Planning - Artist image

Genre ideas:

Our genre is Alternative R&B, therefore, we intend on following conventions as well as challenging certain conventions, by making our artist conventional to other alternative R&B artists, such as SZA who has her own original style of performing. Similarly, our artist will also reflect originality as does the genuine artist of our song, FKA Twigs. However, we will also challenge stereotypes by allowing our artist to fulfil her emotions and morals through the song and themes, which is not evident in all alternative R&B music videos, due to artists following conventions. By challenging genre conventions, is likely to make the artist more successful and popular due to them becoming more noticeable by their fans, and the mainstream audience. 

Morals and values:

We want our artist to portray subcultural ideas through her character, in order to appeal to subcultures and a niche audience. It is important that the artist is able to portray her spiritual values and morals, as her character will need to pursue this through the use of a psychic mystic ball and tarot cards. She should also be able to express her true self to the audience by expressing freedom through her image and performance as she will be encouraged to behave normally as well as acting and committing to her role as a tarot reader. 

Media perception: 

Our artist will be perceived similar to FKA Twigs in the media, as she will be identified as a good performer in the industry rather than a fully established star. This is due to her lacking ultimate popularity and not being noticed by a mainstream audience. As a result, our artist will be perceived as niche, rather than mainstream, as she will confidently express her different views and values which may be viewed as controversial by certain audiences. Also, she will not be in the public eye as much as the mainstream artists, due to her being relatable to the audience though her normality and lack of consistent fame. Moreover, our artist will be perceived as expressing her true self to the audience, rather than being portrayed as 'fake', which is important when it comes to the audience forming an opinion about an artist. FKA Twigs similarly expresses her true self to the audience through her unique image which is evident in the media, through newspapers and magazines. 

Similar Artists:

These solo artists, including Grimes, Sia and Lady Gaga have helped us in planning our artist representation as they each portray their own unique/quirky style through the use of their music and image in their music videos. Although they all look different, they have similar morals and values as they all represent originality and may create controversy at times. 

In our music video, we want our artist to dress differently reflecting an existing character like these artists do in their music videos. We will dress our artist in all black clothing like Lady Gaga supported by a black bandanna over her head to represent the darkness and mystery in her character as she controls male characters fighting over her love. Her make up and hair will also reinforce this image as she will have exaggerated make up (smokey eye shadow, fake eyelashes and dark lipstick). This reflects the alternative R&B genre as genre characteristics suggest that alternative R&B artists challenge stereotypes to make their music video unique and intriguing for the audience.

These existing artists are all niche and do not appeal to mainstream audiences due to their originality which is  reflected in their music videos. I want my artist to be portrayed in a similar way by promoting herself as different, however, we also want her to appeal to a mainstream audiences by ensuring we do not portray her originality in an extreme manner. This is because in her other music videos she is seen as more 'normal'  and appears in this way through social media, radio chat shows and public appearances.

We are hoping to fulfill this type of artist image through mise en scene and cinematography. If we succeed, we believe it will enhance the star image of Carlie Cokell-Smith, making her more popular and interesting to watch on screen. By following theories we will also enhance this image.

Our artist: 

We have decided to use Carlie Cokell- Smith as our female artist, as we believe she will be able to reflect FKA Twigs' characteristics, but she will also express her own values and opinions through her persona and her performance. She will reflect a tarot reader, therefore, she will wear a black costume, consisting of a cloak and bandana with exaggerated hair and makeup, which will make her look like a real tarot reader. However, her niche representation will not prevent Carlie from expressing her subcultural and spiritual morals and vlaues.Carlie is also the right age as she is 18 years old, therefore, she will be relatable to the audience through her niche performance and by expressing herself to the audience through a pure  and truthful representation. Carlie also has current experience in acting and dancing, and therefore, she will be able to reflect these skills in her performance and acting, making our artist image successful and genuine.                                                                                                                          

Link to Theory:

Goodwin: Close ups, Extreme close ups and Mid shots are used to portray the artist clearly to the audience and make the audience feel anxious whilst watching her on screen. It will also enhance her star image.

Mulvey: We will not be taking Mulvey's theory into consideration as we do not want to portray our artist in a sexual manner.

Popular Culture: As the artist is a Tarot reader, she will not engage in popular activities. Instead, her actions will be more spiritual and controversial.

Dyer (Star Theory, Audience and Industry): Our artist will not be a star, but will portrayed as a good performer in the industry. This is because she is not in the public eye regularly like other popular artists such as; Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. However, despite her not being a star, she will reflect her spiritual and religious values through her music video.

Hebdige: Our artist will appeal to subcultures as she portrays niche conventions through her persona and music. Also, her spiritual and religious views will attract particular subcultures. She may also convey controversial ideas which may not appeal to mainstream audiences, however, we will try to make our artist and the music video more mainstream to gain success.

Conclusion: 

Planning our artist representation has been extremely beneficial for us, as we now have a clear idea of how we want our artist to be portrayed, which is to express her spiritual and subcultural morals and values, which is important in making our female artist different but relatable. We are also now more aware of which similar artists we want our artist to reflect which is Lady Gaga, Sia and Grimes who all differ from mainstream artists and can crate controversy at times through their truthful and varying representation.  Now we are aware of this, we will ensure our artist is portrayed in the correct way, making her niche but also mainstream, through media perception which will allow the audience to notice her and the fact that she has her own style of music and an original persona. creating the right artist image is important in the long term as the audience should be able to identify the artist from the offset, identifying their beliefs, values and persona, which should not continuously change as it could turn the audience against the artist. Without planning our artist representation we would not be able to link our artist to certain theories such as Goodwin and Dyer who promote important factors within their theories, that should be evident within all music videos. Therefore, by planning our artist representation, we have now identified which characteristics our artist will follow and which theories will apply to her role.

Planning- Characters

Male character 1:

Name: Matthew 

Age: 18

Ethnicity: Carribean 

Gender stereotype of role: Matthew will take on the role of a professional dancer who is training. He will be flexible when dancing and fighting with the other male characters. 

Costume: He will wear a black top and tracksuit bottoms as he needs to be comfortable when dancing. This outfit is also conventional for dancers to wear. 

Body language and facial expression: He will have a determined and eager facial expression when dancing and fighting, however, when he connects with the tarot reader he will have a confused and helpless facial expression promoting his confusion. 

Role within music video: He will play one of the tarot readers love interests. He will be dancing until he feels a connection with the tarot reader. He will then fight against the other three boys, promoting his passion and determination to win over the tarot reader. 

Male character 2:

Name: Kayne 

Age: 17 

Ethnicity: Carribean

Gender stereotype of role: He will take on the role of a sporty yet normal student who is active and lives a stereotypical lifestyle, until he feels a connection with the tarot reader causing him to 

Costume: Black tracksuit, to promote his casual attire as he is jogging. 

Body language and facial expression: He will have flexible and bendy body language as he will be sporty, which will be supported by his tired and breathless facial expression. This will also be promoted when Kayne is fighting against the other boys. 

Role within music video: He will be another one of the artists love interests, he will be jogging when he feels a connection with the tarot reader. he will then fight against the other boys, fighting for the tarot readers love.

Male character 3:

Name: Josh 

Age: 18

Ethnicity: Asian

Gender stereotype of role: 

Costume: He will wear a black shirt and tie to promote a smart attire, with glasses highlighting his 'geeky' characteristics. 

Body language and facial expression: 

Role within music video: The geek 

Male character 4:

Name: Sandro 

Age: 19

Ethnicity: African 

Gender stereotype of role: He will take on the role of a conventional male, who is living a normal life like the other boys until he feels a connection with the tarot reader and finds himself fighting against the other three boys for her love. 

Costume: Black T-shirt and black jeans, promoting his casual persona.

Body language and facial expression: 

Role within music video: He will simply he watching TV until he feels a connection with the tarot reader leading to him

Planning - Location

Intro: 

Location is an important aspect to consider and plan when creating a music video as the location is a main factor determining the success of a music video. The locations chosen in a music video must fit the scenery and the narrative. For example, if the shot consists of a couple expressing their love, the location should reflect this through its cosy and warm surroundings, therefore, it should be a house or a conventional place that couples go to, such as a park. My group and I decided on our locations after planning our storyboard properly and finalising our idea, ensuring that we considered all small aspects and had a clear idea. We decided we wanted different locations and ones that challenged stereotypes to make our music video more interesting, creating suspense and tension for the audience. Carrying out a questionnaire also helped to finalise our decisions on our chosen locations, as we asked our audience "What locations do you expect to be evident in an alternative R&B music video?" Our target audience said they expected to see alternative R&B music videos shot in the streets and inside homes. As a result we decided to follow what the audience wanted by deciding to use the streets as a potential location. We have also considered potential advantages and disadvantages of our chosen locations, as it is important to identify what problems could occur or how the locations could be adapted. 

Chosen locations:

• Underpass: 

• Empty room:

• Dance studio:

• Drama room: 

• Streets: 

Conclusion:

Overall, we have decided to use various locations in order to make our music video more interesting and of higher standards. Certain locations we have chosen are conventional to the alternative R&B genre, such as the streets and the empty room. However, the underpass and drama studio are less conventional as other alternative R&B music videos are not shot in poorer and less stylish locations. All of our chosen locations are relevant to our narrative and our target audience, therefore, we are hoping these locations will be beneficial and our scenes will be shot accordingly. However, we have also identified potential disadvantages and how to overcome them as this is important when planning, as we must ensure each location will be relevant and can be used. 

Planning - Research into similar videos

Analysing different music videos 

Content and visual style

Sia- Elastic Heart

Whilst analysing this music video i was particularly interested in the content and visual style of the video. 

• Themes apparent: Isolation, struggle, connection, escape

• Lighting and colour: Natural lighting, top and back lighting, no added colours. 

• Body language and facial expression of the characters: flexible and bendy body language throughout, emotionless facial expressions at the beginning, then turns aggressive.

• Setting: A white empty room, inside a large cage 

• Iconography/ objects: bandages wrapped around the male characters hands. 

• Character representation: The characters are represented in an unconventional manner, as they are perceived to be looking dirty and having no emotions, simply expressing themselves through their dancing. They are not reflective of mainstream characters and therefore, this music video is likely to be targeted at a niche audience. 

• Artist representation: This is not evident in the music video as the artist is not evident. 

• Editing: slow editing used at the beginning, as the characters are emotionless, and towards the end when the male character is trapped and struggling to let go of the female character. Fast editing is evident in the middle of the video when the characters begin to show more emotion. 

• Use of camera work: Drastic panning around the outer edges of the cage, establishing shots allowing the audience to see the surroundings as well as the characters, extreme long shots of the characters when they are dancing together. 

After analysing this music video, we have identified similarities to our music video as we will also portray themes of struggle and escape. We will also have the male characters inside a cage within a dark room, where they will also fight each other through homoerotic dancing, like the characters in Sia's 'Elastic Heart' music video. We will also use fast editing during the fight scenes to increase suspense. We will also follow use panning shots around the artist and the male characters. 

Artist representation

Lady Gaga- Judas

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wagn8Wrmzuc

Whilst analysing this video, I was mainly interested in the artist representation. 

• Body language/ movement and facial expression of the artist: straight, emotionless facial expressions, free body language, dancing and moving. Towards the end of the video, her facial expressions begin to show emotion as the artist cries, with tears streaming down her eyes. 

• Costume, hair and makeup: Unique makeup and costume, promoting the artist as different and intriguing the audience.

• Interaction with others: Vulnerable, holds on to other characters, leads the dancers,as she dances at the front. 

• Camera work around her: Close up's of her face, long shots when she is dancing. 

From this analysis, some of the similarities I have found include: My artist will also have an unconventional outfit and makeup promoting her as unique, and will also take lead as she will be controlling the male characters. I will also capture my artist through close up's and long shots so the audience can connect with her. 

Structure and artist representation

Planning- Story boarding

 Storyboarding 

A storyboard is a graphic representation of how a moving image will unfold, shot by shot. It is made up of illustrations or images representing each shot that will be included in the moving image which is supported by important notes for each shot including the camera shot, location, props, lighting, actors, sound, dialogue, editing and narrative description. A story board is vital to have when creating a music video as it used as a plan which will be extremely useful as it will help us to understand what we want to achieve and is used as something for us to build on. After deciding on our final idea and identifying how the narrative was going to progress throughout the music video, we created a storyboard of each frame, identifying the micro elements; camera shot, location, props, lighting, actors, sound, dialogue and editing that we will include in each frame, supported by a brief narrative description, of what will occur in that particular frame. Storyboarding our idea has been beneficial as we have been able to look closely at the narrative, taking each frame into consideration, rather than identifying a brief overview, which does not give us any insight into the details we need to draw upon when creating our music video. Therefore, we storyboarded the entire music video and thought about all the details, giving us a clearer idea of how our music video is going to develop. We it comes to filming the music video, it will also be easier for us, as we will use the storyboard as guidance.

Planning: Production Group Roles

Production roles are made up of eleven key roles that are essential to involve in music videos ensuring they are made successfully. Production roles consist of a director, producer, editor, cast control, camera operator, lighting operator, print designer, photographer, storyboard organiser, location manager, costume, hair and makeup artist. Each of these roles help to ensure a film is successfully created to the highest possible standard. As a group, we distributed the production roles equally and logically, as we looked at each members strengths and weaknesses, allocating the roles according to our abilities. 

 

The different roles and their definitions

 

•  Director: A director is responsible for having the authority of directing the music video. A director gives directions to the crew and cast ensuring that everybody is following the script and storyboard producing the video successfully. A director must have good leadership skills communicating well with their team members and they must also meet tight deadlines therefore work efficiently making use of their time. The director is supported by the producer and storyboard artist, the producer supervises them director and parts of the production while the storyboard artist shares the information about each shot with the director ensuring that they are following the storyboard. Overall, the director makes the overall decisions associated with the music video.

 

•  Producer : A producer works closely with the director supervising the making of a music video before preparing and presenting it to a music distributor. One of their key responsibilities is ensuring that they create an environment where the filming crew and cast can flourish and produce their talents effectively. The producer is also often the first person to get involved in a project and come up with the idea for a production, they secure the rights, choose the screenwriter and story editing team. In pre production the producer is responsible for bringing the creative team together including the director, cinematographer, production designer and key cast members. Overall, the producer supervise the development process.

 

• Lighting operator :The lighting operator is responsible for creating the light and atmosphere in the music video creating the correct connotations associated with each shot. For example, if the shot has connotations of negativity, low lighting will be used by the lighting operator to establish these connotations. A lighting operator keeps in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost ensuring they do not exceed the budget and avoid making mistakes. The lighting operator reads the script and lyrics carefully and make notes on changes in place and time between scenes, which allows him to identify changes often done just with lighting to avoid too many blackouts in one scene. They will also have meetings with the director, designers, stage manager and the production manager to discuss ideas for the music video, and establish budget and scheduling details.
 

• Location manager: A location manager is responsible for finding the appropriate location where the music videos scenes will be set. They must ensure they obtain permission from the police, governmental permits and location owners before they are able to use the location as a set for a scene. A location manager usually works closely with the director and the production designer during pre-production to find and secure their expressed creative vision. The manager is also responsible for public relations at the locations used and the crew's safety during filming.

 

• Camera operator: The camera operator is responsible for physically operating the camera maintaining the camera angles, movement and size of each shot. The camera operator will work  with the director, director of photography, actors and the film crew to make technical and creative decisions.

 

 

• Editor: An editor has the responsibility of working with raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences creating moving images. An editor must creatively work with images, dialogue, pacing, as well as the actors performances to effectively re-imagine and even rewrite the music video to craft a cohesive whole. Editors usually play a dynamic role in the making of a music video.

• Costume, hair and makeup artist: A costume, hair and makeup artist is responsible for creating the cast members appearances. A costume, hair and makeup artist work closely with directors and performers. They assess make-up and hair requirements, set up the department  and prepare the make-up and hair budgets and schedules. They break down the script and storyboard scene by scene to identify the required make-up, costume and hairstyles. Before beginning the creation of the characters appearances they make notes of the characters ensuring they make each characters fit their representation and image before they begin developing their appearances.

• Storyboard organiser:  A storyboard artist is responsible for producing images and notes based on each shot. They visualise the details associated with each shot and put their ideas on paper. Quick pencil sketches are the conventional technique of creating a storyboard. Storyboard artists may use photos to create visuals where photos taken specifically for the project are put together digitally to produce a photographic representation called a photo visual.

• Print designer: Print designers use their technical skills to arrange and style designs as they appear on a page. Their design activities include choosing font types, sizes and colors to create attractive headlines and text-based presentations that will catch the reader's  attention. 

• Photographer: A photographer is someone who takes photographs of something and use the photo in various ways, which may include, album covers, posters, social networking sites, newspapers, magazines etc. A photographer should be skilful when holding and positioning a camera to ensure they take high quality photographs. 

• Cast control: Someone that takes charge of cast control is responsible of the cast members, ensuring all the cast have arrived on to set and are behaving appropriately, doing what they are required to do. 

 

Who has what role and why?

• Director: Fatma-  We have decided that Fatma should take on the responsibility of being the director as she  is responsible for this role last year and gained certain skills including being capable of managing a group of team members, problem solving and listening to others, explaining herself  clearly and giving moral support to each team member. She has proved that she was able to complete this role and I believe she is also a focused person therefore I know that she will not be easily distracted and will ensure that she completes the project to a high standard. 

• Producer: Marlyn- We have decided that I should be the producer as she has effective communication skills therefore she is able to communicate with people efficiently and is patient ensuring that she will be capable of dealing with any problems that the cast/crew may have. I am also a creative individual and will therefore help come up with new ideas for the production as well as visualise how certain things should be presented.

• Lighting Operator: Fatma- We decided that I should take on the responsibility of being the lighting operator as I am able to identify where different lights and colours should used according to the type of image that is being conveyed. I am also creative and will be able to position the light source in the appropriate positions.

• Location Manager: Fatma- We have decided that I should be the location manager as I am a good organiser and will therefore be able to choose the locations efficiently according to the atmosphere we want to create. I am also good at negotiating allowing me to negotiate efficiently with location owners if we need to use a public place to film our shots.

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  Camera operator: Marlyn- We decided that Marlyn should be the camera operator as she has good practical skills, therefore will be able to operate and move the camera accordingly. She is also able to interpret instructions to visualise shots.

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  Editor: Carlie- We have decided that Carlie should take on the editing role as she has past experience after editing the thriller film  she created last year in her media coursework, therefore she will be able to edit our video confidently using her expertise to make the video a high quality. Also, due to her patience she will be able to remain calm and confident when under pressure of meeting the deadline. 

• Costume, hair and makeup artist: Marlyn-  We decided that I should take on the responsibility of being the costume, hair and makeup artist due to her creative skills which will help me to create the perfect image for each character and ensure their image fits their role. This will be particularly effective when I am  dressing and doing up the artist as It will needs to be portrayed as a star and also a role model. 

  
  

  
  

•  Storyboard Organiser: Fatma- We decided that Fatma should take responsibility of creating the storyboard as she is able to think creatively and will therefore be able to draw each shot and identify the micro elements bringing the visuals to life. she is  also aware of the formation of the narrative and the content allowing her to create the storyboard accordingly. 

• Cast control: Marlyn- We have decided that I will be responsible for cast control as I am able to be strict and serious if necessary which is appropriate in this case, as I  must encounter these attributes to handle the cast members and ensure they are doing the correct thing. 

• Print designer: Carlie- We have decided that Carlie will be responsible for print design as she is creative and good at creating designs and creating something effective from nothing. This will be necessary when creating the digi pack as she will be required to create an effective poster type pack which include images and colours. 

• Photographer: Carlie- We have decided that Carlie will also take responsibility for the photography, taking pictures of the artist and characters, scenery etc for the digi pack, as she has steady hand and is able to hold the camera in a unique way that will allow her to capture different shots effectively. 

 

 

Conclusion: How has this been beneficial ?

Overall, this planning has been beneficial as it has allowed each member of my group to identify our qualities, strengths and weaknesses, and according to these qualities we have been able to fairly decide who to allocate to each role. We have chose roles best suited to our abilities and personas. We are aware that certain roles hold more significance over others, therefore, we distributed roles equally ensuring that each of us held a major role. It is also beneficial as it has allowed us to prepare and come up with new ideas adding to the current ideas we have come up with.