Creative Critical Reflection

My product challenged many conventions that are found in Christmas music videos. First, most Christmas music videos use snow or are filmed in a snowy area. As I filmed my video in Florida, there was no snow to incorporate in the video. Instead of snow I went a different route and filmed in front of decorated palm trees and showed my true Floridian Christmas spirit. Another way my product challenged the conventions was most Christmas music videos include back up dancers and all out costumes. My music video was completely the opposite of this as everyone was dressed festive but simple. There were also only a few actors that told a story instead of having the commotion of dancing in the back. As my product challenged conventions it also used some as well. For example, many Christmas videos include bright lighting and festive accessories. I wore a Santa hat and a festive shirt and filmed the entire video around lit trees and decorated homes. Even though there were not as many lights as most videos I still did follow this convention. I also integrated a flashbacks scene which is also a common convention used in Christmas music videos. My Christmas video also represents social groups. This is because my group and I came together because of the love for Christmas we shared which sparked conversation and friendship.  

 

My product engages with the audience using many things. First, my music video is told as a love story where a girl had her heart broken and later was fixed by her true love. Many people love a good happy ending love story so this gets the audience engaged easily. The audience is drawn into the story and makes them want to stay and find out what happens to the girl who got her heart broken. The interesting setting and storyline makes it impossible for the audience to not continue watching. Another way my product engages with the audience is through the bright lights and the song choice.I chose a very common Christmas song that many people are familiar with and happen to know the words too. The song captures the attention of the audience and pushes them to listen more and maybe even sing along. Also, I included changes in the POV of the scenes. For example, a few of the scenes were in black and white for a flashback. This engages the audience because it gives them something to think about and shows them two different time periods that they can connect back to each other. My music video would be distributed as a YouTube video or on apps for music where the music video plays as well.  

 

My production skills developed enormously throughout this project. First, I developed a better acting ability. In this project I was the main character in almost every scene. This made me much more comfortable in front of the camera and taught me how to transition into my characters emotions better. I was able to act out both happy and sad scenes with the correct facial expressions. This ability helped really sell the story and show the audience what's happening in my video. My acting skills are nowhere near perfect but are getting better. Another skill I developed was learning the importance of camera angles and shots. I learned that using different angles can completely change the way your video's story unfolds and how someone comprehends it. I used many different angles and tested a variety of them before choosing which one would fit best with the scene of the story. This production skill immensely helped the quality of my project compared to my last one.  

 

I used many different technology techniques in this project. I filmed my project using an iPhone. I used the features the new iPhone camera provides such as cinematic and portrait mode. These features were incredibly helpful when trying to get the perfect angle and shot. The iPhone camera was also extremely clear, and the quality of the film would degrade immensely if not for the new camera. I used the software iMovie to edit my project. This software was exceedingly helpful to the transitions and organization of my video. iMovie had almost every transition feature there is to offer. This made it possible to use jump cuts and fades to seamlessly transition throughout scenes. This software is also very easy to navigate once you get the hang of it, which helped as well. My video also required us to trim videos down and line in up perfectly with the back music. iMovie had the perfect feature for trimming and overlapping music that made the hardest part of editing easy. Thanks to iMovie and my trusty iPhone I was able to produce clear and well edited music videos.