@by.llyora | REESE LLYORA ALCANSE

As a university student deeply passionate about visual storytelling and digital design, I've developed my abilities in creating engaging social media content and cohesive visual branding. I am excited about exploring creative content, digital media, and enhancing my design skills. I look forward to growing through innovative projects and collaborating with brands to produce captivating visual content.

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For a course in my first semester at university (BCM115; Introduction to Screen Media Production), we were assigned to produce a short video inspired by a poem centered on the theme “Where I’m From,” while avoiding a literal interpretation.

The project of Solace of a Single Born first materialised when I unexpectedly felt recognised while listening to the fifth track, Eldest Daughter, on Taylor Swift’s new album, The Life of a Showgirl. This project sprouted from the uniqueness of an identity as my parents’ only child, as although the song directly explores the experiences of someone who has other siblings, the lyrics instantly resonated with me through a sense of the necessary flexibility of embodying the role of being both the dependable eldest and the spoiled youngest daughter, the role taking its desired form in situations that need it.I have grown accustomed to the lifestyle of being alone at the end of the day, with no siblings to recap my day to or argue over small things with. Due to this, I wanted to make sure that the experience I brought to the viewer would, or at least try to, imitate that feeling of self-sufficiency and contentment. This one-minute video takes the viewer through the comfortable silence that accompanies the company of solitude, allowing for isolation to be seen as less of a dreadful void and more of a companion in the quiet.The shots that I filmed for this project are mostly done with a tight framing, with an exclusion of one. This is because I wanted to relay the feeling that nothing in this specific space is too out of reach, but instead are incredibly close—both physically and emotionally. The tight frame showcases intimacy, placing the viewer directly within the space, emphasizing the concept that although I am alone, I am still surrounded by the reminders that I am not lonely.The colours of each shot are dull and not as saturated, as I wanted it to correlate to an idea that things are perceived to be livelier with other people around because your energy is always at its highest, but within this area, it is not as harsh or as overwhelming. The inspiration for this aspect came from the movie Little Women (2019), directed by Greta Gerwig, as the film uses warm, bright colour-grading for scenes set in the past—where the characters were lively—and colder, desaturated colours for scenes set in the present—where the characters have faced the lessons of life; love and loss. Colours are incredibly important in visual works, as it is hypothesized that color grading is used in film as a way to subconsciously direct how an audience should perceive the emotions of the film, (Everett 13).Additionally, there is not much symmetry in the way the things in frame are placed, however it is done in a way that allows the viewer to not only focus on one thing until I redirect their attention to something specific through actions.The final product is more than just a video or a project, it is a reflection of who I am when I do not need to adjust myself to be less or more of something. It is a realisation that I am simply the product of the love I am surrounded by and the media that I consume. I believe that within the 60-second time frame, I was able to capture the most important parts of where I am from, metaphorically and sentimentally speaking.

ReferencesSwift, Taylor. “Eldest Daughter.” The Life of a Showgirl, Republic Records, 2025. https://open.spotify.com/track/62HoDY1Km6lm47haFpUn9c?si=30f0ca3b685b41c1“Taylor Swift – Eldest Daughter.” Genius, 2025, genius.com/Taylor-swift-eldest-daughter-lyrics.“LITTLE WOMEN – Official Trailer (HD).” YouTube, uploaded by Sony Pictures Entertainment, 2019. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AST2-4db4icPersson, Per. “Towards a Psychological Theory of Close-Ups.” Kinema: A Journal for Film and Audiovisual Media, 10 Apr. 1998. https://doi.org/10.15353/kinema.vi.882Everett, Audrey. Color Grading in Film: How Complementary Colors Affect an Audience’s Perception of Mood. Apr. 2018, p. 1-36, https://libres.uncg.edu/ir/asu/f/Everett,%20Audrey%20Spring%202018%20Thesis.pdf

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For a university media production project, I created Strength in Weakness, a visually driven short film exploring vulnerability, personal growth, and transformation through colour, sound, and non-linear storytelling.

My short film Strength in Weakness was created as an immersive, visually driven translation into a basic human contradiction, that true strength is not found in dismissal or denial of things that hurt, but in the ultimate acceptance of vulnerability. Avoiding an obvious narrative presentation, I made the film in a way that converts the difficult, internal process of personal growth, into an unspoken language delivered by colour and sound. It is meant to feel like a memory reel, the main concept that guided this piece of work is the personal need to recall one’s roots throughout the challenges that comes with growth in order to develop into a new version. This belief is expressed artistically through the methodical combination of visual and auditory elements to affect the mood, emphasise moments of empowerment, and flow through the course of transformation.Strength in Weakness uses colour, temperature, and intensity as a major component, using the screen as a canvas for the painting of the inner thoughts that belong to the main focus of the film—me. The use of colour is not only an aesthetic choice, but an expressive foundation designed to build a quick and wordless comprehension of emotion for the viewers. The approach to lighting emphasizes warmth and brightness throughout most of the film, establishing a sense of safety. The warm, bright light physically reflects the internal emotional space where vulnerability is acceptable, transforming moments of quiet alone into actions of basic strength. On the other hand, the colour scheme actively contributes to defining the emotional progression of the work. The hues strongly impact the mood and tone of the media as a whole, along with emphasizing change and development within the story. Using a darker color scheme can help watchers understand the gravity of the scene, whereas brighter color schemes represent change, growth and other powerful emotions (Das 2023). This systematic use of colour ensures the palette acts as a sensory scale, carefully guiding the audience through the changes being experienced by the protagonist.Beyond the internal atmosphere, the film’s art direction and how it interacts with the outside world are essential to developing the complexity of the story, despite it seemingly being simple when watching. In examining the intersection of film art and narrative aesthetics, we can conclude that art direction does not only provide visual richness and aesthetic enjoyment for films, but also profoundly influences and advances the depth and complexity of cinematic storytelling (Jiang 2023). This is applied in scenes that make use of external, natural settings that demonstrate abstract ideas like acceptance and the beauty of surrender. These are presented through the increased intensity of the colours. An example would be a scene that has strong hues of a tree’s richly green leaves, projecting the internal sensation of liberation that comes with letting go. The visual impact of nature, enhanced by colour grading, expresses an emotional reality in ways that a verbal conversation could not.The aesthetic contrast between the past and the present, a method used to create nostalgia and narrative depth, is a core component to the structure of the film. The past is materialised through the incorporation of archive film, the unstable and raw texture contrasting the quality of videos taken in the present. This is intentionally used to provide authenticity and a personal touch, symbolising the formative quality of memories. This rawness stands out against the clean texture and composition of present-day scenes, a strong visual difference that is intended to actively involve the viewers in the process of adjustment that is not always linear, and sometimes can feel abrupt. Emotional resonance and film editing are important factors in determining how engaged an audience is (Parker 2024), ensuring that the audience is intrigued by not just what they see, but by the experience of memory being processed in real-time.The components of audio serve as the ongoing emotional construction of the film. Referencing the practice that “from classic movies to modern television shows, the use of music to sway an audience’s emotional response is an effective practice and continues to be a fundamental part of the filmmaking process (d’Artenay 2019),” the film includes a constant track of background music. This music works as more than just a backdrop, it is a musical anchor that conveys the subtle, guiding feelings created by reminiscence. The melody serves as a symbolic narrative guide, influencing the audience’s moods and guaranteeing that the underlying emotional context is continuous and evident. The sound design ultimately bridges the visual variation, giving a consistent emotional path that links past to an evolving present.In conclusion, the concept of Strength in Weakness is a journey of acceptance. It makes the case that as long as memory does not become an anchor, the ability to reflect does not need to hinder the growth into the present and future, used as a crutch in moving forward. The film achieves its narrative through artistic methods, turning the intimate and difficult truth of self-acceptance into a widely engaging experience.

Reference list
d’Artenay, A 2019, The Influence of Film Music on Emotion.Das, S 2023, Film Editing and Emotional Resonance: The Psychology of Cut, ResearchGate, pp. 104–118.Jiang, L 2023, ‘Research on Narrative Aesthetics in Film Art Direction’, Art and Performance Letters, vol. 4, no. 12.Parker, M 2024, The power of color: How saturation and lighting shape film visuals, The Chant.

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