(TASK 5) Pre-production storyboard

Today we added to our storyboard. We came up with two new shots/scenes and discussed how we could continue to build our storyboard. A new idea for a prop came up- we decides to create an imaginary versus reality dice.

(TASK 5) Pre-production storyboard

Today, we started creating our storyboard, setting out the most important shots of our music video. I think that this storyboard planning is a good way of structuring our shots and organising our time.

(TASK 5) Pre-production Team Roles

The team consists of myself and Lyle Barrett. Our roles are as followed:

Lyle Barrett: Actor and producer. He will do some filming also, but he is participating in the video. He is also to design the props and ensure the location release.

Courtney Carr: I am a producer and the director of the production of this music video - entitled "All in my head."

We aim to produce out creative vision and work well together.

(TASK 5) Pre-production annotated lyrics

Today, Lyle and I started off our pre-production by annotating the lyrics to our chosen track "All in my head" by Tori Kelly.  We started with this because we thought it would give us a firm foundation when creating our storyboard.

(TASK 4) Pitch regarding Treatment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COb8o8YEe1A

Today, Lyle and I pitched our Treatment plan to the rest of our class.
The class seemed highly receptive of our ideas and really liked the concept of our narrative-based music video. They also said that the track works really well when trying to portray a story.

The feedback we received from our class, including our teacher, is as followed:

- Have a key element that we always go back to e.g.. something about him that she is constantly obsessed with.
- Maybe think of portraying a homosexual relationship
- Increase the performance i.e... more lip-synch

What changes do we plan to make to our treatment?

We do not plan to portray a homosexual relationship as, in terms of our contacts, it would be very difficult to find people who would be willing to play this role. Also the artist Tori Kelly, is clearly portraying a heterosexual relationship because the lyrics clearly outline this. We would prefer not to change this.

We do, however plan to increase the amount of lip-synch used so that there is an element of musical interaction. For example, we could show the main character singing to quite a few of the chorus'. Also, she is constantly going to be seen in the setting of the Forest as it can be used as a motif for isolation. Finally, we came up with an idea. In the middle of the music video, we will increase the cutting rate and show the other side of the story - what reality is. The first half is what she imagines but the second half is reality.

(TASK 3) A2 Music Video Task - Brainstorming ideas and Treatment

I have been instructed to create a music video for my A2 Media Coursework and my partner is Lyle. The track that we have chosen is called "All in my head" by Tori Kelly. We liked this track because it stirred up certain emotions so it would encourage interaction between the viewers and the video. The song is about a girl who is confused as to whether a man likes her, or if it is all in her head - he seems to give her mixed signals.  I have inserted a copy of the rough notes that we have done so far.

(14/09/15) - Treatment:

The summary of the narrative idea is this - a music video based on pure love and emotions, demonstrating a confused girl's perspective on her relationship with a guy. We plan to create two stories; what happens according to the girl's desire versus reality. For example, we will focus on the good moments of their relationship, and this relates to the lyrics because the title of the song is "All in my head," and by focusing on her emotions we allow viewers to get inside of her head.

 We are aiming to focus on the narrative aspect rather than performance. There will be elements of  conceptual or metaphoric imagery as well, as it is a representation of what is going on with her mentally.

Over the summer we completed a pre-coursework task where we had to look at case studies of tracks with and without music videos. The track that didn't have an accompanying music video, yet inspired us, is called"Helplessly" by Tatiana Manaois.

 The lyrics tell a narrative of a girl who feels mixed feelings towards a man, as she feels he is good for her yet bad in some ways. This relates to our own idea for our chosen track.

 The track "Fire We Make" by Alicia Keys did have an accompanying music video. It inspired us because it is also based on a love story, even though it takes a more sensual approach. For example, in the video they are always apart from each other, singing about their feelings. In the end they are united. 

Mise-en-scene

Regarding casting actors, we would use two main young adults (male and female) to play the role in our story. We would use other young adults to play the crowd in certain scenes. Since our target audience is young adults, we feel as if using people of a similar age will lead to identification. In terms of props, love notes would be among our list, but we still need to develop in this area.

The locations:

- A forest

- A street

- A bedroom/housing area

- An isolated room

- A park 

Ethical Considerations:

- Pushes into the boundary of mental ill health, so we will make it clear that she isn't mentally ill, but instead simply imagining what could happen.

- Isolation - She ends up alone as the man is interested in someone else and she interpreted the situation wrongly. 

- Explicit scenery- There will be sensual scenes and to combat this ethical consideration, we will rate the music video as explicit.

Length of Video: The length of our music video will be approximately 3.5 minutes because there is also verbal communication. The narrative will draw the viewers deep into the story. 

Target Audience:

- Young adults (16- approx 24) : We chose this sector of the audience because we are ourselves in this age group and therefore find it easier to appeal to them. Also, stereotypically this type of "immature" or "imaginative" love story is associated with younger adults and teenagers. 

- Niche audience:  It could also apply to those who are older, as there is a point in many people's lives when they are confused about their feelings.

There are other forms of audience, but we need to validate which ones we are definitely targeting.

Where would we broadcast our video?

- YouTube: This is one of the largest video-sharing platforms in the world, so it would make sense to place our music video on this sight. This technology is also apart of social media, so our video is more likely to be shared potentially around the world.

- Facebook Page- Even though this form of social media is not as common as the newer ones, it is still very successful and a platform for audience interaction. For example, they can comment and join the page as well as share the link on their own walls. 

A2 Media Music Video Practice Activity - Evaluation

Evaluation of Music Video Practice Activity

My group and I were instructed to film a piece of footage, with the selected person lip syncing to the chosen song. We chose the track “Happy” by Pharrell, and after filming footage we edited it using Final Cut Pro.

I think that my group was very good at coming up with creative ideas when editing. For example we added a special sparkly transition to accompany the lyric “we can go to space.” The camera work was successful as it ran smoothly and efficiently. In terms of planning, we took our time to analyse the chosen section of lyrics, thinking about what mise-en-scene and type of shots would relate.

I enjoyed the process of this task, but I do think that my group and I could have planned more thoroughly before undertaking this task. This is because we were not always sure of what shots we were going to use and our creativity lacked when it came to our usage of shot types.

Regarding the group work everyone was assigned a role such as working the camera or filming. Every single one of us also contributed ideas so that the piece represented all of us. However, I think that individually, the amount of effort put in was not equal. For example, in the technical area I think that every member of our group should learn to use the editing software, as the minority did not know how to edit: and therefore as a group we were hindered.

 If I could improve, I would put an incredible amount of effort into this task as we were with the people that we may want to work with in the real coursework task. When it came to ideas, the majority of the group was very creative and our ideas were linked to the way we directed. For instance, we thought that the title of the song “Happy” and the lyric “sunshine she’s here…” indicated that we should shoot outside to highlight the environment.

Overall, based on the weaknesses I have identified, I have set myself some specific targets for improvement. Firstly, I would plan my ideas in thorough detail because it is important. Secondly, I would improve the variation and quality of my shots. Finally, I would film much more additional footage so that I can chose from a selection.

Music Video Practice Activity (WED 9th September, 2015)

Yesterday, we receieved an induction regarding how to use the editing suite and the technology called "Final Cut Pro." My group and I succesfully edited our film footage and the result was a short quirky lip synching video to the track "Happy."

Music Video Practice Activity (TUES 8TH September,2015)

On Tuesday, my partner and I began to film for our practice shoot. We chose the location of the outside environment because it reflects the lyrics of the song, such as "sunshine she's here you can take a break."

We finished filming and used the same location, but a varied type of shots. For example we opened with an establishing shot, but we closed with a medium shot.

We worked well as a group and had an organised plan of shots we were going to use.

Music Video Practice Activity (MON 7TH September,2015)

We were instructed as a class to carry out an activity on lip syncing. My group chose the track "Happy" by Pharrell Williams and we came up with an idea of shots we could use, to accompany each lyric. We have not finished the task but here is what we have done so far:

(TASK 2) PART B (Initial Research) - Annotation of "What do you mean" (Justin Beiber)

I used the technology of Prezi to create a powerpoint presentation, analysing the music video to the accompanying track "What do you mean" by Justin Bieber. I enjoyed analysing this video as it is a USP within itself, because of the unique typography, narrative and more.

I would take some ideas from this music video such as the unique typography and red herring ending. This is because the narrative is really interesting and as the viewer, I would want to find out the ending of the story. It is important to captivate your audience, whether it is because of the great performance or gripping storyline.  The music video is also embedded into the Prezi Presentation. I have made changes which are shown in red.