Initial idea character / performer list and profiles

In our film the main characters will be the boy and the girl. The boy character will be sad and lost looking and the girl will be almost like a hero, she can see how he is feeling and sympathise with him when he feels completely isolated and alone, and by the end the idea is that he will be feeling better. 

We can't only have the 2 people in our music video as part of the locations we have planned are in public places and it would be strange for only two people to be there so because of this it is likely that we will be using volunteers as extras to look like members of the public. Using the extract characters will help to construct a more realistic music video. 

It is likely that a wide audience will engage with our music video because some people suffering from a mental health illness will be able to relate and most people know someone or know of someone who has one of some sort and will therefore be able to either sympathise or relate to the sympathetic female character.

Initial idea plot synopsis

The idea for our music video is that there is a male character with depression, with the use of poster paints as a representation of this. He will be covered in paint in a way displaying the more paint he has on the worse he feels, and it will be coming off and on in a way which we will show using a number of different t - shirts. At some point in the video he will meet a girl who can relate to his situation and by the ending he will be happier, symbolised by him wearing less or no paint. 

We came to this idea from watching a TV advert on depression, with it being symbolised by a black dog and liked the idea. Originally we had a different idea, of a girls summer holiday however there was not a story which could be told from this and although a music video does not have to tell a story I think there should be some depth to what is going on whilst the music is playing. 

The part I am most looking forwards to is to edit once we have filmed because I think making parts in slow motion with paint splattering on and off will look very effective.

What we need in preparation for filming our music video

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Fluorescent-Ready-Mix-Poster-Paints-Neon-Glow-6-Colours-Kids-UV-reactive/181790129396?_trksid=p2045573.c100507.m3226&_trkparms=aid%3D555014%26algo%3DPL.DEFAULT%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D38661%26meid%3D6e06476ef1f14ce1b9ee5a036de29c4e%26pid%3D100507%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D1%26

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-Pack-Mens-Fruit-of-the-Loom-Plain-100-Cotton-Blank-Tee-Shirt-Tshirt-T-Shirt-/172207657616?var=471039911021&hash=item2818605290:g:Es8AAOSwt7pXOI5U

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FRUIT-OF-THE-LOOM-LADIES-Plain-Lady-Fit-T-Shirts-Tee-T-Shirt-ALL-SIZES-XS-2XL-/152089503845?var=451293082702&hash=item23693da865:g:hx0AAOSwUxNXh1OA

We spent the lesson looking online at what we will need for our filming. We have decided that what we need is the links above and are currently looking into getting funding from the school.

Success of short music videos

What constitutes 'success' for a particular media text in music videos?

There is such a variety of music videos out there for everyone to consume and I don't think there is a certain area of success that constitutes a good music video, however, the most successful music videos all seem to share similar aspects. 

• Inclusion of a linear narrative - This is very common in music videos often when coincided with a live band. A music videos usually involves a short film within the videos. This gives the audience and understanding of the meaning behind the lyrics and also helps the viewer to gain an emotional attachment to the song, both of these points help make the song become more memorable to the viewer.
• Inclusion of a band performance - This often coincides with the linear narrative. It helps to fill in empty spaces in the narrative to let the viewers mind wander to interpret the music video as they wish.  Having a live band helps keep the audience engages. With this engagement it can seem like a live performance with inclusion of a band. 
• The length/duration of a music video - On average a music video lasts aorund 2-4 minutes, this time is just long enough to keep the viewer engaged, any longer and the viewer may get bored and switch to another song. On the other hand, if the song is too short the viewer may not fully grasp an understanding on the song and may get confused with the video and equally not listen to the song again so it's all about getting the right balance.

Consumption of music video

The impact of modern technology especially the internet has greatly impacted the way people consumer music videos. there are now more platforms to watch videos due to the inventions of smart phones, tablets and laptops which can be used constantly on the go. Most people in the United Kingdom own some kind of portable device that allows them to watch videos for free whilst connected to the internet via WiFi or wireless internet, people no longer have to make time to watch music videos on television as they can easily watch them on the go anywhere.

There are many ways nowadays to consume music videos such as, purchasing them through the apple store or other music stores, music channels on the TV, or on the internet through websites such as YouTube. YouTube is currently the most popular way to consume music videos. This is because it is cheap and an easy way to get hold of a music video just through the click of a button. YouTube also comes up with suggests of familiar genre music videos it also shows the current trending music videos which gets viewers hooked into watching more music videos. 

Chronological key history of music videos

1930 - Music started to be used in films which made the experience of watching the film more enjoyable, this was the first sort of music videos that where seen, however they were very different to the music videos that we have become used to today.

1940 - Short clips with music were showed on TV that featured jazz bands of the time, this was the first live performance style music video that was shown and could be an inspiration for the music videos we see today.

1965 - The beetles began to release promotional music videos before they released the song/album to help promote sales of the album. This is an early example of how extra ways such as shooting a video can help to increase the profits from an album and that success isn't solely about the music or performance. 

 1974 - MTV was introduced, the first time a channel solely dedicated to just showing music videos was on television and at the time was the only way that people could watch a music video, this allowed people to be introduced to more genres of music.

1983 - One of the earliest narrative music videos was released; Michael Jackson's Thriller  - one of the longest music videos that has ever been made to date and was and is still incredibly popular.

 2005 - Developments in technology led to the invention of online sites such as YouTube and iTunes where people were able to stream music videos for free or have them on their personal devices. These are now the most common ways to watch a music video.

Footage

We are planning to divide up to footage with a mixture of lip synced live performance as well as a narrative story. 
Although this is what we would like to do for our music video it is going to be something which we won't be able to decide until we have finished all of our filming and can see what fits together, as our narrative story is going to be focused on a very intense storyline it may feel as though it is simply unnecessary to add live performance. Another issue is to what our extent the male actor would feel comfortable with lip syncing so therefore means we could have an issue with trying to find somebody to do this. With narrative story, it can be problematic in a music video because too much can make it seem like it is trying to be a short film as opposed to an actual music video.

Song choice

I think the song choice is an important choice to a certain extent, if you have thought of a plot already then the genre should fit with the plot for example you would not choose a dance song for a sad idea. Our genre is 'mainstream rock' with the song Fix You by Coldplay, which has a slow beat but isn't too mellow to not be enjoyable. The genre of our music video is a romantic drama so this will fit well. We researched into many different songs that started of slow and got more upbeat as the song progressed to fit in with our plot idea that the boy starts of sad, lonely and depressed and then his life gets better as he meets a girl he can share his problems with and Fix you fitted perfectly.

 

Existing settings

Setting is the in works of narrative (especially fictional), the literary element, setting, includes the time and geographic location in which a story takes place, and helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story. 

Conventional settings we expect in different music video genres: 

• Indie/rock - Dark locations are often used to create delusions and mysterious atmospheres, such as alley ways and dark rooms. An example of this technique is the Kings of Leon

• Hip hop - Locations tend to involve parties or a fancy location such as the singers riding in a private jet, alcohol is often involved with with the use of expensive things such as fancy cars an houses. An example of this technique is 50 Cent.

• Pop videos - Set in bright colour locations often in your every day locations. 

I think the genre of a music video plays a huge role in the setting of the music video, Like shown above I researched into a range of different music genres such as indie and pop and found that the setting in the music videos varied depending on what the genre was. Slow and deep songs are more likely to have a dark gloomy location compared to a pop song that is all up beat because the different genres have different purposes, the slow song will have a setting that makes you feel down such as a dark location or locations such as a slum the viewer will gain sympathy for the character. Whereas, in a pop song the main purpose for pop songs are to get you of your seat and dancing and therefore they need a music video that includes bright cheerful colours to make the you happy. 

I think its important the viewer has an understanding of the music video and I think the setting helps create the understanding of the video right from the beginning. Likewise, setting helps to construct mise-en-scene and I think mise-en-scene setting is one of the most crucial aspects of the music video. For example, in Coldplay Violet Hill the song is represented in the video through bleak negative atmosphere, the photograph used often shows close ups of Christ Martins face expressing his emotions in a more elaborated sense which is initially more effective to the audience. The backgrounds are grey which is reinforced by the weather and therefore the weather must have been chosen specifically (there is also references to the month December). throughout the lyrics, there is an expressed uncertainty based upon a relationship where feelings and emotions are confused, this is also portrayed through the video where there musicians are placed apart to show the distance and the strength in playing the instrument shows the anger within. Additionally, in the music video Circus by Britney Spears there are many scenes that are dark and Britney herself is hard to extinguish which empathises the suspense within the circus to create an attraction from the audience. There are also shots to the dressing room showing the preparation behind the show but also creating a eerier atmosphere with the eccentric outfits clashing in colour creating unique and ominous atmosphere as the people do not appear normal, this makes a distance between the performers and audience as they cannot be related together. when the music picks up then the editing shots are much quick again creating a suspenseful performance. the background is familiar in terms of the 'circus'. Both these videos aim to portray a music video which clearly interlinks with their lyrics to allow the audience to understand their music. 

Existing characters

I think characters are really important in a music video because they set the narrative and are usually the main element to a music video. They're something I personally mainly find myself focusing on when watching a music video. In a music video especially sad songs we often emphasis towards the characters and feel their emotions as we watch the video almost making songs relatable as you often feel you become part of the seen.

Character profiles of existing characters/performers in music videos:

Katy Perry in California Girls

Katy Perry in this video is out of the ordinary which makes iconic and rememberable still to this date. She dresses out of the ordinary as well as does things out of the ordinary such as laying on a cloud making her appear like a fantasy that little girls would dream of being as they watch the music video. In this video Katy Perry really engages me as she is going against the ordinary unlike most other music videos, she makes you feel as though you have transported to the imaginary world as you listen and watch the music video which is really effective even now when I hear California girls without watching the music video I still think of the quirky music video in my head. I think in this music video the actors fits in well with the scenery and everything that's around her however, there is no real narrative its just a bit random and doesn't relate much to the song lyrics about 'California girls' when shes in candy world up in the clouds.

Michael Jackson in Thriller 

I believe the character Micheal Jackson plays in his music video to Thriller will always be one of the most famous and well known characters of all time. The music video to Thriller was released all the way back in 1982 and at the time the music video shocked and stunned the public for being so scary. At the time special effects and technology was no where near the quality it is at in the modern day however at the time it was above way above other music videos that were released around a similar time. Like the Katy Perry's California girls music video this video is very out of the ordinary and so is Michael Jacksons as he turns from a normal boy into a warecat and dances with the living dead, now that is something you don't see everyday! And due to that reason I think that's why he is so effective and still gets so many people talk about him, and even dress up for him for fancy dress nights such as Halloween. I think Michael Jackson really adds appeal to the narrative as he gives the 'thriller' experience to the audiences as they watch and listen to the song with his scary costumer, facial expression and quirky dance moves. As like Katy Perry in her music video I feel very engaged with Michael Jackson character as it is iconic and is different from your everyday music video as the character is so far from naturalistic so you feel transported to a complete different location in the comfort of your own home.

Maddie Ziegler in Cheap Thrills by Sia

Sia's music videos are famous for not having herself in but having a small girl in called Maddie Ziegler. She is not your average girl in the music video and that what makes her iconic. she does not speak in the video but dances around in a particular way and pulls over dramatic facial expressions. The way she moves is so fascinating I find my eyes attached to the screen for the whole song. The small girl still appeals to the narrative as shes acts the words out through her dance moves and if you turn the sounds down but watch the video you can often still make out what the lyrics of the song would be which I think is really effective. I really like Sia's idea in this music video, it's one of a kind.

First update for my music video

Olivia, Molly and myself have chosen to work together to create our final music video. We decided to work together after having a chat in class about what type of music video we would like to do and we all have similar ideas on what we wanted our music videos to be like, none of us wanted to make a depressing music video for example. I think us three working together will be a good mix as we are friends with each other and therefore won't be afraid to speak our own opinions on the music video and nudge each other on the make sure work id done to a high quality by deadline. Also, we all have different expertise which will be useful together such as Molly is more confident in editing but Olivia is good at getting blog posts don, by putting our skills together we can get more done more quick and efficiently. Originally I planned to create a music video with two girls in another class , however I soon released the amount of discussing that will required to get the job done and due to this reason I felt it would be more practical to work with people who were in my class, as it meant there was more time to discussing things, work together, and we had more free periods together where we're able to do extra work and go out of school to get things done such as filming footage for our music video. 

Here's a quick update on our initial idea... 

Existing narratives

A narrative or story is any report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in a sequence of written or spoken words, and/or still or moving images.

Narrative works in music videos to show a combination of the story and the plot, the narrative is the story of what happens and how. Linear narrative is the plot and story working in the same way, and non linear narrative does not run in any specific way using random techniques such as flashbacks to aid the story. 

Conventions of narratives in each of the following genres: 
Comedy - Can be slapstick / dark humour / wit. Often full of jokes, the narrative can feature somebody who is made fun of.
Horror - Conventionally a horror features a storyline where something out of the ordinary occurs like a break in or a ghost in a house. 
Drama - A drama has a unique way of storytelling and can fall under many different styles like period drama / crime drama. 
Romance - An example of a typical romance narrative would be a couple falling in love then breaking up and getting back together again.
Family - Often a cartoon, has a happy narrative as it must be suitable for all ages, an example is two animals meeting and going on lots of adventures together.
Documentary - A documentary is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of reality so it could have a narrative featuring a zoo. 
Kids - Similar to family but often following a very simple narrative easier for young children specifically to understand. 

Narrative theories and how they fit with music videos...
Todorov - Proposed that a narrative should have a beginning (a state of equilibrium), a middle (a disruption to the equilibrium) and an end (reinstating the equilibrium). This could fit with a music video with little 'band play' as in the short time of a song it would be difficult to show the stages especially with switching between band play and narrative. 

Propp - Argued that a successful narrative has 6 stages. 
1 - Preparation (the scene is set) 
2 - Complication (a problem / evil occurs) 
3 - Transference (tries to get help) 
4 - Struggle (a fight or difficulty of some sort) 
5 - Return (the 'quest' is fulfilled)
6 - Recognition (hero rewarded, villain punished) 
I don't think this narrative theory would fit with a music video as there is simply too many stages. As much as there can be a story being told it isn't necessarily the same as a tv programme or film. 

Barthes - Suggested that media texts with a narrative were essentially forms of storytelling. 
He believed text was essentially a tangled ball of thread needing to be untangled and in this is the form of the storytelling, which could work in a music video. 

Levi Strauss - Observed that all narratives are based around conflicts between two oppositions, which could work in any music video or film. This theory is much more simple.  

Music video genre/style

Music videos tend to include many long shots, close ups and mid shots. These shots are used to create emphasis on the artist, locations and emotions. Close up shots can be used to reflect the lyrics of the song as well as emotions. With camera movement, the use of it is used to follow the movements of the band or solo performer and camera movements used include tilts, pans, tracking and crane shots. Mise en scene with music videos refers to the arrangement of performers and props within a scene for the production of a music video. It puts importance on the representation of something, for example in the music video for Maroon 5 'One More Night' the contrast between his time spent with and without his partner is shown by skipping between the two kinds of scenes, displaying the breakdown of their marriage. 

Conventions of different genres...

Pop - Pia Mia 'Do It Again'

Pop music videos usually have a very mainstream style, with the people shown dressed in fashionable and stylish outfits. The artists are often portrayed as happy and content and the song is usually linked with love and relationships which is often something relatable to young people like teenagers who are the target audience. Often there is a focus, which most commonly seems to be a woman expressed in a very sexual or seductive way, portraying a sexual atmosphere and often drawing in a different kind of audience. Hair and makeup is used to commutate the views and feelings of the artist and is something which seems to play a much more important role in the music videos from the pop genre more so than any others. 

Rock - The Strokes - You Only Live Once 

Rock music videos often have characters who are depicted as rebellious, going against mainstream society and fighting conformity stereotypically. This is often shown through confidence and stage presence. The main feature, something which is always particularly noticeable about a rock music video is the passion conveyed through the behaviour of the performer on stage. Rather than in a pop music video there would be more narrative, a rock music video tends to focus more on the actual performance of the band. 

Hip Hop - R Kelly - Ignition 

Hip hop music videos such as this one often use low angled close up shots, in order to imply the artists power over the audience. The low angle gives the status because it shows power over the audience and the close up highlights their status by showing that they are important enough to have a frame entirely for themselves. The narrative sometimes shows a crowd enjoying themselves like dancing to the beat of the music which gives credibility to the artist by showing that people enjoy the song. There are lots of references to the wealth of the artist through the use of mise en scene such as cars and money physically shown in them, also giving credibility and symbolising status. Men seem to have all of the power in hip hop music videos, women are seen as disposable items of lust and nothing more. Voyeurism is also used in these videos as the general target audience is seen as males and therefore women are portrayed in a very sexual manner to interest men and attract new fans. 

Based on our research into immediate media products

We had an idea as to which brief we wanted to do before we started the research however after carrying out some research it has cemented our choice of choosing to do a music video.

The group I am working with is two girls; Olivia and Molly. We are all confident in producing our blogs and carrying out planning and research. We are also all confident in voicing our opinions and this has led to us coming up with different ideas and constantly adding bits to make the idea better. Olivia is especially good at creating original ideas and Molly is good at filming and making sure to include different angles and shots. I feel I am quite good at organising and adding detail into the ideas. However, the main area we will struggle is when it comes to editing the footage together as nobody is completely confident with this and therefore we will try hard to make our idea even better so it makes up for the lack of editing skill. 

This year all of the groups ultimate aim is to improve on our piece of work we created last year as we feel we have learnt a lot of skills throughout the process and we think we have picked up understanding of what needs to be done in order to create a higher standard piece of work through listening to our audience feedback. We also aim to improve our editing skills this year as last year we all felt we all had a lot of help from other groups and our teachers. However we would like to keep the same the amount of effort that we put into our work and the level of detail we had in our blog posts.

Research into existing music videos

Wings By Birdy A2 Media Video

This student made music video uses a mixture of both lip syncing and a linear narrative, there is an equal amount of both. This music video is one that stood out throughout our research. The main character is a young girl and she is a strong focus for the media product and this allows us to engage with the video and therefore allowing the emotional aspect of the video to come through. There is no dialogue at all throughout the video and I believe that it isn't needed in this video as it would distract from the emotional connection you get with the video. There are also no credits, which I also believe is a suitable choice. There are multiple locations, three, used between the live performance and the narrative but they all have a link to nature and isolation. 

Wake Up A2 Media Video

Unlike the first music video this media product doesn't include any lip syncing whatsoever but it contains a linear narrative throughout. There are also credits in this music video and they fit in very well at the start of the music video with the modern design and tempo. Another interesting and very good aspect of this music video is that there is only one character used throughout. There is a lot of point of view shots in this video which allow us to feel as if we are going through the same experiences as the character, however these are well complemented by different camera angles and shots to show the skill of the producer/director. There is no dialogue which is quite common within music videos. There are many different locations used throughout two different countries which I haven't seen in any other music video.

See You Again Media Video

The majority of the music video is lip synced and this is presented through narrative and live performance. There are two main characters in this video and the focus of the video is on them throughout. The narrative allows us to feel a connection with the music video and the live performance seems to be included to control the tempo and represent the sadder side of the song and that is why it is presented in black and white. There are no credits or dialogue in the video which seems appropriate. A number of locations are used throughout but the two more prominent ones are a school setting and the woods. 

PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 4

How did you us media technologies in the constriction and research, planning and evaluation stage?

Construction and research:


This stage required more technology than I thought it would as I had to use the internet to find possible locations that we could use, finding locations was difficulty because there wasn't many places we could get all our cast to. Without the internet finding locations would have been a lot more difficult as we used google maps to look at locations and communicate without each other via and whatsapp group chat to give each other updates on filming times etc. Also using our phones we were able to take pictures of our locations and pictures whilst filming and upload the pictures directly to blogger, which overall speeded up the construction and research process.


Planning:

This stage used slightly less technology than the research stage but still was useful for communicating with other group members and actors to organise dates and locations without actually having to meet up and discuss. Also, we used technology at this stage by making a checklist for what we needed to bring and what our restraints where for filming, we did this on our phones so we could have them with use when we where filming and make sure we fitted in with them as much as possible.


Evaluating:


For our evaluating stage we also used technology. Such as when we uploaded our video to YouTube and then sending it members of the public via email and messenger to get reviews for our audience feedback. Having the internet meant we were able to share blog post, as Hannah and I wrote most the blogs whilst the other members of our group did other roles the internet meant other group members were able to see our blogs and get our blog posts onto their blogs, which successfully sped up the overall process.

PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 3

What have you learnt from your audience feedback?

Looking back to when we initially got the song titles it was evident that the song didn't have to be our favourite choice or one we would listen to. It was about how we could formulate a story that can be a tangible item, in which viewers could interact with, as it is personal and identifiable to the target audience. The main issue with the outcome wasn't that the song wasn't appealing to everyone, but that the song length being 4:01 minutes made it difficult to finish the product. Tommy when editing reversed the clip, this correlated well with the lyrics of the song when Biffy says 'Baby if you could would you go back to the start?' it's a simple technique to use but it's also quite effective. It fills up the duration of the time without being unnecessary.
With everyone else in our media class having the same preliminary task, it enabled us to ask for their feedback as they have more of an insight on what the expectations were for the video. We then asked people who we considered our target audience. Because of the storyline and using actors our age it was quite easy to distribute the clip across different social media sites to gain feedback.
It didn't take long to identify a theme with the feedback. During the research it was noted that they liked the combination of different angles composing the video, but thought a greater variety of different locations should be used. Despite our group not wanting too many locations to complicate the storyline, it was apparent maybe the type of environment could differ. The pub, the walk and park scene were all in quite green, quite areas. Although it was aesthetically engaging them having drinks in a pretty area, the contrast of a more urban intimate environment could prove more effective.
In addition ending at 2:54 it meant that there was still 1:07 minutes to fill with content. That was probably the strongest point and something we already knew as soon as we edited.

People also liked the smooth transitions between scenes, the effects that cause the raw footage to become the finished product.
Another factor that we could have altered is the warmth, hue and depth of field, in post production, which ultimately could make the final cut more professional. All of the feedback we received was something we realised once watching it back ourselves. Which is why I think it is positive. As when we go on to develop our actual products this year we will have more time to produce. Therefore we can truly refine the work and outcomes, in order for it to be as successful as it possibly can be.

PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 2

How effective is the combination of your main product (video) and your ancillary text (CD cover)?

I think our combination of our main product and our ancillary text is very effective. We thought that for an album cover we wanted a simplistic design that still attained a greater meaning. After looking at an array of album covers including Biffy's own design, we decided that something more minimalist, yet still artistic would fit the song a lot better. Throughout the filming the couple were surrounded by a lot of nature. We took inspiration from that and decided scanning plants and flowers would connect well with the video outcome. After going to a garden and selecting a variation of leaves, flowers and petals we laid them on the glass for scanning, where we arranged the placement of each item. Above you can see two designs, the first was just a test shot to see how the outcome would actually look and the other was a more constructed visual.

The small petal and the end of the branch we thought could represent male and female in the video, how they are just touching, they are still connected but rather distant and neither 'item' is up to its full potential. It's not a flower it's only a petal and it's not a huge branch it's just a few leaves. I think it's a good metaphor for the music video, the characters aren't thriving at the end and there is a slight presence of decay and fracture in the relationship. It also is minimalist and slightly artistic which is what we wanted initially.

PRELIMINARY Evaluation question 1

 In what ways does your music video use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?

From a conventional music video it could be expected that there would be some narrative scenes, along with some lip syncing and also some band play shown. Our music video develops the narrative by showing it throughout, the whole thing is based on a story which is told with the help of the lyrics.

Going against conventions, our music video doesn't use any lip syncing or band play however it works well because it is almost like a full story is being told. Something we could have done differently would be to have used a band for some parts however we had a limited amount of time to film for this task and it would have been a waste of money to spend on hiring a band out for the preliminary task whereas it would be different for the real thing.



Constructive criticism we have received is that our video seems to be repetitive in some places, which is something that we can all take away from this and use in our final videos. The reason it can feel repetitive is not the location, because we used three different ones, but it is more so that we only used narrative instead of mixing with other techniques such as lip syncing and band play. Most music videos use a mixture of techniques however there are some, such as 'All Of The Lights' such as Kanye West where throughout the video all that is shown is the lyrics printed on the screen. Something we have learnt is that the forms used to convey the music video work in different ways depending on the song.

PRELIMINARY Album cover

We thought that for an album cover we wanted a simplistic design that still attained a greater meaning. After looking at an array of album covers including Biffy's own design, we decided that something more minimalist, yet still artistic would fit the song a lot better. Throughout the filming the couple were surrounded by a lot of nature. We took inspiration from that and decided scanning plants and flowers would connect well with the video outcome. After going to a garden and selecting a variation of leaves, flowers and petals we laid them on the glass for scanning, where we arranged the placement of each item. Above you can see two designs, the first was just a test shot to see how the outcome would actually look and the other was a more constructed visual.

 

The small petal and the end of the branch we thought could represent male and female in the video, how they are just touching, they are still connected but rather distant and neither 'item' is up to its full potential. It's not a flower it's only a petal and it's not a huge branch it's just a few leaves. It can be a metaphor for the music video, the characters aren't thriving at the end and there is a slight presence of decay and fracture in the relationship. It also is minimalist and slightly artistic which is what we wanted initially.

The other more constructed cover we enjoyed making. However when evaluating both designs we thought that it was too cluttered and messy and didn't look as effective as the first one.

 

PRELIMINARY Final video upload

PRELIMINARY images while filming

Here are a few images I took at the different locations of how we selected and constructed the shots. I worked with Tommy who filmed all of the clips on which angles would be the most appropriate to film from, in order to subtly convey emotion. The river scene was the most interesting shot to get as Tommy walked through the river to get the best possible shot looking up to Charlie and Maria (as seen above). Despite not going very far out for our locations, because we had suitable places locally, we definitely worked the shots and carefully decided the best angels for the music video.

PRELIMINARY Shooting schedule

Despite the cast only being constructed by two individuals, arranging for the entire group to meet to film proved one of the most difficult tasks. When we were considering the locations we came to the conclusion that we could film all the locations on the same day as they are within 5 minute walk from each other. This meant that we would only choose the day where the weather looked warm but not too hot to film, as we were carrying filming equipment, outfits for the actors to wear and our own school stuff. We selected Monday the 18th of July as it enabled us to have the rest of the week to edit the footage. It also gave us flexibility when looking at the footage to redo any scenes that didn't meet our expectations for the outcome. Also the rest of the week looked to have appropriate weather conditions which was ideal. We filmed during a free we all had 4th period and lunch, as that was the only free time we all had.

PRELIMINARY Final cast and roles

This is Maria Page and Charlie Frazer, who we have chosen to act in our preliminary task music video. We knew who we wanted to choose without auditions as firstly we are very limited with a short time frame and secondly they both had the look our group wanted to achieve. Charlie and Maria both look much older than our age group which is exactly what we wanted as we wouldn't be able to afford a professional actor so we wanted our age but looking older. If they looked younger the plot of our music video could be slightly unrealistic as it is unlikely a teenage couple would face the type of situation the song seems to be about.
In the end I am happy we used Maria and Charlie as Charlie does a level drama and wants to go onto acting as a career in the future so he was really committed and focused, likewise we picked Maria as she is a very confident girl which worked well when filming as she wasn't embarrassed to act.

Final roles:


In the end, I took on the role or organising such as organising the actors and days of filming as well as writing the blog posts with Hannah. Liv was in charge of filming and making sure we had all the footage we need. Lastly, Tommy took on the role of editing all footage together into a music video as he has previous knowledge ands experience using editing software.

PRELIMINARY Final plot idea

At the beginning of our narrative music video a boy and girl meet in the school café in the queue where the girl knocks over her drink and the boy helps her clean it up, the drink will fall in slow motion to empathises the importance of them meeting and how time has stopped as they notice each other and feel a connection instantly. The couple then go on a series of dates and everything is looking good. They then go for dates on walks such as by the river and in the woods. Also, we will use a split screen to show the male and female individually sitting at home on their phones texting each other and looking really happy and smiley at their phone. Next time the couple see each other they're on a walk through town holding hands and they walk under a ladder, after that everything spirals down hill. Their relationship goes wrong and there's lots of argue and shouting, here we will focuses greatly on their body language and capturing the couples facial expressions that show their emotion. Then everything rewinds backwards, all the way back to where they first met at the café at the end when the lyrics say "baby if you could would you go back to the start".

This plot fits with our stimuli of walking under the ladder brings you bad luck, as everything is lovely and happy and they're in love and then they walk under the ladder and everything goes wrong with the relationship as it falls apart - which is the bad luck.

PRELIMINARY Location ideas and final locations

We plan on using a range of locations for our music video. To start with the video will show the boy and girl meeting in a café when the girl knocks over her coffee and he helps her clear it up. They then go on a range of other dates such as walk along the river Tiffey and a date to the courtyard café in Wymondham and we will show a split screen of the couple texting from their homes in their bedrooms. We have chosen to pick locations that are all in Wymondham as it makes it easier to organise days with the actors, ts alsp less expensive and time consuming. In town the couple will walk under a ladder that's lent up along a wall (which brings them bad luck). After this we will show them argue at different places e.g. on a walk in Wymondham and in a house.

If we use the Courtyard Café in Wymondham we would have to get permission from the cafe owners to film, all other places are outside in public areas so its easier to film as we don't need permission.

PRELIMINARY Casting ideas

For our music video idea to work we need a male and female. Preferably we want characters around the age of 20 rather than people our age because it would look more professional and realistic than people our age because often teenagers around the age 16/17 aren't taken seriously with their relationships.

PRELIMINARY Plot ideas

As we were presented with the task four days ago, we are just beginning to explore plot ideas. Tommy came up with an idea that a boy and girl meet and begin to fall in love - we are not sure which point to take this up to, whether they go on dates or as far as moving in together. At this certain point we are going to make it appear that the couple fall out of love, arguing a lot. The idea is to then have around a third of the narrative shot and reversed which has particular relevance due to the song frequently mentioning going back to the start. Because of the stimulus walking under the ladder, we could make it so that when the man walks under the ladder, the filming reverses from that point onwards. We are also looking at the possibility of a time lapse at some point, if it would fit in.

PRELIMINARY Lyrics of the song

I printed the lyrics out to Biblical and as a group we looked and annotated the lyrics.

Baby if you could would you go back to the start?
Take any fresh steps or watch it all fall apart again?

Play another song here, then you can leave
With your delicate wings, I used to weave
Maybe there's an undertow here
Or maybe this is stuck up in the air
I know how it looks but all that glitters ain't gold

You gave me magical, I gave you wonderful
Cut that invisible cord or I'll starve you
Of what's understandable
Let's make immeasurable moves to the left
Or the right but not central 'cause
[x2]

You gave me magical
I gave you wonderful
Let's make this biblical
And hang from our invisible cords

Baby if you could would you go back to the start?
Take any fresh steps or watch it all fall apart again?

It could have been a wonderful year
Instead we might not make it to the end
Everybody cares, but nobody knows

You gave me magical, I gave you wonderful
Cut that invisible cord or I'll starve you
Of what's understandable
Let's make immeasurable moves to the left
Or the right but not central 'cause
[x2]

You gave me magical
I gave you wonderful
Let's make this biblical
And hang from our invisible cords
[x2]

Baby how can you walk away? [x8]

The lyrics are really deep and meaningful, such as "you gave me magical, I gave you wonderful", due to these lyrics I think the music video should be a narrative video and it should focus on one character and all his emotions so the audience synthesises towards him. As we have to use the stimuli walking under a ladder gives you bad luck I want the video to show all his bad luck and how its getting him down. Likewise, the tempo is rather slow at the beginning however it does build up at times, this tempo shows the up and downs of the mans life and therefore show these moments in our narrative film. Lastly, I think the genre of Biblical is alternative rock. We can tell that it is about something to do with love and relationships. It feels as though it is related to a broken relationship so due to this it is likely that we will use a couple, a male and a female, for our music video.

PRELIMINARY Format of video

After researching further into the song Biblical we have decided to do a narrative music video like the existing video to the song, we thought it would make the video seem more real to engage the audiences emotions as its quite a sad slow song. Also, after looking at the lyrics to Biblical we researched into other songs with similar lyrics and a high majority of them also had a narrative format, which all worked effectively.

PRELIMINARY Roles

We designated roles within the group so we can work more efficiently and get more done at once. Currently, Olivia is researching into existing narrative music videos to gather ideas for our own music video, Hannah is then coming up with ideas and Tommy is in charge of organising which includes when we will film and who we will be acting and the location and is taking on the editing when we get round to it as he has the most experience with software such as premiere pro! Lastly, I have taken on the role of managing everyone to make sure work is being done and writing up the blog posts on our progress.

Here's a group picture...