Initial planning ideas

Initial Planning Ideas

In our media group i am working with, Dipika, Jagoda  and Jamie. Dipika and I worked together last year in our thriller opening . I found that we were able to work really well together as we had a similar line of thought. Each member of the group brings something different for example, Jagoda is creative which is beneficial when coming up with a narrative that links to our song choice. Jamie has good editing skills which will make the fire/ card scene effective and when combing the narrative with the performing. Dipika has a good ability to use the camera and therefore that will be useful when it comes to filming our music video. I am the most organised within the group. I will be able to organize when we are going to film, where we are going to film, and for how long. This will be useful as it will allow us to stick to our deadlines and complete our work on time.

Research for video inspiration

 James Blunt - I wont let go

In the music video there are two main aspects; performance and narrative. This is effective in establishing the artist as through close ups they are able to see his facial expression. This therefore enables the audience to build a relationship through watching his video. This is a technique we are going to use in our music video when the artist is performing. This is because it will allow our target audience to build a relationship with our artist and be able to relate to the narrative.

Lana Del Rey - Summertime sadness
Settings is one of the most significant elements in the music video. Lana Del Rey is seen to jump of the cliff side committing suicide. This is also a factor that we are considering for our music video. We have decided that we would like to use a cliff as one of the locations in the video and link the death of a spouse to our narrative. This would in turn help connote our interpretations of the lyrics and display that message to the audience.

Mise-en-scene

Setting:

The most significant location we are going to use in our music video is a cliff top. This signifies their freedom showing that they are 'on the edge of despair'.We are going to show this scene towards the end video as it highlights they are at peace with the relationship.

Costumes: 

As a group we have chosen a pop song and therefore we are going to use casual clothing in the music video as it is a convention of this music genre. The male character will be wearing a checked shirt, jeans and converses whilst the female will be wearing a baggy shirt. The outfit will be used in an indoor setting such as a bedroom where they will be playing the game of cards.

Iconography:

The most prominent element of iconography that we have decided to use in our music video is a pack of cards. This is because we felt that they have numerous connotation that relates to our song choice 'impossible' by James Arthur. The cards are able to represent the relationship between the couple and how they 'play' each other. The symbolism of a 'game' is going to be shown though out the video by using the king and queen to represent both individuals.

 Another element we have chosen to use in the music video is fire. The fire is going to be used to symbolize the break down of the relationship and the pain they inflict on each other. This will be used to show the audience that they have reached the end of their relationship and that the love has 'burnt out'. Some ideas that have been discussed between the group is that combining the cards and fire using dissolve cut to create effective footage.

Lighting:

High key lighting will be used throughout the music video. We have decided to film during the day as it takes place in an outdoor setting. We wanted to capture the outdoor sunlight as it emphasizes the intensity of the landscape such as the cliff top.

Positioning:

Jamie as the artist will be performing in the middle of the of the screen. This is because it will enable the audience to build a relationship through his face expressions. Therefore it helps the audience relate to the emotions that is shown by the artist. We are also going to use extreme close ups to focus on small features of the characters in the video to show how the relationship started of good and gradually how it faded out.

Cinematography

Close ups will be used throughout the music video to highlight the artists facial expressions and therefore display emotions that enable the audience to form a relationship.  Close up camera shots of the cards burning will emphasize the connotations of pain and show the audience the breakdown of relationships.
We are also going to use panning shots when the artist if performing. This will show Jamie playing a guitar which is also a convention of a pop music video.

Style of music video

Target Audience

The target audience for our music video is going to be aimed at people around the age of 15-22 year old. This was because we felt that the audience would be able to relate as they are of the similar age group to the artist. We also felt that it was more suitable to our song choice 'impossible' by James Arthur is more current to their age group and would be the sort of music they would usually listen to.

Artist Representation
Like Dyers theory, our artist is going to be represented in an ordinary way. We are going to do this through the artists dressed in clothing. We have decided that the artist will be wearing jeans, checked shirt, and converses. This is because if we show the audience the artist is perceived to be normal and ordinary they would me more likely to relate to the song and in turn build up a relationship with the artist.

Editing

When editing our music video we are going to use a slow pace when showing our narrative.This is because it will flow parallel to the music and enhance the emotion shown through the broken relationship. However when the beat increases pace, the fire scene will take place which will contribute to the intensity of the music video.
At one point in the video we plan on using dissolve to show the fire burning the cards whilst playing some of the relationship. I think this will be effective as it will connote the pain that is caused in the relationship and that they are no longer together.
Straight cuts will also be used when we change scene from when Jamie is performing to showing the narrative. This will highlight to the audience it is a flashback to when the couple were together.

Music video theory

Goodwin's Theory:  This theory will be used to show genre characteristics. As our song choice is from the pop music genre and therefore our music video will display conventions of pop. Like other pop videos such as Lana Del Reys 'summertime sadness' we are also going to emphasis our locations by using a cliff top.

Our music video will display a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. When the it says 'I remember years ago'  we are going to show a flash back to when the couple we together and happy

Another point from Goodwin's theory is the demands of the record label. We are going to show close ups of the artist (Jamie) throughout the video. This will enable the audience to build a relationship through his facial expressions.

Richard Dyers Star Theory: We are going to apply Richard Dyers star theory to our music video as the artist is going to be seen ordinary (casual clothing, ordinary relationship) however he is going to be extraordinary (playing guitar/talent).

Annotation of lyrics

When the artist starts of singing, the lyrics say 'i remember years ago'. This is where we have decided that we are going to show a flashback of the couple when they were happy. This therefore highlights to the audience the breakdown of the relationship  further along the song.

Further along the song, the lyrics state 'you have won' This is where we are going to relate our theme of cards in the music video. Like Goodwin's theory, we are going to show the relationship between the lyrics and visuals. The cards will show symbolism that she has won in term the argument rather than the game.

When the artist states 'Write it on the skyline we are going to use the scene at the cliff top. This will further show a relationship between the lyrics and visual as we think it is effective in helping the audience get a better understanding of the song and what the message is.

This is the work that as a group we completed in the previous lesson. We discussed different elements of our music video such as Mise-en-scene, Artist Representation, Cinematography, Editing, Style of music video, codes and conventions of music genre, target audience, music video, research carried out and annotations of lyrics. As a group we have decided that we all really like the idea of flashbacks  as we feel it is a good way to show the narrative of the relationship and show a contrast when they were happy and when the relationship has broken down.


Group Meetings and discussion 2
This is our initial draft of our storyboard. We have taken all our ideas in the previous lesson as sections them into different scenes. We haven't completed it in a lot of detail as this is a draft. We have stated the camera shots we would like to use in each scene.