{"id":13,"date":"2026-02-25T09:19:57","date_gmt":"2026-02-24T20:19:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/madisyn-atkinson2026\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2026-10-05T11:50:20","modified_gmt":"2026-10-04T22:50:20","slug":"critical-reflection","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mediastudies.pinehurst.school.nz\/madisyn-atkinson2026\/critical-reflection\/","title":{"rendered":"Critical Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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CCR Essay <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Madisyn\u2019s A2 Media Reflection essay  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My team produced and directed a short film called \u201cHost\u201d. The movie revolves around a wealthy teenager, James, who invited his friends over to watch the basketball game, whilst his parents are away. Unfortunately, the night turns dire as there is a series of unexplained killings that happen throughout the night. The mystery\/thriller genre was selected as it creates suspense and is designed to encourage the audience to question the motives of each character. The theme of declining mental health and obsession is gradually revealed through the actions of Bianca, allowing the audience to reconsider their assumptions about both groups’ relationships and trust overall. That also connects to the target audience which is teenagers of all genders, it may further engage an Auckland or New Zealand based audience due to it being local to that area.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For my major task, I took leadership in the roles of overseeing the planning and production of the film, a concept designed and inspired by my childhood favourite game Cluedo. I developed the original idea, created the shot list, contributed to the script and character development, secured the filming location and original cast. The short list improved efficiency during filming, although I remained flexible as new ideas emerged. I also led the visual development of the storyline by sourcing props, including the fake blood, a wrench, candlestick, rope and iconic red heels that is also in our production logo. These all helped to strengthen the mystery and thriller aesthetic. In addition, I designed characters costumes and created mood boards to establish their personalities. These responsibilities gave me a greater understanding of how production planning and visual elements enhance storytelling. Filming presented several challenges, particularly coordinating a large cast with conflicting schedules. My most significant challenge however was working with a partner who had different skills, approaches and expectations around completing tasks. While we shared the same goal differences in time management sometimes showed  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our film represents a range of social groups including youth culture, mental health, gender bias and social class and wealth, and the issues by challenging the social norms and stereotypes. The main characters are portrayed as wealthy teenagers who appear carefree, privileged, and secure, yet their expensive clothing, large home, and comfortable lifestyles fail to protect them from fear, betrayal, or violence. This reflects the idea that wealth does not guarantee happiness or safety and that people who appear to “have everything” can still experience insecurity and hidden struggles. It explores themes of trust and betrayal within friendship groups, showing how fear quickly causes suspicion and conflict between close friends, an example of this is at (3:20) when James and Jax and fighting and trying to firgure out who the killer. James’ lack of common sense and the group’s sheltered behaviour reinforce stereotypes of privileged teenagers, while also creating dramatic tension. Bianca initially conforms to the stereotype of a caring, supportive girlfriend through her calmness and concern for James during the moments we built tension, but the final reveal subverts audience expectations by exposing her as the murderer, challenging assumptions about gender and highlighting themes of jealousy, obsession, and the hidden impact of poor mental health in young people. This twist also comments on aspects of patriarchal society, where female characters are often underestimated or viewed as less threatening.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Host was designed to engage a teenage audience through distinct characters, mystery and action conventions, and an unexpected female antagonist. Familiar stereotypes make the characters immediately understandable, including James as the wealthy but naive host. Julian as the intelligent \u201cnerd\u201d, Jax as sporty, Leo as calm and ordinary, and Kai as the mysterious outsider. The film challenges typical representations by revealing Bianca as the murderer, subverting the expectoration that the killer will be male. Genre conventions such as suspense, isolated locations, disappearances, weapons and clues encourage audiences to reconsider earlier events after the reveal. Feedback also helped us to improve pacing, sequencing and clarity.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The representation established in Host was continued across my two minor tasks, an Instagram page and a promotional postcard, so that the audience could recognise the characters, genre and overall identity of the film before watching it. On Instagram, I used images and promotional content to reinforce the wealthy teenage setting and the mystery surrounding the characters, while also using the platform because it is highly relevant to my teenage target audience. The posts assisted introduce the characters more broadly, allowing audiences to become familiar with them and their relationships, before viewing it. The postcard similarly used visual conventions associated with the mystery genre, such as darker imagery, suspicious clues and references to the characters, creating curiosity without revealing who was the killer. This was designed to help the audience make connections between these forms of representation and the film itself, helping build suspense in the mystery genre. The use of selected imagery in the sences at the time \u201c4:19\u201d was used to establish interest and intrigue and to encourage the audience to question “who did it”.  Research into film marketing and social media promotion informed my decision to use Instagram for reaching a younger audience, while research into existing mystery and thriller film posters helped influence the visual style of the postcard advertisment.  However, the minor tasks could have been more successful if they included a greater variety of content, more frequent updates and greater audience interaction with the use of feedback opportunities on Instagram. Overall, both products successfully extended the representation and mystery established in the major task creating an overall promotional package aimed at our target audience, was engaging and helped build anticipation without giving away the final twist.    <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The branding across \u201cHost\u201d was designed to create a consistent mysterious, dark and suspenseful tone across the short film, Instagram page and promotional postcard. I used dark colours, dramatic imagery and a consistent visual style to reflect the mystery action genre and make the three products more recognisable as part of the same media package. In the film, these choices are shown through the dark house setting, blood, weapons and recurring red sparkly heels, which became a visual symbol connected to Bianca and created intrigue around the murders. The Instagram page continued this branding though similar colours, imagery, character references, clues and behind the scenes content, allowing audiences to make connections. The postcard also used dark colours and dramatic imagery to create curiosity while promoting “Host\u201d without revealing the killer. Research into professional mystery such as and thriller campaigns influenced such as Smile and Smile 2 my choices, while peer and teacher feedback helped improve consistency. Overall, the branding created a cohesive identity that represented the mystery genre and engaged my target audience.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research was very important in developing both my tasks. For my minor task the Instagram page and promotional post card, I researched many Instagram pages took got inspiration on what to post, specifically looking at Netflix’s Instagram page. For the postcard I took inspiration from Hunger Games and La La Land postcards to help form and the tones and colours I should use to connect to the major task and convey meaning. To inspire my major task, I watched many short films such as \u201cOther side of the box\u201d and \u201cAlexia\u201d which are award winning films. I applied these conventions in \u201cHost\u201d through the unexplained disappearance of Leo, Kai being found in the bathroom, the security alarm, the hockey stick attack, as well as the repeated appearance of Bianca\u2019s red sparkly heels. These clues give the audience clues while still making them question who the killer is. I also employed typical conventions of a short film, keeping the storyline focused on a small group of characters and one location, allowing the narrative to build quickly towards the final reveal. However, I challenged conventions by making Bianca, a female killer, rather than following the \u201csocial norms\u201d of the killer being a male. My character development had connotations of being wealthy, rather than using a more typical or isolated vulnerable group, helped to create a more mysterious setting.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My project developed a short film called \u201cHost\u201d alongside two minor promotional tasks, an Instagram page and a promotional postcard. The film explored obsession, trust, betrayal, friendship, wealth, mental health and gender representation. I aimed to challenge the gender bias that a murderer is usually male while creating mystery through clues, suspense and plot twists. Throughout the process, I learnt planning, research, audience feedback and collaboration. Research helped me understand how mystery films create suspense through clues, misdirection and controlled narrative, while feedback identified areas to improve pacing and sequencing. The strongest aspect was the final reveal, As the red sparkly keels and clues became more meaningful. Overall, the three products created a consistent identity for \u201cHost\u201d and engaged my teenage target audience.  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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