#54 Minor Task - Critical Reflection

 I have spent the last 13 weeks researching, planning, filming, and editing my short film, Look for the Light. My short film is a heartfelt story of two teenagers who fall in love. I started this short film with the plan of showing the progression of my characters being alone in life, then they meet and realize that the other is all they've wanted in life. I started by knowing that I wanted to appeal to an audience I understood. So, I chose to do a teen romance short film. As a fifteen-year-old girl myself, I know that relationships are important in life. A bad relationship can ruin your perspective of life, but a good one can make you have a newfound love for life. This is exactly what I wanted to portray in my short film. 

The research stage was the most important stage in my project. I spent sixteen blog posts on research. These posts included genre research, practicing different techniques, and branding my film. In the research stage, I gathered as much information as I could for all tasks. For my major task, I researched genre conventions, camera shots and angles, different types of lighting, sound, and editing techniques. I also watched and took note of things that short films used. My 11th blog post was a short film analysis where I watched the short film “All Too Well”. This short film was my inspiration for the time changes. The time changes in my film were used to show the progression of my characters' relationship while keeping it under 5 minutes. When it came to researching filming techniques, I used romance movies so I could take note of how they conveyed certain emotions. 

The other half of my research was focused on my audience and how I was going to engage with them. I did two different surveys. The first asked if they normally watch romance movies and if they would watch a short film on teen mental health and relationships. This survey was beneficial because I was able to gauge the kind of people who would be interested in watching. I then used this information to influence the rest of my minor tasks. My second survey was focused on my postcard. I wanted my postcard to draw people's eyes while including all of the important information. The people surveyed said they would like to see pictures from the short film and have important information in the center, all while keeping it neat. I considered this feedback and created a postcard that had a picture I took of my actors while filming, my production company name, location, and time of the film festival. 

    (Interacting with my audience)

Branding was included in my research. Every film, whether it is a big production or a small short film, comes from a production company. I created the company “ Martinez Productions”. When coming up with the name, I wanted to keep it simple, so I used my last name. Using my last name allows the people around me to associate my short film, my company, and other products with me if they come across them on their own. I also created a logo, which consisted of a film camera with a little sparkle on top. My Instagram account “Look.for.the.Light_Shortfilm_” was also a major part of my branding. To start my Instagram, I made the profile picture of the account my production logo. The link to my blog spot account was added in the bio so my audience could follow the process of creating the short film. My posts on Instagram were all promotional posts, like an open call for background actors and a poster announcing a release date. Instagram allowed me to interact with my audience and get feedback. I had a few comments on my posts from other people. These comments showed me what people enjoyed seeing on my Instagram. This feedback helped me brainstorm more ideas for promotional posts. 

(Branding and engaging with my audience)

The next stage was planning, which included storyboards, scripts, and filming locations. I made 3 storyboards that were posted under blog posts 23, 30, and 40. Creating the storyboards helped me keep track of thoughts and ideas before I started filming. To go with the storyboards, I made scripts. The scripts were not used word for word. Instead, they were a guide for my actors while filming. When it came to dialogue, my actors read the script and changed anything to make it flow naturally. I used locations like my high school and a nearby neighborhood with a park to film. Having predetermined filming locations created less stress between my actors and I when it came to coordinating filming days. 

During the planning stage, I had a good idea of what conventions I want to use and which ones I want to challenge. There were many genre conventions I planned on utilizing in my film, like an internal conflict and a central love story. The internal conflicts stem from my characters feeling alone in life until they find each other and overcome it. The internal conflict goes hand in hand with the central love story; their love for each other develops as they overcome their conflict. I decided to challenge the conventions of emotional tension and obstacles. I chose to avoid these conventions because I wanted my short film to have a steady progression. From the moment my characters first met to the moment they got together, the audience will be able to see the chemistry they have. 

After planning, I moved on to filming. This is where I was able to learn and grow as I got further into the project. I used my knowledge from my AS project and this year’s research to use different techniques that will convey meaning. Lighting was one of the things I focused on most while filming. I used different light bulbs to create a cool-toned effect and waited until sunset so my actors were filmed in warm light. The different types of light used in each scene create different feelings within my audience. The cooler tones were used to convey sadness or loneliness, while the warmer tones conveyed comfort and happiness. While filming, I took pictures of my actors. These pictures were used for promotional posts on Instagram and my postcard. I chose one specific scene to take the most pictures; the scene I chose was of Taylor and John on their first date at the park. This is where the audience sees the chemistry between them. Using pictures from this scene gave the audience a sneak peek into their relationship. 

After filming, I moved on to editing, organizing my scenes into chronological order and then began editing. I practiced editing clips and got comfortable with my editing software. I used different transitions that were available to me through my editing software. I went through filters, fonts, transitions, and sounds to add in. I landed on the ones that sounded realistic. I made constant changes to many parts throughout the editing process. Changes in the transitions and lighting of a scene can make all the difference in keeping an audience engaged. 

The postcard and Instagram were my way of keeping my audience interested. With each post, I revealed more of my film. My fourth post was a behind-the-scenes clip, It did not reveal the plot of my film or signal that this was the scene where my characters first meet. Later on in the project, I started to use the pictures I referenced in previous paragraphs. These pictures show the relationships that my characters develop. My postcard uses a picture of Taylor and John sitting on a bench with Taylor resting her head on his shoulder. My Instagram has multiple pictures and videos from filming. Posting these clips helped me engage and interact with my audience since they enjoy this content. The filming process was the biggest aid in audience engagement. My Instagram also included a link to my blog spot account. I included this so my audience could follow the different stages of my short film and read about how it was made. My postcard had a short synopsis of the film with the saying, “When you know, you know ." This quote is a perfect description of John and Taylor’s relationship because from the moment they met, they had an instant connection. 

In conclusion, this project has taught me how important every step of putting together a short film is. The research, planning, filming, editing, and branding all work together to create an engaging and professional product. After 13 weeks of working on this project, I have developed new skills, like learning how to collaborate and communicate with others to get a job done, that will make me a better student and benefit me all throughout life.