Critical Reflection

Hi readers, this is my personal reflection on my project..

The project I have created represents the epitome of my identity and is a product of pure imaginative instinct paired with depth in research. Every detail of every outcome is infused with my deep-rooted feelings about friendship, separation, and nostalgia, serving as a heartfelt response to the experience of missing my best friends in my home country after moving away. Built around Puff Daddy’s “I’ll Be Missing You,” the music video allowed me to express emotions that are often difficult to put into words, starting from the symbolic opening of a passport and boarding pass, transitioning into a plane window, and then fading into a montage of memories shared with my friends, ending once more with the aircraft window to show that the entire journey was filled with reflection. The collage album cover and vinyl design, featuring the phrase “Some goodbyes last forever, so do the memories,” act as visual and emotional artefacts of the story I wanted to tell. This project has taken a significant amount of time and effort, but I believe the emotional impact and meaningful execution have made it all worthwhile. More than just A-level Media coursework, this is a timeless keepsake that reflects who I am, what I feel, and the memories I will forever cherish, and for that reason, I consider it a deeply successful and personal creation. 

How do your products represent social groups or issues?

In developing the concept for my project, I wanted to focus on the emotional reality of losing touch with close friends due to distance, a topic that resonates deeply with many people in today’s global, fast-paced world. My music video captures the nostalgic feeling of remembering friendships that once felt eternal, using the track "I'll Be Missing You" by Puff Daddy to add emotional weight and cultural familiarity. The project speaks to a social group of young adults and teens who experience separation from their chosen families due to moving abroad, attending university, or growing into new phases of life. Through visual cues like a passport and boarding pass, fading into a view from an aircraft window, I subtly reference this emotional journey. I use these symbolic moments to bridge the gap between physical distance and emotional closeness, representing how many of us carry the memories of our friends with us, even as we move forward in life.

Additionally, my vinyl design and album cover reinforce this message. The phrase I wrote, "Some goodbyes last forever, so do the memories," personalises the emotional tone and makes the message universal. This artwork becomes a vessel of shared emotion. Inspired by real-life scenarios, I created a product that serves both as a tribute to lost connections and as comfort for those who miss their loved ones, allowing them to feel seen and understood.

How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of ‘branding’?

A major strength of my project is the strong and consistent sense of branding that ties each element together. From the moment the viewer sees the opening shot of the passport and boarding pass, there is a clear visual and emotional identity that follows through to the final frame. This branding is carried throughout the vinyl packaging and the collage album cover, which is made from all the photos included in the music video. The use of real memories adds a raw, personal touch to my artist image, creating a cohesive and emotionally authentic brand. I wanted every piece to feel hand-crafted, thoughtful, and intimate.

My consistent use of soft transitions and nostalgic visuals, like the aircraft window shots at both the beginning and end of the video, ties the narrative into a loop, symbolising the cyclical nature of memory. This sense of return strengthens the branding, reminding the audience that the essence of my work is rooted in remembering and honouring emotional experiences. Even the handwritten message on the vinyl was a branding choice—it brings the artist and audience closer, as though I'm speaking directly to them. All these elements work together to define a heartfelt and emotionally grounded brand identity.

How do your products engage with the audience?

My project engages the audience through relatability and emotional authenticity. I wanted viewers to not just watch my video but to feel it, to see their own experiences of friendship, separation, and nostalgia mirrored in mine. When I shared the project with people close to me, their responses confirmed this connection many expressed that it reminded them of their own friendships and the bittersweetness of growing apart. For example, my mom said to me " If I have the chance to see them all once again I wouldn't miss it for the world, and I miss them so much even the ones I didn't like" This emotional response is the core of my audience engagement.

The idea of using real photos and memories gives the audience a glimpse into my personal story while also allowing space for them to reflect on their own. The transitions, the song choice, and even the visual design of the vinyl were all carefully chosen to foster this intimate connection. Additionally, the use of common experiences such as flying, moving away, and looking through old photos encourages viewers to engage with the video on a personal level. This aligns with Henry Jenkins' theory of participatory culture, as my video could inspire others to create or share their own memory-based edits and tributes using similar emotional triggers.

How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions?

Research played a vital role in shaping my project. I studied how artists build emotional connections through visuals and storytelling, especially in nostalgic and memory-driven content. One of my key inspirations was Billie Eilish's "Birds of a Feather" trend on TikTok, which showed how fans deeply engage with emotional, relatable content. I observed how personal visuals paired with emotional music can resonate across a wide audience, and I applied that knowledge directly to my music video.

I also looked into physical media formats and how artists today are reintroducing vinyls and personalised merchandise to evoke nostalgia. This inspired my own vinyl concept, which includes the handwritten phrase to add that extra layer of intimacy. My research into audience engagement strategies helped me understand how hashtags and storytelling can turn personal projects into relatable narratives. While I followed many conventions of nostalgic music videos—like montage sequences and soft fades—I challenged the idea that celebrity and artist identities must always be polished and distant. Instead, I chose to be raw, open, and completely myself, inviting the audience into my world without filters. This gave my project a unique identity grounded in sincerity and emotional truth.