Final evaluation:

We were given the choice of either a short film, music video, radio drama or a documentary for our
final project. I chose a music video as I felt that you can tell and story through the narrative and get
your message across through a music video to your intended target audience. The rules we had to
follow was that all our work had to be completed by ourselves and that our idea had to be our own
as well. We had to enter a competition I chose to enter the Raindance competition, the rules I had to
follow for this competition was that music videos has to be under 6 minutes, the early submission
was 26th April, the regular deadline was 17th May and the late deadline is 31st May. I followed these
rules by making sure my music video was under 6 minutes and that I entered my submission before
the last deadline.

I created a music video to a song called ‘Dark enough’ which shows a girl being all happy and content
with herself at first then overtime she becomes depressed and begins to self-harm, her friends don’t
notice it as much but when she is looking at her scars in class one of her teachers notices them and
calls her back after class to have a chat to see if everything’s alright with her, this still doesn’t help as
she starts cutting herself in school as well as at home, it becomes too much for her when she
eventually commits suicide leaving a note for her teacher. I chose this song and narrative as I feel
that there isn’t enough awareness relating to this topic and in the society today. I worked with many
people but in particular I worked with Olivia as she played the role of the main character so that
video was based around her, I also worked with Lexi, Jermaine and Sam as they played classmates
who were close to Olivia, in particular Lexi and Jermaine, Lexi played the role of her best friend and
Jermaine played the role of one of her close mates who turns into her love interest. George, Charlie
and Joe played classmates but after the first day of filming where they messed around causing me to
film very little, I decided to not use them in my production anymore and use Sam who didn’t mess
around which allowed me to use my days productively and get all my filming done.

Genre:

Although my music video wouldn’t categorise as an ideal pop music video, after analysing and Adele
music video which does categorise as the pop genre I did include many things such as extreme close
ups of the actors face to show their facial expressions, I also included scenes of black and white
which Adele also did. I think that my music video was successful by using arrange of close ups and
extreme close ups to show how the characters were feeling just from their facial expressions.
Adele’s songs tend to be a slow pace which make it not a conventional pop music video, my music
video is also of a slow pace. From my research analysis the Ariana Grande song used many props and
make up to relate to the narrative and make the video more realistic in the reader’s minds, I used
this in my video by including props such as books and knifes and scissors to make the audience
believe that she was actually going to cut herself and to make it look and feel more realistic and for
them to relate to the character. In Ariana’s video she also used makeup to make herself and the
video look more attractive where as I used makeup to make the character look more realistic to the
lyrics and emotion of the song, by showing how her makeup runs down her face to show that she
had been crying shows the audience that she is that depressed that she can’t hide it anymore. I also
included wide shots to show her when she was happy being around her friends, and showing close
ups of her at home and how she actually feels and that she just puts a smile on her face to cover all
her emotions at school.
From the survey results many of the responses were that they didn’t think that the song categorised
as a pop genre music video, but despite them not agreeing with is being a pop genre music video
they also said that they thought it worked well in the sense of telling the story of the song and it
worked nicely in a dramatic way.
Content:

My music video was based around the topics of self-harm and depression, I researched different
aspects into both these topics , for example what self-harm and depression is, reasons why people
resort to self-harm and feel depressed, signs of these topics how to know if someone is experiencing
depression and are self-harming, this helps a lot to look out for signs that they are becoming
depressed and resorting to self-harm, by knowing the signs you can help someone and get them
help to stop from feeling like this and stop them from taking things further like committing suicide.
By researching these topics has helped me to know more about why people become depressed and
resort to self-harming themselves. I also looked into people’s stories, their experiences and how
they found a way to not self-harm or feel suicidal. I think that I showed these aspects well in my
video by having scenes of how happy she was around her friends to hide the fact that she feeling
depressed, and how when she’s at home she cries and starts self-harming to ease away all the pain
from people bullying and saying hurtful things to her at school. I also included scenes of her self-
harming and how she tries to cover it up around everyone at school, I think this worked well with
the narrative by showing the audience her cutting herself without making it look to graphical. I think
that by creating the cuts myself helped make the video look as realistic as it could as I was able to
create the scars/cuts the way I desired them to look on camera.
From the survey results many of the responses were that they found the content of the video to be
effective and realistic, this is a good thing as it shows that I managed to get my research through the
narrative and content of the music video. Another comment was that the use of my actors and
locations worked well in my video. They also said that I could’ve improved the content of the video
by adding a few more scenarios to show the audience why the character felt unhappy and
depressed.

Style:

My music video goes against the traditional ‘pop’ performance as it uses a slower pace of music and
includes close up shots of the character, whereas a traditional ‘pop’ performance is usually upbeat,
happy and shows the artist lip syncing. My music video is the opposite of this as it doesn’t show the
artist lip syncing and the tone and rhythm of the song in slow. Although my music isn’t the
traditional ‘pop’ performance video I think it works well in telling the story throughout the video in a
dramatic way. In particular it shows the characters facial expressions through close ups and allows
the audience to instantly connect to see how the character is feeling just from their facial
expressions. I felt that the seriousness of the subject is reflected in the lyrics of song and want to try
and capture the mood by choosing a style which reflected the sombreness of the main characters
emotions. The style of the video is dramatic which raises awareness for people suffering from
depression and self-harm and allows people to know that they’re not alone, that there’s people who
are there to help them through their tough times and get them to a place where they can be
themselves again.

Narrative:
My narrative follows a girl getting into depression which leads to her self-harming herself and
eventually committing suicide. I was originally going to include scenes of her losing her appetite to
show that she is becoming depressed, after thinking about it I decided to adapt and change the
scene to her in her room crying from all the pain it has caused her. I think this worked better as it
shows the contrast of when she’s at school she puts on a smile on her face to cover up how she
really feels but when she’s at home she let’s all the pain and her feeling out where no one can see
her. I think that the narrative of my music video is clear and effective as it clearly shows the stages of
the girl going into depression which is deep but also gets the audience’s attention to the topic to
raise awareness for the topic. The narrative also works well as the scenes match the lyrics, for
example when the lyrics say ‘there is a girl in the front of my class whose eyes are glazed over like
newly cut glass’ the scene shows the main character staring out of a window catch the glaze of her
eyes in the shot to correspond with the lyrics.
From the survey results many of the responses were that the narrative is clear and gripping. Other
comments were that it shows how people put on a ‘brave face’ and that ‘you don’t see what goes on
behind closed doors’ which I think is what my video shows and what I was trying to get across to the
audience. They also said ‘it reflects how society is shown through social media and everyone is
expected to be happy all the time even if that’s not how they really feel’, this is the another point
that I was trying to get through in my video that society portrays everyone has happy when on the
inside there’s a lot more going on that people choose not to show society, like depression, suicidal
thoughts, self-harm etc.

Techniques/technical qualities:

When it comes to camera shots/angles I didn’t use many creative shots, I used many close ups/
extreme close ups to capture the characters facial expressions and to show the audience how she
feels has she is ‘cutting’ herself. I also used wide shots to show how she acts when she is around her
friends at school where she has to put a smile on her face so that no one realizes what’s really going
on with her. Most of the scenes have been adapted to fit the pace of the shots, some shots have
been slowed down to match the lyrics and pace of song, as the song is quite slowed pace slowing
some shots down works well with the song. I also included technical qualities like cutting the shot to
the beat of the lyrics so that it matches to the lyrics, this makes the video more effective on the
audience as when the beat of the music changes so does the shot. By creating the self-harm cuts
myself I was able to get the cuts and scars exactly how I wanted them to look it helped make the
video look more realistic, by showing hoe he cuts herself without making it look to graphic also
helped as it shows the audience what was going on in her mind as she was ‘cutting’ herself, it also
helps by showing the audience that what people say and do really does effect someone and to them
it may just be a joke but in the person’s mind it could hurt them personally and lead to them feeling
unwanted, lonely, worthless etc which can lead to them getting depressed and can lead to self-harm
and suicidal thoughts. I also layered clips on top of each other and made the opacity less so that the
shot on top transitions on top of the shot underneath, this created a transitions between the two
scenes creating an interesting effect which helped make my production look interesting and
attractive.
From the survey results many of the comments were that they found that the ‘filming and editing
were really good’, and that the ‘camera angles work well with the production’, this went well as it
was what I was trying to achieve through the filming and editing of my production. Other comments
were that the editing ‘made it clear that she was having flashbacks and is in a dark place whilst
cutting herself’ this is also what I was trying to get across to the audience, when having the
flashbacks, it shows all the scenarios that have happen which have caused her to ‘cut’ herself. And
that the ending shows ‘her two states, possibly dying as the white light comes’ this is also what I was
trying to achieve that sense that she was slowly dying after she had committed suicide as the white
light comes that’s whilst she is committing suicide and she is just staring at herself as she is dying.
Other comments were that I could’ve colour graded scenes even more, but I disagree as my colour
grading them more would make them look fake and out of place to fit the production. Another
comments was that ‘the slow motion was used to much and that the more it was used the more
oversaturated it looked’ I believe that by adding the slow motion makes certain points stand out to
the audience like when the blood is whirling in slow motion as she’s washing it away makes the
impact more on the audience as they watch the blood wash away slowly which also shows that she
tries to wash it away quickly so that no one sees it but in fact it stays there’s a lot more to what is
shown on social media and in society today.
From the survey results many responses agreed that my video was creative, many comments said
that my video was creative at it ‘explores the idea in an original and engaging way’, I agree with the
comment as it keeps the audience engaged throughout the entire video as they want to see what
happens next and what will happen to the main character. Another comment was that ‘its’s very out
of the box’, this is another point I was trying to get across through my video, as not many people
address the topic and it tends to not have enough awareness as it needs, it’s also not what you
usually as in society nowadays people tend to portray depression as something that isn’t that
important where in reality it’s extremely important which we need to pay more attention to and
raise awareness for. Other comments were that they ‘felt that the story type has lost its fear factor
and they don’t believe the story was captivating’, I don’t agree with this as I believe the story is
captivating, leaving the audience wonder what will happen next and will she commit suicide or stay
alive and get help. Another comment was that ‘the use of masking at the end was creative as it
opens the question of what happened to her’, I agree with this as it was what I was trying to get the
audience to wonder what happened to her.
From the survey results all the responses said that my music video does fit the target audience of
people aged 16-35, this is good as my target audience was varied between 16-35 year olds as I
believe that people in this age range would benefit from seeing this video. Teenagers from the age
of 16-19 would have someplace to call if they felt that they needed to talk to someone about how
they feel or someone they know, it also helps them to know that they aren’t alone what the signs of
someone in depression are so that they can be more observant of other that may be showing signs
of depression of self-harm. For people of an older age range like 20-35, it benefits them if they also
feel in the need to talk to someone about either themselves or someone they know, it also benefits
them to notice someone if they are showing signs of depression or self-harm, it also helps them if
they are teachers to know if one of their students are depressed or suicidal so that they can get
them help before it’s too late. Another comment was that ‘it does suit the target audience however
it’s a touchy subject’, I agree with this but although it’s a touchy subject it’s a subject that doesn’t
have enough awareness in society today and isn’t shown or talked about enough for it to have an
impact on people.
From the survey results people found enjoyed the filming and editing, the ending shot in the mirror
and the narrative. People suggested many things that I could improve on like ‘include more close up
shots of some incidents to reinforce their importance and add another bullying scene’, I think that I
could’ve added more close ups which I will take into consideration in further productions. I also
would’ve included more bullying scenes if the actors that played the roles of the classmates didn’t
mess around and cause me to replace them. Another comment was that the ‘sequence with Chris
went on too long and it wasn’t clear what was happening’, I disagree with this comment as I think
that the scene with Chris was the appropriate time as it first shows him noticing Olivia’s scars, then
talking to her to make sure she was ok and then him reading the note she left for him saying ‘that
there was nothing he or anyone could’ve done’ this shows the connection that a teacher has with
their students and how they try to help them so that they don’t feel alone. Another comment was
that sometimes the actors look at the camera sometime sit was intentional to acknowledge the
camera and other times it wasn’t intentional but I didn’t think it was so noticeable. Another
suggestion was to ‘film outside as well’, I wouldn’t know what I could film outside that would relate
to topic as the song is based around a school classroom.

What went well:

I think that my camerawork was a lot better than it has been in my past productions. I
feel that I have used my research from camera angles and the codes and conventions of
music videos well in my production. I think I used appropriate camera angles for the
scenes, I used a lot of ‘close up’ to capture the charters facial expressions so that the
audience could instantly see how the characters felt just by their facial expressions. I also
used many ‘wide shot’ angles to how the main character is around her friends and how
she starts to single herself out with them towards the end.

I also think that my editing and traditions were a lot better in this production, I used
colour grading to show when she was having flashbacks of things that have caused to her
‘cut’ herself which I think worked really well as you could clearly see when they were
flashbacks and when it was her in the present. I also used masking in the end scene to
show how she was when she committed suicide and to leave the audience guessing what
happened to her, I think this worked well as it shows a part of her still being there in colour and the
other in black and white to show that even though she’s not there anymore she’s still on people’s
minds guessing what happened to her and how they could’ve helped her to not commit suicide. I
think that by using all these effects and transitions helped make my production look realistic,
creative and engages the audience to keep watching the video to see what happens next. I believe
that the transitions and effects have been the best in this production then my past productions as I
asked for some help so that I could make my video look really good and I used the effects and
transitions in an appropriate way to do so. I also think that by using an overlay of scenes created an
interesting look as well as showing the difference in how the main character puts a smile on her face
at school whereas the overlay scene is how she actually feels but can’t show it.

How could it have been improved:

I think that if I added a few more scenes of her classmates bullying her it would’ve added to the
flashbacks and to the story as to why she decided to cut herself, I would’ve included more scenes
with her classmates but unfortunately I had to replace them with other actors as they just messed
around and caused me to not use my days efficiently in filming. I also could’ve improved by using a
stabilizer to make some of the shots less ‘shaky’ so that the shot has a smooth transition from being
zoomed in to zoomed out.

Comparison to artist professional:

I think there are some scenes which were similar to ones that were used in the one I analysed. I used
a lot of the same camera angles and lighting as the Adele music video but there were tons of
differences between Ariana Grande music video. I took a lot from Adele’s music video because it had
a darker narrative, which was exactly what I wanted to do, something that had a lot of meaning to it
and my target audience could relate too.
My video is also similar to the one I analysed in the way I have used make up in scenes of my music
video helps to create a more realistic look on the characters, it also make the character more
relatable to the audience therefore allowing the audience to connect with her emotionally which
helps get the narrative across it also helps to get my story across to the audience which helps gain
more awareness for the topic as the audience have more acknowledge on how people really feel
when you say things to them.

My video is also similar to the one I analysed in the way I have used mise-en-scene to make my
music video more relatable to the lyrics, I have used costumes such as school clothes as the song is
about a girl in a classroom so by having the character in school uniform helped make the video
realistic, it also relates back to the storyline which makes it relate back to the lyrics as well. This was
a big part of my music video as the video focussed on her in the being at school around her friends
being all happy and how she acts at home where she can let all her pain and emotions out which get
the best of her at times.

How suited to the media industry am I?

I feel that recently I think I’m getting more suited to being able to work in the media industry, I am
becoming more confident in my work by thinking about it more and planning my filming more so
that I can get most of my filming done in one day therefore allowing me to have more time to edit
and for re-shoots if I need to. I feel that my productions have improved from what they were at the
start of the year and by knowing more about camera angles and editing techniques has helped me to
produce a piece of work that I am pleased with. I’m starting to know what my strengths are which I
can use to my advantage in using them in my production to make it look good and get the narrative
across. From the first unit, I had never edited anything in my life, so the editing wasn’t the best, over
the past productions my editing has improved but my codes and conventions such as camera angles
haven’t been the best in my past production, but I feel that I’m starting to use the codes and
conventions more and I now have a better understanding and knowledge of how to edit and use
effects to help make my production look attractive and interesting. I also feel that by self-evaluating
has helped me in knowing what I need to improve on in further productions and that by getting
feedback from other will also help me in the future and improve myself and my work. I think there’s
still so much to learn in the media industry and I look forward to learning new skills to use in my
productions. By getting feedback from peers has also helped me a lot as for most of my productions
my target audience will be people of my age or younger so by getting feedback from peers helps me
a lot as they are of that age range so it will appeal to them and getting their feedback as they are the
people that can relate to my work and who my work is target to.