Concept Practicalities

 Concept Practicalities 

How realistic is your idea?

Our idea in my opinion matches the theme of the song. By having an emotional storyline it makes for a dramatic yet easy-to-follow plot. It must be executed well though as some of the ideas we are playing with such as the main girl's mum dying, could be hard to do well without it seeming over the top or cringe-worthy. We are planning a lot of shot transitions that could look amazing or could look very rough and disorientated, by using so many ideas and different shot ideas and angles we are stepping out of the barriers of your typical 'student quality' video. Having looked at past examples, some can be disengaging and bore the audience providing no thrill or excitement.

By running the risk of having such a large plot twist it has a high reward that the audience will conjure emotions of sadness and grieving some even relating to the situation at hand. In this generation depression and signs of sadness are becoming more and more, facts and statistics say that over 18% of the U.S. population alone, suffer from a type of depression or PTSD. Having such widely known and recognized emotions in our music video not only adds to the words of the song making them have a greater impact but also draws in the audience thinking about how they may personally relate with a friend or form themselves. 

In One Directions' 'Steal my Girl' we can clearly see how the music video has nothing to do with the song title or lyrics. They were able to do this because they already were a household name but they did get much criticism, even though the video is captivating to watch it didn't make sense or add to the words of the song at all. 

Will you have any health and safety issues?

Our riskiest shots will be when we are trying to get shots of our characters in the car driving. We will be doing this on an open road in

Old Albany, meaning it is a public space and not everyone will be aware of their surroundings, especially since we will be filming at night, making it harder for people driving to see us if for saying we are standing out on the road or trying to prepare the shot. We will have to be considerate of neighbors and other vehicles on the streets. As well as this we will have to remember that when filming in the cemetery that we are to try and not to get in members of the public in our shots if they are grieving a loved one, this may be insensitive and we do not have the permission to be filming them in such a vulnerable state. This also applies to when we are actually filming in the sense that we must be considerate of our surroundings e.g. noise levels and not spreading ourselves out with equipment etc.  

Locations and any necessary permission (ie. Filming at a local iwi’s marae)

Because we are using Grace's house ( team member) it makes filming and accessing our location so much easier. We will still take into account and consideration making sure we don't take over their whole house. For the Church auditorium, we will need to get some type of permission or at least let an adult know that we will be filming in there and that no one else needs to use it at the same time. Because we are wanting the lights we may need to ask a lighting team member or ask Duthie (head of the production team) if we can access some of the equipment. A cemetery is open to the public but as I said before we will still have to be considerate to the public around us.

Timing (Weekend vs available hours during / after school)

Since we all live relatively close to each other it is easier to meet up and now that some of us have cars and can drive it will make it more convenient as we can carpool to graces house or wherever we need to be. Since we are already at school during the day it would be a better idea to film the stage shots after school one day, making it easier for people to get three and everything we need is already at our disposal. The only thing we will have to factor in is when the talent is able to make it as some are no longer in school and may have jobs etc. Most of us can make time after church on a Sunday afternoon this could possibly be a good time to get our shots at Grace's house if her parents say it is okay.

Weather and back-up options

As we have such a varied amount of shots, we don't have to worry about the weather so much as most of our filming will take place inside apart from when the characters will be walking along the road. This a pretty simple shot to get so there is no urgent need for it to be done straight away if the weather does end up being wet or it starts to rain. The same applies to the cemetery scene even if the weather is wet it could actually improve the feel of the shot mimicking the characters' emotions of hurt and sadness, the only problem would be having to try and keep the equipment dry, which would be unpractical and unconventional as if it did get wet or something happened it would be our fault. This is a short clip in our video so shouldn't take long and we can plan ahead to make sure we set aside a couple of hours on a nice day to get it done. 

Equipment

We will be using the school-provided equipment, camera, microphone, lights, etc. As we are filming at a house we will have space to be able to store the un-needed equipment compared to when we are filming outside, everything will need to be handheld and easy to manoeuver otherwise it might be a struggle if a car is coming and you have a full set in the middle of the road. The equipment may also include props and other things we will be using. In terms of props, we don't have too many it mainly just consists of the bible that will be shown held by the little girl and the car that the main characters will be seen driving in. For this, we will most likely use phoebes car if she is okay with it. 

Location

 

Location by Kayla Lockington

Job List

 

brainstorm

 Brainstorm:

Talent- 

Phoebe(singer), Ethan(actor/dancer), Amene(child), t.Tracey(mum) 

extra cast- extras from younger school and older people for the transitions from young to old. 

• ask than to choreograph a dance for 2nd chorus 

in this video, it is an example of an intimate dance between a girl and a boy that becomes more heartfelt but also represents meaning. We will attempt to do a more simplistic version of this and have it cutting in and out of our music video. 

overall themes- 

Lament, regret, nostalgia, disappointment, and sadness = a glimpse of hope, newfound peace, and calm at the end (closing shot will be of Phoebe in a white dress, as if she's walking into a new life, a life of good choices. 

lighting- 

quite dark and gloomy to match the mood of the characters(beginning to mid) 

• photos taken on the stage will be lit with dark purple and black/blue-ish hues, a few white light shadows.

Opening shot-

phoebe singing (lip-syncing)  to the song on the stage in the sanctuary. Mood lighting + shadows. 

Second shot- a small girl (Phoebe when she was younger) reading the bible with her mum- get some close-up shots of the actual bible and some of the little girl's finger tracing the words in the bible(shots will be filmed either in a large open flower field or a dining room).

• can also get some shots of photo albums from past- cuts back to Pheobe singing. 

Phoebe singing on stage with messy makeup e.g. dripping mascara. 

(more shots of mother and daughter to really establish the relationship) 

Shots of Phoebe walking in the dark at night ( a close-up of her feet as she walks, black shoes)

/ her moving around on the road, holding her head, wiping eyes, etc. 

this video is just a quick example of how we will be getting the shot of Phoebe walking down the street obviously we will try and use multiple angles but the idea is to get in the street lights as well as her with an eerie feel.

Chorus- 

shots of young kids smiling then cutting to them as young adults/adults (looking bothered and worried)

portraying the stereotypical idea of how kids are carefree and full of life. 

Male singer- 

when the male starts singing, get shots of Ethan now also on stage (get a shot of him and his mum now). 

• maybe shots of a landline phone hanging (representing a sad a disengaged feeling, depicting the characters). 

2nd chorus- 

film phoebe and Ethan both singing on stage. Get shots of them both driving

Cemetary- 

Show phoebe at her mum's gravesite at the Cemetary.  

Amy Winehouse'sBack to Black' is a good example of a music video representing the conventions a graveyard and having her whole music video in black and white not only matches the song but also follows the way in which black is seen as death. 

Genre research part B W2

Genre research 

- what record labels tend to produce artists in those particular genres

Story:

• Glassnote produced Childish Gambino's 'Sober'

Dance:

• Columbia produced 'Single ladies' by Beyonce 
• Universal music group produced side republic records along with  

Animation:

• EMI produced Pink Floyd's 'One of these days' music video 
• Warner Music group producing 'What lovers do' by maroon 5 ft sza 

- who is the target audience for those genres (what demographic is mostly consuming that genre / downloading / watching on Youtube etc)

Story:

• Story music videos are often shown with meaningful songs in some cases. This can cater to a more mature audience that can actually understand what is being displayed on the screen or the message being portrayed through the music video. The generation that would view this type of media the most would be Gen Z or Millenials (Gen Y). 
• In Childish Gambino's 'This Is America' music video, it conveys the use of gun violence and the precarious state of black bodies. It opens the idea that people are blinded by real problems through entertainment, turning a blind eye, or not seeing the real picture. 

Dance:

• In dance-themed music videos, we see a lot of choreographed movements as well as particular placement of certain props and people. Often dance music videos take a lot longer because of all the elements that are needed and the time it takes to learn the choreography. This particular genre really does appeal to any age range as the dances can either be very simplistic, entertaining for a pre-teen, or very intricate and abstract more targeted for generations such as Boomers. 
  
  
• Elton John incorporates his own personality into the video of 'I'm still standing', a very famous song in its time. A lot of colour is used because of the fact that it is representing pride and the LGBTQ community. 

Animation:

• Animation may seem like a childish genre where the intangible comes to life, but in this we can use the complexity of drawings and framework to our advantage, to make the impossible possible. It is more of a tedious process because if you don't do it right or if you don't take the right photo for each frame it can throw the whole video out of balance. This can be targeted towards the Gen z generation as most 21st century songs have the opportunity to animate their videos available to them, whereas artists from the 1900s only had snapshots available to them. 
  
  
• This music video is derived from the movie Spider-man Into the spider-verse. Post Malone's 'Sunflower' featured in the film debuting it giving it the publicity it now has. It has a more retro cartoon-ish look as if self-drawn, targeting a younger audience range since it is filled with colour and costumes, the make-believe. 

Album covers

Childish Gambino:

They decided to use an image from the music video itself, displaying the kids who were used as 'entertainment' whilst the world around them fell apart. Through editing, they were able to add the name of the song on top of the image, showing the song exactly for what it is. 

Elton John:

Elton John uses a close-up image of himself which is quite a common thread amongst artists. By using kaleidoscope type glasses it portrays the colour that he is clearly trying to represent through some of his songs and that he is not shy of who he is. From the pixelated picture, we can gather that this may be a more dated album where the technology was not yet as advanced. 

Post Malone:

Since deriving from an already established filmed, the song 'Sunflower' is now associated/owned by the branding of the film, hence why a spider-man symbol is placed on the album cover directly advertising the movie without having to directly name it. By using red and black it relates to the colours that the spiderman suit contains so makes the listeners subconsciously think of the fantasy superhero. 

Part A genre research W2

 Music video genre:

Performance :

feature a band or artist giving a live performance of themselves, allows the video to stay simple and inexpensive. Mainly keeps the focus on the band members themselves. In 'Beautiful Day' by U2 they convey this very well, they are seen to be performing on an airstrip giving their video a theme while also allowing the artists to determine the energy of the piece. 

Special effects :

illusions or tricks of the eye created to simulate the imagined events in a story or imagined world. They make videos more original and allow you to do more with your video on a smaller budget. Music video transitions and effects can help draw people into your video, set the scene, and captivate your audience. Travis Scotts's music video 'Butterfly Effect', displays an array of colors and special effects that shows written graffiti appear on the screen then slowly disappear it has a glitch like-effect almost creating. 

Story :

where a narrative plays out to the lyrics of the music video. Can often add a visual boost to the lyrics making them more powerful when coming across to the target audience. A good example would be from Naughty Boy 'La la la', which portrays a picture where the little boy encourages the world around him to block out the bad and get out of the situation. There is an abstract picture where you have to almost interrupt yourself in what you think it means. Since coming from a child who is companioned with a little dog it adds a sense of innocence and purity. 

Dance :

The artist and others will be seen dancing along to the beat of the music in various locations. The video will take a lot of time because of trying to learn choreography but it is a good way to show off different talents and skills. A classic example of this genre is Micheal Jackson's 'Thriller' music video, this production required an enormous amount of time and commitment to complete because of the choreography used as well as the setting it was filmed in.

Animation:

Animation is an excellent way to make a music video look unique and easy to tailor to the artist's desire. It displays a series of fast-moving pictures and frames, it can either be done digitally or manually using different types of props and resources. Animation doesn't necessarily have to be an inanimate object, tangible equipment can be used but may take longer to work work with as each individual photo has to be taken while moving the desired prop ever so slightly. 

Story, Dance & Animation by Kayla Lockington

Genres

 Genres:

Pop:

Pop music accounts for most of the songs released in the 21st century, it was able to appeal to a larger audience of both youth and middle aged people. It is easy to incorporate different genres and accompanies then in a decedent way making it more enjoyable to listen too.  Pop music is literally
abbreviated from the word popular hence why it is so widely loved by all. This genre derived from rock and roll then over time softened hard core sounds that you may find in rock music these days. 

One example of a pop music video would be Day 'N' Nite by Kid Cudi. This music video was filmed in 2009 where the producer used animated artwork to create an effect throughout the video. It adds a creative flare but also highlights how the monsters come out at night and utilises darkness as a convention in how it is the scariest part of the day. 

Hip Hop:

The Hip Hop style of music was created around the 1970s in the New York/Bronx area. It was a form of music made mainly for house parties and social gatherings. Originally created by African Americans and Latino Americans, this newly liked genre was mainly directed towards people of colour at the time.  Young people was the target audience as this type of tune mostly obtains fast talking otherwise known as rapping as well as loud bass drops with a heavy beat, quite different to pop which uses a range of instruments to create a melodic tune.  

A boy named Clive Campbell introduced this new music type to the world, he was an 18 year old
immigrant who introduced native Jamaican sound systems to American and inner city house parties. One of the earliest songs fondly liked, first played on a merry-go-round was "Give it up" by James Brown. This evolved the culture of hip hop forever. Now a days we can see how this genre has developed and progressed, a popular 21st century hip hop artist is someone such as The Notorious B.I.G otherwise known as Biggie Smalls, as well as a most recent liking such as Juice WRLD or The Kid Laroi, who is a caucasian boy, emphasising the diversity that has taken place. 

In this video from Juice WRLDS 'Armed and Dangerous' it alludes to the name steering the audience in a different direction when it comes to expectations. The video is filled with colour and vibrancy almost contradicting the lyrics and name of the song. It is a good sense of miss direction and draws in your audience to continue watching. 

Even though this music video has explicit language in the beginning I chose to use it because I think this song has one of the deepest lyrics that you could ever find amongst rappers. It sends a message and in those days using lyrics to express your struggle or the way you felt was the easiest way to do it.  

 

Country:

Country music originated in the early twentieth century among working-class Americans living in the south. The origins of country music can be found in recordings Southern Appalachian fiddle players made in the late 1910s. Usually heard with an accent, country music was a lesser popular option compared to the likes of pop or hip hop but the people who did enjoyed this genre had an almost passion for it. Country music consists of rhythmic basic sounds making it an easy and lighthearted genre to listen too, made for all ages and stages. 

It is often referred to as folk or hill Billy music, one of the oldest country songs is "Little Log Cabin in the Lane". In todays society it is not exactly a loved genre, often frowned upon by the younger generations, it is a particular taste that gets criticised on a daily basis. Famous country artists are singers such as Johnny Cash who was widely known in the late 1900s, these days more popular singers are Dolly Parton or Carrie Underwood. 

Rock:

Country and blues helped to aid the invention of rock music with the aided help of electric guitars and a louder Metallica beat. This type of music was practically created to embrace

sex and youthful rebellion. Rock music become a popular phenomenon due to its simplicity of loud noises and no real rhythmical beat, simple. fast and easy to dance to. A famous group that was embraced by the rock genre was the Beatles, they started off in the rock genre then slowly diversified their music to target a larger market audience. The Beatles has the top selling album ever recorded with having sold over 178 million units.

Commonly rock music is produced with typically 4 or more band members. Usually rock members can be seen wearing certain amounts of makeup especially when it comes to eyeliner outline the rim of their eyes giving a dark and mysterious aura. in a lot of music videos relating to this genre they will use lowkey lighting that emphasising the blandness of the picture to enhance the sound of what you are listening too. 

'Sweet Child O' Mine' by Guns N' Roses is a classic example of a typical rock culture video. it Enhances the black and white nature while keeping the video simple and displaying the artists in their natural 'habitat'/ the place they feel most at home

Introduction

 Intro:

My name is Kayla Lockington and this is my blog for A2 media studies 2021, which I am taking at City Impact Church School. I took the AS media course in 2020 which was challenging at times but ultimately was very rewarding and taught me a lot about different filming conventions and techniques. Throughout my time this year I hope to possibly increase my course work grade so that it may average out to at least a B or higher by my end of year report.

Blog Examples and inspirations:

http://anthonyluongoa2mediastudies.blogspot.com/

- In this blog I liked how there are so many visual representations so it isn't boring to look at and engages the audience more, the bold text also makes the blog posts easier to read the only thing I would say is that I'm not sure if that type of text would be suitable for a sophisticated blog that ultimately gets shown to a Cambridge marker. 

http://alessiacarofalo.blogspot.com/

-In this blog I like dhow in the initial layout everything was shown on the first home screens making a really clear and easy design so that the audience can have easy access as well as markers.

http://nucciodiegoa2.blogspot.com/

- I like how in this blog they made their music video using a different technique to other mainstream music videos that other students decided to do. Instead of filming their own original film they copied a well known artist mimicking or imitating their actions, adding diversity and learning the techniques of a professional artist.