CR

 AICE Media Studies CR 

·      How do your products represent social groups or issues?

o   While my product doesn’t necessarily represent social groups, it does bring attention to the irritating yet common issues that the customer service sector experiences in a lighthearted way. Unfortunately, this field is commonly ignored as a whole and is left in its highly flawed state, letting an abundance of troubles stir up and getting worse over time without being fixed. In this type of industry, there always seems to be a problem between the caller and representative. At least once in a person’s life, they will have to deal with one of these customer help lines. Obviously, this is considered quite the irritating experience for many individuals. There can be a lot of communication issues and misunderstanding, leading to frustration and a feeling of time being wasted. Sometimes, the representative might not understand the caller. Other times, there’s connectivity issues and long wait times. Nobody enjoys being on hold for more than a few minutes, especially when help lines can have wait times up to more than an hour. For example, in my product there was a scene where the character “Gabe” states that he’d been on hold for many hours. He also mentions that he keeps getting transferred between lines because nobody’s able to help him. While this is supposed to be funny in the product, it’s a very real issue that is a displeasing experience in real life. It brings attention to this commonly ignored problem in the real world. Customer service lines are incredibly important and there needs to be a reform on how this type of service is operated. My product does just that by bringing to attention how bothersome the imperfect customer service system works, reminding viewers of their own life experiences with it and making them think about how it must be rectified. Hopefully, it will spark a motivation in its viewers to try and make a change and bring more awareness to this issue. 

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

In order to create a sense of branding for “Customer Service,” I had to research what creates a sense of branding for a film or any other type of media product. These elements are majorly made up by the way a production is marketed, incorporating its main genre or theme into it. They typically manifest as postcards and trailers. For my production, I researched movie postcards and created one of my own to essentially brand my production. Color schemes are also an important element of branding, so I made sure to put some attention and care into that. “Customer Service” is a five minute short comedy film about a man who is having computer issues deciding to contact the tech support line, however, he encounters numerous issues throughout the conversations with employees. Keeping the tech related theme in mind, I decided to go with a color scheme of blues and greys to represent old Windows software. For example, the postcard was modeled to resemble a Windows PC screen and error messages. The front of the postcard contained a 90’s or vintage computer screen and a headset on it to contribute to the theme. The back of the postcard was the Windows screen, more specifically, a program that resembled MS Paint. It also had a large error message that stated showing dates and times. These elements of the production create a sense of branding because it markets the production’s technology themes and allow the viewers to get an idea on what it’s about. As for the production itself, the film elements such as the lighting and writing create a sense of branding because they establish a sort of film style. To further elaborate on this, the mostly unedited lighting and filming style shows how the film is supposed to feel homey and natural. 

·      How do your products engage with the audience?

o   The product engages with the audience by using relevant humor and being relatable to a wider range of viewers. While the humor is very 2010s-2020s based and targeted mainly towards children and younger teens, the entire basis of the product can be more engaging to an audience of older folks, particularly adults. As said previously, the majority of people have had to call a representative on a customer service support line. The fact that this is the main theme of the product instantly makes it relatable to millions of people worldwide, allowing for amazing audience engagement. Viewers enjoy watching something that they can apply to their personal lives and their experiences. Luckily for them, that is exactly what this product is good for. Not only the theme, but the main character in the product is relatable as well. “Gabe,” played by his real-life counterpart, is a portrayal of the average working adult; he’s the “average Joe.” The kind of person that works a 9-5 and is mentally drained and exhausted. Surely, many viewers can see a part or the entirety of themselves in this character. That is what makes him likeable and engaging to the audience, as they will feel an emotional connection to him. The product’s way of storytelling is also engaging because it’s real; the conversations don’t feel artificial, but natural. This contributes to the relatable feeling it’s supposed to give. Put simply, audiences will be engaged with the product and thoroughly enjoy it because it shows a realistic part of everyday life for many people in a humorous way, creating an immersive experience that makes the audience feel understood while also bringing to light the imperfections of customer service lines. 

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

o   My research informed my products by allowing me to gain the knowledge on what makes a short film or production a great one. I discovered that a variety of angles are quite useful for adding visual diversity to a film and making it more interesting for the viewer(s). As a result, me and my team made our best attempts to implement these principles and incorporate multiple angles into our production. However, by doing this, we greatly challenged the typical conventions of film. We did not use the classical archetypes of the Dutch angle or long shot angle, but we created our own angles that are unique to this particular field. We used close ups in strange angles, a notable example would be 0.5 lens pictures that the youth often take. We also challenged conventions by ignoring them completely. According to my research, I found that a successful film must stand out from the rest and be different in order to gain plenty of traction. Typical conventions would state that visual quality of a short film must be top tier. My film product challenged this convention through a lack of excessive editing and refining. The majority of the time, one would see a product that appears to be as if it was created by professionals in a studio. My product may not have this quality, but that is for a reason. My team and I wanted to make things feel more authentic and real and less artificial and standardized. This would create an inviting and comfortable atmosphere for viewers and add on to the relatable themes explored in the product. Overall, my research informed my products and the way they challenged conventions by showing me how to make a product that is truly unique.