Critical Reflection

This is my critical reflection for my documentary term 1 project

 CR 1 - How do your products represent social groups or issues?

CR 2 - How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

CR 3 - How do your products engage with the audience?

CR 4 - How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

Me and my group made a documentary opening about poison murder, this is targeted towards audience who are into crime documentary.

We wanted the whole thing to look like it belongs together so we planned a clear style. We made the colors grading dark and a bit dull, we added soft grain on the video so it’ll look like an old gritty footage taken from a vintage camera. There is a burnt looking transition that shows hidden danger and links each scene. The thumbnail shows the same coffee mug as the opening shot, it acts like a small logo. These choices help it look like a true crime show you might see on Netflix but it still feels like our own work. We gave her a tidy social media page and a nice style so she seems normal at first and that makes it more shocking when her dark side shows. We also picked a coffee mug as the weapon because it’s something people see every day and dont think is dangerous. We can apply Stuart Hall’s representation theory here because people can see Ava different ways. For example some feel sorry for her, while some think it goes too far. The title also connotates a Shakespearean tragedy of some sort. As if it is a theatrical murder act.

Our targeted audience are people who enjoy real life crime documentary which could leave them guessing leaning towards the young audiences. To keep people watching we mixed normal documentary style with stuff younger viewers know. We used slow cuts and a detective style voice and creepy music so younger people becomes more attached and curious, we also made a fake Instagram page, used teen actors and some slang. Blumler and Katz uses and gratifications theory explains why this works, people watch to get info about risks, for fun, to think about their own relationships or to talk with friends. Gerbner’s cultivation theory also fits cause using crime features tells the audience what kind of story it is.

Research helped a lot before we filmed. I watched Lover Stalker Killer and American Murder: The Family Next Door with my group and took notes on narration, old clips and music. This gave me ideas for the detective voice and the creepy sound so viewers know it is a crime story. We also changed some things to make it ours. We used a young couple instead of adults and layered Ava’s lines instead of using one flat narrator, which subverts from the convention of adults being the killer. Turning a normal coffee cup into a deadly symbol gave a small twist on how something so normal can turn into something deadly instead of conforming into the convention of deadly weapons . David Gauntlett’s theory of identity fits because Ava is not simple and viewers can decide what they think about her.

The film also shows how controlling behaviour can hide in plain sight. This is shown through Ava’s Instagram bio hints at her need for control and her perfect posts make it seem normal. This shows how toxic behaviour can blend in with online life. By making Ava the one who plans the harm we show that obsession and control can come from anyone not just men which is common in today’s society where men do the harm. Different viewers will react differently. Some will see it as a clear warning about toxic love, others might think it is too much or not real. Some might feel both. 

the film uses dark visuals, sound and small details to tell a story that feels familiar but still a bit different. Our research, the way we kept the brand across the thumbnail and film and the changes we made to normal crime conventions all help it attract the young audience while still fitting the crime documentary type.