CCR Question Two

How does your product engage with audiences and how would it be distributed as a real media text?

Is the second question I must answer for the Creative Critical Reflection.

Talking Points:

Q: How, would you say, does your product engage with audiences and how do you think it would be distributed as a real media text?

A: Well, the first thing I must address is the target audience. The majority of thrillers are aimed towards people-

Q: I would hope so.

A: -of all genders, aged 18-50. However, due to the number of subgenres under the thriller genre, this varies. I would say that A Major Flat is geared primarily towards males that are18-30 years of age. This is because of the all-male cast. I feel as if most women would not feel as connected to the story's premise of a group of teenage boys starting a band as much as men would, since the "high school garage band" trope is more common among men in real life. I would know, I've met these guys, and they starred in A Major Flat.

Q: I guess casting must have been easy then.

A: Well, I did already have them in mind while making A Major Flat. But "The Treblemakers" are pretty much the eviler version of the real life band.

Q: Right, well it's in the name, "Troublemakers".

A: Exactly!

A: So, the engagement with the audience stems slightly from nostalgia, or at least a fantasy. I think most people dream of becoming rich and famous, and again, males seem drawn to electric guitars blasting in a garage, so seeing, at least at first, a group of high-schoolers getting together and forming a band would ring a bell for the audience members like, "Oh, I remember starting a garage band," or "I used to want to be in a band back in high school." Another element that I think would engage the male audience more, which is why I chose the genre to be a thriller is the violence. While violence isn't shown in the opening—it's only the aftermath, having the first part of the movie insinuated that a violent act occurred, it also implies that the rest of the movie will have people being beat up.

Q: So you're telling me men are bloodthirsty

A: I never said that, but...maybe. At least it's more tolerable according to...statistics.

Q: What about for A Major Flat's distribution?

A: If I were to distribute this like a real media text, I think the easiest technique would be to upload it onto YouTube. 

Q: Well yes.

A: It’s the most accessible not only because of its simplicity in uploading content, and low price, but also the use of hashtags to categorize the film opening in a way that the target audience will find it via the algorithm. Also, according to Pew Research, 85% of adults use YouTube, which is a higher percentage than Instagram or Facebook. In fact, 93% of adults 18-29 use YouTube in the U.S.. Our target audience is definitely using that service.

Aside from YouTube, film festivals are our other option. The biggest names would be Sundance, Telluride, and Toronto International Film Festival. To submit our film into the Sundance Film Festival, the fee would be around $80, due to it likely going over 60 minutes, in the U.S. Narrative Feature Films category (according to their official Submissions FAQ.)

https://www.sundance.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/2026_Submissions_FAQ-1.pdf

Moreover, the FAQ states, "Completed films that have been or will have been exhibited theatrically or otherwise made available to the general public... prior to February 2, 2026 are not eligible to submit to this category." This would mean that Sundance would be our first screening, ever. We wouldn't be able to submit it to another film festival or upload it onto YouTube before the date.

Though, I am set on uploading it to YouTube, but I'll just have to wait until after the festival. Same goes for other film submissions.

For Telluride, the submission includes a fee of $35 (for student films, which we are,) and sharing it through Vimeo during the submission window. This is also all according to their website

https://passes.telluridefilmfestival.org/filmsubmission.

To submit to Toronto International Film Festival, the International fee, because we're American, is $120. That brings our total to $235 to distribute our film.

Q: Are there any other film festivals you would submit A Major Flat to?

A: Now, our local options include Miami Film Festival and our high school's own Lightning Film Festival. These are our best bets for our submission actually being exhibited after shooting for the stars. 

I just hope our film doesn't fall… Flat.

A Major Flat…

Q: That wasn't funny

A: Okay