Outfits and Props

We are in the process of deciding which outfits and props to use for our actor and actress.

Outfits

for the girl-

Outfit 1 - All black (top, skirt, tights) for when she is depressed and arguing with the boyfriend. Also possibly for the dead scene.

Outfit 2 - A white dress, used for happier memories. Also for the running scene, the girl could be wearing this to symbolize how she is holding on to the relationship.

for the boy -

The boy needs to be wearing just a casual top and jeans, stereotypical clothes. if he was wearing anything significant, it would look a bit odd as the focus would be taken off the girl.

Fortunatley we all have the outfits avaliable prior to filming; ap

art from the cream dress which I had wanted for ages- and it's need for the music video gave me a perfect excuse to buy it!

Props

Our main prop is the roses which we got for 2.99 on our trip to sainsburys

We also need some pills for the overdose scene, therefore we bought a pound worth of paracetomol also from sainsburys.

Charlotte's House

We have decided to do most of the filming at Charlotte's house. It is spacious and not too far from the school, and as most of us can drive it is easily accessible. She also has a back yard which is massive and very useful for the outside scenes. Her kitchen, lounge and bedroom provide perfect rooms for creating our video in.

Here is the back view of her house

Our First Attempt at Filming

Location Shots

We have all been out and taken some shots of possible locations, both as a group and individually.

Here are the shots we took as a group. These are of a church and graveyard in Horton Kirby; which would be used for the scene after the girl's death and possibly before, as a prolepsis of what is to come.

Permission to use our track

I have still not received a response regarding the copyright of the video. Therefore, we are going to presume that it is ok to use the video, as if there was an issue, the company would probably have contacted us by now. Obviously, I will keep checking my email and if a response is received, we will have to act accordingly.

Animatic

Charlotte, being the only artistically gifted member of the group, has created a storyboard and animatic for our video. This is vital to our planning as we will get a sense of timing and better knowledge of lyrical analysis and what we actually need to film.

Here are the pictures which she drew for the animatic;

Here is the animatic itself;

Obviously, not every intricate detail will be able to be captured in the animatic. Therefore, the video itself may look a little bit different.

Music Channels

Being a controversial music video, i don't think that it will be broadcasted on mainstream music channels such as MTV and Kiss.

I think the most likely channels to show the video are more rocky, edgy channels such as Kerrang! and Q.

• owned by box television
• plays requested videos
• sometimes has segments of just one artist eg. Green Day or You Me at Six. However, artists such as Eminem have videos played often, which is a cause for controversy.
• Many videos have to be censored because they are so controversial
• A spin-off of the magazine

I think that our video would fit onto this channel because it is quite controversial, fitting in with the theme. Additionally, Band of Horses fit in with the category set by Green Day and You Me at Six. They are also the type of band that I can imagine being featured in Kerrang magazine, as they fit that image.

• operated by box television
• specific genres = media, rock and alternative

This channel always broadcasts songs with a similar genre to our song, thus I think that the song might fit here.

Preparing to Film

We are finally preparing to film some of our music video.

Our first filming will take place on 24th November.

We do not have any actors available for the time that we will film, so we will just film the events which will not need a face shot for.

These will be shots such as

• a rose falling out of a girls' hand
• petals being torn off the rose
• a nasty text being sent to the girls' phone
• cyber bullying

This will provide a useful foundation for our video, as we will manage to film a lot of bridging shots on this day.

Looking at Existing Products - Magazine Advertisements

The next step in our research is to look at existing products so we can gain a firm grasp of the conventions of digipak advertisements.

This is advertising santogold's single "lights out". It was obviously created a few years ago, as it dates 11-08-08.
I really like this advert, of all the ones I looked at it really stood out to me. It is abstract and has a plurity of meanings, however from the imagery of calm green leaves and the almost childlike font, I would guess that the song is a happy song. Background is important, and I think that ours will have to be dark to symbolize the negativity of the song.
The image of the two people facing each other is striking and potent on the page. We are definatley interested in having a strong image on the advert, as we believe that it can microcosm the song.

This advert is for ellie goulding "lights" and it is infact the same picture which is used on the digipak. The calm, almost sepia colours are consistent with the ballad style of her music. In addition, the fact that it is called "lights" and all the text is lit up conveys the literal meaning of the album. She also looks like she has a million little "lights" in her hair.

In the magazine advertisement, we must remember these things:

• the background must be genre-specific
• all photos must be genre-specific
• it must be eye catching and interesting, drawing in the target audience
• it must contain the band name, the album / song name, the release date, and where it is released
• it could contain some ratings or awards, such as if it was rated "album of the year"
• the font must be appropriate to the mood and tone

Research into Magazine Advertisements

One of our chosen ancillary tasks is to produce a magazine advertisement. Therefore we have to carry out research into this field.

While looking, I found this article, which gives an interesting summary of magazine advertisements and the purpose of them.

After reading this article and a few more websites, I have decided that the main purposes of a magazine advertisement, specifically for an album, are to:

• engage the audience
• identify the correct target audience through the advertisement
• give a brief overview of the tone of the product (ie. tone of the album and music)
• maintain a house style through the genre of music and other related products (in our case this is the digipak)

Therefore, we have identified that the advertisement must be eye catching, but also genre specific therefore it must be quite dark and gloomy, as this matches our music. It must be appealing to our target audience, which we have identified to be 15-25 year olds of both genders. Therefore, we must have a sophisticated style, as even though some members of our target audience are quite young, they will have mature tastes as the music deals with controversial issues.

Digipak Research

Digipak

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article's references may not meet Wikipedia's guidelines for reliable sources. Please help by checking whether the references meet the criteria for reliable sources. (July 2009)

Example of: 6 panel right-tray clear gloss UV digipak.

Digipak is a patented^[1] style of compact disc or DVD packaging, and is a registered trademark of AGI Media, a MeadWestvaco, Inc. resource, which acquired the original trademark holder, IMPAC Group, Inc., in 2000. MeadWestvaco licensed the name and designs to manufacturers around the world.

[edit]History

Digipaks typically consist of a gatefold (book-style) paperboard or card stock outer binding, with one or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside. Since Digipaks were among the first alternatives to jewel cases to be used by major record companies, and because there is no other common name for Digipak-style packaging made by other companies, the term digipak or Digi-Pak^[2] is often used generically, even when the media holder is a hub or "Soft Spot"^[3] rather than a full plastic tray.

Digipak-style packaging is often used for CD singles or special editions of CD albums and the tall DVD Digipak (DVDigipak)^[4] is used as a premium package for DVDs and DVD sets. Because such packaging is less resistant to abrasion than jewel cases, it tends to show signs of wear relatively quickly. Licensed digipak manufacturers such as domestic U.S. printer and disc replicator Oasis Disc Manufacturing^[5]recommend coating the raw printed paper with a protective UV coating, thus ensuring greater longevity.

Although less vulnerable to cracking than a jewel case, the disc tray inside the package (particularly the "teeth" of the hub which secure the disc in place) remains rather brittle and is prone to cracking if the package is crushed. Digipak-style cases grew in popularity among record labels and recording artists in the early 2000s.

Manufacturers have sought to reduce environmental impact and improve functionality by introducing recycled components into its trays; one has announced a 100% post-consumer PET tray made from recycled bottles,^[6] which also eliminates the need for the brittle "teeth". Many printers use recycled or sustainable material for the board stock.

Historically, Digipak was only available in large quantities. However, AGI has recently introduced a new product called digipak i-create for the consumer market. Digipak i-create is a web-supported concept that is aimed at the download, music, photo and creative markets.

One of the most recent albums having an digipak only release on US is Teenage Dream by Katy Perry.

Ancillary Task Options

We have decided to do these options alongside the video:

• A cover for its release as part of the digipak (CD/DVD package)
• A magazine advertisement for the digipak.

These seemed the best way to utilize our skills as we all have previous photoshop experience.

The Rose

A rose will be a strong icon to represent their love used throughout the creation of the music video. An idea we have thought of is for the boyfriend to give the girl a rose in a flashback, which will then be quickly cut to in the duration of the video; for example in a rage it could be in a vase which she could knock over and smash, however leaving the rose intact. This would represent her whole world falling to pieces but her love (which is clearly unrequited) still present- which is the cause of the problem. She will also be holding this rose when dead in the opening scene, and at the end when the funeral takes place it will be put onto her grave.

Shotlist

Ideas for Locations to use

A house will be a primary location, to use for shots such as looking through old pictures, possibly the opening shot where the girl is laying in a metaphorical coffin

A field/ wood for scenes containing memories, and also potentially scenes for the girl on her own, showing her loss and desperation

A graveyard where the actual funeral will take place

Possibly a road which will contain flashback scenes of happier times

Letter to Copyright Holder

I have written a letter to the company who owns the track "The Funeral".

This is subpop records.

Here is a draft of the letter which I have sent :

Dear Copyright Holder,

I am an A level student and I am writing to request your permission to use one track from the first album by Band of Horses entitled “Everything All The Time”

The track I wish to use is “The Funeral”, track 4 on the album.

With your permission, this track would be used in my current A-level Media Studies project which involves creating a music video for a popular music track, as well as producing an album and a magazine advert for the artist.

If I received your permission, this track would ONLY be used in an educational context and be viewed by my media class, my teacher and the OCR exam board moderator. It would NOT be released to a large audience or uploaded to any public video websites.

The artist and your company would of course be fully recognized throughout pre- production and the final video itself. A copyright notice, with wording supplied by you can be included in the records of the project. If this is required, please send full details.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Claire Martin

Here is a print screen of the actual email which I sent off :

Important Times

These are times worthy of noting down, so when story-boarding we will know how to time each shot and when to change scenes etc.

0:22 = end of instrumental, person starts singing

1:03 = person starts singing choral notes

1:22 = drum beat starts, pace speeds up

1:57 = drums stop, pace slows

2:00 = very fast and sudden drum beat

2:46 = cymbal, gradually dies out and there are 2 seconds of silence

2:49 = music starts again slowly

3:08 = music quickens, drum starts again

3:39 = starts to fade out

3:44 = song ends

Planning our Storyboard

girl is lying dead

she is writing note

zoom to suicide note "sorry, i love you"

gets up and goes out

sees ex boyfriend and new girlfriend sitting on a bench - standing behind them with jealousy

flashbacks to happier times - eg. a picnic with her boyfriend but then a cut to her sitting on her own

interrupted by quick shots of her angry and frustrated

walking through a forest in rain/ darkness - isolated and alone

texts or facebook being used - cyber bullying - a text from her boyfriend

anger and frustration

Alysha has written a detailed plan for the video, which will then be developed into a storyboard. You can see this here.