For our first shoot we created a production meeting agenda to ensure we had information on what we were aiming to film and what costumes were required. Production meeting agendas are important as it enables you to be organised so everyone knows what they are expected to bring for the shoot (costumes, makeup, props etc).
Below is the attached document for our production meeting agenda:
REFLECTION
By creating this plan, Kaitlin and I felt like we were prepared of what costumes and props we needed to bring for our first shoot. This made it easier when communicating with one another so we knew who was bringing what.
For our first shoot we created a risk assessment document to ensure we control any risks and have a responsible manner during the shoot. To leave the site we had to get parental permission, due to safeguardinglegalities at the school.
Below is the attached document of our risk assessment:
FOCUS FORWARD
From creating a risk assessment for our shoot it will reassure our teacher that we will maintain safety regulations, not only for ourselves but if we come in contact with the public where we will make sure we are sensible and respectful.
In this task we understood how the star(s) are presented in our music video is crucial for communicating the values, attitudes, and beliefs of the artist to the audience. Music videos are also made to promote the star so they can sell their music and star image.
As a group we created a star image concept board of the band Cage The Elephant to show how they are presented to the audience, particularly as ordinary(Dyer) because of not being afraid to step away from social norms of what to wear or how to act, as well as extraordinary(Dyer) by performing on stage to a large audience. We found news stories, incidents, digipak covers, articles, social media pages, and statistics of their songs/albums.
Below is the star image concept board of Cage The Elephant:
After creating a star image board of the band who sings the song we have chosen, we then created a board of how we would like our star image for our music video to be presented to the audience. This was useful to identify what costumes, hair, makeup, and props our star would have (MES), but making sure we stay within the conventions of the indie genre so the audience don’t reject the text (Hall).
Below is a star image board for our star:
FOCUS FORWARD
By creating these star image boards has made me more aware of the importance of how our star is presented will determine whether the audience will agree with the text or reject it (Hall). We also must portray our star as ordinary, as well as extraordinary so the audience can see them as idols (idealised versions of humanity).
To get an understanding for the conventional shots for a performance with the indie/indie rock genre, we watched a wide range of music videos of that genre. After finding multiple examples of different shot types, we created a visual shot list on padlet which we included screenshots and GIFS of the conventional shots/frames/angles/movement that help represent the star image. Creating this padlet was also extremely helpful because we are able to identify the conventional shots that fit in with the audience’s preferred readings (Hall). If it doesn’t fit in with their preferred readings, they may reject the media text (music video) and create a oppositional reading for it.
Below is the padlet we created as a group:
REFLECTION
This task was beneficial when it comes to filming/editing our music video because we are aware of what is conventional and whether it will fit in with our target audience’s prefered readings (so they won’t reject the text). As well as this having a visual plan will make it easier when it comes to filming our video as we have something we can always fall back on to check if we are maintaining the conventions.
In this task we planned and presented our final pitch to our teacher and outlined our narrative and performance ideas. The point of this task was to identify whether our plan was doable and to attain some feedback on what works and what could be improved.
Below is the video of us discussing our ideas and inspiration to our teacher:
6 POSITIVES THAT WE CAME AWAY WITH:
Getting inspiration from other media texts is a good idea as it allows you to be creative with your costumes, settings, and filming techniques, eg Alice In Wonderland
The tempo changes allows us to experiment with the cuts, editing, camera movement & framing
Including both narrative and performance to stick with the conventions of an indie rock music video
6 TARGETS/ASPECTS TO CONSIDER:
Consider how we can use editing to represent the surreal feel to it, eg match on action
Ensure we have a clear idea on what will happen with the narrative and who the characters are/their role in the video
Experiment with the colour correction to represent the emotion behind the scenes, eg confusion when seeing the surreal characters
Ensure to watch tutorials and keep shots static for some animation/post production
Include some sort of prop which reminds her of the journey/makes her confused if it was real or not
REFLECTION/FOCUS FORWARD
Having this discussion with our teacher encouraged us to experiment with the targets we were given on how to improve some of our ideas we had for our video. It also was very helpful as if we get stuck on something we can always refer back to this video.
It is vital you ask the artist for permission to use their song because you don’t want to come across an issue with copyright. Copyright gives the artist the right to prevent others from exploiting their work in various ways, without permission. This is why it was important for us to make sure we are seen doing the right thing and request permission from the artist to use their song for educational purposes only (A level Media Studies).
We decided to message Cage The Elephant on instagram, a screenshot can be shown below:
REFLECTION
From asking Cage The Elephant for permission to use their song it shows that we are aware of the copyright issues that surround many artists’ material being used illegally.
In this task we created a document together to establish our strengths and weaknesses as a group. By acknowledging this, we then agreed on scheduling shoots, our roles and responsibilities, communication & organisation, and what we can do if we feel unhappy in the group. By signing the document at the end will ensure we will both commit to our roles and know what to do if we face difficulties.
Below is the attached document:
REFLECTION
Doing this task was vital when creating a music video as we can be more aware of our teams strengths and weaknesses, therefore if we do tasks that play to our strengths and weaknesses we can hopefully produce a successful piece of work. As well as this, by listing skills that each of us may have, will allow us to transfer these skills to the creation of the music video.
For this task in our pair we presented our individual pitch’s to each other. We decided on using Kaitlin’s pitch for the final song choice, and then made up a slideshow of the lyrics of the song, a word cloud, narrative ideas, performance ideas, a moodboard for mise-en-scene, setting, and the inconvenient ideas.
It is important to create a visual representation of our plan for the music video because it enables us to convey our ideas more efficiently to ourselves and our teacher. For instance, what to aim to include, what location to film, who are actors will be, and how to dress the performers. It also allows us create a clear representation of our star image for the music video, and how the audience will view them, whether that is being extraordinary, ordinary, present, or absent (Dyer).
Below is slideshow we have created as a pair for our chosen song “Come a little closer – Cage the Elephant” for our music video:
REFLECTION
By creating a final pitch it allowed us to work out if our music video was doable, if we can get the performers, and if we had the suitable locations, settings, and MES to make it work. We can also use this pitch to refer back to when we start to film clips for the music video and what to do to make it be successful.
Below is a slide show presentation I have created on my personal mini pitch:
Word Cloud
To create this world cloud and gather descriptive words (adjectives, adverbs, nouns, etc) I considered the synesthetic approach. The synesthetic approach is a way of generating ideas from music- effectively ‘seeing sounds in your head’. When listening to the song I concentrated on the following features:
Sense of subject matter
Grain of voice
Arrangement
Suggested stories
Cultural references
Narrative and performance
When thinking of ideas of what will happen in the music video I had to ensure that it was doable. I wrote done a summary of what I have envisioned in relation to the lyrics, star, and beat of the song itself. To help me visual my thoughts I created a MES mood board which includes the acronym CLAMPS; costume, lighting, action, makeup/hair, props, and setting. The costume is conventional pop colours and clothes, e.g. pink tops, bows, etc. The lighting I have imagined is a mix of both, for instance when in a club (lowkey) or out in the park (high key). The actions will include going on dates (ice cream, movies). Makeup & hair would consist of natural makeup and natural hair with a pop of colour as well as a mix of props used on dates or times when they were together (ice cream, toothbrush). Finally the setting/location of the music video will consist of places such as, the street, beach, movie theatre, house, etc.
Focus Forward
After doing this task on my own personal mini pitch I now have a greater knowledge on what to expect when thinking of ideas in my future group. As well as this creating a visual representation of the narrative and performance was extremely helpful so the production sides of the music video will go smoothly.
A narrative is a piece of media that aims to tell a story. There are 3 types of narratives; Amplified, Disjunctive, and illustrative. An amplified narrative is when the narrative, is inspired by the song and adds a new element to complement the themes. A disjunctive narrative is when the narrative seems to hold very little relationship to the song and seems quite random. Finally, an illustrative narrative in the video very closely echoes the lyrics & music.
Below is the 3 videos I’ve chosen to represent the structure of a narrative:
Thematic (amplifies the lyrics and illustrate the ideas in visual metaphors)
The music video showcases Ed having feelings for this girl from the very start, but she didn’t seem to pay much attention to him which gave him very little hope of them being together. The group of them went on a skiing trip and he attempts to help her ski and maintain her balance so she doesn’t fall over. When she is skiing or doing karaoke he is always admiring her beauty and bubbly personality from a far until it cuts to a montage of them having a snow ball fight, making snow angles, and eating pizza together. Finally, Ed admits he wrote a song for her and expresses his emotions through the lyrics which makes her come to terms with her feelings as they dance under a candle light in the snow.
Episodic (self contained stories within a story)
This music video is the preparation of creating a music video as you see the directors, performers, and cameras ready in place. As they begin to perform they each have their own bit do to, for example Zayn in the middle of a sumo wresting fight or Liam with a circus crew with acrobats. Near the end they all come together and all have a massive performance to show the talents of the individuals. When the song fades out you see one of the ‘directors’ at the end verbalise “That was alright”.
Linear (beginning, middle and end of a narrative)
This music video begins with her playing cards with a ‘significant other’ but cuts to a scene where the whole fridge is full of beers which has connotations of him being an alcoholic or having more care for alcohol than her. As she is decorating the cake he seems to not care and take some decorations off of it to eat for himself as he isn’t appreciating what she does. As the music video ends you see her coming to terms with her worth and packs a suitcase and leaves him for good.
Below are some of the narratives I have thought of. I created these narratives by doing a task where we randomly selected words and put them together:
Bitter pills taste of revenge
“I always knew there was something off about the secretary at my hotel, I’ve always been a people watcher but something about her sparked my interest. She wasn’t always secretive about her identity. I’ve always known she was undercover. A detective. She is always lurking around that supply cupboard, aways grasping onto that old book. I always thought I was imagining it but when the unknown identity of the gun was posted in the local newspaper, I realised maybe I wasn’t making it all up. Maybe I should take a look in that supply cupboard…”
Distress signals
In a recent accident along the south-west harbour, flashing siren lights and mounds of detectives were accompanied by the ruckus of distressed civilians as the money-greedy reporters clambered towards the burning boat. The lead piping dripped with a mysterious substance on the boat. “I don’t understand how no one is seeing this body hanging from the rope…”
Return to sender
In an apocalyptic dystopian world where unknown species have taken over a skateboarder’s only mission which is to return a newspaper containing the world’s last hope to the cell. Batting through zombies and on a frightful chase – the only thing getting him to his final destination. A prison cell. Is the power his music holds and what it can accomplish which he is yet to understand.
Reflection
By discovering and creating narratives of our own it will help us as when we begin to create one for our music video. This is because we are familiar with what sort of narratives are used whether that is to amplify, illustrate or disjuncture the lyrics/music. It also lets us be more creative with the piece of work and allows us to connect with the audience on how we choose to represent our star and convey the message we are trying to give off.
