Creative Critical Reflection Parts 1 and 2

Part 1: Podcast (David Le - Critical Creative Reflection Podcast Recording)

Part 2: Video Essay (David Le - Critical Creative Reflection video essay)

Podcast transcript (generated from Google Pinpoint):

Hi everyone. Welcome back to the Use Your Voice for Change podcast. My name is David Le and I produced the opening sequence titled Unknown Ambitions for AICE Media Studies. Today we will be reflecting on my creative choices and decisions that went into making this opening sequence and we will also focus on how my opening sequence relates to the mystery film genre. So, a quick summary before we start.

The opening sequence follows an unnamed character who gets a text from her friend Lewis to check the mail room because there's something suspicious about this fundraiser that is coming up. We get a sense that of what her normal life is, with her talking and walking with her friends, but unfortunately she cannot hang out with them later that day because she has something to do quote something on the docket unquote. As she says and she goes off into the front office and into the mail room to investigate.

Now, her being in the mail room is a place where she isn't exactly supposed to be. Then, when she's looking through these documents and seeing what's up with this fundraiser in the mail room, she gets a mysterious and rather unsettling text from an unknown number warning of what she was getting herself into. And then, the opening sequence cuts to black and then the tile card fades into view and is displayed. So, let's discuss how the opening sequence challenges conventions along with representing social groups and issues in the fell.

The opening sequence of my short film Unknown Ambitions uses conventions of mystery films by building up tension and what to expect as it progresses forward. The opening sequence was produced and was not made in mind like the Who Done It subgenre of mystery films, which is the convention that movies like Knives Out and Murder on the Orient Express use as a framework. But my opening sequence that I created, it falls more into the category of something that It's realistic.

Something that's grounded and possibly gritty mysteries that are more linear and aren't a range of suspects that could have committed a crime unlike a film like Knives Out. The convention of a normal world until it isn't is also used where the character is enjoying her life at first until she cannot when she stumbles onto this mystery which up ends her reality. I want to dive into the save the cat writes novel writing guide.

What outlines and explains how a character's status quo from the start of of the plot of a film will be different and will and that character will face change, challenges, and obstacles as they adapt to the world that is rapidly evolving around them. For example, in this opening sequence, discovering the mystery.

A formula that is also used to explain used to explain in successful films where characters will face such challenges as they grow and learn from their experiences that occur in the the plot. And this is why I wanted to bring out this save the save save the cat writes a novel writing guide because when I read it, it was really interesting to explore how plot dynamics work.

So looking back on the project, I feel that I almost fully interpreted the mystery genre in my own way, but with some improvements and interpretations in my own eyes on how I wanted to approach this. Because I do feel that the audience could be bored of the walking scenes even if they were enhanced with the moves mysterious music and high night that makes life seemed normal in the opening sequence.

But with my interpretation and vision, it was meant to build up tension and provide continuity and fitting all of this within two minutes of run time. Now, when we look back at some other opening sequences like The Film Brick from 2005, we can see how that film's opening sequence, for example, has a creative different vision, a different creative vision where they are using flashbacks and jumping around of time. Whereas my opening sequence was more of having linear things in the span of two minutes on screen.

So it leads me to my next point. How does my opening sequence represent social groups? The characters portrayed on screen are normal teenagers doing normal teenager things like scrolling their phones, conversing about life and wanting to go as you get ice cream. And also asking the main character whether she was available to hang out.

Now, our main character on screen is arguably portrayed as an outgoing person who has the time for friends, but their instincts take over when friend named Lewis in the opening sequence, in the opening frames of the text messages, tells her and requests her to go investigate something in the mail room because, if anything, this text serves as the catalyst for the opening sequence in the storyline to occur.

There was not much thought into representing social groups, genders, races, etc. in certain ways. If it was more of a gathering of my friends who are available to help me film this opening sequence, given my limitations the resources and assets that would be available for my use to the fullest extent. As someone who is doing this project by myself, I didn't exactly have a set group to work with, like some set a set group to produce and record this alongside, so I pulled my friends who are able to help me.

I do really want to thank them as well for their help to ensure that I was able to film what I wanted and to create a narrative that would fit my intended visions. Preferably, I would have had male friends in the group where the main character was walking with at the start of the shot, but unfortunately they were not available at the time during filming, so I therefore just used my female friends who were available during school hours when this was filmed.

I also want to touch that you could possibly argue that an issue that is raised in this opening sequence is systemic corruption that could be hiding beneath everyday institutions like school and this is more inferred in the film rather than outright stated as my creative approach intended. Was it more intended to get an audience to possibly realize a greater meaning like this? It's like the idea show not tell.

You can't just outwardly express and state everything because it would possibly ruin the experience and sense of meaning, right? That leads me to another point. How does the opening sequence engage the audience by making them read the screens to obtain crucial information to understand what is going on, such as the text in the first few frames where the friend asks the main character to check the mail room.

It also sets up the opening sequence story line, like the catalyst I said, where the main character then proceeds to go to the mail room to check out what is suspicious about this fundraiser. The engagement with the audience is also seen at the end again when we have the mysterious and unsettling text messages popping up in this close-up shot of the phone. And when the audience reads the contents, they may realize that the character has stumbled upon something that is more serious than we initially expected.

And this would arguably set the tone and objective for the rest of the film if this was to be produced into something more than just an opening sequence. The audience is also engaged in the film through the soundtrack and with the background music that keeps them interested. It adds a dynamic where the contemporary and mysterious soundtrack I use helps add meeting where the character does not know what they're something into. You would want the audience to be hooked and they would want to keep watching because they don't know what's going to happen next.

They would want to keep following this character to see where this journey is going to progress and where it is going to take them. The opening sequence also engages the audience through relatability. Where the main character speaking with her friends at the start represents a normal life of a teenager that could expect what they could have. as a normal life. That could be hanging out with friends, going for snacks, etc.

The element that blends the concept of normality for the world is upended through mystery is the relatability to the audience as normal life activities. Something that I originally intended for this, what I said earlier, about the world is normal before it is not. This element of the main character speak after she speaks to her friends, walks with them, talks, really represents this. When you consider that these friends in the main character They don't know what's going on.

They don't know that the school has a systemic corruption problem that our main character has is going to investigate. And I would argue that this is basically your average person, average citizen in society, accepting of a wider institution and accepting the reality of how everything is at face value. Where you might not be inclined to question the systems of the institution unless unless you go out and look for it. And or you feel that something's off and you're compelled enough to try to investigate and see what it leads to you.

So, I now want to move on how I would distribute this opening sequence. Well, if it was a film and it would actually be created into something more than just an opening sequence, how would it be distributed as a real media project? When I made this, it was more of a small independent and more student-like production as the the focus of mind.

It doesn't exactly have the backing, visibility, or distribution of major industry studios and players that would specialize in producing and distributing big budget films backed by these corporations. I would aim to keep this project towards small-scale distribution.

If I made this opening sequence into a full film, where the primary intention is to distribute it towards independent film festivals and YouTube, because what I intended and what I feel is the beauty of these types of projects is to capture the spirit of small-scale independent filmmaking to put ideas into reality with footage that could be made into a story line that audiences can enjoy.

I felt that this was more this is a more realistic and grounded approach and seems more plausible rather than knee extend expanding more into the realm of bigger budget films backed by the major corporations and studios and basically speculating how that would turn out. Let's now dive into how the film and its opening sequence itself, what you see on screen and how it interacts with the audience. Arguably, the lack of faster cuts and each cut being more lengthy here, but more methodical.

With it helps set the pace of the film for audiences to understand and comprehend how this is not an action flick flick or anything that requires a lot of fast cuts or fast movements, but by the actors on screen. But it's more of something that is continuous with what is happening and requires the attention of an audience to understand what is occurring.

For example, reading the screen to understand and comprehend the text messages, seeing the background, looking at what the character is doing on screen to get the message and the meaning of what is occurring and what is going on. The film builds into the audience figuring out the pacing, the clues, and the concept of normality before everything is upended in this world.

When I look back on this now after creating the opening sequence, I do understand and feel it may not feel as obvious to an audience member if we're being frank who watches the opening sequence with little to no context. Seeing the text message at the immediate start of the film, it might feel too sudden for some.

They might not realize and register the information because I was unfortunately a little a little um a little press for run time under two minutes and I understand that the audience is might be confused with the walking scene and its true purpose on adding meaning. Meaning because the opening sequences might also the opening sequence also needs elements like who produced this who produced this who made it who directed it who are the actors etc.

And the thing about this project was if those things I could change probably it would it was not because of a lack of time to complete this. But I feel that it's more of as a student as someone who doesn't exactly have as much still making experience, but it could serve as useful lessons and general knowledge for myself, even if I never make such project again. This project was something that we took from our imaginations, our ideas, and making it into a real reality on screen.

And I really feel that's the beauty of this project. To recap everything, this project has been really quite the experience in the sense where I was able to dive into more of what mystery films are. And having my own spin an interpretation of what a mystery film is. Because issues like systemic corruption and the possibility of said corruption hiding in trusted institutions that we may interact with every day and everything being seemingly normal, but under the surface the the reality may be much different.

Like I said, it would have been nice to have my male friends being in that friend group who were in the group walking sequence, but unfortunately they weren't available, so I had to make do with what I could and this would be an element that I would definitely change. just looking back in hindsight. I feel that I did the best with my abilities, my knowledge, to interpret and film an opening sequence that conforms to the mystery genre. While not exactly following the who done it sub genre, but making something that I feel is more grounded, realistic, and gritty.

As something I that I wanted something that felt linear and was a representation of teenage life that anyone could find themselves in and make it meaningful with underlying themes of the power that One person could have on their surroundings even if it may not seem obvious at first. I want to thank you for your time and listening to the use your voice for change podcast today. I'm David Le and have a great day.