Here, we were given the task of creating a presentation about our specific genre: indie pop. We discussed elements like the narrative, star image, themes, music, mise en scene, camera techniques, edits/effects, iconography and finally the digi pack. By exploring all of these features we were able to really explore our genre in a lot of depth and therefore grasp a much better understanding of the what we needed to do. Throughout this task we looked at the very common repertoire of elements, these enabled us to discover what conventions were essential to this genre.

Moreover, this will assist me in the future when actually creating our music video. This is because we each will have a wider knowledge on what is actually needed to create an appropriate video, that fits well within the specified genre. By referring back to this document, we will be more able to ensure that we do in fact make our video comply with the preferred conventions in this genre. Therefore, this will make sure we are appealing to our target audience and so resulting in them receiving the predictable pleasure we are hoping for.

After receiving the feedback from our pitch, Ellie and I have decided to compile a list of the following targets:

• Pick the appropriate location for the narrative we are hoping to portray
• Select a professional dancer who is good enough to demonstrate the feelings and meaning we would like to display in our music video.
• Make sure the ‘abstract’narrative is as good as it can be, for example using balsamic vinegar and oil instead of water and oil.

Due to this, we have learnt just how important it is to set these targets. Once again this task will ensure that the music video will be even better and therefore make sure we include all the ideas that will improve it overall. By setting ourselves targets we are now able to track our progress and make sure we stay on track.

For this task, we had to present our music video ideas to three teachers (Mrs Cobb, Miss Hales and Mr Gregson). After presenting our narrative and performance ideas, our teachers then began to give us feedback on these thoughts. They suggested that we perhaps change the performer who we chose for our dancing scenes, this is because they believed we needed someone who specialised in more contemporary dance. Moreover, they felt this would look a lot better with out video. Furthermore, they also suggested that we use Fort Richmond instead of  the Guernsey Underground Hospital as this would be a lot easier to light. From this, I learnt just how important it is to have an external perspective on our ideas, this will allow our video to be a lot better and therefore we can make it as good as possible.

During this task, Ellie and I created a presentation for our pitch. This displays the song we have chosen, the genre (including the repertoire of elements), star image, annotated lyrics, moodboard, narrative/ performance ideas and finally the challenges ahead that we may face. Moreover, we also decided to do some research on the original artist of this song: Joel Adams. This allowed us to really create a more accurate image of what our star should look like and therefore we now believe we have the right person to perform in our video.

Due to this, I have learnt how important it is to have a solid basis idea for the music video.  We have seen just how necessary it is to come up with ideas for the narrative, performance and star image. This is because now we have a much better idea of how our video will look and therefore we can now be a lot more organised when it comes to the production stage. Also, by thinking about the challenges that may come up ahead we are able to make sure these problems are corrected before they even arise, furthermore this means we can save a lot of time by avoiding these errors. Moreover, we have also found that it is important to make sure the narrative and performance link to the genre as much as possible, this means that the repertoire of elements have to be thoroughly displayed throughout.

The song we have decided to pick for our music video is ‘Please Don’t Go’ by Joel Adams. This is a relatively slow song which does build up as the song develops. We thought this was a good choice for our video, as we believed we could infect do a lot with it. We can incorporate both of our ideas within the video and therefore we believed it was a perfect compromise. Furthermore, this song applies to the genre of ‘pop’ which we both were wanting to do anyway.

The MP3:

The reasons why we did end up choosing this particular song is because it conforms to both of our ideas and thoughts for the music video. It is of an appropriate length, so it is not too long or too short and therefore will be much easier to edit. We also like this song as we believe editing to the beat throughout will be very effective and so will have a big impact on the audience. Moreover, we also chose this song due to the fact we have a lot of ideas for it, we also already have an idea for exactly who will perform in the video. Some of the ideas we had for this song was that there would be a couple throughout. They would start together and then slowly their separation would grow until they were fully apart. The narrative would mostly be a focus on the nature side of things and perhaps elements that represented their relationship (for example the separation of oil and water). Moreover, the performance would consist of the male star singing in the dimly lit black studio. We thought a dark setting would be best for this performer as we really want to portray their emotions during the breakup to the audience, as this would perhaps make him more ‘present’ and therefore relatable to them.

Below are the MP3’s that Ellie and I created as ideas for our future music video. Also, I have included the mood boards that we each created to show the visual representations and what we hope our video looks like.  We both decided to pick songs of the pop genre and therefore our ideas did seem to be fairly similar. this helped us really decide what we wanted to create in our music video. Moreover, this has enabled us to see that we both have very similar thoughts for the outcome of our music video.

My moodboard for the song: ‘Please Don’t Go’ by Joel Adams:

Please click on the image above to view my moodpboard in more detail.

For the video, I can see a strong link to the broken relationship of a couple. Due to the emphasis of the words ‘please don’t go’, I believe there has to be two performers visible throughout. I think the male performer (the person singing the song) needs to be in a dark setting, as this will be expressing how he feels at the breakdown of his relationship. However, his partner who is now perhaps ‘free’ is in the open (perhaps a beach), she is dressed in a white flowing dress and ballet dancing. This juxtaposition between the two will demonstrate the major differences in how people may feel after a breakup. I also thought it would be clever to have things throughout which signified this separation. For example, we could have a time lapse of oil and water separation, as this would show that the couple no longer ‘blend’ together.

Ellie’s moodboard for the song: ‘Stay’ by KYGO:

Please click on the image above to view Ellie’s moodboard in more detail.

Ellie thought we should do the song ‘Stay’ by KYGO. This song talks about someone who is only staying with their partner because they feel sorry for them. She believed because of this the video should be based around nature and adventure. Moreover, she also thought that on top of this, little signs of the relationship distress throughout the video would compliment the lyrics extremely well. Furthermore, she believed the video should be simple. This is because this would intact give us much more availability to experiment with interesting shots and editing techniques.

From this task, we have discovered that we both have nearly the exact same vision for our further music video. This makes it a lot easier when coming up with ideas, as we both know what each other are picturing for the video. Moreover from this we can see that we preferably want a dancer in our video. We also want to focus our video more on great shots and editing, rather than pulling a traditional narrative together. Instead of putting a lot of emphasis on the performers, we want to really portray a relationship through their surrounding and  visual representations. We feel that this word make our video a lot more unique and interesting to watch. Ideas that we pulled from our two pitches are things like modern, interpretive, exciting and elements of representation. From this, we can see we have a solid basis for our music video to really start to develop.

The song I have decided to pitch to my group is ‘Please don’t go’ by Joel Adams. Personally, I think a lot of things could be done with this song and a strong narrative can be built. Therefore, I think this could lead to a great music video. This song is 3: 32 minutes long, I think this is a very suitable length for our music video, as there is enough time to be very creative, however not too much time that we have too much footage to sort through. This will mean that the music video we do end up producing to this song, would be good as we would be able to really focus on editing this reasonable amount of footage. Furthermore, the genre of this song is ‘pop’. The song talks about a couple, one person in the relationship is begging their partner not to leave them. Due to this, I can picture the male performer in a darkly lit setting singing the lyrics. Although, on top of this I also see the ‘partner’ who is perhaps free of their partner and therefore is out in the open, wearing a white flowy dress and dancing. I also see a large connection to nature and therefore I can see the video being filmed in locations like the beach.

The MP3 for the song:

The Moodboard:

Please click on the image to view my mood board in more detail.

From this task I have learnt that it is a good idea to visually produce representations of your idea. This will mean that others are able to really view what you picture and therefore would be granted with a better understanding of your thoughts and ideas. Moreover, it is also good to do this as you can help yourself to work out what would go well together and therefore what would really make the best narrative overall. From this I can now also see what the video may look like, as I can visually see my ideas in a similar form to what the end product will be.

Annotated Lyrics:

Please click on this image, to view the first page of my annotated lyrics.

Please click on the move image to view the second page of my annotated lyrics.

Click on the above image to view a rough timeline of how the first minute of the video may go.

By completing the above task of annotating the lyrics to my chosen song, I have learnt just how important it is to create some sort of visual link to the lyrics of the song itself. Tis means that the audience are able to see these representations and therefore they are able to identify the ‘repertoire of elements’ throughout the video. iIt also means that conventions are made clear and therefore the contract is key secure between us (the creators) and the audience. Moreover, due to this task i have also learnt the skin of actually being able to analyse lyrics. By doing this, I will be able to understand the words more and therefore the narrative we create would be a lot more related to the song and artist.

Please click on the image above to view it in more detail.

For this task, we had to make a mind map of what the ‘perfect production group’ consisted of.  Monica, Elie and I  were in a group together, we thought we would spilt the production roles into four categories, these consisted of : camera man, performers, editor and leader. Moreover, we then wet on to list the qualities/ strengths of each of these titles and therefore managed to discover what would make someone great at doing each particular job.

Due to this, I learnt what characteristics were needed in order to be good at each of these categories. I also saw what qualities of my own I have that match to each of these and therefore I was able to identify what title would suit me best during the production of my future music video. I was taught during this process that each job in production is very different and do in turn each carry very different qualities.

We have now finished the task of creating Dummy Mash Up video and therefore we are now onto the task of evaluating the work we have carried out. Please read on to see the evaluation I have carried out on the work I completed.

1.What lessons did you learn about planning and the use of Storyboards/Shot Lists and Production Meeting Agendas? Why are they important when out on shoot?

From this task I learnt just how necessary and important it is to make sure everything is planned before shooting the video takes place. It hopes with organisation and therefore entails that the production part of the process goes as smoothly as possible. By compiling these documents we were a lot more organised and so were able to film efficiently and effectively in the time we were given. Having a clear structure of how the production process will go is the best way to get the right footage you need and more. We also learnt how important it is to plan the conventions that look to the genre before hand.

• Plus TARGET: To make sure I stick to them more during production and also  ensure the star/ performer is prepared too (for example they know the lyrics).

2.What should the camera operator be doing whilst filming? 

The person who is allocated the role of ‘camera operator’ should be making sure the shots are framed/ composed well in order to get the best footage. They should also be making sure that they are following the shot list set in order to produce the footage needed. Moreover, this will enable them to really capture the metanarrative and make sure it fits to the contract promised. They should also perhaps organise the performance taking place in order to really get the narrative across to the audience, by controlling what the star does they will be able to really represent the star image in the way they want.

• Plus TARGET: To be more demanding of the artist and to tell them exactly what i want them to do. Direct the scene more when the artist perhaps starts to lose focus.

3.What lessons did you learn about directing people in front of the camera? What information do they need to know about their character / their performance style? How can the director get them to relax and have confidence in front of the camera in order to perform well? 

I learnt that it is in fact a lot harder than it looks to direct an artist to do exactly what you want. In order to get the repertoire of elements across to the audience, I need to really focus on directing the star a lot better than I did this time. I also learnt that in order for the star to feel comfortable, they need to be told exactly what to do. If this does not happen, the production does not go very well. Due to this, the paradox of the star cannot be demonstrated throughout the performance. The artist needs to appear extraordinary but ordinary all at the same time. This can be quite hard to produce and therefore directing the artist needs to be done well and therefore taken seriously.

• Plus TARGET: Tell the artist exactly what they need to do and not just let them perform however they want. Also make sure they are comfortable with the lyrics, tune and beat of the song.

4.What lessons did you learn about filming the performance for your production?

I learnt that it is crucial that the artist feels happy and comfortable when performing. If they do not this comes across in their acting and so the video does not look as professional as it should. It is also important that the star knows the song extremely well, this helps the lip singing to feel more natural and look as if they are actually singing the song themselves. I also learnt that it is important for the artist to ‘break the fourth wall’. This ensures that they build a connection with the audience, this makes the audience feel a lot more present in the video- as if they are experiencing it for themselves. Moreover, I also learnt that it is important to decipher what narrative type you are shooting your video in. For example, we chose disjunctive. This meant that the video was not really linked to the lyrics at all but however did fit the genre we were producing very well.

• Plus TARGET: Make sure we are organised and pay close attention to our planning documents. Keep more track of time and do not waste any opportunity to get footage. Keep the cameras rolling at all times- this makes sure nothing is missed.

5.What did you learn about editing and post-production?

In this stage, I learnt that it is actually very difficult to produce a music video that looks realistic and professional at the same time. Making sure the lip syncing is matched up perfectly and the cuts are to the beat is a lot harder than it looks. Therefore, this stage taught me that the editing at the early stages is very important. It is a lot more worthwhile to concentrate on matching up the video to the song first and then work on making it look professional later. This ensures that the most important stage of editing a music video (matching the lip singing) is done first.

• Plus TARGET: Before anything, look at all the footage first and then start editing. Like previously mentioned its better to get the basics out of the way first and then concentrate on making it look polished later.

6.What did you discover about the use of conventional Mise-En-Scene for music videos?

I learn that conventional mise-en-scene is much more important than you think. It all has to fit to the image of the star, video, genre and lyrics. These conventional elements are perhaps what really makes the video and therefore they should be regarded as important aspects. I also learnt that it is much better to pick the entire outfit myself, rather than letting the star chose yo wear what they prefer.

• Plus TARGET: Really study mies-en-scene that fits the genre I am producing. Make sure every aspect used is conventional and fits extremely well with the music video and the artists featured.

Above is the full version of the ‘Dummy Mash-Up’ Video. Here all the different genres from each group have been combined into one video. A few of the genres that were included in this mash-up are: Disco, Rap and Pop.