In regards to You Are Not Alone | The Experience of Depression by Megan Clark, the video starts with a powerful tool called J-cut. While the subject in the frame remains motionless, the voice-over narration begins. Mainly, this tool allows the viewers to focus on the meaning of what is being said, as the image plays an integral function at the beginning of the work. The visuals are essential for depicting emotions and providing the audience with eye-catching imagery, while the audio takes the primary accent. Also, it effectively creates a sense of foreshadowing making the viewer wonder what will happen next. (00:13)
Another feature of the video that creates the mood of the work is its black and white image. By convention, black and white footage is considered serious and intense. The absence of other colors speaks that the topic under consideration is rather often than not connected to hard times which slow down people from experiencing their lives deep in sound. This particular work sticks to the tradition as it renders the feelings of a person with depression. Thus, the absence of other colors serves the story in terms of setting the emotional element to the foreground.(00:35)
The shadow is necessary for this video as they depict the inability of a person to fight against depression when left one on one with it. Similarly to the viewer who cannot accelerate the speed of playback, the person subject to depression can do nothing about their feeling enveloped in weakness. They can neither hide from it nor move forward. This person can do nothing and therefore whatever attempts to escape they make they are still trapped with the depression. Eventually, it starts to feel like standing still. It is what these rock shots transmit to the viewer and how they contribute to the story on the emotional level. (01:08)
The use of fade out and fade in most frequently signals some time passing by. In the context of this particular work, this edit option speaks volumes about the internal state of the depressed person. To be more precise, the tool suggests the viewers assume that depression usually does not develop overnight and, moreover, cannot be easily overcome. The implicit message here is that the person suffers from it for a long time, and the long exposure to depressive moods affects the quality of life in general. Besides, time may pass by without the person noticing it. (02:05)
Video Reference:
Clark, M. You Are Not Alone [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.meganeleanorclark.co/youre-not-alone