Critical Reflection Questions

 How does your product use or challenge conventions AND how does it represent social groups or issues? 

My product utilized several types of conventions that are associated with music videos from this era like monologues of a person thinking aloud. But, many music videos from the 90s  contain bright colors. These colors are appealing to the eye and attract the audience to the video. Bright colors weren't seen in the music video as there was not a budget for this type of scene. I used a natural background. Many videos portrayed the experience that a teenager in the 90s would do. In the original music video, it was going to a house party with a bunch of friends. In this film I used a park and a bedroom. The main convection was seen at the end of the video. The convection of a girl writing in her diary about her day and the person she just met was based around the show Moesha. At the end of each episode, Moesha always writes in her diary with a voiceover. The conventions that were used allowed the audience to relate to the music video. If a person can relate to a film. They are more likely to rewatch it and share it with their friend. I used natural lighting different camera angles. The commercial would represent all female teenagers and millennials. Every teenager has had a crush on someone they enjoyed to be around. They usually think about this particular person more than they should. To get their emotions out they would jot down their idea in the 90s. Now that technology has evolved many people use social media outlets like Instagram to express their feelings.

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

My product would engage with a broad audience. I think that a show like MTV's Total Requests Live, VH1 or 106 & Park. I think playing this video on a countdown that will be seen by the newer generation and the millennials will gain attraction. If the show has the correct time slot and host it could generate a strong viewership. The host will have to be bright and have comedic undertones. The time it should be aired is at 6:00 PM. This time slot seems sufficient as many people get off work at 5:00 PM. It would give parents enough time to come home from work and start to relax and replenish from a long day. For students in school, it would allow them to get their homework done and then relax by watching this televised show. Hopefully, it could go to streaming platforms and reach the people who do not watch cable television. It could be on Apple Music or Spotify. Many people pay for these platforms every month. It could be promoted on social media platforms. I think that if there was an ad promoted the new video on Instagram or Youtube it will be successful. With Youtube, it could be an ad commercial in the beginning or the middle of one's youtube video. This could help the video gain popularity from the general public. In this day in age streaming is very popular. If people enjoy the video then they stream it by watching it multiple times. They could tell their friends to watch it and then the number of views will increase.

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

At first, I was the creative director of this project. However, I expanded my narrow thinking and asked for advice about the improvement of my production skills. Throughout this project, I listened to others and took their advice to utilize it throughout my project. Directing came naturally as the actors knew what they were doing. They have experience with doing directing and angles. So it was like they were my mentors and I was the mentees. Fortunately, the main part of my vision was portrayed. Even though there were many bumps in the road and last-minute changes. I eventually got through it. In this project, I was less of a leader and everyone was pitching in their ideas. In any case, coordinating this project was something that I thought would feel unnatural and domineering. Luckily, I was agreeable to transferring my vision. This task has assisted me to expand my creativity. My normal level of thinking has changed to fit the nostalgic realm. Nonetheless, the terms that I learned have caused me to upgrade my abilities. Utilizing altering apparatuses like iMovie was another experience. Contrasted with my past involvement in iMovie, this time I needed to investigate through numerous things. I needed to utilize iMovie on my phone and iMovie on my computer. Switching back and forth between the two software's were a bit of a struggle. As the wait time to import and export were extraneous.

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

I utilized different technologies to produce this music video. They all tied into the incorporation of the software, hardware, and different websites. The hardware that I used in this project was my iPhone, computer, headphones, and a flash drive. The technologies that I utilized through the project were iMovie and Vimeo. iMovie is the main editing software that I always use because it is simple and straight to the point. In this project, I added some overlays and transitions to make the video pop. Even though, iMovie is a product that I know. I think I reach a new hurdle every time. In this case, I had to edit on both my iPhone and my computer. However, I find out new strategies to improve my editing skills everything that I use it. All through this venture, I utilized Garageband to spilled, and change the tempo of the music. This was the first time I was using it and it was difficult to use. I had to find tutorials to help me navigate through the software. Once I was done editing I had to export my project. I used Quickplayer to screen record the video. Which would help me export smoothly. However, every time I would record it would only capture thirty seconds of film. I did this eight different times. I then created a Vimeo account and uploaded the video there. The exporting of the video only took 30 minutes. Lastly, I transferred everything to my blog. The outcome of the project came out pretty well.