Shot List

The Task:

Debbie & Sophie-

David

These are the shots done in the format of the order of when they will shot, evident through me separating the shots into sections based on their locations. The shot list helps very much in us knowing what shots are to be done within the content, angles and types of shots each one is. This should also assist rapidly in the speed efficiency on the days we go out filming. Additionally, it makes it clearer in which shots are being done in  certain locations.

Key:

• Dark Green: Outside House 
• Gold: Classroom 
• Yellow: Room, Chessboard 
• Red: Inside 
• Blue: Bathroom
• Orange: Living Room (LR) 
• Light Green: Dark Room 
• Lilac: Hallway, School/House
• Dark Blue: Outside
• Light Pink: Kitchen 
• Dark Orange: Street 
• Light Blue: Hall
• Pink: Bedroom 

This task was done by Deborah Akinkuolie, Sophie Butcher and David. It was divided between us and we each did an equal amount. 

Prop List

The Task:

In order to understand and assure ourselves with what we needed for our Music Video, I was tasked with setting up a list of everything that was necessary and essential before we began shooting. This allowed us to organise and evaluate what we needed, how we would be able to get it, and any necessary advantages or disadvantages we may have to face during or before the shoot.  Furthermore this task prepares us to be able to think ahead and plan, also demonstrating our analytical skills of what may or may not happen should we begin filming.

Chess Board

The chess board will be used as a catalyst (or rather, the symbolic item) to represent the actions that are taken by the characters. Each move will be planned and moved accordingly by an anonymous figure, who clearly is similar to an omnipresent being in the duration of the of the music video. The colour scheme (unlike that of the one presented in the picture) will focus on the aspect of black and white, to represent the stereotypical Good vs Evil scheme, so the black pieces represent bad, and the white, good.    

Knife

The Knife plays a key role during the conclusion of the music video. Its symbolism is one that reinforces its use in the video, an item of harm. Its use is significant as it will be the factor that contributes to the ambiguous ending of the music video. This one shot (or several) of the weapon will leave an open ending conclusion for the audience whether our main character has chosen to take his own life, or that of his fathers. Noticeably  I realised that there would be several problems in acquiring the knife, as it is (considered) a weapon under law. Taking it from one of our homes would (if it were discovered by the police) result in immediate arrest. In order to combat this issue, it would be better if we gained the knife through the school kitchens, and possibly (if it is needed) have a teacher supervise us as we use it. 
                  

   Paint (Red) 

This will only appear towards the end of the music video (just like the knife) and will be used to represent some form of harm being done to a character, as it will be used (thrown on) a chessboard  This will further add an ambiguous feel and ending to the conclusion of the music video. Due to the anonymous implications of who has died in the music video, this will add further suspense to the conclusion.

Police Light

The police light, may be one of the hardest props for us to find.  Its significance will only appear in the opening of the music video. Acquiring a Police Light will be especially expensive, as it is not something that can be bought easily in stores, creating a problem for us. But there is a solution, it is possible to download apps online or on phones that create the same effect as an ordinary police light. This, even, makes it easier for us, as it will not be likely that one of us will leave our phone behind. And should this happen, it would better that all three of us download the app, thus preventing an accidental loss or forgetting to bring our phone. That way, we are all prepared.   

Alcohol

This will be significant almost throughout the music video, and demonstrate the violence in the main characters life. Moreover, they will add to the hyperreality of a working class background, in which the boy is living. Finding this will be both relatively easy, and difficult at once, carrying alcohol around during the day may prove quite dangerous, and we may be questioned for it. However, since the art room is full of such bottles, we can use those to our advantage, as it saves us from having to actually having to go out and buy the drinks. Moreover, if we use a scene in which a character is drinking, we can simply fill it with water, as quite a few alcohols share a physical resemblance to it.                                                             

Bag

This is by far the easiest and cheapest of all  items we will have in the music video. Since he is from a working class family, it will be notoriously easy acquiring this, as we would just need to use one of our own old bags to use for the video.   

Police Tape

This will be used in the opening of the Music Video also. This will further be used to let the viewer know that something has happened in the opening of the video. Finding this may prove hard, and will require us to actually pay for the tape, but it will be of definite importance in the music video. 

Skate Board

This will be, just like the bottles, a recurring item in the Video. And may demonstrate the boys only means of escape in the music video. This will also be an expensive item to acquire, as none of us (within the team) uses a skateboard.  If we cannot find a skateboard, we have suggested that as a compromise, we will use a bike instead.

White Tiles/Paper

In order to create a life-sized chessboard, we would need white paper/tiles to create an authentic and realistic look. This was to act as part of the inner conscious of our main character. This will be relatively easy to get a hold of, due to paper being a luxury most of us could afford. 

In conclusion, this task will help us understand what we need for our music video, and ensure that we do not forget what is needed when we start filming. Moreover, it will act as evidence that we have looked into and evaluated all in which we need to buy, and how we will work around any problems we may come across. 

Ownership:

This task was created by Deborah Akinkuolie. And I am in charge of gathering all of the props together. 

Hot Chip Edit

This is my Hot chip edit, not my best piece of work but at least it has gotten me used to using final cut pro again.

Additionally it has given me a small amount of experience in terms of how editing a music compares to another form of visual media like a film.

3 Unsigned Artist: Initial Ideas

This is my own 3 unsigned artists that I previously chose before when I was working in another group. These were all the artists I considered working with up until I joined this group then started working with the band The Fergies'.

This task helped in me knowing the artist I potentially wanted to work with along with getting me to think about how compatible it was with me working with them depending on things like location and the ability to contact them.

Production Company Logo

This is the production company logo I have created for a music label, PR records. I believe its suitable for sponsoring the band we are working with The Fergie's as it encaptures their youthfulness and beauty within their image as well as music, along with conveying the sometimes dark subjects they touch upon in their music- such as the track we are creating a video for 'Clumsy' being about a boy who suffers child abuse.

Doing this task has helped in knowing the congruency and the precision that is needed when marketing an artist even from how the record label associated with them looks like. Additionally, it has also given me an opportunity to work with Photoshop becoming more comfortable in editing with pictures in the process of doing so.

Inspirations. Videos and Artists.

One of our main inspirations would be "The Civil Wars." Both in artist and video.The Civil Wars have the over all package that we want to create for The Fergies. They sing about touching and vulnerable matters and are taken as serious musicians. 

Also, we found some inspiration for our Music Video from Chase and Status's 'Time' and Linkin Park's Numb. Both videos center around the idea of abuse, therefore giving us inspiration for how to film our own video. For example camera angles, lighting and so on. 

There is also a band called Cimorelli on YouTube. They started off in a similar way to The Fergies, therefore we look to them for inspiration for how YouTubers promote themselves to receive that kind of attention.

By completing this task we gather more insight on what we are able to create for a video and the over-all package we could create for our artist.

Storyboard (Animatic)

The Task:

This is the Animatic for our song 'Clumsy' by The Fergies. We have cut and captured our work to timing of how long we would like it to appear in our music video, so that when we begin filming, we will not divert from the task, and be able to keep to the timings we have set for ourselves.

 In conclusion, we have learnt through this task the importance of time keeping and planning, and this will help us in the near future, as we will be able to organise ourselves to work to set deadlines and tasks set aside.

*1:44: The shot number is 44.5 instead of 44.

Music Audiences & Subcultures

This task is based on music audiences and how videos for musicians are presented to appeal to certain audiences. The way music videos are shown is to convey the subculture of particular groups. For example the use of turntables, graffiti and dance used to represent hip-hop culture shown in the Common - I Used To Love H.E.R. 

Scene Kids: Fall Out Boy - Dance, Dance

Chavs: Dizzee Rascal - Old Skool

Hip-Hop: Common - I Used To Love H.E.R

Ravers: Afrojack & Steve Aoki ft Miss Palmer - No Beef

Hipsters: Friends - I'm His Girl

Metallic: Slipknot - Psychosocial

Punks: Greenday - American Idiot

Skaters: OPM - Heaven is a Halfpipe

 

This task has helped in establishing what to look for with certain conventions in creating music videos for certain music subcultures depending on the genre of music the video could be and the subculture that matches with the genre. This will help in deciding the ideas that I will contribute to my group music video depending on the subculture target audience we are aiming for.

Track Time Code & Structure

The actual song is 4 minutes, 22 seconds which we take into account for planning out the video and the amount of footage acquired on the day of the shoot. As our music video will be a narrative that links to the song Clumsy by The Fergies it will progress through the child's abuse they suffer with continuous cuts to a chess board representing characters as chess pieces and each move correlating to the movement of the story.

This is just a rough plan/ idea that we see our music video following:

0:00 - 0:30: Multiple shots of the abused victim walking through the videos locations - school, home,

·        woods and a dark room. Also shots of people enquiring about the boys injuries in school to be shown.

 

      0:31 - 1:01: The start of the revealing of the teenager being abused - first showing neglect from his mother and then an introduction to the physical abuse is shown from the father. Along with a few reaction shots from the boy and cross cutting with the chess board between narrative. As explained above the chess board concept is to have chest pieces that represent characters and as they move so does the narrative to represent these characters.

1:02 - 1:32: Continuation of the physical abuse and neglect the boy suffers from his parents with this and his negative emotions (reaction shots) escalating in intensity. More high angle shots of parents to show their power. School friends also begin to suspect something as boys injuries are more noticeable and common. Shot of boy crying in school whilst he isolates himself. Continuous cross cuts of chess board to go along with the narrative.A few lip syncs of boy singing lyrics from the song that are said as if they are part of a conversation with someone. Lyrics like: You'd show me your scars/ I could see they were deep/ I asked where you got 'em/ You said you were just clumsy; these are examples that can be lip synced as the boy is in conversation (maybe with a friend) and this can also go well with the videos narrative. This fits well as both performance and narrative complement one another.

1:33 - 2:03: More of a focus on the boy suffering from abuse he endures, and less action from the parents. Shots of the boy in a dark room and his mood of being distraught sees him shaking on the floor with the amount of fear he builds from what his parents might do next to him. Much more isolation with the boy crying in the woods and in his room which will be lit to provide a very dark look.

3:04 - 4:22: A mix of the boy seen rising above the abuse he suffers along with ambiguous symbolism. Shots of the pawn (representing boy) and the king (representing dad) and queen (representing mum) with pawn covered with red paint representing both life (colour of blood and fire) and death. Wide, long shot of boy walking through woods, a long shot so his facial expression is not revealed adding to the mystery on his status of being abused or not.



New ideas that will be in the video:
Flashing lights (police)
Police line being drawn
Blood on the floor
Boy (flashback) sitting on a checkered floor (similar to chess board)
Each character with their own chest pieces
Teacher moving chest pieces and mother goes to the school and sees teacher moving the chest pieces.
Boy goes to the kitchen to get a knife and walks into a dark room.

Completing this task has helped give me more of an idea on how our music video will look along with what we will be shooting that will create the narrative to our video.