3. WHY I DID IT
My final project.
I have directed and made this short film as a part of the Sunderland bright lights short film festival. This
is made to showcase Sunderland's culture. My aim is to highlight the music scene within Sunderland.
There are a few small music venues in Sunderland that I like to visit when I can. As part of my project, I
would really like to try and expand my targets audience vision of the music scene in my area. Music is a
part of day-to-day life, and if I can make a change and encourage people with my short film, it would not
only benefit me but everyone that contributes to the music community. I have tried to follow the life of
someone that is inspired by music however has not yet had the confidence of showing their craft. This to
me feels as though it can inspire young people and hopefully allow them to open up more to the music
scene and encourage them to chase their dreams.
4. FEEDBACK
“it shows the culture of
Sunderland and I really like that
there is local places involved” –
Chloe M (18)
“ I really like the
music scene about
Sunderland but not
many people know
about the places I
think its something
that needs to be
advertised more and
a short film is just a
great way to do it” –
Will R (18)
“ you've done really well with this
short film, I really like the story
line” – Abbey C (20)
“ there is a clear vision of
what you are trying to show,
I really like the way you have
captured me and shown
people what music in
Sunderland is all about
I think its really great”
Madison H (18)
I sat down and spoke to some
people without the cameras and
wrote down some of the lovely
things they were saying. I asked if
they had an positives which were
shown as quotes. I also had to ask
I there was any criticism. I was told
that I should have used less over
the shoulder shots, and more head
on shots however that was the
only negative feedback I received.
Overall, I am very happy with the
feedback I have received and I
know that I can grow from this and
change it more in the future.
5. HOW IT TARGETS MY AUDIENCE
This targets my audience as I am following the life of an 18-year-old girl. Many people my
age have grew up with music, for example Spotify one of the main streaming platforms
was created in 2006 giving us a gateway to listen to music from being young. I know that
in my college and local community music is very appreciated. However around
Sunderland some people don’t understand the art of music. Therefore if I can make a
change on my audience and try and target them to engage with the music scene more.
Many people my age have the skills and technical aspects behind music , however many
people don’t have the confidence to push themselves to play instruments or write songs
therefore I have created this short film to maybe try and inspire people.
6. EXPERIMENTATION
In this project I have experimented lots of ways. I feel as though I have progressed a
lot within myself and my work. I have managed to be able to feel confident in the
editing process as well experimentation and more.
Learning how to direct create and make a short film has given me lots of chances to
change my style and my visions. I have really enjoyed understanding editing styles.
I had some problems with adobe premiere pro which caused me to investigate
other editing platforms. I used cap cut on my phone to edit my work. This was hard
to work around however it worked in my favour. I was able to get a 7 day free trial
that allowed me to look at different transitions.
I was very happy with my result with it being on a mobile phone, this makes it
easier to encourage my target audience to get into making short films.
7. REFLECTION
Overall, my project in my opinion has had its own ups and downs but I have also
learnt from this. I have managed to work my way around the struggles of this project.
From changing my editing process completely to framing my shots to creating scenes
using new cinematography.
Some of the main parts of this that I have enjoyed are gathering all the footage with
madison. This meant that we could sit and plan our timeline, film and talk about the
culture of Sunderland at the same time. We also got questioned by members of the
public on what we were doing , this led to conversations about Sunderland bright
lights and the culture that surrounds the area. Some of the disadvantages of this
project is that when editing premiere pro wasn’t saving my files or keeping them up to
frame, therefore I changed editing software. That wasn’t the only thing that went
wrong, I made a mistake by filming vertically instead of horizontally. This was easily
fixed by adjusting my shot size and rotating it without zooming in.
Overall, my reflection on this journey is that I have managed to make new friends and
discover new places around Sunderland. I have had lots of fun whilst doing this and I
am very happy this has been a part of my B2 project .
