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Social Topic Music Video
Social Topic Music Video
In the CMA pathway we were tasked to make a music video addressing a Social topic that we felt was important and needed to be shown. For this project my group chose to focus on teen drug abuse. I wrote the project proposal for our video and chose for the story to revolve around an athlete who was exposed to drugs and kicked off his team. This was done to show some of the consequences of drugs without showing or glorifying their direct affects. Due to the issue of potentially glorifying drug use, we did not represent any drug or way of using it. Instead I chose to represent the drugs by showing a brown paper bag and implying the drugs and drug use. The story follows our main character with a struggle of pleasing his friends and doing drugs with them, but also wanting to say no and go back to playing football. He ultimately makes his decision after there is a sequence showing one of his friends get into a drug related car crash. The point of this part of the screenplay is left a mystery to the viewer because it all takes place after he uses drugs for the first time. The scenes then cut to black and white from then to after the car accident. This is done intentionally so the viewer can decide which way they want to view it. It can be viewed literally and that he decided not to get into the car and his friend ended up dying do to drug use and he could have died too. It could also be viewed as, he never used the drugs and all the events in black and white played out in his head and were potential thoughts of the consequences that followed his drug use. Either way the message of the story remains the same, when he emerges from the bathroom and proceeds to take the drugs from his friends in order to get them to stop. He was successful in getting one of his friends to stop, and the story concludes with him resolving things with his coach and going back on the field.
There were several different methods that were used in order to try and effectively convey the issue without being able to show it. In the video I chose to use the song Not Afraid by Eminem, because it focused on him recovering from his drug abuse and the hardships of it. I felt this worked perfectly with the story and it would further help to imply the issue. Along with the music Black and white was used in a few segments of the video to imply that his life was in a darker depressed state than it was before. Color change is also used to create the alternate story line where it could all be taking place in his head. Along with the colors and the music, there were several different shots and viewing angles in the story to make it more compelling. Almost every scene in the video featured the struggling athlete and his emotions throughout the school day. This is done to show how his mood changes based on if he is by himself or with his friends. This is done so that there can be a better understanding that some people do not want to be using these drugs, but are dragged into it regardless of how they really make them feel. He is sad/depressed when alone, but puts on a happy and relaxed face around his friend group. Besides the emotions he shows, there is a particular scene where he looks up into the mirror and sees his reflection. This is used literally and metaphorically to show that he is reflecting on his life through looking at himself in the mirror. He doesn't like what looks back at him, but proceeds anyway due to an underlying peer pressure from his group. Throughout the story each shot tried to show some sort of movement, either a following shot, where the camera is following the subject, or the use of pan and arc for scenes where there is little moment of the characters. This is used to make the story feel as it is constantly moving and progressing. I wanted this constant flow because I did not feel that static shots or other various kinds fit with the music well. These fit the narrative better. This goes along with the different viewing angles. All the shots either followed the main character or moved with him from the side. Most of the showing his face and the environment around him, showing how his expression change in different scenarios.
Overall it was a great project and gave me more experience with editing video, as well as getting to film a short story and putting it together to make a music video. I was able to sue the music and synchronize it with some of the scenes so that the music could narrate the story. I believe it turned out well and I am looking forward to working on more projects like these in the future.
McGuirk-William-Drugs.mp4Report abuse