What went well?

My photography went really well. I got some great shots of my cousin Chelsea in Shaw Park, Newbury, especially the shots of her next to the fence. The poem, which was previously a song, was also well written with the help of Rhys Clements (an old college acquaintance) and accurately described the way my battle with mental health feels.

Skills learnt? How can I apply these to other projects?

In this project, I have learnt how to fade colour on Premier Pro. I have also learnt how to create silhouettes using Bazaart (an iOS app). These skills could be used to create advertisements or posters for companies etc. I have also learnt how to wire the mic up to Logic Pro X, I could use this if I was recording another song or voice over for an advert, film, or video. Other skills I learnt was paying more attention to less obvious things within songs and videos, I can use this skill to add to my own work to improve it to a professional quality. I have been able to be more organised by planning my time out much more efficiently which will help me with many different things in life. I learnt how to present a pitch, which helped build my confidence, I could use this in future to sell myself for jobs in interviews, or to show off what I’ve been working on. I also learnt how to use the Harvard System correctly which will help me when referencing my work in the future.

How did I present my ideas?

I presented my ideas in a pitch and suggested that I would be creating a song about mental health. My pitch included my goal, my back up plan, planning, target audience, research- primary and secondary, organisations, and ways of distribution. I presented my pitch to my course leader, Scott Haden on 26th April 2019.

How effective was my communication with others?

My communication has been clear and well heard. I have voiced my ideas, struggles and changes throughout.

What could I improve?

I could improve on the audio quality as I ended up recording my poem on my iPhone. I could’ve also recorded my project as a song but due to illness, I was unable to do this. I could’ve also added more instruments into what would’ve been the backing track.

How effective is my project?

I think my project is effective. I think it’ll encourage people to talk about mental health and will contribute towards helping to end the stigma. I also think the images I’ve taken and the way it is narrated will help those who do not suffer from these issues, to understand how someone with mental health issues can feel. I hope that my project could make people more alert to point out those suffering and offer them some support.

What could I do better next time?

Next time,I could make the music behind the narration last throughout the entire video, rather than cut out three quarters of the way through. I could also record the song as I was supposed to in the first place.

Describing my project…

My project is a narrated poem (which was going to be a song) with a lyric video about how my experience with mental health has affected me. My aim was to raise awareness for mental health, reduce the stigma and to make other people suffering aware that they are not alone and that there are support systems out there for them. My video includes my own photography and filming to show exactly how I feel when I read the lines. Silhouettes represent me feeling as though I’m not myself, and that others are do not come across to me as human when I’m on a low.

Did anything go wrong?

A few things went wrong. I couldn’t get the microphone to work on Logic Pro X, when I came in during half term to record. By the time I was able to record the song, I had became ill, therefore I was unable to sing. Due to this, I had to change my project last minute to my back up plan and make my product a narrated poem with a video instead.

Does my video look like a professional piece of work?

According to some of the people who have watched my video, my video looked very professional. To take my video to a true professional standard, I could’ve made the transitions in the video more fluid; I could’ve used other backgrounds as well as the white brick background to make my video more interesting too! My audio was at a lower quality than that of a professional video as I didn’t use a professional microphone to record, where as they would use one if it was manufactured professionally. I thought my colour was good, in comparison to professional work, and that the photography and videography was to a good standard, however the images and videos might’ve been more crisp, had I have used a DSLR camera.

Overall…

Overall, my project was fairly successful. I have managed to create a narrated poem, with a lyric video that was in sync with my speech.

It was fairly difficult and stressful to get everything done on time to a good standard. It has been fairly stressful for me and at times triggering due to the research, organisations, and meaning of some of the lines, however I am proud of what I have produced despite it ending up being my back up plan.

In comparison to the videos and the songs that I had researched, my work is at a good standard. However, my work is not at their standard yet. For example, the video for ‘I Have Questions’ has moving imagery, such as blood, trees, and tears, which I originally wanted to incorporate but was unable to due to lack of time and knowledge.

My project did end up changing from being a song to being a narrated poem. Unfortunately, due to timing and sickness, I was unable to record my song… this meant that I had to record it in a different way, which meant that I had to use my back up plan. I’m not entirely sure that this made my project better. I think it would’ve reached a wider audience and would have been enjoyed by more if it was to have been a song.

My feedback from peers and a visitor was mainly positive, I had a criticism about the music timing on the video which I will correct once I have completed my written work if I have any time left over. I think my video is appropriate for my target audience and would be viewed, as the people who reviewed my work were within my target audience range, and they claimed to have enjoyed it.

I believe the video I have created has the potential to start breaking down the stigma around mental health. It could also potentially save lives.