CR

• How do your products represent social groups or issues?

My product explores the issue of how technology can take control of its users. In my product story, the main character gets stuck in a five‑minute time loop. The cause of this all starts with her phone. One morning, she wakes up and finds her phone acting weird. Her phone starts a random timer that starts counting down as soon as she checks it. She never set this timer and can’t stop it, which shows awareness of how much power technology has over us. Whether it’s through corporate control or scams.

Thousands of people fall for scams every year, often without even doing anything to set themselves up for it. Scammers can easily steal personal data, leading to people losing their hard-earned savings. The FBI even reports that over $10 billion in consumer funds have been lost to cybercrime fraud. The astonishing number shows just how vulnerable we all are.

In my narrative, the main character’s world is turned upside down when she realizes that her life is repeating itself in an endless loop. Her panic when she realizes her life has changed for the worst mirrors the anxiety many feel when people's lives have been ruined because of scams and other related technology incidents. On January 19,2025 the app TikTok went on a ban and went offline for 12 hours. This ban sent shockwaves through communities of small business owners and content creators who depend on the platform for income. This is proving that government actions on technology can affect our lives.

Ultimately, my product shows that technology, whether managed by companies, exploited by scammers, or regulated by governments can dominate the most important parts of our lives. That’s why it’s so crucial to take steps to protect our personal information and secure our financial security in today’s society that relies on technology more than ever.

 

 • How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of
‘branding’?

My production is a sci‑fi film that mixes futuristic technology  with a style of dark and neon colors. I took ideas from classic sci‑fi looks and built a brand by using those elements of the genre and  glitch effects throughout the film. These glitches represent the futuristic technology  of sci-fi and they show the theme of my product of technology taking control.

In the film, glitches appear in specific scenes to strengthen the story and stress the theme of technology taking over. The glitch appears in the scene when the girl is brushing her teeth and when she is pouring herself a glass of orange juice. These glitches were added to showcase the time loop in the film. It also foreshadows that the girl is stuck in the time loop before she even knows. Since this element is important and seen in the film it is essential for it to be used in my branding. So I decided to create a sense of branding by using this glitch style everywhere in the film’s branding. For example, the movie postcards have glitch designs on both sides, and the website and social media also use this glitch style. All the film’s social media accounts have the same glitch style profile picture and feed. This makes the film more easy to recognize while also connecting a scene from the film. The color scheme is also very important and the product  incorporates the genre elements  I use the dark colors and the bright neon color. This instantly gives off a sci‑fi vibe. This set of colors is used consistently in all the promotional materials.So, the audience can easily connect these colors with the film.

 Overall, using glitch effects and a consistent color scheme creates a sense of branding of the film. That the audience members will be able to recognize and associate the film with.

 • How do your products engage with the audience?

My product connects with the audience by using simple text and music to guide their experience. At the start of my short film, I include text on the screen to provide context and set the stage for the story. The film opens with a scene that displays “March 1 9:00 a.m.” This piece of text immediately grabs the viewer’s attention, inviting them to read and think about its meaning. By presenting this date and time right away, I spark curiosity and encourage the audience to keep watching. This makes the audience wonder how this detail ties into the rest of the film.

 

To make sure the audience really notices the importance of “March 1 9:00 a.m.,” I include the text a second time later in the film. This repetition strengthens the idea that this moment is important  to the story. This makes the viewers look for clues and connections as the story unfolds.

 

In addition to the text, I use music to build suspense and keep the audience engaged. The soundtrack is chosen to match the fast pace of the film, creating an atmosphere of excitement and tension that holds the viewer’s interest. The rhythm and beats work together with the visuals to keep the story moving forward.My product film ending is opening to interpretation of all the events that unfolded. By leaving the audience on a cliff hanger they have the ability to interpret in their own mind on what the story becomes. The end of the film the girl realizes that she is stuck in a time loop and then she wakes up again in her bed where everything started. This ending doesn’t reveal whether the time loop ended or if she is still stuck in the time loop. This makes it engaging for the audience and makes them have the control of what they think happens. 

 

Overall, by combining text, music, and a fast film pace my production creates an engaging experience. These elements work together to draw the audience into the story. Also, intentionally making the story be open to interpretation to start different conspiracies and theories of what the audience believes. This makes them feel involved and eager to discover what happens next.

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

My research played a significant role in making my product and the approach to the product conventions. I spent time studying sci‑fi films and the way they promoted their movies to give me an insightful understanding of the genre. Which immensely helped me understand the key elements that make up genre. The genre consists of futuristic themes, dark visuals, and neon accents.

I use sci fi genre conventions to establish my postcard.  I looked at postcards from films like Divergent and Interstellar that are both films with a sci-fi genre. Their movie film design typically features the main character as the emphasis of their postcard. So, I took inspiration from these examples, and I created my own postcard that not only follows this convention but also adds unique touches of my film. My unique touches included the glitch effects. These glitches symbolize the malfunctioning and the unpredictable nature of technology. Which ties directly with my film’s theme about technology taking control. In this way, my research helped me incorporate the conventions of the genre and use my own ideas.

The soundtrack of my film was also heavily inspired by the music conventions in the sci-fi genre. The short film 9 uses suspenseful and mysterious music to draw the audience in. Taking from that, I used a soundtrack that builds those same feelings and included the music into my opening scenes. Additionally, while sci‑fi films often rely on dark atmospheric lighting to create a mysterious vibe, I used a dark lighting filter over my film to capture this effect. I did challenge the convention of the film by using another  music in my film that was not in the sci-fi genre. I used horror music as well as sci-fi music in my film. This decision does challenge the convention. However, it effectively increased the suspense and made the scene of the moment more intense. I used the horror music on the scene when the girl realized she is living the same moments again because it showcased the girl's fear and panic of the event.If I were to use a sci-fi music track for that scene it wouldn’t  capture that feeling of fear and panic  like the horror music did.

Overall, my research informed me on many aspects of my product from the design of the postcard to the choice of music and lighting in the film. By studying existing conventions, I was able to make a product that has conventions of sci‑fi. While offering a different convention into my film. This blend of using the conventions and challenging the conventions has made my work become the best version. It allows the audience to experience conventions from sci-fi genre and conventions from the horror genre. In the end, the research done helped establish the conventions I used in my product.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xnd2I53nu5P6H9mXQ1KmX77Ul8jALeE-ZEFqR6ibx3M/edit?usp=sharing