Planning - Editing

Fast editing 

We will use fast editing during the fight scenes to reflect the tension and to increase suspense for the audience. We will also use fast editing when each of the boys feel a connection with the tarot reader, to increase the adrenaline. Sia's music video 'Elastic Heart' influenced our decision to use fast editing as fast editing is used frequently within this music video, when the female and male characters are dancing/fighting with each other, which builds towards the climax and makes the music video more effective. We also want our fight scenes to build towards a climax, allowing our music video to promote a similar reaction from the audience. 

Slow editing 

We will use slow editing when the artist is performing to emphasise her importance, and to allow the audience to connect with her through her body language and facial expressions. We will also use slow editing to capture the three losing boys, and how their fate unravels. Using slow editing to promote this will be more exciting and evokes greater emotion from the audience. We was influenced by Chris brown's music video 'Fine By Me' which also uses slow editing at the beginning to reinforce the artists importance and role within the music video. similarly, when each of his opponents lose, slow editing is used to establish the artists power and significance in comparison to them. This was edited in an effective manner, which is how we want to edit our scenes.  

Slow motion

We will edit particular shots making them slow motion to make our music video more appealing and exciting to watch for the audience. We will use slow motion during some fight scenes, when the characters punch each other to add emphasis and to signify the characters' determinism, and how they are willing to to do what it takes in order to win the artist over. We was influenced by David Guetta's music video 'Titanium' ft. Sia, which also consists of a narrative, involving slow motion revolving the main character. Slow motion is used towards the end when the character is escaping from the police, which creates tension for the audience. Therefore, we also want the use of slow motion to evoke similar emotions from the audience. 

Jump cut 

We will be using jump cuts before and during the four fight scenes. The jump cuts before the fight scene will include the artist signing and turning over the tarot cards. Also the jump cuts will show different parts of the fight and how it develops, but we will also be cutting to the artist singing after and during each fight scene. Jump cuts will enhance each of the scenes as it will increase the tension and suspense for the viewers. After watching Justin Bieber's 'The Feeling' music video, which also includes a fight scene that is portrayed through jump cuts, we was influenced to use jump cuts as it enhanced this music video making it look more effective and created more excitement for the audience.

Invisible/ Seamless editing

We will use seamless editing when the tarot reader is singing and performing as it is important to ensure that the audience can build a relationship with the artist, understanding who the artist is and what she is about, as she can be misunderstood due to having unique morals and ideologies. Therefore, a lack of shots and greater smoothness between the shots is more beneficial as it encourages the audience to focus on the artist without being distracted by different edits. After watching Justin Bieber's music video 'Love Yourself', which included invisible editing, and identifying the impact it had on an audience, we was influenced to use this editing technique. We also identified that seamless editing was less likely to be evident in popular music videos, however, had a positive effect where used, encouraging us to use it. 

Planning - Preproduction Paper Work

Pre-Production Paperwork

Before going ahead with our filming, we created pre-production paperwork that is relevant to our music video, and is an essential part of the process. The paperwork is important as it  includes letters which consider authorization from actors and other important elements of the music video such as; location owners. Completing paperwork beforehand is highly significant as it prevents problems occurring in the long run, and when we are filming. Highlighting possible risks is also important as we are able to ensure we come up with possible solutions to prevent any accidents or health problems. 

This is evidence of the paperwork we created: 

The location recce form: 

Location release form:

Client release form: 

Each of our actors have signed this agreement. 

Production schedule:

Risk assessment form: 

Planning - Lighting and Colour

Lighting and colour

The lighting and colour used in music videos are extremely important as they represent the themes and the atmosphere within the videos, for example, low lighting and dark colours reflect a negative atmosphere while high key lighting and bright colours reflect a positive atmosphere. Therefore, we analysed various music videos from various genres in order to gain a clearer understanding regarding lighting and colour. 

 Fine by me - Chris Brown

Lighting

The lighting in the 'Fine by Me' music video is low key throughout the video, which symbolises danger and the reflects the violent fighting taking place. The use of the low lighting also makes the overall look very interesting for the audience, as it increases the suspense and tension for them. The lighting in this video also includes top and back lighting revolving the character, enhancing the characters power and aggressive natures. Similarly, like this music video we will also use low key lighting during the fighting scene, when the male characters are fighting each other, which will enhance the danger and violence in the fighting scene and will be supported by top lighting, allowing the audience to see the male characters emotions clearly. We will also use this type of lighting when we capture the tarot reader, choosing her cards and using her power to connect with the male characters in order to accentuate her movements.

Elastic Heart- Sia

Lighting

Natural lighting is used within this video, promoting the purity and innocence of the two characters, suggesting they have nothing to hide. Similarly, we also want to use natural lighting on the males when they are in their situations, before they feel a connection with the tarot reader, in order to highlight the innocence of the males and the fact that they are innocent victims of the tarot reader, and have no say or choice in the tarot readers decision. 

Liquor - Chris Brown

Colour

In this music video the use of  purple and black colours are used in order to represent the power of the liquor and to enhance the mystery of the woman who spiked the male male characters drink. This creates excitement for the audience who cannot predict the outcome due to the negative connotations the dark colours reflect. Similarly, we will also use dark colours including purple and black to surround our artist when she is performing and the male characters representing mystery, wisdom and the power the artist has over the males in the music video. 

Kanye West Ft. Vic Mensa – U Mad

Colour

A dark red colour is used throughout this music video, in order to represent the violence, danger and the unpredictability of the characters. I really like this music video as it connotes all the themes we want to portray in our music video throughout the fight scenes (danger, negativity, violence and desperation from the boys). Therefore, we have also decided to use a dark red colour in the same way this video does to promote the themes in the same way, enforcing the same effect. 

Overall, the lighting and colour used in each of these music videos are effective in the way are used and portrayed. As a result, we decided to use similar colours and lighting in order to ensure our video gives off a similar effect, having the same impact on the audience.

Planning - Locations

Location

Intro: 

Location is an important aspect to consider when creating a music video as the location is a main factor, determining the success of a music video. The locations chosen in a music video must fit the scenery and the narrative. For example, if the shot consists of a couple expressing their love, the location should reflect this through its cosy and warm surroundings, therefore, it should be a house or a conventional place that couples go to, such as a park. Carrying out a questionnaire also helped to finalise our decisions on our chosen locations, as we asked our audience "What locations do you expect to be evident in an alternative R&B music video?" Our target audience said they expected to see alternative R&B music videos shot in the streets and inside homes. We have also considered potential advantages and disadvantages of our chosen locations, as it is important to identify what problems could occur or how the locations could be adapted. 

Chosen locations:

• Underpass: 

• Empty room:

• Dance studio:

• Drama room: 

• Streets: 

Conclusion:

Overall, we have decided to use various locations in order to make our music video more interesting and of higher standards. Certain locations we have chosen are conventional to the alternative R&B genre, such as the streets and the empty room. However, the underpass and drama studio are less conventional as other alternative R&B music videos are not shot in poorer and less stylish locations. All of our chosen locations are relevant to our narrative and our target audience, therefore, we are hoping these locations will be beneficial and our scenes will be shot accordingly. However, we have also identified potential disadvantages and how to overcome them as this is important when planning, as we must ensure each location will be relevant and can be used. 

Planning - Characters

Characters

Male character 1:

Name: Matthew 

Age: 18

Ethnicity: Carribean 

Gender stereotype of role: Matthew will take on the role of a professional dancer who is training. He will be flexible when dancing and fighting with the other male characters. 

Costume: He will wear a black top and tracksuit bottoms as he needs to be comfortable when dancing. This outfit is also conventional for dancers to wear. 

Body language and facial expression: He will have a determined and eager facial expression when dancing and fighting, however, when he connects with the tarot reader he will have a confused and helpless facial expression promoting his confusion. 

Role within music video: He will play one of the tarot readers love interests. He will be dancing until he feels a connection with the tarot reader. He will then fight against the other three boys, promoting his passion and determination to win over the tarot reader. 

Male character 2:

Name: Kayne 

Age: 17 

Ethnicity: Carribean

Gender stereotype of role: He will take on the role of a sporty yet normal student who is active and lives a stereotypical lifestyle, until he feels a connection with the tarot reader causing him to 

Costume: Black tracksuit, to promote his casual attire as he is jogging. The use  of black also connotes mystery, suggesting that the audience will not know what to expect. 

Body language and facial expression: He will have flexible and bendy body language as he will be sporty, which will be supported by his tired and breathless facial expression. This will also be promoted when Kayne is fighting against the other boys. 

Role within music video: He will be another one of the artists love interests, he will be jogging when he feels a connection with the tarot reader. he will then fight against the other boys, fighting for the tarot readers love.

Male character 3:

Name: Josh 

Age: 18

Ethnicity: Asian

Gender stereotype of role: Josh will take on the role of a stereotypical 'geek' through his representation, portraying his weakness and his vulnerability when it comes to fighting. 

Costume: He will wear a black shirt and tie to promote a smart attire, with glasses highlighting his 'geeky' characteristics. 

Body language and facial expression:  He will have an upright posture and a determined facial expression to express his 'geeky' persona. When fighting he will portray his vulnerability through his worried facial expression and bent posture. 

Role within music video: The geek will be in the library reading books until he feels a connection with the tarot reader due to him being another one of her love interests. 

Male character 4:

Name: Sandro 

Age: 19

Ethnicity: African 

Gender stereotype of role: He will take on the role of a conventional male, who is living a normal life like the other boys until he feels a connection with the tarot reader and finds himself fighting against the other three boys for her love. 

Costume: Black T-shirt and black jeans, promoting his casual persona. This is conventional for a young boy to wear, however, the colour black connotes danger, suggesting that the character will promote danger when he is fighting. 

Body language and facial expression: He will have a relaxed posture, supported by a calm facial expression, until he fights, causing his body language to change, with him adopting an upright posture and a straight face, showing his confidence. 

Role within music video: He will simply he watching TV until he feels a connection with the tarot reader leading to him to the fight scene. He will fight against the other boys and he will win the fight, winning over the tarot reader and  her love.

Conclusion:

Overall, we believe it is important to plan effectively as planning the characters allowed us to identify the role each character must follow and how they'll be represented. Without planning each character properly we would be unsure of the characters roles. This way we are now confident about each character, and we will be able to express to them what character they must represent and how they will portray their character through their costume, body language and facial expressions. This prevents any confusion or problems from occurring. We have decided to use characters from different ethnic backgrounds,and of similar ages to reflect the target audience and their needs. Overall, we are now clear on how we want to portray each character, and we are hoping that this planning will be beneficial when it comes to creating our music video. 

Planning - Artist Image

Artist image

Genre ideas:

Our genre is Alternative R&B, therefore, we intend on following conventions as well as challenging certain conventions, by making our artist conventional to other alternative R&B artists, such as SZA who has her own original style of performing.  However, we will also challenge stereotypes by allowing our artist to fulfil her emotions and morals through the song and themes, which is not evident in all alternative R&B music videos, due to artists following conventions. 

Morals and values:

We want our artist to portray subcultural ideas through her character, in order to appeal to subcultures and a niche audience. It is important that the artist is able to portray her spiritual values and morals, as her character will need to pursue this through the use of a psychic mystic ball and tarot cards. 

Media perception: 

Our artist will be perceived similar to FKA Twigs in the media, as she will be identified as a good performer in the industry rather than a fully established star. This is due to her lacking ultimate popularity and not being noticed by a mainstream audience. As a result, our artist will be perceived as niche, rather than mainstream, as she will confidently express her different views and values which may be viewed as controversial by certain audiences. Also, she will not be in the public eye as much as the mainstream artists, due to her being relatable to the audience though her normality and lack of consistent fame. Moreover, our artist will be perceived as expressing her true self to the audience, rather than being portrayed as 'fake', which is important when it comes to the audience forming an opinion about an artist. FKA Twigs similarly expresses her true self to the audience through her unique image which is evident in the media, through newspapers and magazines. 

Similar Artists:

These solo artists, including Grimes, Sia and Lady Gaga have helped us in planning our artist representation as they each portray their own unique/quirky style through the use of their music and image in their music videos. Although they all look different, they have similar morals and values as they all represent originality and may create controversy at times. 

In our music video, we want our artist to dress differently reflecting an existing character like these artists do in their music videos. We will dress our artist in all black clothing like Lady Gaga supported by a black bandanna over her head to represent the darkness and mystery in her character as she controls male characters fighting over her love. Her make up and hair will also reinforce this image as she will have exaggerated make up (smokey eye shadow, fake eyelashes and dark lipstick). This reflects the alternative R&B genre as genre characteristics suggest that alternative R&B artists challenge stereotypes to make their music video unique and intriguing for the audience.

These existing artists are all niche and do not appeal to mainstream audiences due to their originality which is  reflected in their music videos. I want my artist to be portrayed in a similar way by promoting herself as different, however, we also want her to appeal to a mainstream audiences by ensuring we do not portray her originality in an extreme manner. This is because in her other music videos she is seen as more 'normal'  and appears in this way through social media, radio chat shows and public appearances.

We are hoping to fulfill this type of artist image through mise en scene and cinematography. If we succeed, we believe it will enhance the star image of Carlie Cokell-Smith, making her more popular and interesting to watch on screen. By following theories we will also enhance this image.

Our artist: 

We have decided to use Carlie Cokell- Smith as our female artist, as we believe she will be able to reflect FKA Twigs' characteristics, but she will also express her own values and opinions through her persona and her performance. She will reflect a tarot reader, therefore, she will wear a black costume, consisting of a cloak and bandana with exaggerated hair and makeup, which will make her look like a real tarot reader. However, her niche representation will not prevent Carlie from expressing her subcultural and spiritual morals and vlaues.Carlie is also the right age as she is 18 years old, therefore, she will be relatable to the audience through her niche performance and by expressing herself to the audience through a pure  and truthful representation. Carlie also has current experience in acting and dancing, and therefore, she will be able to reflect these skills in her performance and acting, making our artist image successful and genuine.                                                                                                                          

Link to Theory:

Goodwin: Close ups, Extreme close ups and Mid shots are used to portray the artist clearly to the audience and make the audience feel anxious whilst watching her on screen. It will also enhance her star image.

Mulvey: We will not be taking Mulvey's theory into consideration as we do not want to portray our artist in a sexual manner.

Popular Culture: As the artist is a Tarot reader, she will not engage in popular activities. Instead, her actions will be more spiritual and controversial.

Dyer (Star Theory, Audience and Industry): Our artist will not be a star, but will portrayed as a good performer in the industry. This is because she is not in the public eye regularly like other popular artists such as; Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Rihanna and Taylor Swift. However, despite her not being a star, she will reflect her spiritual and religious values through her music video.

Hebdige: Our artist will appeal to subcultures as she portrays niche conventions through her persona and music. Also, her spiritual and religious views will attract particular subcultures. She may also convey controversial ideas which may not appeal to mainstream audiences, however, we will try to make our artist and the music video more mainstream to gain success.

Conclusion: 

Planning our artist representation has been extremely beneficial for us, as we now have a clear idea of how we want our artist to be portrayed, which is to express her spiritual and subcultural morals and values, which is important in making our female artist different but relatable. We are also now more aware of which similar artists we want our artist to reflect which is Lady Gaga, Sia and Grimes who all differ from mainstream artists and can crate controversy at times through their truthful and varying representation.  Now we are aware of this, we will ensure our artist is portrayed in the correct way, making her niche but also mainstream, through media perception which will allow the audience to notice her and the fact that she has her own style of music and an original persona. creating the right artist image is important in the long term as the audience should be able to identify the artist from the offset, identifying their beliefs, values and persona, which should not continuously change as it could turn the audience against the artist. Without planning our artist representation we would not be able to link our artist to certain theories such as Goodwin and Dyer who promote important factors within their theories, that should be evident within all music videos. Therefore, by planning our artist representation, we have now identified which characteristics our artist will follow and which theories will apply to her role.