#critical-evaluation

The use of psychedelic drugs has been a controversial topic for decades, with opinions ranging from staunch to complete legalization. In recent, years psilocybin, lysergic acid diethylamide and other psychedelic narcotics have been proven to treat depression and bipolar disorder amongst other mental health challenges. Studies also have shown that the use of psilocybin can increase synchronicity and coherence of the neural activity in the brain, which therefore, interconnects the network of the brain regions, which often leads to efficiency in processing information and better communication between various parts of the brain. It is reported that during the come-up of the beat, an eye is seen forming, getting faster and changing colours, which closely resembles “the come-up stage” while being intoxicated on LSD. The idea behind psychedelia represents a social group of people who enjoy taking psychoactive narcotics. An issue that I re-created was the downside of the drugs, which is seen in the first half of the video where an external voice is speaking. This creates a clear duality between the light and dark effects, which relates to the switch of emotions during the intoxication period. As researchers say, while intoxicated, your emotions can change from feeling extreme pleasure to being extremely overwhelmed, which was the purpose of some of the psychedelic effects.   

Furthermore, the purpose of psychedelic effects was to make the consumer feel the contrast between their emotions, symbolizing the dark side and the light side. Additionally, I also see Empyrean Phantasmagoria (Music Video) as a lesson to consumers, to be aware of the double-sided effects of psycho-active drugs. As an inspiration for the accurate details of an acid trip, I have read the book “The Psychedelic Experience,” which discusses the Tibetan book of the dead and explains what ego-death and depersonalization, which in a lot of cases is what people seek for when taking psychedelic substances. It gives specific instructions on how one should act in various stages of a trip and what to expect and gives close descriptions of a trip which are “Enhanced colour patterns, walls moving, enhanced emotional state, noticing little aspects of your life that were not there before” which allows the person to look at life from an angle they have not been able to see before, which is an issue in society that sometimes LSD can solve.  

To illustrate the sources of promotion, the YouTube channel I created was the main distribution source of my product. I have added short clips of Empyrean Phantasmagoria to try to entice the consumer’s attention and bring them to my video. If they are further interested, they will be able to click on the description of my music video and find the Instagram account which is used further for promotion. I have also posted the music video on Instagram to try and bring the audience to the YouTube Channel as well. One of the ways that Instagram creates a sense of branding is by promoting the merchandise that suits the music video. Since it is so experimental, merchandise works like a niche market for interested consumers. The merchandise establishes a social connection and consumer loyalty to make them turn to the brand repeatedly and wait for what is coming next. If this were a real production company, every time an experimental video is made, I would be making different clothes to suit the theme of the video, bucket hats, shirts etc. I have chosen to create these specific articles of clothes because it targets my audience and is well fit for the theme of the music video, where psychedelia is created, therefore maximizing the potential promotion aspects, and enticing the consumers to dig into my company further.   

Additionally, I also created posts on Instagram that analyse and explain how to make some of the effects that were used in the video. This would provide the customer with confirmation that my company is there for them and does what is best for the customer. This type of help can be appreciated by media producers and might give the consumers of my products some reassurance for them to come back next time. These elements are all linked to each other, therefore closely targeting the audience’s wants and needs creates a sense of branding and establishes customer loyalty. Hence, my products engage with the audience by addressing the consumer directly and teaching consumers how to make the product and creating my clothing brand for the consumers to buy.  

My music video breaks the fourth wall and addresses the audience in the first 20 seconds of the video and in the ending titles, where “be honest with yourself” is mentioned. For example, the first 20 seconds of the video, talk about freeing your mind from the prison that some are not able to escape. These words intended that most ofv the people on this planet are feeling stuck, locked in a box or unable to reach freedom. Freedom is the goal here and if you are not able to achieve freedom/escape the matrix, you are a slave to this realm. This was educational due to encouraging the audiences to think about how to escape the mental prison they are trapped in, otherwise, continue being a slave to this realm, which is a direct communication to the audience. Additionally, the end titles mention that you need to be honest with yourself and not run from who you are. This was my message to the consumers that are going to be watching this, to inform them of the basic principles of this world, which many human beings seem to forget about today. I would like to mention a speech by XXXTENTACION – Free your mind because this is the voice I used in the introduction to the video and overall, I found the speech extremely helpful in guiding me in creating the message that my music video is about.   

Furthermore, the speech mentions basic human principles like being honest to the people around you which was one of my ending titles that includes a line “be honest with yourself. Do not run from who you are.,” that therefore allows me to interact directly with the viewer through text in the titles.  Another way was creating an Instagram account, which had the music video, tutorials, and merchandise of the brand. Firstly, tutorials were my way of engaging with the audience. For example, I have posted a tutorial on Instagram on how to create the alien effect that was used in the video. This was clear and concise to get the basics out there and help the consumers create a similar effect if they decided to use it. Lastly, I have posted merchandise on the Instagram account that creates an emotional connection to the brand and gives the audience a chance to try out the new psychedelic clothes they would get each time a video is posted. Therefore, this engages with the audience by giving them options of which clothes they can purchase from the store.  

For this purpose, I have researched psychedelia before and have researched the effects of the drug LSD. The report had a variety of feelings, so I wanted to re-create a similar experience which influenced and shaped my product further, by doing so. I have recreated it by making trippy, psychedelic visuals, with colours that switch intensely and bright flashing lights. One of the people who inspired my research was Terence Mckenna, who is an evangelist for the use of psilocybin and other mind-affecting narcotics. He was an ethnobotanist, who believed that mushrooms were the first source of humanity’s religious ideas and that they were revolutionary for the world. He advocated that mind-altering narcotics open closed doors within your mind, which is exactly what the theme of the video was about. To take the drug, experience the effects and have a realization, like being honest with yourself at the end of the video in my titles. He also believed that psychedelic substances allowed one to meet with higher entities and travel through dimensions, which I have tried to recreate through different transitions between the clips and have a feeling of flying through dimensions, which was located at the end of the video.   

Some of my beliefs match Terrence’s, which has led to me using his ideas to recreate some of the effects/transitions and text. Furthermore, by sharing ideas of Terrence I was able to make my video stand out by re-creating some of the experiences inside a trip, whereas conventional music videos tend to have a storyline/plot, whereas my piece is meant to be chaotic. Another way would be using two different songs for the main content and the titles, for example, the song is upbeat during the music video and recreates a party-like experience, whereas the titles create feelings of melancholy and make the audience question if the drug is worth doing. Speaking of titles, my titles are at the end of the video, whereas most music videos include their titles during the music video or at the start, however since I made mine at the end, it defied usual conventions and allowed me to further explore the amount of experimentation and shape ideas around the effects that the titles create. I have also taken inspiration from my AS-level project and have made this video a continuation of the AS-level coursework, which made the process flow and made life easier for my ideas for the product. Unlike a conventional music video artist, I take more creative risks, because while I have idea’s the project, it is intense to piece it all together, which therefore makes the shooting of shots harder and planning what to shoot, instead, I must commit to daily routine to capture beautiful shots that match the theme of my piece.   

Moreover, another risk is that even if I do have all the footage shot, it is challenging for me to piece everything together, as the editing process is where my music video takes life instead of filming, which also challenges conventional ways of media production. I have had to work with different effects, tonalities, colours, transitions, 3D text and in some cases motion graphics to fulfil my creative ideas and make a solution for creative blocks. I have enjoyed this process; however, I took an extremely long time to edit the video which resulted in me having stress & anxiety because I was running low on ideas of the psychedelia that needed to be created.