toilet bowls. 

3rd: “How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?” This is probably the most interesting question for me as it is really what sets it apart form AS level, being able to create an identity for the piece outside of the piece itself, mainly though social media. I would describe the goofier and sillier brand that I aimed to create, mainly through not only the ridiculousness of the plot, but also through the social media posts like the previously mentioned toliet bowl portraits. I can talk about the how I also develop a more intense and in your face branding for other aspects of the production to invoke the intenseness that the short film reaches at points. For improving the branding of the piece, I would talk about making the Instagram feeling a little less disjointed, as I had just said, there are a few different things going on and I would have liked to streamline it a little bit, but it just wasn’t my main concern throughout the production process.

4th: “How do your products represent social groups or issues?” In my piece, the most represented social group would be young teenage boys, and I would talk about how I represented them in my piece, with dialogue, props, how they act throughout etc. I could also bring in the homeless character if I’d like, and talk about how I exaggerated this notion of homeless people being crazy and unhinged in order to make a gag out of it. While this isn’t very representational of homeless people as a whole, I used it for my personal purpose of making a funny bit. Overall, I’d evaluate whether my representation of teenage boys is successful or not and why that is.

With this outline, I can confidently go into the critical reflection making sure I hit all of the points that I want to.

Postcard

I haven't been very worried about this aspect of the project as it is just putting a poster on a 4x6 card and putting film festival information as well as information about the film on it. Definitely not as complicated as some of the other print materials like the documentary's magazine. 

I went into the postcard already having two potential poster materials, creating them mainly for YouTube thumbnails since that is my main source of distribution as that is the most accessible platform for me and has a huge audience for short films like these, especially as my target audience is younger teens which is in line with a large percentage of YouTube users. Anyway, I just put my two thumbnails on a 4x6 postcard on Photoshop, and began adding the necessary information I needed. 

The only dilemma I had was that since my posters were 1920x1080, they didn't exactly fit the 4x6 outline I had to use, so one of the images looked low-resolution and cheap. So I opted for a different image since that poster wasn't exactly my favorite anyway. I needed something aggressive and in your face to call the attention of people, but also something representative of my film and the tone that it would have. And I thought...what better frame than my favorite shot in the whole piece. Bryan eating the burger! 

This has become a reoccurring theme, but I love that.

For the back side of the card, I wanted most of my information because I wanted the front to be clean and direct. On the back, I used a frame of the boys scared of the homeless man and lowered the opacity slightly to put the focus on the info I was going to write. This included my name as the creator/director, the film festival I would be handing this out at (and I picked the LA comedy film festival as my film is a comedy and provides me exposure in one of the best cities for production), the theatre, date and time the film would be showing, and where to find more information about the film, including my social media page as well as my YouTube channel where it would be posted so that I could reach as many people as possible. 

With this out of the way, I can set my focus on reflecting on the product and my process as a whole through my critical reflection and my final thoughts on the project overall.

Creating identity

 I need to create the identity for the piece, and I mainly do this through the social media. And this has been kinda difficult for me. How do I make an identity for this film? Because its not as straightforward as some other films that my peers are doing, like a superhero film, or a comedy about breaking up with a boyfriend that takes on a much more lighthearted and silly tone. For my comedy, it has a much grittier feel to it, but is still inherently ridiculous because of the plot, having the whole story focus on pooping. So how do I portray that in my social media?

At first I thought about taking an approach I've seen in one of my favorite artist's promotional media, Jpegmafia, who emulates different technologies' UI to promote his concerts or merch. 

Here, you can see the Apple UI that he is emulating here, specifically the Mac OS UI.

I thought about taking this approach since my target audience is mainly teenagers and they would be attracted to a familiar to these UIs and whatnot. But then I was like...wait...this lowkey has nothing to do with my piece. So then I switched it up and started thinking of silly ways to relate my social media back to my film as a whole. But I also found this difficult as there are a lot of moments in my film and I didn't really know what to choose to market it. But I decided to go for the broad bathroom aestethic since its called The Dump, keeps the content of the film ambiguous, but is still funny and fits in line with the humor and kinda tone of the rest of the film. So what better way to introduce the actors than having their faces inside toilets. 

Isn't he beautiful?

I tried to follow this theme in as much as I could, my other prominent "edit" being putting behind the scenes photos in the refelctions of bathroom mirrors. But for things like trailers and teasers, I couldn't really fit this same theme, unless I wanted the entire trailer or teaser to be in the oval format of a toilet hole lol. This kinda goes for the rest of the posts as well, like the DVD or CD announcement, which just...wouldn't really fit in this whole bathroom aesthetic. I'm just doing as much as I can with this and the rest of the post will be more normal.

I also had to create little short teasers and trailer for the social media, which didn't take me too long. The teaser is just the full raw clip of Bryan eating the burger, which is probably my favorite shot in the entire piece, and I think it conveys the funny and absurd humor and tone that is present throughout the film and works as a good teaser for the film, not giving anything away while still capturing the essence of the film. The trailer is way more traditional, with title cards and tenser music since I made the trailer way more suspenseful than the sillier teaser cause overall the film has more of a tense tone with ridiculous moments building upon that tension. So I opted for a more suspenseful trailer, that shows enough to get the audience intrigued and interested, but not enough to give the story away. I think I did pretty well with these two little edits, and the film distribution project I did before this project definitely helped improve my skills going into this has I had to make a both a teaser and trailer for an already written story. 

The only thing I have left to do is the silly fake music video for Hot Biscuit, and I will be done with social media and can move onto my postcard and critical reflection.

Finishing editing (ssooound design)

Picking up from my last post about editing, I just had to finish editing the last few scenes and focus on sound. I cut up the scenes relatively fast, but then that's when I got to the real deal...the sound design. One of the most important parts about bringing the whole piece together. I had a line edit ready without too much sound design and honestly, I started getting a little scared. Seeing it all together, I just wasn't sure that it was hitting like I wanted it to. I felt like the acting could have been a little better, and I could have done a better job directing and getting better takes, or that some of the jokes weren't hitting as hard as I wanted them to and that some moments dragged on because of this. I got a little discouraged at this point, but I kept editing cause I had to finish it regardless of my personal feelings towards it. 

But then I started doing the sound design. And slowly but surely, everything felt like it was coming together. The jokes were landing more with little subtle sound effects that emphasize the moment more, like riser or small "booms". Music or ambience sound effects in the background of scenes made moments feel less awkward and help each scene flow better. J-cuts and L-cuts also helped the dialogue flow better and helped with the pacing a bit too. 

The most tedious scenes to edit were definitely the gas station and probably the beginning. The gas station just has a lot going on, with me having to add different foley like the locked door, the car starting and coming to a stop, the boys walking through grass, the homeless man banging on the car window, etc. Theres also other non-diegetic sounds like risers to transition from scene to scene or the tense music when the homeless man is confronting the characters. With the beginning, there's quite a bit that I have to add that is subtle, but works to elevate the scene, like the layers of stomach grumbling, the constant sound of the running car, the tense and foreboding ambience in the background once the poop kicks in, and so forth. 

Once I started put all of the sound together, it really felt like the piece I was trying to make. My fears were subdubbed by the joy I felt that it actually came together, and pretty well at that. There is naturally some things that I would like to go back a do over, but overall, I'm really really happy and proud of the piece that I have created. The best part has been showing other people to get fresh eyes and opinions on the piece. 

I think a big reason why I was so discouraged and uncontent with the piece before the sound has a lot to od with that I've just seen it so many times throughout the editing process and I already know all the jokes, all the beats, every moment that is going to come, so it isn't necessarily as funny as it was when I first wrote and filmed it. I was also just exhausted by the process up until that point and just needed to step away a bit to come back to it with a fresh state of mind. 

Anyway, other people coming into the piece blind has been one of the best parts about the entire process, as they not only provide great a valid critiques or suggestions on stuff that I would have never thought of, but can also help me determine whether certain jokes are hitting with different people, how the pacing is going into it blind, and so on, which is something that I can't determine as well anymore since I've seen it so much at this point. And peoples' reactions are the best. Especially at the cult scene, they are so disgusted, it's fantastic. 

Here she is. My magnum opus. 

But yea, overall, I am quite pleased with the final piece and will now primarily be focusing on wrapping up my social media and reflect over the process as a whole through my critical reflection.