Props

When creating my music video I knew that I would need to use props to create verisimilitude and to make everything occurring in the music video seem real to make it more emotional and realistic for the audience. When it came to thinking about the props I would need for my video it was quite simple because I already knew what I wanted to occur in the video - meaning I would easily be able to know what type of props I would use as they would just fit into the concept of the video. I will be using the various types of props in the different locations I have chosen to film in. Below I have created a presentation which includes the different props I will be using in my music video and I have also mentioned which locations I will be using them in.

Here is the presentation I created: 

Costumes

When it came to choosing the costumes I wanted my actor to wear I knew it was a very important choice as I would have to choose the clothes that would conform to the genre, so the audience would know what genre the music video is, but also I had to ensure that the right clothes were worn and the audience would expect my actor to wear those specific clothes because of the genre she is in. The choice of costume was very important for me because as part of my music video I will have the actor staring at her own silhouette and if the wrong type of costume is used in this scene, then the audience may not understand what it means and would just suggest that there are two of the same people which wouldn't make sense.When choosing what costumes to wear, both me and my actor knew what type of clothes people in this genre would wear and to our advantage, I dress in the way that people in this genre would, to a certain extend, which meant it was beneficial when choosing clothes for my actor to wear. The clothes we have decided have been taken from both my actors and my own wardrobe - meaning with have both combined our styles to create the perfect identity for my artist, but also to ensure that my actor conforms to the chosen genre and that the audience would understand why she is dressed the way she is. As I will be filming in three different locations I have decided to make three different subheadings, where underneath I will mention what costume my actor will be wearing in that certain location and why we both decided it would be a good costume to wear.

Woods

When I begin to film in the woods I will be filming both the actor as herself, but will also be filming the actor as a silhouette - meaning I would have to have my actor dress up in two different costumes to enable the audience to understand this and when they watch the music video they will know that these two characters will have a significant meaning behind it and it won't just be the same actor twice wearing different clothes. Underneath you will be able to see that I have provided images of the two outfits I will be getting my actor to wear while filming these different shots in the woods, but I have also explained why I have decided to use these outfits and how they conform to my chosen genre. 

Costume 1 - Ordinary Character

The first costume I decided to plan out was what my actor would be wearing the majority of the time during this music video - this costume is crucial as this is what the audience will see the majority of the time. I wanted to ensure that the Pop Punk genre had been portrayed through the use of these clothes, so I had to ensure that dark clothes wore worn. I was originally going to make the costume all black, but then I realized that if I did this, then the audience wouldn't be able to understand the meaning of the silhouette as the costume for this character will be all black, which is generally what a silhouette is. Moreover, I wanted to ensure that the clothes my actor would be wearing are casual as it would present that she had just come from her daily life and that being in a broken relationship is a normal thing that can occur to anyone and these casual clothes which present to the audience that the artist is just like an ordinary person too and has her own feelings. 

Here are the clothes I have chosen for this location with this specific character:

Below you will be able to see I have created a presentation where I have mentioned why I decided to use each of these clothing items for my actors outfit and how they conform to my chosen genre. 

Here is the presentation I have created:

Costume 2 - Silhouette 

The second costume my actor would be wearing while filming in the woods would be the costume for the silhouette. Again, to enable the audience to be able to tell and understand the difference between the normal character and the silhouette, I have decided to make the silhouette character wear all black because generally when someone sees a silhouette, they will see all black as it is essentially just a shadow, so I believe by wearing these type of clothes the audience will understand this message. As the silhouette is meant to represent the singer, but is essentially her inner self which has her inside thoughts, I still needed to ensure that the costume had a Pop Punk feel to it, so this factor was not so hard as the clothes that the silhouette would all be black anyway which conforms to the Pop Punk genre. Nonetheless, I have finally chosen the outfit I want to use for the silhouette character which I hope will enable the audience to understand what is occurring in the music video.

Here is the outfit I have chosen for the silhouette character:

Underneath you are able to see that I have created a presentation which demonstrates each of these clothing items in detail and I have also explained why I decided to use them and how they conform to my chosen genre.

Here is the presentation I have created:

Green Room

The second location I would be filming in is the green room and while in this location I knew that I would want my actor to be performing, so I wanted her to dress up a little more than what she would compared to when she would casually go out - however, I didn't want her to dress up too much as this is not a conventional feature to occur in a Pop Punk music video. Again, the clothes I wanted my actor to wear have to be dark so they would conform to the Pop Punk genre and this time it didn't matter is she wore all black because the audience will know that this is a different scene to when she will be seen running in the woods or being the silhouette in the woods. I do want my actor to appeal to the intended target audience and to hopefully make the audience be attracted to the way my actor looks and I think I have made this happen through the use of clothes I have decided to used, but I have still ensured that the clothes conform to the Pop Punk genre.

Here is the outfit my actor will be wearing when filming in the green room:

Below I have constructed a presentation which demonstrates why I have chosen these different clothes and how they conform to the Pop Punk genre, but also I have explained why they were suitable for the location I will be filming in.

Here is the presentation I have created:

Loft 

The last location I would be filming in is the loft in my house - again, while filming in this location I knew that I would be able to make my actor wear black clothes due to the fact that the audience would know that this is a completely different scene compared to when they will see the actor running through the woods and also portraying a silhouette. My actor would again be performing in this location, so I would need to ensure that she is appealing to my intended target audience and that they will be engaged and will want to watch her. In this location my actor will be playing the guitar, so the majority of her clothing will be covered up - however, I still need to make my artist wear suitable clothes because when I am filming, the camera may get in more into the frame than I intend and if my actor had no shoes on (for example) then it wouldn't seem professional when the audience see it and could be unappealing for some audiences. Again, I think by choosing these clothes I have conformed to the Pop Punk genre, but also will hopefully make the intended target audience be attracted by my actor.

Here is the outfit my actor will be wearing while filming in the loft:

Like I have previously done, I decided to create a presentation where I was able to talk about this chosen outfit in more detail. In this presentation you are able to see that I have mentioned why I have chosen these clothing items, how they create the meaning I want them to and how they conform to the Pop Punk genre.

Here is the presentation I have created:

Locations

I initially had five different location ideas - however, I had not seen any of them in person and I wanted to physically go to all the locations I had thought of before finally deciding where I would like to film my music video. After going location hunting, I eventually found all of the locations that I would like to film my music video at. Out of the five initial locations I had originally looked at, I have decided to use three of them and have also found specific areas I would like to go. When I went to these different locations I decided to take some pictures of the area - however, the images were taken on my iPhone - meaning the quality is not that good. Nonetheless, you are still able to see the location clearly and see everything in the image. Below, I have written a paragraph about each location I am going to film at and have also included some of the images I took on the day I went to visit that certain location. Also, I have described why I am wanting to film at these locations and why I chose to film at them.

Location 1 - Brick Wall In The Loft At My House

The first location that will appear in my music video is a brick wall. When looking for the right location to film at there were a range of different brick wall locations I could possibly film at, but I decided I would like my actor to be sat in front of the brick wall that is located in the loft of my house. I have decided to film at this specific brick wall because there is quite a dark and cold feeling in this location which I feel represents the song and also helps in presenting how the artist feels alone and locked away because she does not know what to do about her relationship. Also, this brick wall is quite dull and broken down which can again help in representing this. An advantage to this location is that it is only based 10 minutes away from my college which means my actor would easily be able to gain access whenever I need her to be available and it can be used even when the weather is bad as we will be located inside. Originally I decided to use a brick wall as my location because it is quite dark and gloomy which again represents this genre, but also it helps in presenting how the artist feels. Everything that will be filmed at this location will include the actor sitting in front of the brick wall while playing guitar and singing while either directly addressing the audience or looking away into the distance. I decided to take some images of the brick wall that I will be filming my actor in front of to present what it looked like and how it conforms to the genre of music I am doing.

Here are my images: 

In these images you are able to see that the brick wall is again quite dull and gloomy looking which is perfect for the mood of my music video. You may also notice that there are a range of different objects in the way - a lot of these objects were originally placed in front of the brick wall until I moved them - however, when it comes to filming in this location I will remove all of these objects away from the camera's view so they do not ruin the mise-en-scene or the concept of the music video. On top of that, I have shown some images of the light in the room - this is the only light source - meaning if I do not have that light switched on then the location will be pitch black - however, I can always cover up the light in some way to get the lighting I want and could get portable lights which I can place in the location I would like them to be. In addition, there are a few dangers when filming in this location as seen in the images - there are a range of wood blocks in the loft and also me and my actor would have to climb the ladder to get to this location - however, I will later make a health and safety grid stating what will be done when it comes to filming in this location and how we will be cautious when it comes to these dangers.

When in this location and taking images I noticed that the images where not as dark as I would like them to be and this had a lot to do with lighting, but I also remembered that when I begin to edit in post-production I will be able to edit the scenes and make them seem darker than they actually are. As I knew I was going to have the cuts darker I decided to take some of these images and edit them on Premiere Pro CC where I was able to make them darker in the way I would like them to be in my music video. Again, these images were taken on my iPhone, so the quality is not that good which also means the colour may not look that good - however, you are able to see how there is a big change in the colour and how it also makes the picture make interesting and appealing to look at - also conforming to the stereotypical conventions of this genre.

Here is a video of the images I edited on Premiere Pro CC:

Location 2 - Humber Bridge Country Park

The second location the audience will see is the woods that is located at the Humber Bridge Country Park. I originally chose to film in the woods because it helps represent the idea of the artist being lost and metaphorically being trapped by her boyfriend as she is unsure on whether it is time to leave the relationship or not because what she is getting out of the relationship is not enough. Again, there were an array of different wood locations I could film at, but this location stood out to me more than all of the other wood locations I have been to as this was mainly because of its size and how hidden the whole of the woods looked. This is very useful for my music video because the artist will be running throughout the whole of the video and if I was only in a small area than my artist wouldn't be able to run to many places and the audience would begin to notice that the artist is running in circles if they see the same scenes every time, so this location was perfect for me especially knowing the fact that it is only 15 minutes from my house so it is easily accessible and at anytime. Following on from that, as these cuts will be filmed outside I will have to keep my eye on the weather to ensure that I will be able to film on a certain day as I will not be able to film when the weather is rainy - however, having dull weather will come as an advantage to me because this is how I want my video video to appear to appeal to the target audience as it will help in portraying the artists emotions. In addition, because of this locations size, it means that when filming we will not easily run into someone else as there are so many different areas to go in the woods - this will also look go on any wide or long shots that I will do as the audience will be able to see that the actor is isolated and has no way out. Again, while I was at this location I decided to take some images so I would remember what the location was like and also to compare to other woods locations I considered filming at.

Here are the images I had taken:

Similar to the previous location I have mentioned, I would like there to be dark and gloomy lighting at this location and in these images you can see that the lighting is darker than what other images will often look like on a sunny day - which was beneficial for me. When I took these image the weather was perfect for me to film as it was quite dull, but there was enough light for me to film in, but also there was no rain. Furthermore, I will also again want to edit the scenes that will be filmed in this location as I will want the dark and gloomy effect and as I know how to do that after practicing on the brick wall images I am confident that I will get the scenes to look the way I want them to. Moreover, the majority of the woods in this location is enclosed which is exactly what I want to help present to the audience how the artist is trapped and alone, but at the end of the video I will want the actor to be free and in the open area - this will be presented in the locations that the images at the end of the slide show display as there is a lot of free space which represents the actors freedom and their decision to leave the relationship. The audience will also see the artist smiling and running away into the distance which will present how the artist is now happy and free in her life.

Location 3 - Green Room (Wyke Sixth Form College)

The last location I have decided to film at is the green room which is situated at my college - my initial idea was to film on a black or white background and I felt as if this was the perfect location to film this at as I had access to all the different lighting which will allow me to create a visual mood which also corresponds with the song. I wanted to film in front of a black/white background because I wanted to be in a simple setting where there would be nothing but the artist to allow the audience to see the artists emotions and understand how they are feeling - this means the audience will mainly be concentrating on the artist, whereas in the other scenes, the audience will be able to see things in the background which may be distracting and take the audiences eye of off the main attraction, which is the actor. This location is easily accessible which is an advantage as it in located inside my college in the media department - meaning I will be able to film any time of the day while I am at college when me, my actor and the green room are all free. The majority of shots that will be used in this room will be close ups, but there will also occasionally be some other shots that will be used to make the scene more interesting. Again, I have taken some images of the location to present what I will be working with when it comes to filming.

Here are the images I have taken of the green room:

In these images you can clearly identify the different lights I will be able to work with when I am filming. When taking these images I did try to change the lighting a bit to suit my needs - however, I was in a bit of a rush and was unable to to get the lighting perfect and in the way I would want it to be - also, the quality is not that good as the images were taken on my phone. Nonetheless, when it comes to filming in this location I know I will have a lot more time and can spend longer trying to figure out the correct lighting especially when I will have my actor there and in the position I want her to be placed in. When I was taking these images I asked one of my friends to stand in front of the white board and from this I was able to see what the lighting was like and how it reflected off of him. By going into this room and trying out the different lights I was able to get a better idea of what I will want the lighting to be like when I am filming, but it also allowed me to see what equipment I will have available to me at the time I will be filming. The main concept of filming in this location is to allow the audience to understand how the artist is feeling as there will be dark lighting to connote her sadness, but also it is a stereotypical convention of Pop Punk. Again, as I said previously, a range of close ups will be used - allowing the audience to see the emotion in the artists face and understand how she is feeling which creates more feeling and emotion for the audience.

Previous Initial Location Ideas

The two other locations I initially thought I could possibly film at is an alley way and a beach. I decided not to film at these locations because I did not want to film in an alleyway as I felt as if it isn't very conventional of Pop Punk as is more of a location that will be seen in a Rap music video. On top of that, I did not like the idea of the beach as I feel that it would not fit in with any of the other location scenes I will use in my music video and it seemed just out of the way compared to everything else. I did not take any images of any alleyways as I knew quite early on that this location would probably not be good for my music video - however, I did get some images of a beach. The beach I went to was in Hornsea which is only about 40 minutes away from my house - meaning if I did decide to film at this location I would have to plan ahead and look at the weather to ensure I would be able to film there instead of wasting 40 minutes to get to the location and finding out it would not be good to film there on that day. These images just present what areas of the beach I could have possibly filmed on if I decided to film there.

Here are the images I took on the beach at Hornsea: 

Cast List

My music video may come across as quite simple as only one actor will be in it, but this is due to the fact that in my video I will have the actor on her own to present her loneliness and isolation in connection with the relationship she is in. Also, the benefit of just the singer on her own will help keep the focus on the her and will enable the audience to understand what she is going through. Below is an image and description of the person I have selected to be my actor in my music video. 

 Laura Hannath 

I chose Laura to be my actor because I know that she is extremely confident and willing to do anything that is placed in front of her. We are both close as friends, so I knew that she would be willing to help me create the music video in the way that I wanted, but also I knew when she was available which meant I was able to plan ahead to figure out when we could begin filming. The way Laura looks and dresses herself is similar to the way I want the character in my music video to look as Laura has long straight light brown hair and regularly wears dark clothes so she fits in perfectly with how I want my character to be portrayed. Another advantage to using Laura is that she listens to a wide range of different music genres and watches many different music videos everyday, so I know she will expect to see certain features in the Pop Punk genre as well as me knowing what is conventional to see. Moreover, she also has an open mind and will always give suggestions when she wants, which I think will be helpful when filming as she will be able to recommend different things I could possibly do when filming. 

Animatic

After creating my storyboard, I then decided to put all of the images from the storyboard together and add the song I have chosen on top of the video while the images cut in the time I planned them to change. This animatic is basically just a moving version of my storyboard, but by constructing this it will help me identify how my shots will appear in real time and I will later be able to change anything if I feel that some shots may be longer or shorter then I was expecting them to be. In my music video I would like to have some fade transitions, but they have not been shown in this animatic as they all just appear as straight cuts instead - however, I will still be using these transitions in my real music video.

Here is my animatic video: 

Storyboard

Underneath, I have created the storyboard for my music video where I have included information about the mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound. As I have previously made a storyboard when I created my short music videos over the summer as practice, I decided to create my storyboard in the same way as I know when I did it in this way, it was easy for me to understand and use when it actually came to me filming the video. Before I started the storyboard I first wrote down mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing and sound idea which I could possibly include or use in the music video and I think this helped a lot when it came to creating the video. On each image I have drawn I have stated exactly what I would like to happen so when it comes to filming I will know exactly what I want to occur and at what time in the song. Also, to make it easier to know what needs to happen when and where I have highlighted certain parts so it will be easier when I begin filming as I will then know what scene will need to be filmed in which location. Due to me writing this in my own booklet I feel that it may be hard to read, so rather than putting this on a slideshow I have placed the pages on a prezi where it will allow you to zoom in if you find certain pages hard to read.

Here is my storyboard: 

Visual Storyboard

Before constructing my storyboard I wanted to create a mood board styled format of imagery which could possibly help in representing what I would like to occur in my music video. Each of these images represent what I would like to happen in the video and what type of locations I would like to film at. These images seem quite bright and cheerful, but when it comes to creating my music video it will be a lot darker as to represent the mood and emotion of the singer and also to represent the song and reinforce the genre which is often seen as quite dark and gloomy. 

Here is my visual storyboard: