Critical Creative Reflection Blog

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ozhi4nL_Y8900BdzTL83DRG7QyJ8CNJtKpySA4wO5WA/edit

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

The conventions used in my music video were very similar to the conventions I did research on. They were used to

really bring out the vibe or genre of the video.  I stayed with the same genre that was said I researched on as it was

a  song more into the pop genre with a storytelling side of it. The story behind it was meant to be sad so certain

styles, editing, and acting was done to make sure that was shown in the video. Our video was meant to show a

common issue that occurs very often around the world. The issue we were trying to present was people losing

their loved ones including pets, and how they must deal with it because it can’t be helped. So to do that we made a

video of a girl that was growing up with her dog and then the dog became ill and had to be put down. The video 

shows that no matter how old one is they’ll never lose love for someone else that is important to them, especially a

pet. The video represents this with its emotional dialogue and lyrics including the acting that bring a sense of

nostalgia with also the use of editing flashbacks into the video. We used  the flashbacks to bring the girl back in

time into the “good old days” which is something many people around the world want to do as they have the

desire to go back in time. Another major issue we present is mental health. An issue that takes thousands of lives

each year and our video specifically bring out the side where people get mental illnesses after not being able to

deal with the death of a loved one. Our message to those who are experiencing this is to seek help and to not try to

deal with things alone.

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

Our final product engages with the audience by using nostalgic music to connect to the viewer with also the use of

familiar places to bring more interest to the viewer. We also engage with the audience as some of them may have

pets and some also experience the same situation. This connects the viewer on an emotional level as they’ve gone

through a loved one dying before. The song used is also very popular as it has been streamed for many years and

also is still currently being streamed as it is catchy and brings some people together due to its nostalgia.

Our product targets different specific audiences so that it has a greater effect on them, our video targets those who

are emotional and also those who don’t know how to cope with sad events, usually teenagers and young adults.

These two groups are usually targeted as they are new to going through hard times and usually have a lot going on

in their lives. However mental health issues can happen to all age groups so the issue forms a unity amongst

different groups and audiences. The only groups of people that may not be affected by our video are those who

haven’t experienced the loss of a loved one or those who are too young to even understand grief to mourn those

who were lost, however they may still be affected as they might try to understand the other person’s perspective

which brings the emotion to them. When it comes to the streaming of our product I would try to post it or stream it

on platforms that are used often by teenagers, young adults, and those who have been through the experience of

losing a loved one. Our message would also make a bigger impact if it was put on a social media group where

much hate and negativity is spread, our message would remind those who are receiving negativity on those

social media groups that they are important to others and that they aren’t alone. The apps that would be best for

this are TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat. All of these programs have a large amount of teenagers and

young adults, so our video would make the greatest impact on those apps.

3.How did your production skills develop throughout this project?

While working on this music video I gained a great load of information that will definitely be used in future

projects and productions. I mainly gained information and experience on the concept of making a music video and

the steps that are needed to do so, while also learning about production. I found out that a lot of time and effort

that is needed to create a music video that can create a positive impact on different audiences and the world in

general. I also learned that research and planning is very effective as if we skipped that step we would have had a

far worse experience creating the music video and storyboard. This would’ve caused many issues as it would

have created a lot of confusion on our schedule, filming, and editing. A mistake like this could have completely

ruined our project and would have created a product with poor quality. This project also allowed me to become

more patient with things and making sure that I do things the right way instead of trying to rush things. Lastly I

learned how to record properly and make sure I got the right angles and shots to improve the quality.

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

Me and my group used many different types of technology in our music video. The most important piece of

technology I would say would be the camera on the phone as it was used to record all scenes throughout the

project. The lens on the phone cameras had many different features which allowed us to record in different ways

and improve the quality. Another very important piece of technology used was an editing software called

“CapCut”. This is where we did most of our editing for the video to add transitions, special effects, and the other

features included in the app. One last thing I gained from this is learning that procrastinating and rushing through

things is a very bad habit and that it just ruins things for people and doesn’t have any sort of benefit to the person