I have created a collage of a young woman which is my target audience. I have spoken about aspects of her life, her favourite genre, artists and clubs, her favourite clothing stores and what she spends doing in her spare time.
My music video is starting off with a number of establishing shots, portraying the setting of the music video which will be London. I intend on including shots of the London Eye and Big Ben, very obvious iconography to instantly inform the setting to the audience.
It is then going to cut to a shot our protagonist standing on the Embankment bridge. The mid-shot portrays her in deep thought, head in hands, staring at her watch (reflecting that time is passing and that she needs to be somewhere).
It then cuts to a number of atmospheric shots of the landscape around her, for example the Thames river etc. I am also intending on filming on quite a cloudy/rainy day, to reflect her inner emotions. I believe it would really set the mood of the music video.
It then cuts to her taking slow steps off of the bridge, reflecting that she does not want to go where she is intending on going.
A cut takes place to show our protagonist walking down her street, followed by a high-angle shot of our protagonist walking in car park, going to her flat.
The music video then cuts to a mid-shot of our protagonist walking into a lift and the doors closing. It is then followed by a close-up of her putting the key in the keyhole and opening the door, pushing the door open and slowly stepping inside (reflecting the fact that she does not want to be there, and it is as if she has no other choice but to go there because it is her home).
A cut takes place to show a mid-shot of her dressing table with a picture frame placed flat.
She approaches it to pick it up and a over-the-shoulder shot takes place.
The music video then cuts to a series of flashbacks portraying what happened in her past. It shows a mid-shot of a boy and girls bottom half of body hugging. This leaves the boy and his second partner ambiguous. This allows the audience to build their own opinion of the boy without being influenced by good looks, or other actions.
It then cuts to a mid-shot of our protagonist showing the bottom of her body only. It then cuts to a close-up of her bag dropping along with a significant bracelet which was on her hand. An extreme close-up takes place showing the bracelet dropping on the ground (Using editing tools, I would like to make this shot slow paced to reflect its significance).
It then goes back to realtime, and we are back to the over-the-shoulder shot of the girl holding the picture frame.
We then go back to a series of flashbacks, however these differ from the first in a sense that they are good memories rather than bad. These flashbacks portray her birthday. This shot will be shown in a hand-held shot with a date at the bottom to reflect how it is being filmed by the boy. Also a mid-shot of her on the swings laughing, reflecting her happy/jolly mood.
We then cut back to real time and a series of long-shots take place which will be overlapped using Final Cut Express. This will reflect the fact that time is passing. The shots consist of the girl sitting on one side of the floor with her her hugging her knees, with her head down, her head in her hands etc.
We then cut to a shot of her buying a pregnancy test. I chose to include these shots as they reflect the lyrics "Me and my boy we're leaving". It would be very hard to include a child in the video, not only because my family consists of a number of girls, but also because it would mean that I would have to gain consent by their parents. It would also be a hazardous place for a child to be around due to the candles, the wires, the camera equipment etc.
Metaphors:
I have also been thinking about things that can act as metaphors in my music video. A metaphor is an object etc that is symbolic or representative of another thing. I have thought about a number of metaphors that can be used in my music video. I have decided to use some sort of glass breaking. It would then be followed by a close-up of the bits of glass that have been broken. This can reflect her broken heart, and how her life seems broken apart.
I have completed my storyboard. I am very pleased about my ideas. I am aware that things may change through the process of filming, or things may be added on, but at the moment I am very keen and happy with my ideas.
Lyrics and Visuals
I have also made a Lyrics and Visuals, portraying what sections of the music I want to correspond with a certain shot, and what it reflects:
Recently, I have spent my time in my Media lesson, to brainstorm a number of ideas for my music video. I have brainstormed a number of things such as appropriate characters, locations, props, any ideas of what my music video may be reflecting, any metaphors that may be useful to use etc.
Last lesson, my class and I discussed gender representation in music videos. We evaluated two videos. One was "Buttons" by the The Pussy Cat Dolls, and the other was a previous A2 music video. We deconstructed the video down to the use of body, facial expressions, mise-en-scene, the gaze, and how the camera frames the body.
After being set this assignment, I have been constantly keeping up to date with new music videos on MTV Base, VIVA, and Chart Show. Whilst watching Chart Show music channel, I came across the song "This City" by Patrick Stump featuring Lupe Fiasco.
The most noticeable thing about this video is the amount of editing techniques used in this video. A number of things I identified was the use of black and white, fast forwarding, and a number of others. The technique that stood out to me the most was the use of black and white. I have never really thought about using this editing technique in the creation of my music video, however, after watching this video it has given me second thoughts. I believe that if I used the black and white tool for shots portraying the past, flashbacks, memories, it would be successful in portraying the change of time. I believe the use of black and white could also reflect a certain mood. Because black is not associated with happiness, it would be a good tool to use. For example, due to my chosen song because about a journey being taken and someone leaving a situation, person etc, the black and white could reflect the dull life of the protagonist in the music video.
Another example of a inspiring music video is "Just in love" by Joe Jonas.
The video is based around the story of Joe Jonas, who falls in love with a girl from another country. It goes through a timeline of events in their relationship; firstly starting with the very first time they met eachother, then following their night outs, time they spent together etc. This is all shown through a series of extended flashbacks, which is the reason why I was inspired by it. Due to my song, being called "Leaving", it would be a wise idea to base it around someone leaving, whether it is a partner, family member, etc. I also liked the editing techniques they used. It is clear that they changed the colour of the shots from their initial filming. It had a sepia tone to it, maybe portraying the past.
After watching both of these videos, it inspired me to have a think about the creation of my music videos, and certain aspects of these music videos which I can include in my own, particularly the use of flashbacks, and change of colour.
After receiving a reply from Emerald stating that she gives me permission to use her song, I decided to do some research about Emerald as a music artist.
Upon my research I encountered Emerald's biography on the website Reverbnation, which states that "Emerald Jones: the newest, freshest singer/songwriter from London. Her rich chocolatey voice delivers songs directly from her heart to yours. Having left a UK Girlband in 2011 to persue her own style and identity as a solo artist, Emerald began writing her own debut album. Her eclectic influences are reflected in her diverse tracks, but the unifiying theme is the raw passion and emotion in every word.
Emerald graduated from the prestigious London Music College, Point Blank, just this year, with her forthcoming songs featuring many collaborations with other talented artists who studied with her. Now ready to take the world by storm, Emerald is playing gigs all across London, entrancing entire venues with her mesmerisingly soulful voice."
Her songs:
Glitter in the Air
Leaving
Too Much Dream
That love song
The song I most enjoyed listening when I first came across her was her song "Leaving". I could really picture creating a strong narrative and performance based video to this.
