Research & Planning 21- The shooting begins!

Louisa and I have been rehearsing for the close up shots- she has now learnt all of the lyrics and does a beautiful lip sync! Yesterday I gathered the first of my footage. I wanted a blank canvas as the background for this section, so she stood in front of a plane white wall in her room.  Here is a not so good quality picture of the location taken on my phone. ( my camera makes it look very grey with lots of shadowing, however it is infact a clean bright white wall!)

Research & Planning 20- Collections of props and costumes

Props 

Notepad & pen( using my own)
Candles/ Lights ( my own / borrowing from Media & Drama departments)


Costume

Long flowing white dress ( borrowed from a friend)
Black/ green scarf ( my own)
Leggings ( Louisa's)
Black long sleeve top ( my own)

Research & Planning 19- More of Louisa...

Research & Planning 18- Location shots

 Covesea Beach

Path/ Road

Blank Wall

Location and set for dark section( white sheet over cupboard)

I chose these locations as i feel they match the genre and give the right vibes of what i intend to portray. My locations play a key role in my video and to me are a crucial element of identifying the genre of my target audiences expectations.

Research & Planning 17- Shooting Script & Shot List

I have already made a few tweeks from my original plan as you will see in my shooting script. I have incorporated and re used more of the sections, as i feel that will make the video less static, and give more visual variety. Mainly adding in more of the head and mid shots as i feel this will enhance the flow of the video.

My Shooting Script

 

 

 

My Shot List

 

 

Research & Planning 16- Animatic- with sound

 This animatic shows which shots i intend to shoot, against the song. Although it is timed to the song, and all the shots are ones that I intend on taking, there is potential for slight changes in the animatic, depending on the validity of the shots I manage to get, and leaving room for potential complications on the shooting day. This Animatic should act very useful in the rest of my planning, as it gives me a base and target to aim towards.

Research & Planning 15- 5 Sections & Storyboard

In my video i'm planning on using 5 different visual sections to add variety and also create a sense of story, despite the fact there will not be a physical story line, and only follows a vague narrative structure. First of all i am only using one person in my video, this will be Louisa Robertson. I chose her because i feel she has a look suited to what i had in mind, and she is also a talented performer and actress. Here is a picture of the beautiful Louisa.

                                                                                              

My sections:

A Beach- mid/long shot of girl dancing and moving- footprints in the sand etc..
Close up & extreme close up-girl mouthing words of song (black and white)
Long/mid shot of field/trees-girl walking away
Lanscape/clouds- timelapse
Dark room- girl sitting, shadowing (almost silhouette)

I plan for these sections (apart from the black and white section) to all be edited with a vintage filter effect.

Story board

Introduction to music- no lyrics just sound-Very slow tracking following footsteps by water - only just being able to see the bottom of feet in top right hand corner

 First lyrics of the song-" not even they can stop me now, boy i'll be flying over head, their heavy words cant bring me down, boy i've been raised from the dead"

 

Next verse- dark room/ atmosphere, shadowing, candles, protagonist crouched-writing

 

beach scene- comes in at chorus- has 3 sections above. 1-frolicking around, 2 spelling out "radio" in sand, 3 mouthing words, tracking (this time section 1)

 

 

"American dreams came true somehow, i swore i'd chase until i was dead, I heard the streets were pathed with gold, thats what me father said" 

wooded area/ general countryside- louisa not as focal point

 

Chorus again-Section 2

 

 

"How do you like me now?"

 

 

Section 2

here is the time lapse landscape scene- comes in after chorus- short instrumental (extended chorus)

 

 

 

extended chorus

wooded area again ( protagonist slightly closer ) stop motion, with Louisa in 3 different places in scene consecutively

dark shadowing ( quick editing)

 

Section 3

 

last line of song " how do you like me now?"- extreme close up on lips

Research & Planning 14- Story Arc

My Story Arc on Prezi

Research & Planning 13- Key Elements

When I very first began watching and analyzing music videos at the start of  the course, as a class we played music video bingo, in which we used a list of common traits that many music videos tend to have.

Recently while researching, i found theorists who look into elements that make a video into what it is. Here is a prezi i made on what i discovered.

Theorists of music videos on Prezi

To conform to my genre of "Indie/alternative pop"

 -  Costumes need to match the feel and vibe of the song..ie:
 light floaty dress to go with the soft cinematic sound.
 -Costume and set must be planned to trigger emotion and a meaning, whether that be feeling lost , happiness, sadness or anger.
-Editing must be vaguely matched to the beat of the song, in order to create a sense of unity between video and track.
- I want to add a" vintage" or old fashioned filter affect, use interesting/ odd camera angles- creating a strange perspective on an object, must use lens flare and lots of fading and merging , perhaps stop motions/ landscape timelapse. Here is a very good example of stop motion.


To conform to Expectations of my Audience

- Must stand out as different to other music videos, whether they are in the same genre. Must have an element of something new and have individuality, drawn from the editing or even the ideas behind and within the video.
- They want to see something aesthetically pleasing and an emotion drawn they can relate with.
- They want elements of surprise due to a build up of one emotion, which leads to another one.
- A non linear story line.- having a collage of scenes.

- i want the video to be realistic- that is a very important factor to the audience, however it needs to also have a slightly surreal side to it, but this is portrayed through emotions and feeling- the song in itself sounds quite surreal.
- Through Mise en scene I will use a change of costume, eg: in one scene wearing a  long flowing dress on a beach, in the next wearing very dark clothes in a dark room, with lots of shadowing- the lighting will also help accentuate these changes in mood.

-The cinematography should be exciting and uplifting ,however it must conform to extremes-therefore at times being simple in order to focus on the subject in the video.
- Editing transitions should be relatively steady, to match the slow rhythm of the song .

What is expected in my video? ?

- Must conform to what my audience members want, so I will make sure i achieve and check through everything i have listed above to conform to them.
- Very importantly the video must correlate with the song, so the editing needs to be timed well with the lyrics.
- There must be elements that my audience can relate to. I will use scenes such as a windy beach , and a dark "cold" house and a busy street- that combined with the costumes and props may seem out of place, however i want it to look slightly out of place-giving it that sense of surrealism. i want my video to have a postmodern twist that makes it "different"

Research & Planning 12- Institutions

I have been exploring different institutions that might produce, and exhibit videos like mine. Music video institutions are companies who help produce and fund music videos for their signed artists.

YouTube is a video-sharing website,created in 2005. The idea is that users can upload, view and share videos online. The company uses Adobe Flash Video and HTML5 technology to display a wide variety of user-generated video content, including movie clips, TV clips, amateur content such as video blogging and short original videos and more importantly music videos! Taking this into consideration, i think Youtube will definitely be a source in which i can post my video as it is free and an easy and popular way to be seen. EMI Records(Electric and Musical Industries Ltd) is one of the world’s leading music companies, as it home to some of the most successful and wellknown recording artists.EMI is the British flagship record label founded by the EMI company in 1972 and launched in January 1973
"EMI Music brings artists and fans together by driving action and creating value wherever music is to be experienced" Artists that are signed to EMI include Lily Allen, Bat For Lashes, The Beatles, Beastie Boys, LukeBryan, Coldplay, Depeche Mode, Gorillaz, David Guetta, Iron Maiden, Norah Jones, Lady Antebellum, MassiveAttack, Kylie Minogue, Katy Perry, Pink Floyd,Corinne Bailey Rae, Sir Simon Rattle, Snoop Dogg, Tinie Tempah,Thirty Seconds To Mars, KT Tunstall, Keith Urban and Robbie Williams.


As you can see alot of the artists are very mainstream, but EMI also sign more alternative and less known artists. I feel that EMI would be the perfect institution to produce and exibit my video, as it is one of the top 4 music institutions in the world. Being so well known and trusted it would be a great support and promotional tool for attracting viewers to my video. EMI Music provides EMI’s list of artists – as well as independent labels and artists -just like mine will be. The great thing about this is that EMI and youtube have joined forces as the institute has its own youtube channel, where there produced videos are posted.

Research & Planning 11- My Perfect Audience Member

Keeping the qualities and ideals of my target audience in mind, i looked at http://www.uktribes.com. The website looks at youth culture and offers a tribal breakdown based on the 'social glues' (music, sport, fashion. technology etc) around which young people gather. By studying all the different tribes the website offers and the qualities that go hand in hand with these type of people, i found that my ideal audience member falls under the tribe " Indie Scenester" Looking at the traits of this tribe, i feel it is an accurate choice.

What is an Indie Scenester?

-likes V necks
-shops at american apparel and thrift stores
-wide vocabulary
-skinny jeans
-thick glasses
-artsy
-long fringe that are side swept
-try to be original
-scruffy hair in bright colours
-likes to be CRAZY!
-says things like "Rawr!"
-likes kiddy things like hello kitty, dinosaurs robots
-Dark makeup and false lashes/ or sometimes complete opposite and wears no make up
-bright and fun
-wears leather jackets
-acting silly
-drinks coffee not tea
-Loves to party
-Intellectual
-Intercultural
-Red Lipstick, Bright nail varnish(girls only)
-eat healthily,love broccoli


You may find indie scenesters that love some scene things and hate others, love some indie things and hate others...it depends They like bands such as The Strokes, Bloc Party, Razorlight, Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines, Ben Howard, Benjamin Francis Leftwich, Lana Del Rey, Rizzle Kicks and basically everything the music magazine NME tells them to listen to.


Occasionally you'll see one wearing a Led Zeppelin tshirt under their blazer which proves they are "rock and roll" and into old school "hard" rock, however they also like acoustic music, and in particular love acoustic covers, and the occasional folk tune. Favorite Led Zeppelin song of theirs would probably be Stairway To Heaven. They try to involve themselves in creative subjects at college and university such as art, photography and media studies and like to watch Japanese horror films, 1950's French films, James Dean films etc. An ideal night out would be to a music venue such as Camden Barfly or Nottinghill Arts Club.

Below are some pictures of my indie-scenster friend Hermione Drummond Moray

Research & Planning 10- Audience Research

Why do people choose to listen to the music that they do?

People choose certain types of music to listen to, for a number of reasons. Listening to the same music as your friends do is very common, as the influence of a friends taste in music is very powerful, particularly at a younger age. Loved ones, including family can also have a strong impact on your taste in music.

Lyrics may inspire a person to listen to a certain type of music, or be a catalyst for emotion, such as 'joy'
"Cause holy cow, I love your eyes And only now I see you like Yeah, lying with me half awake Stumbling over what to say Well, anyway, it's looking like a beautiful day, Throw those curtains wide! One day like this a year'd you see me right Throw those curtains wide! One day like this a year'd we'll sing it right"
- Elbow

Or deep meaningful lyrics that people find they can relate to.
"Never mind, I'll find someone like you I wish nothing but the best for you, too Don't forget me, I begged, I remember you said Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead Sometimes it lasts in love, but sometimes it hurts instead"
- Adele

The beat of a song can also be an attraction, stereo typically depending on your personality. For example if you are an outgoing party animal you may tend to like up beat dance tracks. If you are an introvert who is very quiet and shy you may tend to enjoy a song with a slower beat, so you can listen more to the lyrics. This is a very stereotypical view, and obviously most people listen to more than one genre of music.

Do music videos make a difference to a persons choice of music?

This entirely depends on how a person views their music. Some people listen to their music on there ipod, therefore listening purely for the sound, not the video. Many people will view the majority of their music on channels such as MTV music channel or YouTube. If a song has a cool video that people are talking about, people may watch the video, disregarding what genre it is, therefore having a good video can act as an attraction in order to make people listen to your music. More and more people these days are not only downloading the soundtrack of a song, but the accompanying music video. With this exposure to the music video it does increase the influence that the video has on the music. Videos tend to correlate with the genre of the song. Therefore if the song is very dark, and intense, the video should represent this. For example comparing the video for Katy Perry- Last Friday Night

with Eminem- Cleaning out my close Katy Perry is an upbeat, 'feel good' song which is portrayed through the video with the use of bright colours,

smiling faces and quirky dance moves- Which shows a huge contrasts with Eminems.

It's darkness and intensity gives of vibes of hatred and depression and has a scary almost violent feel.

Videos like Eminems has a strict narrative that works with the song to captivate the audience. A sense of story is created in both videos which keeps the interest in both the video and the song. By just looking at the snap shots, you can see the strong difference in videos.These differences in videos tend to reflect the difference in audience member, which shows how a music video CAN make a difference to a persons choice of music.
  
What attracts people to music videos? 

I asked my class and other people around school what attracted them to music videos. This is what i found: People are attracted to music videos that:
they feel that they can relate to ( whether the narrative is similar to their own experience,or if they feel connected to the video in some way)
Have attractive people in them.
The vocalist is somebody they admire, such as a music artist/band.
 Have interesting editing (People like to see clever tricks, the works of a talented editor, or some crazy animation)
Going to extremes- it excites people "something cool to look at".
Have a focal point.

What puts people off?

People do not want to watch boring videos, with random people in them whom they do no recognize or care about. People don't want to see one continuous shot of someone singing to the camera throughout the entire video. Some people will be put off depending on the genre of music, for instance violent rap videos may not be appealing to people who only like pop music and vice versa.

Research & Planning 9- Mood Board & Inspiration

I have created a digital mood board for my video. The images i have used give a feel to the mood i want my video to portray. The boards colour scheme consists of alot of muted blue's and greens. I've used black and white images, as i want some clips to have a vintage, old fashioned style to them. I have also added alot of seaside pictures, as i am planning to film some clips on the beach. I also want sunlight to be a promenant element of my video, i hope this comes across in my mood board. Here it is!

Iv'e been trawling through youtube looking for music videos that have elements that i want mine to have and similar features that match my moodboard. Although this video Bat For Lashes- All Your Gold is all in black and white (I only want some clips to be in black and white) it uses camera angles and shots that i intend to use, as well as having a scene set on the beach.
This next video Gabrielle Aplin- Home i realy like. It uses the muted blues and greens,as well as a beachy/ sandy setting, using lens flare. I also intend to incorporate tracking into my video, which is used here, when the girl is walking along singing.
The lengths of the shots in the video are similar to the timings i had in mind. The use of focus pull is another factor that gave me inspiration to potentially use in my own video. As i intend to film in the countryside as this video examples, i feel i have already,and will get useful ideas from watching these types of videos. I am already having "light bulb" moments, with new ideas developing all the time..

Research & Planning 8- 9 Key Shots

I chose to annotate I will Be Blessed By Ben Howard. This video includes many elements that i would like mine to have. 9 Key Shots

This shot is actually the first shown in the video. It establishes where it is set ( the countryside) Its a slightly low angled shot of the hill.

This is a high angled shot. We see the trainers and socks, telling us someone has taken them off to play around on the beach. I really like the shadowing of the legs in this shot. It also establishes another location in the video.

This is a shot of a young boy surfing with his back to the camera. Natural lighting is used. Important part to the story line of the song.

This shot is out of focus- i chose it as a key shot as this video uses alot of focus pull. It enhances the shot and makes the bodies into a silhouette form. Again using a slightly low angle, making it look like the people are on a higher level than they actually are.

This shows a long shot of the beach and shows that this is a seaside town, reitterating where this is set. The colours are slightly muted throughout the whole video through the use of a colour filter, however in this shot i think it really stands out.

This is a really beautiful shot of a path through the trees. The sunlight beaming through is why i chose this as a key shot, again establishing the country side setting and vibe.

I chose this shot due to the sunlight gleeming through the trees through either natural light or perhaps adding a lens flare effect when editing. Its a staple in this video, as it will be in mine.

This shot of the dog being blown in the wind, is important, as it shows that this is a friendly place, let alone windy. Also, i chose it because it isnt the only shot of an animal in the video, which is not very common in alot of modern music videos, which makes it a little wierd and wonderful, yet almost a convention of this videos particular theme and genre.

This shot of the footsteps in the sand is most likely filmed by the person walking. I like this technique of filming, it gives off a home video effect , which fits into the vibe of the entire video, which also has that feel to it.