2016 Winner
I wanted to take a more artistic approach towards an issue that is usually addressed with less seriousness than it deserves. Nearly a third of all teenagers have been affected by cyberbullying in some way. Most people try to throw the blame of these negative actions onto other people before accepting any fault themselves. I wrote, composed, and framed every aspect of this video with the goal of portraying my thoughts on internet communication and how it should be handled. Although you may not always be the source of the problem, you can only control YOURself and YOUR actions. My goal was to accurately display the snowballing effect that can occur when people have negative thoughts towards each other on the internet. This innovative space can be both a place for creativity and negativity, and I hope that this video can make a positive impact on the way people think about their actions, even when they aren’t face to face with who they’re talking to.
From the filmmaker on his poetry:
“I heard about the contest on YouTube after having watched a [What’s Your Story?] video submitted by Mark C. Eshleman in 2011. This submission was the source of most of my inspiration for entering, and the person reciting poetry is now the lead singer of a band titled “twenty one pilots.” Through their fanbase and friends, I was able to discover the video, this contest, and all the importance that it holds.
I am currently a part of a program called MMET, and through this I am able to focus on making music, and also video making. Instead of simply making a video, I wanted to be more artistic with it. This is what influenced me to involve my skills in music making and writing lyrics. I was the actor in my video, and therefore needed someone else for shooting and editing. A friend [Larsen M.] was insightful on the same aspects so we worked together in sound design and post.”
— Ryan P.
All music, lyrics, and visuals are entirely original and written/created for the purpose of this contest.
