Creative Reflection

Here is my Creative Reflection on my short film Suspicion

Critical Reflection.docx

1. How do your products represent social groups or issues? 

My product represents a few social groups in today’s society. Firstly, there are the vast cliques of my audience. One group is detective/police show lovers. Through my plot, which tracks the lives of two detectives, the film represents the classic format that enjoyers of detective movies such as The Fugitive and Hot Fuzz love: two detective partners, a new clue, and a plot twist. The unconventionality of the plot twist, in turns, also represents the growing psychological-thriller audience. In the coming years, psychological thrillers such as Midsummer and Hereditary have caused a stir and made the psychological thriller genre increasingly popular. I created Suspicion to represent this genre and the fanbase that comes along with it; people who appreciate the art of how angles, shots, and story create a thriller. 

 

However, on a more analytical/interpretive note, the theme and underlying issue that my film alludes to is the lack of training of the police force. As police violence and abuse of power grows larger in America, I wanted to make a film that shows what could happen if proper psychological screening for police don’t take place. It is an issue that young police officers/detectives are not given psychological screening before giving them the responsibility of a gun. Only 4 months of training and no mental testing is not enough to give officers under 25 the power of status and a gun. My hypothesis as to why police brutality is rising is because of the psychological term, sublimation, which refers to turning a socially unacceptable urge to a good, productive outlet. It is completely plausible to deduce that when boys' testosterone levels rise and cause them to be more aggressive, that they turn this unwanted urge to be violent towards beating bad people up as a police officer. The only problem is that this violent urge is sometimes directed towards innocent people. Detective Hoffman is a worst-case scenario of possibilities that could happen if a psychological unwell police force abuses their power and resources.  

 

       2. How do the elements of your production work together to create a series of branding? 

When advertising a film, it is important to create a coherent brand for future audiences. For my short film, Suspicion, I made a website, postcard, and social media accounts. The website was made to present helpful information to viewers and fans such as social media accounts, showtimes, reviews, the postcard, and introduce the minds behind the movie. I wanted the two main promotion products (website and postcard) to be harmonious, so I made the primary colors red and black, which matched the mood of the thriller-crime genre of my film. The postcard has many branding purposes; first as informative, and second as creative. It provides essential information such as showtimes, names of producers and directors, and tags of social media marketing accounts. On the creative side of marketing, the postcard has the title written in a bloody font in front of a dark forest imagery which foreshadows the events of the film.  

 

The social media accounts are also very important in creating a brand for our movie. By having the same logo for the accounts (the postcard front), harmony is created, and our fans have a consistent image of the film to refer to in their heads. The social media accounts will be used to post sneak peaks, the trailer, movie stills, and more reviews of my film.  

 

            3. How do your products engage with audiences? 

While the website is utilized as a branding tool, it is also used to connect with fans and audiences. On the film's website, I have inserted a page entitled “Our Team” where audiences can see, one-on-one, the minds that went behind the making of Suspicion. There is included pictures, names, and titles of each of us that worked on Suspicion for the audience to connect with. The other page entitled “Behind The Scenes” gives the audience insight on what the filming days for Suspicion went like. A miniblog shows pictures and a short paragraph on both the good and bad processes of making Suspicion. The website also has a “Connect With Us” section where the company film email is given to any audiences that may have questions and inquiries. This is truly the main way that I, as one of the main creators of my short film, can communicate one on one with audiences whether that may be a viewer, theater owner, or major producer. It is essential for our film and marketing products, such as the website and social media accounts, to be able to connect with audiences for present and future products and be able to build a fanbase.  

Furthermore, the film itself connects with the audiences, but through their soul. The pathos of Suspicion appeals and creates an emotional connection with viewers. This occurs through all of the creative choices that went through during the making of this film. The camera angles, storylines, acting, mood, sound, and costumes/props all create an atmosphere that audiences connect to. The eeriness of the faceless camera shots, the mysteriousness Detective Hoffman’s acting, and the terror of Detective Reynolds discovery is all felt by the audience as if they were in the story themselves. And that is how every film, but especially Suspicion, connects with its audiences on both physically and mentally. 

 

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

Upon researching about my short film, I discovered some conventions behind the crime-thriller genre. In thrillers, dark lighting and low lighting are common to create a darker, ominous feel to the thriller. I challenged this convention by having the setting take place in a well-lit mortuary and a sunlight, open park. I felt that by having the setting not have any objectively creepy aspects to it, it would make more of a surprise by the sinister plot twists. Also common in thrillers are cutaways which are used to create tension and show the action of a thriller. I decided to use this convention in showing both Detective Reynolds' realization of the snake ring and the chase scene. Both cutaway montages helped create suspense for the audience especially as it took place in the second half of the film and in the rising action of the story.  

I also utilized the sound editing of thrillers which included a collection of eerie string and droning noises. Usage of this type of post editing sound creates the feel of a thriller movie without it being too action packed for audiences.  

A convention that is common in the crime genre is the acting of characters as authoritative, cocky, and overly serious. Instead of allowing the flaunting of badges, ID’s, and handcuffs that is common in crime film’s, I let the police logistic take a back seat and focus more on the story. I challenged this convention in order to build more suspense in the realization of the murder, instead of focusing on the workings of the federal bureau which was more of an implied subtext. With this usage and challenging of conventions, I accomplished my goal of giving fans something new and exciting, while still knowing what would make their soul become revitalized.