Critical Reflection

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

The main thing we wanted to tackle in the short film was the issue of addiction. With our whole film being centered around gambling and how that can affect a person’s family and life, showing the disarray and the issues it was causing in that family dynamic, was very important. The inclusion of the fight between Jackie and her mom was a cornerstone to conveying this, working with the viewer to understand how Jackie has been working on her issues for a while, to the point where the ones around her can no longer support her. One of the most impactful lines in the short film that I feel really exemplifies this is The very first dialogue in the film, where Jackie says that she has been trying to get better but it has been hard without the people she loves supporting her. Especially with addiction, support is sometimes the only thing that family members or friends of someone who is suffering can really give. However, the support Jackie feels she needs and the support Jackie's move can give are wildly differing. Jackie's mom shows support in encouraging Jackie to stop drinking and gambling, taking off the added pressure of financial insecurity and cleanliness. In Jackie not feeling supported, she feels scared, especially because she knows her issues are the root of her insecurity and instability, leading her to spiral further into her addiction. In this film, addiction is what is driving the story, what leads Jackie to the lowest point of her life.

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

With our branding, we wanted to really play into the cards that we were using for gambling. When looking at our postcard the front of the design has iconography similar to a normal deck of playing cards. The spade in the corner, the image of a jack, and a deck of cards helped us to tie the concept together. Because our short film so heavily focuses on gambling and its effects, when somebody would see our postcard, or trailer, or websites and social media, it needed to be clear that there would be a lot of play into cards and gambling. We even chose to use the juxtaposition of black and red in our texts, bringing out the color play seen in a deck of cards. The postcard itself was also seen as being similar to the letter that Jackie receives. we wanted the viewer to feel invited to come and see just how destructive something like addiction and struggling could be. Throughout Jackie’s story, a huge focus was showing the negative effects of gambling. Through her struggle with addiction, she used drinking and gambling as coping mechanisms for when other events in her life went wrong. With something like a fight with her mom, she turned heavily into gambling, using it as an escape and an outlet, especially when she was being temptingly invited. With this postcard, we wanted to use it in the same way that Jackie's red-letter was to her, tempting them to come and fall deeper into the rabbit hole of addiction and struggles.

How do your products engage with the audience?

So many people, around the world, and of all ages, deal with or know someone who is currently dealing with addiction. Whether it is something like drinking or gambling, or something wildly different, addiction has plagued society. In this short film, we wanted to look at just how far someone can go once spiraling deeper and deeper into this unhealthy coping mechanism. struggling with addiction can be such a personal thing for many people, especially when bringing up thoughts and showing behaviors of someone who is so actively struggling. But, because of the nature of our film, it was imperative to us that we show the negative effects that a struggle with addiction can come with. Moreover, it was important for us to show that recovering from addiction is not a straight path. In the first minute of the film, Jackie mentions that she has been trying to work on recovering and stopping the dangerous behaviors that she has been doing. This fight with her mom, in addition to the trigger through the red invitation, pushed her away from trying to get better. Instead, she fell deeper and deeper, to a point where it would be credibly hard to come back from. For many, addiction is not necessarily as clearly harmful as it is with Jackie. But, playing with the fear and the issues that have played Jackie and how that can lead to someone doing things that they would’ve never thought of doing, it’s something that we feel so many people deal with and can relate to. Having such a relatable topic, allows our audience to better understand our film. It allows the viewer to put themselves in the same situation that Jackie goes through, and related it to other experiences in their lives. because so many people have struggled with addiction or know someone who struggled with addiction, it makes our film that much more memorable to someone who has been deeply affected by it.

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

Once it was decided that we were going to be making a drama, we spent a long time going through and looking at other drama movies and short films. We wanted to see what the conventions were for this genre of film and we wanted to decide what exactly it was that we wanted to employ in our own film. while we use conventions, in showing the fights between Jackie and her mom, and showing how something as commonplace as making sure the house is clean and the bills are paid, can lead to someone spiraling into addiction, which is a topic heavily covered in dramas. We do move away from conventions, however, When nearing the climax of the film. Most of the short film was focused on Jackie herself and what she would do and how she reacts to certain situations. There wasn’t as much of a focus on the other people involved in her life, as we sign many dramas, where The story of several different characters would be explored. At about the last minute we leaned away from drama and pushed more into the conventions of a psychological thriller. The audience doesn’t find out what jack you bet or the effects of her actions until they come, and something as extreme as putting your family's life over a game of blackjack, it’s not something that is necessarily seen in everyday life as is the focus in dramas. Jackie begins her descent into madness as soon as she decides to go all-in on the cards. And she is truly seen as going bad when after she hears the screams of her mom, she begins laughing. With dramas, there’s typically a “good ending,” where the issue was resolved, and the characters begin to rebuild their trust in one another. But because Jackie had gone so far into addiction and was so desperate, she did not get that same chance at redemption that is seen in many dramas.

Until next time, Danniella Miller signing off.