Big problem!

• As I'm using my sister in the music video, it was easy to do tests of the video at home. Doing a test of my music video, I realised that having my sister singing with sand coming out of her mouth didn't look good at all - it didn't fall out of her mouth evenly, ended up coming out in three splurges per mouthful of sugar ('sand'), and just looked terrible. Because of this, I'm having to change my idea. I liked the idea of using sand/sugar in my production, as I think the idea of sand really worked with the lyrics of the song, and was a well thought out idea. I re-looked at some of my previous ideas (e.g. sand falling down whilst song plays + sister sings, sister singing song whilst keeping many sand timers running), but wasn't happy with them so I started to think about possible ideas again.

• I thought of the idea of something filling up with sand, as if the higher it gets the less time the singer has to reveal their feelings. After thinking about suitable objects/ways to fill with sand, I thought it would look good for Ellie to be in a bath, that's slowly being filled up with sand. When the sand reaches her head, it will stop pouring into the bath but she'd now be unable to move as the weight of the sand is tying her down.
  

• After researching into this idea, I found out that the average bath holds 135 litres. After having to convert kilograms to litres, I worked out that nine or so bags of play sand (15kg) will be enough to fill the bath (with a person in it). Each 15kg bag being £2.99, this'll work out to be £26.91 for the whole video. 
  

• I'm having issues about what I want Ellie to wear in the bath. Initially, I wanted her to wear smart, dressed up, seductive clothes, to signify how close she was to revealing how she felt. Then, I thought it might be better for her to wear more casual clothes to signify her what seems to be casual attitude towards the relationship. I've decided to put together two possible outfits, one casual and one dressed up, and take photos of her in the bath as if the sand was being poured on her. This will then give me more of an idea about which outfit will look best, whether it works well with the shape and colour of the bath, and whether sand falls well on it the outfit (e.g. pouring sand on to silk will look very different to pouring sand onto a rough fabric like denim or linen).
  

• Thinking about this, I want to make it look like she's actually in a bath with water. I'm thinking of placing candles around the bath to create an atmosphere as if she's trying to calm herself down and relax in the bath, but the sand is swallowing her up not allowing her to relax (as in her free time she's simply thinking about how time is running out). Half way through the video, I want her to dip her hand in water (that will be placed out of the shot so it's not obvious), and rub her eyes, so her make up smudges as if she's in a bubble bath. This will also add to the idea that she's getting more and more stressed as time goes on, and as the song goes on as she's dwelling on the subject.
  

• As I'm filming at home, I had the choice of filming in two bathrooms. One of them is colourschemed white, blue and green, and the other is more simply white. I've chosen to shoot in the plain white bathroom, as there is a window right next to the bath so there'll be good lighting, and quite a plain background. 

• I'm going to buy the sand in the next couple of days (I may have to go to various different Argos stores as no one store that's close has more than four packs of sand!), and will take a camera home to film the video!

Mock Ups

upload when scanned

Planning

Advanced Portfolio

Long Term Planning Schedule

Week Beginning	To be completed	Resources Required
2/11/09	Finish all blog prep. Finish mock ups for each product + upload these to blog.	Internet (blog). Video camera for mock up video. Photoshop for mock up advert + digi-pack.
9/11/09	Do two days of filming (final video). Upload this to blog, stating what went well and what didn’t. Take final photos for digi-pack and magazine advert (make sure a selection of different compositions are tested). Upload these photos to blog, so able to show difference between original photo and final.	Internet (blog). School video camera. DSLR camera (for high quality photos). Actress – Ellie Perkin. Photography studio – as a setting for final video (enables use of professional lighting).
16/11/09	Begin to put together video – put music and video together, start to edit this. Write about this, uploading it to the blog, stating what I’m happy with and what I need to improve. Work on+ finish digi-pack. Upload thoughts on digi-pack – is there anything I’m not happy with? Upload photo version of digi-pack to blog to annotate. Why have I chosen to make it like this?	Mac – iMovie. Photoshop (for digi-pack). Internet (blog).
23/11/09	Carry on editing video – aim to have finished this by Wednesday. Upload writing to blog. Work on+ finish advert. Upload advert to blog + write about why I’ve decided to lay it out like that. What I found hard, what I like about it.	Mac – iMovie. Photoshop (for advert). Internet (blog).
30/11/09 First Draft / Rough Cuts to be completed (To be handed in on Wed)	When shown to teachers, make a brief of what more there is to do. Upload this brief to blog. Begin final edit. Write on blog about what I have left to do.	Mac – iMovie. Internet (blog).
07/12/09 (Getting feedback on Tuesday)	Aim to finish editing on video to finalise with teachers by Thursday. Make sure digi-pack and advert are ready to hand in – upload finished copies to blog.	Mac – iMovie. Photoshop. Internet (blog).
14/12/09 Deadline Week (Deadline = Wednesday)	Make sure all loose strings are tied up by Tuesday at the latest – there shouldn’t be anything left to do this week concerning production work. Write final evaluation of project on blog.	Internet (blog).

First Idea

• As shown in the previous post, the lyrics of the song I'm using made me think of time, different ways of measuring time, and therefore sand (egg-timers).
• I thought of various different ways of putting this idea across, for example, sand acting as rain over the artist and the artist only as if she's drowning in her sorrows and lack of time, and using the physicality of sand timers - the artist singing the song whilst turning over egg timers to imply her neverending waste of time.

• After thinking of these ideas, I moved onto thinking about how I could portray the artist talking/singing about the matter instead of acting on it, and how that can be percieved as a waste of time. This led me to create an idea of the artist singing, but not being able to get her words out properly as there was just a stream of sand coming out of her mouth. After considering this idea, I decided it might not be best to use actual sand, as this may be dangerous/damaging for the artist's health, so I decided I want to try this but with brown sugar (to look like sand). There's a chance this may not work - the lip syncing may look terrible and not portray the image I'm hoping for, but I'm going to do a test of this at home on my video camera to check this.
• When planning this test, I was having difficulties finding someone I'd like to use. After talking to Phoebe (the artist) about the idea, she'd be willing for it to be used but she wasn't willing to do it - which I was quite happy about because she's not really the style I was looking for. Ruling out Phoebe, I wanted to find an ordinary, mature-looking female.
  After considering who I could use I came up with the idea of using my sister - Ellie Perkin. She's 23, having the aesthetic maturity I was looking for, is a good actress, and is willing to shoot the video (using sugar) - the photo on the left is her.
• After deciding on my model, I moved on to thinking about the setting I'd shoot it in. I was thinking it could be nice to shoot this outside, but I soon decided against this as the weather can be incredibly unpredictable and I don't want to have to rely on the weather to shoot my work, or rush the filming to get it done in one day. I then thought about using a photographic studio (the one in my school - I therefore have easy access to the studio, lighting and cameras.)
• At first I was thinking my idea would be better the more simple it is, but I then realised I can project images/words onto the wall behind her/her face, and I think I might play around with this idea if I choose to finalise this idea.
• I will upload the test footage at a later date!

Radiohead - No Surprises

I watched this music video and immediately got ideas for my advanced production. Although this is not the kind of music I'm focusing on; the simplicity but danger and excitement of the video really intrigued me. It is simply one shot of Thom Yorke (singer in Radiohead) singing the lyrics to the song, but he's trapped in an old glass diving suit. The helmet slowly fills up with water, giving him less and less air to breathe until he's competely emerged in water. This video implies being dragged under and losing control, I think the video portrays this idea really effectively. I like the simplicity of the video, and that it is only one shot. The fact that there's only one shot makes the video less complicated than it could have been - if there were more shots in the video I think it'd have ruined the neverending effect created.

This video affected me so much - I've recently been thinking about how I can create a music video similar to this; grotesque, outrageous but a simple idea. Here are a few of the ideas I thought of:

Brief:

• Music Promotion

Main Product:

• Music Video

Ancillary Product 1:

• Magazine advert

Ancillary Product 2:

• Digipack

Genre of Main Product:

• Acoustic singer/songwriter

Target Audience:

Demographic:

• Female aged 16-25

Psychographics:

• Old brief described a party girl that enjoyed 'roaming free', but after a change of song the first part isn't relevant.
• Likes to roam free, very easy-going, calm.

Lifestyle:

• Stereotypical student life, likes going out, but likes to relax a lot also.

Similar Media Products:

1. KT Tunstall - "Suddenly I See"
2. Laura Marling - "New Romantic"
3. James Morrison - "You Make It Real"
4. Damien Rice - "Nine Crimes"
5. Beginning of film 'Closer'

Justification for choice of breif:

Scene 1 of Closer - 'The Blowers Daughter' (Damien Rice)

Video of this -

(Excuse the non-English video, this was the best I could find! When the girl wakes up from being run over, she says 'Hello stranger')

I saw the film Closer a while ago, but the first scene has always stuck in my mind. When I came up with the idea of doing an acoustic music video, Damien Rice came in to my head, and consequently, the opening scene of Closer. The first scene is so simple - shots from two different viewpoints : one pointing towards a girl walking down the street, and another pointing towards a man doing the same thing. It's soon obvious that the man and woman are walking towards each other, and they've evidently noticed each other. Although the scene doesn't have much to it, it's an incredibly effective opening, partially because of the song used. It immediately sets the storyline and immediately draws you in to the film. I'm thinking of aiming for the same effect with my music video - something simple but that draws you in and really ties in with the lyrics of the song.

Product Research - CD/Digipak covers!

- Overall look: simplistic. Black and white styled cover.
- Setting: Not shown, aim to not cause distraction? Rain, indicating tears - emotion to reflect emotion in song.
- Facial expression: in pain, severe, emotional - matches style of music. Looking away from the camera, as if looking at writing therefore meaning of writing seems powerful.
- Font: simple, but unique. Reflecting how he believes he is?

- Overall look: Incredibly simplistic, quite dull but with sudden bursts of colour (joy).

- Setting: Not shown - has been deliberately taken out of photo - indicates a sense of singer being lost/not noticing his surroundings - better things on his mind?

- Facial expression: Serious, contemplative, lost, worried. Indicating a depth to his music? Music with real meaning, that people can relate to.

- Font: Yet again, simple but unique. Aiming to reflect his simple, straightforward style of music with his own twist.

- Overall look: Unique, fun, arty, individual, simplistic, but clothes show a daring, exciting edge to her.

- Setting: Photographic studio - reflects music is purely about her+her talent?

- Facial expression: Serious - contradicts fun, exciting feel of photo-shoot (rainbow braces, sparkly top, relaxed pose), but indicates her serious motives when concerned with music production.

- Font: Very ordinary, simple font, but writing has been tilted - indicates her as an artist? Simple and conventional, but with an individual side to her?

James Morrison - You Make It Real

Link To Video

Laura Marling - Night Terror

Song lyrics :
I woke up and he was screaming
I'd left him dreaming
I roll over and shake him tightly
And whisper "if they want you
Oh they're gonna have to fight me"
Oh fight me

I woke up on a bench on Shepherds Bush green
Oh a candle at my chest and a hand on his knee
I got up it was dark
There is no one in the park at this hour
Why do I keep finding myself here?
Oh find me

The above is the first two verses of 'Night Terror' by Laura Marling - a currently popular singer/songwriter. The following verses aren't identical to the above two, but are similar. As I'm analysing the video, I chose to research the lyrics to understand more why she chose to perform in this way. Marling took more of a thematic, atmospheric approach to creating her video - the lyrics of the song and the video don't follow the same narrative, though the atmospheres of both are sinister and ghoulish.

Laura Marling was nominated for the 2008 Mercury Prize, showing her audience is more sophisticated and appreciative of her style of music. She adheres to the conventions of acoustic singer/songwriter music videos - most videos of this genre involve the artist singing and playing instruments towards the camera. She is the main focus of the majority of her videos (singing towards the camera) yet she aims to subvert this convention by involving more to the videos (for example; the clowns in 'Night Terror' and the shadows in 'New Romantic').

KT Tunstall - Suddenly I See


KT Tunstall has taken a very conventional approach to acoustic singer/songwriter music videos. The video 'Suddenly I see' focuses on her and her band performing - playing instruments and singing, demonstrating the genre characteristics. Many acoustic artists do this - it shows a sense of simplicity yet depth to the video as it's simple, clearly focusing on the lyrics and music being played. This video conveys a strong impression that Tunstall aims to receive the recognition for her music - in the video a photographer is following her around, implying this. In the introduction of the song, the video is edited to the beat of the song, showing sillhouettes playing instruments (see image to right) - this however focuses on the idea that image is not important, it is simply music. The lighting in the video is very dark and mysterious, with sudden flashes of light on the performers - this imitates the lyrics of the song ('suddenly i see'). The video is medium budget - it's set in a kind of warehouse , and is very simple (nothing extraordinary is being filmed), though the lighting shows extravagance and effort. The stripped back mise-en-scene imitates the stripped back singer/songwriter genre. It's clear that this medium budget was created with an aim to keep up her singer/songwriter image, after this was released she also released a second video for the song - which is of a higher budget, with lots of animation and planning. This implies that the first video was partially pushed by her record label, demanding lots of close ups of the artist aiming to be recognised and remembered.

Audience Research

Questionnaire

1. How are you most likely to watch music videos?

• Music channels/TV
• DVDs
• Internet streaming sites e.g. YouTube
• Internet downloads
• Public display monitors
• Mobile phones
• Other – if so, please state ___________________

2. Why do you watch music videos?

• To keep yourself updated – knowledge of ‘new’ music in general
• To keep yourself updated – knowledge of artist/genre
• Entertainment
• Word of mouth
• Other – if so, please state ___________________

3. What attracts you to a music video?

• Interesting narrative
• Dancers
• Special effects
• Actors/actresses
• Artist/genre
• Music
• Other – if so, please state ___________________

4. What kind of music do you tend to listen to?

Rock Pop Indie Rap R’n’B

Electro Acoustic Hip hop Reggae Jazz

• Other – if so, please state ___________________

5. Generally, what genre of music videos interests you most? (Tick two if two genres – e.g. ‘pop rock’)

Rock Pop Indie Rap R’n’B

Electro Acoustic Hip hop Reggae Jazz

• Other – if so, please state ___________________

6. Do you like the artist to be involved in music videos you watch, and why?

• Yes
• No
• Undecided

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. How important is the music video when deciding whether to download the song?

· Very important

· Important

· Not very important

· Not at all important

8. You’re watching an acoustic music video – would you rather watch it if it had an interesting narrative, or if it focused more on the talent of the artist, for example KT Tunstall, ‘Suddenly I See’, artist singing and playing guitar? (Please tick)

• Narrative
• Talent of artist

I handed my questionnaire out to people ranging from 11 year old school girls to men in their mid 50s to give me a wide range of people's views so I didn't disregard some of my audience.

I also found question number six helpful - the majority of the people I asked said yes, they did want the artist to be in the video. The main reason given was that it gave them more knowledge of the artist.

I was hoping question number eight would be incredibly helpful, but it wasn't really. People answered about half and half, not really giving me a straight answer. In some ways that's bad as it shows they're undecided as a community, but in other ways it makes my challenge less difficult as they wont mind either way.

Initial Brief

Brief:

• Music Promotion

Main Product:

• Music video

Ancillary Product 1:

• Magazine advert

Ancillary Product 2:

• DVD cover

Genre of Main Product:

• Acoustic singer/songwriter

Target Audience:
Demographic:

• Female, aged 16-25

Psycho graphics:

• Likes to party, enjoys being trouble free and being able to roam 'free'

Lifestyle:

• Typical student life

Similar Media Products:

1. James Morrison - "You Make It Real"
2. KT Tunstall music video - "Suddenly I see"
3. Lisa Hannigan music video -
4. Laura Marling music video - "New romantic"
5. Damien Rice music video - "9 crimes"
6. Beginning of film 'Closer'

Justification for choice of brief:

• Song written and sung by a good friend of mine, Phoebe Hibbert. This allows me access to the song easily and trouble free (no copyright troubles).
• Target audience includes my age range - makes it easier to identify with what they'd expect.

Representational Issues:

• Challenging 'ladette' representation of young British women.

Narrative:

• Linear narrative - follow narrative of song, but inter cutting with performance of artist/mood shots of artist.

Subverting/using conventions:

• To include the artist in the video - many acoustic singer/songwriters are the main focus of their music videos. The audience gets the impression they are simplistically exhibiting their talent.
• To edit to the beat of the track.
• Fast paced editing.
• Stripped down setting.
• Guitar iconography.

Challenges anticipated:

• Being able to film in ideal settings/locations.
• Editing - matching shots to the music.
• Organising my cast and being able to get them to act how I want.

Hardware and Software:

• iMovie - to edit and pull together my footage.
• Photoshop - to create and edit my ancillary products.