Critical Reflection

 this is my critical reflection my whole media studies project 

CR 1	How do your products represent social groups or issues?
CR 2	How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?
CR 3	How do your products engage with the audience?
CR 4	How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

We as students of media studies were told to create a 5 minute documentary based off crime genre. Me and my group decided to title it Final Bell : Thirteen Seconds, this was about a troubled student who got left out in a group and decided to terrorize her classmate and best friends

Branding helps people expect the things that they are about to see in our documentary video, its important to use branding and for example in our video, our group created two things such as the thumbnail which had most of the important actors who were shown in black and white and face blurred out, this is in fact called a hermeneutic code, this makes an expectation to the audience that something is going to happen to them, since they were portrayed this way Our video really focuses on the dangers of bullying and how such little things such as just simply mocking one another can lead to something big and dangerous, and according to stuart halls reception theory people will perceive media differently based on how they experienced it but in this case we tried to show the dominant reading, showing that bullying can be deadly if it affects the wrong person.

My group and I researched deeply into crime documentaries and most of them have some common conventions or features, for example real footage, police involved, interviews. In our project documentary we decided that we follow those conventions but also subvert the actors. In a normal conforming documentary, they always show the criminals or bad guys as this evil, masculine, no sympathy person. In our documentary we decided to subvert and to make the criminal more of an innocent popular girl who is deeply hurt and troubled. It challenges the usual stereotype of “only men can bomb and terrorize other people” and this shows that the girl are always weak and have no power or control. In our documentary it shows that girls are also capable of this.

Our target audience for our documentary is most definitely teenagers ranging from the age of 15 to 18 plus, teachers preferably high school teachers and parents. We chose this as our target audience because our main focus in our documentary is a group of teenage girls and it is in a school environment which would explain why teachers and students are our target audience, bullying is also a common incident that happens these days among teenagers. Secondly, why we chose parents as a target audience is because the whole message of this documentary was about keeping your children away from toxic environments that involve bullying, so that it won't turn into something worse. 

In our documentary there are mainly teachers and students. The victims of the poison gas were shown as friendly, loving and innocent people, they were friends with the suspect and they seemed like a family, very caring towards each other. In this documentary they were portrayed as a happy group of friends which shows the audience that they have a strong bond, However the suspect remains a mystery and only known as the troubled girl. The teachers that were interviewed was shown at a professional manner but Ms Vina which is one of the teachers that was close to the suspect was shown as a more emotional more open character showing empathy for the victims and confusion towards the suspect, because Ms Vina always thought that the suspect is a sweet loving girl and that she would never do that. This makes the audience feel empathy for the teacher and the victims that were involved but also feel skeptical towards who was to blame for the cause of the incident.

Edit

 this canva was made by tisha and she done the editing

Pre-production: Editing by Jyotisha

Thumbnail (research & development)

 this canva about thumbnail (research & development) which was done by Tisha and Kristine

Here is a presentation about the thumbnails.

Thumbnail Research & Development by Jyotisha

Statement Of Intent

this is for statement of intent which we did it together

Statement of Intent 

Sub-genre (crime)
Mass Murder	Mass murder means it may affect a lot of people / a majority which makes it interesting to talk about as we can talk about the correlation between the people who died in the crime scene and the bomber itself.
Topic
School bombing
Primary Target Audience
Demographic Teenagers to young adult (15-25), can be in high school or even a university student	Reason Because not only the documentary will be majorly focused on bombing, but also talks about the school environment itself that creates these types of events from happening which will make them most likely to be interested as well these people are familiar with school setting which can stand out more.
Psychographic Interest in plot twist / shock factor  True Crime Analysis	Reason The plot of the documentary story contains a plot twist of who the bomber is which will be good for people who enjoy plot twists as these people would want to be more engaged emotionally. The documentary itself will contain real footage and a complex story line of the situation which with a true crime audience who enjoys analysis would suit this as this will make them curious and wanting to know what happened and who did it.
Message (Dominant Reading)
Do not trust anyone around you.	This message talks about how the most unexpected people who may be someone you know have another side of them that you don't know at all. This explains it is better to be cautious because we don't know what will happen.
Characters
Students / Teachers Detectives Police
Representations (groups, places, events)
Groups: Student, Detectives (authority), School counselor (Teacher)  Places: School environment Events: School bombing	Reason The documentary represents students as the groups because the students will be the main focus of this documentary as the plot twist of the main story is the student who made this school bombing happen.  A school counselor is the closest to an adult that is close to students, as they are the ones who would ask and try to understand students. By having the school counselor to be represented in this documentary it shows the awareness of teachers with students actions and attitude but sometimes a teacher doesn’t know a full story or what has made them change. The detectives or an authority gives an outside perspective that does not only talk about the victims but also the suspects from this documentary. This shows how even if it happens at school it becomes a more serious matter that the impact has affected a wider community.  The school environment helps in making the story to be more believable as it happens at a school. The school as well symbolises a place where it is safe and full of life because there are a lot of children but with this context it will be a very big contrast. This also allows our audience group may feel a sense of relatability as they know the feeling of being in a classroom which can make them feel more emotional about it.  This documentary represents the event of school attacks which specifically talks about school bombing, where it shows how the event has escalated to something that was up until it was too much.
What will be the hook? (The mystery that keeps audiences watching)
The person wasn’t someone that the audience would expect, no signs that the person would actually be the one bombing as the person was the complete opposite of what a bomber would do.

Ideas that we had while making the statement of intent: 

School bombing

• Random new student come to classroom then it blows up

• There's a twist it could be not the random new student 

• Who bomb: Funny kid = girl / boy 

• Smart girl -> downfall -> become competitive (stressful) -> new kid comes in -> have a connection new kid and girl -> 

• reason : academic fails, downfall, family problem, drug related 

• Bomber could be in a cult (have a secret background) 

• Detective check 

• Social media is use

• Downfall -> mental illness -> get revenge 

• Abusive parents, take wrong medicine, makes her crazy 

What to add part of the 

• Explain the history of the whole point of school (montage of happy people in school) 

• Twist, showing bad videos of school; fights, bully, etc etc

• Introduce school, plot, what happen in that situation

• Aftermath 

Why bombing? 

• Person (race) (skin colour)

• Person (rivals) 

• Person (cult) (religion)

What class bomb? 

• Science lab using equipment 

• Actual Bomb in a bag 

Storyboard

this is the storyboard that we created for our media documentary project created by tisha

Before the storyboard we gather everyone's ideas and match them together to create the documentary.

School bombing

• Random new student come to classroom then it blows up

• There's a twist it could be not the random new student

• Who bomb: Funny kid = girl / boy

• Smart girl -> downfall -> become competitive (stressful) -> new kid comes in -> have a connection new kid and girl ->

• reason: academic fails, downfall, family problem, drug related

• Bomber could be in a cult (have a secret background)

• Detective check

• Social media is used

• Downfall -> mental illness -> get revenge

• Abusive parents, take the wrong medicine, make her crazy

What to add part of the

• Explain the history of the whole point of school (montage of happy people in school)

• Twist, showing bad videos of school; fights, bullying, etc etc

• Introduce school, plot, what happen in that situation

• Aftermath

Why bombing?

• Person (race) (skin color)

• Person (rivals)

• Person (cult) (religion)

What class bomb?

• Science lab using equipment

• Actual Bomb in a bag

After those ideas were settled, we created a draft of the plotline which acts as a guide in creating the storyboard.

Using this guide, we were then able to create a detailed storyboard

This style of storyboard was good as it has details of each shot, but it was very time consuming. So we decided to do a much simpler version for the rest of our storyboard.

Additional notes: From the storyboard, shot 17 shows real footage of a photograph that was taken before the documentary timeline. Where shots 23 and 24 are stage footage, including shots 8 and 9.

Script

 this is the script for our documentary made by kristine

DOCUMENTARY SCRIPT TEMPLATE

PROJECT TITLE:  The Final Bell: Thirteen Seconds

GROUP MEMBERS: Kristine, Tisha, Panji, Kenneth

DATE STARTED: 19 August 2025

---

SCENE HEADING

OUTSIDE CLASSROOM, HALLWAY

---

SHOT NUMBER: 1 - 3

DESCRIPTION:
This scene will be explaining about the overall stereotype of the school that explains about how a school is. It will be voice over by a detective. 

DIALOGUE / NARRATION 

DETECTIVE Shot 1 [VO]	It was just another ordinary day at school. You know, school is really the reason why people can do so many things in life. People go to school to learn new skills, to make friends, and to experience things they wouldn’t anywhere else.
DETECTIVE Shot 2 [VO]	It’s more than just classes — it’s where we start to understand who we are and prepare for what’s ahead. It’s a place full of life and friendship, where many find a true sense of belonging. I truly believe that school feels like a second home.
DETECTIVE Shot 3 [VO]	But behind this lively scene lies a darker truth — one most don’t want to see.
DETECTIVE Shot 4 [VO]	For many students, school is no longer a safe place — it’s a place where fear hides in the shadows, and danger can strike without warning.
DETECTIVE Shot 5 [VO]	When these problems go unchecked,
DETECTIVE Shot 6 [VO]	they can spiral out of control, (pause) and sometimes, they get too far

---

SCENE HEADING

VOICE RECORDING 

---

SHOT NUMBER: 4-6

DESCRIPTION:
The chaos breaks out after the bomb explodes. Different perspectives are shown via 911 calls.

DIALOGUE:

STUDENT INSIDE THE SCENE	Operator: 112 KOTA DENPASAR SELAMAT SIANG, DENGAN PUTRA ADA YANG BISA KAMI BANTU? Caller: Oh God… please… someone help… I’m inside… inside the classroom at Regents High… there was a bomb… it exploded… my friends… they’re… they’re dying… Operator: Okay, stay with me. Are you safe right now? Caller: I don’t know… I’m trapped… debris… smoke… I can barely breathe… please… someone… Operator: Stay calm, we’re sending help immediately. Can you tell me how many people are with you? Caller: I… I don’t know… maybe… 8? 9? I just… I can’t… Please hurry!
STUDENT OUTSIDE THE SCENE	Operator: 112 KOTA DENPASAR SELAMAT SIANG, DENGAN AYU ADA YANG BISA KAMI BANTU? Caller: There’s been… there’s been a bomb! I’m outside the classroom at Regents High School! I heard it explode… and… kids… they’re screaming, crying, oh God… someone help! Operator: Okay, where exactly are you? Are you safe right now? Caller: I’m… I’m in the hallway outside the classroom… I think… I think people are hurt. I don’t know what to do… they’re… they’re just screaming… please send help! Operator: Emergency responders are on the way. Stay where you are and try to stay calm. Caller: I can’t… it’s just… it’s so loud… I just heard it explode… my friends…
WITNESS FROM OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL	Operator: 112 KOTA DENPASAR SELAMAT SIANG, DENGAN AYU ADA YANG BISA KAMI BANTU? Pemanggil: Eh, halo… ya, sepertinya ada darurat di Sekolah Regents. Saya sedang di seberang jalan… saya melihat anak-anak berlari-lari, menjerit… dan ada asap tebal keluar dari salah satu kelas. Operator: Baik, pak, apakah Anda melihat ada yang terluka? Pemanggil: Hmm, sulit untuk memastikan, tapi sepertinya mereka butuh bantuan. Banyak yang panik… beberapa anak menangis. Saya pikir saya harus menelepon…

---

SCENE HEADING

OUTSIDE CLASSROOM, HALLWAY

---

SHOT NUMBER: 7-9

DESCRIPTION:
This scene talks about the relationship and the perspective of the teacher during the bombing happen

DIALOGUE / NARRATION 

DETECTIVE Shot 7	I’ve taught this student for years, and over that time, we built a really strong connection.
DETECTIVE Shot 8 [VO]	She would come to me and talk about her life, her problems, and I would share things with her too. She felt like someone I could really connect with, almost like a daughter in some ways. She was talented, gifted, the kind of student everyone admired and wanted to be like.
DETECTIVE Shot 9	And yet… knowing that she’s the one who did this, it just blew my mind. It shattered me. It completely changed the way I see her and made me realise that the person I thought I knew… wasn’t the whole story.

---

SCENE HEADING

INSIDE CLASSROOM

---

SHOT NUMBER: 7-9

DESCRIPTION:
This scene talks about the relationship and the perspective of the teacher during the bombing happen

DIALOGUE / NARRATION 

TEACHER Shot 7	I’ve taught this student for years, and over that time, we built a really strong connection.
TEACHER Shot 8 [VO]	She would come to me and talk about her life, her problems, and I would share things with her too. She felt like someone I could really connect with, almost like a daughter in some ways. She was talented, gifted, the kind of student everyone admired and wanted to be like.
TEACHER Shot 9	And yet… knowing that she’s the one who did this, it just blew my mind. It shattered me. It completely changed the way I see her and made me realise that the person I thought I knew… wasn’t the whole story.

---

SCENE HEADING

INSIDE CLASSROOM

---

SHOT NUMBER: 11-13

DESCRIPTION:
This scene talks about the relationship and the perspective of the teacher during the bombing happen

DIALOGUE / NARRATION 

STUDENT  Shot 11	On the day of the event, I didn’t go to school. I felt really sick. I had a huge fever that was bothering my head and gave me a terrible headache. I hadn’t slept much, and I had a math test that I was planning to just skip. I woke up and sat on my bed, thinking about whether I should go to school or not, because I knew I’d have a lot to catch up on.
STUDENT  Shot 12 [VO]	So I ended up texting one of my friends.
STUDENT  Shot 13	I asked her, ‘Should I come to school? I’m feeling really sick.’  (pause) Usually, she would reply, ‘Come to school, you’re going to miss your classes,’ or something like that.  (pause) But this time,  (pause) she replied, ‘You should stay home. It’s for your safety.’

---

SCENE HEADING

DETECTIVE ROOM 

---

SHOT NUMBER: 15-17

DESCRIPTION:
This scene shows the detective being involved and explaining psychological theories 

DIALOGUE / NARRATION 

DETECTIVE Shot 15	For a student to do something like this… it doesn’t come naturally. There must have been something out there, something that shaped them to become a murderer at such a young age. This is really unusual — not just a case of typical school drama or cyberbullying, but suddenly a bomb is involved, targeting innocent students.
DETECTIVE Shot 16	You have to ask yourself: what was really going on?
DETECTIVE  Shot 17  [VO]	Who were these victims?
DETECTIVE  Shot 18	Why were they the only targeted victims? Why not the whole classroom? What was so special about them?
DETECTIVE  Shot 19	How did the students even know how to build a bomb? How did they secretly bring in this mysterious bag, and how did nobody notice? Where did it come from, and how did it even enter the school without being caught?
DETECTIVE  Shot 20 [VO]	To become someone capable of this, to hold this kind of reputation, there must have been something that broke them, something that shaped them into who they are now. Connecting the victims with the suspect is just the beginning — there’s so much that needs to be understood.

TEXT DISCLAIMER: 

This documentary involves a minor whose identity is protected. Release was authorized after legal adulthood was reached.

DETECTIVE (VO):

It was just another ordinary day at school. You know, school is really the reason why people can do so many things in life. People go to school to learn new skills, to make friends, and to experience things they wouldn’t anywhere else. It’s more than just classes — it’s where we start to understand who we are and prepare for what’s ahead. It’s a place full of life and friendship, where many find a true sense of belonging. I truly believe that school feels like a second home.

But behind this lively scene lies a darker truth — one most don’t want to see. 

For many students, school is no longer a safe place — it’s a place where fear hides in the shadows, and danger can strike without warning. 

When these problems go unchecked, 

they can spiral out of control,

 and sometimes, they get too far

• long take of the cctv footage of the bomb, no background audio just the raw footage -

911 calls for the chaos breakout:

Student inside class:

Operator: 911, what’s your emergency?

Caller: Oh God… please… someone help… I’m inside… inside the classroom at Regents High… there was a bomb… it exploded… my friends… they’re… they’re dying…

Operator: Okay, stay with me. Are you safe right now?

Caller: I don’t know… I’m trapped… debris… smoke… I can barely breathe… please… someone…

Operator: Stay calm, we’re sending help immediately. Can you tell me how many people are with you?

Caller: I… I don’t know… maybe… five? Six? I just… I can’t… please hurry!

Student / Teacher outside class:

Operator: 911, what’s your emergency?

Caller: There’s been… there’s been a bomb! I’m outside the classroom at Regents High School! I heard it explode… and… kids… they’re screaming, crying, oh God… someone help!

Operator: Okay, where exactly are you? Are you safe right now?

Caller: I’m… I’m in the hallway outside the classroom… I think… I think people are hurt. I don’t know what to do… they’re… they’re just screaming… please send help!

Operator: Emergency responders are on the way. Stay where you are and try to stay calm.

Caller: I can’t… it’s just… it’s so loud… I just heard it explode… my friends…

Outside witness from the school:

Operator: 911, what’s your emergency?

Caller: Uh, hello… yes, I think there’s an emergency at Regents High School. I’m just across the street… I see kids running around, screaming… and there’s this huge smoke coming from one of the classrooms.

Operator: Okay, sir, do you see anyone who might be hurt?

Caller: Well, it’s hard to tell exactly, but it looks like they might need help. There’s a lot of panic… some kids are crying. I thought I should call…

TEACHER:

I’ve taught this student for years, and over that time, we built a really strong connection. 

(VO) She would come to me and talk about her life, her problems, and I would share things with her too. She felt like someone I could really connect with, almost like a daughter in some ways. She was talented, gifted, the kind of student everyone admired and wanted to be like. 

And yet… knowing that she’s the one who did this, it just blew my mind. It shattered me. It completely changed the way I see her and made me realise that the person I thought I knew… wasn’t the whole story.

STUDENT: 

On the day of the event, I didn’t go to school. I felt really sick. I had a huge fever that was bothering my head and gave me a terrible headache. I hadn’t slept much, and I had a math test that I was planning to just skip. I woke up and sat on my bed, thinking about whether I should go to school or not, because I knew I’d have a lot to catch up on. 

(VO) So I ended up texting one of my friends.

 I asked her, ‘Should I come to school? I’m feeling really sick.’ 

Usually, she would reply, ‘Come to school, you’re going to miss your classes,’ or something like that. 

But this time, 

she replied, ‘You should stay home. It’s for your safety.’ 

DETECTIVE:

For a student to do something like this… it doesn’t come naturally. There must have been something out there, something that shaped them to become a murderer at such a young age. This is really unusual — not just a case of typical school drama or cyberbullying, but suddenly a bomb is involved, targeting innocent students. 

You have to ask yourself: what was really going on? 

(VO) Who were these victims? 

Why were they the only four targeted? Why not the whole classroom? What was so special about them? 

How did the students even know how to build a bomb? How did they secretly bring in this mysterious bag, and how did nobody notice? Where did it come from, and how did it even enter the school without being caught?

(VO) To become someone capable of this, to hold this kind of reputation, there must have been something that broke them, something that shaped them into who they are now. Connecting the victims with the suspect is just the beginning — there’s so much that needs to be understood.