Props List

Props are vital for our music video as we cannot rely on the location alone to bring our music video to life. When we go out filming the necessities are of course a camera with a memory card and back up batteries and a lens cleaner. We will need a stereo so that we can play the song and get a feel for it, it will also be needed to help our artist sing along. Another way in which we ca help our artist is by providing a lyrics sheet so that there will be no slip ups as we cannot afford to make mistakes. As we have pre-planned our filming schedule, we will have to bring that with us so that we can be confident that we won't miss any scenes out. In order to get to our locations we will have to bring a map as we don't want to waste time getting lost in busy London. In order for our artist to look the part, Amie and I will have to become make up artists for the day; the look we are going for is quite subtle and natural. We will also have to bring the costumes for the outfit changes which will take place during the day. As we are going up London we will need money and train tickets to last us for the whole day. 

Props needed for our filming: 

• Journal
• Pen
• Coffee Cup
• Flower
• Artificial Lighting 
• Microphone
• Fairy Lights
• Candles

Specifically for the narrative:

- Journal

- Pen

- Flower 

- Coffee Cup (will be brought at the time)

Specifically for the performance: 

- Artificial Lighting

- Microphone

- Fairy Lights
- Candles

As plans develop props and equipment will be continued to add to the prop list.

Mood Board

RUBY:

Here is a mood board of our ideas for what our music video will consist of. As you can see, for the person we are aiming for someone with blonde hair (like Goulding), someone wearing a beanie hat in an outfit which features indie style clothes i.e. a checkered shirt and denim jacket. The street art is symbolic of that in Brick Lane and the candles are symbolic of what we may use in our performance. 

Choosing A Song

RUBY:

The process of choosing a song was one of the hardest because it was hard knowing that which ever song we chose would be the basis of our grade. We wanted to choose a song which we both knew and liked, therefore we stayed away from genres that we are unfamiliar with e.g. rock. 

Whilst listening to the song we had to imagine what our music video would look like. This then eliminated some possible songs that we had. We also had to be realistic, there would be no room for a full blown dance routine because we did not have the people to do this, we could not have things like giant letters or lights as we do not have the resources.

Once we chose a song, something that we had to avoid was copying the official video as we had both seen this, we did not want to be influenced by this. Our first idea was influenced by the official video as we copied the elements of her going on a journey (on a train) and her walking in fields. 

When we had chose a song, we had to make sure that the possible people we were thinking of having in our video would fit the bill. For us, this meant having a female singer with the indie look. 

Animatic Storyboard

The making of the animatic storyboard:



Animatic storyboard: 

Model Test Shoot

Before we made a trip to London and started filming we thought it would be a good idea to see how one of our models in question looked in front of the camera. Obviously, there were a few silly giggles but Ruby and I were quite pleased with the outcome. Our model Emily was a little shy but after a little bit of practice we made her at ease. By the time we took a serious test shot although she remained uncertain half way through she got quite into. Presenting our ideas to her using our story board etc she is seems rather excited about the concept and to be honest she looked the part according to costume etc without even being asked! She is willing to dedicate some of her time to this project and we think it could work really well. She did express nerves and excitement and suggested that she would feel better when she was given more sense of direction and was physically doing stuff as the test shoot was rather daunting but only because all eyes were on her and she was only to mime. 

After watching back the video it is clear to see at first she was knew to this but as time went on she became more comfortable and got more into the song. When we go out filming on location she will be given more specific direction which will then take some of the focus of her lip syncing away and it will be placed on her movements and the location background instead. We feel that her style is ideal for this song and video.

Ellie Goulding (Our Artist) Live

On 9th March 2014, Ruby & I have booked to see Ellie Goulding perform live at London's O2 arena- got to have fun alongside the coursework. But it would be a good idea to see just what she is like as an artist and focus on costumes, graphics etc to see if they match close up to anything we did within our music video even though our schedule is set before then.


Ellie Goulding Live

Initial Editing Plan Using The Animatic Storyboard

Shot Types & Camera Movement

Before going to film our music video we thought it would be a good idea before we started heavily planning to look at types of shots. This will provide us camera practise before the construction stage enabling our work to look professional.

Research Into The Pop and Indie Genres

POP:

'Pop' is a abbreviation of popular, the reason for the music being so popular is that it often borrows the best elements from other popular genres such as rock and dance. Pop is a well liked genre which is proven by its mass audience. 

Artists who belong to the pop genre are artists such as: 

Katy Perry

Beyoncé

Rihanna

Justin Bier

Drake

One Direction

Britney Spears

Bruno Mars

Nicki Minaj

Chris Brown

Pitbull 

LMFAO

Lady Gaga

Coldplay 

Here are some examples of songs from the pop genre:

Songs from the pop genre consist of short-to-medium length songs which means they are approximately 3 minutes in length. Within this time, a verse usually takes the opening spot, followed by a chorus which is then repeated along with catchy hooks. 

Examples of song lengths:

Examples of this lyric structure:

- Katy Perry 'Roar' = verse, hook, chorus, hook, chorus

- Justin Bieber 'Baby' = verse, chorus, verse, chorus, verse, chorus

- LMFAO 'Sexy And I Know It' = verse, chorus, hook, verse, chorus, hook, hook, chorus 

INDIE:

'Indie' is the shortened version of the word 'independent', this genre consists of music produced independently from major commercial record labels or their subsidiaries. The indie genre sometimes expands into genres such as indie rock and indie pop - therefore it may include music that is not independently produced as independent artists tend not to fall into a single genre.

Artists who belong to the indie genre are artists such as: 

Arcade Fire

Bastille 

Lana Del Rey

Arctic Monkeys

Fall Out Boys

Imagine Dragons 

HAIM

Beady Eye

Jake Bugg

The Killers

Keane 

Examples of songs from the indie genre:

Examples of song lengths:

I believe the the structure of alternative/indie music is very similar to that used in the pop genre, this means they include any of the following elements: verse-chorus-verse with catchy melodies, an emphasis on a strong central melody and a 4/4 rhythm (time signature).

Examples of song structure:

Foo Fighters 'The Pretender' = 

Alternative music sets apart from pop music when it becomes more experimental when it takes a risk - this is done with the instrumental side of things (acoustic guitar is a favourite instrument to use) as well as edgier lyrics which could be poetic or not politically correct. The lyrics tend to be extremely social and political, but nowadays they have become more mainstream, for example "Black Balloon" by the Goo Goo Dolls is about a girl with a heroin addiction. 

Music Drives The Pace of The Editing

Ruby:

Editing fits the tempo of the music. If the pace is fast then this will mean fast cuts which highlight the pace and show the meaning of the song.

The shorter the sequence and the more edits made mean the faster the pace will be. 

The camera movement and the composition of the images play a role in the tempo.

Here I have used examples of both fast and slow pace songs, in particular Amie and I are focussing on the slower paced songs because this is the pace of our chosen song - your song. We have noticed that in slow paced songs the shots are longer, in some of these shots they are very still but in others it features the artist moving. An example of a still shot is the opening to skyscraper and an example of a  long shot where the artist is moving can be found in Beyonce's drunk in love. 

Amie:

Music throughout all music videos drives the pace of the editing which is something will obviously needed to be considered when editing our own music video. To ensure we understood this we looked at various music videos to see how they done this.

Rihanna- We Found Love

If you could manage to keep up with yourself during this video I would be very impressed. The editing is so fast to match the beat you need to keep up or watch it a few times to value the different shots. Besides the incredible style to this video the fast pace cuts is determined by the beat. This creates an exciting atmosphere which then matches the dance genre it goes along with.

Justin Timberlake- Cry Me A River

The narrative and performance element of this video combined has a strong story which is defined and made from the beat. The pace of the editing is driven by the music and the visual images is told within this capacity proving that the story comes from the lyrics. 

Rihanna ft. Kanye West- All Of The Lights

The dance and rap combination video is a combination of all kinds of elements but like the other videos it is increasingly obvious that you cannot deny that music drives the pace of the editing. Even with all the text features at the beginning video they change according the to the lyrics/ beat. It would be hard to find a video that would reject this theory. 

Jay Z ft. Kanye West- In Paris 

The technical advance on their world tour was brought forward within this music video. The video without a doubt drives the pace of the editing. From when he is singing, to the lighting and all the girls dancing the pace is always made to fit the music. As the music slows so does the upbeat video. This video is a fantastic example as to how editing is driven by the music.  

Adele- Make You Feel My Love 

Although our song is not quite a ballad this video replicates the sense of pace Ruby and I will be working with as we are editing. The slow music really does have a slow pace and it certainly not full of fast paced cuts. This allows for a more dramatic performance and strong narrative. Also following the other research regarding the demand for close up's it will also provide many opportunities for the audience to feel at one with the artist creating a more intimate feel. 

Ellie Goulding- Your Song




Within our music video our song is rather slow paced with insinuates to me that our shots need to match them and unlike hard core rapper video with not be constantly changing to the beat. Ours has more of a soothing feel to it so the pace of our cuts need to a lot slower to give the mellow feel that the song has to it. Looking at other music videos really helped me to notice what we need consider when we edit our own music video which is obviously the soul purpose of research. This post will be refered back to as we can look at other examples to ensure that our music video would survive in the real multi media world to ensure that we are aiming for the top grades.

Iconic CD covers - Analysis

Christina Aguilera 'Bionic' CD

The image on the CD gives visuals to the title of the album because half of it is showing how she is 'bionic'. The fact that she is bionic gives her a superwoman feel so that she is powerful. The other half of the album cover features Augilera staring blankly with her trademark red lips, and showing off her very white teeth.

Example 'Watch the Sun Come Up' Single

Example is known for his hip-hop, grime, house and electro sound which is played in both clubs and at house parties worldwide. His album cover reflects where his sound is heard - often in summer as the cover is bright with flowers, there is an airplane, palm trees, beach umbrella and sunglasses which suggests how the Brits jet off in the summer, alcohol for the party and a man and a woman to show that his music appeals to both genders. 

Madonna 'Confessions On A Dance Floor' CD

This album cover acts as a statement, Madonna is showing that she is still the Queen of Pop and her album would get you on your feet dancing. She creates this idea through her bold colours of red hair, pink leotard, the pose and the album title. The disco ball that covers for the letter 'O' in her name highlights her love for dancing. The lights that are on her background are reflective of those in a club, therefore showing where her music is played.

Insight Into Celebrity Life

AMIE:

Justin Timberlake's solo career soared in 2002 when he released his album Justified after breaking up with NSYNC. I believe that success of his first single 'Cry Me A River' is due to his the high profile break up with his girlfriend Britney Spears. After countless speculation it has only been until recently it was about her but from the model in the music video who looks the spitting image of Britney Spears raising curiosity amongst the audience. The song is clearly about heart break and the music video creates quite a strong relationship with the lyrics due to its revengeful nature as it was about him being cheated on. Although Britney wrote her own response it did seem quite as personal as Mr Timberlake's which is the reason for his outstanding success. 

Although it will be hard to use this same kind of approach in my music video as my model will not be a world famous super star I thought this piece of research was relevant in terms of looking at how artists personalize their videos in order to generate public interest and raising awareness of their new record.

RUBY:

Taylor Swift is an artist who is known to frequently write songs about her ex-boyfriends. Below are some examples with lyrics which indicate it to be about that particular boy.  

- "State of Grace" & "Red" = Jake Gyllenhaal 'twin fire signs and four blue eyes'

- "Treacherous" & "Everything Has Changed" = Connor Kennedy 'I will follow you home'

- "I Knew You Were Trouble" = Harry Styles 'you never loved me or her or anyone'

- "Holy Ground" = Joe Jonas

These links are not officially confirmed by Swift but the lyrics are clear enough to hold a good reason that the songs are about her ex-boyfriends. Its common knowledge about Swift's opinions on her choice of partners are revealed through her songs. This is a clever technique as they will be relatable to millions of girls out there which makes her music sell.

Another song that an artist wrote about someone else was Ray J who wrote a song about Kim Kardashian titled 'I Hit It First' aimed at her new boyfriend Kanye West. In the music video for the song, girls who looked very much like Kim featured; this enhanced the message. In addition the cover for the single consisted of a blurred out photo of Kim.

In response West calls Ray J "whack" and says "Tell him to call Ye when he gets to the $100-million mark, cause guess what - Ye 'hit that' first." Whilst that happened in April, it took until September for Kanye to release a diss track for Ray J titled 'Bound 2' which subsequently featured Kim topless in the music video.

AMIE Publicity Generators

 It is becoming increasingly obvious that the way many stars are promoting their music videos is by including the shock factor although perhaps you could say that the prodigy set off this trend with Smack My Bitch Up it is still continuous with videos like Miley Cyrus' Wrecking Ball. The latest hot topic is Kanye West's new video Bound 2 from his 'Yeezus' album which takes the male gaze and voyeurism to another level and really could be considered as vulgar. Him and the mother of his child Kim Kardashian appear to be having sexual intercourse on a bike although they were probably not they might as well be...
  
Source: Mail Online 

With approximately 60,000 dislikes and only about 13,500 likes to date it is clear that this video is an example of a step too far but you did begin to question was it supposed to be? With views already exceeding 7 million within 24 hours of Kim Kardashian posting it on her blog raises that the vulgarity of the video has in fact generated so much publicity that people are already talking about it, going crazy over twitter and listening to his song despite wether they like or dislike the video- never even mind that song that's a whole other story in itself! It just goes to prove the platform that a music video does provide for the artist with the image and portrayal it sets.  

 Source: Daily Mail/ Twitter

Other celebrities have made their own spoof of the video generating more hits although they are clearly trying to take the mic and make a laughing stock out of the pair. The new craze of music videos and the publicity it generates is distracting from the music and I believe to be ruining the industry as people are more obsessed over what their favourite celebrities are doing rather than celebrating and enjoying there music.  

AMIE Music Video Analysis - Ellie Goulding Your Song

Your Song was a ballad originally composed and performed by Elton John in 1970. Ellie Goulding re-released the single as part of album 'Bright Lights' 12th November 2010 and by Christmas appeared on all our screen as it was the soundtrack for the John Lewis Department Store Christmas TV advert. The music video was directed by Ben Coughlan and Max Knight, and premiered on Youtube on 14th November 2010. It managed to peak at Number 2 in the charts. The video has a homely look on Goulding's life with her friends and her journeys along the way. The single sold 755,326 copies in the UK alone.
Ellie Goulding stars in her own video, the personal video takes us back to her home town and the train station in Hereford. It was well received by the fans as it is personal to the artists and also develops her image. This is a good example of a collage type video which is used by many artists to give it a home video feel which is an effect that I would like to enforce within my music video.

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The atmosphere throughout seems very pure and introduces a country girl with many shots of Ellie in the park and all wrapped up in her winter gear always wrapped up warm connoting the cold weather perhaps making it feel christmassy explaining why John Lewis chose to use it (video as shown below). Using it for the Christmas video implies and enforces the homely feel that this song provides and the feeling that it gives someone who is listening to it. The shots of her and friends indicate a trip out almost as if they are filming a memory making the home video look appear and feel very sentimental. The images connote Ellie's values such as the importance of friendship highlight that is what life is about and that is what makes you happy as we often find shots of her grinning and laughing throughout the video. 

The calming tempo of the music creates a relationship with the visual of nature conveying a peaceful setting. The characters outfits proves that Ellie is just a down to earth girl like everyone except the lyrics of the song highlights that she still has the gift of song and it is something that she is able to share.She expressed pure happiness throughout and a love of music as she consistently plays piano creating a soothing atmosphere and her portraying her love of music throughout.

 This video in particular does not include an introduction although many do but then the narrative is not overly exhaustive. However the setting does set the tone and mood telling the story of the song. The relationship between the artist and the lyrics of this song can be left to you imagination as it does not overly have a distinctive story line. Although there are now connotations such as 'travelling' which could suggest a journey but here it takes us back Ellie's routes before she was famous as she visits her home town as we quickly see the station sign of 'Hereford' although it is not obvious it remains personal as she shares her life with her fans. Moreover "my gift is my song" expresses that this song shows the artists voice off and this is the gift. The association with gifts also would again have made it perfect for the John Lewis TV Ad. The director does use cuts but it is not faced passed as the tempo matches the music also unlike Andrew Goodwin's focus on voyeurism this is not included within this video at all it remains very authentic and pure. 

The action shot below is although very simple adds a great stylistic feature a represents her on a travelling journey. This type of shot with my own spin on I will 100% try to use within my own video as I really like the way it looks and the effect it has on the story. It almost feels that she is taking her audience on her journey too. The personal touch to this video is definitely what makes it so special and warming. 

In the build up to the chorus the viewers are still met with home made videos enhancing the idea of memories giving the audience a insight to her personal life as she develops her image as an artist but also what she is like in her personal life. The lens flare throughout almost accentuates the memories that she is capturing. The collage feel I also love it is used by many artists including Lana Del Rey. I believe it is a cheap yet effective way of the institutions to make music videos. It differs from your traditional rock and roll sort of themed video. A sense of peace is created as nature has a big part to play throughout the entire video and shots of her paddling in the lake with her wellies on. The enhanced colours throughout highlight the pretty side of nature making it only seem more beautiful. 

Goodwin's theory is also exemplified here there are so many close up shots of Ellie Goulding throughout her video as there is a clear desire for her to be seen which is wanted by the audience as they wish to feel up close and intimate to their favourite star. This in turn makes an effective performance which is perhaps something to be considered when making my own video as it is also evident within other music video for example Miley Cyrus- Wrecking Ball. 

 The progression of the video continues with her story and we are presented with our star as a very warmly and down to earth kind of girl as she is sitting on the sofa with her cat having a cuppa. This although reflects normal life of many people I chose to analysis this video as in the music video spectrum there actually is not much that you could compare it with it as it is a very unusual feel as its not raunchy or looking for attention its very stripped back and raw which is actually why I think it was so popular. It was so well received and taken well as it was easy watching and aproppriate for all as many videos now days are not suitable for children and many adults in particular are annoyed with what there children are being exposed. The song is a great cover and the video is absolutely beautiful.

How Men Are Presented in Music Videos

Men are presented in music videos as being superior to the women that surround them. They like to show off their wealth by featuring expensive clothing, cars and gadgets. 

How Women Are Presented in Music Videos

AMIE:

Media has reshaped reality in the way in which they present women within their music videos. They try and create a desirable effect in order to drive sales and generate interest. Stereotypically, women are sexualised within music video which would be hard to implement without music videos anyone as getting an actress of our similar age to feel comfortable doing that is very slim and we wouldn't want to do this within our music video anyway but with this approach dominating most of the market it was important to look at...  


Women in Music Videos


From burlesque girls to strippers most music videos especially within the rap industry as they try and cast the 'pimp and ho vibe'- videos always include a pole with girls prancing around in next to no clothes with cheeky fragmented body shots throughout. Without questioning it morality and the effect on children as they view their role models it clearly creates sales and interest otherwise record labels wouldn't do it- the old phrase 'sex sells' seems very apparent. 

RUBY:

Overall, the main use of women in music videos is generally for just their bodies and for the purpose of being accessories to men.