Planning - Production Roles

Production roles

Introduction

Production roles are made up of eleven key roles that are essential to involve in music videos. Production roles consist of a director, producer, editor, cast control, camera operator, lighting operator, print designer, photographer, storyboard organiser, location manager, costume, hair and makeup artist. Each of these roles help to ensure a film is successfully created to the highest possible standard. As a group, we distributed the production roles equally and logically.

 

The different roles and their definitions

•  Director: A director is responsible for having the authority of directing the music video. A director gives directions to the crew and cast ensuring that everybody is following the script and storyboard producing the video successfully. A director must have good leadership skills communicating well with their team members and they must also meet tight deadlines therefore work efficiently making use of their time. The director is supported by the producer and storyboard artist, the producer supervises them director and parts of the production while the storyboard artist shares the information about each shot with the director ensuring that they are following the storyboard. Overall, the director makes the overall decisions associated with the music video.

•  Producer : A producer works closely with the director supervising the making of a music video before preparing and presenting it to a music distributor. One of their key responsibilities is ensuring that they create an environment where the filming crew and cast can flourish and produce their talents effectively. The producer is also often the first person to get involved in a project and come up with the idea for a production, they secure the rights, choose the screenwriter and story editing team. In pre production the producer is responsible for bringing the creative team together including the director, cinematographer, production designer and key cast members. Overall, the producer supervise the development process.

• Lighting operator :The lighting operator is responsible for creating the light and atmosphere in the music video creating the correct connotations associated with each shot. For example, if the shot has connotations of negativity, low lighting will be used by the lighting operator to establish these connotations. A lighting operator keeps in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost ensuring they do not exceed the budget and avoid making mistakes. The lighting operator reads the script and lyrics carefully and make notes on changes in place and time between scenes, which allows him to identify changes often done just with lighting to avoid too many blackouts in one scene. They will also have meetings with the director, designers, stage manager and the production manager to discuss ideas for the music video, and establish budget and scheduling details.
 

• Location manager: A location manager is responsible for finding the appropriate location where the music videos scenes will be set. They must ensure they obtain permission from the police, governmental permits and location owners before they are able to use the location as a set for a scene. A location manager usually works closely with the director and the production designer during pre-production to find and secure their expressed creative vision. The manager is also responsible for public relations at the locations used and the crew's safety during filming.

• Camera operator: The camera operator is responsible for physically operating the camera maintaining the camera angles, movement and size of each shot. The camera operator will work  with the director, director of photography, actors and the film crew to make technical and creative decisions.

• Editor: An editor has the responsibility of working with raw footage, selecting shots and combining them into sequences creating moving images. An editor must creatively work with images, dialogue, pacing, as well as the actors performances to effectively re-imagine and even rewrite the music video to craft a cohesive whole. Editors usually play a dynamic role in the making of a music video.

• Costume, hair and makeup artist: A costume, hair and makeup artist is responsible for creating the cast members appearances. A costume, hair and makeup artist work closely with directors and performers. They assess make-up and hair requirements, set up the department  and prepare the make-up and hair budgets and schedules. They break down the script and storyboard scene by scene to identify the required make-up, costume and hairstyles. Before beginning the creation of the characters appearances they make notes of the characters ensuring they make each characters fit their representation and image before they begin developing their appearances.

• Storyboard organiser:  A storyboard artist is responsible for producing images and notes based on each shot. They visualise the details associated with each shot and put their ideas on paper. Quick pencil sketches are the conventional technique of creating a storyboard. Storyboard artists may use photos to create visuals where photos taken specifically for the project are put together digitally to produce a photographic representation called a photo visual.

• Print designer: Print designers use their technical skills to arrange and style designs as they appear on a page. Their design activities include choosing font types, sizes and colors to create attractive headlines and text-based presentations that will catch the reader's  attention. 

• Photographer: A photographer is someone who takes photographs of something and use the photo in various ways, which may include, album covers, posters, social networking sites, newspapers, magazines etc. A photographer should be skilful when holding and positioning a camera to ensure they take high quality photographs. 

• Cast control: Someone that takes charge of cast control is responsible of the cast members, ensuring all the cast have arrived on to set and are behaving appropriately, doing what they are required to do. 

Who has what role and why?

• Director: Fatma- we have decided that fatma should take on the responsibility of being the director as she was responsible for this role last year and gained certain skills including being capable of managing a group of team members, problem solving and listening to others, explaining herself clearly and giving moral support to each team member. She proved that she was able to complete this role and she is also a focused person therefore we know she will not be easily distracted and will ensure she completes our project to a high standard. 

• Producer: Marlyn- We decided that Marlyn should be the producer as she has effective communication skills therefore she is able to communicate with people efficiently and is patient ensuring that she will be capable of dealing with any problems that the cast/crew may have. She is also a creative individual and will therefore help come up with new ideas for the production as well as visualise how certain things should be presented.

• Lighting Operator: Fatma- We decided that she should take on the responsibility of being the lighting operator as she is able to identify where different lights and colours should used according to the type of image that is being conveyed. She is also creative and will be able to position the light source in the appropriate positions.

• Location Manager: Fatma- We have decided that she should be the location manager as she is a good organiser and will therefore be able to choose the locations efficiently according to the atmosphere we want to create. She is also good at negotiating allowing her to negotiate efficiently with location owners if we need to use a public place to film our shots.

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  Camera operator: Marlyn- We decided that Marlyn should be the camera operator as she has good practical skills, therefore will be able to operate and move the camera accordingly. She is also able to interpret instructions to visualise shots.

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  Editor: Carlie- We have decided that I should take on the editing role as I have had past experience after editing the thriller film  I created last year in my media coursework, therefore I will be able to edit our video confidently using my expertise to make the video a high quality. Also, due to my patience I will be able to remain calm and confident when under pressure of meeting the deadline. 

• Costume, hair and makeup artist: Marlyn-  We decided that Marlyn should take on the responsibility of being the costume, hair and makeup artist due to her creative skills which will help her to create the perfect image for each character and ensure their image fits their role. This will be particularly effective when she is dressing and doing up the artist as she needs to be portrayed as a star and also a role model. 
  
  
  
  

•  Storyboard Organiser: Fatma- We decided that Fatma should take responsibility of creating the storyboard as she is able to think creatively and will therefore be able to draw each shot and identify the micro elements bringing the visuals to life. She is also aware of the formation of the narrative and the content allowing her to create the storyboard accordingly. 

• Cast control: Marlyn- We have decided that marlyn will be responsible for cast control as she is able to be strict and serious if necessary which is appropriate in this case, as she must encounter these attributes to handle the cast members and ensure they are doing the correct thing. 

• Print designer: Carlie- We have decided that I will be responsible for print design as I am creative and good at creating designs and creating something effective from nothing. This will be necessary when creating the digi pack as I will be required to create an effective poster type pack which include images and colours. 

• Photographer: Carlie- We have decided that I will also take responsibility for the photography, taking pictures of the artist and characters, scenery etc for the digi pack, as I have a steady hand and is able to hold the camera in a unique way that will allow me to capture different shots effectively. 

Conclusion: How has this been beneficial ?

Overall, this planning has been beneficial as it has allowed each member of my group to identify our qualities, strengths and weaknesses, and according to these qualities we have been able to fairly decide who to allocate to each role. We are aware that certain roles hold more significance over others, therefore, we distributed roles equally ensuring that each of us held a major role. It is also beneficial as it has allowed us to prepare and come up with new ideas.

Planning - Shot List

Shot list

We created a shot list, identifying the different shots, including the camera shots, movements and angles that we will be including within our music video. This was beneficial for us to create as we was able to choose a mixture of angles, movements, shots and sizes. When it comes to filming the music video, we will use the shot list to ensure we capture the content using the correct shots. 

Below is evidence our shot list:

The shot list will be beneficial for the camera person as they will know what shot/angle and movement is necessary for each shot.  This will also be helpful for the editor as they will be able to understand if each shot has followed the plan and helps them to edit particular shots making the movements and angles more effective.

Planning - Outline of Narrative

What was the task? Why did you do it? 

We came together as a group and we analysed the lyrics, identifying how the narrative will develop according to each line and beat and we applied our idea to the theories we previously learnt about. This allowed us to identify how we wanted each scenario to form, and what part each one should come in. 

Evidence of annotated lyrics

Apply idea to theory 

 Goodwin's theory:

Our idea will be associated with Goodwin's theory as we will follow the features he has identified which include: genre characteristics, a relationship between lyrics and visuals, intertextual reference, notion of looking and star image motif, performance, narrative or concept? 

Genre characteristics: 

- Alternative R&B genre: female artist will have dramatic makeup, attractive male characters, Slow song, themes including love and mystery, challenging stereotypes through costume, hair and makeup, iconography, setting etc.

- Relationship between lyrics and visuals: The visuals will reflect the lyrics as the lyrics repeat 'Papi pacify, pacify our love', which will be reflected though the visuals as the males will be on the search for the love interest and will fight for her love. 

- Intertextual reference: Tarot reading- The female artist will reflect a tarot reader through her actions and costume, hair and makeup. 

- Notion of looking: There will be close up's of females and males assets throughout the males. 

- Star image motif: During the scenes, there will be close ups of the artist as she performs.

- Performance, narrative, concept?: The video will be narrative and performance based. 

 Mulvey's male gaze:

This theory will be evident throughout our music video as the female and male characters assets will be captured through close up's and mid shots. 

Dyer's theory:

My artist will be portrayed as a star although she will promote her moral ideologies throughout the music video. The artist’s appearance will also go against hegemony as she will be different, being portrayed as a tarot reader rather than being perceived as a role model. 

 Adorno’s popular culture/true art theory

Though my female artist will not follow the popular culture, due to her not reflecting other mainstream female artists and the mainstream culture, the narrative of my music video will be conventional and will be understandable to the audience. Therefore, I will ensure that I follow the popular culture theory by making my music video conventional and appealing to the working class audience. 

 Hebdige’s subcultures

I intend on targeting my music video to a mass audience through the various themes I use, and the mainstream content. I will also aim my music video at particular subcultures through the characters. Each character will reflect a sub culture through their costumes, iconography, and behaviour. For example, one of the male characters is going to reflect a 'Geek' which is likely to engage the geek subculture to engage with the video, due the characters role. However, we are portraying subcultural values in a subtle manner so our music video still appeals to a mass audience, but can also be appealing to certain subcultures. It is important that we cater for all audiences, rather than simply the mainstream audience. 

Video narration 

From analysing the lyrics, we identified that the themes of love and mystery will be evident throughout the music video, as the characters are linked to the love tarot reader through her power and connection with the males We intend on portraying this in a distinctive way to create adrenaline and excitement for the audience. 

As the music begins, the audience will be introduced to a dark room, the camera will pan across in slow motion and stop when it captures the female artist who will have her face down, and then she will look directly at the camera and sing, captured through a mid shot. The shot will then change as the beat drops to a high angle of the artist laying down tarot cards on the table upside down. The shot will then change to a low angle of the female artist turning over one card. The shot will then change to a library where a male character, a geek, is seen to be sitting in a library reading. The artist will then turn over another card, revealing another male character. the shot will then change to a street where the male character from the tarot card is jogging while listening to music. The two males will then start to feel weird as they begin feeling the connection with the female artist. 

As the fourth verse begins, the camera will capture a close up of the female artist turning over another card with a picture of another male. The shot will then adapt to a dance studio , with the camera capturing a male dancer, dancing, before he hears the tarot readers voice through the stereo and also feels the connection in the same way the other two males did. As the frame adapts to the black room with the Tarot reader, a close up will capture her turning over the final card, revealing a picture of the final male. The shot will then capture the male through an establishing shot, performing martial arts.

When the chorus begins, a tilt shot will capture the female artist casting a spell using her psychic crystal ball, which will have an impact on all the males, identified through their facial expressions an body language. She will begin turning over a new set of cards which will have different words on them including, death, fool etc which will determine how each male is going to lose the fight they will be exposed to, preventing them from winning over the love interest. 

During the 8th and 9th verses, the male characters will all find themselves in a cage, where they will fight against one another in a battle to win the love interest (female artist), every time the male is losing, he will have a piece of his clothing stripped away, illustrating his loss. The geek and the martial artist will fight first through dancing, in a very homoerotic way, with  the martial artist winning and the geek being portrayed as a 'fool' according to the tarot card. The martial artist will then be up against the jogger, with the martial artist winning again, and the jogger dying due to the tarot card predicting him 'death'. He will then be up against the dancer, which will be his most difficult fight, causing him to struggle. However, after a close miss, the martial artist wins, with the dancer being hanged. Each of the males will be eliminated in the ways the tarot cards predict they will. 

As the 10th verse begins, the martial artist will be awarded for his strength,by winning over the love interest who he has proved to that he deserves her love. The couple will then cuddle with the song coming to an end.

Conclusion

Overall, by planning the narrative according to the lyrics has increased our knowledge regarding the stages our narrative will follow. This task also allowed us to think about our idea in more detail, allowing us to remove the small parts that were irrelevant and also encouraged us to identify the major parts of the narrative which we could use to begin each verse. As a result, as a group we are now more confident about how are idea and narrative will form itself, and how it will come together at a steady pace. Without planning the narrative according to the lyrics, we would be unsure of how well our idea would be and whether we would have enough or not enough content to film. We are now aware of the locations we need and how we will film according to the content we need to film. 

Planning - Copyright Letter

Introduction:

After finalising our song choice, we decided to write a copyright letter to the record company for legitimate reasons to ensure that no problems occur later on in the process that prevent us from creating a copyright letter to seek reassurance is an essential part of the process and without it, we have no right to use an artists song for our benefit and then share it onto platforms such as YouTube. Therefore, the creation of this letter will be used a source of evidence to prevent us from getting accused for using the song illegally.

Copyright Letter:

The letter I created involved me asking the record company for their permission to use the single, and I have ensured that I ask if they require us to make any changes to protect thier company and/or artist. I also explained that we will only be using the music video for educational purposes and will present it on popular platforms, including YouTube, so the company are aware of our intentions and understand that it is essential to our coursework. Below is a copy of the letter and the information I have included:

Conclusion: 

Overall, creating the copyright letter has been beneficial as it is important that the process we carry out is legitimate and effective, therefore, the letter will be used as a source of protection for me and my group members as we will be able to use it to prevent any problems. If the company responds, informing us that we cannot use their single, then we will respect their decision and immediately change our idea to prevent further issues. However, if they inform us confirming that we can use the single then we will go ahead with our idea and ensure that we use it appropriately. If we don not receive any response from the company then we will go ahead and use the song, as it suggested that there is no real problem with using the track.

Planning - My Audience

My Audience

Why is it Important to know about audiences when creating a music video?

It’s important to know about audiences when creating a music video as it gives us an insight into their interests and expectations. Before creating music video, it is important to find out about who your target audience is and what they like. If we are familiar with this then we will be able to make the music video relatable to the audience, and create it according to the audiences expectations. An audience is extremely important as they are the consumers and the success of the music video depends on them, as their viewings will determine how successful a music video is. If we make the music video according to the audiences needs and expectations, it is more likely that a mass audience will watch the video in comparison to if we create a music video according to our own interests without taking the audience into consideration, which will lead to the audience not taking any notice in the video. In order to find out about your audience, it is suitable to collect primary and secondary data, such as the internet and questionnaires. These methods will allow us to find out about the audience in a more personal way and understand what kind of conventions they would expect to see in a music video. As a result, after deciding on our song choice, we carried out a questionnaire to discover what our target audience liked and wanted to see so we are able to adapt our music video making it appropriate for the audience. 

Age, Gender and Ethnicity

After carrying out our questionnaire and evaluating the data, we discovered that our music video will be suitable for males and females in particular between the ages of 16-28. The genre of our song is alternative R&B therefore, we believe this target audience is suitable as this is the group that are more likely to listen to slow and emotional music videos which will be evident through the themes, the content is also best suited for this age group. Furthermore, our audience will not be aimed at any particular gender, as both females and males are likely to enjoy listening to slow music, which highlights important themes that they can associate themselves with. Therefore, the video is likely to appeal to both genders, however, females are stereotyped as being more emotional, and will be more likely to connect with the themes of love and mystery than males who tend to conceal their emotions. Our target audience is not likely to be from any particular ethnic background, as our song is suitable for all ethnic audiences, and the narrative is not focussed on a certain ethnicity, the characters that will be in our music video will be from different ethnicities promoting diversity. Identifying the age, gender and ethnicity of your audience is beneficial as it ensures that we know how to adapt our music video according to these factors. 

Income Bracket/Status

We will be targeting working unemployed/ working class individuals who are in the E/D audience category. This is because the narrative we have chosen is aimed at this audiences as we will include characters who will have working class values and who will behave in a working class manner, through their personas, behaviour and values. An unemployed/ working class audience will be able to relate to the themes that are evident within the narrative as they are likely to experience this due to their ages. The audience is likely to be  young students and part time individuals who will be attracted to the music video as a result of the narrative and themes involved. It is unlikely that full time workers will be able to relate as this audience is likely to be more mature and less likely to engage in a complicated love story. After identifying our target audiences status, we will now choose characters and a main artist who are also from similar social backgrounds allowing the audience to relate to them. 

Interests/Hobbies

We have identified our audiences interests and hobbies according to the genre of our song which is alternative R&B. This genre of music is likely to be played at party's and by individuals at home on various devices. Therefore, we believe that our audiences interests are likely to be associated with partying, enjoying romance, going out etc. Our audience is also at an age where they experience love and relationships more frequently, therefore, the narrative will appeal to them as we will ensure we present an unconventional love story that our target audience may or may have already experienced before. Identifying the target audiences interests and hobbies and linking it to our music video and narrative will allow the audience to relate to the content and understand what is going on in the music video as a result.

Audience Reaction

• Audience Engagement is likely to be present in my music video, as the audience will react to the music video differently according to their hobbies. They are likely to react in a positive way if they can relate to the narrative and link it to their past/ current experiences. Also despite, subcultures being evident within society according to Hebdige, particular subcultures will be able to associate their interests with our music video as we have different characters with differing personas from different backgrounds. This will allow a mass audience to relate to the music video. However, some subcultures such as skinheads, punks, etc could feel offended due to their strong morals and due to the content triggering a negative response. 

• Audience Expectation will also be present due to the audience having expectations according to different factors such as their gender, age, hobbies etc. They will be expecting to see genre characteristics which will ensure that we include, star image motifs, intertextual reference etc. We will ensure we make our music video conventional and very much mainstream so our target audience are satisfied with the content and the music video meets their expectations. 

• Audience identification- According to Dyer the artist should be constructed to be ordinary, which we have taken into consideration. After finding out about our audience, we have decided to make our artist relatable to them at the end of the video when she is transformed into a beautiful lady and connects with her lover. We will also ensure that she from a working class background and around the age of 16-28, but also presented as a star allowing the audience perceive her as iconic. 

Why we have identified this group as our target audience?

We have identified this group as our target audience because our song choice reflects this audience through the narrative content, themes and the characters we have chosen. This has made the video suitable for 16-28 year old audiences allowing them to relate to the music video. The narrative we have chosen is specifically for this group as it involves young characters who are exploring their youth and the themes we have chosen are familiar to the audience. Other groups such as the younger audience wouldn't be able to relate to the music video due to it being confusing and inappropriate for them, and they wouldn’t be able to relate to the content within the music video. Also, audiences above the age of 28 are likely to be too mature to relate to this sort of behaviour (young love, chasing after a love interest). Therefore, the age group we have chosen is more suitable. By aiming the music video at both genders is also more practical as it allows the music video to gain more viewings.