Perfect

What is the definition of 'perfect'?

Our goal in creating this music video, was in no means to create something that was perfect, but to otherwise illustrate that being perfect doesn't exist and that everyone is different in their own, unique way.

At Brio Integrated Theatre, we had the opportunity to create a music video of the original song called “Perfect” from their movie “The Portal”, which was made with students from the Burlington high school LABBB  Collaborative. The song was written by Brio founder, Sahar Ahmed and her sisters. Intern Leila Ladd (also co-filmmaker) sang the song.

From the very beginning, we wanted our message to promote that an individual doesn’t need to be perfect to fit into society, and that being ‘perfect’ just doesn’t exist. This message of the video related to our own lives including how we both feel the need to be ‘perfect’ in school and in other aspects.

Throughout the process of expressing what the ‘Perfect‘ song means to us, we learned the importance of “visual storytelling” in filmmaking as we discussed, collaborated and created our storyboard for filming and editing this video. We learned from the staff at WinCAM and Brio about filming with different cameras, using the green screen and various shot types and editing techniques. We were inspired by the support we got from our community: getting help from a Middle School’s soccer team with local resident Peter Awerbuch, and local restaurant Comella’s, who let us film in their restaurant.

The three bullet points below represent the stories that we chose to present in the music video:

  • Women’s concern with body image
  • Physical disabilities
  • The difficulty to balance school and a social life

Here are some resource and informational links about our main topics that we covered in our music video, we hope they are helpful.

Why was it important to make the music video 'Perfect'?

Leila:
“I wanted to be a part of creating something artistic out of a song, I was so lucky to get the opportunity to sing. I got to, with friends, cultivate an image from the lyrics of the song. What we were trying to portray was a sense of acknowledgment of the certain problems that people face and a hope to try and overcome, love, and to try to spark people to be open to the people around them. This project means a lot to me because it brought a lot of different artistic things together that I was interested in, and taught me a lot about how to work cameras, storyboard, edit, and a lot more.”

Sophie:
Perfect inspired me to promote the struggle between having to balance school work and a social life because it is something that I struggle with. I have found myself continuously focusing on school, specifically my grades and receiving the “perfect A+”, without providing time to relax and be with my friends. I had the opportunity to play this specific part in the music video which I enjoyed and appreciated being a part of. Each story that we presented, I believe, is important and needed to be shared.”