Critical Reflection Questions Blog

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

Our product uses the typical conventions of gum commercials, as gum commercials tend to follow a theme of togetherness and unity. All the commercials I researched presented the gum as something that is able to bring together different groups or even people of the same group. In the commercial, I was able to follow this same theme, as my teammates portrayed a male and female who were originally uncomfortable with one another. I helped direct the actors so they could portray the uncomfortableness that the gum would eventually help them overcome. Once they shared a pack of gum, all of the awkwardness disappeared. This commercial represents high schoolers, as the two actors are high school age, and they are working together on a school project. The use of this social group reaches out especially to a teenage audience and shows the positive effect that the gum can have on this age group. 

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

This product is portrayed as an item that can bring teenagers together. The commercial present's a scenario that almost every person can relate to, two strangers paired for a school project. The commercial is able to connect to the audience by first showcasing this relatable experience. Then, once achieving this engagement, the positive effect that gum has on this situation is shown. By obtaining that engagement from the beginning, I'm able to truly connect to an audience and show the true effect that gum can have. This commercial would be distributed as a real media text through Youtube. 

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

When I first started the project, I had no idea how to edit a video, nor did I know any filming or editing techniques. Therefore, I first educated myself on the types of camera angles, camera movements, camera shots, types of sound, editing techniques, and types of Mis-en-scene. These terms helped me to understand how I can use the camera to my advantage to truly capture the ideas I want to portray. I learned the importance of trying out different camera angles to emphasize certain aspects of the commercial, the different camera movements that will best show the set, the effect that certain types of sound can have on the audience's interpretation of the commercial, and how different types of editing techniques can add context and make the commercial more dynamic. I also learned of a technique called storyboarding, which is essentially a plan for the scenes you want your video to include, and this was very helpful. When it came to editing the commercial, I learned how to use editing software to put different clips together and make one continuous video. Overall, this project helped me to realize how much work goes into the production process, and that the movies and videos we watch on our screens required much more thought and effort than you'd originally think. 

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

I first used our phone cameras to film the commercial. Then, I searched different music apps like, Apple Music, Spotify, and Amazon Music, to find the song we would use. Lastly, I used an online website called capcut to actually help edit the commercial. And of course, I used blogger to maintain a log of my progress on the project and provide you guys with updates!










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