Filming Schedule

When beginning to film, I decided it would be best to create a film schedule as it made it easier for myself to allocate different time slots to different areas of the music video. Underneath is the schedule for my filming:


Saturday 15th November: The morning will be sent rehearsing the song lyrics and making sure all words have been learnt. Late in the afternoon make-up and clothes can be worked on. The evening will be spent filming the sections of the music video which feature Charlie in the cellar.

Saturday 29th November: Late afternoon we will have a run-through of the words ensuring she still remembers them. Make-up and costume will then follow. Today's filming will focus on the sections of the music video where close-ups are on Charlie singing the complete song.

Saturday 6th December: By now the lyrics should be known fairly well, however we will still do a run-through. In the evening before it gets dark, filming will be focused on the outdoor sections in the music video where Charlie is stood in front of a green fence dancing. This section won't include lip-syncing, priority is just having fun.

Saturday 13th December: Once again run-through of lyrics. Filming section of the music video in the woods, this section is partially lip-syncing and also her messing around. Filming at sunset to avoid the scene being too bright.

Throughout the filming schedule I decided it was best to keep all filming designated to a Saturday. This meant that we had the whole day to prepare, and myself and Charlie had a specific time to film, meaning we could avoid plans clashing with filming. With having only one person in my music video it does make it a lot easier to arrange days to film as we only have ourselves to work around, as oppose to having many different people trying to organise something. Whilst filming some of the outdoor sections we did come across the typical issues of weather, we were close to postponing the filming however the weather cleared up quickly allowing us to stick to our allocated time schedule.

Target audience

Location

For my music video i will use a variety of different locations to create the mis-en-scene.

Bedroom:
This footage will be used to show the girly side of the star, by being in a pink and purple setting, however it is going to contrast with what she is wearing which will be an edgy and indie look, for example camo jacket and bold make-up. These contrast well with each other, my aim being to intrigue the audience with the two differing looks. This footage will focus on the close-ups of the star and show her lip-syncing.

Cellar:
This footage will conform to the indie genre,creating an eerie, dark and mysterious atmosphere. within the cellar there are many different alcoves and rooms which i plan to shoot different footage in, allowing the scene to change slightly but still keeping the atmosphere i planned for the video.

Woods:
This footage will be filmed in a park which has a small area of woodland within it. This footage will focus on the brighter side of the star, showing her at her best, having fun and messing around. I decided to do this as the brightness of the nature around her e.g. trees, flowers etc. once again contrast well to the grungier side of the star, thus representing both the sterotypical indie location and pop location.

Actors and costume

Actor:

For my music video i decided to only star one person in this. It could be argued that this doesn't fit with the stereotypical conventions of the indie genre, as usually they would have a band featured. However, my decision to do this came from the inspiration of the arctic monkeys. A lot of their older stuff didn't feature them in it at all, it wasn't until they were bigger that the record label wanted them featured to boost sales. However, with my genre being indie/pop i had to conform to the pop genre also, with this genre often following the lead singer with close-ups and a lot of lip-syncing.

I chose my friend Charlie to star in my video as she takes A-Level drama, so is confident in front of the camera and can take direction well.

Costume:

In each different location seen in the video, i've chosen to have Charlie wearing different clothes to represent the different genres and also to help set the scene. In the shots where Charlie is in the run-down, grungy cellar, i've chosen to dress her in ripped jeans, a khaki camouflage jacket and a stripy top. Her make-up is bold and smokey. My inspiration for the look came from Avril Lavigne as she gives off the edgy, rebellious look that i intended for Charlie in my video. I kept a similar look for the shots where she is stood in front of the fence dancing, however making her slightly more girly by putting her into a skirt, yet keeping the edgy look with the khaki green colour and the converse.

I realise that the other side of my star is representing the pop genre, so decided that in the scenes where shes in the woods dancing and having fun i'd have her in a lacy top with jeans, her hair and make-up natural, this was done to show the different side of the band and opens up their target audience in terms of fashion influence.

Props

In terms of props i've decided against using them, with the exception of the hula-hoop. My intention is that the focus of the music video is solely on the star and i think that by using props it brings it away from her. The hula-hoop shot happened on the off chance that i was filming whilst she was messing around, to which she then came across a hula-hoop and started playing with it. I decided that the footage caught worked really well and was showing the quirkier side of the bands music. i distributed this footage throughout the instrumentals in my music video.

Animatic- The Black Keys 'Tighten up'

Lip-Syncing

Moodboard for the indie/pop genre

Treatment

Outline of ideas:
-Music video to be performance based, i don't want it to follow a narrative, follow disjunction, examples such as the Arctic Monkeys 'Fluorescent adolescence' which doesn't follow a narrative and is completely random.
-Shots of the singer in a run-down dirty looking setting to fit with the indie genre.
- Shots showing the Star having fun and messing around, highlighting pop side of the band.

Camera shots:
-I plan to use close-ups of the Star as this is what the record label would want so that it promotes the image of the Star and boosts sales.
- I will use a variety of different shots for example, mid-shots, long-shots and panning shots.
-The close-ups of the artist fits with the pop genre, as their music videos often follow the lead singer.
-I want to use low-angle shots when the lyrics are "i only said what you want me to say, only did what you want me to do, then i realised i didn't have to follow you"whilst the Star sings down to the camera, setting an aggressive atmosphere showing her anger at being pushed around.

Resources:

ACTOR
-Lead female: Charlie-Dawn
I have chosen Charlie as she takes Drama A-Level so is confident in front of the camera and can take and follow directions.

PROPS
None

SETTING
-Shots set in bedroom- shows girly side of the Star.
-Shots set in a cellar/dark room- connotes stereotypical indie music video setting.

JUSTIFICATION 
I think the ideas i have chosen fit well with my artist and genre. I believe that if i use all of this in my creating process i will achieve the desired look for my music video, creating an effective combination of the indie/pop genre.

Lyrics

The song I have chosen is called "Count in my head". It is an upbeat, quirky song, with its genre being that of an indie/pop style. When i first heard the song i knew that the video i wanted to portray would be that of a fun, enthusiastic and quirky video, showing hints of seriousness making sure im showing all aspects of the stereotypical indie music video. I listened to the song plenty of times and loved it, however when it came to writing out the lyrics the task was much harder than id originally anticipated. The lead singer has a very strong accent meaning some words often werent very audible. The song wasnt published with lyrics which meant i had to figure out what was being said. It took myself and a few classmates a fair amount of time to figure out precisely what was being said and making sure that what we thought was said would make sense in the context of the sentence it was in.

Count in my head

1, 2, 3, 4,

Oh-oh-ohhhh,
Oh-oh-ohhhh,
Oh-oh-ohhhh,
Oh-oh-ohhhh,

Tired face means tired mind, 
Look at what's been left behind,
Count to 10, survey the mess,
Even though you've been trying your best.

I'm not saying he's been terribly wrong,
That's why i felt the need to sing this song,
Been too long, it's been too long,
It's been too long.^ in the the above verse, the girl seems to be singing about a past/present relationship which isn't completely working out, and is reflecting on the mess that has come from the relationship.

I only said what you want me to say,
I only did what you want me to do,
Then i realised i didn't have to follow you.

^ in the above bridge, the girl seems to be hinting that whilst in the relationship she only ever tried to please him, meaning she may not have had a mind of her own, however soon realised that she didnt need to carry on like that. in this section of the song her tone is much harsher, making her sound aggravated and possibly annoyed that she let herself be treated like that.

Oh-oh-oh-oh,
oh-oh-oh-oh,

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
1, 2, 3, 4
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
You know the score.

^ I personally interpreted the verse as her trying to calm herself down from her becoming aggravated after singing about her annoyance of only doing what he wanted her to do in the previous bridge. the verse is then repeated again.

Oh-oh-ohhhh,
Oh-oh-ohhhh,
Oh-oh-ohhhh,
Oh-oh-ohhhh,

Tired face means tired mind, 
Look at what's been left behind,
Count to 10, survey the mess,
Even though you've been trying your best.

I'm not saying he's been terribly wrong,
That's why i felt the need to sing this song,
Been too long, it's been too long,
It's been too long.

I only said what you want me to say,
I only did what you want me to do,
Then i realised i didn't have to follow you.

Oh-oh-oh-oh,
Oh-oh-oh-oh,

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
1, 2, 3, 4

iuCount in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
You know the score.

You know the score.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
You know the score.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
1, 2, 3, 4.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
You know the score.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head, 
1, 2, 3, 4.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
You know the score.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
1, 2, 3, 4.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
You know the score.

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
1, 2, 3, 4

Count in my head,
Count in my head,
Count in my head,
You know the score.

^ The rest of the song is purely just her repeating "Count in my head" constantly, in different paces and tones, its fast paced most of it, without her stopping for any pauses, this to me seems like it is representing all her thoughts and emotions flying around her mind.

Contacting the band

When I came across "Kids Love Lies" I knew that one of their up-beat, catchy songs would be perfect to create a good media product. Before putting to much work into creating my idea, I decided it was best for me to contact the band to ask for permission to use their music.

After sending the band an email I received no reply. I made the decision to carry on with the project as my music video wouldn't be a real or professional media product, therefore it would be okay for me to create a music video.

Kids Love Lies

When i came across the band "Kids love lies" i knew straight away that i wanted this to be the main title of their album. Their name isn't that of a typical indie genre name which is why i want it to be the main focus of the album, in the hope that it'll bring more attention to it, due to its originality and uniqueness. Their name is appealing to their target audience as i think it has a hint of cheekiness to it, and also relates well with teenagers as they're known for perhaps sneaking out to parties and telling lies to their parents about it etc.

I simply went onto Microsoft Word to have a mess around with different fonts, allowing me to look into what suits the band best when it comes to creating my digipak.

Here are a few of the ideas i had for the style of text i'd later use to represent the band. I personally felt that text 1 was too boring and serious for the audience that my song appeals to, so needed a more quirky font. Text 2 i liked, however still felt that the font was too bold, and needed something more 'kid-like' thus tying in with the bands name. Text 3 i liked due to it looking like scribbled writing, and i was almost certain on choosing that, when i came across text 4. I personally felt like it fitted the and perfectly, it was large and quirky, looking almost like graffiti, it also reminded me of the titles shown on shows targeted at teenagers, the first thing that sprung to mind was the TV show aimed at teenagers "The Fresh Prince of Belair".

Searching for an artist

After being given the task of finding an unsigned artist i began looking at the different genres of music videos. I looked at pop videos, RnB videos, Indie Videos and Hip Hop videos. After looking into each genre properly, and researching the production elements of each style of video i decided that it would be best to produce an indie music video as the production of this genre often use a small budget, which meant it would be easier for me to create a good piece of work.

Once deciding on my genre of music video i began using 'Unsignedartists.com' and 'Soundcloud.com'. Both of these websites are specifically used for unsigned artists to display their work in the hope of someone finding them and offering to work with them.

After searching on the two websites, I wasn't coming across any bands that caught my eye. When scrolling through a social media site (Facebook) I came across the band "Kids Love Lies". I listened to their song "Count in my head" and instantly loved the up-beat tune and catchy lyrics. Although specified as an indie band, it holds elements of punk and rock within its songs. With it being a fast paced song i knew id be able to work with a variety of different camera shots and effects to create a good music video. The bands target audience would be that of the younger generation as their lyrics are relatable and quirky.

Richard Dyer Star Theory

Richard Dyer's star theory is the idea that icons and celebrities are manufactured by institutions for financial reasons. Dyer believes that stars are made to represent 'real people' who experience real emotions as we do. Stars are styled and created to appeal to their target audience, thus meaning that the industry make money from them. Richard Dyer's star theory is split into 3 sections: 1. audiences and institutions 2. constitutions 3. hegemony.

Audiences and Institutions:
Stars are purely made for the purpose of making a money. By increasing the brand identity it benefits the institution as they become a household name, meaning the daily sales increase. By being in more media platforms it means they're money rates go up. The institution also decides what the artist will dress like so that they're appealing to their target audience. For example, with Katy Perry being a pop star, her target audience is young teenage girls. Because of this, her style is bright, girly and bold. Her outfits within the music videos often represent her girly side, for example her song 'California Girls'.

Constitutions:

The constitutions side of his theory ties back in with the audience and institutions previously spoken about. Dyer proposes that a star is not a real person, but is groomed, styled and coached into fulfilling a set of record company and market expectations.

Hegemony:

Hegemony is also known as the 'culture section'. Dyer's idea is that the audience can relate to the star as they share a feature with that star. Some fans may start to mirror the behavior of their admired star. In some cases this could be a good thing as it might encourage them to take up a new hobby such as singing. However, with the good comes the bad, so if a fan were to be influenced by the likes of rappers such as ASAP Rocky, they may be influenced to swear more as it is promoted in their songs, the same goes for drugs as they are idealized. Stars represent shared cultural values and attitudes and promote a certain ideology. A star may initiate a fashion trend, which fans will then follow and promote. Now more than ever before, social networks give pop stars the the ability to share their own personal values outside of their music.

Indie Pop Artists

Dog is Dead is an five peice indie-pop band from Nottingham. The band started off in 2008 playing at venues in Nottingham. Venue owner of Rock City in Nottingham took over management of the band and they had a song feature in the tv show 'Skins'. This was an extremely good step for the band as there target audience would predominantly watch programmes such as Skins. Shortly after they were signed by Atlantic records. They have peformed at several festivals such as: Bestival, Leeds, Reading, Isle of Wight and Latitude. Dog is Dead are still rising, and could be stars of the future.

Indie/Pop Artists

Music Video Directors- Jake Nava

Jake Nava

Jake Nava is a music video and film director born in North London. Nava attended Westminster University and now lives in the United States; working for a production company. Nava has worked with a number of celebrities from Enrique Iglesias to Beyoncé. Nava directed Beyoncé's famous 'Single Ladies' music video winning 'Video Of The Year' award at the MTV America, BET and MTV Europe awards.

Nava has worked with Beyonce on numerous occasions, directing some of her most famous video numbers, another one of them being her famous single with Jay-Z 'Crazy in love'.

Music Video Directors- Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze

Spike Jonze, born October 22 1969, is an American director, producer, screenwriter and actor, whose work also includes directing music videos. Jonze is well known for his music video collaborations in the past with Fatboy Slim, Bjork and the Beastie Boys. Spike Jonze started dancing to Fatboy Slim's 'Praise you', which later was shown to the artist and became the music video for the song.

Some of his more recent work includes the likes of Jay-Z, Ludacris and Kanye West.

Music Video Directors- David Fincher

David Fincher

David Fincher, born August 28th 1962, is an American film and music video director. Fincher has won many awards and has also been nominated for awards such as the 'Academy Award Best Director'. Fincher has directed music videos for numerous stars over the years, some of them being Areosmith, Paula Abdul and Madonna. Madonna's video 'Vogue' was directed by himself, which received great feedback from critics.

A more recent video he has directed is Justin Timberlake and Jay-Z's 'Suit and Tie', once again receiving great feedback from critics, and also winning the Grammy award for best music video.

Music genre- RnB

The RnB genre combines a number of different elements, the main ones being jazz and blues music. RnB is most commonly associated with the most sung African-American urban music. An old example of an RnB song is R Kelly's "Bump N' Grind".

A more recent example of current RnB music is John Legend's "All Of Me".

Music genre- Country

Country music originated in the united States. A stereotype of country singers is that the singer is always wearing jeans, cowboy boots and cowboy hats. An example of a stereotype is Dolly Parton. Country music has developed since it first became a hit with society, with recent stars such as Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift appeals to a younger audience and mixes country style songs with pop music.

Music genres- House

House music is a dance genre, familiarly used with disco music. This genre has a heavy bass beat. This genre of music was commonly associated with secret underground parties and raves, often in abandoned warehouses. a recent house song is 'My Head Is A Jungle Remix'.

Music genres- Hip Hop

Hip Hop is best associated with the rap genre. Hip Hop is a US pop culture movement which originated in the 1980's. A recent Hip Hop video is Big Sean- I Dont F*** With You:

Music genre- Rock

Rock music originated in America in the 1940's. Rock is a genre of popular music. Rock is a genre which can be entwined with other genres such as folk, blues and most commonly pop. A well known rock song is Bon Jovi- Living On A Prayer:

A more recent rock song is Hozier- Take Me To Church: