Critical Reflection

A year ago, when I started to plan this idea I was so set and stone on this specific movie idea. A young girl visiting a museum after her mom has passed away and seeing how different things are. I was so excited to go forward with this idea to the point where I've made about 5 different word docs regarding just ideas upon ideas. And while I was preparing myself so much this I ought to realize I should've been preparing myself for backup plans. But as time when on and we slowly started to gravitate towards the research process I started to keep an open mind about other options. I like to think that I did a decent amount of research regarding films that touch base on the grieving process and losing a loved one.

Goodbye; a short film

For example, the short film Goodbye happens to be a really good representation of losing a loved one. A man who doesn't live in the constant meddling grief of losing his brother but honoring it. He does things that his brother would want him to do. He even takes his urn everywhere he goes. Not only is it sad but it also adds that bit of happiness knowing he did everything in honor of his brother.

Research

Another film that I personally love, The Fault in Our Stars. Even though this story is based off a box they did a really good at telling it. This is a love story, but it also talks about concepts of how it feels to lose a loved one and how difficult it can be me. I wanted to mix in both of those themes. Losing a love isn't easy but you can also live in spirit of them. I feel like it would've been cool to kind of juggle both concepts within the same storyline. 

With this research it helped me be aware of things I needed to look out for and ways to approach certain topics. In my film I didn't want the overall theme to revolve around death but much rather the approach of it. The things that lead up to it and how our main character, Elena dealt with it. I know it wasn't something that was going to be easy, but I was determined to try to do it. 

Nothing Expect Everything Promotion

Additionally, I was trying to find social media pages on Instagram regarding either the movies I've researched or movies within that genre. But I unfortunately had no luck. However, I came across this short film on YouTube called "Nothing Expect Everything." The film revolves around losing a loved one but it does revolve around the idea of losing yourself a bit throughout your last year of high school. And I think this is something Elena can relate to. Something we show in our film is that Elena is a senior in high school, and throughout the film we sort of build up on the idea that she loses herself not just because it's her senior year but because of everything that is happening with her mother. She feels as if she can't do enough to help her and she eventually loses herself in the process because she doesn't know what to do. But going back to this Nothing Expect Everything, I've noticed on their Instagram page they show a lot of visuals regarding their actual film. They either show behind the scenes, a clip from the film, or sometimes photos. 

My Social Media Page 

 

 

That is something that I decided to do. Since my targeted audience is from the ages of 13-21, I wanted for my social media page to be appealing towards those specific age groups. Considering I'm a teenager myself I wanted to do something that catches my attention but not something that is too long either. As my generation continues to grow, I've learned we don't have very long attention spans especially when it comes to stuff like this. We just have the tendency to swipe and swipe. So, that's why I've my page simple but also appealing. 

My postcard 

With that being said this allows me to explore the brand of alcoholism and struggling with battles in film. It also gave the spotlight to talk about how sometimes people oversee the issue of drinking. They think that the person who is consuming it will eventually grow tired of it. But what if that isn't always the case. People fail to realize once an addiction starts it's something they can't break unless you force them out of it. And even now, us humans are don't like hearing other people opinions or receiving help even if it helps us. I like to think we are too stubborn. Like yes, don't get me wrong it's good to stick with what you want but not if it hurts you in the long run.  

Another issue we touch base on is that we don't cherish the people the around us. I've seen this firsthand. Kids treating their loves one with such disrespect when they did nothing to deserve it. After a certain age I think us, teenagers lose the sight of the things people do for us especially our parents. They are the people in our life that support us the most and are always there for us no matter what and we just don't appreciate them enough. This also goes in hand with the drinking issue because that same liquid that people drink to "escape reality" is the same liquid that ruins and destroys relationships. Alcohol makes you not only do but also say things that you regret. It gets in the way of people's relationships and their life. Almost like a poison that kills you slowly without you realizing it. 

And as Elena is finishing off her last year of high school, she wants to receive those "I'm proud of you" or "I knew you could do it" but she never did. Toward the end of our film, we sort of deliver that idea but then pull away because she realized her mom wasn't being true to her word. Her actions spoke louder than words. This is when Elena loses all her hope and respect towards her and just gives up. Which is another issue we tackle. Your actions speak louder than your words. You can say one thing, but your actions mean a whole different other. You can always tell people you are going to change but they won't believe it until they see it. 

Overall, this film was really important to me because not only did I get to demonstrate these issues but also because I got to see a in more depth film making process. Considering I've been planning for about a year and things had to change during the development process. I also like how we didn't over do the idea. I think we showed it enough to the point where people get it. However, I do feel wish it was 10 minutes instead of 5 because I wanted to go into so much more detail but I'm happy with our result. This was great learning experience and has definitely taught me a lot about the development of an actual short film. I can't wait to see what I make next in the future!