Pre Production Beachcomb

 Style

The style we want to aim for is very indie and modern culture 'pop-rock'. The clothing sense we have decided to use is very fashionable yet still recognisable. Sam and I made the decision that the above image of the man with the bow tie and chinos will be our artists 'centred look'. We also decided to represent a sense of humbleness, therefore use a hint of Ed Sheerans style along with a more fashionable dress sense. Our target audience will find this 'look' appealing due to how it follows an indie trend that most modern teenagers and young adults associate themselves with. 

 Location

We have planned for the artist to lip sync in local areas or places within london where there are graffiti patterns and designs. This is to provide the viewer with a representation of the artists background. During this week I did some independent research and went to london city to look for examples or possible locations for where we could film and found three places which seem suitable for our music video. Our aim is to present a 'character' with a strong indie flair to him, someone who our target audience as well as teenagers or young adults will recognise easily. The style of the mise-en-scene will be somewhat similar to rizzle kicks 'Down with the trumpets'.

For the narrative aspect of things, we have planned to film with in some areas of school and in a few other local areas, we are going to finalize where we want the 'story' to be set once we explore certain areas to see which mise-en-scene would fit best.

 Inspirations

 

 

 

 

 What we aim to do is to give off an indie vibe, yet still remain relevant enough to appeal our target audience in the market. An option we have kept open is using some animation along with the face of the artist to represent an abstract side of him, the animation would be surreal graffiti matching the graffiti seen behind the artist whilst he is singing. The typography may be in a bold font but with some sort of a 'graffiti feel'- there is debate that this may be slightly too urban rather than indie.

Pre production weekly reflection- week 2

During this week Sam and I have been working on our list of pre-production tasks and sorting out who will do which role. The tasks we had planned to do were divided between us and I was left with having to beachcomb, create a survey and analyse the results for audience research, gain a form of feedback which is visually interesting and hand it out or show people who are not a part of my class, shot list for our music video along with a production schedual and call sheets for filming. 

I created a survey and analysed the results and found what type of things our target audience would like to see in our final video. I found the results to be quite interesting because some answers were not expected such as the question revolving around what colour hair the artist would have, most people responded saying brunette when what we expected was ginger. Sam and I came to a crossroad where we had to decide whether to use a brunette or ginger haired person as our artist. Of course, Sam himself has ginger hair and we thought about using him as the artist due to the fact we would be able to comfortably rely on him.

At the moment we have not come across any problems, everything we have planned and mapped out has been running smoothly at the moment. For the main artist performance we have chosen sam and during his scenes I will take over the camera and film him. All this will require will be the both of us rather than three or four people. For our narrative we have chosen Talha Muharzi and Soraya Bazouaeii, this gives the video an interratial flair as Talha is a mixture of Kenyan and Arab and Soraya is from a Morroccan background. There is a third dimention to our video which will be the intrumental performance, however we have not finalized or decided who we want to use for this. We need to search for someone appropriate and find someone willing enough to help us.

One of my roles during this pre production stage is to gain feedback through a creative method, so I plan to film myself asking people to comment on the embedded video on facebook or if viewing directly from the streaming site, to leave a comment on youtube. I will make the video roughly a minute long, involving an interactive element and allowing me to do this easily all from the comfort of my room. It is not only easy for myself but also easier for other people as they are constantly on social networking sites. It also allows me to communicate the initial idea to people far and wide across the internet instead of restricting myself to school friends. I feel as though it will allow myself and sam to get real feedback, a little blunt criticism and advice from all types of teenagers.

Pre-production a survey made for audience research

I created a survey using 'Survey Monkey' to help me make an 'audience profile' and fact sheet about the type of people myself and Sam need to aim to entertain and appeal to.



Click here to see my survey

Pre Production Allocated roles

• Pre Production

Planning and research:

• Pitch presentation and analysis of feedback - Individual
• Beach Combing - Individual
• Audience research - Joint

Surveys - Noor

Audience Profile - Noor

• Analysing existing products

3 Music videos - Sam

3 Magazine adverts - Sam
3 DVD covers - Sam

• Focus group feedback - Noor
• Detailed flat plan:

DVD cover - Sam
Magazine advert - Sam

• Shot list - Joint

• Production Schedule - Joint
• Call sheets - Joint

Production:

• Photography - Noor
• Vloging - Noor
• Filming - Joint
• Directing - Joint
• Lighting - Joint
• Location schedual - Joint

Post Production:

• Editing - Joint
• Photoshop - Sam

Pre production weekly reflection- week 1

Over the summer I spent my time looking for a song that I could use for my final coursework, I came across the 'Jackie Boyz' and sent an e-mail to gain permission to use their song 'She's not perfect'. Over the past week everyone in my media class pitched and presented their ideas and I found that there was a lot of potential and creativity flowing through certain individuals ideas more so than in my own, such as Samuel Coleman (also known as 'Sam'). His concept was ironic and entertaining using a modern concept of rejection which every teenager, young adult, adult, middle age and pensioners worry about.





At first I wasn't sure of who I wanted to work with but once Sam explained the idea to me before he made his pitch I warmed to his plan. He provided me with a few examples of what he meant with his idea of editing with a 'match on action style'. Sam showed me a few videos by Rizzel Kicks, in particular he showed me a moment from 'Down with the Trumpets' from 2:50 onwards. Although these particular artists focus on rap and hiphop, the editing style could still work very well.

I have my own perception of the style, and already have a specific idea in my mind of how the editing and filming would set out. There is an artist called 'Arden Cho', she is not very well known and uses YouTube as a platform to perform and reflect her work, regardless she still has a large fan following. She has a video called 'I'm just a girl' and in this video there is a lot of split screen and as Sams idea is all about rejection I feel as though the editing style of this video would be perfect. To be very specific, at exactly 1:00 into the music video, the screen is split in two and there is interaction between the two seperate scenes which I found to be clever and representative of the situation both characters in the narrative are in.

Sam had not decided who he wanted to use for his music video, so we are currently at a stage where we are beginning to ask people and seek out individuals who may suit the look and be willing to perform for us. I feel as though the video will be quite successful as the theme is 'tounge in cheek' and is based around a narrative which isn't typically expected and goes against the whole 'Boy meets Girl' persona. I'm slightly concerned with location though, as Sam stated he would like to film around school but I would much rather preffer to experiment with mise-en-scene and try different settings for the perfomance aspect to give more dimention to the video.

Pre-Production Permission gained from the desired artist

Pre production analysis of feedback from focus group

The feed back I recieved was mostly positive but there were a few points and concerns raised about originality. My attention was directed to a few flaws about my initial idea being too stereotypical and my presentation being too 'loose with words' and slightly unclear. The focus group agreed that there was nothing new with in my narrative and story line as it felt to predictable and typical. To resolve this I decided to brainstorm and came up with a new plan. I decided that perhaps reversing roles would be an interesting twist, i.e. the main girl in the narrative is placed in the 'popular' seat and is dressed in very sporty mens clothing and the main boy is dressed in slightly tattered, old fashioned female clothes. This provides unexpected imagery and a shock factor which would make people remember the video and song. The idea is made both, unique and interesting by switching the clothes of both genders. The message I initiallty planned to reflect in my video will still be clear, except much more heightened and visually appealing to the eye.

In regards to permission I had already organised myself and sent an e-mail to the 'Jackie Boyz' during the summer holidays asking if I could use their music for my A2 coursework, to which they responded and gave me copy rights to their creation.

I was asked whether if I would create my video in a 'comic book cartoon style'. My response was that I would prefer to keep it naturalistic and performance based as it would be easier to relate to, of course a few moments would be heightened but nothing would be taken to an extreme at any point. Looking back, I feel as though that is an appropriate decision because the music is not very upbeat and no one would be able to take the song a little seriously if I take a surreal approach.

An issue which was raised whilst discussing the narrative was of renaming the 'Jackie Boyz' to something more suitable as I was only planning to use one person as the artist instead of two. I think the most reasonable decision would be to remove the 'Boyz' and name the artist 'Jackie'. The influence for this comes from artists like Neo, Bruno Mars and Usher, their names are almost like a brand in themselves.

I was given the suggestion of a dance routine being involved with in the video, I took this on board and thought of how and where I would film it- I decided I could use strobe lighting and lights with coloured gels in the school drama studio. The reason why I feel like adding a dance performance into the video would be a good idea is because it would give the final piece a three dimentional quality as stated in my feedback video by a member of the focus group. I would approach the dance scenes in an abstract way, perhaps have shadows or the dancers moving in the dark with a single gel lit behind them as usher has done in a few of his videos. 

 

Pre production feedback from focus group



Pre production pitch presentation to focus group

Pre-Production Pitch for music video idea

Final pitch

Pre-Production Pitch based on one of my three songs

http://www.unsigned.com/jackieboyz

Song name: 'She's not perfect'

CONTENT  

As well as creating a music video, there would be the production of a DVD cover along side a magazine advert. The music video would be integrated with the ancillary products through having the artist who appeared in the video, shown on the DVD cover and Magazine spread. The link would be made through the clothing and colour scheme being used. To create the sense of branding aimed for, there would also be merchandise such as hoodies and t-shirts involved as demonstrated JLS who have been marketed similarly.


NARRATIVE


Throughout my music video the lead singers would be separate from the narrative. There would be shots of the artist which come in between the main story being told through the song. The base narrative would involve high school teenagers who think of themselves to be popular, bullying a 'geeky girl' who is visually considered an outcast in society. All except one who chooses not to because he is attracted to her. At first in the video he is reluctant to approach her due to his surroundings but as the story continues he gains enough courage to hold her hand and demonstrate to his peers how he is not afraid to be with the girl he wants. As the artist aren't a part of the narrative, it leaves us open to experimentation with mise-en-scene.

AUDIENCE 

Age: It would be appropriate to target teenagers and young adults from the ages of 13 to 25 as they would be most likely to understand and relate to the situation and themes of love, courage and being different being shown in the music video.


Gender: It would be targeted at both genders, though the messages intercepted by both sexes will be different, the music video can still appeal to both. The male audience will understand that it is okay to not follow your friends and be different and the female audience will be comforted with the image that it is 'okay to be yourself' and that someone will love them for who they are.


Ethnicity: Any ethnicity as the scenario can be applied to anyone from any country and race. High school is the same in terms of the 'social ladder' nearly everywhere.


Class: Mainly working and middle class, any young adult who has been exposed to an environment of hier education. 


Life style and interests: Teenagers who enjoy socialising or young adults who have experienced moments in their lives which involved mixing with peers and going out at a young age. An audience who have been infatuated in high school before and know the feeling of what its like to have a secret crush.

STYLE AND FORM

The form of my music video will be 'Rn'B' and will be similar to the style of people like Bruno Mars and Ne-Yo. The video will have a narrative structure along with a portrayal of the artist as a person, their character would be expressed through their surrounding.


REPRESENTATION
My music video challenges the stereotypical idea that you have to date people within your own social class rather than whoever you like. It also challenges the idea that you need to change yourself or wear a lot of make up to be beautiful. It supports the idea of 'inner beauty' and being yourself as well as being able to have enough courage to go against what is socially expected of you. 

Pre-Production Three possible concepts

http://www.unsigned.com/thecolours

Song name: 'Tonight I let you go'

Concept: The lead singer is trying to get his ex girlfriend back but by the end of the song he realises he's better off without her and moves on.

http://www.unsigned.com/timelapseproject

Song name: 'Follow me'

Concept: Montage of couples of all ages sitting together, kissing, doing activities in between the narrative of a husband trying to mend things between himself and his wife.himself and his wife.

http://www.unsigned.com/jackieboyz

Song name: 'She's not perfect'

Concept: Teenagers in high school who cannot be together because of their social differences. The lead singer from the 'popular group' falls for a 'dorky girl'.