CCR - CCR # 77

 

CCR

It was also established that there will be the moment in any creative process that you stop, stand aside and really look at what you have created. It is at the point that you understand that the journey is as important as the end product. That is where I am at present. Echoes in The Seat is finished. What started as a concept gradually turned into a short movie about grief, loss and silent emotional rooms that come after the tragedy. It is about a teenage boy that is referred to as Rafa by my friend who goes back to a park after he lost his best friend, Madison. He sits in a lonely bench thinking before leaving behind him a note. The last scene is when Madison shows up and finds the letter, which supports the message of the film: there is nothing wrong about being not okay, and one always has a way out.

The only part of the process was to complete the film. Critical Creative Reflection calls out a further analysis such as not only of the created, but of how and why we created it. Now that I can clearly understand that the movie is a social grouping, and a social issue, the aspects of production combined to create a coherent sense of identity, how we stimulated our audience with emotions and social issues, and how research underpinned our choices and gave us the freedom to both conform and break the norms.

Since the start, we planned to be represented. What we did not want to come up with is something shallow or less memorable. We had a desire to tell a story that bore some truths especially those who are going through grief especially at a young age. In its bareness, Echoes in the Seat is about teenagers and emotions after loss. The character of Rafa has no name in the film. That choice was deliberate. In not providing him any definite identity we had enabled him to be universal. He can be used to symbolize all people who have gone through hard times of losing or having no one. This method makes the movie friendlier to viewers since they can relate his experiences to theirs.

Mental health is also one of the problems of our project. Although the cause of the death of Madison is not explicitly observed by the movie, we deliberately suggest that she could have committed suicide. It was not an impetuous choice. The responsibility of media who represent suicide is extremely high, and these are the responsibilities of the media who represent the youths. It is possible that a serious subject will be glamorized, simplified, or mishandled. That was a danger that we were aware of. That is why we did not dramatize but rather tried to be subtle. We did not want to demonstrate any graphic descriptions or clear elaborations. Rather, we depended upon mood, silence and emotional expression. The melancholy in the pose of Rafa, the inanimate park, all the weight of the letter all indicate loss without beating about it.

Our conduct in approaching the subject matter was thus intended to manifest the reality of grief as we are meant to feel it, rather than the spectacle of grief. Suicide is the riddle to unravel or the dramatic twist to the storyline full of shock in numerous movies. We have strategically shunned that style. We did not focus on the "why." We did not give dramatic flashback and confronted dialogue. We did not do this; but left the absence itself to have a meaning. The approach honors the intricacy of mental health struggles and would not simplify them to easy explanations.

Having the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in the end of the movie further helps to reinforce this image. The fact that suicide is among the major causes of death amongst the youth in the United States is pre-emptive and renders the issue incontrovertible. The addition of the hotline behind the text, It is okay not to be okay, gave the film an even stronger impact that does not rely on the narrative. We provided an empirical resource. The representation is best materialized when it is not just a replication of the experience but also, in providing support. Through this, we were able to recognize the heavy nature of the subject matter coupled with strengthening hope and assistance.

Trying to think over how the elements of production made a sense of identity, I understood that branding is not the part of a corporation or large-sized production only. However, in spite of being students ourselves, we acquired a particular tone and personality of our project. Titles are an element of the reflective mood, as the name of the work itself, Echoes in the Seat, creates. The bench serves practically as a character a witness to recollection and sorrow without utterance. The word echoes connotes persistence, which serves to add weight to the notion that even when one is no longer there his or her influence lives on.

Filming was an enormous contribution in this identity. The dimmatic light and low colors were used to capture the depressing mood. Extreme shots of Rafa sitting alone want to stress his loneliness, whereas close-ups ensure minor emotional variations. We did not use extreme camera shots or fancied angles. Rather, the images are stable and serene and support the reflective quality of the film.

Sound designing also adds to this unity of identity. We did not use dramatical music so much, we just listened. There is realism caused by the slight sound of wind, remote nature and background noise. There is understated music when the music is played. This choice corresponds to our desire to depict depression without the gesture. In editing option was the same philosophy. We did not use fast-fades or flashy effects. Scenes linger. Shots hold. The rhythm is reminiscent of the heavy determination of loss processing.

This identity was also extended to our social media presence. The Instagram account created by Rafa as a part of the project consisted of posts that were in the same tone as the film. Behind the scenes pictures, still pictures that created the anticipation though the same visual consistency was present.

Another important part of our work was the involvement of the audience. To make the viewers interested is one thing; to emotionally commit with them is another. Every person experiences grief and it is that universality which establishes an immediate bond. Giving a stark, familiar picture of loss, we made the viewers think about their experiences. The movie does not inform viewers on how they ought to feel, rather it challenges people to read through.

The participatory of the audience was one more important part of our work. Entertaining viewers is not about capturing the imagination of the viewers, but about involving them emotionally. Grief is universal and the same fact generates instantaneous connection. By providing an intimate but familiar image of grief, we prompted the audience to contemplate their own lives. The movie does not inform viewers about the proper way of feeling; it incites the viewers to make interpretations.

There is a lot of ambiguity in this engagement. The entrance of Madison at the end is suspicious. Is she real, Is she imagined, Does the scene belong to memory, closure or otherwise. With such questions left open, we invite further thinking to the viewer after viewing the film. It is also interactive as the viewer seeks to digest and make interpretation on his own as the frame concludes.

Social media also fortified this relationship. The content of the behind-the-scenes captured the interest of the followers who were able to see the process and not just the result. They were able to observe the cooperation, the difficulties, and the advancement. This openness created expectation and engagement. At the release of the film, the audience felt that they were part of the film making process. This engagement was also facilitated by the blogs that I used when writing, in the process. They wrote not only the production reports but also personal reports. The readers were not simply watching a project, but rather tracing a journey.

The project was informed by research in both direct and indirect ways. Although I did not engage in any serious scholarly research, I noticed how the grieving process was discussed in other short films and coming-of-age dramas. Most of them were based on the involvement of heavy songs, observable disintegration, and explicit conversation on feelings. I have been aware of these conventions and made a deliberate choice to break out of them. I desired it to be simple and true to life. True sorrow is mostly witnessed through quietness and not through speeches.

We also discussed the concept of the support resource in the mental health campaigns. Others are not attached to the story, and others are drawn to it unconsciously. Having our message and a hotline be at the emotional end of the film, we made sure that it was not forced on the viewer. Our promotional strategy was also affected by research on social media strategies. The significant experience we gained by watching other independent creators was that the audience values authenticity and process. This knowledge influenced our presentation of the project on the Internet.

Creative decisions were also determined through practical studies of our weekly limitations. We operated on minimal equipment and non-professional actors. We adopted minimalism instead of trying out something that was beyond our capabilities. The silent approach was appropriate to our resources as well as our message. Weaknesses were turned into strengths.

When I look back at all this process, I can observe how all the creative decisions, representation, aesthetic consistency, audience engagement, and informed decision making are interconnected. All these aspects are not placed separately. They support one another. Representation shaped tone. Tone shaped branding. Branding shaped engagement. Interaction made the message leave the screen.

This reflection writing has enabled me to look at what we have done in its full beauty. Echoes in the Seat is no ordinary school work. It is a symbol of development, partnership and deliberate narrations. It is a sign of approaching a serious problem and treating them carefully. It is a say to know that being creative means being responsible.

Above all, it is a symbol of association. Relation amongst characters. Association among creators. Relation of the film to the audience. It might be just the bench in the park which is left empty by the end but the echoes are still there, echoes of friendship, grief, and strength.

The project is complete. I have also realized through this process that meaningful storytelling entails intentionality of every choice. Each shot, each silence, each post in social media made the single whole. I am proud to have created what we did and proud to have thought about each phase.