Critical Reflection

Natalia Muñiz Blasco
Apr 3, 2022
5 min read

Updated: Apr 7, 2022

"There is one art of which people should be masters- the art of reflection." -Samuel Taylor Coleridge

Hi everyone!

(It's great to start with a quote again, it gives a sense of finishing a full cycle)

After great work must come great reflection, as it is no use to climb a mountain if one doesn't stop to watch the view at the top, and reflect upon the struggles of the journey.

Therefore, I will dedicate this post to the Critical Reflection by answering 4 questions about my coursework. I will include images to exemplify my points as in 1000 words I have tried to be concise as well as include many details, which is why images will help clarify any references I make to my work.

Hope you enjoy this post!

xx Natalia

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

The most important social issue portrayed is mental health amongst teenagers, especially teenage girls ever since the rise of social media, which has created a bubble of hyperreality about the perfect body types, lifestyle, etc. I have also represented the social group of female teenagers in their struggle to find their true selves and the courage to behave as they are. Both issues are represented in a positive light, using the narrative concept to ensure that I give a message of hope and courage to teenage girls who are struggling to find their confidence. Moreover, the mise-en-scène elements, such as having a bright colour palette, using ordinary settings, colourful post-its and everyday bright outfits (images 1-4) convey a sense of positivity and optimism to overcome the confidence struggle. The main setting: the bedroom, and the main prop: the mirror (image 5), are the most common places where teens face their negative thoughts and insecurities, and I wanted to portray these settings as innocent (as they look on the outside, with the bright colour palette), but also dark and scary, as conveyed through the shots on the “other side” of the mirror, with a much colder colour palette (images 6 & 7). However, the key takeaway from the video is the visual representation of how the girl is able to choose to think differently and strive away from her negative mental habits (as represented visually through the various shots of her breaking all the post-its, as well as the final text, saying “Day 1: Me”) (images 8-12).

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

Branding is fundamental for any product, and hence I focused on having implicit and explicit links between the social media page, the music video and the digipak throughout. Firstly, I used similar settings for all products (even though I also focused on having a variety of shots in the social media page). The bedroom setting with the post-its and the mirror appears in all three products, linking the “false confidence” message throughout, even if on the digipak the link is implicit, and would only be understood by those who have watched the music video (images 1-3). Moreover, the colour palette throughout is bright and colourful, giving all products a sense of similar branding and belonging; this is conveyed through the use of post-its, the beige tones in the bedroom, the bright green on some post-its as well as the natural settings both in the music video, digipak and social media page (images 4-6). Branding was challenging because my artist was not present in the music video, and my actress could not appear on the digipak. However, I used the social media page as a medium to integrate all three products by creating a video introducing my female actress as the character in the music video (video 1), as well as a short clip of my artist and actress performing the same shot of the video on split screens (video 2). My actress also has a picture on the same graffiti that appears in the digipak, which links everything together (images 7-9).

How do your products engage with the audience?

Having a one-character, narrative music video conveys a personalised message from the beginning, allowing my target audience (teenagers, but especially teenage girls) to identify personally with the narrative and the song lyrics, following the identification use of the Blumler&Katz Uses and Gratifications theory. Furthermore, my actress is a teenage girl and uses direct gaze (images 1-3) on many occasions during the music video to address the audience directly. In terms of the social media page, I have created a lot of content to engage with the audience, such as highlight stories entitled “updates” (image 4), so the audience can stay tuned for the release of the products; the video of my artist answering questions from his fans (image 5), another video of him addressing fans on an Instagram reels to explain we were shooting the pictures for the digipak (video 3- this section), another video comparing the artist and my actress on one shot of the music video asking with direct address “who did it better?” (video 2- previous section), etc. I tried to always use the captions to relate them to my product or the audience using direct address, such as on a post of my actress with her ‘happy’ post-it where the caption was “who am I today?”, or another post where the caption read “guess what I’m thinking”. (images 6 & 7) Also, the use of merchandising posts appealed to the audience who could ‘buy’ the t-shirts and cap (images 8-11).

Audience engagement feedback: on the final focus group I asked the class these 4 questions. They all answered in more or less the same way, but there was a difference between those who belonged to my target audience and those who didn't:

Do you feel identified with the character? Are they a relatable character?
- Yes, even though some buys didn’t connect with the character personally they were able to understand the story.
Is the storyline able to be understood?
- They all confirmed it was
What issues are conveyed? Do you think they are relevant?
- Yes, to all teens, they thought it was up-to-date and relevant.
Does the mise-en-scène help you feel identified with the storyline?
- Yes, the use of a mirror to highlight the struggle with insecurities allowed the audience to better connect with the story, as well as filming in an intimate bedroom setting.

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

My research on music videos opened my mind to a scope of editing techniques in music videos, such as the use of split screen/collage in the Georgia Ku “Lighthouse” music video which I analysed on the blog in October, as well as Sabrina Carpenter’s “In My Bed” music video (images 1-3). Other music videos such as “Chandelier” by Sia, “Only You” by Little Mix and “Happy Now” by Zedd follow a storyline/performance without having the artist in them at all. That is why I felt comfortable with doing a narrative music video without worrying about breaking the basic conventions of music videos. However, I did feel comfortable with challenging music video conventions to add meaning to my narrative with the only purpose of reinforcing the lyrics through the visuals. Some music videos have a small but meaningful message at the end, such as that of “1-800-273-8255” which has that same number at the end of the video, reinforcing both the narrative of the song and video as well as the message conveyed by it. That is why I added a quote at the end, to bring everything together into one same message, as well as why I added the “DAY 1: HAPPY” captions which led to the “DAY 1: ME” resolution (images 4-6). In terms of the digipak and social media, my study of Noah Kahan’s socials and digipak told me that he was always very close to his fans but also had images of his tour dates and more ‘official’ images which related specifically to his music, which I tried to replicate through my social media posts (images 7-9). In the digipak, I used the “posterise” effect to also reflect the Noah Kahan brand in which he appeared often as a drawn image with an effect (images 10-12).