Starting My CCR!!

    Since I'm almost done with the whole film, it's time to start planning for my Creative Critical Reflection! I'm planing on doing a podcast for questions 1 and 2 and a director's commentary for questions 3 and 4. 

The first question we are meant to answer for the CCR is: How does your product use or challenge conventions and how does it represent social groups or issues? Here's the script I wrote to answer this question:

Isa: Hello! Welcome back to another episode of The Film (In)sights in which we tell YOU which new sights are coming soon. I'm Isa and today I have a very special guest with me, the filmmaker of the remarkable new film, Am I To Blame. Welcome Gabriela Espitia!  

Gaby: Hi! Thank you so much for having me! 

Isa: Yeah no of course, we are so glad you found time to be here cause I know it gets busy around these times.

Gaby: Yeah it really does, but no matter how busy I get, I’m always so happy to talk about something I put so much time and effort on. 

Isa: I’m so glad to hear that, but before we dive [music fades in] in I just want to thank Uniting Families for sponsoring this episode. They are offering a 20% discount of the original price of their family counseling. Use the code FILM INSIGHTS20 (all capitals) when you go to make an appointment. This can truly help with any obstacles your family encounters. [music fades out] Alright now tell me, your film Am I To Blame is a coming of age, am I right about that?

Gaby: You sure are. 

Isa: So how did you follow the conventions of this widespread genre? Because there’s a lottt of boxes to fill.

Gaby: Yeah so coming of age films include like the stereotypical characters like the jock, the IT girl, the nerd, and the outcast to name a few. But I decided to stir away from that a little and focus more on self growth and development of my main character, Layla, instead of following more common tropes such as first love or friendships and show her journey as she is coping with the death of her little brother, Liam, while having no support herself since her parents are always arguing causing her to turn to alcohol as her only coping mechanism. It’s very common for these films to open with a scene in which a voiceover is used to introduce the main character and what they’re going through, but I had minimal dialogue as I wanted to let visual storytelling carry all the emotions throughout the opening scene. 

Isa: So your film isn’t going to be like other coming of age films? That sounds exciting! I can’t wait to watch it. 

Gaby: Thank you!

Isa: In regard to your main character, ….Layla right?

Gaby: Yea Layla

Isa: Ok so how does she represent a social group or how will people connect with her?

Gaby: I think a really important part of the film that shows how teenagers are is when she takes out the alcohol from her drawer because it is very representative of how teens tend to hide a lot of what they do when they know they shouldn't be doing it or it's not right. My overall idea with Layla was to make her as relatable as possible to people who are struggling with their mental health and going through alcohol abuse and addiction who feel like they are alone with no support. It could also even connect with someone struggling with suicidal thoughts, as they might feel connected to Liam even if he isn’t shown in screen, he is still such an important character in my film because the whole story basically revolves around what happened to him. 

Isa: So we know that Liam committed suicide, but does the film ever explain what exactly it is that happened to him?

Gaby: That’s a great question actually. So what I did with Liam’s story is that I incorporated the Narrative Codes theory by Roland Barthes, specifically the Enigma Code, which holds information from the viewer to develop mystery and leave a plot point unexplained. I did this because personally, I really enjoy it when films don’t explain everything and they leave some parts for the viewers to make an image of what could have happened based on what they see in the film. 

Isa: That sounds really interesting. I can tell that you put a lot of thought into this film.

Gaby: Yea I really put my best work towards creating it and I really hope the viewers will enjoy it like I do.

Isa: I’m sure we all will!