Planning: Characters

Planning: Characters

Planning character representation is important as we have to make sure the characters follow the genre expectations, therefore allowing them to cater for and appeal towards an audience’s expectation.

Artist’s Representation

After great consideration the theories we have chosen to apply to our Artist is Mulvey’s Male Gaze, Dyer, Adorno and Goodwin.

·         Dyer theory will be applied in our music video as the artist will be represented in a certain manner in order to satisfy and appeal to a target audience.  This allows him to develop a bond with audience therefore allowing them to commercially appeal to their target audience.

·         Our female characters will not be represented in a voyeuristic manner in our music video as we don’t want to take the focus away from our artist and the lyrics. Furthermore, Mulvey’s Maze Gaze theory won’t be applied in our music video.

·         Goodwin’s theory will be applied in our music video as we plan to use different filming technique in order to promote our artist’s star image. This will allow them to visually appeal to the target audience while gaining recognition.

Genre representation

·         Young black boy which fits the traditional house music genre due to rap boys being associated with rapping more than a white boy would.

Costume

·         The costumes will vary depending on the person as the artist will be wearing casual clothing which you’d see on an everyday guy. This is because it allows us to emphasise his laid back and relaxed attitude which would allow the audience to relate to him due to he’s ‘cool’ style.

 Themes

• ·         Relax
• ·         Young & Wild

Audience expectation & understanding

·         Young teenage boy enjoying his life and this is portrayed through his relaxed and laid back attitude which he goes by. The audience will expect a young character in this representation as it fits in with the theme of being young, wild and free.

Character representation

Theories we have chosen to apply to our characters is Goodwin.

·         This is because he believes that there are specific elements which are implemented into a music video in order to make it successful. In this case, the use of cinematography can be used in order to capture the characters dance move in order to create a visually appealing music video which would complement the artist.

Genre representation

·         Both characters from the younger boy to the older version of him will be represented as just young, black boy trying to make a living. This is important as it is conventional to the house genre thus allowing it to appeal to a certain target audience.

·         Young athletic dancing characters will be chosen as allow them to perform the planned routine dance moves in order to visually appeal to the audience.

Costume

·         The characters such as the dancers will be wearing set colours between all red and black or yellow and black as this will allow the audience to distinguish between the two dance groups during the dance battle scenes.

Audience’s expectation & understanding

·         The audience expect athletic dancing characters in order to be able to perform the planned dance routine.

Little Boys representation

Theories we have chosen to apply to our characters is Goodwin & Dyer.

·         Dyer: Star image of the young characters will be like that of the actual star as they are the younger image of the star. They will follow the current trends, similar to that of the star but younger.

·         Goodwin: The use of close up to represent them as stars in the video. Will not have any aspect of the notion of looking because they are young and male.

Genre representation

·         Young, black characters who look good and are able to dance. This is seen as conventional to the house genre.

Themes

• ·         Dancing
• ·         Young and free
• ·         Competition
• ·         Battle

Audience expectations & understanding

·         Young and happy, enjoying their dancing.

Conclusion

Planning the characters representation has allowed me to work alongside Dyer’s theory and mould the characters and artist into my desired way in order to make them as conventional yet appealing as possible. In addition, this helps turn the artist into a commodity.

Planning: Lighting and Colour

Planning: lighting and Colour

Lighting and colour is seen as essential within any music video as it helps create a positive response from the audience due to the lighting and colour making the video visually appealing. For example using high key lighting in a music video along with other elements will be used to create excitement and engagement in order to capture the audience's attention

In this music video I plan on using high key lighting during the scenes near the start of the video where the artist is seen singing against a white background. Low key lighting however, will be used during the narration of the video where the two characters are dancing in the urban set location. This is because this is relative towards the conventional house genre.

In Beyonce's 'Best Thing I Never Had', video there is use of a spotlight which shines light directly onto the artist. This is effective as it promotes her star image through recognition by making her stand out. in addition, this also portrays her glamorous and aspiration image. I plan to use some kind of spotlight during my music video as I want to draw my audiences focus to the artist during the scene where he is singing against a white mysterious background.

Another music video which has influenced my choice of lighting and colour for my music video is The Fray 'How To Save A Life'. This music video uses high key lighting throughout the video which represents the overall brightness of the video. Using a white background in the music video has also fueled my urge to implement this in my own music video as I am able to relate it to the scenes of my artist singing against a white background.

Ed Sheeran 'A Team' is also another music video which has influenced my choice of lighting and colour for my own music video. I plan to implement low key lighting during my music video which is why this video influenced me as low key lighting is used almost throughout the music video. This is done in order to set and maintain the intended atmosphere of the video which would ultimately have an effect on the audiences response. I plan to use low key lighting during the dance battle scenes between the different characters as this will create tension and excitement.

Conclusion
Furthermore, planning the lighting and colour for my music video has helped reinforce my understanding about how the different lighting and colours can influence the mood and atmosphere in the music video which I intend to use in order to manipulate my target audience. In addition, I am now fully aware of when and where to use certain lighting and colour elements in order to make my music video as conventional yet visually appealing as possible.

Planning: Storyboard

Planning: Storyboard

What is a storyboard?

•  A storyboard is a rough plan of your narrative which you plan to use for your music video or any other production planning. Storyboards are beneficial as they allow you to organise your different frames and ideas which gives you something to work from when you actually start filming.

9 essential Elements of a storyboard?

• Duration
• Frame
• Location
• Characters
• Cinematography
• Sound
• Narrative
• Dialogue

My Storyboard

 

Conclusion

I have found this planning storyboard post very useful as it has helped me organise the different potential shots myself and my group chose to implement. This planning task has also enabled me to delegate responsibility to other members of the group as I gave everyone a section of the storyboard to complete.

Planning: Locations

Introduction

The location is very important when considering to film any kind of production as you want to make sure you choose a suitable setting which will compliment the music video allowing it to appeal to the target audience.

Location 1

 

This location is seen as effective in terms of the structure of the music video as this scenery will ebst suite a narrative based video, this will then be complimented by the lyrics. The location is also very urban which relates to the underground niche genre of house, there is a lot of open space available for dancers as we hope to implement a dancing narrative during our video.

This location isn't seen as your conventional mainstram genre location as it is used for more niche genres such as house. This therefore will appeal more to a smaller range of target audience.

Advantages of this location

· Conventional to house genre

· Open space, enables choreographed dances

Disadvantages of this location

· Finding and getting to the location

· Health and safety

Location 2

The plain white room in this location will be beneficial for our artist as it will allow us to capture different shots of him against a white background in order to portray a different perspective to the audience. In addition, with the lyrics being repetitive, this can be clear and easy to understand for the audience.

through my research I have found this lcoation to be simple and effective in terms of the audience being able to identify the genre of the music video. This location is also very relevant to the target audience as it allows the audience to see the artist in order to boost the artist's recognition. The artist can also portray their values and ideologies which allows them to connect to the audience due to shared values.

Advantages of this location

· Clear identification of the artist.

· Simple, audience's attention/engagement doesn't change.

Disadvantages of this location

· Finding a white room which can relate to the house genre.

· Finding the right space.

 

Location 3

 

 

This location is very beneficial towards this music video as it fits the house genre stereotype perfectly due to the graffiti background theme and high key lighting. This will be relevant to the lyrics as the repetitiveness will allow me to implement narrative scenes of dancers in the music video. This is effective as the lyrics and visuals will then be able to compliment each other.

This location is relevant to the house genre as it is a artistic designed area used to allow dancing and other creative events to take place. This urban location will allow us to create a whole different meaning to the song. In addition, this genre is also relevant to the target audience as it appeals to a small range of people due to house having a niche target audience. The subculture of this genre is emphasised through the graffiti designs on the walls and floors.

Advantages of this location

· Natural lighting used to create a atmosphere

· Promotion of star image

· Visually enticing due to graffiti designs

· Urban location used to promote a sense of equality

Disadvantages of this location

· Artist recognition as the dancers and the urban background could stop the audience from identifying the artist

· Hard to get to.

Conclusion

This planning of the different potential locations which we could use in our music video to best compliment the repetive lyrics and artist has allowed us to look at all the benefits and drawbacks of each location in order to get a better sense of the initial desired location in which we want to use.

Planning: Cinematography and Editing of my music video

Cinematography

Cinematography is seen as a conventional and important element which is used in music video's in order to show the audience a person or an object in a different light. Cinematography allows the audience to view the artist in a different perspective which helps contributes towards their interpretations of the artist and whether or not the artist visually appeals to them.

The cinematography i plan to use in my music video consist of the following:

Close up shots will be used when the artist is filmed in a white room singing. I have chosen to use this because it allows the audience to see a close up shot of the artist which will enable them to capture the emotions from the artist fast. This is conventional to a house genre as close up's allow the audience to relate to the artist depending on their response which ultimately boostes an artist's star image.

Panning Shots will be used in my music video to show the background design of graffiti on the walls, in the area where the artist and dancers are all set to perform. I have chosen to use this because panning shots create more of a dramatic effect amongst the audience than what a ordinary straight shot would. This will then influence how the audience interpret the artist, characters and also the sourroundings.

Long Shots will be used in my music video during the frames where the artist is seen standing/walking around a white room singing. I have chosen to use this as it will allow the audience to see a full contrast of the artist's body. This is effective as it will allow the artist's visual elements such as costume to visually appeal to the audience due to them taking a liking to the artist's dress sense. This promotes the artist's star image and identity recognition.

Zoom Shots will be used on the artist and characters at different points during the music video. I have chosen to use this because it allows the audience to see the emotions of the persons face which can decide how the audience feel about what they just found, E.g. Sympathy, Empathy. This is conventional to a house genre as it uses the artist and characters facial expressions to create sympathetic response amongst the audience.

Medium Shots will be used when the artist is seen in a white painted room singing. I have chosen to do this as it allows the audience to see the artist from waist up which allows the audience to see them in a different perspective. This is conventional to the house genre as it allows the audience to capture their body language and facial expressions which tell a lot about a persons attitude.

Low angle shots will be used of the artist in order show his significances and laid back attitude. I have chosen to do this as it portrays the artist in a different perspective thus promoting his star image. This is conventional to the house genre as stars representations are formed due to the way they are portrayed through the use of different cinematography shots and techniques.

Editing

Editing is the most important element in the whole production process of a music video. I believe it is important to this about editing especially in music videos because they it places together different scenes in order to create a effective response amongst the audience. This can be done through adjusting the pace of the song as there are different editing techniques such as montage shot which makes the scenes seem faster whilst fueling the audiences engagement.

The editing I plan to use in my music video consists of the following:

Montage shots will be used during the narrative of the street dance battle. I have chosen to use this because it allows me form a sequence of different shots gathered and merge the most important/effective shots together. This is conventional to a house genre as it grabs the audiences attention and creates a sense of excitement amongst them which fuels their engagement.

Fade to back edits will be usd at the start of the music video where it has a montage shot of the different locations which will be used during this music video. I have chosen to use this because I feel that the black filter in between the two shots create a great merging effect.

Fast pace editing will be used during the frames of the street dance battle between the two rival groups. I have chosen to use this as it will create a dazzling effect amongst the audience whilst watching the dance battle. In addition, this would compliment the dance battle scenes well as it would create a sense of excitement. This is conventional to the house genre as it will leave the audience visually entice due to them not knowing what will happen next.

Jump cut will be used during the filming of the dance groups competing against one another. I have chosen to use this as it adds a normality effect amongst the audience allowing them to relate. In addition, this is a editing technique which to some extent is conventional to the house genre.

Conclusion
Planning the cinematography and editing I aim to implement in my music video was very effective as it allowed me to break down all the different elements and decide which one would be most effective in my music video and why. This also keeps me organised as when it comes to the day of filming, I won't be running around trying different camera techniques.

Planning: Artist's Star Image

Planning; Artist's Star Image

Planning the artist's star image is very important as it will allow you to mould the character in a way in which you prefer in order to make the artist appeal to the niche target audience and able to relate and be conventional to the artist's genre.

The theories that we are going to apply with our planning for our artist's star image are:

• Goodwin

• Dyer

Examples of artist that have influenced our artist representation

Don Omar

Rudimental

Disclosure

Morals and attitudes of artist

Our artist's attitude will be portrayed as cool and relaxed as this will allow the audience to relate to his genuinity. This in hope will form a relationship between the artist and target audience.

•        Laid back

•        Confident

•         Care free

Costume

We plan to have the artist dressed in a casual set of clothing as this will best represent his laid back and confident attitude. We hope the audience will be able to relate to the artist due to this.

•        Hat

•        Watch

•         Headphones

Lighting

We plan to use a variety of different lightings on the artist as this will allow us to show him to the audience in a different perspective. Lighting along with cinematography are elements which are used in order to help a artist become a commercial product.

•        Low key lighting

•        High key lighting

•         Natural lighting

Body language and facial expression

Our artist's body language and facial expressions will be kept at a minimum as we want to maintain his cool and relaxed attitude. However, when facial expressions are used we hope to capture them with a close up shot as this will allow the audience to see the emotions on the artist's face which in hope would create a sense of empathy.

How your artist is going to follow star conventions and why this is important for the audience and industry?

My artist is going to follow the star conventions by myself implementing dyer's theory into the planning. This is because we hope to mould our star in order to turn him into a commercial product. This will then allow our star to attract and appeal to a large variety of audience's which will not only boost our artist's fan base but also the sales return we get from the artist's song. We also hope to have our star portray his morals and values through social media websites such as twitter as this will allow the audience to see the real side to him which will then form a bond between them due to them being able to relate to his values for example.

Conclusion

This planning of the artist's star image was really effective as it has allowed myself and my group to mould our artist into our desired way in order to boost his star image, enabling him to attract and appeal to the target audience.

Planning: Production Roles

Introduction

 
During the music video filming process there are seven roles which are seen as essential in contribution to making a successful music video. Each roles are assigned to one person as this allows the group to share up the workload and get things done faster.

 

Camera man -

The camera man is the person who operates camera such as recording specific scenes to implement cinematography E.g. Close up. The camera operator must work with the storyboard organiser in order create shots which are effective enough to portray the artists star image in a different perspective.

I am my group’s camera operation due to the fact that in my foundation portfolio I was given the responsibility of being the camera operator. This has allowed me to gain experience and knowledge about how cameras work. In addition, I’ve also learned different skills such as how to position the camera in the most effective way in order to reflect the genre of my music video.

 

Editor

The editor is the person who rearranges, adds and or deletes sections of different scenes in order to create a visually effective end product. Editors work closely with the camera operator and storyboard organiser to come up with the best type of shots to use in order to have a visually appealing effect amongst the audience.

Trey will be our group’s editor as his foundation portfolio clearly gives evidence of his capabilities as he edited the music video for the AS project last year.

 
Director

The director is the person who is in charge of everything that goes on in and around the music video; this can range from organising the production crew to deciding what costume certain characters will wear. We’ve decided that Dwayne should be the group’s director as we feel he has the correct leadership characteristics to ensure the group will produce an effective and appealing music video.

 

Sound manager

This person operates and is in charge of handling all the sound aspects of the film. A sound technician would normally work with the storyboard organiser to come up with the sound that best suits that type of scene and can cause effect amongst the audience. The sound technician will be me, trey and Dwayne as we all have a good understanding of what sound fits which scene and how it could make our music video appealing. In addition, this allows us to share up the workload in order to increase efficiency and get things done faster.


Location Manager

The location manager chooses the locations for different scenes that will be shot for the music video. Location manager must choose the best place to film a scene relating to the genre of the music. This is important as it the location of a music video must have a visual effective amongst the target audience in order to appeal to them. We chose Trey to be the group location manager as he loves travelling to new areas and also he has good ideas on what locations we can use to create an effective music video as he in the past as done a lot of dancing in different locations.

 

Storyboard organiser

This is a person who creates a rough copy of the step by step ideas that the scenes are going to look like. Cinematography, narrative, editing, and soundtrack will all be used in a storyboard as it gives the production crew a detailed example of what they are expected to produce. The more detailed a storyboard is the less work the production crew will have to do on the day of filming. We have chosen Dwayne to do the storyboard as out of everyone in the group he is the most artistic and we feel she could create a really detailed storyboard which will make filming a lot easier when we come to do it.

 

Lighting manager

The lighting manager is the person who has the responsibility of setting the correct lighting in order to compliment the scene. This therefore makes it effective and visually appealing towards the audience. I am my groups lighting manager due to my foundation portfolio of doing it in AS last year.


Actors

Actors are the people in a film who act as a convincing character. An Actor works closely with the film director as they must have the correct movements and facial expressions for example to fit the scene.

 
Producers

The producer is the person who supervises the production of the music video before discussing the planned budget for the production with the director. I am my groups producer as I have a solid idea of how I want things to be planned out in order to create a overall media product in the long run.


Conclusion

This planning of production roles was beneficial towards my group as it allowed us to organise everyone in different roles to avoid the risk of confusion and inefficiency occurring during the production.

 

Research and Planning: Digipack information

Planning: Drafts of digpacks

Name of artist: DJ-Tee

Song name: What I might do

Album name: Aftermath

Production name: Moonlight production

Institution Company: MTA Records

Barcode: 39123438

Track list:

·         Intro

·         Hit that beat

·         More than anything

·         Vision of love

·         Slow

·         What I might do

·         All things aside

·         Tell me what it is

·         Let it be

·         Life as we know it

·         New moon

·         Destruction

·         Lack of patience