Fire Safety-
In one clip, we have filmed Eddie going through a breakdown in whcih he contemplates setting the house alight. In this scene he lights a match. To ensure our safety, we had water buckets and blankets on the side, that that if the match was dropped or there were any other complications, these could be dealt with immediately. It assured the safety of us and the actors we were using. Previous to filming this scene, we had already considered the safety aspect of this and discussed safe ways that we could do it without endangering ourselves. We felt that we were prepared for any possible accidents, and these could be quickly resolved with the contigency plans we had in place.
Fight Scenes
Other scenes that may cause concern in terms of health and safety would be the multiple fight scenes that we have filmed. However, as our actors are well experienced, they are able to carry out these fight scenes without any physical contact and make it look real. It also took some clever camerawork with contrived angles to make these scenes look realistic. Nobody was harmed in the filming of these scenes.
Monday, 29 November 2010
Photos and Videos from Filming
The first image is our new actor who replaced Louise.
The second image was taken during a fight scene. In it you can see Eddie making physical contact with Bethany, however the scene this was taken from was reshot as Eddies body blocked a lot of the action taking place. We decided that Eddie strike her from a different angle so that it could be picked up by the camera much better and this way we could see the full extent of the fight.
The third image was taken from a low angle after Eddie has just push Bethany to the floor. The image reflects Eddies power and authority, and compliments his villian status.
This video shows the reshoot of the fight scene. Here you can see Eddie striking Bethany from a different angle which allows the camera to capture all the action.
We shot many scenes similar to this where Bethany is being physically abused by her boyfriend.
Filming and Justifications of Choices
Today we went back to our first location where we had previously shot scenes with Louise and Eddie. This time we were back with Eddie but we had bought Bethany along to replace Louise. Filming went ahead really well and we managed to gather a lot of different scenes that we will be able to use. In our video we will be including a flashback which will be many different short clips all played out with a quick flash of light between each. For this to be effective we will need a lot of very short clips that will fill a substancial amount of time. Therefore we took to the understanding that we would need as much footage as possible so that we could gather together the best clips for our music video. We spent around 2 and a half hours filming and managed to get a large variet of different fight scenes.
We got the initial set up filmed so that we could establish the setting and lifestyle that the two characters live. We wanted to film these scenes from Bethany’s point of view as we felt this would reflect her vulnerability and we wanted the viewers to be sympathetic with her story. We showed Bethany’s story by showing her home life to begin with. We did not show Eddies work life and did not shoot many scenes of Eddie on his own as we did not want viewers to fully understand this character. By doing this Eddie became an enigmatic character and people would then associate him with a stereotypical abusive boyfriend.
On the day of filming we managed to an evolving argument that begins at the dinner table when Eddie is unsatisfied with his dinner. He throws it on the floor and begins to shout in her face. While filming these scenes I began to think ahead to how I would edit this to make it even more dramatic. I considered implementing a slow motion effect on these fight scenes. I felt that this would really show the anger that was being portrayed by Eddies character. The fight scenes were very violent. We had Eddie slapping Bethany and knocking her to the ground, we also had him pulling her hair and once again knocking her onto the floor, we felt that this action showed Eddies authority over her. He was always pictured above her and this suggests superiority. Even during his apology scenes, Eddie is looking down at Bethany and once again stating his authority. I would like to mention here that no one was injured during the filming of our video. We used clever camera work and good acting to produce scenes that appeared to be more physical than they were.
We then shot Eddies breakdown scenes where he feels some remorse for his actions. He is aware that he has taken things too far and contemplates ending it all when he lights a match. He is drinking alcohol heavily which suggests that he is an alcoholic. We also shot Eddie with a drink at the dinner table to create some consistency in his alcoholism. We shot this scene from the same angle so that viewers would focus on the content of the scene rather than the angles changing. This way, we were able to capture this scene from the same viewpoint and this intensified the footage as you became drawn in to the scene.
After this we began filming Bethany’s breakdown, where we see her looking dolorous and depressed. She is crying. To show this on camera as often tears go unseen through the camera lens, we smudged black makeup over her face and then dabbed this with water to create the effect that her makeup had run due to excessive tears. This scene linked in with Eddies apology so we took it from a high angle that looked down on Bethany to keep consistency in the camera angles.
Camera angles-
We shot a low angle shot of Eddie that looked up at him to reflect his power and authority over Bethany. We shot close ups of both of their faces as this was important if we were to fully show their true emotions. We needed these close ups to show the dramatic contrast of fear and anger between the two characters.
Props-
Alcohol (Red Wine) Eddie is supposed to be an alcoholic and so we wanted to choose an alcoholic drink that is stereotypical of this. Initially when we shot the scenes with Louise, we used Smirnoff Ice (an Alco pop) We soon realised that this would not be acceptable and would appear comical that a grown man known to be an excessive drinker would be drinking Smirnoff Ice, a low alcohol drink associated with underage teenage drinkers. We decided red wine is a strong and powerful drink that suggests more about his addiction than a can of beer would, as stereotypically many men enjoy a can of beer. Eddie is seen throughout the filming (specifically the fight scenes) with his bottle of alcohol. It puts the idea at mind that he can't let go of it. During Eddies anger and violent behaviour, he always has his bottle at his side and some might suggest that it is to blame for his violent ways.
Eddies suit was also something we took into consideration. We wanted him to be wearing something that someone in a high up position at work would wear. We felt a suit suggested power and authority at work and also pressure. The suit reflected his work position and his stressful job that causes him to drink and to become violent. So to speak "he takes his frustrations from work out on his wife" The suit was the only way we could reflect this as we did not want to film any shots of Eddie at work as this would take the attention away from Bethany’s vulnerability and people may begin to sympathise with Eddies character which was not what we wanted at all.
We got the initial set up filmed so that we could establish the setting and lifestyle that the two characters live. We wanted to film these scenes from Bethany’s point of view as we felt this would reflect her vulnerability and we wanted the viewers to be sympathetic with her story. We showed Bethany’s story by showing her home life to begin with. We did not show Eddies work life and did not shoot many scenes of Eddie on his own as we did not want viewers to fully understand this character. By doing this Eddie became an enigmatic character and people would then associate him with a stereotypical abusive boyfriend.
On the day of filming we managed to an evolving argument that begins at the dinner table when Eddie is unsatisfied with his dinner. He throws it on the floor and begins to shout in her face. While filming these scenes I began to think ahead to how I would edit this to make it even more dramatic. I considered implementing a slow motion effect on these fight scenes. I felt that this would really show the anger that was being portrayed by Eddies character. The fight scenes were very violent. We had Eddie slapping Bethany and knocking her to the ground, we also had him pulling her hair and once again knocking her onto the floor, we felt that this action showed Eddies authority over her. He was always pictured above her and this suggests superiority. Even during his apology scenes, Eddie is looking down at Bethany and once again stating his authority. I would like to mention here that no one was injured during the filming of our video. We used clever camera work and good acting to produce scenes that appeared to be more physical than they were.
We then shot Eddies breakdown scenes where he feels some remorse for his actions. He is aware that he has taken things too far and contemplates ending it all when he lights a match. He is drinking alcohol heavily which suggests that he is an alcoholic. We also shot Eddie with a drink at the dinner table to create some consistency in his alcoholism. We shot this scene from the same angle so that viewers would focus on the content of the scene rather than the angles changing. This way, we were able to capture this scene from the same viewpoint and this intensified the footage as you became drawn in to the scene.
After this we began filming Bethany’s breakdown, where we see her looking dolorous and depressed. She is crying. To show this on camera as often tears go unseen through the camera lens, we smudged black makeup over her face and then dabbed this with water to create the effect that her makeup had run due to excessive tears. This scene linked in with Eddies apology so we took it from a high angle that looked down on Bethany to keep consistency in the camera angles.
Camera angles-
We shot a low angle shot of Eddie that looked up at him to reflect his power and authority over Bethany. We shot close ups of both of their faces as this was important if we were to fully show their true emotions. We needed these close ups to show the dramatic contrast of fear and anger between the two characters.
Props-
Alcohol (Red Wine) Eddie is supposed to be an alcoholic and so we wanted to choose an alcoholic drink that is stereotypical of this. Initially when we shot the scenes with Louise, we used Smirnoff Ice (an Alco pop) We soon realised that this would not be acceptable and would appear comical that a grown man known to be an excessive drinker would be drinking Smirnoff Ice, a low alcohol drink associated with underage teenage drinkers. We decided red wine is a strong and powerful drink that suggests more about his addiction than a can of beer would, as stereotypically many men enjoy a can of beer. Eddie is seen throughout the filming (specifically the fight scenes) with his bottle of alcohol. It puts the idea at mind that he can't let go of it. During Eddies anger and violent behaviour, he always has his bottle at his side and some might suggest that it is to blame for his violent ways.
Eddies suit was also something we took into consideration. We wanted him to be wearing something that someone in a high up position at work would wear. We felt a suit suggested power and authority at work and also pressure. The suit reflected his work position and his stressful job that causes him to drink and to become violent. So to speak "he takes his frustrations from work out on his wife" The suit was the only way we could reflect this as we did not want to film any shots of Eddie at work as this would take the attention away from Bethany’s vulnerability and people may begin to sympathise with Eddies character which was not what we wanted at all.
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Filming Day 2
Today we came to my house to film my scenes. This day was much more successful. It was just the three group members present, and I played the character of Kelly. We shot scenes on the common very near by to my house and in my garden. We also shot some filler clips. These were clips of me looking into the camera looking sad and clips of me walking towards the camera. These clips will be used to fill the instrumental parts of the song where Kelly does not sing. We did not gather all of the essential filming, and therefore we will need to come back another day to do this.
After looking back over the footage we shot on this day, I found that a lot of what we did took place outside and therefore we need to do some more filming in doors.
This day was much more successful than the previous. I am happy with the progress we are making.
After looking back over the footage we shot on this day, I found that a lot of what we did took place outside and therefore we need to do some more filming in doors.
This day was much more successful than the previous. I am happy with the progress we are making.
Monday, 15 November 2010
Filming Day 1
Today myself, my group and the actors got together to film the abusive boyfriend scenes. We only had two hours to get to Kerstins house; the location for filming and to film and get back to school, which left us with very little time. Our ideas were put accross to the actors who played the part. On the day everything was very rushed and the realisation that the task was not as simple as we'd anticipated soon dawned on all of us in the group.
The images below were taken on the day:
This is an image taken from the shooting of the dinner scene where we see the arguement erupt between the pair.
This is the result of the arguement. Louises character ends up on the floor after being pushed. As you can see in this image, Louise is laughing. This was not part of the script, and was one of the contributing factors to why much of the filming was useless.
This is Eddie during his breakdown, this is where we see him feeling the guilt for his recent actions against his girlfriend. Eddie turns to drink.
This is where we see Louises character become very emotional. In this image I was applying the make up. I used a lot of black eye make up and then smudged this with water to make it look as though she has been crying.
This is the end result of the make up.
The images below were taken on the day:
This is an image taken from the shooting of the dinner scene where we see the arguement erupt between the pair.
This is the result of the arguement. Louises character ends up on the floor after being pushed. As you can see in this image, Louise is laughing. This was not part of the script, and was one of the contributing factors to why much of the filming was useless.
This is Eddie during his breakdown, this is where we see him feeling the guilt for his recent actions against his girlfriend. Eddie turns to drink.
This is where we see Louises character become very emotional. In this image I was applying the make up. I used a lot of black eye make up and then smudged this with water to make it look as though she has been crying.
This is the end result of the make up.After watching back over the footage, as I mentioned before, much of it was useless. The main actor (Louise) seemed very evasive and unbothered by her role and this was shown in her performance. It lacked passion and she often giggled through scenes, which for the part she is playing as an abused girlfriend, is unsatisfactory.
After recent deliberations with the group, we have decided to re-shoot these scenes with a different actress playing Louises part. We will now be using Bethany for this part. She is someone who has taken acting lessons for a very long time and we have confidence that she will take the role much more seriously.
Friday, 12 November 2010
Actors
This post will explain the actors who will be used in our music video.
I have already explained that there will be a separate storyline which portrays the life of an abused girlfriend and then kelly singing in other locations.
The characters will be; the abusive boyfriend, the abbused girlfriend and Kelly. We wanted to keep the actors to a minimum as we wanted viewers to focus on the story. We also felt this would reflect the chlostrophobic lifestyle that Louises character leads, as though there was no escape.
I have already explained that there will be a separate storyline which portrays the life of an abused girlfriend and then kelly singing in other locations.
The characters will be; the abusive boyfriend, the abbused girlfriend and Kelly. We wanted to keep the actors to a minimum as we wanted viewers to focus on the story. We also felt this would reflect the chlostrophobic lifestyle that Louises character leads, as though there was no escape.
This is the character who plays the abusive boyfriend. He has a lot of acting experience, and in the past has taken on many roles for our varous other media products.
This is the character who plays the abused girlfriend. She also has some acting experience and played Britney Spears in our practice music video where she did a very good job. She is a very petite girl and we felt this would suit her character as a vulnerable scared woman.
This is me. I am playing the main character as Kelly Clarkson. We thought that I fitted the look of a "pop/rock" singer. We also thought that if someone from the group played this part it would be more convenient as I am always available during media lessons.
Thursday, 11 November 2010
Costume Choices
These are some outfit choices I have pulled together after the recent discussion I had with Natasha. I ensured that each outfit had at least one dark item of clothing to go with it to keep the rock theme consistent. I have also included the boots and denim shorts look that Pixie Lott wore as myself and Natasha both agreed this was a good look.
For Louises character (the abused girlfriend) we wanted her to be wearing all black. This dark colouring would reflect her state of depression.
For Eddie's character we wanted him to be wearing a suit. He is supposed to be someone who has a good job that causes him stress and this could be why he turns to drink and abuses his grilfriend. We thought the suit would suggest he demands authority in his job.
This was the costume we decided to go with in the end, The boots and shorts still in place however we changed to this top as we felt this baggy crop top look was very much in fashion at the moment.Planning- Representing Genre Through the Artist (Establishing "the look")
Today during our double Media lesson, we looked in close detail at how we would represent the genre through the artist. Unfortunately Kerstin was absent for these lessons so it was just myself and Natasha present. We needed to strongly consider the costume choices for the character playing Kelly (myself). First we needed to establish the genre of Kelly and we settled on "pop/rock" genre. We felt that Kelly closely links the boundaries of both and we would need to represent this in the way she dresses.
Using the internet, we researched previous music videos by Kelly as well as multiple images in order to gain a better understanding of her representation in music.
We noted many common features that we recognised;
Using the internet, we researched previous music videos by Kelly as well as multiple images in order to gain a better understanding of her representation in music.
We noted many common features that we recognised;
In this image, the colour scheme leans toward her rock reputation, however the overall look of the image conflicts with this statement. The blonde hair and pretty face links closer to her pop side. This is very typical of Kelly as she often combines the two genres together well to create a clever mix. The heavy eye makeup is something that caught my eye. It comes across very dramatic and is a key feature for creating the pop/rock look.
Once again we see the dramatic eye makeup, still consistently very dark. Something interesting to note about both of these images is Kelly's posture and facial expression. This goes beyond the external costume and make up choices. She appears to have attitude in both images. Her posture recalls that of someone considered to be feisty and extrovert. This, I believe is Kelly contradicting her pop image in order to be taken seriously as an artist. This is something we will definitely need to consider when creating the music video as well as the digipak and advert. This type of artist does not reflect the cheesy side of the pop genre. Another recurring feature is the dark clothing, we see here again a dark colour scheme implemented in order to reflect the rock side to this artist.
This image definitely reflects the rock side to Kelly and shows little trace of any pop influence. This image reminds me of something that could have been created for My Chemical Romance (a very rock oriented band.) It is very dark and very dramatic and it is very rock because of this. Once again we see dark clothing and a very mournful look has been created here. It is not a happy image which can be said for all three of the images I have spoken of.
We then discussed a look that we felt we could create for myself as the character of Kelly. We researched some more current artists who we felt fitted this same genre.
This is an image of Pixie Lott. We felt that she was a current artist who also fitted the look of a rock and pop artist. We analysed many of her outift choices and felt that we should style myself around this image. One thing that we liked was the boots and denim shorts. Being creative, I feel I am able to find outfits at my home that could create a similar look to this. However I will need multiple outfits throughout the music video which each express this genre.
Wednesday, 10 November 2010
Locations
During todays lesson we went out and took pictures of some possible locations that we could film at. We thought this would give us a good idea of what these locations would like on camera.
The acting scenes will take place at Kerstins house:
This house was chosen as Eddies character is supposed to have a good job which causes him a lot of stress. This will be portrayed when Eddie comes home from work dressed very smart in a suit. The house looks very presentable and as though it is in a nice area. This is why this house was chosen.
These images were taken in my garden. We wanted a nice greenery area and I proposed that we could film in my garden. I suggested that we could possibly film on the decking with the willow tree in the camera shot as this could create a pretty scene.
The acting scenes will take place at Kerstins house:
This house was chosen as Eddies character is supposed to have a good job which causes him a lot of stress. This will be portrayed when Eddie comes home from work dressed very smart in a suit. The house looks very presentable and as though it is in a nice area. This is why this house was chosen.
These images were taken in my garden. We wanted a nice greenery area and I proposed that we could film in my garden. I suggested that we could possibly film on the decking with the willow tree in the camera shot as this could create a pretty scene.
Tuesday, 9 November 2010
Utilising IT Resources
The conversation shown above is taken from Natashs's facebook page. As each of my group members has their own Facebook, we have been using this social networking site to communicate ideas and specify arrangements.Monday, 8 November 2010
Audience Profile for "Because of You" Music Video
Age:
I would assume that the targeted age group for this music video would be 14-25 year olds. This is quite a wide range, however I feel that pop music is a well established institution and is therefore enjoyed by many. The video will have to cater to the entirety of this age group. For the older generation of the market, we will include "dark" scenes. These will be the abusive boyfriend scenes. The story which is played out through these scenes will shock this age group and captivate them. For the younger generation will be the numerous clips of the artists, as we would assume that is their main interest. Pop artists are idolised by many adoring young fans and we will have to ensure that the video issues enough clips of the artist to capture their interest and keep their attention.
Gender:
I think for this song and video, targeting females will be our focal point. The video will be shocking as we create the story of a young girls struggle to defeat her boyfriend, we hope to win the hearts of the viewer and allow them to sympathise with the character. Stereotypically, we would associate this emotion with females, and as the troubled character is female this emotion intensifies. I do think that males would listen to and enjoy this song, however the ratio of male viewers would be much smaller.
Income:
Income would be irrelevant as many of the viewers would still be in education. However those that do work, would be 9-5, Monday - Friday workers so that they have the time to spend watching music videos.
Interests:
Obviously the audience for this song would be pop music enthusiasts. Some other artists which they may be interested in would be Britney Spears or Katy Perry. Big name artists who are well known on a worldwide basis. They would own an ipod and have around 20 songs from these artists I have mentioned. They would watch films such as "Love Actually" and other Romantic Comedies. Hollywood gossip would be important to them and they may read magazines which feature a lot about "celebrity scandal". All in all, celebrities are their idols.
I would assume that the targeted age group for this music video would be 14-25 year olds. This is quite a wide range, however I feel that pop music is a well established institution and is therefore enjoyed by many. The video will have to cater to the entirety of this age group. For the older generation of the market, we will include "dark" scenes. These will be the abusive boyfriend scenes. The story which is played out through these scenes will shock this age group and captivate them. For the younger generation will be the numerous clips of the artists, as we would assume that is their main interest. Pop artists are idolised by many adoring young fans and we will have to ensure that the video issues enough clips of the artist to capture their interest and keep their attention.
Gender:
I think for this song and video, targeting females will be our focal point. The video will be shocking as we create the story of a young girls struggle to defeat her boyfriend, we hope to win the hearts of the viewer and allow them to sympathise with the character. Stereotypically, we would associate this emotion with females, and as the troubled character is female this emotion intensifies. I do think that males would listen to and enjoy this song, however the ratio of male viewers would be much smaller.
Income:
Income would be irrelevant as many of the viewers would still be in education. However those that do work, would be 9-5, Monday - Friday workers so that they have the time to spend watching music videos.
Interests:
Obviously the audience for this song would be pop music enthusiasts. Some other artists which they may be interested in would be Britney Spears or Katy Perry. Big name artists who are well known on a worldwide basis. They would own an ipod and have around 20 songs from these artists I have mentioned. They would watch films such as "Love Actually" and other Romantic Comedies. Hollywood gossip would be important to them and they may read magazines which feature a lot about "celebrity scandal". All in all, celebrities are their idols.
Discussing the Possibilities
Myself and Kerstin used Facebook to discuss possible camera shots that we could use to incorporate the piano. Our discussion is shown below;
The links that Kerstin was sending me are as follows;
Saturday, 6 November 2010
My Own Ideas for the Music Video
Over the weekend I have been looking for inspiration for clips that we include in our music video. As a group we already mentioned that we would film a young girls struggle when dealing with her abusive boyfriend and Kerstin D'silva mentioned that we could film a scene where we see the boyfriend having a breakdown and showing him as an alcoholic/drug addict, however we needed some more ideas to be able to represent this story. I took it upon myself to do some outside research and began thinking about videos which have taken a similar path.
I found the video for "Love the way you lie" by Eminem and Rihanna, and felt that the "fight scene" from this video was very effective and that we could film something similar.
The link below will take you to this video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U&ob=nb_av2e
This sparked many more ideas and in my mind I began to create story with a beginning - to introduce/establish the story, a middle - to create impact on the viewer and catch their attention and an ending - to conclude the video and finalize the story.
My ideas are as follows;
Kelly looks into the camera (this will introduce the viewer to the artist.)
A clip of girlfriend on the bed and she hears that her boyfriend is home, she goes to look out of the window to check its him and she looks worried. (This should intrigue the viewer and when clip is cut back to Kelly singing, should leave them questioning why she is looking worried)
Back to a clip of Kelly singing (As this is a pop song, featuring the artist on multiple occasions is key, as this is what the younger viewer wants to see.)
Back to a clip of girlfriend pacing around her room looking anxious.
Clip of Kelly singing.
Back to girlfriend, and her boyfriend has come in and started an argument. This turn in to a fight where he becomes violent. I thought that maybe he could smash a glass or vase. (I thought that for this a slow motion effect would be really effective to show their emotions of fear in the girlfriend and anger in the boyfriend. Close up shots could also be done to show this.)
Kelly singing.
Clip of girlfriend crying on the floor with make up all over her face, looking very distressed. (Possible blood or injuries caused from the fight.)
Clip of boyfriend having a breakdown drinking alcohol, looks remorseful and so turns to drink.
Kelly singing.
Boyfriend apologizes to girlfriend, to which she reluctantly accepts. He hugs her and we see the girlfriend have a flash back to the fight they had earlier. This would be shot in a way that when the girlfriend is hugging her boyfriend we film a close up of her face/eye and use a "warp out effect" on iMovie HD which would follow on a clip of the fight that happened earlier. I thought something that would create a really good impact was if the broken glass/vase clip from the fight was shown in reverse so that we see the pieces come back together. It would be a subtle way of reflecting their relationship, that on the surface the pieces have been put back together, however we all know that this is a vicious circle and things this severe cannot be mended.
Kelly singing.
Clip of girlfriend leaving the house with her suitcase (I thought that the video needed an ending and so I came up with the idea of the girlfriend coming to the realization that things will not change and she must leave. It shows an act of bravery and concludes the video with a happy ending.
Final clip will be Kelly singing the final lyric "because of you" and then walking off or staring in to the camera.
The ideas that I have just written up are still very rough and I have not yet discussed them with my group, this is just my idea of how I think the video should take format and therefore, it is subject to change.
I am very keen on the success of this video, and therefore I am spending a lot of time researching and planning new ideas for scenes or effects. I am constantly looking for inspiration to spark an array of new ideas.
I found the video for "Love the way you lie" by Eminem and Rihanna, and felt that the "fight scene" from this video was very effective and that we could film something similar.
The link below will take you to this video;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uelHwf8o7_U&ob=nb_av2e
This sparked many more ideas and in my mind I began to create story with a beginning - to introduce/establish the story, a middle - to create impact on the viewer and catch their attention and an ending - to conclude the video and finalize the story.
My ideas are as follows;
Kelly looks into the camera (this will introduce the viewer to the artist.)
A clip of girlfriend on the bed and she hears that her boyfriend is home, she goes to look out of the window to check its him and she looks worried. (This should intrigue the viewer and when clip is cut back to Kelly singing, should leave them questioning why she is looking worried)
Back to a clip of Kelly singing (As this is a pop song, featuring the artist on multiple occasions is key, as this is what the younger viewer wants to see.)
Back to a clip of girlfriend pacing around her room looking anxious.
Clip of Kelly singing.
Back to girlfriend, and her boyfriend has come in and started an argument. This turn in to a fight where he becomes violent. I thought that maybe he could smash a glass or vase. (I thought that for this a slow motion effect would be really effective to show their emotions of fear in the girlfriend and anger in the boyfriend. Close up shots could also be done to show this.)
Kelly singing.
Clip of girlfriend crying on the floor with make up all over her face, looking very distressed. (Possible blood or injuries caused from the fight.)
Clip of boyfriend having a breakdown drinking alcohol, looks remorseful and so turns to drink.
Kelly singing.
Boyfriend apologizes to girlfriend, to which she reluctantly accepts. He hugs her and we see the girlfriend have a flash back to the fight they had earlier. This would be shot in a way that when the girlfriend is hugging her boyfriend we film a close up of her face/eye and use a "warp out effect" on iMovie HD which would follow on a clip of the fight that happened earlier. I thought something that would create a really good impact was if the broken glass/vase clip from the fight was shown in reverse so that we see the pieces come back together. It would be a subtle way of reflecting their relationship, that on the surface the pieces have been put back together, however we all know that this is a vicious circle and things this severe cannot be mended.
Kelly singing.
Clip of girlfriend leaving the house with her suitcase (I thought that the video needed an ending and so I came up with the idea of the girlfriend coming to the realization that things will not change and she must leave. It shows an act of bravery and concludes the video with a happy ending.
Final clip will be Kelly singing the final lyric "because of you" and then walking off or staring in to the camera.
The ideas that I have just written up are still very rough and I have not yet discussed them with my group, this is just my idea of how I think the video should take format and therefore, it is subject to change.
I am very keen on the success of this video, and therefore I am spending a lot of time researching and planning new ideas for scenes or effects. I am constantly looking for inspiration to spark an array of new ideas.
Planning and Research for Music Video
Today we had a double lesson which we spent researching and planning our music video. During this lesson, Natasha Breen was not present, so myself and Kerstin D'Silva took it upon ourselves to begin sharing our ideas and planning how we hope to produce the video.
The music video we will be creating is to a song by Kelly Clarkson called Because of you. This narrative song, needs a video which is as dramatic and effective as the lyrics and so we felt we would need to portray a story which would impact viewers with its raw honesty.
An idea that we liked was showing the struggle a young girl is going through dealing with an abusive boyfriend. The song is about Kelly reflecting on a past relationship that changed who she was and has left her feeling broken and insecure. We felt that the "abusive boyfriend" story would go hand in hand at reflecting the message of the song.
I thought it would be effective if the character who plays Kelly in the video, was not the person who acts out the story in the video. We thought we would have one character miming the lyrics in one place and completely separate settings and actors for the "abusive boyfriend" scenes. I felt that for our audience this would be appropriate as this song would be aimed at younger people, they would not want to see there favourite artist in a distressing condition. This is also something which is becoming very popular in recent videos as the following link will show you how Daniel Powter used this idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH476CxJxfg&ob=nb_av2e
Someone else, more recently who has used this idea are The Script in their new video "for the first time" the following link will take you to this video via youtube;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtCpC8jE_Cs&ob=nb_av2e
Previously, when we filmed our practice music video, we had many restrictions due to our chosen actors. It was very hard to find a time for filming that everybody was available and we therefore did not manage to get some filming shot, that we would have done otherwise. This time we felt it would be more efficient if one of the group members was to take on the lead role as "Kelly". I have put myself forward for this as I feel I will suit the "pop" image that we are looking for.
The other actors that we need are those who will play out the "abusive boyfriend" scenes.
So far I am under the impression that we will only need to other actors,this we will include the boyfriend and the girlfriend. I have arranged that Louise will be the character who will play the girlfriend. This is because she has previous acting experience and also she performed extremely well in our practice music video where she played Britney Spears. Currently, we are unsure of who will play the boyfriend in our video.
The music video we will be creating is to a song by Kelly Clarkson called Because of you. This narrative song, needs a video which is as dramatic and effective as the lyrics and so we felt we would need to portray a story which would impact viewers with its raw honesty.
An idea that we liked was showing the struggle a young girl is going through dealing with an abusive boyfriend. The song is about Kelly reflecting on a past relationship that changed who she was and has left her feeling broken and insecure. We felt that the "abusive boyfriend" story would go hand in hand at reflecting the message of the song.
I thought it would be effective if the character who plays Kelly in the video, was not the person who acts out the story in the video. We thought we would have one character miming the lyrics in one place and completely separate settings and actors for the "abusive boyfriend" scenes. I felt that for our audience this would be appropriate as this song would be aimed at younger people, they would not want to see there favourite artist in a distressing condition. This is also something which is becoming very popular in recent videos as the following link will show you how Daniel Powter used this idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gH476CxJxfg&ob=nb_av2e
Someone else, more recently who has used this idea are The Script in their new video "for the first time" the following link will take you to this video via youtube;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtCpC8jE_Cs&ob=nb_av2e
Previously, when we filmed our practice music video, we had many restrictions due to our chosen actors. It was very hard to find a time for filming that everybody was available and we therefore did not manage to get some filming shot, that we would have done otherwise. This time we felt it would be more efficient if one of the group members was to take on the lead role as "Kelly". I have put myself forward for this as I feel I will suit the "pop" image that we are looking for.
The other actors that we need are those who will play out the "abusive boyfriend" scenes.
So far I am under the impression that we will only need to other actors,this we will include the boyfriend and the girlfriend. I have arranged that Louise will be the character who will play the girlfriend. This is because she has previous acting experience and also she performed extremely well in our practice music video where she played Britney Spears. Currently, we are unsure of who will play the boyfriend in our video.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
A2 Coursework Final Piece
We came back from our half term holidays and began the planning of our final coursework piece. As we have had more experience in the planning and production of music videos, we immediately chose this option. We then spent a short while brain storming some ideas for songs, actors, genres and story lines. We wanted to find a narrative song that we could capture a story from using the world of film.
My group consists of myself, Kerstin D'Silva and Natasha Breen. During this double lesson, Natasha Breen was absent for the most part and was therefore unable to contribute to alot of our ideas.
Above is the planning sheet we used to brain storm our ideas. I wrote in pink and Kerstin wrote on blue. We did this so that we would be able to present our own ideas individually rather than as a group.
My group consists of myself, Kerstin D'Silva and Natasha Breen. During this double lesson, Natasha Breen was absent for the most part and was therefore unable to contribute to alot of our ideas.
Above is the planning sheet we used to brain storm our ideas. I wrote in pink and Kerstin wrote on blue. We did this so that we would be able to present our own ideas individually rather than as a group.
Me and Kerstin (my group member) both have very different taste in music and we therefore had conflicting ideas about the music choice we faced. Kerstin would have preferred to do a rock song as this is the type of music she likes and feels she could portray well in her own music video, and I felt the same about pop music. Therefore we needed to begin searching for songs which loosely covered both genres, a song that could lie somewhere in between the boundaries of these two genres.
The songs we discussed were the following:
- Because of you - Kelly Clarkson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3D8J1rjGLg&ob=av2n
This song is more of a ballad, however as an artist Kelly Clarkson is known for her ability to mix pop and rock together in many of her songs. We felt that this song would be comparable to both genres and an equal compromise from both of us. We also both knew this song and felt we were able to contribute ideas to this dramatic and narrative song. Kelly Clarkson's "rock" reputation would allow us to portray this genre in the music video. We felt we could create a video from this song which would impact its viewers by creating dramatic scenes to go with the lyrics.
- Behind These Hazel Eyes - Kelly Clarkson:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svxP2LjBg_4&NR=1
This song was less narrative but the video was inspirational. Once we had watched the video we felt that our abilities and resources were not able to live up to our expectations of the video we would hope to create. We both liked this song however we felt that the video would be too complicated to create. It also restricts our actor recruitment as we would need to find someone with hazel eyes.
- When You're Gone - Avril Lavigne
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R95CkWaLNo&ob=nb_av2e
This song was an idea I had come up with. I really liked this song and thought we could have created a very good video in the same style that Avril does, using multiple different situations or story lines that all have the same meaning. In the video you see a wife missing her husband who is out at war, you also see a husband missing his wife who has passed on. I felt we could have created something similar to this and could have used many ideas to fill the song. However, Kerstin was not as keen on this idea as I was as she was not a fan of Avril Lavigne as an artist. The song is very narrative and I felt that the emotion of the song could have been reflected through a well produced video.
By the end of the lesson we decided to go with Kelly Clarkson - Because of You video as this was one we both had ideas for and also both liked. Natasha came in toward the end of the lesson and also gave her verdict on the song, she seemed pleased with our choice and gave her ideas as to how we should present the video.
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