CCR Evaluative Essay

 Creative Critical Reflection:

The song "Best Part of Me" is not clearly defined as one genre such as 'pop', but rather falls into a mixture, including indie, R&B soul, and pop. As it is an acoustic ballad and one of Ed Sheeran's slower, more romantic songs,  it was easy to use and challenge different conventions that most music videos conform to when making a music video strictly defined by one specific genre.

One of the main subjects represented  in my music video is age and gender. The main actors, playing Ed and Yebba, are both young. Rather than having slightly older people to play the part, by having younger people, it is more relevant and can appeal to the target audience as younger people are more insecure and have a significantly lower self-esteem. A recent survey found that majority of people recall they were around 16 years old when they first developed insecurities. And though men were 35% more likely to get insecure at an earlier age, women were 16.8% more likely to develop insecurities about their bodies. This is something that the song itself challenges as a convention, as the lyrics include 'My hands are scarred,' 'My eyes are crossed', and 'I go from thin to overweight'. However these lyrics are told from Ed's perspective about body image issues while the insecurities listed from Yebba's perspective, 'I overthink' and 'I never catch the train on time', are more personality flaws. The music video points out that though younger people are more insecure, specifically younger women, men share this experience just as much, but it is something that is often overlooked in the media. The music video goes on to show a couple dancing, and is a representation of love and romance that is consistent in the song. By having the woman wearing a wedding dress as well as being a young couple, it shows that though we may see all the flaws within ourselves, this isn't what loves see. By having an established relationship on the screen, it proves that what we see is not what others may see. Additionally, it is visible proof of commitment and loyalty towards each other. Love overlooks the flaws we see in ourselves, and goes deeper than the surface to what really matters, and this is something that I tried to portray in the music video.

When researching ideas, I wanted something that was simple but showed an established relationship and the love that can be seen when someone is true to themselves and not hiding because we are insecure. I think that the footage we produced and used is a reflection of what can come out of a relationship built upon trust and a feeling of safety when with each other. I looked at a couple of wedding videos of first dances such as the one below, and enjoyed the idea of having really simple shots in an empty room to create this intimate and raw moment between just the two of them. Having wider shots really helped emphasise this, but by including close ups and mid shots, it improved this feeling of connection between the two.

Many of the camera shots used were close ups and mid shots of the people, and wider shots when showing the landscape, for example the car scene and zooming out to show the emptiness of the stage and rooms used. The close ups allow for more expressions and emotions to be on display, and show that this is a song that is more personal and deep for Chloe and Oscar, as it relates to them and can come from the heart, holding that raw emotion and honesty between the two of them. The use of shots that are wider to show an empty room, such as the auditorium used in the singing shots, shows how the relationship and admissions are just meant for each other and how they are the most important thing to each other. Furthermore, by having no one seated in the audience, it shows that this love is real and not under false pretenses as something that is only a display for others to see, but allows for them to be their true self without the love they have for each other wavering. This also paints the relationship in a positive light; and something that potentially challenges conventions seen in many media texts. Since they are the younger generation, the stereotypical ideas and views that can come across is that they're reckless and unstable, which is not something we see in this music video. Rather, they come across as mature individuals that aren't perfect but also aren't seen as out of control teenagers that are so often seen in today's media.

Another thing that we challenged in the music video was the duration of shots. In many music videos, especially within the pop genre, quick cuts are used, as well as alternating between different people and locations. This music video deviates from the common conventions seen in many music videos, as we have only used two locations and two sets of people. By only having the dance scenes and the stage scenes, it keeps the music video simple which relates to the song lyrics and rhythm, but also the actors. It creates a connection that the target audience can relate to, since because of its simplicity, people can relate to it and focus on the lyrics and their meaning, allowing for more audience engagement.

The thoughts and intentions behind the branding come from the simplicity of both the music video and the artist in general. The star image, Ed Sheeran is known as being a down to earth person who is relatable and open to the public but still has a private personal life. Across all of Ed's albums and advertising, he has kept with a consistent yet simple theme which has created a recognisable brand to his name. By keeping the star image as a key feature in the music video, Instagram and digipak, it creates a recognisable image so that audiences can easily think back to everything involved as part of the song and the branding created for it.

Digipak Covers by Brianna Hodder

When creating the digipak, I wanted to make something that was recognisable as something that could belong to Ed Sheeran, but also conforming to common digipak conventions but in my own style. The colour scheme of pink and blue still somewhat conform to pop digipak conventions, but also create this moody tone and feel that resonates with the lyrics and overall theme of the song, as it talks about serious issues that are becoming more prevalent in today's society. The typewriter font on the front cover is another thing that is on Ed's most recent album as well as the butterflies in the background. Though I wanted the digipak to be my style, I still wanted to incorporate elements of Ed and what he has done to keep elements in it that are actually seen in real life. This makes the branding predictable, and this can also be seen in on my Instagram by using links to his website and keeping with the consistent colour scheme that is on all platforms.

1,197 words