Pitch

Props List

The props required for my music video are:

A plushie

Wristbands

Jewellery

Television

Television remote

Armchair

Two chairs.

Ropes of varying thickness.

Handcuffs.

Something to be used as a gag.

A park bench.

A public bin.

A comic.

Other items that are required can be provided by me, or my actress, such as the clothes to fit all of the characters, the cute, girly character, the gothic, alternative character, and then the punk, colourful character. Me and Carrie will put our resources together and create costumes and accessories for these characters, all of which are played by Carrie.

I have chosen to have Carrie play all of the characters because I think the contrast between them is greater when the same actress is beneath it, and it makes the characters closer. It also adds an element of surrealism to the video, to the narrative.

Risk Assessment

There are not many risks involved with producing my film, though I will describe the few possible risks.

One shot is taken from atop a wall, for a bird's eye view effect, the risks of this could be danger to myself, falling off the wall, or danger to the camera, if I dropped the equipment.

The precautions taken in this situation will be that the camera will be attached securely to me, via either a neck strap or a wrist strap. Also, there will be someone holding me up on the wall, ensuring that I keep my balance, assisting in me holding the shot steady and ensuring that I do not injure myself.

Another shot is taken from atop a chair, which is another possible risk, and the same precautions will be taken, securing the camera and assisting my stability.

Other dangers could be wires on the floor, making sure that no one, including myself, trips over the wires or knocks them out of place.

The tripod screws will be as secure as possible, fastened tightly to ensure that the camera stays level, and the tripod stays balanced

I do not think that there are any other risks in the production of my film, as most of my film is shot in empty spaces, in daylight, so I do not have to worry about members of the public, passers-by damaging the equipment, or be worried about having the equipment out on display late at night. All of the risks involved with my filming are easy to precaution myself against.

Shooting Calender

Here are the dates on which I can shoot my film. Not all of the dates highlighted below will be used, but all of the dates are possibilities, openings where both me and my actress are available. I hope to have my filiming completed by the 15th November, but the dates afterwards are merely backup dates, for any scenes that may need adding to, or re-shooting. This then gives me more than enough time to edit my film, and have it finished before the deadline date.

Detailed Shot List

Here is my detailed shot list. Each shot number covers a frame on my storyboard, my animatic. It has details of the shot duration, the props required, the location of filming, the type of shot, as well as the camera movements and a brief description of each shot. The shots in blue are animated, the shots in pink are not, and the shots in purple are the link between the two. During the purple shot, the music video merges from animation into live action.

Wepbage design development.

Here is another idea i have developed, this time for the web page design. I like how it combines the hand-drawn elements with the more technical, digitally altered elements of the design.

CD Cover- Developing An Idea

Here, I have developed one of my ideas for the CD cover. However, as the logo has not yet been decided on, the title is just handwritten in basic text.

Webpage Design Ideas

Here are some ideas for the website page for Alice in Videoland, holding the link between the music video, the CD cover and the webpage.

CD Cover Design Ideas

Here are a range of designs for the CD cover for my chosen song, with annotations to explain and expand on my ideas.

Alice in Videoland

The band needs a logo, a theme, a band identity, that will coincide with my music video, as well as the other forms of media, the CD cover, and the website homepage. Here are some of my ideas, some produced manually and then scanned in, while others were created using combined manual and digital processes. Personally, I prefer the digitally altered logos, using Photoshop to add the colour, as these look more professional and realistic, as well as making the colours more intense. I like the typography of the logo, the text seemingly handwritten, unorganised, with the letters held at quirky angles, it makes it seem alive. The scribbles colour also adds movement to the words, giving a childish feel, as do the vibrant colours of the spectrum. The gradient used with the pink and yellow is too soft and the colours blend to smoothly, whereas the scribbled image seems rougher somehow, more realistic, and better suits my genre.

Actors/Actresses

For my music video, I require only one actress. A performing arts student, Carrie Corns, is going to be the character in my video. I only require one person because the same person plays both of the characters in my narrative, which will increase the contrast, and give me more oppourtunities to add effects and modifications during the editing period.
Carrie is a skilled and practiced actress, as well as being reliable and punctual. She has also already agreed to some pre-decided dates for filming, setting aside time for filming. Carrie can also provide some of the props required, which I will add more detail on in a later post.
I also need one male actor for a couple of minor, flashback scenes, and another performing arts student, Dean Oakshott, is going to be the male character in my video.

Initial Ideas

Here is the mindmap from my initial ideas for my music video. I have scanned the page in, to view the page in full, please click on the image below. It includes my first ideas, with some mentions of camera shots and scenes that I intend to develop.

Audience Research

I have evaluated my audience research, and here are some of the interesting answers and information I have gained form this task.

The genre of electroclash, or electropop evoked thoughts of “groovy” colours and flashing backgrounds, as well as computer graphics and animation, fluorescent colours, and electronic instruments.

The overall impression is that an interesting narrative in a music video is attractive, possibly with some elements of humour, and most people are initially attracted to a music video is the visual links with the lyrical content of the song.

These are the results from my multiple choice questions, to view in full please click on the scaled down image below.

Primary Audience Research

Audience Research

The genre of my song is classed as electroclash or electropop, what would you expect to see in a music video of this genre?

When you hear the terms electropop or electroclash, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

What is your favourite thing to see in a music video?

What is it that initially attracts you to a song or a music video?

Do you like music videos that are…
[ ] Multi-strand (more than one storyline running at once)
[ ] Non-linear (the shots are not in chronological order)
[ ] Everything in the right order, only following one storyline.

What kind of music video do you prefer?
[ ] Amplification (where the actions and shot transitions in the video reflect the sound beats of the song)
[ ] Disjuncture (where the video has no relevance to the lyrics or the song)
[ ] Illustrative (where the video directly reflects the lyric, enclosed within a narrative)

What kind of camera shots do you prefer?
[ ] Lots of close ups showing facial expression and portraying emotion.
[ ] Mostly long shots showing characters within their surroundings.
[ ] A wide range of camera shots, from extreme close ups to establishing shots.

What do you like most in a music video?
[ ] Mostly narrative.
[ ] Mostly performance.
[ ] A mixture between narrative and performance.

If you like narrative in a music video, what kind of narrative do you prefer?
[ ] A narrative that directly reflects the lyrics.
[ ] A narrative that only has some link with the lyrics.
[ ] A narrative with no link to the lyrics at all.

Music Video Analysis

I have also analysed Robot's in Disguise's music video for The Tears.

The video starts off with some old-fashioned organ music, with the title of the music video in thick black ink on a brown coloured screen, made to look like paper, with a crackly, marked image and lines running down the frame, to make the video seem dated and old. The song begins, and the image shows a room, seemingly drawn, in a sepia colour, with the character sat in the corner behind the table in black and white, with a very white face and black make-up, similar to that of a mime artist. Another character appears, using stop motion, she is standing on the other side of the room.

The shots change with the beat of the music, the video uses amplification to emphasise the beats of the song. The shots all have a black edge and black corners, with bleeds into the image and fades out, so the edges of the frame are hard to distinguish. The character that is stood up takes steps to walk towards the other character, and her movements are all exaggerated, she keeps her back very straight to emphasise the beat of her foot steps being in synchronisation with the song. The video then cuts straight to another room, showing a drape of fabric and two silhouettes. One of the silhouettes plays a guitar behind the drape, so the silhouette is less focused and more blurry. The other character is clearer, stood in front of the drape, making shapes and dancing, all of her movements are big, exaggerated movements that are impossible to miss.

There are also medium close ups of each character singly, with low key lighting, and lots of deep shadows being cast, which emphasises the intensity of the white face, and the character fans some playing cards, lip-syncing the lyrics of the song. The video goes back to the room where one character is sat, one is stood and the play a game of cards on a low standing table. As each character places her turn down on the table, there is a single shot of the character, and there are separate shots of both characters as they sing the lyrics "what's the number?" with a call and response effect.

Stop motion animation is then used; showing the cards moving around the table, rearranging to leave only the Aces in a line, and those three cards seems to "dance" on the table. The video then cut zooms to a picture on the wall of a male character, in similar, clown-like attire to the other characters. There is then a long shot of one of the characters trying to get into the room, pulling themselves along the wall, with jerky movements, seeming to be struggling as if battling against some unseen force.

The man from the picture on the wall then enters the room, bending down and some flowers appear in his hand, using stop motion, and the character stood up pulls a comic pose, looking flattered with her hands clasped at one side, mouth wide in exaggerated surprise. The other character sits with a straight back, hands in her lap as the flowers are placed on the table directly in front of her, hiding her face from view. The man and the woman who is stood up dance with jerky, unrealistic movements, using stills and stop-motion animation to create this effect, the dance ending in an embrace. There is then a close up of the other character's face, scowling, looking angry behind the flowers. As the first character leaves the male and takes the flowers out of the room, the man blows a kiss to the character sat down, close ups of both of the characters face, showing the woman's response to this as she bats her eyelashes.

There is an extreme close up of the first characters eyeball peeing through a keyhole, outside of the keyhole is just solid black, so her white face and eyeball stand out immensely. As she sees what is happening inside of the room, the expression in the eye is evident, as it widens in shock, then narrows in anger.

A two shot shows both female characters singing the lyrics, one on the foreground and one in the background at either side of the screen, and the shadows are extreme so only the areas that are very well lit are visible, such as their white faces. There are jump shots of the male and female character embracing, and then a slow motion effect as the first character slaps the second across the face. The male character writes on the blackboard in chalk, slow motion as he steps away to reveal lyrics from the song.

There are some more medium close ups of the female characters singly, in deep shadow and low key lighting as one of the characters throws her playing cars in the direction of the camera, lip-syncing, using direct mode of address and looking straight at the viewer. Close ups of each female character are used to show their facial expression, looking manic and angry as they fight violently, and the man attempts to break them apart, pulling them from side to side in time with the beats of the music. As the male is thrown backwards, there is a low angle close up of one of the females face, showing the shock on her face, then a high angle shot of him on the floor, as chalk scribbles appear by his head, the animation of his "blood". A low angle two shot of both females shows the devastation on their faces, and then there is a slow zoom in on the male on the floor.

Another two shot of the female characters stood side by side, crying, their tears animated. As their tears hit the floor, they explode into expanding balls of screwed-up paper, expanding and laying at their feet. A long shot of the characters, hands to their eyes, surrounded by screwed-up paper balls and a frame fades in around them, and they become the picture in the frame on the wall, replacing the image of the man. There is a cut zoom to show the frame in the centre of the wall, then the image fades to black. Credits appear again, on the brown, marked screen as at the beginning, with tinny organ music being played over.