Storyboard

We have now completed creating our storyboard which has roughly 82 shots, lasting the length of around the 4 minute mark, which is the duration of our music video. On reflection I feel that some of the drawings of the shots were rushed and wasn’t to our full potential, but as long as we understand all of the shots then I think it is acceptable. If we were to do the storyboard again we would improve the following:

• Quality of drawing
• Add more close ups as it is meant to be 80% close ups
• Repeat the shot instead of just writing ‘repeat shot 25’
• Link time of shots to chorus and verses

What is there to do next?

• Animatic
• Shot list
• Location shots
• Trial shots
• Rough cut
• Final Cut

Rush (Group Task)

Today we have decided that we are going to create a Rush.
A media Rush is where you quickly make aproduction of what you want your film to look like without using any of the key elements such as lighting, location, actors e.c.t. This is practicallythe media version of a dress rehersal. You include everthing that you want to include but only thinking about the storyboards. We will not need the location, make p, mise en scene. This gives us a view of what we cand add or take away or use in our final production.
We are going to film most of our rush inside of our school on our camera phones, then quickly edit it so we can get a look at most of our music video. We ar first of all see what it looks like so we can get a good idea on whether it’d look how we hoped then we will ask our peers and others to give us feedback on:
What is good?
What is bad?
What we can do to make this better?
Was the lip syncing to a high standard?

Then rate it out of 10 and tell us what we could do in the actual music video.

How will we find actors?

It is important that we find the right actors to use in our music video as we need to portray the theme of suicide correctly and also convincingly. For our production we need a protagonist, the protagonist’s mother, a friend who helps the protagonist and also the gang members.
For the main protagonist we need a character who can portray raw emotion, so the audience can feel the full effect of what felling suicidal is like . For this role we have chosen one of our group members Declan as we feel he will fill this role perfectly due to his qualifications in drama.
We need the protagonist’s mother to play a scene where she enters her sons room and reads a suicide note, she cries and then runs out of the room. For this role we will hopefully be using Declans mum. The gang is a very important part of the music video as they are one of the main causes of the protagonists suicide thoughts, for bullying him. For the gang members we have found a group of friends at school to use to play the part.
Finally the last role in the video will be the hero who saves the friend from commiting suicide, he is a citizen who is minding his own business but cannot walk away from a person about to commit suicide. He has to persuade the protagonist to step down from the ledge, for this role we have chosen another group member, Nick.

What kind of costumes would we use?

As for the characters, we are going to be portraying them as stereotypical youths. With the gang we will be dressing them in crime related clothes such as hoodies, track suits, caps and dark clothing.

For the protagonist, we want to portray the character as being less and different than the gang members.He isn’t going to be wearing the coolest clothing, he will be bullied for what he is wearing and is presented as a bit of a 'goon'. With the use of costume we will make him look poorer as we will use this as an aspect that he will get bullied for.

What is our target audience?

The target audience that we wish to reach is teenagers and young adults as the target audience for rap videos is mostly males aged 14-25, from our questionnaire data.
So judged on this research we will also aim our production to males but extend the age range because we believe that the audience is getting older. So our target audience will be males aged 13-35.
Another reason why we have made the target audience older is that the whole idea of our film is about exposing how big a deal suicide is today, and this topic will be able to reach the older audience.
Another reason why we are targeting it at this audience is because many of the themes that we include in our music video is what the audience will be able to relate to. For example the younger audience will be able to relate to themes such as drugs, violence, bullying, suicide and crime. These themes would not be relatable to a 80 year old female because she would not stereotypically be experiencing these themes.

Time management

To keep us organised at SyncRecords we have decided to make a group chat on Whatsapp to help us to discuss what we are doing in terms of filming. This will help us keep in contact with each other when we are separately doing important things that will help our production. For example, things such as storyboarding and animatic; if one of us were to take the storyboard to improve we would use the Whatsapp group chat to help the one person doing the storyboard and keep them on track.
We also will use this group chat when it comes to filming the actual music video, this will help with time management because we will be able to keep track of where everyone is while filming also we will be able to know what time, what day and if there are any cancellations due to weather or traffic. This will help our efficiencyand terefore save time in our media production.

Time management screenshot

Checklist of tasks for completion

As a group we have created a checklist of the tasks that we need to complete, so that we have greater organisation and structure of what we need to do.
We have set a deadline for when all of this has to be completed, so we can use time management and get everything done on time, after the 18th of December and over the christmas period we can start on our rough cut.
The picture below shows the deadlines of our rough cut and our final cut:

Music video analysis: Eminem - Lose Yourself

http://youtu.be/eRhEcKHU5LY

http://prezi.com/of3hvmbivope/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy&rc=ex0share

Our final idea

In the SyncRecords group we have decided on what our music video is going to be.
The song that we have decided to choose for our music video is Not Afraid by Eminem, and our music video is going to be a mix between live performance and narrative. Not Afraid is about over coming; an obstacle that is preventing them to succeed; so we have decided to have the narrative of a teenage boy being stuck in a gang of which he doesn’t want to be in. As he cannot leave this gang he contemplates the thought of suicide as he believes it is the only way that he can escape this bad influence. Toward the end of the music video our main protagonist meets a person who unknowingly causes him to not choose a solution that isn’t so permanent. And also gives him protection from his bad crowd.
We will need a lot of characters for our Music video as we intend to use a gang to portray pressure over the main character.

The Music videos is going to be mostly narrative but some performance mainly at the chorus of the song. The performance  will be on top of a building at London foreshadowing the character attempt at suicide in the narrative sequence.

Media representation of The Inbetweeners (Group Work)

http://youtu.be/e1_qe2Y9cYE

In this video, of ‘The Inbetweeners’, you see a clear exapmle of Stan Cohen's Moral Panic Theory. This is when society forms a predetermined negative belief about a media. Research studies and statements by scholars and politicians are designed to confirm the pre-existing belief rather than objectively study the issue with care. This is shown when the new student, Will, is walking down the corridor and is being called names and being pushed about. This shows the hostility of modern day youth.
Another reresentation that is used is stereotypes. One stereotype that is used is that the main character, Will, is portrayed as a ‘nerd’. This is portrayed through mise-en-scene of glasses, a name badge, a briefcase and also a different uniform to most of the other students. Another stereotype that is used is that the youth is considered as being wreckless and being bullies. This is shown when the in the pub, the students are drinking alcohol when they are clearly underrage. This shows that teenagers are rebellious and don’t care about what others think about them.
Furthermore, another stereotype that is used is that teachers are seen as mean to students and are power hungry. this is shown through language and also body language.
Another representation that is used is male gaze. This is shown when the characters are seen portraying a student as a ‘juggasaurus rex’ due to her physical appearance. This portrays them as seeing women as sexual objects and treating them as less than them.

Narrative theory: Prezzi

https://prezi.com/60luefva3b59/narrative-theories-on-the-waling-dead/

Risk assessment

While attempting to film our opening sequence we have risks that we will stumble across in attempt to film. A problem we face is the weather on the day that we are filming.
This is because the outdoors plays a big part in our opening sequence. If it were to be raining at the time of our filming then we would have to pause it. This would thereby mean we’d have to film at a later time which causes problems due to the fact that the lighting would be different which of course would change the lighting between shots which would run the day’s work of shooting. So weather is a big concern of ours.
Another risk we are taking is the fact that the location of our shooting. We have decided that we are going to be shooting it in London and that there will be crowds of people who would not like to be recorded or people that would intentionally ruin the recording, we have taken this into consideration. For this reason and the previous reason we are going to attempt to shoot as quickly as possible. To attempt to solve this problem we are going to bring our shooting script and storyboard with us and we can attempt to get every shot perfect to help prevent most problems we will face after we get back to school.

Ideas for our storyboard

As a group, we were set the task of creating storyboard ideas by making a short storboard of 10 important shots that contained the lyrics, scene description and also the camera movement.
This is what we came up with:

Lyric	Scene Description	Camera movement
I’m not afraid, I’m not afraid (Yeah) To take a stand, It’s been a ride	Establishing shot of location, with character walking	Pan longshot of setting, create a sense of loneliness
You can try and read my lyrics off of this paper before I lay ’em	This is first where we see the character being bulliued, group of boys following him	Tracking shot following behind the group of boys to follow the action.
When I say I’m a do somethin’ I do it, I don’t give a damn what you think,	We see the bully push the boy over, using a slow motion, books go flying	Point of view shot, so we are put in the bullies shoes
I’m doin’ this for me, so fuck the world, feed it beans, It’s gassed up, if it thinks it’s stoppin’ me	Fight scene continues but in the eyes of the victim	Low angle used to show power of bullies beating child up
I’m a be what I set out to be, without a doubt undoubtedly And all those who look down on me I’m tearin’ down your balcony	Child lying on the floor being hit	High angle to show that the child has no power
No if ands or buts, don’t try to ask him why or how can he From “Infinite” down to the last “Relapse” album he’s still shittin’,	Shot of victim on the floor then bullies escaping	Close up of victims bloody face, go into focus on bullies running away
I’m not afraid (I’m not afraid) To take a stand (To take a stand) Everybody (Everybody)	Shot of character getting ready in room to go and stand up for himself	Over the shoulder shot in mirror
Okay quit playin’ with the scissors and shit, and cut the crap I shouldn’t have to rhyme these words in the rhythm for you to know it’s a rap	Shot of bullies sitting on the wall	Pan to show all of them on the wall
I’ll never let you down again, I’m back I promise to never go back on that promise, In fact, let’s be honest, that last “Relapse” CD was eh	Victim walking up to bullies	Tracking shot close up to see emotion (anger)
Perhaps I ran them accents into the ground Relax, I ain’t goin’ back to that now All I’m tryin’ to say is get back, click-clack, blow ’cause I ain’t playin’ around	Shot to show victim push main bully	Midshot of bully and main character

Possible locations to film - Half term work

We decided that we feel that the best location that have thought of so far would be at a school but also at the actors house. This means that it allows for the audience to see what is happening to the child at school but also how the child deals with these things when he is alone such as in their house or bedroom.

About our preliminary task: Editing

Once we had finished filming, we had to decide what editing software would be best to use to create our video. We decided on using Adobe Premiere Pro as we were familiar with the layout and also the features that were available to us. This meant that we could get the editing done quickly and efficiently yet it still being at a high standard.
Once we had selected what software to use, we had to import all of the media onto the computer so that we could drag and drop them into the software. As our group had filmed many different versions of each verse, I had to decide what clip would fit best with the lyrics. Once we had all of the media imported, I then went onto the internet to download the song so that we could then sync the clips onto the actual music. This allowed the video to look more professional as the timing of the lip syncing was perfect.
However, when we had finished the editing process, we had realised that the current length of the video we had was not long enough, meaning that whilst I stayed in the class to edit the video, the rest of my group filmed some more clips. This meant that we could manage our time well and not waste resources by waiting for the group to finish filming before I could edit. When the video was then completed, we then exported the video into an mp4 format and uploaded it to YouTube.

Finished preliminary task

http://youtu.be/2ePmt25KRkc

About our preliminary task: Filming

At the start of a new lesson we had ideas our ideas ready and satrted filming straight away. We followed the ideas of shots that we wanted to use so it could be structured well and that we wouldnt waste time thinking. We used a range of locations so it would be unique, creative and would also fit the them/genre of a song. For the actors we used Declan for the most of it and we also used a friend to act in some of it as it added variety and we liked how the official music video used a range of different characters not just the main character Pharell Williams.

What do we thinkwent well?
We felt that we got a wide range of different camera shots and movements, especially the establishing pan shot at the start to establish the location. We used a range of different locations so we could relate back to the film as this happens a lot

What could we improve next time?
We could have had a wider range of actors instead of just two. Some of the lip syncing was out of time and could be better.

Preliminary filming task

We were set the task of filming a music video for our preliminary task. The song was chosen by our teacher which was Happy by Pharell Williams.
We had to create a music video for this song that lasted around one minute long. We could either follow the official music video and make it exactly the same but with us in it, or we could create our own version of the music video.
We chose to create our own version as it would allow us to be creative and use some ideas in preparation for our music video. So we watched the video mant times, gathering ideas that we could use and noted down our thoughts on what to do, what shots to use, which locations to use and the different actors to use.

Link to Narrative Theory Presentation

http://prezi.com/6ebjyt-bznnz/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Our groups initial ideas

 This is a presentation that our group created of what we thought that our music video would be about and what it would contain:

Similar Products: Eminem - Mockingbird

Eminem – Mockingbird
At the start of the music video, we see the main character, Eminem, looking at flashbacks of himself when he was younger. This passes a nostalgic view onto the audience and fans of Eminem himself. Furthermore, it allows the audience to compare what he is now, to what he used to be.

The use of props and pictures overlaying on the video, allows for the audience to see who Eminem is rapping about and also to feel sympathy with him that they are no longer there.

In this screenshot, we see that for the first time, the lyrics match what happens on screen. When the lyrics say ‘Hush little baby don’t you cry’, a video of a baby crying is played on screen. This plants the image in the audiences head so that they remember the lyrics and also the storyline behind the video. This is a common theme in rap videos.

In this video, the artist, Eminem, relates to his personal life so that the connection with his fans, audience and also viewers is made. We cannot use this method as we do not have any famous clips or awards to show. It also wouldn’t relate to the storyline of our video.

Questionnaire on rap music videos

We decided, to get research on our target audience, to provide a questionnaire that we wouild ask people what type of rap music they listen to and how old they are.

This is the questionnaire that we created:

Todorov's thery of narrative

Tzvetan Todorov - Narrative Theory

What is narrative theory?
Narrative theory studies the devices and conventions governing the organisation of a story into a setsequence.

What are the five stages of a structured narrative?
1.A state of equilibrium at the start
2.A disruption of the equilibrium by some action
3.A recognition that there has been a disruption
4.An attempt to repair the disruption
5.A reinstatement of the equilibrium

Moodboard of rap music videos

Conventions of a music video

These are the conventions of a music video:

Contains a range of shots

Usually follows the artist/ actor around if they are involved in the video

Has a story to go along with the music

Contains props to enhance the users viewing

Can contain a symbolic reasoning or message in the video

Conventions of a house music video

These are the conventiosn of a house music video:

Artist doesn’t tend to feature in the music video

A narrative that doesn’t always link with the lyrics

Bright colours

Upbeat video

Tend to feature love, sexuality and things that a young audience relates to such as pool parties and drinking

Conventions of a pop music video

These the conventions of a pop music video:

Bright and colourful

Close ups to show cheerfulness and upbeat emotions

Extreme close ups – tends to show the purity and innocence in the personality of the artist

Aims at the teenage audience

Very upbeat

Tries to make the artist stand out by making them look different or juxtaposing their personalities

Analysing my least and most favourite music video

Favourite Video
Avicii vs Nicky Romero – I Could Be The One
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bek1y2uiQGA


Screenshot 1


This screenshot shows a woman going against societies normalities and rebelling against her job. Also, the main actress is not represented as other house music actresses are normally represented as she isn’t a supermodel, she is just a normal person who is relatable to people and the audience in their everyday lives.

Screenshot 2


This screenshot takes a break from the song, focuses on narrative and uses a conversation to explain the story behind the music video and what is going on. This is not a very popular technique in music videos as it usually breaks up the pace of what is wanted int ehy song. They also used many different cameras to get different angles in the scene. In the scene, they would have filmed the whole conversations a number of times to get the different angles perfectly without any other cameras in the way of the shot.

Screenshot 3


This screenshot shows what the character wants to be and do with their life. Then the video returns to reality. This is good as in the video it shows to different lifestyles and compares them together. This shot is once again shot by using many different cameras at many times, to give different angles. The target audience is males and they are targeted by using male gazes throughout and showing close ups of the womans body.

Least Favourite Video
Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bek1y2uiQGA


Screenshot 1


This screenshot shows the location that is boring and repetitive as it doesn't change and is also just pale colours and not interesting. Furthermore, there is also only one shot used which is from the front of the room. This can become boring to the audience and can also become repetitive.

Screenshot 2


This screenshot shows the actors wearing monkey masks which I feel are irrelevant and have nothing to do with the song. The target audience for this music video is young teenage girls, and so it does not appeal to me.

Screenshot 3


This screenshot shows how boring the video is and the song is very annoying. This is due to the lack of variety in terms of scenery, props and also colour. The only addition of props is a guitar and the confetti at the very end.

Conventions of a rap music video

These are the conventions of a rap music video:

Casual clothing, nothing too characterised

Sections of direct contact with the camera

Artists spend a lot of time looking straight into the camera and breaking the 4^th wall as if they are having a conversation with the audience

Props regarding costume tend to be used, e.g. jewellery

Show a clear display of emotions- if the tone of the song is angry, the artist is likely to present this through their gestures and facial expressions

Strong editing cuts between concept and narrative (if the aim of the video is for the audience to try and distinguish between two different views)

Other artists tend to be featured in the video

Why have we decided on creating a rap music video?

First of all, due to our age of being 17-18 year olds in our group, the main type of genre that we listen to or watch is rap. This would give us an advantage of what we would expect in a rap music video if we were to create one ourselves, such as props and the narrative that would be involved.
We also thought that, as we wanted our music video to fit a specific target audience of about 16-30 year olds, we thought that there would be no better genre than rap, due to its popularity in recent times and many large artists being involved in the industry. By having many artists to choose from, it will allow us to pick from a large variety of songs and use one that fits what we want our story to be about.

What Our Media Company Is Called

In our group, we decided that we would name our company 'Sync Records'. We came across this name as the whole point of the A2 coursework is to create a music video in which lip syncing is involved. This is where the first part of the name came from, 'Sync'.We then decided upon adding 'records' to the end of the name so that it could easily be related to music, such as a music record, and it also gave a professional touch to the name.

As a group, we have decied that we intend to produce music videos in the genre of rap. We decided to choose rap as this genre appeals to us personally and also it is the type of music that people in our age group and also people in our target audience will listen to. Our target audience is teenagers and young adults due to the fact that this age is around our own and that the music genre that we have selected will appeal to them.