Critical Reflection

   This documentary was made to bring awareness around the issue of disability and the way people with disabilities are seen as different by society. The main goal we had was to challenge stereotypes, raise awareness, and show that individuals with disabilities are just as capable as anyone else. The social group we are representing is people who have disabilities and, not only mental, physical, and intellectual disabilities but all people who have to go through the challenge. Every element of the documentary work together to create the message we want to get across along with working to engaging our audience.

            The main element in my documentary is how we chose to represent social groups and issues. Upon researching topics, I found that people with disabilities are often misunderstood by society. They are seen as people who are less, need to be pitied, and are not capable of doing things independently. In creating this documentary I wanted to make it aware that these misconceptions are completely false and instead show real life experiences. We showed this by including interviews and personal stories. This was a way to show that, just like ordinary people, people with disabilities have goals, passions, and capable of doing things like sports and having jobs. Like Isaias having his job and doing sports like basketball and running marathons. This emphasizes that individuals with disabilities are not limited to the stereotypes given to them by society. 

            Another element of the Limitless  is branding. This title we chose reinforces the idea that individuals who have disabilities are not defined by the limitations. For things like title bars, colors, and fonts I chose a theme for each sections that created a unified and distinctive look. For example, I used colors to represent each disability: physical disability was blue, mental disability was teal, and intellectual disability was red with rainbow puzzle pieces. Also, each section included graphics according to the topic like physical disability had a wheelchair and the title bars had a prosthetic leg to stand for Isaias’s disability. Giving each section a specific theme added to the branding of the documentary along with the music and editing style. We used emotional but not overly dramatic background music to show that we are presenting a tough topic and emotional stories being told to exaggerate and heighten the emotion. All these elements helped shape the pace and balance the documentary to keep the viewer engaged while also allowing the stories and information to have an impact on them. Along with creating a distinctive branding that is thoughtful, informative, and inspiring.

            We prioritized engagement with our audience in this documentary. We not only wanted to get them to watch Limitless but also reflect and take a valuable message from it and change their perspectives on disabilities. To do this we used emotional aspects and factual information. Using real life stories created a connection between the viewer and the individuals in the documentary because it becomes more relatable and impactful at the same time including facts, given by my group and I, to support our message this ensures there is a balance between emotion and information. Additionally, camera angle helped to engage the audience. Using two angles for the interviews helped to capture emotion, with a close up angle, and make the viewer feel more connected. Considering our target audience of teens and people in school we made sure the language and style was easy to understand. This led us to use visuals on the screen while giving information along with the use of b roll and picture helped to engage the audience by giving them something other than words to look at making it more appealing to watch. We repeated what we said, on the screen, in our informative sections to give the viewers something more interesting to look at so we could ensure that our valuable information would stick in their head. By doing this, we could strive towards making a powerful impact the reader.

            We used research elements to shape, edit, and make decisions throughout production. While storyboarding we researched facts to include in our informational sections. We identified common stereotypes and issues around our topic which showed us how we should go about portraying the issue. In addition, we got inspiration from movies like Inside Out and other documentaries found online. This research played a key role in the mental disability display because Victoria did not want to be interviewed so we had to think of a way to display Anxiety and share her story without it. By looking at existing documentaries, we learned that using two angles in interviews would benefit us by making it easier for the audience to watch and engage with the product.

            In addition, research help us to be aware of the words we used to discuss disabilities. Making sure to use respectful and appropriate language throughout the documentary helped us to sound more professional and avoid seeming offensive. This was key that we were informative along with respectful when asking interview questions and speaking on the issues. This gave us the ability to use our voices to make the documentary meaningful.

            Overall, I believe our documentary helped to challenge and get rid of stereotypes around the issue of disabilities. It represents the reality and struggles of what someone with a disabilities goes through on a daily basis. This documentary sets forth a positive outlook on people with disabilities and shows how they are not defined by the stereotypes, boundaries, and discrimination. All the elements we include in Limitless support our overall message and goal we wanted to achieve. I myself learned new editing skills, communication, and team work. Most importantly I learned that disabilities are not just medical conditions they are real life experiences that can happen to anyone.

            In conclusion, creating this documentary helped all of us understand the issues behind disabilities including our viewers. My group and I all learned skills we will carry with us throughout our life. Something else I took from this project was that the media has a large role in the way people view topics so it is important to raise awareness around issues like this. I believe this documentary effectively communicates the message that people with disabilities are limitless.