Activity #8

Good Morning America’s Katy Perry ‘Roar’ Music Video Contest

9/13/13 - 9/28/13

6.5 hrs 

Creativity (16 hrs)

Outcome 1 was reached because my skill at filmmaking was needed to create a video that would enter into Good Morning America’s contest. I learned more about my skill and how to get better at it in the process. Outcome 2 came about because I had never made a video for a contest before. I discovered the contest and initiated the idea of participating in it to my IB TOK class, plus the video required much planning and cooperation of all involved, so it also helped me achieve Outcome 3 & 4. Outcome 5 was reached because once my classmates were onboard to participate in filming, it was up to me to produce a stellar video that had a chance at winning. I made sure each individual in the video felt comfortable putting themselves out there by being in it, for ethical privacy reasons of course, allowing me to achieve Outcome 7.

When Good Morning America announced it would be holding a contest to see what school in America could create the best music video to Katy Perry’s new single, “Roar,” I jumped right on the opportunity. The winning school would be given a private concert by Katy Perry herself, and I had been a fan of Katy Perry for a while, and I liked the song, so I asked a few friends if they would help me do an entry for Page High School. They agreed, and Friday, September 13th we filmed the first take. It only consisted of three of my friends and my IB TOK teacher, but it was just an example of what I really wanted to see in the final product. It can be viewed below:

After showing the first ‘draft’ to my TOK class, I was flooded with requests to participate in the next take. The result was a video that included a lot more people, as well as an ending that took place at our homecoming football game. The contest required that the video be up to two minutes long, which presented the challenge of cutting out parts of the song and keeping it as a continuous track. I did this successfully, adding a special element to the music right when the football player is about to kick the football. The actual concept of the final video was surrounding a girl who was trying to stand out in a sea of monotonous, brain-dead followers of convention. She saw how people weren’t thinking for themselves, so when she gave them a ‘roar’ of a hint, they finally snapped out and realized what they had been missing. The rest of the video shows a real-life example of what it is like to live life to the fullest, the student section at one of our most attended football games. You can see in the video just how spirited and exuberant everyone is, traits of people who like to be who they are and have fun in life. I titled it, “Page High School and the True Colors of Roar,” and it can be seen on my YouTube channel at: https://youtu.be/Sjxtgkx9LXs

This video really touched a lot of people at my school, especially my principal. I am close to her due to my position on the Principal’s Council, and when she saw the video for the first time, she immediately scheduled a day where the whole school would tune in and watch it. The moment that happened was really special, for I could see everyone’s eyes light up as they watched our school spirit come alive in this video. Unfortunately, we did not win, but I still feel that the video was a winner anyway, for it brought the school together and taught everyone that being yourself is the only way to be.