PLANNING
Task 1 - Initial planning ideas
Task 2 - Moodboard
All group members
All group members
For the initial planning task, we brainstormed lots of different ideas we would like to potentially use in our music video. These ideas were all inspired by our research tasks where we found out the conventions of indie rock music videos.
Not all the ideas in the plan will be used, but it allowed us to use our creativity and expand and build ideas. There is a few ideas in here that I am set on:
- Beach location
- Relationship
- Band playing in flat
- Disjunctive story/cyclical narrative
- Creative editing
I feel the beach will look nice and stormy in winter, and will set the mood of the video, dark and black and white. The other four points are think which I feel make a good music video, in any genre.
Our mood board includes photos of the things we wrote in the initial planning task. Again these things are inspired from the research tasks about conventions of indie music videos.
I think the moodboard is an important task in planning, as it'll help us to get a glance into what our video is going to look like visually. The visuals of the video is really important and should be treated as if you were going to take a photograph, as we learnt in the first workshop - Compostition and Framing.
Task 3 - Costume plan
Tanya Hanlon
The costume plan is a greatly important task. From the research we decided what clothes it would be appropriate for our characters to wear. If the characters had the wrong outfits on, such as a tracksuit, there would be no strong genre identity. This is confusing for the audience and strays away from the indie rock genre.
Task 4 - Location shoot
All group members
For this task we went pout and took photographs of our main filming locations for the music video. We decided on these locations by referring to our research tasks, and watching lots of indie rock music videos to see what locations came up commonly.
As well as the ones I included in my presentation, there will also be a few other locations. These will be various streets in Bristol, for our characters to run down. There will also be a shop front used when the characters in the narrative rob a shop. I didn't include these in the presentation as they're secondary locations and will not really be featured.
Task 5 - Location Footage
All group members
Task 5
Car park
Flat
Beach 1
Beach 2
For the location footage we filmed the main three locations we will be using and gave a voiceover as to why we chose these locations.
There will be other locations used, such as a shop front and streets. We didn't include these in the task as they aren't main locations.
Most of the music video will take place on the beach, in the flat and on the carpark roof.
Task 6 - Props Plan
Aboulgani Bulaleh
The props plan explains all the props we intend on using. The reason we chose these props is based off of our research tasks. By doing the research and watching indie music videos we were able to see which props were commonly used and how we can recreate these in our video. Using conventionally indie rock props will help us to keep a strong image of the genre in our own video.
Task 7 - Contact with band/artist
Ellie Sedlen
For task 7 I wrote a contact letter regarding copyright. This task taught us how important copyright is, and the legal implications which can come with using someone else's music without permission.
This task proved quite a challenge, as the song we chose is by an independent SoundCloud user, rather than an artist signed by a record label. For this reason, it was hard to know who to write to. I looked for a way of contacting the user themselves, but there was no contact information available, and SoundCloud does not have a private messaging feature. For this reason, I wrote to SoundCloud rather than the artist or record label.
Task 8 - Filming/Editing schedule
Ellie Sedlen
The filming/editing schedule will help us keep on track, and ensure we don't miss deadlines. It will help us make sure we have enough footage and have done enough work by each deadline, in the run up to the final screening. Doing this task proved very helpful during my AS project, and should be equally as helpful this year.
Task 9 - Storyboard
Tanya and Ellie
For task 9 we drew out our storyboard frames on Post-It notes. We did this so we could move around the frames to different points in the timeline. This allowed us to chop and change the order until we were happy. It was also helpful as we will be cutting back to the same shots often, so we could reuse the same Post-It to show this.
During the 'flashbacks' part of the music video we will be constantly and quickly cutting between performance and narrative. It was just hard to show this on the story board as there will be so many shots.
The storyboard was a really important task, as it finalised all our ideas and gave us a set idea to work towards for our final screening.
Task 10 - Analysis of song lyrics
Tanya Hanlon
By analyzing the song lyrics we were able to see a deeper meaning of what the song is about, this means we can interpret it in our own way into a music video. This also means we can relate our work back to Andrew Goodwin's theory. He said that "music videos are simply an extension of the lyrics." Using this theory in our video will help to make it clear we created a music video, rather than a short film or other media text. Clearly the music makes it a music video, but following theories help to define what a music video actually is.
Task 11 - Editing Plan
Ellie Sedlen
The editing plan was an important task, because something we really want to focus on in our music video is creative editing.
The tutorials in this presentation should make our editing more creative so it looks more like a professional music video. Doing the creative editing and watching the tutorials will also help to improve our editing skills with Premiere Pro.
Task 12 - Shots List
Aboulgani Bulaleh
Similarly to the storyboard, I found the shots list is a particularity important and useful task. This is because it gives us something to work from, and tells us exactly what we need to shoot. This will ensure we have all the correct footage we need and means we won't have to keep going back to filming extra footage when we could use that time for editing, for example.
Task 13 - Digipak Planning
All group members
Front cover
Features band name and image of lead singer. This is to give the band an identity, and put a face to a name. This helps to promote the artist and gives fans someone/something they feel they can relate to. We chose the name 'All Over Again' as we feel it matches the song and has similar meaning to some of the lyrics. Background image will be the beach, probably in black and white. This sets the cold, dark, mood and keeps a link between the Digipak and music video.
1st insert
Has just a photograph of the flat. This is to show a link between the video and the Digipak. It also reinforces how the band are homegrown and authentic. A cosy living room is something lots of fans could also relate to. It helps reinforce the image of the band, which is they are normal people just like anyone else. This image is a particularity indie band trait and makes them more relatable to fans.
CD Case
Simple white CD with black text on black background. Keeps with the simple indie black and white theme.
2nd insert
Photograph of car park rooftop. This is mainly to keep a strong link between the Digipak, music video and poster. We also wanted to use this as the view of Bristol from the roof is stunning and we think it will just look aesthetically pleasing. This image and the flat image from the 1st insert will be in colour.
3rd insert
This panel will have a photograph of the whole band on it, not just the lead singer. This is to further strengthen the bands identity and make it clear that its a band, not a solo artist.
Back cover
The back cover will be similar to the front, but the lead singer will have his back facing the camera. This is so the front and back cover flow well together. The back will also have the list of songs on the album and things such as legal and copyright information in the bottom left corner.
Task 14 - Poster Planning
One poster each, mine shown below
Large band name at top of poster, gives the band their identity and makes it clear who the album is made by. Has the same logo as on the Digipak to keep theme running throughout the promotional material.
Title of album below the name to make it clear to the audience what is being promoted.
Image is the band on the roof top seen in the music video and on the Digipak. This again keeps a running theme and running image, this helps to give the band their image and identity.
Release information at the bottom. Looks same as the logo so everything flows together and matches. This is kept relatively small, so that when the audience sees the poster they have to spend a long time looking at it before finding the information they want. This should mean they take more interest in the poster, the new band, and new album as they spent a long time looking at it.
Both the Digipak and poster planning were really important tasks. From my research I learnt how Digipak's are so important, as they reveal a lot about an artist. I referred back to my research when completing these tasks and used it to create a poster and Digipak which has meaning about the band, their identity, and their music. I also looked back at my final research task, which was the promotional poster/advert analysis. This helped me make creative decisions on my poster.
Task 15 - Health and safety assessment
Ellie Sedlen
Task 15 was the health and safety assessment. During my AS year this task proved quite helpful as it meant I was actually aware of the things going on around me. It will be particularly important this year too, as we are filming in some slightly more treacherous locations. The beach, for example, has lots of rocky, slippy areas. The car park may be busy, especially on a weekend, so we need to be aware of that.
This task also shows we understand that we need to be respectful and aware of the general public, and need to ask for permission to film in certain places.
Task 16 - Alterations made along the way
Aboulgani Bulaleh
Task 17 - Pitch
All group members
For the final task, the pitch, we presented all of our planning to the class.
I think this task was particularly useful, as it rounded up everything we aim to do, which is not only good for the audience to see, but will help us when it comes to construction and organizing ourselves. We could refer back to the pitch and almost use it like achecklist during contruction to ensure we do/have everything we want.
The pitch also allowed the audience to ask questions, so this is the perfect opportunity to reevaluate or make any final changes to our plan. For example, we could adjust our target audience if the audience watching the pitch didn't think it was appropriate.