Shooting Schedule

We have created a WhatsApp group chat so that it is easier to communicate with everyone in the group and to ensure that everyone in the group as well as the actors is on the same page. We have tried to film some of the footage already but it wasn't a success as the lighting wasn't right and made the footage all blurry. As a result of his we are looking at filming in December before the Christmas holidays which start on the 16th of December. The day that is looking most promising is he Wednesday the 14th, however we will only be able to film one of the actors this day as their timetables clash. We will then have to film the other actor after the Christmas holidays, preferably in the first week back as otherwise we will be leaving it too late and close to the deadline. 

Overall it had been very difficult to try and et everybody to communicate efficiently and to try and gain knowledge of when everybody is free. On top of that there is the issue of clashing timetables and schedules which makes it hard for us to be free at the same time. We are trying to sort this issue out now as everybody is making this project a priority. 

Prop List

A list of physical props / costume / accessories needed whilst filming : 
- White t - shirts for actors to wear
- Trousers and shoes which are old so it doesn't matter if they get messy 
- Assorted paints and paintbrushes in order to dispense paint

Storyboards

This is the storyboard we created for our final idea. We decided to create the storyboard using sticky notes as it meant we were able to change the idea or the order we would film if we felt something else would work better.

Final Locations

This is a picture of Wymondham town centre, this is where we will film our time lapses, we are going to pick a busy time and day such as when the market is on as we will get more people in our time lapse which will look more effective and will mean we don't have to film for quite so long. We will effectively create an effective mise-en-scene if we get the right weather (hopefully quite bright) and also lots of people empathise that despite the many people around the characters they both feel so isolated and lonely.

This three pictures are taken in Annie's house which is the location where we will be filming Charlie's part. The house is currently being redecorated but I think the rundown house will will symbolise Charlies life, the unkept look of the house relates so Charlies illness how he hasn't got the energy to do everyday task such as tidy and decorate the house (fatigue and lack of motivation are side effects of depression). 

This scruffy house will be a great contrast to the other location where the girl will live, the house we are using for that footage is not under reconstruction so looks more normal. We are hoping that it suggests to the audience that mental health issues can effect anyone despite the fact their life may seem perfect to everyone else on the outside. 

These three images are taken from inside my house where we are hoping to film the female part. Both my house and Annie's house are not overly busy homes; there is not too much decor or bright colours which would take away from the message and concept we are trying to portray which is good. 

Final Script

CHARLIES PART

Shot of alarm clock 

Charlie: 7:00 presses alarm onto snooze, presses snooze again and again every 10 minutes, every time he presses the snooze button more and more paint appears on the alarm clock

Charlie: Slowly gets out of bed after staring at the floor for a while with his head in his hands and sluggishly makes his way the the bathroom 

Film from mirrors point of view 

Charlie: Wipes eyes and paint comes of his hands onto his face, then washes his hands and paint washes of into the sink 

Charlie: goes down the stairs

Charlie: opens fridge and sees postit note on fridge door 'take pills and try hand another CV in today'

Charlie: shuts fridge door and pics up CV's (these are plain ones without paint on), flicking through them to double check they're all there

Charlie:  Opens front door and cuts to him in town where he checks his CV's in his pockets and they all have paint on. 

Charlie: Gets angry and frustrated, ripping up CV's and chucking them on floor 

Charlie: walks around (film time lapses of him in his shirt with paint on and normal people walking past him

Charlie: footage of charlie running

Charlie: time lapse of him in town gradually gaining more paint on him

Annabel's Part

Annabel: walk down the stairs

Annabel: makes cup of tea as she picks up things and does thing there is paint going onto the objects so she gets angry

Annabel: sulks down to the floor

Annabel: puts shoes on and just runs out door

Annabel: carries on running

Annabel: time lapse in town

Annabel and Charlie together

Both walking towards each other than run into the same shot 

Annaebl and charlie: Bump into each other on street

End on time lapse of them two looking at each other with each others paint on

Ancillary Task 2 Research

This poster overall has portrayed the upbeat nature of the song to create a fun and colourful music poster. This differs from other posters as it has used large objects that attract attention away from the artist and has used vibrant colours. From this poster we get the impression that the type of music will be quite girly and the target audience will be teenage girls ad this poster is ideal for attracting this target audience because of the bright colours. However, it must be noted that the bright colours may not attract everyone as some may think that the poster is too busy and unattractive.

This poster is much more simplistic and unique is this Arctic Monkeys one. The colour choice is very effective as the black and white takes away any complexity and makes the poster stand out to the audience. This poster seems to aim to provide the band with a sense of privacy, which therefore means you have to buy the record to understand more about the music and the band. I would maybe suggest that this poster is a little bit too simplistic and lacks creativity, as there isn't too much about this poster that would make a lot of people think about why they would buy this bands music (based on the poster).

This poster uses quite dull colours which creates a sense of mystery about the music on the record, which also creates the impression that the music is going to be deep and meaningful. However the writing on the poster clearly stands out which allows the reader to see the important information easily.  but the writing stands out so the reader can see it clearly. This poster is very clever in the way that they have advertised the most well known songs as well as putting the song son the poster that feature other artists as this will increase their target audience. For example, if someone is a big fan of one of the other artists on the track they would be more inclined to buy this record. I would suggest that the target audience for this record is teenage girls or young adult females, based on the fact that there is a girly font written in pink writing and the poster is solely focussed on the female singer.

Ancillary Task 1 Research

Viva La Vida - Coldplay

This is a perfect example of a Coldplay digipak. All of Coldplay's album covers are very simple, yet effective. The images, text and use of space create the abstract feel the band is aiming to create.

The front cover is an image of the French Revolution, this is a rather memorable and famous image to many people, meaning the cover could easily be recognised and remembered.The use of the graffiti style writing over the top of the classic image adds a modern twist.

The two inside covers are both very simplistic. One containing a black and white image of each band member and the other simply states the name of the group and the title of the album.

The back cover follows the same colour scheme (black and yellow) and again is very simple. The back cover simply lists the track listing, a barcode and the copyright detailing. This would neither attract or detract an audience as it is vital information that has to be placed somewhere on the album. The best place therefore, for this information, would be at the bottom on the back cover. It is also in small print making it seem less important to its target audience.

Opposites - Biffy Clyro 

This Digi Pack works well because it shows trees but in different seasons depending on what page of the Digi Pack you're on. All the flowers are fairly dead with no leaves which symbolises loneliness which relates to many of the lyrics on the album. I think this Digi Pack has a very deep meaning and can speak many words and that is why it is appealing to the audience as it gives an insight into moments in his life that people listening may be able to relate to. Looking at the Digi Pack it makes me think very deeply making the audience want to listen to the album. 

Ed Sheeran 

This album cover is very basic which makes it rather mysterious and encourages the audience to want to listen to the songs to find out more about the style of music on the able and the meaning the lyrics have. The plain orange background draws attention to the audience as it is eye catching and would stand out in a shop making you want to buy it. The white font also adds effectiveness to this Digi Pack. Ed Sheeran is known for writing songs that are relateable to his audience and this makes him an important figure in todays society. 

 Our idea: 

For the front cover of the album we want loads of little t-shirts with paint splattered all over them but the words of our song title 'Fix you' 'Coldplay' will be left clear of paint. Then each page of the digi pack as you go along will have slightly less paint and then on the back page where the song titles are the page will have mo paint it will just be a white background with the song titles on. The t-shirt with paint on give hints to our music video and having less and less paint as the digi pack goes on sums up the music video narrative how as time goes on and the characters realise things and help each other they realise things aren't as bad and the paint comes of their thsirt like it does on the digi pack. 

Audience Research Video

What we learnt from the audience research:

• people like the idea for the music video and think that it targets an important issue in today's society
• the best way to reach out to the audience is through social media sites as this is what gets used the most within our target audience 
• the most common way to consume music videos is through the use of sites such as YouTube and therefore it is important to us that our music video is highly featured and easily accessible on YouTube

Update On Casting

After having trouble with one of the actors availability we have now decided to use the male actor named Charlie and revert back to having a male and female lead. However this led to another problem as the female actor we originally used wasn't as comfortable on camera as we first thought she would be and therefore we are now using Annabel Harris as our female lead.

Although, this change has delayed the process of finalising the planning and research for our video we are now much more confident and happy that the actors we have got will be able to produce a god performance which will make the storyline more effective and have a more professional look.

Character profile of new female lead:

Name: Annabel Harris
Age: 17
Why we chose them: She has studied drama during secondary education and she is a confident person whilst on camera which will add a more professional feel to the end product. Also, she is in our media group and therefore this will make it much easier for us to know when she is free and therefore correspond her timetable with Charlie's.

Characters and Casting

Originally we looked at using one male character and one female character for our media product as we felt this would help reach out to the target audience as people are often interested in a media product especially if there is the opportunity for a romantic storyline to be created. However, when we looked into the issues of mental health more and we thought about the idea with more depth we decided that we wanted to use two male characters as the lead roles because we were made aware that it is males who are more likely to suffer from depression and keep it from their friends and family. Our media group wanted to raise awareness to this and we felt that by using two male characters who would then open up to each other about how they are feeling it would help approach the target audience in a way that they would also become educated about the situation.

Character Profiles:

Name: Charlie Frazer
Age: 18
Why we chose him: Charlie has a lot of acting experience and isn't shy on camera and this means that it is easier for our final media product to look more professional. He also attends the same sixth from as us, studying drama, and this meant that it was easy to sort out a time for us to film and will be easy to pick him up and get him to the location we wish to film.

Name: Callum O'Brien
Age: 17
Why we chose him: Callum is a student at a performing arts college which proves that he is a good performer and we hope this will increase the professional look of our music video. Once again he also lives fairly local to the members of our media group and this makes it practical for him to be in our music video.

Costumes and their meaning:

The main aspect of our idea for the music video is that we want the characters to be wearing white t-shirts and then there will be brightly coloured paint thrown onto the t-shirts to represent the depression and mental illness. Some days there will be more paint as part of the costume and other days there will be less paint as part of the costume and this symbolises how people with mental illnesses have some days where there feel worse than others. We are also looking at having the bottom half of their clothing dark colours, black, so that the white top and the paint stands out.

How will we source the costumes?

Each media group was giving an allowance to buy whatever they needed in order to make their idea for the media product work. As a result of this we were able to buy 10 adult sized white t-shirts and all of the brightly coloured paint with our allowance.

Target Audience Continued

How will your ancillary tasks help you attract your target audience?

The ancillary tasks such as the digipack and posters will massively help us to attract our target audience. It is important that we make the ancillary tasks eye-catching and appealing to our target audience, so that they become interested in looking into our media product and watching the video. The design of the digipack needs to be original and creative and include bright and vibrant colours which will attract the target audience. Inside of the digipack we will list the other songs that are on the CD and there will be other imagery related to the cover. As well as the digipack we will be creating a poster which will have similar imagery to the digipack and the video itself to create continuity throughout the campaign. The poster will be either A4 or A3 in size and will be printed onto high quality paper to create a professional look about the campaign.

In addition to these basic ideas we are also interested in setting up a social media campaign to help promote the band. Social media is a great way to advertise your brand and upcoming projects especially to the younger generations (which is our target audience) as the majority of younger people have at least one form of social media. Social media sites are quick and easy to use which means we could post constant updates throughout the campaign and keep people in the loop of what is happening with our music video.

As a result of creating ancillary tasks it means that we are able to broaden our advertising and reach out to a much wider range of people. The underlying aim of the ancillary task will be to represent the process that we go through whilst creating the music video and alerting the consumers to what our idea is all about so that they become interested in looking at or buying the idea. The ancillary tasks are all part of the synergy that occurs within the industry where each different marketing approach promotes another, ultimately creating more awareness for the band and the media product.

Target Audience

The target audience for our media product is people of a similar age to us (young adults and teenagers). However, we are also hoping that our media product will educate people of a younger age than our target audience, as they may not know much about illnesses regarding mental health. We are also hoping to show teenage boys that depression and other mental health issues are nothing to be embarrassed about with our video.

Our media product will engage with our target audience by doing several things. One way we are approaching our audience is by using characters of a similar age to the target audience so that they are aware that mental health does occur to other people like them and as a result of this we are hoping that they find the music video approachable and relatable. Another way that we are aiming to reach out to our target audience is by using male characters for the main roles. We hope that this alerts the male audience into being aware that mental health doesn't just effect teenage girls. We feel that it is important to approach the male gender as in recent studies investigating mental health it has been made aware that younger men are more likely to suffer from mental health issues and keep them to themselves rather than talking to others about them. The final way we are planning on reaching out to our target audience is by trying to make the product relatable by including a lot of 'everyday stuff' that someone suffering from mental illness is likely to go through. We also hope that by including this in our video we are able to educate other people that may not be aware about the effects of mental illness on somebody's life.

Initial Script Idea

THERE IS NO DIALOGUE ON OUR MUSIC VIDEO ALL THAT WILL BE HEARD IS THE SONG!

Callum: Wakes up in bed, tossing and turning in bed not wanting to get up, putting alarm on snooze again and again 

Callum: Finally gets up and slugs his way to the bathroom

Callum: Looks in mirror, wipes eyes with hands but smudges paint on his face, then washes hands and as he washes hands paint comes of into sink 

Callum: goes to wardrobe pulls out a shirt and sees it has paint on it, looks fed up, puts it on and tries to rub the paint of although it doesn't come off 

Callum: goes down the stairs, reads the fridge and it has a post it not on it from his mum 'Why not try hand another CV in today'

Callum: Picks up CV with no paint on

Cross cuts from Callum walking our front door to walking into shop 

Callum:  gets CV out but this time he sees its covered in paint so he rips it up and runs off 

Callum: as he runs away paint is being flicked onto him by the public

Callum: Goes into coffee shop bumps into a girl knocking his drink over her and out of the cup falls paint 

Callum and Chloe: get chatting 

Callum ans Chloe: shows couple hanging out in numerous locations such as in a forest and in the city they both have paint on but becomes less over time 

Callum and Chloe: The end shows the couple walking down the street holding hands with paint being flicked on them although we are going to reverse the shot so that it looks as though when they hold hands the paint is coming of to represent that they are sharing their problems and so the problem become less. 

Location Research

Here are photos of some location ideas around Wymondham where we could film. Our idea at the moment  has some places where the character is walking alone, so we looked at some locations with scenic views around the Wymondham area that we could potentially use. We feel the scenic views will add to the isolation this character feels towards society.

Here are some photographs for places we will film. We have considered the weather conditions and ideally we want the weather to be bright as we feel it will emphasis the paint and make it stand out well. However, due to the time of year that we are filming we are aware that the weather may be dull and this won't be a major issue as this will highlight the idea that the characters feel as though the world is against them.

A fair amount of our music video will be filmed inside and this will mean that we are still able to film some of the music video no matter what the weather is and then we will just have to film the outside parts of the music video on a day when it isn't raining. However, the feel of our music video gets much happier towards the end when the characters suffering from depression realise that they are not alone and it is important that the weather when filming this part of the music video is much brighter to symbolise happiness.

Another factor that led to us choosing the locations shown below is because all of the people involved in filming the music video live locally and therefore have easy access to the locations.

 

Casting

For our music video we are looking at casting two teenage characters around the age of 18. We feel that this is a good age to highlight because there is increasing awareness about mental health in young adults. We hope that our music video will encourage people who may be suffering from mental illness' to open up about how they feel and we think that by using characters of a similar age to our target audience is the best way to do this as they will feel they can relate to it.

Character Profiles:

Name: Callum O'Brian
Age: 18
Why we chose them: He is a performing arts student and has performed at big venues such as The West End and The Norwich Theatre Royal.
 

Name: Chloe Diggines
Age: 17
Why we chose them: She studies drama at A-Level and is confident when on camera.

Initial Idea Character/ Performer List And Profiles

For our new idea we are needing a male and female character to focus our storyline on. Ideally we want the characters to be around the age of 18 years old as we feel this will allow our target audience to relate to the media product. We have also chosen this age bracket because awareness for mental health for this age bracket is constantly increasing.

Characters:

Name: Callum O'Brian
Age: 18
Why they would be good: Performing arts student and he is comfortable on camera

Name: Chloe Diggines
Age: 17
Why they would be good: A-Level drama student

Initial Plot Synopsis Idea

Our initial idea was to create a music video to a very upbeat, summer song that you would expect to hear on a beach based holiday. As a result of this I decided to film a lot of our footage in the previous summer break when I was on holiday in Cape Verde. The footage that I had mainly consisted of idyllic, peaceful beaches, as well as several shots of the African cultures that existed around the island. As a group we decided that we would incorporate these shots with a narrative storyline of a young adult in this country dreaming about going on holiday to this relaxing island. We would show contrasts of where they were now and where they wanted to be and the differences between the two locations.

Towards the end of the AS year myself, Olivia and Annie were all very keen to do an upbeat summer video and so we decided that we would work together to make this idea a reality. When we returned to school following the break I showed the girls the footage that I had taken and we were happy that we could make the footage work and so we continued with the idea of making the summer video.

As a group we liked the majority of this idea however we were a little concerned as to whether we would be able to make the contrasts between the two locations link in some sort of way as we wanted there to be continuity throughout the video. In particular, we loved the summer footage of the African cultures as we felt that it was something you would expect to see in a music video to a very summery song. We were also excited about the idea of getting the young adult character to 'drift off' and start thinking about the more exotic location as we felt that this was something unique that isn't regularly portrayed in music videos.

Below is some pictures of the scenes of the footage filmed in Cape Verde:

 

    









However, after much deliberation and thought we later decided that although the summer idea was a good one that we all liked, we began to feel as though there was little meaning to the idea and that it would soon become just a montage of footage without an underlying storyline which we all were keen to have. As a result of this we decided to change our idea to represent a much deeper and meaningful storyline about a young man who is suffering from depression and feels as though everyone is against him. As soon as he starts to share his depression with other people he realises that he isn't as isolated as he first thought.

Success Of Music Video

What constitutes 'success' for a particular media ext in music videos?
There is such a variety of music videos out there for everyone to consume and  I don't think there is a certain area of success that constitutes a good music video, however, the most successful music videos all seem to share similar aspects.

• Inclusion of a linear narrative - This is very common in music videos often when coincided with  a live band. A music videos usually involves a short film within the videos. This gives the audience and understanding of the meaning behind the lyrics and also helps the viewer to gain an emotional attachment to the song, both of these points help make the song become more memorable to the viewer.
• Inclusion of a band performance - This often coincides with the linear narrative. It helps to fill in empty spaces in the narrative to let the viewers mind wander to interpret the music video as they wish.  Having a live band helps keep the audience engages. With this engagement it can seem like a live performance with inclusion of a band. 
• The length/duration of a music video - On average a music video lasts aorund 2-4 minutes, this time is just long enough to keep the viewer engaged, any longer and the viewer may get bored and switch to another song. On the other hand, if the song is too short the viewer may not fully grasp an understanding on the song and may get confused with the video and equally not listen to the song again so it's all about getting the right balance.

Consumption Of Music Video

The impact of modern technology especially the internet has greatly impacted the way people consumer music videos. there are now more platforms to watch videos due to the inventions of smart phones, tablets and laptops which can be used constantly on the go. Most people in the United Kingdom own some kind of portable device that allows them to watch videos for free whilst connected to the internet via WiFi or wireless internet, people no longer have to make time to watch music videos on television as they can easily watch them anywhere they go.

There are many ways nowadays to consumer music videos such as, purchasing them through the apple store or other music stores, music channels on the TV, or on the internet through websites such as YouTube. YouTube is currently the most popular way to consumer music videos. This is because it is cheap and an easy way to get hold of a music video just through the click of a button. YouTube also comes up with suggests of familiar genre music videos it also shows the current trending music videos which gets viewers hooked into watching music videos. 

Chronological Key History Of Music Video

• 1930 - Music started to be used in films which made the experience of watching the film more enjoyable, this was the first sort of music videos that where seen, however they were very different to the music videos that we have become used to today.

• 1940 - Short clips with music were showed on TV that featured jazz bands of the time, this was the first live performance style music video that was shown and could be an inspiration for the music videos we see today.

• 1965 - The beetles began to release promotional music videos before they released the song/album to help promote sales of the album. This is an early example of how extra ways such as shooting a video can help to increase the profits from an album and that success isn't solely about the music or performance. 

• 1974 - MTV was introduced, the first time a channel solely dedicated to just showing music videos was on television and at the time was the only way that people could watch a music video, this allowed people to be introduced to more genres of music.

• 1983 - One of the earliest narrative music videos was released; Michael Jackson's Thriller  - one of the longest music videos that has ever been made to date and was and is still incredibly popular.

• 2005 - Developments in technology led to the invention of online sites such as YouTube and iTunes where people were able to stream music videos fro free or have them on their personal devices. These are now the most common ways to watch a music video.

Footage

We are planning to divide up our footage with a mixture of a lip synced live performance as well as a narrative story.

Although this is what we would like to do for our music video it is going to be something which we won't be able to decide until we have finished all of our filming and can see what fits together, as our narrative story is going to be focused on a very intense storyline it may feel as though it is simply unnecessary to add live performance. Another issue is to what our extent the male actor would feel comfortable with lip syncing so therefore means we could have an issue with trying to find somebody to do this. With narrative story, it can be problematic in a music video because too much can make it seem like it is trying to be a short film as opposed to an actual music video.

Song Choice

I think the song choice is an important choice to a certain extent, if you have thought of a plot already then the genre should fit with the plot for example you would not choose a dance song for a sad idea. Our genre is 'mainstream rock' with the song Fix You by Coldplay, which has a slow beat but isn't too mellow to not be enjoyable. The genre of our music video is a romantic drama so this will fit well.

First Video Diary Update

Originally we wanted to do a summer themed music video where we would use some of the holiday footage that I took whilst away this summer, however after much discussion and deliberation we decided that there wouldn't be enough meaning to this idea and that we would be better off having a good storyline running throughout our music video that people could connect to on an emotional level and as a result of this we have decided to change our idea to be based around mental health.

Below is a bit more information on our idea, however it is still early stages of this idea and therefore there is not too much detail presented:

Existing Narratives

A narrative or story is any report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in a sequence of written or spoken words, and/or still or moving images.

Narrative works in music videos to show a combination of the story and the plot, the narrative is the story of what happens and how. Linear narrative is the plot and story working in the same way, and non linear narrative does not run in any specific way using random techniques such as flashbacks to aid the story.

Conventions of narratives in each of the following genres:
Comedy - Can be slapstick / dark humour / wit. Often full of jokes, the narrative can feature somebody who is made fun of.
Horror - Conventionally a horror features a storyline where something out of the ordinary occurs like a break in or a ghost in a house.
Drama - A drama has a unique way of storytelling and can fall under many different styles like period drama / crime drama.
Romance - An example of a typical romance narrative would be a couple falling in love then breaking up and getting back together again.
Family - Often a cartoon, has a happy narrative as it must be suitable for all ages, an example is two animals meeting and going on lots of adventures together.
Documentary - A documentary is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality so it could have a narrative featuring a zoo.
Kids - Similar to family but often following a very simple narrative easier for young children specifically to understand.

Narrative theories and how they fit with music videos...
Todorov - Proposed that a narrative should have a beginning (a state of equilibrium), a middle (a disruption to the equilibrium) and an end (reinstating the equilibrium). This could fit with a music video with little 'band play' as in the short time of a song it would be difficult to show the stages especially with switching between band play and narrative.

Propp - Argued that a successful narrative has 6 stages.
1 - Preparation (the scene is set)
2 - Complication (a problem / evil occurs)
3 - Transference (tries to get help)
4 - Struggle (a fight or difficulty of some sort)
5 - Return (the 'quest' is fulfilled)
6 - Recognition (hero rewarded, villain punished)
I don't think this narrative theory would fit with a music video as there is simply too many stages. As much as there can be a story being told it isn't necessarily the same as a tv programme or film.

Barthes - Suggested that media texts with a narrative were essentially forms of storytelling.
He believed text was essentially a tangled ball of thread needing to be untangled and in this is the form of the storytelling, which could work in a music video.

Levi Strauss - Observed that all narratives are based around conflicts between two oppositions, which could work in any music video or film. This theory is much more simple.  

Music Video Gnere Style

Music videos tend to include many long shots, close ups and mid shots. These shots are used to create emphasis on the artist, locations and emotions. Close up shots can be used to reflect the lyrics of the song as well as emotions. With camera movement, the use of it is used to follow the movements of the band or solo performer and camera movements used include tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots. 'Mise en scene' with music videos refers to the arrangement of performers and props within a scene for the production of a music video. It puts importance on the representation of something, for example in the music video for Maroon 5 'One More Night' the contrast between his time spent with and without his partner is shown by skipping between the two kinds of scenes, displaying the breakdown of their marriage.

Conventions of different genres:

Pop - Pia Mia 'Do It Again'

Pop music videos usually have a very mainstream style, with the people shown dressed in fashionable and stylish outfits. The artists are often portrayed as happy and content and the song is usually linked with love and relationships which is often something relatable to young people like teenagers who are the target audience. Often there is a focus, which most commonly seems to be a woman expressed in a very sexual or seductive way, portraying a sexual atmosphere and often drawing in a different kind of audience. Hair and makeup is used to commutate the views and feelings of the artist and is something which seems to play a much more important role in the music videos from the pop genre more so than any others.
Rock - The Strokes - 'You Only Live Once'

Rock music videos often have characters who are depicted as rebellious, going against mainstream society and fighting conformity stereotypically. This is often shown through confidence and stage presence. The main feature, something which is always particularly noticeable about a rock music video is the passion conveyed through the behaviour of the performer on stage. Rather than in a pop music video there would be more narrative, a rock music video tends to focus more on the actual performance of the band.

 Hip Hop - R Kelly - Ignition

Hip hop music videos such as this one often use low angled close up shots, in order to imply the artists power over the audience. The low angle gives the status because it shows power over the audience and the close up highlights their status by showing that they are important enough to have a frame entirely for themselves. The narrative sometimes shows a crowd enjoying themselves like dancing to the beat of the music which gives credibility to the artist by showing that people enjoy the song. There are lots of references to the wealth of the artist through the use of 'Mise en scene' such as cars and money physically shown in them, also giving credibility and symbolising status. Men seem to have all of the power in hip hop music videos, women are seen as disposable items of lust and nothing more. Voyeurism is also used in these videos as the general target audience is seen as males and therefore women are portrayed in a very sexual manner to interest men and attract new fans.

Decisions

Coursework Brief: Music Video
Why: We felt more passionate about this idea and felt we could produce a better end product
Group: Olivia and Annie
Why: Because we work well together and have created some good ideas, we are also all in the same class so it is practical
Initial Ideas: We have an initial idea of doing a summer song using holiday footage I took over the summer however this is only an initial idea and not set in stone.

Existing Settings

Setting is the in works of narrative (especially fictional), the literary element, setting, includes the time and geographic location in which a story takes place, and helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story. 


Conventional settings we expect in different music video genres: 

• Indie/rock - Dark locations  are often used to create delusions and mysterious atmospheres, such as alley ways and dark rooms. An example of this technique is the Kings of Leon;

• Hip hop - Locations tend to involve parties or a fancy location such as the singers riding in a private jet, alcohol is often involved with with the use of expensive things such as fancy cars an houses. An example of this technique is 50 Cent;

• Pop videos - Set in bright colour locations often in your every day locations. An example of this technique is Madonna;

 

I think the genre of a music video plays a huge role in the setting of the music video, Like shown above I researched into a range of different music genres such as indie and pop and found that the setting in the music videos varied depending on what the genre was. Slow and deep songs are more likely to have a dark gloomy location compared to a pop song that is all up beat because the different genres have different purposes, the slow song will have a setting that makes you feel down such as a dark location or locations such as a slum the viewer will gain sympathy for the character. Whereas, in a pop song the main purpose for pop songs are to get you of your seat and dancing and therefore they need a music video that includes bright cheerful colours to make the you happy. 
 

I think its important the viewer has an understanding the music video and I think the setting helps create the understanding of the video right from the beginning of the video. Likewise, setting helps to construct mise-en-scene and I think mise-en-scene setting is one of the most crucial aspects of the music video. For example, in Coldplay Violet Hill the song is represented in the video through bleak negative atmosphere, the photograph used often shows close ups of Christ Martins face expressing his emotions in a more elaborated sense which is initially more effective to the audience. The backgrounds are grey which is reinforced by the weather and therefore the weather must have been chosen specifically (there is also references to the month December). throughout the lyrics, there is an expressed uncertainty based upon a relationship where feelings and emotions are confused, this is also portrayed through the video where there musicians are placed apart to show the distance and the strength in playing the instrument shows the anger within. Additionally, in the music video Circus by Britney Spears there are many scenes that are dark and Britney herself is hard to extinguish which empathises the suspense within the circus to create an attraction from the audience. There are also shots to the dressing room showing the preparation behind the show but also creating a eerier atmosphere with the eccentric outfits clashing in colour creating unique and ominous atmosphere as the people do not appear normal, this makes a distance between the performers and audience as they cannot be related together. when the music picks up then the editing shots are much quick again creating a suspenseful performance. the background is familiar in terms of the 'circus'. Both these videos aim to portray a music video which clearly interlinks with their lyrics to allow the audience to understand their music. 

Existing Characters

I think characters are really important in a music video because they set the narrative and are usually the main element to a music video. They're something I personally mainly find myself focusing on when watching a music video. In a music video especially sad songs we often emphasis towards the characters and feel their emotions as we watch the video almost making songs relatable as you often feel you become part of the seen.

 Character profiles of existing characters/performers in music videos:
Katy Perry in California Girls: 

Katy Perry in this videos is out of the ordinary which makes iconic and rememberable still to this date. She dresses out of the ordinary as well as does things out of the ordinary such as laying on a cloud making her appear like a fantasy that little girls would dream of being as they watch the music video. In this video Katy Perry really engages me as she is going against the ordinary unlike most other music videos, she makes you feel as though you have transported to the imaginary world as you listen and watch the music video which is really effective even now when I hear California girls without watching the music video I still think of the quirky music video in my head. I think in this music video the actors fits in well with the scenery and everything that's around her however, there is no real narrative its just a bit random and doesn't relate much to the song lyrics about 'California girls' when shes in candy world and up in the clouds.

 

Michael Jackson in Thriller: 

 

I believe the character Micheal Jackson plays in his music video to Thriller will always be one of the most famous and well known characters of all time. The music video to Thriller was released all the way back in 1982 and at the time the music video shocked and stunned the public for being so scary. At the time special effects and technology was no where near the quality it is at in the modern day however at the time it was above way above other music videos that were released around a similar time. Like the Katy Perry's California girls music video this video is very out of the ordinary and so is Michael Jackons as he turns from a normal boy into a warecat and dances with the living dead, now that is something you don't see everyday! And due to that reason I think that's why he is so effective and still gets so many people talk about him, and even dress up for him for fancy dress nights such as Halloween. I think Michael Jackson really adds appeal to the narrative as he gives the 'thriller' experience to the audiences as they watch and listen to the song with his scary costumer, facial expression and quirky dance moves. As like Katy Perry in her music video I feel very engaged with Michael Jackson character as it is iconic and is different from your everyday music video as the character is so far from naturalistic so you feel transported to a complete different location in the comfort of your own home.

 

Maddie Ziegler in Cheap Thrills by Sia:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Sia's music videos are famous for not having herself in but having a small girl in called Maddie Ziegler. She is not your average girl in the music video and that what makes her iconic. she does not speak in the video but dances around in a peculiar way and pulls over dramatic facial expressions. The way she moves is so fascinating I find my eyes attached to the screen for the whole song. The small girl still appeals to the narrative as shes acts the words out through her dance moves and if you turn the sounds down but watch the video you can often still make out what the lyrics of the song would be which I think is really effect. I really like Sia's idea in this music video, it's one of a kind.