Critical Creative Reflection

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

My music video for the song Material Girl by Madonna uses a lot of the conventions that can be found in pop song music videos. For instance, a common convention of pop videos is a bright and colorful background. My video utilizes this with the sunny background of sawgrass mall, and the pop of colors in the actresses’ dresses. The surrounding stores that I filmed in also had a wide range of colors and bright fluorescent lights that brightened up the video. Another popular convention for this genre is references to wealth and fame. My music video followed this convention, mainly with props. I ordered prop money that was utilized by the actors throughout the video. Other props such as shiny jewelry and sunglasses also played a part in my music video’s use of pop culture.

When it came to challenging the conventions, I mainly did this with the ending of my music video. Throughout the video, the actress uses the rich boys for money. Typically, it would be expected for a girl to end up with the guy who has money in a pop video. However, in my video, I challenged this idea by having the poor boy be the one who ends up with the rich girl. The concept of choosing love at the end instead of money goes against the modern-day pop culture conventions that push wealth as the most important goal of life.

My video addresses the social issues of both classism and misogyny. It mainly demonstrates a divide in classes and how socioeconomic differences can often lead to the dismissal and mistreatment of more impecunious individuals. In the video, the poor boy is denied at first for his lack of wealth, directly demonstrating this. My video also touched on misogyny and how women are often portrayed as gold diggers. Women are often labeled as money hungry in the media, despite the fact that men often seek out money just as much.

 

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

My video engages with a broad audience, as pop music typically is listened to by a wide variety of people. Nonetheless, it mainly reaches a younger demographic of teenagers to young adults. Part of this is because the actors used are all teenagers themselves. This makes it more likely to be relatable to a younger audience and therefore capture their attention. Another appeal is the setting I filmed the video at. Sawgrass Mall is a popular hangout spot for young adults and high schoolers, so the use of such a lively and well-known area can attract viewers of that age.

As a real media text, my video would most likely be distributed on YouTube. This is usually where artists upload music videos for their songs. YouTube is one of the most popular social media apps for viewing longer content, so distributing it there would be the most effective. Another place where my video might be distributed is Apple Music. They have recently added a section for artists to upload music videos to their profiles. Since Apple Music is the most popular music service in the U.S., I believe distributing it through there would also be a likely choice.

 

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

From my first project to this current one, I have made a lot of improvements in filming. Since this video was going to be a minute and fifteen seconds long, I knew I had to get more dynamic shots and angles to make it more interesting. During the filming process, I learned how to utilize camera movements more effectively like a tilt and pan. They have become more stable and less shaky compared to when I first did one for this class. I also used more tracking shots in this project, which helped me really develop how to follow the subject. However, one of my biggest improvements was with using more varied angles and shots. Instead of keeping everything at eye level and as a medium long shot, I used a wide combination of high angles, over-the-shoulder shots, close-ups, extreme close-ups, and long shots to add variety. Another noticeable development was an improvement in video quality. For this project, I filmed on a newer device and used my phone’s cinematic mode. This allowed me to get higher quality and more professional-looking shots compared to my first project.

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

Throughout this project, I utilized multiple technologies. The main, and most unfamiliar, one that I used was an editing software named CapCut. I saw many people on TikTok use it to edit videos, so I decided to give it a try. I used the program to edit the audio and the video.

After downloading an MP3 of the song I was using for my music video, I uploaded it into the software. From there I was able to use their cut feature to reduce the audio file down to about a minute and fifteen seconds. Once it was cut down, I needed to find a way to make it smoother, so I tested their fade-out feature to easily transition the audio to the end. When it came to the video, I used an editing effect known as an overlay to get a split screen. I also used the transitions that the app had to make to clips nicely flow together.

The other technology I used was my phone. I did all the filming on my phone using its built-in camera app. The cinematic feature I used allowed me to get high-quality shots for the video. My phone played a big role in communication as well. When I needed to get in contact with my group members or send them any clips, I used my phone’s messaging app to reach them. Overall technology played a huge role in the process of making this video.