Trailer description: This is the world of loosing a loved one, the stages of grief a person goes until reaching acceptance. The emptiness that only somebody that loss a dear one knows.
Vision Statement
Plot summary
With this film, I want the audience to feel the different stages of grief. For a person that has not experienced this, it could be hard to understand. This is what I want to show with this trailer.
The first slide represents death. It goes straight to the point. No one knows what really happens after death. What we do know is what happens to the people left behind. We go through many stages of grief, which are represented by the following slides. The main ones include feeling lost and alone, afraid and depressed. The next slide is significant because it is the point where change happens. A little girl is holding a photo album. This represents the moment when you make the decision to hold on to the memories and let go of the pain. She decides to keep going because she has her whole life ahead of her. This feeling may be hard to shake off but because of those memories and the moments spent together, she has to continue living.
The last two slides are the most hopeful. Hands are seen reaching to the sky and asking for help. This can be perceived as a person praying and looking for guidance. It can be someone asking for help because they want to get out of their depression. It is necessary because sometimes the pain is too much for one person and it’s ok to ask for help. The video ends with light, signifying hope. It means there’s something that will lead your way. It means not all is lost. It may not be easy sometimes, but it is possible.
Research elements
Losing a family member or a friend has a big impact on an individual. Their world comes crashing down and hope is lost. The research in the previous assignment showed a person can lose themselves when they lose a loved one. One of the readings described how people can prepare for death. It stated that if a person is open to have a conversation with a person who is dying and ask them what their wishes are, they are able to realize it for them. This gives the dying person and the family member or friend peace and resignation. This allows them to accept what is coming and react calmly when it does happen.
This seems like the best way to handle it but reality has shown many times that death is not taken so calmly. Most times it happens suddenly and people are not ready or accepting. People have actually fallen into deep depression and it has been hard to get out of it and continue with their normal lives. Nothing is how it used to be so life has to be relearned. In another reading a mother left her church when she felt judged for feeling sad because her son had died. A wife lost her husband and will never be able to kiss him goodnight again. A daughter lost her mother and with that a part of herself. This is something that a person loses forever.
Things come and go and people are used to things being replaceable. But when someone dies, they are gone forever. This is something not everyone can understand unless they live it themselves. This is what I want to show with the trailer. The pain people go through, and how they can choose to overcome it.
Creative Style
I want the audience to be able to relate to feeling sad, to get a glimpse of what a person who is grieving can be going through. The film is simple and monotone because this is what a person feels when they lose a loved one. Simplicity because death is part of our lives. There is no escaping it, but the pain it causes the people left behind is so intense that there are not enough words to describe the feeling. The world stops and nothing matters anymore. Everything is quiet and cold. The only screams are in your head. The screams for help, from the pain, from the desperation.
The video needs to be dark, showing the feeling of being lost and having fear of the unknown. The video is a summary of a person’s feelings when they lose someone. They may feel sad and lonely. They may feel scared and depressed.They are alone, because even in public, a person can feel completely alone.
The music matches the darkness and sadness of the video. The tempo is slow, matching the feelings of a person who has lost a big part of who they are. Sitting in their room, the world keeps going. People walking on the street, dogs barking, children playing. All they see is a blank wall and memories pulling them down deeper. The music has a climax that goes with the video, where change has to be made. The viewer needs to see this is where the story shifts and the tempo picks up. This is where faith is introduced, demonstrating that if we have something to hold on to, we can make it.
Target audience
The target audience is everyone. Death is a part of everyone’s life. Some accept it with open arms, others are terrified. But everyone will go through it and most lose loved ones at some point in their lives. I believe people who have gone through it already will connect the most. Losing a loved one has an effect that cannot be ignored. Some people are able to accept it and prepare. Some close off to the world and become depressed. Most people are somewhere in the middle. Their lives definitely change. Some start appreciating life and their loved ones more. Some are scared to get close to anyone because they fear losing them. Of course these are extremes and most fall somewhere in the middle but it’s perfectly normal to feel any of this.
Because everyone is different and things affect them differently. This video tries to reach everyone going through the pain of losing a loved one. It helps people who have not gone through it understand what that pain is like and how to help people going through it. It is important to be able to seek help if the pain is too much to handle. It is also important to be there for people when they need it the most.
Bibliography
1. Burke, Laurie A, et al. “Complicated Spiritual Grief II: a Deductive Inquiry Following the Loss of a Loved One.” Death Studies, U.S. National Library of Medicine, 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24524590.
2. 29, John McManus | Mar. “Ten Questions to Consider When Preparing for the Passing of a Loved One.” Wealth Management, 30 Mar. 2018, www.wealthmanagement.com/estate-planning/ten-questions-consider-when-preparing-passing-loved-one.
17 comments
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Jorge, I love your take on how music matches sadness and emotions expressed when experiencing grief. It emphasizes the ideas I had about how music affects our emotions and mood. The music further expresses how we feel and in that reaffirming sense, we fully feel the emotion as well.
Hi Jorge, this is a great trailer. Although a little sad, I really like how calming it was. My favorite part about your topic and research is that you delve into the various ways of grieving and coping, which would provide a sense of relatability for someone who is still unclear about their feelings.
Author
Hello Tasnuba! Great to read your comment. I appreciate you liked the trailer and that you felt it was calming. I was trying to achieve the understanding the different stages a person goes through when loosing a loved one. Thanks for your comment.
Hello Jorge. This is a really good job the images go very well to the them that you where conveying. Most of your images are black and white and helps to show how depressing things like losing someone really is. I also loved the end for a moment of hope that everything will turn out fine.
Author
Hello Masbah! yes, I was trying to give a message of grief and sorrow with the images on black and white. Coldness and desolation were the emotions that I was trying to accomplish at the beginning. And, at the end the message of hope and acceptance. Thanks for your comment.
Really great job! Love the way the music aligns with the text. This is a good way to spread awareness about depression.
Author
Thanks Jacob! I was trying to set the mood and create an atmosphere with the music and the text. Glad you like it. Thanks for your comment.
Hey Jorge,
To tell you the truth I kind of have been avoiding your blog posts this past two weeks because whenever someone talks about death it always puts me in a bad mood.
I have never lost someone that I cherished so I have no idea how people cope in these situations. I think that you did a great job explaining how traumatizing this is. I also like that your trailer is in different shades of black to match your theme.
Author
Hello Michaella! I understand the way you felt and why you have been avoiding my post. My intention is not to put you in a bad mood. My real intention is for you as a viewer to appreciate the people that loves you and don’t wait until tomorrow to tell them you love them too. Thanks for your comment. I really appreciate it. 🙂
Hey Jorge, thanks for sharing. I really like your trailer. The images and the text fit perfectly. The background music also adds another layer of sorrow into the story. In the creative style, you mentioned you want the “audience to be able to relate to feeling sad” Your trailer itself already made me feel sad, I think if this is an actual movie a lot of the audience will feel depressed after watching.
Author
Hi Ray, I’m glad you liked it. I’m aware that this trailer could be a little depressing. But my intention is to show something that everybody has to go through in one point of our life. Thanks for your comment.
Hello Jorge!
Personally, I noticed that everybody was the target audience. It’s a reality that I liked it. Death can happen to anybody and knowing the stages of grief can help us navigate our mental state. Also, as a person who didn’t lose someone, I ‘m curious about what I’m going to do. But you’re talking about it in great detail that I can imagine. I agree with Martin’s “Coming Soon.” I’ve done it, too, so good job.
Author
Hello Simon, yes my target audience is pretty much everybody since this is a topic that everyone will have to go through. My intention is that we appreciate the people we have next to us right now and not wait until they’re gone. Thanks for your comment.
Hey Jorge! This was so masterfully crafted that it in that it changed my mood for that short one-minute time. I liked the “coming soon”, I think it was a nice, creative little touch; I also liked your chaotic yet somber background music. What caught my eye the most though was how distinct and strong was your main theme. The pictures and illustrations that you used were very well incorporated and did a nice job of setting the right mood. Good job!
Author
Hi Matin! I’m very flattered the way you described the video and I’m happy it moved you. The words and the music helped to create the mood. You are right, death is a strong theme but like I said to Simon my intention is that the viewer realizes the importance of our loved ones in our life. Thanks for your comment.
Hello Jorge! I have got to say. The pictures, words, music of your trailer create a whole different mood. You set it up perfectly with how a person feels when they lose a loved one and the message you are trying to portray which is not to lose hope. And the target audience is everyone because we all deal with death, just as you said. Great job.
Author
Hello Grinald! Thanks for appreciating the effort. Like you said, the color of the pictures, images and music were created to set a mood and I’m glad you recognize it. When you lose a loved one you question many things and I wanted to show it. Thanks for your comment.