Wednesday, 28 September 2011
Casting & Filming Info
Female singer - Ella Freeman
Male love interest (Jack) -
Camera - Me, Ashy Higgs
Director - Me
Co-Director - Natalie Rance
Crew - Ashy Higgs, Milly Mittens
MES - Leah Hanmore
Creative Assistant - Ashy Higgs
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Dolby
Monday, 26 September 2011
Timings
1:00 - 1:10 - Flashback
1:11 - 1:23 - Kitchen back view
1:23 - 1:29 - Kitchen table view
1:29 - 1:41 - Lounge sofa view
1:41 - 1:47 - Close-up sofa view
1:47 - 1:53 - Flashback
1:53 - 2:03 - Bedroom view
2:03 - 2:09 - Bedroom back view
2:09 - 2:25 - Window
2:25 - 2:36 - Flashback
2:36 - 2:42 - Car close-up
2:42 - 2:49 - Passanger seat view
2:49 - 2:54 - Closing car door
2:54 - 3:06 - Walking down road
3:06 - 3:11 - Close-up tilt down shot
3:06 - 4:32 - Re-wind action
Letters of acceptance
Dear Coldplay/EMI Producers,
I am currently studying Media Studies for my A2’s and we are currently working on producing a music videos as part of our coursework on the Music Industry. Our main task is to physically make a video for a song of our choice. I have chosen Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ but the cover by Natasha Bedingfield that she performed for the BBC Live Lounge. I have many ideas for the song and putting it into a video. It would be solely used only for the purpose of my coursework as part of my overall A Level grade and therefore I ask for your permission to use the song only for this purpose in helping me to achieve my A grade as I do not want to break the copyright rules for this song. Thank you very much for your time,
Yours Sincerely
Sophie Stafford
Edgbarrow School
Here is a copy of the letter that I e-mailed to Coldplay/EMI requesting permission to use Coldplay's song 'The Scientist' but instead of being performed by Coldplay, the Natasha Bedingfield cover instead.
Wednesday 28th September 2011
Dear Wellington College,
I am currently studying media studies my A Levels and as part of my coursework which is half of my overall mark, we have to create a music video to an un-released song with no existing music video. I was hoping that I could gain your permission to film on the grounds by the railway track and Simons forest for a few scenes in the video. It would really benefit me and my video as it is the perfect location for the scenes in which I want to film there. I would ruin the grounds and just simply need its peaceful scenery for the certain scenes I would do here. Thank you for considering my letter, if you have any more enquiries please contact me on...
Thanks again for your time,
Sophie Stafford
Edgbarrow School
Here is the letter I sent to Wellingotn College to seek permission to use some of their grounds for my music video. The scenes in question are the main bulk of the flashback scenes.
Storyboard & Ancillary Ideas

Here are some tester album covers I have worked on just to look more into layout, colours, themes that fit in with the song and the meaning I am bringing aross to the audience. When working on them I definitly decided that i did not want to use the scientific theme that I tried in the first tester album cover I did below. The second I rather like as it's simple and I like the contrast between the black hands and the bright background with the rain drops. I used white, Tropicali Script BTN Bamboo font for 'The Scientist' and a rich dark pink, Times New Roman for 'Natasha Bedingfield'. I think these colours work quite well. I debated whether or not to use a green colour instead of pink, but chose pink as I thought it represeted the singers feminimity better and the fact that the song is about love and a relationship. The next two are very plain very simple, I prefered the 1st plain one to the second but I dislike them as they do not sell the song very well and are too plain and boring. they are not eye catching or different. The next two I also like very much expecially the last one. The angle of the girl holding the flowers works well with where I placed the text. I used the same colours as I did in the hands album cover but the 'Natasha Bedingfield' title is in Orator Std for both. I prefer this font to the Times New Roman as the letter are a little more spaced apart from one another which I rather like. I also like the idea of having a silhouetted figure walking away from the shot as it does not define a particular person and is quite mysterious and engagin
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MES choices/ideas
The reason why I picked my own house is becasue it provides the perfect set for my video and it also has easy access for its usage. It also means I do not have to wait for filming consent to begin filming. It also means it is simple to set up and I have everything I need around me for filming and directing.
Woods/Forest - The Ridges
This set will be used for some of the flashback scenes as there will be chops and edits of the singer and 'Jack' together when they were happy. I will have to shoot these scenes when it is good weather outside and sunny to bring across to the audience the positive happy atmosphere. There is also a bench there which is perfect for theflashback scenes when the lovers are sitting together and then
again when the singer is on her own. I am planning on using two sepearte days to do the flashback scene (Hopefully when the weather is good to emphasis the 'love' and happiness of the lovers and then on a cloudy or gey skied day to show the loss and upset)
Street - Wellington College & Station end of High Street & Ravenswood Avenue
I picked Wellington College for one of the flashback scenes as it is quiet and reclusive. It is also a very pretty road with rows of trees either side of the road and it is also behind the main college in the public areas which are just owned by the school. This means it will be the perfect place to film a happy 'love' scene as it is very picturesque and is a good display of the English countryside. I will use the High street near the station for the first street scene as it has shops on its left hand side and a road on the right which makes it quite rural and perfect for the scene that I want to shoot here. For the second street scene I needed somewhere more private and rural down a rougher road with pot holes and more rustic to add to the singers emotion. This is why Ravenswood avenue is perfect for this scene. It is a rough, country like road which is very quiet and therefore there won't be many people walking down it which makes it ideal for the lonely walk scene as she walks towards the graveyard.
Open Space/Meadow - The Ridges - Wellingtonia Avenue
This will be used for the Flashbacks and is a perfect place to film another 'love' scene as it is a pretty, open place with woods surrounding it making it look natural and wild. The only problems we may encounter are that it is a public area and therefore there will be many people out for walks, also dogs which are uncontrollable and may run into the scene or shot. However this just means that we may have to re-take the shot a couple of times to make it perfect for its purpose.
(I am currently in the process of taking pictures as samples for the set ideas and choosing suitable locations for each part of the video)
Costumes:
Female singer - (Non Flashback scenes) - Denim dark wash jeans, black coat, grey jumper, white tank top, long hair worn down, white socks, black boots.
Female singer - (Flashback scenes) - Floral dress, brown sandals, plait on right hand side of hair worn down.
Male 'Jack' - (Flashback scenes) - whitet-shirt - red or blue checked shirt - blue wash denim jeans trainers
(Pictures of costume will be uploaded soon)
Pitch the Song Choice
I decided to listen to the song and write down anything that came to mind when I listened to it as a starting place to really think about what the song brings across, this is what I wrote:
Sunshine, flashbacks, slow motion, brightness increase on 'good times/beginning', flowers, fields, Hippy, bright colours, love, notes, letters, pictures, spinning camera effect, letting go, walking down a street alone, go to dull colours, re-winding to start getting faster and faster, complex storyline/plot, death?, science intigrated, screwed up paper with messages, singing to camera, running to a 'significant place' but its empty, Emptyness, desperation, beach scene, 3:05 properly re-run to start of relationship, walking in black clothing, searching, contrast between happiness and sadness, hunting trying to find him, lost, wanted posters, 'have you seen this...', upset, hurt.
From this list of things I came up with 3 ideas for the narrative of the songs storyline.
1) A simple, typical couple break up. Flashbacks to happier times in fields, alone together, meeting places and the 'good times', however ended for some reason that doesn't necessarily have to be covered in the video, has a lot of singing to the camera about the girls feelings and how she wants to return to the beginning of the relationship. Eventually the video will re-wind to the very beginning of the relationship and it is perhaps played in fast motion from there or just stops at the beginning so it ends on a positive note.
2) First appearences makes the audience think the couple had a bad break up with the girl in pieces over it. However by the end realises the lover has been killed or died and so that is the reason she wants to return to the start. I have ideas of the singer walking down a deserted street, dressed in a black coat and it maybe raining also in slow motion to make it more atmospheric and upsetting. Then when she reaches the end of her journey she's in a grave yard or on the beach laying a flower on a grave or in the sea, (Beach scene would depend on whether or not I could arrange to get to a beach and film on an appropriate day) Then at 3:05 the story re-winds through her buying the flowers, through her getting ready to leave her house, through the mourning and takes her back to the start of her nightmare just before he dies or right back to when they were happy. This may have to happen sooner than 3:05 to fit it in.
3) My last idea is that the singer has lost her lover, in the sense that she is searching for him and wants to return to the start when she had him. It will see the singer move through different scenes which once meant something to the couple and when she comes to them it flashes back to what happened there and then fades out to it being empty and no sign of him. Her journey takes her to all sorts of places searching for him. There are shots of her wondering aimlessly around, spinning and then looks through pictures of film footage of when they were together and then is played as a full screen on the video. Perhaps she looses him through a game of blind mans buff as he dispappears, this would mean that the video could have odd themes attached to it linking in with un natralistic sets and odd and Indie like outifts which are more symbolic than practical.
Here are the lyrics to the song:
Come up to meet you, Slow mo. if possible
Tell you I'm sorry walk down street looking around
You don't know how lovely you are
I had to find you,
Tell you I need you Camera straight on
And tell you I set you apart
Tell me your secrets,
And ask me your questions Look at Camera
Oh let's go back to the start Fade off to sky
Running in circles, Coming up tails
Heads on a silence apart Flashback to relationships
Nobody said it was easy
It's such a shame for us to part At home, cup of tea, box of clothes, watching tv
Nobody said it was easy
No one ever said it would be this hard Alone on sofa
Oh take me back to the start Fade to black object
take me back to the start Fade up to flashback
I was just guessing
at numbers and figures Sorting through things
Pulling the puzzles apart
Questions of science, science and progress
Do not speak as loud as my heart Emotional
And tell me you love me,
Come back and hold me
Oh and I rush to the start
Running in circles, Chasing tails flashback - Something to do with flowers
Coming back as we are
Nobody said it was easy In car or train?
it's such a shame for us to part In the dark walking down?
Nobody said it was easy Street to grave
No one ever said it would be this hard Street
I'm going back to the start
I’m going back to you
Take me back x2 Massive re-wind through events of past few days
Take me back to you
Take me back to
Aah oooh ooh ooh ooh ooh (x4) Eventually back with him
Thursday, 22 September 2011
Mrs D
Ideas and Proposal
The first song I looked into doing was Marina and the Diamonds - Guilty, the song contains quite dark lyrics which makes it quite sinister but interesting. My initial idea was to focus on the main singer running away from something, some sort of crime that they had committed without the audience actually knowing what the crime was. Then I started thinking about involving well known cultural characters from other famous movies and stories such as Alice in Wonderland, Cinderella and other characters such as them as they are innocent and I would take that and twist it so they are guilty of something, for example Alice could be guilty of running away to wonderland and is stuck there and things like that to make the music video seem more interesting and different from others.
The second song I looked at was Jamelia's cover of Numb originally by Linkin Park, it is much softer and slower than the original but I liked the lyrics and the music in it. I had less ideas for it though than I did for the others so this is my least favourite one. My initial idea was for the main singer to be walking down an urban street singing the song and then having scene of the past flash through the song. Unfortunatly I like the song and can't really find anything original to do with it or enough to challenge myself with. Also the fact that it is also a live recording so it would have to be perhaps set up as a live performance peice rather than narrative so that the sound would fit the video.
The last song is one of my favourites to think about working on and its a cover by Natasha Bedingfield of 'The Scientist' orignially by Coldplay. I love this song because of its simplicity and the way in which the music compliments the lyrics. I love the storyline in the song and it has really inspired me and given me loads of ideas even when I first listened to it which I think is important when choosing a song to make into a music video. I have many ideas and want to try using a re-wind technique as one of the lyrics is 'Take me back to the start' which makes me want to try to re-wind the storyline of the song back to the beginning. I also have ideas for ways in which I want to edit my clips and different contrasts and brightness techniques I want to use for it. I would also like to use an old fashioned film grain on flash backs to make it seem older and let the audience clearly know it is a flashback rather than being part of the current storyline/plot. The only down side the this song is that it is just another song about love which automatically imposes the idea of themes of love and then a brake up which has been done through music video many times before. I thought, instead of a brake up, perhaps the lover has died however this may seem a bit drastic for a soft sounding song.
Saturday, 17 September 2011
Dolby
Friday, 16 September 2011
How My Research Will Inform Planning
My real media artefacts have meant that I have been able to look into already existing Indie artists videos and analyse what they have done to create a successful video. I looked into Kaiser Chiefs 'Never Miss A Beat' which has really inspired me to think outside the box for my planning and twist things so they are not as they seem. Florence and the Machine's video 'Rabbit Heart (Raise it up) has shown me how imagery is important to fit in with the song itself and the lyrics as well as creating the artists image that should also match the song and voice. Because of this video I will look in depth at visuals matching lyrics and mise en scene. Coldplays 'Violet Hill' was the most interesting as it contained a war theme which was about the French Revolution which fits in with the artists image for their album 'Viva La Vida', I've also learnt about how Indie videos can mix all three factors: Narrative, performance and concept into one to make an interesting and unique video. For me, the use of aging effects on 'Violet Hill' makes the song seem more emotional and in a way strengthens it, this is very effective and the imagery and quick choppy edits make it intersting and fit with the beats in the music which is something I would like to try to incorporate into my own music video.
Overall my research has proved very useful to inform and aid me in my planning. It has given me many ideas and made me think a lot more about what I should include to keep in traditions with this genre of music.
Product Placement
I would also expect to show the video on music channels. At first my music video would probably be shown on music channels such as MTV Rocks, VH1, Kerrang! And NME TV as these channels provides music videos by artists of the same kind of genre as mine. This would also mean that my video is shown to a niche market at first which would categorize it and generate interest from audiences that perhaps had never heard of the singer but of the music channels genre of music. Then from the songs radio airplay and hopeful increasing popularity through audiences watching these channels and searching for the music video via the internet, there will be a higher demand for the video and it will be re-categorized into main stream music from its original genre meaning that it’ll be played on chart show music channels such as MTV Music, MTV Hits, Viva, 4Music, Smash Hits, Q, Chart Show TV and The Vault. This will increase the promotion of the song and its popularity meaning it will hit the charts through the use of its music video.
I would also make the music video available for purchase on iTunes so that fans of the video can buy it which again creates more profit and is another form of promotion. I would sell the video for £1.99 which is similar to other music videos of its genre. However selling this video will be largely dependent on its success in the charts and whether or not the audience like it enough to purchase it.
Also, one of the most powerful forms of promotion would be word of mouth from person to person and generating interest through the use of such sights as Youtube. All of the above stated formats in which I would want my video to be promoted on will rely on my target audience and them spreading on the news about my music video so it makes others watch it and increases its popularity overall, promoting the song and generating money.
Real Media Artefact
The music video for this song matches the mood and tempo of the music and therefore creates an overall relaxed and atmospheric feeling to the video. The music video can be seen as perhaps a performance type video as there are many shots of the band performing and Chris Martin (Lead vocalist) singing throughout the video, however there is a narrative type feel also as the band are dressed in French Revolutionary military uniform which makes the video seem as though it is set during 18th century, the setting also shows this.
As you can see through these three pictures the band always sticks with a French Revolutionary theme in their mise en scene
for all of their videos on the 'Viva La Vida' album.
Real Media Artefact
Florence and the machines music video is a brilliant example of an Alternative/Indie music video. It contains a story (Narrative) which seems to either been inspired by the poem, 'The Lady of Sharlott' or Mannet's painting of Orphilia floating in a stream. The music video is very bright and confusing at times. Many arty techniques are used to identify the artist and therfore can be branded as the artists particular style. These include Florence's different outfits, setting of the video, even the way in which it was edited with increased brightnes. The video is very delicate and compliments the song well which makes it an even better promotional tool for the target audiences. It also makes Florence stand out as the narrative is unusually and cultural which audiences may be interested by. This shows that the director has a good instinct for what he wants in their music video to make it a promotional success to advertise the band and more importantly, the song.
There are more performance shots that are linked in with the narrative. All of the costumes are flowing and of bright colours perhaps to represent innocence and purity which fits in with the songs meaning and the narrative of the video. Florence is made to seem very angelic and using an almost perhaps fantastical set and mise en scene emphasises this. This image of the artist links in with their actual public image which means that they stand out from other Alternative/Indie artists to audiences just as Lady Gaga stands out in the pop scene.
There is a slight blur used to again make the video seem dated, mystifying and enchanting. The colours throughout the whole video have been edited so as there is a higher yellowish tinge to it which seperates it from reality and distances the audience from Florences 'dream like world', this makes the video seem more interesting as the audience are detached from the set and are watching a fairy like scene.
The actors in the video are very remenisant of hippies in their movements and costume. This again links in with the fantastical and mystifying element to the video, the director wanted to portray love, peace and purity through the use of the hippy stylized mise en scene involved in this video. All of the actors have light coloured hair which again links in with the idea of purity and innocence.
Because of the haunting song, the video also had to seem perhaps ghost like and in a way odd. I think the director has captured the song well and used the music to influence decisions on events in the video. For example at the end when they pull up the table to make a coffin around Florence, they way in which they thrust up the sides fits in with the beat fo the music and makes it seem professional and interesting.
Overall the video is very fantastical and atomospheric and the themes of purity and innocence that come across in song are reflected on Florence as a person.
Real Media Artefact
The Kaiser Chiefs song, ‘Never Miss a Best’ set in a Council estate displays teenage revolt and youth rebellion which links in with the idea of the song, and how kids are always on the mark, and ‘Never miss a beat’. It shows young kids in different gangs but is soften by the use of masks and face paints that make it unrealistic as one gang wears animal masks, another has black and white face paint and another wear what appears to be cardboard tubs on their heads. It makes it seem quite comical but threatening at the same time as the audience cannot see the children’s faces so they are dehumanised and have no facial recognition, making them all look roughly the same apart from their builds and clothing. The continual shots of the different gangs running from one place to another makes the song seem chaotic and fast pace again linking in with the song and the idea of youth rebellion. Also to make it softer and not a video on actual youths fighting and attacking each other, the audience never sees the gangs clash or fight, even at the end when they come together they join together and merge into a large dance group rather than resorting to violence. This may be because the director wanted to twist the audiences idea of the youth of today from rebellious outlaws to actually the fact that their just kids, and they aren’t actually doing anything wrong.
Although the video is predominantly narrative based, there are performance sections as well when the band are playing in the small room they are in while the youths revolt outside. So this shows a storyline that the band are involved in as they are kept inside for fear of venturing outside due to the youths but also the fact that they are also performing, promotes the band as the audience can see them playing and shows the bands identity. The storyline keeps the video interesting as it is unusual instead of just having a performance based video of the band. It also makes the band memorable as their video involves an unusually concept about youths and children. Also having the lead singer as a news reporter on a small TV screen again generates interest as Ricky Wilson is acting within the music video as well as also being himself and singing with the rest of the band. It also makes the music video a little comical and quirky introducing the band members into acting roles. One of the band members plays a housewife looking disgustedly out of a council flat window, another plays a police officer chased by one of the gangs, another acts as a man fishing who is caught in another gangs rampage and the last member of the band is a jogger again being chased by a mob. Not only is it comical to see the band members dressed up, but it also incorporates them more into the storyline of the music video rather than keeping the narrative and performance separate to one another.
From a filming and editing point of view, the video contains a lot of short takes and jump cuts to keep the tempo quick and speedy, making the action seem energetic and in turn the song exciting. Most of the gangs and mobs are filmed in slow motion a lot of the time, to possibly create suspense and create an intimidating view on them as they are supposed to seem threatening. The slow motion shot of them running also fulfils this and makes it seem like high action and scary as the audience don’t altogether understand what is happening. A point of view shot is used in the way of a security camera and again re-instates the sense of intimidation and confusion making the gangs again seem threatening. The camera also zooms in and out on certain subjects to normally give the audience the full picture of what is happening, for example when the shopkeeper turns his open sign round to closed the camera goes from a close-up to a long shot to show the gang running past his shot and adding to the storyline of how the gangs are feared, hence the shopkeeper closing. The whole video has a slight yellowish tinge to it which makes it seem a little retro and dated even though it perhaps isn’t. Tracking is also used to look arounf the council estate at the gangs rampage and movements. The song matches the visuals in some places which again attaches the song to the video making more of a narrative based video than anything else. It also promotes the song as the audience can see visuals of what the lyrics are representing and the meaning behind them. The dance routine at the end matches with the music being played over the top and again is interesting to watch rather than just watching the band perform.
I think this video promotes the song well as it has an interesting storyline that matches the lyrics and the songs idea of youth rebellion and gangs and mobs. The visuals are creative and the idea of having mobs of children hidden behind masks and face paints is quite original. The idea of setting the video in East London in Council flats again mixes well with the bands image and completes the audiences expectations from a Indie/Alternative video as it is quite rural, loud and energetic.
Focus Group
1) Why do you think they used the Napolionic wars as their theme?
2) What do you think of the narrative/Story?
3) Does the action and visuals match the music and lyrics?
4) Do you think costume and setting is appropriate?
5) What do you think the message of the video is?
6) Do you think the video promotes the band well and why?
7) Do you think the video goes with the bands image?
8) Do you think the idea is original and state why?
9) What would you rate it out of 10?
10) Did you like the video and why? Or why not?
After having watched the music video these were their responses to it:
Mrs D
Thursday, 15 September 2011
2nd Draft of Ancillary Task Questionnaire & Results
Here, my results show that the participants would prefer to see lyrics and pictures over eveyrthing else suggested in a digi pack. This means that for my digi pack I must include these things above anything else I do. Also as the other suggestions are not as popular as pictures and lyrics.
When asked about colour schemes that are typically associated, used or expected of an Alternative/Indie band, the 3 most popular were black, white and red. This is probably becasue of the conotations that are linked with these colours and stereotypically are identified with the Alternative/Indie genre.
MAGAZINE ALBUM ADVERTISMENT POSTER
1) This table of results shows that participants would expect to see much more imagery of the band over any other suggestion on an Alternative/Indie artists magazine album advert. I will also include info on the album, website details and tour dates as these ideas also proved quite popular. This has helped me greatly in understanding what I need in my magazine advert.
2) This questions results has also shown me what has proved most popular to be known about an artists new album. The most popular being the release date, closely followed by a picture of the album and album ratings from independant institutions.
Q3) These results show that the colour scheme for the magazine advert should include black, red, grey and white at least as these are most popular. I will try to aim to used them in my advert if it matches with the artists own colour scheme. This question was based on the stereotypical idea of which colours are expected to be used for an Alternative/Indie magazine advert to promote an artist.Music Video Questionnaire & Results






