Shooting Plan One

My Idea


The idea for my initial shoot is to collect and film footage shot at night time or late evening. I am aiming for quite a grainy look to the footage so will probably use a high ISO which goes hand-in-hand with night footage anyway. 





Equipment

• Canon EOS700D
• Tripod
• 64GB SD Card
• 60mm Lens

Lighting

As I'm filming at night or late evening, I will not be using any additional lighting and will instead be utilising the ambient lighting around from street lights, lights from shops, the moon etc. 



Audio






Risk Assessment

Music Video Schedule

So that I can effectively make use of and organise my time, I decided to create a Gantt chart. I found this method particularly useful in my promotional video unit when Beth and I created a video for a tattoo parlour, as it meant that I could see what tasks I needed to complete and when easily, and I could update the chart as frequently as I needed to by logging back into teamgantt.com. 

Music Video Treatment

Working Title

The title of the video will be 'Moving Home'.

Genre 

Music video for the 90's emo inspired/alternative band Moose Blood.

Duration

The aim is for the video to last the entire duration of the song, which is exactly 3:00 minutes in length.

Target Audience

The target audience will be fans of the band Moose Blood, as I will be using their song for the music video. These people are commonly either male or female, and range from the ages of 15 - 25. I think that in particular, my video will attract this age group, as the character that features in the video is between this age bracket, making it more relatable for the audience as they can put themselves in his position more easily. 


Outline

The narrative for my music video follows the story of a young man who has been kicked out of his house. He goes on a drive to contemplate his life and the situation he is in, stops off at various locations (a fast food outlet, a church) before making his way to his old family home. The narrative will end with the young male character returning to the house he was kicked out of.

Visual Elements

In regards to lighting, I plan on using a lot of low-key, dim lighting, with my character being lit mainly by the television screen in the hotel room. This is to create a moody atmosphere which reflects the feelings of the character and the overall feel of the song. I also intend to incorporate some fairy lights in the video at some point, as this is something that is heavily features in Moose Blood's other music videos and live performances - it is almost their iconography, something that fans associate with the band. 
As for camera movements/techniques, I am going to employ a variety of camera movements, such as tracking shots of my character walking through crowds of people he doesn't know, tilts, pans, zooms etc. I will heavily incorporate close ups and extreme close ups of his face, hands, eyes etc. so that the audience can understand the way that the character is feeling and his vulnerability through his facial expressions and body language. 


Audio Elements

The audio for the video will be the song 'Moving Home' by Moose Blood, as this is the song I have chosen to create the music video for. I won't be recording any additional sound using external mic, however I will be very conscious about ensuring that the footage I select will fit well with the music to make for an aesthetically pleasing video. 


Rationale

I have chosen the song 'Moving Home', as it is one of my personal favourite songs by my favourite band, and also because I thought that the idea and concept behind the lyrics would be interesting and challenging to create a video for. I like the melancholy theme to the song and feel like this would make for an aesthetically pleasing video.


Primary and Secondary Research

For primary research, I have watched and written up a semiotic analysis of various music videos that I hope will inspire my own video in some way and I have also created mood boards that include still images from various different films, music videos, books and television programmes that I am inspired by in some way - whether it be the shot types or camera angles, the colour scheme, the general idea, the mood or even the filters or lighting used. I plan to print this out and take this to London with me for when I'm lacking inspiration, as this may give me a few ideas. 
As for secondary research, I began to read 'The Kindest Cut' by Carol Vernallis, and 'Dancing In The Distraction Factory' by Andrew Goodwin, which gave me an insight into the theories behind music videos. It also enabled me to understand better the conventions of music videos, and therefore help me to decide what to include in my own music video. 

Requirements and Resources

As most or all of my filming will be taking place in London, I will be making use of the hotel room I am staying in. I will also need to use my Canon E0S 700D with the kit lens, a soft focus lens, 60mm lens, tripod and potentially a reflector.  

Actors

The main character (and only character) in my music video, will be played by a young male called Jordan.  I chose a young male character as the song is written and performed by young male artists, therefore making it more relatable to them as an audience and more convincing for the video. 


Constraints and Contingency

I may encounter some problems throughout the filming process include the fact that I am using an 'actor', and people are notoriously unreliable so I will have to really push Jordan to film. Another problem could be the fact that I plan on filming at night or late evening, meaning low light situations which will require additional equipment which I will have to carry around (tripods, additional lighting etc). Another issue with lighting is the fact that I want to use some street lights for certain scenes, however some street lights cast a very orangey glow which does not always look particularly effective and doesn't fit with the colour scheme throughout the video. 




Legal and Ethical Considerations



Budget

My budget for the video will be limited as it is being made for educational purposes and I have not acquired any funding. The main thing I will need to consider when it comes to my budget is travel costs and hiring equipment out from the technician at college.

Andrew Goodwin - Dancing In The Distraction Factory

Andrew Goodwin was a media theorist and practitioner who spent years analysing the music industry and music video production, in order to put together a set of key features that apply to all music videos. Not all of these key features appear in every video you see, however it is guaranteed that at least one is present. Goodwin published his thoughts and findings on the subject matter in his book 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' in 1992. 

Lyrics and Visuals


The first feature of a music video, according to Andrew Goodwin, is the relationship between the lyrics in the song and the visuals that appear in the music video:

• Illustrating - where the visuals clearly link with the lyrics 
• Amplifying - a more metaphorical way of linking the visuals with the lyrics 
• Contradicting - using disjuncture and subverting away from the lyrics having any connection to the visuals in the video

Genre Characteristics

Goodwin came up with the idea that genres exist within music videos, and that certain music videos demonstrated different genre characteristics depending on the genre of music they were produced for. The different types of genres can be divided up into five categories:

• Studio performance
• Stadium performance
• Conceptual/ Experimental
• Location
• Narrative

Goodwin also mentions the post-modern idea of a metanarrative whereby the video or even the lyrics suggest the progression of the artist, taking them from one place to another. 

Artist Close Ups

Goodwin expressed that a key feature of music videos is artist close ups. He argued that record companies require and demand that the artist is heavily featured throughout their music videos for the purpose of advertising and marketing. Music videos act as a sort of advertisement for the artist, and often focus heavily on making the artist 'look good' through promoting brand values, unique selling points and artistic style. Videos utilise star iconography to create a recognisable 'artistic brand', buying into the idea of celebrity culture and helping audiences to associate a particular aspect with that artist.

 Some artists develop their own motifs that recur throughout their music videos or even take on different personas which help audiences and fans to identify them. There are countless examples of this:

Both Lady Gaga and David Bowie are renowned for their star iconography, star image and use of personas. 

Interestingly, however, it is argued that the use of personas and star images can also 'complicate the ability for audiences to recognise the real person underneath the star image construction'. (Devereux, Dillane and Power 2015). Despite this, people associate the image of 'Ziggy Stardust' with David Bowie, and 'Joe Calderone' with Lady Gaga.

Looking and Voyeurism

Voyeurism and the notion of looking are both very broad themes that many music videos feature in some way. The audience will see something in the video that they would not normally see, maybe even in a setting that they would not normally be familiar with, like an intimate scene in a bedroom. Voyeurism can be used to sell the artist's music through sex appeal and can appear in the form of nudity or near nudity, revealing  clothes, camera angles and shot types etc. Goodwin makes reference to Laura Mulvey's male gaze theory, particularly when speaking about voyeuruism and the notion of looking and how this attracts a male audience. 

Voyeurism can be demonstrated in the form of watching something happening from the eyes of an observer, however it is much more common for the artist to be singing and addressing the audience, creating a false relationship between the artist and the audience that makes them feel connected when in fact this is not true - this is an example of the notion of looking. 

 

Intertextuality

Goodwin points out that another common convention in music videos is intertextuality - referencing other texts such as other music videos, films, books or pop culture. This can be in homage, pastiche or even some kind of brand synergy. 

An example of intertextuality in a music video is in Alien Ant Farm's video for their song 'Movies', where they make references to films such as Charlie and The Chocolate Factory and Ghostbusters. 

 

Bibliography

• Goodwin, Andrew. Dancing In The Distraction Factory. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1992. Print.
• Devereux, Eoin, Aileen Dillane, and Martin J Power. David Bowie. Print.
• Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema, GRIN Verlag, 1975, Auth. Laura Mulvey

Music Video Inspiration

Edward Hopper

I am going to use Edward Hopper's paintings and artwork for inspiration for my music video, as his work is often very melancholy and shows people who have been isolated etc. The paintings are often quite dark and moody, which is the kind of look I am going for in my music video. 

Existing Music Videos

Below are a collection of music videos that I find particularly inspiring or interesting. I plan to come back and watch these videos if I'm lacking inspiration at any point and may potentially draw some influences from them by using techniques used, lighting, narrative themes etc. 

    

 

Music Video Questionnaire

I used a website called SurveyMonkey.com to create a survey with questions based around music videos. I thought that it would help me create my own music video, as it would give me a good idea of the kind of aspects of a video people like, don't like, what types of video are popular etc                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DG3VZ68

Research Techniques Notes

Types of Research:

• Audience research - the analysis of who consumes what media products and why
• Market research - investigations into the way that products could produce income by looking at the demands of consumers
• Production research - the research conducted to inform the production process of a media product e.g background info, locations, legal and ethical requirements

Primary Research 

Primary research involves material and resources and information which has been found 'for the first time' by the researcher. This would include material found using techniques such as:

• Observations made when viewing an exhibition, show, performance or on visiting location.
• Interviews with people
• Reports of Meetings/Discussions with people
• The collection of information from questionnaires or surveys
• Focus group activities 

Secondary Research

Secondary research is information or material which is collected by looking at the findings of others.Secondary research would include:

• Referring to books, journals, magazines and newspapers.
• Gathering information from the internet
• Making notes on information presented on audio visual formats like dads, videos or cds.
• Collecting information from CD ROMs

Reliablitiy and Validity 

There are many techniques that can be employed when researching. However it is vital that you choose the right one to ensure that your information is reliable and valid.

Reliablity: whether this can be trusted as a source of information. Could it be biased by peoples opinions or effected by flaws in their research methods? If this activity was done again, would it get the same results?

Validity: The relevance of information to your investigation. Can you determine that it proves what you think it does?