Thursday 19 December 2013

Pre-Production: Target Audience

Here is an example of the target audience.

Due to the storyline of my music video being about suicide I think my main target audience would be teens, especially teens who don't believe their lives are worth it. I would also say it was mainly targeted at females because of the love aspect of the storyline and the vast amount of female characters. I think the age range would be between 12-18.

Because my two main characters also come underneath the hipster/ individual clique in school I think that this could also draw in a large audience from teens in that circumstance at school too. By also having my style as performance it really helps my target audience connect with the main character which will help to draw in a larger audience who like emotional/heart warming/thoughtful music videos.

My audience might also like other Indie/ Pop bands such as Bastille or Mumford and Sons. I also believe that it could draw in Sara Bareilles fans too due to the popularity of the song and the wide fan base she has.

Pre-Production: Equipment

For my music video I will be using a range of different equipment to help me in both the production and post- production side of the process.

To start with I will be using my own Canon EOS 700D camera to film all the different shots I need. I prefer using this because it does great quality filming and with my two lenses I am able to catch many different shots to create variety in my performance piece. Also to help with some of the walking shots I will be using a camera stabilizer to help keep the movement of the shot much smoother although possibly in the running scenes I might not using to help show the panicking sense of the scene as the girl runs from the bullies.


As I have a bit of dialogue at the start of the video I am going to use my Pro SLR Microphone from Polaroid to catch this diagetic sound. I like this microphone since it keeps the sound very clear so it will make sure every word the bullies say can be picked up on the music video.

That is all the equipment I will be using for the production side, now onto the post-production

The only software I will be using for the editing part will be Adobe Premiere Pro as I have the most experience in using it and know my way round it easily. Also I think it is very helpful in creating the pieces you want and has a wide range of effects, transition and devices.

Pre-Production: Production Roles

NAME
ROLE
RESPONSIBILITIES

Anthony Underwood


DIRECTOR
 Making sure all the scenes are set how they should be and taking overall control of the piece.


Anthony
Underwood


CASTING DIRECTOR
Casting the correct people in the right roles for the piece.

Anthony
Underwood


CAMERA

Make sure all the shots are taken to portray the ideas and concept of the film 


Anthony
Underwood
  

SOUND

Making sure the dialogue at the beginning is clearly heard.

Anthony
Underwood


EDITOR
Make sure the film runs smoothly and edits are nice. Adding the song in and ensuring that the lip syncing is perfect

Anthony
Underwood


LOCATIONS
Finding the best location for each shot so the director has an easier time in portraying his ideas.

Anthony
Underwood


COSTUMES
Sorting and choosing the right costumes so characters look the part.

Anthony
Underwood



PRODUCTION MANAGER
Responsible for making sure everything runs smoothly in terms of the time spent in production.

Monday 16 December 2013

Pre-Production: Costumes

For costumes I wanted to represent every day school life. This is why I've dressed most my cast in casual, sixth form clothes. As I want to detach the audience from the "mean girls" I am going to dress them in the stereotypical pink outfits to not only direct the audience to a clique of school but also to make them look like a pack so you empathize more with the protagonist.
For the main character and her boyfriend I have dressed them in alternative, hipster outfits to show they are not extravagant characters and quite quirky and different and also to contrast them to the bullies. After the death scene I have decided to then dress these two characters in white as it connotes peace and serenity and immediately shows the audience that the two are happy in heaven together.

Here are some examples of outfits:

Bullies


Boyfriend (flashback)


Girl


Boyfriend (heaven)

 
Girl (heaven)

Pre-Production: Actors

For my cast I only needed to cast 5 different roles;

  • The Main Protagonist (Female, 17/18)
  • The Boyfriend (Male 17/18)
  • Three Bullies (Female 17/18)
For the main protagonist I chose one of my friends Susanne Barton.

I like Susie as my character because she is very petite and has soft features which give her an innocent look which is perfect for the role I am casting her in. She is also an actress and a singer which means she already has experience in this field and can be easily directed.

This is the boy I have cast to play the boyfriend.

I think Dan will be perfect to play this role since again he has lots of experience in acting and singing and is very trustworthy. I also wanted to have a boy who was taller and bigger than the main girl so the boyfriend will look protective but caring and that's why I've selected Dan.

For the final cast members I wanted three girls who have good chemistry together as friends but could also represent the stereotype of a "bitchy" school girl. My ideal vision is to cast a set of girls like Regina, Gretchen and Karen from the movie "Mean Girls", so when I found Sophie, Daisy and Emily I thought they were perfect for the role. They all also have acting experience.

Pre-Production: Locations

For my music video I need to use four different locations.

The first location is the setting of our main character's boyfriend's grave. For this I decided to use the Ringwood Cemetery. It's perfect for my video since also its a sad place it looks peaceful and is a safe place for the main character to run to when she feels lonely. I thought of the idea of using a gravestone as the boyfriend's grave but thought it might be disrespectful so she through the use of my camera shots I will portray that when the girl comes here she feels the presence of her boyfriend.


The second location is a place where our girl will get bullied and feel very alone. For this I decided to use my school "Ringwood School" since bullying is closely associated with schools and also it's a place where you can see your friends so helps emphasize the loneliness of our main character. At school I will use smaller locations such as the study, the common room and common rooms where the bullying will take place.



The third location has to be a representation of heaven. For this I am going to use the new forest since it is very serene and beautiful just like the scene that takes place at the end. Also due to the green colours of the scene it will help the couple stand out as if they are all that matters now that they are in heaven together.



I will also be using my house as the final location and the setting of the death scene and the performance space where the main character will sing. I believe my house is good for this since it represents a place where you can be safe and you have control. It is also playing the space where the girl really contemplates her life so a house is good because no one can see her. I will use my bathroom as the play where she commits suicide since drowning yourself is an easy way to film a suicide instead of doing something extravagant so a bathroom works well.

Wednesday 27 November 2013

Applying Andrew Goodwin's Theory to a Music Video




Dirty Little Secret- All-American Rejects (Performance)
I think this music video uses many of the features of Andrew Goodwin's theory.

Point 1. Stereotypical pop-rock videos, for example it has the constant changing shots going back and forth between the band performing and then people holding up their cards. 
Point 2. The lyrics mirror the out of performance shots since there are people holding up cards which reveal they're unknown secrets and the lyrics constantly mention how noone needs to know unless you're happy telling them. 
Point 4.There are also many shots of Tyson Ritter; the lead singer of All American Rejects relating back to the idea that there are usually a lot of shots of the band and their lead.
Point 5. The band are performing on stage which emphasizes on the notion of looking.



Andrew Goodwin's Theory of Music Videos


Andrew Goodwin
In his book “Dancing in the Distraction Factory” Andrew Goodwin points out characteristics and features that can be found in music videos.
1.       Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (E.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl bands, aspiration for hip hop).
2.       There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)
3.       There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting)
4.       The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work (a visual style)
5.       There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages etc.) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6.       There are often intertextual references (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc.)

How to analyse music videos:
1.       Thought beats – Where you “see” in the sound.
2.       Narrative and Performance
3.       The Star Image
4.       Relations of visuals to song.
5.       Technical aspects of a music video

Wednesday 20 November 2013

Rotoscope (Detailed): Mini



CD Cover ideas: Rotoscope


Here is another idea I could use for my CD Cover, it gives a cool, arty look to any everyday object. I started by doing a basic fruit bowl and enjoyed designing it since it didnt need much detail but could still look cool! When I moved onto doing Iron Man and a Mini I found it much harder since the detail was very precise and it was hard to get the right shades in the right places, I am still currently working on the Mini and it should be on my blog soon but apart from that I think this is a very fun image to have on a CD.

Monday 18 November 2013


Here is an example of a clipping mask we could use for our CD Covers. I did Marvel just
as an example because I thought the contrast of the superheroes characters looked really cool.
I like this type of design since it's bright and colourful and keeps all the CD looking
interesting. Here is another version of a clipping mask:

 

Wednesday 23 October 2013

Performance Music Videos

This term we have been looking at different types of music videos whilst having a go at filming each of them to a song given to us by Mr. Drummond.

My group were given performance first to a song called "Paper Planes" by M.I.A. In perfomance videos the artist must lip-sync whilst using a variety of shots and camera angles to keep the audience interested. Here is the original version of the music video.
In my music video we decided to have me as the artist lip-syncing the song. By using lots of different shots and camera angles we made sure the audience would still be interested. And by constantly refering back to previous shots it also made the storyline and representation of my character clearer.
Here is a short sample of our music video:


Thursday 20 June 2013

Music Video Genres: Pop (Pre-Production)

Pop
Being my favourite genre of music, I thought pop was the best place to start my research. Looking closely at the video "I Could Be The One" by Avicii ft. Nicky Romero I managed to pick up some popular conventions of this particular genre. Due the hectic, party atmosphere of the song it features a montage of different, quick edited shot to mirror the fast pace of the life the main protagonist wants, this compares to the slower, lyrical moments of the song in which we return to the woman's daily, repetitive life which includes, slow, continuous editing. Another way of representing the comparison of the two lives whilst incorporating the idea of typical pop conventions was through the mise en scene of the scene, in the boring life there was a lot of grey, black and white, this compares the vast array of colours of the party life.
I also notice in the piece there is a storyline, a common feature of pop videos, this is something I need to consider if I am to create a pop video.