Final CCR

 

How do your products represent social groups or issues? 

Social Groups and Symbols

The audience target for the short film The Jacket is young women. The short film is about a young lady running away from her problems and stumbles upon a fine gentleman whom they end up connecting with after giving his jacket. Her happiness comes back with him and then leaves once he messes up. Another man offers his jacket but she declines because she realizes she does not need another jacket she only needs her own. 

The short film represents women’s unfair mindset that their happiness and success is dependent on mens help. This mindset of gender roles is seen from an early age of girls to adult women. Studies by Kuhn D. an american psychologist has identified that children start understanding gender roles at two and studies by Signorella ML. a professor of psychology and gender studies states that children develop these stereotypes by age three. 

My film goes against these stereotypes as many romance filmmakers have the main characters come together, break apart, and then come back together after self development. The way she ends up thinking about herself and her life at the end, understanding that all she needs is herself to be happy is the message I wanted to get across with my short film. 

Applying theories like the feminist media theory where she takes life into her own hands. For instance the jacket, it’s a representation of protection and comfort from a man. When she rejects the jacket she is rejecting his influence and starts thinking for herself. 

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

Unique Filming

Although the script I had initially created did not work since the weather was supposed to be rainy and the scenes were mainly supposed to be in the day. The screenplay changed with the weather at the time. Since it was December and chilly, I had switched the umbrella to a jacket, and instead of rain, I switched it to the nighttime so that the effect of darkness would still come through the screen.

 The majority of the scenes shot at night show the gloom the character is going through, and the shots during the day signify her happiness. At the end of the film, it is still shot at night, but there is a lighter feel. She finds peace even while feeling that same sadness to show her growth. At the end of the scene, I wanted the film to end the same way it started, a fade in and fade out of the stars. Growing Films is all about growing as a character and evolving to the next stage. For future films, I direct branding my films will be done by the beginning, and the ending of the film always aligning. 

The postcard is easily noticed as a product from The Jacket as it is a picture from one of the scenes. The postcard picture perfectly represents the film as it’s the end scene where she is by herself looking off into the distance which correlates with deep thought and she is sat at the park bench where the main changes of her life occur. 

 How do your products engage with the audience? 

Engaging With Audience

The short film’s target audience is anywhere from teenage to young adult women. The story is all about a woman finding her true worth and looking for self love. This self worth content can resonate with any kind of woman based on their emotions and relationship experiences. Sparking emotions and provoking thought on the audience as they may self reflect on how they have been belittled and sought help or comfort from the male sex. 

According to “Active Audiences” theory the more passionate the audience is about the media text the more they will share, modify, or create some media text. The jacket has its own social media page on instagram that allows the audience to comment, like, share, and participate in discussions, creating a sense of community and fostering engagement. Allowing the audience to not only see what other people think about the movie, but sharing their own experiences on their path to self improvement. 

The protagonist chosen for the film is pretty and uses the latest fashion/makeup trends that can entice the viewer to create fan art, post tik tok tutorials on how they think the character did their makeup, or dress up in the same the character did. 

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

Research and Decisions

 The short film came out relatively well, as I enjoyed filming and deciding which shots and angles I wanted to take. Using close-ups to show the emotions of the main character crying or long shots to show how long the moments felt by herself or together with her partner. 

I have had plenty of experience analyzing shots from shows or movies last year from taking the AS level Media Studies course. I researched more on romance films for my film since the basis of the short film is romance. When researching, I realized some movies have multiple back-to-back shots without dialogue and music playing in the background like a montage. Filmmakers would do this so that all attention is on the picture and the viewer can get the feel of the emotions being presented. I wanted to implement this for when the main character was in a couple and create a happy movie montage. When the movie comes back to conflict, there is dialogue, and when the dispute is resolved, it cuts the conversation and transitions to a monologue. This was done purposely to express the main character's self-reflection on how they are better by themselves.  

The editing was the process that took the longest to create the film. Since this is a short film convention I had to shorten and cut clips from the film using Capcut. I decided on which scenes to put in by the shots that showed the most emotion and important dialogue so the main idea of the film is understood.