Critical Relflection

 Critical Reflection- Link

• How do your products represent social groups or issues?

Thriller films have consistently perpetuated the social issue of gender inequality, and continues to portray women as the helpless victims in need of rescue. By normalizing these types of plots, films fail to accurately represent women and contribute to gendered power dynamics. However, our short film challenges gender inequality by setting a female as the protagonist. Our plot follows two assassins, a male and female, sent to eliminate each other. Our product evens out the ground between the female and male character by giving them the same role. We depict her as being capable, as she figures out the ways the male assassin (Kyle Nelson) tries to deceive her. She is also portrayed asserting her dominance several times in the film, most notably by killing the male assassin in the end. Contrary to typical narratives, our film sets a woman as taking on the role of an aggressor and ultimately asserting her power over a man, instead of a passive victim. In our postcard, the product represents this theme as well since a female is on the front cover with the knife. By doing this, we showcase the representation of women through the powerful visual connotation of the card. The color scheme and size of the female silhouette represents this empowerment. The website also represents this idea, as we advertise our product with a positive review: "Maneater challenges the typical norms of a thriller. The female representation is what this generation needs, and the film brings this to light." This message is direct, and used to shape our audience’s perception. Our film overturns traditional gender roles and challenges the notion that men are inherently dominant or invulnerable.

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

In order to create a sense of branding, we made sure to maintain a consistent visual identity. Our products kept a similar, uniform style to foster familiarity amongst our audiences. For example, the post card to our short film is illustrated with a red to white gradient in the background, with the silhouette of a woman with a knife. Similarly, I made sure to insert this photo throughout the website. This image of the women can be seen in the front page of the website. Additionally, the red-to-white color scheme is also held consistent in the website, evident in the “Cast and Crew” page. Maintaining this visual consistency throughout was important to us, as we wanted our audience to easily recognize our products on all platforms. Additionally, in the film, the title card for its name, “Maneater”, is in a red font. We maintained the consistency by using this red font throughout our products, most notable in the red, graffiti-like font in the post card. Additionally, this was also incorporated in the website. Everytime the user wants to click to a new page of the site, the web flashes red. This is critical, since we wanted the audience to encounter these repeated, similar colors and fonts. It makes our brand easily recognizable, and differentiates us in a competitive market. Our consistent red color scheme also allowed us to evoke emotion within the audience. Since our genre is thriller, we chose red to evoke senses of danger, suspense, and passion. By doing this throughout our products, we tried to get the audience to associate with our brand through color, deepening the connection with our brand to consumers.  Thus, we used this familiarity to create emotions and visual cohesion, contributing to our sense of branding. 

• How do your products engage with the audience? 

Thriller short films have a unique way of engaging with an audience’s emotions, which was what we were trying to achieve with our products. Our postcard plays a vital role in capturing the audience's attention and generating interest in the film. We used striking imagery that conveys the mood, tone, and themes of our film. An example of this is our use of the mysterious silhouette of the women with the knife, which we did to hint at the suspenseful nature of our film. In our film, we also used ominous landscapes as portrayed in our establishing shots.  Our establishing shot in the first scene is of a house the story takes place in, with no music, which is meant to pique the viewer's curiosity and hint at the suspenseful nature of the story. At other times, we give the viewers information that the other characters do not know. The viewers know that both characters are assigned to kill each other, but the characters do not. By using ominous scenes and giving the audience information that characters do not know engages with our audience by making them feel a sense of urgency or excitement. With our website, we incorporate elements that the audience can participate in. In making the website, I made sure to create easy to access pages and links for the audience to learn more. In order for the viewers to keep up with the creation of our film, I made a link to our instagram from our website. Our website includes many updates of our film, similar to our blogs. On our postcard, we also included a QR code that links to the same page. By incorporating interactive elements into our website, such as QR codes or reality features, it allows viewers to engage with additional content and our exclusive behind-the-scenes footage. This adds an interactive dimension to our products and encourages viewers to interact with the film in new and innovative ways.

• How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions

Our research included the investigation of several genres of film, and additionally, short films. We researched several genres, but eventually we decided to go with thriller due to its versatile nature. Our group had many ideas for a short film, and we felt that thriller was a good middle ground between action and horror. We researched the conventions of the thriller, and our short film uses the typical conventions of a thriller in a variety of ways. We wanted to stick with the fast-paced nature of the thriller genre and compel viewers with the drama so that they would keep watching. For example, we used suspenseful music to create a sense of urgency. Typically in thrillers, according to our genre research blog, they include suspenseful or eerie music to create a feeling of tension or unease. In our case, we incorporated this convention in the scene where Nelly tests the chocolates for poison. As the suspense builds up, so does the music. Also, a typical convention of thrillers is the use of props, specifically weapons. We incorporated this by our use of a fake knife, which the female used to kill Kyle at the end. However, we challenged conventions several ways. We didn’t use any close up angles or extreme close ups, which is typical in thrillers. However, the most notable challenge was our absence of jumpscares. Thrillers, and even horror, are almost all known for building up suspense and leading to a jumpscare. But, it did not seem fitting to our story line, so we decided to leave this monumental convention out.