Storyboarding

Over the past few weeks in our group, we have been creating a step by step guide on the lyrics sheet of ideas that we want to include in the music video. This enables us to keep our piece organised with ideas that we both want to be included in the video.

After finishing the step by step sheet, we began to make a rough version of our storyboard, saying which shots we wanted where. This took about two days to complete as it took us a while to draw the images and get the right points we wanted the shots. To make the piece flow during the narrative part, we have constructed a script for our two actors to perform and if this is performed well and we are able to see the lips move clearly, some members of the audience may be able to tell what the actors are saying.

Having completed the rough version of the storyboard, we have now begun to make the final version from the rough version; this will allow us to decide on the final ideas and then start to film.

We have taken a few ideas from existing videos such as close ups of the singer from Paramore's Crushcrushcrush. This seemed like a suitable idea as the singer of our piece is the star of our video and close ups would reinforce this in the audience's mind. I like this style of shot as you focus on just one member more than others but this could also cause conflict with other members within the band.

We have also used slow motion during parts of the narrative from You Me At Six's Finders Keepers as it exaggerates the feel of the particular scene. I like this effect as it adds more emotion to the video and the audience are able to understand it more as there is more emphasis on it.

No Health and Safety issues

Digipack Cover

We decided to use Paramore's song I Caught Myself from the original soundtrack, Twilight. As the song has come from a film, there is already an album for the song that exists. This would make it more complicated for us as we would have to ask for permission from the copyright owner of Twilight as well as Paramore which we have already done (see blog). Therefore we have come to a decision in our group to produce a new album called The Best So Far. This is practical as it means we are using the song correctly and other artists/record labels in the music industry do this regularly, for example Queen, The Greastest Hits. This allows them to resell the same song again and again which means they make more money.

Script for Video

While making the storyboarding, we have decided on having parallel storieslines. We have decided on having one story line focusing on the band and the performance of the singer and the other on a girl who wants to break up with her boyfriend but isn't sure if that is what she wants.

As we have have the couple arguing, we have chosen to write a script for the parts where the girl and her boyfriend are arguing, so that Helena (girl) and Danny (boy), have something to act out. We have also constucted stage directions for the other characters to make it easier for them so they know what they are doing. This will halp the audience to understand the song and the story behind it correctly but also help the actors to perform in the right way.
To make the scripting and storyboarding easier to understand we have decided to give the characters in the video names to show clearly who is in which shot.

Girl/Singer = Drew
Boy = Elliot
Guitarist = Steve
Bassist = Alex
Drummer = Hollie
Drew's Friends = Naomi M and Naomi H

Singer/Girl Drew Costume

We've decided to base the singer/girl's costume on the singer from Paramore, Hayley Williams. We have both been finding similar outfits to Hayley's.
Whilst collecting clothing items, we have researched Paramore images and then a little more specifically, searching for just Hayley Williams images.

Between us we have produced, a customised jumper, saying the character's name (Drew) on it and singer on the back created on Spreadshirt.net, we also made a pair of tight with two different coloured legs made from two pairs of tights, and a customised T-shirt with HYPNOTIC written on it similar to one Hayley has worn saying RIOT.

Script

I wrote this script for the narrative to make it authentic so that the actors had something to say from a rehearsed script rather than saying something off the top of thier heads.
We also decided to give the characters names instead of calling them girl and boy.

Part 1

(shot 14) Drew - (shouts at Elliot) "I should have never thought of you"

(shot 16) Elliot- (pushes Drew away, then pulls her back towards him) "You need to make up your mind"

(shot 17) Drew - "But i don't know what i want "

Part 2

(shot 19) (Drew talking with friends, Elliot walks past)

(Drew chatting about a party thats coming up, able to improvise )

(shot 20) (Elliot walks past and calls over to Drew)

(shot 21) (Drew turns to Elliot)

Part 3

(shot 29)Drew - "I don't want to talk to you, i'm with my friends"

Elliot - "You need to tell me if you have made up your mind"

(shot 30) Drew -" Your not (pushes Elliot) listening (pulls him back)"

(shot31) Drew - "I HATE YOU!"

(Elliot tries to grab Drew as she walks off)

Part 4

(shot 37) (Drew goes crazy at Elliot and tries to slap him, but he blocks it, able to improvise aregument)
(Elliot is trying to calm Drew down)

Part 5

(shot 40) (Drew and Elliot still arguing)

(shot 41) (Still arguing, Drew has clamed down)

(shot 47) (Drew and Elliot walk away from each other)

Costumes

Because we have decided to do a Paramore music video, we have decided to base the outfits for our main character, the singer/girl, on the lead singer, Hayley Williams. To do this, researched a few image of the entire band just to see if we can create some of the outfits of the other characters on the other members of the band.

Location Scouting

In our group we have got our actors sorted. We have now been discussing where certain scenes in the storyboard should take place to set the right mood. Because we have not yet completed our storyboard none of our locations are final, but we have both been researching local and suitable locations with resoning behind them. Near to Stef's house, (my partner in my group) in Hemswell Cliff, is an old airfield, this area is now used as the market and car boot.

We have been discussing this as a location for the scenes of the band as it is quite stage like. the image above also shows stairs leading up to it, which means the camera can be positioned at a lower angle to give different effects. We also like this location becasue the atmosphere suggests isolation and desertion and this could reflect how the girl/singer is feeling because she is confused about her feelings for her boyfriend.

We had considered this location as it has a flat surface so that the band can be on an equal level, but we do not think we are using it as the pebbles on the floor would make the drums unstable and this would set a challenge for the drummer.

We did consider this as a possible location but there is the issue of people walking past in the background of the shot as it is near a group of houses. When shooting the video we want to surroudings to be free of people.

We considered this location also because it is flat, allowing the camera to be positioned so it is steady during shooting but this location is not as effective as other locations as it does not really represent how the girl/singer is feeling.

As we have a large amount of spare time during school, this enables us to go looking for locations around the school and various places in Market Rasen.
While doing this, we took pictures of the school field, like the locations in Hemswell Cliff, we thought that this particular location could be useful for the band shots we have in our storyboard.

Casting

After discussions within our pair, we decided that one of us should be the singer as using other people could cause problems as they may have schdueling problems and the singer is a central character in our plan.
We have also chosen, out of a selection of reliable people, to be the band for our piece. Before we started any storyboarding, we took pictures of the key characters for our piece then also some extras.

Characters and Actors Chosen To Portray Them

Singer/Girl: Helena Atkinson
Boy: Danny Cooper
Guitarist: Steve Ward
Bassist: Alex Dodds
Drummer: Hollie Heron-Stamp
Girl's Friends: Kim Spaven, Naomi McCready, Naomi Hughes

As we have chosen to do a Paramore song for our video, we decided that for the members of the band, we were going to have only one boy as in the band, Paramore, there is only one girl, the singer - Hayley Williams.

Helena Atkinson

Danny Cooper

Alex Dodds

Hollie Heron-Stamp

Steve Ward

Naomi Hughes

Naomi McCready

Naomi McCready

Additional Material For Song Choice

Lyrics

Down to you
You're pushing and pulling me down to you
But I don't know what I...

Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself
I'm saying something that I should have never thought
Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself
From saying something that I should have never thought of you

Of you...
You're pushing and pulling me down to you
But I don't know what I want
No I don't know what I want

You got it, you got it
Some kind of magic
Hypnotic, hypnotic
You're leaving me breathless
I hate this, I hate this
You're not the one I believe in
With God as my witness

Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself
I'm saying something that I should have never thought
Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself
From saying something that I should have never thought of you

Of you...
You're pushing and pulling me down to you
But I don't know what I want
No I don't know what I want

Don't know what I want
But I know it's not you
Keep pushing and pulling me down
But I know in my heart it's not you

Hmmm... Ohh..

Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself
From saying something that I should have never thought
Now when I caught myself, I had to stop myself
From saying something that I should have never thought of you
I knew, I know in my heart it's not you
I knew but now I know what I want, I want, I want
Oh no, I should have never thought.

Tabs
Guitar
Bass

Song Choice

Within our pair, we decided that we would like to produce a music video for Paramore's I Caught Myself. This track is not featured on any of their own albums but appears on the OST for the recently released film, Twilight. We wanted to use this song because we liked the thought of having a female singer and we also wanted to include some band members and Paramore fit our catagory perfectly. We chose I Caught Myself as Paramore have not made a video for the song, which is easier for us not to copy ideas from the video and it also had a strong story in it and it allowed us to think of various ideas.

Thoughts

We contacted Paramore over Myspace to ask for permission to use the song as they are the copyright holders. Closer version underneath.

Questionnaire For Research

Questions and - All answers are direct quotes from questionnaires

1. Are you male or female?
   
   Male - 10
   
   Female - 10
   
   
2. How old are you?
   
   16 - 5
   
   17 - 11
   
   18 - 2
   
   19 - 0
   
   Other - 2
   
   
3. In your opinion, what makes a good music video?
   
   ● Sexy dancers, the artist actually singing.
   ● Varying the camera angles is useful to capture the setting and show the emotion of the singer. It also has to have a social message and reflect the song lyrics.
   ● A good artist with a good song.
   ● A good performance by the band or a good expression of the lyrics.
   ● A storyline various different shots and good directing.
   ● Good music, good band, clear story behind song.
   ● The band playing their music, in an environment that isn't the general norm.
   ● A song with a meaning and video to show the message and make it memorable.
   ● Comedy, action, and close-ups of band.
   ● The lyrics with a story behind them and a video that matches.
   ● Good music and good looking women.
   ● A good song.
   ● Dramatic, memorable.
   ● The acting and song.
   ● A mixture of band and storyline shots.
   ● Band shots...if the lyrics demand good narrative shots...something original which lets me talk it and identifies it immediately.
   ● Performance shots, no continuity shots, action match, a good song! Women.
   ● The abnd and video quality.
   ● Where it follows the story in the song.
   ● Good artist with a good song.
   
   
   
4. What's more important in a music video? And why?
   
   1) The performance by the/a band - 3
   2) The story used to express the lyrics - 11
   3) The camerawork - 2
   4) The editing - 0
   5) The star (character the audience are supposed to focus upon) - 0
   6) Effects - 1
   7) All - 1
   8) More than one option but not all - 1
   
   
   Reasons
   
   1A) So that the band can express themselves and show off their music and who they are so that people can get to know them.
   
   1B) Because the music counts.
   
   2A) It involves the viewer more and keeps them interested.
   
   2B) Helps to promote the band's message.
   
   2C) Wouldn't be a good video if it wasn't related to the song.
   
   2D) Because it is expanding on the song/band.
   
   2E) This is more important as this brings out the song.
   
   2F) Every song has a hidden meaning behind it and it makes it far more interesting that physically or performed in some manner.
   
   2G) The stroy needs to link to the lyrics
   
   2H) Expands on the song.
   
   2I) Because it helps to understand the meaning of the lyrics.
   
   2J) It has to follow. Not be a load of mindless rubbish.
   
   2K) Gives the song purpose and inspiration.
   
   3A) Different shots and angles keep audience engaged.
   
   3B) Boring camerawork is dull and tiring.
   
   6) Because they are.
   7) All mentioned above, a good music video must contain all of the above and somehow stand out from all the other music videos.
   
   8A) The performance by the/a band and Effects - Special effects are aesthetically pleasing. Seeing the band doing what they do best (performing) is good.
   
   8B) The performance by the/a band and Effects -Because if it's a rubbish band and the video tacky you're less likely to watch it.
   
   
   
5. Is better to have band members just performing the song and non-band members performing to narrative?
   
   Yes - 11
   
   No - 9
   
   
6. Do female stars attract more attention than male stars? And why?
   
   Yes - 9
   
   No - 11
   
   
   Reasons
   
   Yes
   
   
   1) Their voices are more soothing and they are singing poignant and emotional songs.
   2) Because girls would like to like the female star and boys would like to be with the female star.
   3) Female stars tend to be better actors and more filling in most of the roles.
   4) Because boys are scruffy.
   5) Because they are more female performers.
   6) Because I'm a man and I'm not gay.
   7) To me...maybe because I'm merely a male.
   8) Attraction of the male gaze.
   9) Because usually of what clothes they wear.
   
   
   
   No
   
   
   1) It's the music that counts.
   2) Depends who is watching the video.
   3) Because it's normally the music that attracts the attention rather than the gender of the singer.
   4) Girls tend to fall for the male stars and therefore this makes more popular.
   5) Both sexes attract attention depending on how good their talent is.
   6) Both sexes attract attention.
   7) It varies on gender e.g. girls more likely to focus on boys etc.
   8) Depends on situation.
   9) It depends on intended audience.
   10) If I like the song I'll watch the video to see if I like it.
   11) It comes down to the music they create, not the gender.
   
   
7. Is the location important to the video and why?
   
   1) No just relevant to the song.
   2) No, as long as the video reflects the lyrics.
   3) Not really, but should be kept relevant to the song if possible.
   4) Yes, sets tone for story behind music.
   5) Yes because the location adds to the feel of the video.
   6) Yes, reflects story/emotion of song.
   7) Yeah, it has to go well with the story.
   8) It's important if there is a particular place where the video wants to be based or if there is a particular theme.
   9) Yes, follows the song's story or emphasises it.
   10) No because it it the lyrics you focus on.
   11) Yes to set a mood.
   12) Yes - a music video in Grimsby would be sh*t.
   13) Yes it needs to be relevant to what's going on.
   14) Yes, sets the scene.
   15) Yes, because the location can help create meaning.
   16) Yes. All aspects of mise-en-scene contributes to a mood.
   17) Yes, it keeps audiences attention. A rubbish location means a rubbish video.
   18) Depends on how the story is being told and what effect they want, so yeah.
   19) It is important in that it needs to fit with the song.
   20) No just relevant to the song.
   
   
   
8. Are special effects needed in a music video or are they unnecessary? And why?
   
   1) They enhance it but they are not needed. USE SPARINGLY!!!
   2) Yes, for certain songs as they are enticing.
   3) Not needed if it's with a good song but they help, not a good video if there's too many.
   4) Sometimes, helps portray story of song/video.
   5) I think it depends on the video as they might not be needed.
   6) No, not necessary as too many can be confusing.
   7) I think they are unnecessary, they are just there to make it appear more interesting but most of the time they are just annoying.
   8) They can be necessary in some videos depending on what the song is, some special effects can make videos and songs look good and spoil others.
   9) No, depends on artist.
   10) Yes but not a lot.
   11) They can improve a video for visual pleasure.
   12) Yes - makes the video cool.
   13) It depends on the theme of the video.
   14) Depends on the song.
   15) They can or cannot be used, it depends on the type of song.
   16) It depends on what mood you want to create and how you want to create it.
   17) I believe you need to include some effects as a priority to show or amplify a character or event.
   18) Again depends but most nearly all do.
   19) Not needed - seen some very good ones without.
   20) The special effects help the lyrics stand out.

Initial Ideas For Music Video - Selection Of Songs

Sum 41 - Fat Lip
Singer - 2 Males
Teenages growing up in the suburbs, going to parties, hanging out with our friends and causing trouble.

Evenescence - Everybody's Fool
Singer - Female
About celebrities who have completely false images.

The Veronicas - Everything I'm Not
Singer -2 females
2 girls trashing a car of an ex-boyfriend, for cheating, by painting and smashing the car with paint buckets while the ex-boyfriend lookes on from a video camera.

Nickelback - Photograph
Singer - Male
Looking at a photo brings back memories of childhood/adolescence.

Paramore - i Caught myself
Singer - Female
A girl who is wanting to get away from an obsessive boyfriend but is finding it hard to leave him.

Foo Fighters - Best Of You
Singer - Male
About breaking away from the things that are getting in your way.

Initial Research For Digipack Cover

This cover is for the OST for Twilight which has such artists as: Paramore, Linkin Park and Muse featured on it.

I love the layout of this album cover because the two characters give the sense of a personal relationship between them. Anyone looking at this album cover would know this becasue the male is leaning over the girl protecting her and she is pressed against his chest.

I really love this cover as all of the colour has been saturated out of the picture which highlights the title. The cover suggests that this person is the star of the band.

The following album covers are the album covers of Paramore's albums.

Im not very keen of this front cover becasue, there is nothing on it that makes it interesting or stand out. We may not use something similiar to this as it is dull.

I really like this image as you can see the four band members, performing live, and it draws you in as it is natural where as others are all staged and impersonal. We may use something similiar to this for our piece as it draws your attention to it as you see more than just lead singer who many are drawn to.

I Also really love this cover as there are the four band members and then the name of the album scribbled round them and i think this is a really good effect to use. This is also another album idea that we may use.

Initial Research For Magazine Advert

The use of bold writing in the centre of the magazine advert draws the reader's attention to it immediately and they are then drawn down to the text at the bottom of the advert. We may use bold writing in our own piece as it keeps the reader's attention and is very simple.

The use of bold writing in the centre of the magazine advert draws the reader's attention to it immediately and they are then drawn down to the text at the bottom of the advert. We may use bold writing in our own piece as it keeps the reader's attention and is very simple.

Initial Research For Music Video

Sum 41 – Fat Lip

This video has various shots before the singing starts of groups of youths causing trouble and doing stunts. When the singing does start the camera focuses on the singer to highlight the main subject at that point.
What I like about this music video is where it has been located. There is a small selection of different locations, but the main location is in a skate park.

Evanescence – Everybody’s Fool

This has two different sequences. One sequence is featuring the band, Evanescence, and another featuring the singer in a group of adverts. This is effective as it makes the lyrics easier to understand.
I think it is a really clever idea for the video because it sends a message out to people that you don’t have to change to be a person that everybody likes and admires.

Lenka – The Show

The establishing shot is the singer, Lenka, sitting on a park bench and as the camera zooms in on her she starts singing. I don’t really think that the video explains the lyrics as such but, it is still interesting to watch.

Soulja Boy Tell’ Em – Kiss Me Thru The Phone

This sequence is really interesting to watch. The video shows the singer, Soulja Boy doing his daily routine. When his girlfriend misses she calls him, and shoots a video of herself making a kissing face on her phone and sends it to him. Also through out the video there is a girl singing along to the song with her headphones on.

Black Eyed Peas - Boom Boom Pow

The video starts with flicking through pictures on a computer, they select an image of an explosion. The bands, The Black Eyed Peas, are then seen singing their verses of the song. While this is happening, dancers are seen in striped suits, dancing to the song, and negative images are turned into positive images.

Elliot Minor – Parallel Worlds

The band, Elliot Minor, are 'ghosts' at a dinner party, playing on a table in the room. The guests cannot see them but know something paranormal is happening, due to the shaking table.

Chosen Brief

During our first year of Media Studies, in a different group to what i am in now, we produced an opening title of a film that had to be at least two minutes long. We decided as a group to base ours on a thriller film, aimed at teenagers around the age 15+, because the people who took part in the making of the film where of the same age. If our film was to be exhibited outside of school, it would have been shown in a cinema or on DVD.

For our A Level piece, we have chosen the brief that asks us to make a promotion package for the release of a new album. This includes producing a music video as well as two of three other options: a website homepage for the band, a cover of the album's release as part of a digipak (CD/DVD package), or a magazine advert for the digipak. The video's audience can change depending on the genre of the music. Within our group we listen to a mixture of genres, in particular soft rock such as paramore. Music videos are shown on TV, generally on specialised channels, internet sites and mobiles.