Futher Analysis

Analysis of Sound

I have chosen 'When I look at you' by Miley Cyrus as the song to make my music video to. I came up with this song idea in my mind map and included it in with my storyboarding. I listened to the song a few times which then triggered an idea and gave me inspiration for a storyline. I have analysed music videos which are a similar musical genre to 'When I look at You' and researched into the target audience in which those videos were aimed towards. This has helped me to come up with the target market for my own music video. For the video to be effective, the main female lead will need to be able to sing in sync which the chosen song and for it to look good on camera.

Analysis of Characters

For the storyline of my music video there is a female and a male lead. The female lead is also the artist of the song. In the video the character has to show a range of emotions from being happy at the start of the video when she sees her love (who is actually a ghost) to sad at the end of the video when the twist is revealed and shows her crying at his grave. The female lead must also mime the song and know the song well for it to look good once editing.
The male lead has to show emotion of happiness as he is only featured when he is with the girl at the location of the beach. However the main story-line of the video is featured around this character.
For my music video I have decided to use a friend of mine (James) as the role of the male lead in the video and have decided to use myself as the role of the artist and the female lead. This way it will be easier to arrange days of filming, as I know when I am free and will only have to organise filming days with James for my filming schedule. When filming I will have my friend Harriet to assist me in taking the shots. To make sure they are the right shots for my video I will line up each shot with Harriet playing me, then I will swap places with her and she will film the shots.

Analysis of Mise-en-scene

Mise en scene is extremely important for my music video. Clothing especially, plays a big part in the storyline of the video and is representative of the target audience. For my video in particular this means that the people featured in it will need to wear casual but fashionable clothing and in parts of miming, where there is no storyline, glamorous clothing should be worn by the female lead to show the artist not as a character but as ‘herself’. The clothing also reflects the genre of music so it is important to make sure that the two compliment each other.
Costume for the male lead is especially important, as he must wear at least one piece of white clothing. This is to show a hidden meaning that the male lead is in fact a ghost, which is revealed in the twist at the end of the video.
The props that I plan to use in the video is a piano and a car. By using the piano it will show the female lead playing along with the music. This is an important prop as it shows a bit about the artist/character in that they are musical and that they have created the music themselves. The piano also goes with some of the lyrics in the song. This is something that will then appeal to the target audience who are fans of the artist. The car is also an important prop as it links the story together and explains how the female lead gets to the beach from her house.
For this music video the lighting is also important, as it is the key to setting the mood and an extra narrative. When shooting I will need natural light so I will need to film in the day time, mostly in the morning when it's brighter light. At the start of the video the lighting needs to be bright to symbolize when the two main characters are happy together. At the end of the video the lighting needs to be dark to reflect the twist as the male lead’s death is revealed as shows the female character mourning for him.

Camera Angles and Editing

For this video the angle on the camera is extremely important as certain angles create hidden messages for the viewer. For this music video I will use many long shots as we are shooting in nice locations and for the scenery to be scene long shots will need to be included. Close ups will also be important as by having close up the emotion of the actors will come across to the audience.
When editing the shots must be in time with the best of the music. The shots must also match with the lyrics of the song and the actor must be singing in sync with the song.

Analysis of Locations

For the locations of my video I decided to use a big modern house, a garden, the beach, a graveyard and the woods to film my footage. As lighting is an extremely important feature to the video, I needed to choose locations carefully so that my lighting needs were met.

House


I chose to use this house as one of the locations as it was big inside. The space then enabled us to film many shots from different angles instead of being in a cramped space. It also had a piano so this was extremely helpful for the important opening shot of the video. This location is important as it shows the main characters house. By having her playing the piano in the house, this is important also as it shows her being herself yet being a musical artist. This feature is important to include in the video as it will interest the target audience.


Garden



When shooting in the location of the garden the lighting was grey as it was cloudy at the time. This was perfect as the lighting enhanced the emotion of what was being filmed as I had to act sad to match with the lyrics of the song.

Woods


When filming in the woods it was grey but the sun was shining. This was a great effect as, at times the sun was shining through the trees and created a sun beam effect on the shot being filmed. The location of the woods was important as it follows through with the folliage theme that runs throughout the storyboard. This also an important locations for the characters point of view as this is where she goes to think things through alone. This location also made the miming shots more interesting as the background of the trees was different from the other miming shots. The trees also created a feeling of enclosure which match well with the character and the song.

Beach



This was a perfect location for my video. Even though the tide was very far out it didn't effect any filming. The light was perfect as the sky was a mix of clouds and pure blue sky. This made the shots look professional. It also enhances the emotion of the character as the bright blue sky shows that she is happy as she is on the beach with her love.

Grave Yard


This was also a perfect location as I managed to use a grave that wasn't surrounded by many other graves, which made a more secluded effect on the video. It was also a dull day which was perfect as it matched with the sad emotion that was needed for the shot.

Timetable

Here is a table of my timetable for filming, taking photos and editing the video and editing the digipack (which includes CD cover and poster) from Monday 27th September to Sunday 21st of November. The dates highlighted in green are the dates that I have scheduled to film and/or take photos for. (due to making the video on my own I used friends Robert and Harriet to help.) During the week I plan to edit my music video and put together the CD cover and poster.



Saturday 2nd October 2010

Start time: 12.00pm
Location: Harriet's House
Equpiment: Camera, tripod, music player,
Props: Piano, picture frame, change or clothes
People Needed: Me and Harriet
Est. Time Taken: Two hours

Friday 7th October 2010

Start time: 4.00pm
Location: Woods
Equpiment: Camera
Props: change or clothes
People Needed: Me and Robert
Est. Time Taken: one hour

Saturday 16th October 2010

Start Time: 10.00am
Location: South End
Equpiment: Camera, tripod, music player
Props: change of clothes
People Needed: Myself, James (male lead) and Harriet
Est. Time Taken: Five hours

Sunday 7th November 2010

Start Time: 10.00am
Location: Woods
Equipment: Camera, tripod, music player
Props: Change of clothes
People Needed: Me and Harriet
Est. Time Taken: two hours

Friday 12th November 2010

Start Time: 4.00pm
Location: graveyard
Equipment: Camera, tripod, music player
Props: none
People Needed: Me and Harriet
Est. Time Taken: two hours

Saturday 13th November 2010

Start Time: 1.00pm
Location: Harriet's house
Equipment: Camera, tripod, music player
Props: none
People Needed: Me and Harriet
Est. Time Taken: two hours

Storyboard 3 - Final Storyboard

Whilst planning for my music video I put together a thrid storyboard. This storyboard is more detailed than my previous storyboard consisting of six pages.
The shots and the characters are the same as the previous storyboards however I have assigned set lyrics to each shot. The only thing that I have changed from the previous storyboard is that I have added another location to the video which is the woods. I have added this extra location by looking at my audience feedback. My target audience, who took my survey online, voted that they would like the album cover pictures to be taken in the woods. I thought this was a good idea so, to connect the album cover with the music video, I decided to add the location of the woods in with my music video. This new location will also make the miming shots more interesting. This final storyboard will be my guide when filming the different shots for my music video. That way I will able to capture all the footage I need each day without missing anything out.

Audience Feedback

Looking at my audience feedback I can see that most of the people who took part in my survey were girls (80%). This is great as my product is aimed towards young girls. Most of the girls who took the survey where also between the ages of 18 and 19+ which is great as it fits in with my target audience age range.
I asked the question ‘What genre of music should my music video be of?’ The majority of answers came back saying that my music video should be a pop video (80%). One person voted for rock but as I the majority all voted for pop I decided that should continue with my idea of a pop video.
The next question I asked was ‘What artists’ music video would you most like to watch?’ There were seven different answers one person picked Paramore, the rest of the voters chose Miley Cyrus, which is great as it fits in well with the song I had chosen and my initial storyboard ideas.
I then asked the question ‘What storyline would most attract you to a music video?’ The majority of the voters chose love as the topic of the storyline with one other choosing horror. As my video is targeted towards young girls I didn’t think that a horror storyline would be suitable so I decided that I would continue with a storyline about love.
For the next question I asked ‘Which location would be suitable to shoot for my album cover?’ There were five different answers and the voters could choose multiple answers. The woods was the most popular (100%) followed by the beach and then a photography studio. I liked both the woods and the beach as my chosen location so due to my audience feedback I decided I would use both locations to create contrast on the album cover.
For the last question I asked ‘What name do you like best for the album cover?’ This question also had six answer and the voters where allowed to chose multiple answers. The majority of the vote went to the name of the song I planned to use, ‘When I look at You’ and ‘October’ I liked both names but decided to name the album ‘October’ as the other choice was the name of the song plus I thought it would be too long a name once I began to design my album cover.

Target Audience

The target audience for my music video is people, who like the artist Miley Cyrus (also known as major Disney character Hannah Montana) and like to listen to slow pop songs. Young people especially girls aged 12- 19 should be interested in our music video as the song is a love song sung by Miley Cyrus, along with the video which is a sad love story. Because of the artist, song and the storyline of the music video, it would be more successful if it was aimed towards younger girls.
To make my music video different and to stand out, I have come up with a different number of ideas that will draw in my selected target audience and will make them want to watch the video. For my music video I decided that it would need a story line and that the storyline itself has to be dramatic. I came to this conclusion by looking at my research (as you can see from my grids of nine) that I looked at other young female artists (e.g. Taylor Swift, Kelly Clarkson) who use dramatic storylines for most of their music videos.
I must also use ideas in my video that the viewer can relate to. For example we came up with the idea of a couple in love to be featured in the music video. Young girls can relate to this along with things such as costume. If we were to dress the main female character up in clothing that represented a gothic song and a gothic music video the audience would not be able to relate and would not match the theme of the song and the video. However if the main female was costumed in beautiful glamorous dresses or casual yet fashionable clothing this is something the viewer can relate to.
I must also within my video we make sure that the camera angles and Mise-en-scene fit well with my chosen song and creates a mood that matches the song and storyline. Without this, it will not appeal to my chosen target audience and my music video will have no effect on the viewer and will therefore be unsuccessful.
After the video has been edited I will create a survey for people who fit in with my chosen target audience, to take part in. By having my target audience take a survey, I will be able to see if the video appeals to them and is something they were impressed by. I will also create a focus group of people who fit my target audience. By doing this the focus group can watch the video and then give me any feedback or suggestions to improve the video even more before finalising it. This way I can improve my video even more and make it more appealing to my chosen target audience.

Storyboard 2

After putting together my first storyboard I decided to draw out another one after coming up with some newer ideas. I then used both my original ideas and my newer ideas and put them together to create a newer storyboard.



Like the previous storyboard the opening shot shows the artist playing the piano however instead of a close up the shot of the piano is a long shot. This shot will be cut to the lyrics ‘Everybody needs inspiration, everybody needs a song’ while the artist is playing the piano there will be indoor lighting and she will be wearing casual clothing.
The following shot is one of my newer ideas where a picture of the couple is shown in a picture frame on a shelf, in the girls bedroom. This shot introduces the storyline to the video. It indicates to the viewer that the video is a love story and that the couple in the picture are the main characters. It also shows a memory of the girl and as the song is quite sad, the picture is representing the idea of a sad memory. This shot will be short and will be cut to the lyrics ‘a beautiful melody’ I also feel that the lyric goes well with this shot as it shows a hidden meaning behind the words ‘a beautiful melody’ The picture of the girls love, edited with those lyrics could be a metaphor that her love is the beautiful melody.
The next shot is also a new idea as another character is introduced. This scene shows medium shot of the girl and her mother arguing in the kitchen of their house. I thought by interpreting this shot it fits in well with the lyrics ‘when my world is falling apart’ and adds to the storyline creating the exposition part of Freytag’s pyramid.
By watching the last shot the viewer thinks that the mother is the villain and is trying to keep her daughter away from her love interest, as the next shot shows one of my original ideas of the girl in a car driving away to meet him at the beach. The close up shot of the girl in car will be cut to the lyrics ‘when there’s no light to break up the dark’ She will be wearing the same casual clothing that she was wearing whilst arguing with her mother. This shot of the character in the car is important as it shows the ‘inciting incident’ part of Freytag’s pyramid.
The next long shot, shot 5, is the scene of the couple meeting at the beach and is the same shot as in the previous storyboard. This shot will be taken at the beach with natural daylight and both will be dressed in casual clothing. It will also be editing to fit with the main lyrics of the song ‘That’s when I look at you’ this shot goes well with the lyrics as this is when the girl is first looking at him in the video.
The next shot is also taken from the previous storyboard as the two of them are sitting on a bench and are looked on from behind. This shot will also be taken on the beach or somewhere located nearby. It will be edited to the lyrics ‘you love me for who I am’ the characters will be wearing the same clothing as in the shots on the beach.



For shot 7 this will be framed exactly the same as shot 5 however the male character will not be in the shot. This is to show the twist of the video in that he is a ghost and doesn’t exist. This effect will also be used on shot 8 and will be framed exactly like shot 6 where the two characters are both sitting on the bench however this time it is only the girl sitting on the bench alone.
Shot 9 shows the male character at the window. This shot will help the flow of the storyline as it shows the female character has come back from the beach and sees him in her house, looking at her from the window.
The next shot shows her running into her house and into her room where his is supposed to be but when she gets there she sees he has disappeared. The shot following the female character into the house will be a long shot and then close ups will be used once she is in the room. This will be cut to the lyrics ‘you’re beautiful’.
Shot 11 shows the female character back on the beach and she realises that she is not there either. The lighting for this should be dark to show the darkness and sadness that the character is feeling. This will also be a long shot and to the lyrics ‘I look at you’ there is irony in the shot by being edited to those lyrics as it shows that he his not there and the female character is not looking at him.
The last shot shows the female character at the grave of her love. This final shot shows the denouement, the revealing of the twist of the video. This shot is extremely important as it makes the story of the video. The lighting will be dark to show the sadness of the shot and the character should wear black clothing to show her mourning. This will also be a close up to show the character’s emotion and will be editing to the last lyrics in the song.

Initial Ideas

Camera Angles
Close ups
medium Shots
medium close-ups
long shots
hand held shots
panning shots

Editing
Short shots
Scenes cut to the beat of the music
Replay of certain clips to show story-line of how the male character is a ghost

Mise-En-Scene
(locations)
Beach
house
car
woods
(lighting)
natural daylight
(other)
casual clothing - jeans, plain t-shirt,
glamourous dress for miming

Special Effects
Slow motion
black and white
fading in and out of shots in black and white
merging shots

Story Board 1

Once I had decided on a song, I was then able to start storyboarding my ideas. I came up with a storyline before hand and then began to draw out a first rough draft of the different shots and ideas that would fit in with the lyrics of the song.

When the song begins, a shot of the female lead appears playing the piano. The shot is a close up of the girls hands which will be filmed in the location of somebody's house or where ever a piano can be located. This shot then fits in with the song as a piano is being played and will be edited into the lyrics of 'Everybody need inspiration'.
The next shot shows the girl in the car driving. This fits into the lyrics of 'There is no guarantee...' this a medium close up shot and shows part of the storyline as she drives to the beach.
The following shot shows the couple on the beach together. This is a long shot that will be edited in with the lyrics of the chorus 'When the waves are...' The female lead will need to wear the same clothing that as the medium shot in the car.
The guy will also be dressed in casual clothing.
The next shot shows the female lead crying. This is a long shot, she is in her room and can be wearing different clothing from the beach and car scene. This shot will be edited to the lyrics 'When my world is falling apart'
The following shot goes back to the scene with the couple on the beach. This won't be the same shot as the previous shot on the beach but will be in the same location. The couple however will still be in the same clothing as the beach shot before as it will all be filmed on the same day. This shot will be edited in with the lyrics, 'I see forgiveness...'
When the lyrics 'right there where they belong...' the shot of the female lead playing the piano will show again, this will be shot at the same time as the beginning shot however will be different to the beginning shot as it will be a medium shot.


On the next page the first shot shows the couple sitting on a bench that's looking out onto the beach. This is a medium shot that will be edited to the lyrics 'I know I'm not alone...' this will be filmed on the same day at the beach so the characters will again be wearing the same clothes to fit in with the storyline.
In the next shot the couple will be in the waves just playing around, this will be mid shot and close up shot, they will be wearing the same clothes and will be filmed on the same day, this will be edited to the lyrics 'when the waves are flooding the shore...'.
Edited to the lyric 'you appear just like a dream to me...' the shot will show the female lead on the beach on her own, wearing the same clothes that she was when she was with the boy. This is the part where the storyline begins to change. This will also be a long shot.
The next shot on the storyboard is almost the same as the previous shot but it will be at a different angle.
The shot after that will be the same shot as when the two of them were sitting on the bench however she will be on her own.
The final shot in the storyboard is a long shot showing the female lead standing over a grave. This is when the storyline comes to light to the audience, showing that the male lead is dead and that the shots shown before with the two of them together where all in her imagination.

Mind Map

For my media project task to create a film trailer or music video, I began to put some inital ideas down onto paper in the style of a mind map. Before I started writing them up I had to choose whether I was going to make a music video or a film trailer and came to the conclusion that I would make a music video.
The mind map shows my ideas for target audience, songs, themes, genre of music, locations, characters, stories and costume. I also wrote down a list of jobs that would need to be done. After I had written down all my ideas, I was then able to decide which ideas would be possible to achieve and the ways in which I could make my music video a success.

Mood Board

To gain inspiration for my music video I put together a moodboard. The pictures in the moodboard are mainly settings, pictures that will help me with ideas for colours, textures, costume and location e.g. the beach and the woods. By putting the pictures together I could see if the locations, colours, costume and textures contrasted well together in able to make a good video. I also used pictures that would appeal to my chosen target audience so I cut most of them out from fashion magazines that are also targeted towards our chosen target audience.

Focused Analysis 3, Mise-en-Scene: This Too Shall Pass, OK Go

I have chosen to use the music video This Too Shall Pass by Ok Go to focus on Mise-en-Scene.
I have chosen this video to focus on as the music video relies on it's props to create the video. The video starts of with one of the band members looking at the camera. He then puts on his goggles and pushes a small toy car into a row of dominos. This then sets of the chain reaction that runs throughout the whole video. By using random objects such as balls, slides, cups, light, umbrellas and balloons the audience can't look away as they watch the chain reaction of objects start off small then get bigger and bigger until eventually splattering the band members with paint.

Focused Analysis 1, Characters: Because of You, Kelly Clarkson

I've chosen to focus on Kelly Clarkson's music video Because of You for character analysis.
The storyline of Kelly Clarkson’s music video Because of You shows Kelly as a character in the video. She is arguing with her husband in their house. The frame then freezes as she her younger self in the mirror. The little girl then takes her back to the past and shows Kelly parents arguing. The story continues as it shows her parents throwing objects at each other, her mother taking drugs and her father leaving. By going back to her past this makes Kelly realise that she doesn’t want to be like them so she goes back to her present and makes things right with her husband.
Kelly Clarkson as the artist is the main character of the story. Her character shows the typical mother and wife arguing with her husband, the little girl in the story shows Kelly as a young girl as Kelly looks in the mirror and sees the little girl as her own reflection. Then the characters of Kelly's 'parents' are introduced. They show a typical arguing couple and a typical broken family. The shot at the end of the video then shows a typical happy family after Kelly's reminder of her past.

Detailed Analysis 2 - We Used To Wait, Arcade Fire

A new music video by Arcade Fire...

The indie band Arcade fire have taken technology to it's newest extreme. With the song 'We Used to Wait' off their new album The Suburbs they have converged a normal music video with the use of internet/web 2.0, HTML5, Google Maps and music.

This new kind of music video gives the audience their own personal experience. By using Google Chrome and going to "The Wilderness Downtown" web page the viewer can type in the post-code of their childhood home and watch a video of their own making as a band member runs through the streets. The story-line of the video shows how time is slipping away as trees shoot up from nowhere on the personalized street, then the opportunity to write a letter to your younger self appears which makes the video more personal. The song is also about childhood so it fits in well with the video.

The video uses timed playback, synchronized effects and custom window sizes for the video and animated content. The audio, video and canvas tags are used in HTML5 to create the fullest effect. The product just how well the video works and what's possible with HTML5 and emerging web standards.