Production Schedule

Filming

 

1. 1st September 2015 - Rochester 

On this day we are planning to film the 'break up' scenes. We chose this location as it has an old feel to it, making it perfect for remembering the past, just as you would when you break up with someone. The whether forecast for this day is also supposed to be rather glum therefore, this will create a sense of pathetic fallacy within our video.

We are hoping to film some long shots, tracking shots, close ups and mid shots - we wanted to start with a variety of different shots so we are able to test out which ones work and which ones don't.

The outfit we are wanting Nova to wear is something slouchy and comfortable yet stylish as well - we suggest some mom jeans, an oversized hoodie and a crop top to place underneath.

2. 7th September 2015 - Whitstable

This filming day we are wanting to start filming the lip synching parts of the video. We chose this location due to the beach setting and summery feel that it has to it - this will make our video look more seasonal as well as the water being a calming element. The whether forecast is supposed to be rather bright, perfect for a beach location.

We are hoping to film close ups and tracking shots on this filming day - close ups being for the lip synching, this pulls all focus to the lyrics, the tracking shots will be used to create the point of view of the boy.

The outfit we want Nova to wear is black dungarees, a white off the shoulder top and black converse, this is a cute everyday outfit but also brings a bohemian feel to the video.

3. 15th September 2015 - Faversham

Faversham is the location we are filming the bonfire scene in as well as lip synching -  we chose this location as it was a more natural one as well as having more opportunity for beautiful sunsets due to the farm land around it. Evie's grandparents also live there so we had a location that we were able to set up our equipment.

We are hoping to film some lens flares as well as some establishing shots, this will help us achieve a more artistic look to our video.

Nova will be wearing two outfits on this day - one outfit consisting of a grey jumper and jeans and the other being a black crop top with jeans - this is to give a casual look as well as a more stylish one.

 

4. 7th October 2015 - School

 

On this day we are hoping to do two filming sessions- one being in the photography dark room so that we can do some tests for the projection and one being by the red ivy tree that our school has, this is so that we can have some autumnal scenes in our video to show that the relationship progresses over the course of the seasons.

We are hoping to film tracking shots and close ups - this is to stick with the continuity of the rest of the video as well as showcasing the locations that we are in.

the outfits I will be wearing are just simple black and white tops with beige or black skirts - this is to show a more simple side to Nova.

 

5. 8th October 2015 - Dark Room

 

This is the day that we are going to do the official projection filming days - we are going to try to do some shots with Nova not wearing a top as well as ones of her wearing a top, this is to show vulnerability within our artist.

Our main focus for this filming day is to film some pans to show the image that we are projecting on Nova's body- this is to make our video more artistic.

 

6. 14th October 2015 - Margate

 

This is our final filming day, we decided to go to Margate as it is a seaside town with a few art exhibitions that we feel would be appropriate for our video. The only negative about this filming day is that the weather forecast doesn't look appealing however, this is something we could use for pathetic fallacy so it isn't all bad.

Nova will have three outfits on this day. one being a ripped white thsirt with black jeans, another being a grey jumper with black jeans and the other being a long black coat with jeans - this is to show different personalities of Nova.

Storyboards

In preperation for the filming of our music video, we created a story board. This is so that we can create a plan of how we want the video to look and the different shots that we are planning on usuing; Story boards also help up figure our the scenes in corrilation to the lyrics. This story board gives us a basis to work from and will help us develop our idea; it is just a guidline for us, so some things may chnage when it comes to the final product. Below are some images of our story board...

As you can see we are planning to use a variety of shots, this is to make the video more interesting and to make sure that our audience continues watching. We don't want our video to be broing or 'samey samey' so we decided that by having a large variety of shots/scenes in our video we will hopefully stay away from this. From these images you can also see that we are experimenting with different ideas such as hologrpahic lighting and tracking shots, these are ideas that we hope to at least be able to try out as they are fairly inventive and we feel they can make for a great video.

You can also see that we have written the lyrics we would like to lip synch next to the frame that we want to lip synch these in, this is so that when we come to editing our video, we know roughly what we want to aim for; it also helps in terms of filming so that we can set up approriate locations to be as our background.

As I have previously mentoined, this story board is just a guildline for us to follow when we go to film, we may change some shots or camera angles as when we go to put these frames into practice, they might not work as well as we hoped.

Location Research

                                                                                         

For our video we are wanting many 'outdoor' locations to create a theme of nature within the video; we also want Nova to come across as a down to Earth woman that appreciates the beauty in nature therefore, locations that are outside will help us achieve this.

Since Lana Del Rey is our inspiration for our artist and overall look of the video we decided to research into some of her videos to see what kind of locations she had chosen to use...

In the music video for 'Ride,' Lana uses a lot of different locations to create a dynamic video.

One main location she used is a 'desert,' this is to create a sense of confusion as she is shot swinging on a tyre swing, something that you do not typically find in a desert, this is an effective location to use as it gets the audience talking about how strange it is, this not only gives the video publicity but it also makes the viewer want to continue watching to see what else Lana has up her sleeves. However, you can say that a desert is not the best location to use since it doesn't really have anything to do with the lyrics, this breaks Goodwin's theory of the visuals and the song matching; this may confuse the audience in a negative way.

In the music video for 'Blue Jeans', one of the main locations used is a swimming pool. This creates a sense of missing luxury as the song is about her partner leaving her therefore, she is missing a part of her 'paradise.' I think that this location makes for an effective video as it leaves room for interesting shots both in and out of the water however, you can say that this location doesn't have anything to do with the lyrics so it isn't really there to satisfy the audience in the sense that the song and the visuals connect. Overall, I feel that this is a successful location due to the variety of shots you can get and because it shows how something so simple as a swimming pool can create a depressing effect.

Lana Del Rey's 'National Anthem,'  uses multiple locations however the one that caught my eye the most was the flower field - this is because of the vibrant red colour of the flowers. In terms of this video the colour represents love, Lana's undying love for her partner in the video. This location works well due to the simplicity of it, there really isn't anything special in a regular field of flowers however, in this video, it captures the romance in the video and shows us the connection between the couple. A downfall to this location is that there isn't much character or a wow factor to it therefore, it might not attract as many people as Lana is hoping too. Overall, this is a successful location for me personally due to the simplicity but, as a general observation this may not be the best location Lana has ever used; I think this type of location is something my group need to discuss in a very critical way to make the right decision for our video.

In 'Video Games' one location used was just a corner of a room, with a plain white-blue wall. This to me, is a boring location due to there literally being nothing to it; it's too simple. A positive to this location is that it puts all focus on Lana herself, making her the centre of attention - I think this is effective as it can boosts sales from the mega fans that adore Lana. As a whole, this is not a location that I would put in my video as it is too simple with nothing to it.

In 'Summertime Sadness' one location used is the edge of a cliff looking over the skyline of the city she is in. I think that this is extremely effective due to how you can focus on Lana herself yet you can also focus on what is around her, this location creates drama and a breath-taking sensation due to the limited light and the open space. Personally, I cannot find a bad point about this location therefore, it is something that I would definitely pitch to my group.

In the 'Born To Die' video there is an indoor location, it looks like the inside of a castle/ the throne room. I like this location as it shows power and importance as well as showing class and grace, these are qualities that we would like for 'Nova' to have. A negative about this location is that it doesn't give us much room to be creative due to restrictive furniture whereas, with an outdoors location, we could use the nature around us to create some interesting shots. Overall, I feel that this is the worst of the locations due to it being rather restrictive in terms of filming however, as a place to convey our artists personality and essence, this is a very good location.

As a whole, we have decided to have a mixture of indoor and outdoor locations however, we would like more outdoor locations as we feel that the nature invovled will give our video character as well allowing a breathtaking feeling overwhelm our target audience of 16-22 year olds. 

From the prezi above, you can see what locations we are hoping to use and reasons why - when it comes to the filming days I will go into more detail as to why we liked the location we had used.

Andrew Goodwin's Theory

In a previous blog post called 'Student Video Analysis'  I analysed videos based upon the theory of Andrew Goodwin however, I did not really go into detail upon what his theory actually was; therefore, this post will discuss his theory for a better understanding upon it.

Overall, Goodwin implies that music videos have a set structure that ALL artists follow.

1. Music videos normally show stereotypes of the particular genre, for example, a girl band would feature outfits to match each girls 'personality' and dance routines whereas, a rap video would be based around the main artist (typically one of high wealth and status), surrounded by women in revealing clothes. Our song, 'Without You' by Lana Del Rey is in the Alternative genre; so far out planning is rather stereotypical as we want to have a 'Vintage/Retro' vibe and look to our video and our artist - this fits in with Goodwin's Theory

2. Voyeurism - This is the act of looking, especially secretively, at a male or female that is being portrayed in a seductive manor for their own pleasure. Andrew Goodwin says that the act of Voyeurism is mainly used to sell the artist's music or gain popularity through sex appeal - 'Sex Sells'. This can be also shown through props; a good example of this is Miley Cyrus' 'Wrecking Ball' - her actions with the sledge hammer automatically make the video more sexual as it implies that Miley wants to indulge in sexual activities.

When it comes to our music video we have decided to try and keep Voyeurism to a minimum as we would like to break some typical conventions of the music industry so that our video stands out against all other videos; also, as our artist is a female we would like to try and stay away from voyeurism as it is fairly biased - it tends to objectify women, as our artist is fairly young we want to make her a good role model for any younger fans, and this is not the best way of doing this. 7

An aspect of Voyeurism that we would like to use is direct eye contact with the audience as it creates a bond between the artist an the audience; we would also like to have the video in the point of view od the 'boyfriend' therefore, any eye contact with the camera will show a form of connection within this 'relationship' - this then breaks the '4th Wall' as it gets rid of the divide between the audience and the artist. We may use some form of sexual elements just to make our artist sell however, this is yet to be discussed.

 

3. A relationship between the music and the visuals is something that Goodwin has mentioned in his theory; meaning that the lyrics match what's going on in the shot. We would like our music video to have this convention as we agree that the lyrics and the visuals should be matched in some way - this will make the video more successful as people can relate to it more however we do not want to have this take over our video as it gives us room to experiment with different ideas and themes. We understand that by not having the lyrics and the videos match, you can create an extremely successful video as a huge contrast is made, which will make the video successful due to people talking about the contrast.

4. The demands of the record label - most record labels have certain demands that their artist should be represented as. For example, female artists are made to be 'sexy' in order to draw in a male audience. We would like to keep the sexual elements in our video to a minimum - our inspiration is Lana Del Rey and her videos aren't mainly focused on sex but the quality of her videos; if we focus on this too it will make the quality of our video a lot better as well as make our artist appear to be focused on her work more than her sex appeal.

5.Intertextual References - These are references to existing forms of media such as television or books. Generally, the audience like being 'in' on the reference, this will make the video more likeable due to the audience feeling like they're part of the 'joke'. We have decided not to use intertextual references in our video as we do not feel that it is necessary for out song - the lyrics make no reference to any other media texts.

 

Lana Del Rey uses intertextual references in 'National Anthem' due to her referencing JFK and Marylin Monroe.

 

 

6. Performance Based, Narrative based or concept based? - A narrative based video is about telling a story, There is also a fragmented narrative, which is when the story has not got a set order, showing flash backs and flash forwards - the audience would have to piece the story together themselves; we decided to go for a linear narrative as we plan to tell our story in some form of an order however, as we want to incorporate a break up into the video, we may have to change this to a fragmented narrative, this is something we will discuss in the editing process.

A concept based video puts forward a specific theme or idea, we are planning for our video to be similar to this but due to the storyline being so obvious, we do not really class our  video as a concept based one.

Finally, performance based videos show the artist in action - there is a lot less camera work as the focus is that someone is performing so the video tends to be fairly simple; mainly close ups and wide shots are used to showcase the artist/band. Personally, I think that these types of videos are good to show people what it would be like to see the act in concert however, I think that to draw the audience in, you need to have a story line involved. Circa Waves' 'So Long' music video shows the band in action in different locations, making it feel more like a music video then a soul performance.

 

 

 

Overall, I would say that my group is influenced by Andrew Goodwin's theory and we aim to stick to most of his findings however, we do like to be unique and break the status quo so it is inevitable that we are going to break some of the rules to make our video more personal.

Process of Creating an Artist

Since our chosen song is by a female, our character is also going to be a female, in the process of creating our artist we have thought about many things such as her name, look and background so that we can get a really good understanding of our artist...

Naming our Artist

We came up with a list of names that were seen to be 'alternative' so that it went well with our chosen genre, we then narrowed it down to four name; Isla, Nova, Fern and Aria however after some discussion we decided that Isla was not going to be a contender as we didn't think it had that ring to it that we were quite looking for.

Nova - We liked the name Nova because it is extremely unique, which is what we would like out artist to be. It also reminded us of space, like a 'supernova' -A supernova is a stellar explosion that briefly outshines an entire galaxy, suggesting that, in terms of our artist, she is extremely talented and at the peak of her career, will outshine the rest of the industry. Nova is a fairly short name, that isn't heard very often therefore, this makes it memorable for out audience, which of course, is a good thing as the audience will remember her, which means they will remember her songs too.

Aria - We felt that Aria was a good choice as it again, is quite unique -  we took inspiration from the character of Aria in the hit show 'Pretty Little Lairs' as the character is quite artistic, which is a quality we want our artist to have. In music, 'Aria' is any form of expressive melody, this links nicely to our artist as, obviously, she is in the music industry and her songs will consist of expressive melodies. Aria is also short and memorable name, which will help with our artists promotion.

Fern - When we discussed the name Fern, we thought it was a good name as it is normally linked with nature, whilst briefly discussing our video, we thought that we would like different aspects of nature to be placed in it therefore, a name linked to nature would tie the whole video together. We also, liked it as it was quite a feminine name yet, it wasn't so girly that it took away the grungier side to what we would like our artist to look like.



After some consideration, we decided to go for the name 'Nova' as it was the most unique and, we just preferred it in general as a group.

The Background of Our Artist

http://prezi.com/glkxd2iopycp/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Nova's Look

 We wanted Nova's look to be fairly similar to Lana Del Rey's due to her being a form of inspiration for us, obviously we are going to have Nova have her own style yet we feel that Lana is a good starting point due to her vintage look.

When looking through images of Lana, I have found that her image changes rather a lot however, there is always a form of a vintage look whether it be 60s, 70s or 90s fashion.

Lana also likes to match her outfits with her album, for example the image of her in the red Hawaiian print dress links to her 'Paradise' album, which is fairly Hawaiian themed - this could be something we consider when making out digi-pack.



 Lana is known to be fairly into the 50s or 60s look, she has been seeing wearing this kind of  fashion both on stage and on the red carpet. Her voice is fairly retro therefore, this look probably matches best to her voice.

My personal favourite is when Lana has a 90s vibe about her as I feel this is the most like what were wanting to go for with Nova. The use of denim helps as it is very accessible for us today, it is also very easy to dress up or down so we can achieve a casual look if we wish or a more classy one. Also, a 90s look will help us achieve an edgier look as that this era is the inspiration behind this.

We have begun playing around with some looks for Nova already.

In what we feel could be a possible 'break up scene' we decided to go for a really casual look - we chose mom jeans for the 90s vibe along with converse, we then paired it with a simple black crop top and an oversized sweatshirt - this makes the look casual yet still stylish

In another possible scene we thought we would go for a more bohemian look simply because, as previously mentioned, we would like Nova to have a bohemian look about her and we have seen Lana in some bohemian clothing before so we thought it could be a good match. We decided to try out a cream gypsy styled top for the bohemian part and then pair it with some black dungarees for the 90s look; for shoes, we went with converse again just to make the look a bit more casual.



Lyric Analysis

 

 

 

One of the most important parts of our video is to have a large variety of scenes and shots throughout in order to show a progression of time during our artist's life. Therefore, we decided to take into great consideration the lyrics - this allows us to plan and prep the best places for our scenes to be placed in the video. Not only does this allow us to match some visuals to the lyrics, but it also allows us to think about an order for our story line and evaluate why it does or doesn't work. As you can see we have annotated the lyrics so that we have a rough idea of where we would like to put things -

we have placed 'Relationship at strongest' and 'Happiness' near the top half of the song and then 'Breakup' towards the end - this is just a rough plan of where we would like things to go, start of happy and then end on a sympathetic note. I feel that this form of planning is useful as it allows us to A. Plan how much footage we need B. Have an idea on what type of footage to get and C. Have a rough idea of the pace of progression of time. We think that by having the saddest part of the video at the end is appropriate as the lyrics suggest a depressed mood; this is signified by the repetition of 'Nothing without you'.

 

The blue highlight used is to show which areas of the song we are wanting to lip sync - including the repeated phrases such as 'Hello hello, c-can you hear me?' This is because they are the most memorable therefore, it was common sense to have it lip synched. We want to make sure that the lip synching is varied evenly throughout the video as it would look not only unprofessional but also, strange to have, for example, all the lip synching done in the first and third verse but no where else in the song. We chose not to have lip synching during the bridge of the song as the pace gets rather fast, so we want to have more fast pace editing to show our skills and make the video more interesting.

 

To maintain a professional look, analysing the lyrics helped us understand the song better and really grasp what the writers were feeling. It allowed us to really consider our options in terms of what lyrics to sing for a professional look - we can see which lyrics to stay away from so that we will avoid any mistakes or unwanted looks.

Target Audience Questionnaire

We decided to do a questionnaire to see what our target audeince expect to see within in our video/artist. We asked roughly 20 people, below you will see some images of some questionnaires...

As you can see from our results, we got some mixed reviews on the song; 75% of the audience said that the song was good to use and they thought it had great potential however 25% did not like the song, they thought it was boring therefore, due to the overall majoirty saying that it is a good song we have decided to stick with our original choice of 'Without You' by Lana Del Rey - this is because it will appeal to majoirty of our audience. Of course we would like to appeal to everyone but, you cannot please everyone so we will go with the majority

When it comes to editing our group wanted to do a mixture of fast and slow paced editing to show that we are skilled in this area. We asked our audience what they prefered- again, mixed reviews. Alot of the audience voted for slow paced editing so we are going to focus on this mostly however, to appeal to those who wanted a mixture or fast paced editing we are planning on having little snippits of fast paced editing too. We thought this was a good idea as all of our auidence are happy and it shows off our editing skills.

After lisetning to the song we asked the audeince what theme they thought should be shown in our video. The theme of 'Love' was evident in most questionnaires, as was expected, so we are going to incorporate this into our video in some way - some of the audeince suggested through a breakup or heart break or maybe a reflective video; these are all things we are going to consider.

We also asked the target audience what type of style they think our artist should have. Words such as 'Unique' 'Edgy' and 'Bohemian' came up multiple times therefore when creating our character, this is the route we would like to go down maybe have some denim pieces, monochrome colours and flowy dresses or skirt, this will fit all three of those words, which will ultimatly, please everyone and create a brilliant look for our artist. 

Obviously, we need to use interesting locations in our video so we asked our audeince whether they wanted to see multiple locations and what type of locations they thought were best. Results show that multiple locations will be most useful as it creates interesting scenes and keeps the audience watching also, they said that towns or fields would be good locations for our video as you can get some interesting shots and make any narrative feel realistic.

When discussing the age range for our target audience (16-18), we discovered that it is a good age range because it will make the video more relateable however, some felt that it was too narrow, so we decided to make it a niche audeince and then extend the wider age range form 16-22, as discussed in the previous blog post.

Finally, we asked the audience what parts of the song they think is best for lip synching. Most said chorus but some said random little snippits of each verse and chorus in the song. We are going to have lip syncing in each part of the song so that it pleases the whole of our target audeince also, we feel that this will help make the video interesting.