In preparation to create our digipak, we needed to research various examples to both inspire us and also see what conventions  are used in this market. Firstly it made sense to look at our song's digipak, Smile by Mikky Ekko, to set an example.

Whilst we remained with the same characters as initially decided upon, we dramatically changed our casting as we were unable to arrange for actors from Sandra Reynolds. The actor playing the strong willed character is Zoë Desgland. We chose Zoë as, being an A Level drama student, she'd had previous experience performing to an audience and in front of a camera as all of their exams are filmed. She would therefore also have a good critical understanding of her role, and we needed someone who could adapt their characterisation to suit any idiosyncrasies we wanted them to fit in. Thinking of the costume of Zoë's character, we wanted her to wear dark colours, and dress very practically, as this illustrates her determined and "tough" character.

We chose Charlie Frazer to play the role of our intelligent character due to him also having acting experience. He, also, is currently doing a drama A-Level and has recently starred as the leading role in The Maddermarket's George's Marvellous Medicine, therefore he will be used to following a script and direction and will have the versatility needed to play any given role. In the interview, he came across as confident, calm and quite willing which we found very important as we needed him to play the role convincingly under time constraints and the pressure of performing in front of a camera with the rest of the cast as onlookers. In regards to costume for Charlie's character we wanted his clothing to hold connotations of intelligence and be able to convey this in the short frames of time the audience would see him, so we decided in particular that in semiotic terms glasses were a feature we definitely wanted to use.

We then had issues surrounding the casting of the leader, finding it essential to have someone with prior acting experience. The only other drama students in our school other than the afore mentioned Zoë and Charlie, are Abigail Lewis and myself (Meghan Kelly), and because of Abigail having issues with attending filming due to prior commitments with dance, we decided I would have to play the role. However, given I also am doing a drama A-Level, and have experience with LAMDA grades it did mean I would be comfortable performing, and I would undoubtedly have an understanding of the role being part of the creative process. The costume of this character, we wanted to be a middle ground of the two others, with a practical approach to the way they dress, but displaying a lighter side with literally lighter clothing.

This is our first video diary discussing our idea so far and updates on locations and cast. We talk about the issues with our cast and how we are attempting to overcome the situation.

For our film we plan to film in roughly two locations, one a forest/woodland area, and another in a rundown building (preferably abandoned). For the forest type area we plan to film at Thetford Forest which is fairly local, and has an open meadow type area we can film the last shots.


Our second location consists of an abandoned building. Naturally this is more difficult to find but we managed to find Sovereign House based in Anglia Square. Built in the late 1960's the building used to be a HM Stationary Office before being written for demolishment in 2012.

For our cast we originally planned to hire the three main actors from the Sandra Reynolds website (http://www.sandrareynolds.co.uk/). We picked out three actors who resembled our fictional characters we created, and how they matched our original visions.

Character One: The Leader


We wanted this character as we feel they would contribute to the development of the other characters by acting as a controlled figure, and a combination of the two extremes of the other characters.

Character Two: Strong Willed

We wanted to have two characters other than the "leader" who would have more extreme characteristics. We wanted to have a strong willed character would challenge the antagonists, and catalyse the conflict whilst being an interesting character themselves.


Chapter Three: Intelligence/Clever


However, we decided against this due to difficulty finding actors that both suited our roles, and were able to travel to the locations without problem.

Establishing shots.



























SW running, runs through a puddle.

Within the bracket of music videos, it is often seen that either one of or both narrative and live performance are used. We have opted to focus solely on a narrative idea, as we felt like the story we’ve interpreted from the lyrics would be most effective without the alienation cuts to live performance would create. It would allow the audience to become more involved with the plot, and emphasise the strong imagery heard in the song itself.


However, our narrative is not linear, as the main body of the narrative (the scenes that contribute to the progression of the plot) is fragmented with shots of the protagonists’ respective groups. This was in order to create suspense by reinforcing the tension between the two groups of people and building up to the climax of the story, whereby the coupe is reunited. Without these shots it may have been harder for the audience to understand why there was any separation between them in the first place.

0-23 seconds -> establishing shots (ref Rashimon)
23-45 seconds -> characters taken away (change character on beat)
45-1:01 seconds -> in their respective locations (interrogation)
1:01-1:21 seconds -> running (cuts between the beat)
1:21-1:40 seconds -> planning escapes
1:40-1:58 seconds -> escape (split screen)
1:58-2:17 seconds -> running
2:17-2:37 seconds -> slowmo flashback
2:37-2:55 seconds -> running
2:55-3:15 seconds -> out of forest (cut on 'na's)
3:15-3:24 seconds -> trio meet and face back to back
3:24-3:27 seconds -> wide shot of guards running towards them (ends on cliffhanger)

Once deciding our song choice, we noted down some ideas that we created after analysing the lyrics.

Multiple people (tight-knit friend group/ family)

When deciding upon the structure of our music video, in regards to footage, we had three options open to us:




- Lip synced, live performance



- Narrative



- A mixture of both options


All of which have their own advantages and disadvantages that we considered.



Live performance:



Using live performance is a good way of introducing the band/ singer to their audience and aiding marketing and more people will know what the band/ singer looks like. This is also a cheaper and quicker option as, in theory, no props are needed, only the band/ singer and their instruments. However, there is the issue of timing the lip syncing correctly and the playing of any instruments to the recorded song. Failure to have the band/ singer playing/ singing in unison can make the video look unprofessional and rushed.


Narrative:



The use of narrative in a music video can help convey the intentions behind the lyrics and make the song more memorable by bring the story to life and creating a more dynamic video. However, it can mean that the song is more linked to the story than the band/ singer therefore making it a bad choice in terms of marketing and advertisement; yet there are ways of combating this via a strong presence on social media and possibly the band/ singer acting in the video (although the latter is not possible in this instance).




A mixture of the both:



Combining both is the most common of choices, as it holds both the positives of live performance and narrative. However, it could be argued that the narrative being broken up in this manner negates the immersive nature of purely narrative music videos.



Based on this, and our initial ideas, we decided the best method of dividing our footage was to focus solely on a narrative. This is due to the fact we wanted the video to be captivating and dramatic, and felt that the lack of limitations that comes with fictional stories would allow for this, and enable us to create an original music video.

Our final song choice was 'Smile' by Mikky Ekko. Below are listed the reasons why we chose the song, and how it stood out compared to the others. The main characteristic was the contradicting lyrics within the song, and how they appear negative against the positive beat.



Without the extra audio of the music video the song is 3 minutes and 27 seconds long.

To decide on a song Meghan and I decided to list some songs each, and then eliminate them together. Listed below are the original songs we listed before the final one was chosen:

Firstly the time lapse is incredibly effective in both the narrative and setting the scene. The narrative is unique and well shot, along with the various camera angles and effects. It's clear there was a lot of time gone into this video, seen by the lighting and effects. The miming for example is set in a room with a lamp, emphasised by the time of day, allows us to learn about the narrative and story line behind the lyrics. The cross cutting to the miming from the character significant as it allows you to follow the story as well as feel the emotion and mood of the character.

                                                                     Tove Lo - Habitats



Firstly the music video is already effective by the use of time lapse and the location of London. Clearly the narrative is based on city life, and the hardships of a relationship in this setting. The mixture of shots really highlights the struggles of the character, and the ongoing narrative. When lip syncing I felt the actor was a little off a times, and would not constantly look at the camera, however this is personal preference. Also the editing of the footage with the beat of the music makes it more effective, and something we wish to try in our own video.

                                                              Labrinth - Express Yourself



First off the narrative is defiantly unique and snappy. I found it a little difficult to follow at first, however got the flow as the video went on. The use of location is bold and completes the narrative, helping the audience connect with both main characters. The editing is also clever, as we get various silhouettes of the second character, along with various lyrics.

Hayley Kiyoko - Gravel to Tempo (0:00 - 1:00)

Within this one minute, it's clear to see the video is well thought out and has a unique narrative. Firstly we are introduced to our main character (played by Kiyoko herself) who is miming the lyrics as she enters the school. We are also introduced to a 'popular' group of girls, who seem to be the antagonists of the video. This goes against conventions of your typical music video as the main character is female, along with the antagonists, which is rare.

Next the setting is an American school, which is fairly common in music videos. The setting is light and filled with various props of a typical school, adding to the realism.

We also get various camera angles, such as close ups, pans and tracking shots. These are typical in most music videos as it gives variety for the audience, and different ways the music video can be filmed. The close ups mainly focus on the characters when introducing them to the audience, again typical in most videos.

Finally the clip conforms to the character miming along to the lyrics, something which various artists use in their work. It gives a sense of realism but also can be used to break the fourth wall.

To create our own music video we needed to find some inspiration. Below are music videos listed that we found inspiration from for our own version.

The particular combination of qualities in a person or place that makes them different from others.
In a work of fiction, one character is typically the central focus of the story. This person is called a protagonist while the character who opposes the actions of the protagonist is the antagonist. Characterisation is the process of how the author presents the character in order to make them seem real to the reader.

In works of narrative (especially fictional), the setting includes both the time and geographic location in which the story takes place. A literary element, the setting helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story.

A narrative or story is any report of connected events, real or imaginary, presented in a sequence of written or spoken words, and/or still or moving images.

Narrative can be organised in a number of thematic and/or formal categories: non-fiction (such as definitively including creative non-fiction, biography, journalism, transcript poetry, and historiography); fictionalisation of historical events (such as anecdote, myth, legend, and historical fiction); and fiction proper (such as literature in prose and sometimes poetry, such as short stories, novels, and narrative poems and songs, and imaginary narratives as portrayed in other textual forms, games, or live or recorded performances).
Narrative music videos are those that tell a story. There are many different ways a story can be told in a music video. A narrative can be edited alongside the performance of the artist so that the video cuts back and forth between elements of performance and narrative. Sometimes the artist can be involved in the narrative in some way and can even be lip synching as they act in the narrative. In other examples the artist can be performing in the same location as the narrative is occurring. Having a narrative generally means there is a clear beginning, middle and end but sometimes narratives can be a bit more abstract and actually the narrative progresses very little from the start to the finish.

Narrative music videos are those that tell a story. There are many different ways a story can be told in a music video. A narrative can be edited alongside the performance of the artist so that the video cuts back and forth between elements of performance and narrative. Sometimes the artist can be involved in the narrative in some way and can even be lip syncing as they act in the narrative. In other examples the artist can be performing in the same location as the narrative is occurring. Having a narrative generally means there is a clear beginning, middle and end but sometimes narratives can be a bit more abstract and actually the narrative progresses very little from the start to the finish.

There are five stages the narrative can progress through:
1. A state of equilibrium (All is as it should be.)
2. A disruption of that order by an event.
3. A recognition that the disorder has occurred.
4. An attempt to repair the damage of the disruption.
5. A return or restoration of a NEW equilibrium

Back in the 1960s, few acts recorded music videos. There was no MTV, and in an age of endless touring, artists couldn’t often make it to TV studios to perform. Having flirted with the idea of promotional films for their songs lifted from the movies, A Hard Day’s Night and Help!, The Beatles later recorded a series of promotional films for their singles after giving up touring in 1966.

While “I Am The Walrus” might be the most well-known Beatles “video” from this time, it’s the “Strawberry Fields Forever” promo film that is most important, featuring reverse, slow motion, fades, camera filters and slow mixes, and a collection of unusual, slightly imposing camera angles.

Queen’s revolution of the music video, an experiment that the band repeated again and again with some fascinating results (such as “Radio Gaga” and “Innuendo”) kick-started a new aspect to the music industry, one that spawned the world’s most famous TV channel and the most famous video of all, Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”.

Although MTV now shies away from its former role – partly out of pretensions of legitimacy as a producer of TV shows, and partly because its owners fear the competition of YouTube – it will forever be synonymous with the pop music scene of the 1980s and 1990s.

For our A2 coursework we had the choice to either create a short film or music video. Me and Meghan Kelly decided to work together to create a music video. This is to match a song of our choice along with a dig pack to promote the video.

1) In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge the forms and conventions of real media products?

I personally feel we conformed to real media products. Our main character is male, who relives the night before. We abide to the stereotype of youths partying from night to night, doing stupid things with their friends, only to repeat it later. However this was chosen from the nature of the song, and the availability of cast members we had. Also during our filming we tried to conform to a realistic filming technique, by not using a tripod to film. We also used various establishing shots of the setting and the characters themselves to aid the audience in understanding. However what breaks the conventions is the narrative and use of editing. Our narrative is unintentionally not linear, cutting between our main character and the rest of the party. Our big twist on the video, being the reverse effect of the footage, also doesn't conform to media today, and makes it rather unique.

2) How effective is the combination of your main product (video) and ancillary text (CD cover)?

For our music video, the theme is the night before, documenting the crazy events that happened to our main character last night, shown with the unique twist of rewinding the footage. Originally for our CD cover, we planned to have physically written the songs title on Charlie's face, and use that image. This plan changed due to poor image quality. Instead I decided to use a screenshot from our current footage and give it a comic book/illustrative or retro spin, much like the original artwork. I feel the image links to our music video as it is the establishing shot, and the retro spin links back to the era of the song.

3) What have you learned from your audience feedback?

I've personally learned a lot from the audience feedback. All made clear that we made a good effort on both versions, however the second shone through more. I personally liked the first one, but I felt me and Rosie had no part in it whatsoever.I'm glad we were given the opportunity to make it, and mash up both footage despite the narratives not fitting as well as originally planned. I feel after reading the feedback we could of also given ourselves more time to film, and plan in detail our video much more before going headfirst into filming.

4) How did you use media technologies in the construction and research, planning and evaluation stages?

We used various media technologies in order to film and plan our music video. Initially we looked at our other potential song choices on YouTube, to gain both ideas and what makes a good music video. After this I personally looked up various tutorials on how to reverse footage, amongst other effects. We then created our storyboards to finalise our ideas, before filming with various cameras and compiling the footage together on Premiere Pro. In our reflection and evaluation stages, we watched our classmates videos and reflected back to our original plans.

After showing various individuals (including the volunteers for the alternate version) both clips, I asked for them to report back to me on any feedback they had. This was done verbally and online.

Eleanor Smith: "Although the narrative in the original clip is strong, the idea of a party really doesn't resonate with just the main character being alone. The second clip highlights this much more even though the main character isn't actually there. Again with the first clip, it's thought out well, however after reading the original plan of the night before, it gets a little confusing when he's out in the daytime."

Manny Hobbs: "I'm a little biased when it comes to both these versions due to me featuring in the second one! However with my honest opinion I feel the alternate version is much more effective, especially giving off that 'party' vibe. The narrative is a little hard to follow, but after reading the original plan it makes much more sense. If there was less issues with filming and scheduling, I feel this would of been a very successful music video."

Hannah Bradley: "After watching both clips I feel they equally stuck to the narrative and have a resemblance. Starting with the first clip, it's clearly planned and edited well, however to my understanding it's meant to picture a party the night before, which isn't clear with just one character. This is where the second version overcomes this. I can tell they tried hard to include more people despite the lacking of the main character. I feel this works well, although the piecing together of footage is a little confusing which is understandable in their circumstances."

Due to our issues we had, our shooting schedule was very varied and sparse. Harry filmed by himself (roughly a week before the due date) due to me and Rosie both being unavailable to get to his house, in which filmed by himself with Charlie and his friends to make the shots. This was successful however we only had shots of Charlie, and about a quarter of the footage.

We then insisted on filming the rest of the video at Harry's house with a group of people to create a party scene, however being so close to the due date me and Rosie created our own cast and filmed in the drama studio, two days before the due date.

Finally on the due date itself Harry edited his own footage with other bits he forgot, still with only Charlie, and made that the final cut. This is when we were advised to make an alternate version with our footage to gain both experience and make use of it, not letting our cast down.

After our final cut was published, Rosie and I felt bad about both the footage and the volunteers time being wasted, so after taking advice from sir we decided to edit an alternate version.

In this version I tried to include both ours and Harry's footage, creating a linking narrative between the two. Also in this version I managed to film a 'party' unlike the final cut. The narrative is slightly confusing, but it's only to be expected with the issues we had. One of the volunteers I showed the footage to said it could highlight our main character's loneliness, and how maybe his friends are going to parties without him or that it's a fantasy/drunken dream of his.

Overall this version can still be improved, however we feel much better about using all our footage, and not putting any to waste. Again with thought this narrative can fit, however it's not clear in the video.

Shown above is our final cut for our music video. The song featured is 'Last Nite' by The Strokes, with Charlie Frazier as our main lead. This was filmed by Harry at his house, and documents the events of our main characters previous night, shown by the various shots and reverse editing.

At the time of shooting these clips, we had minimal footage from Harry's end, so we decided to use what he filmed for a mock up. Although I had to shorten the song itself, I feel this was a fairly successful practice in preparation for our real thing. The narrative is fairly easy to follow, and the scenes look fairly realistic despite us filming in the drama studio.

Our finalised casting includes Charlie Frazier as our main character, who replays the events of the evening. The individuals in the background are left to Harry to decide as he is the one available to film that night.

Update: Due to Harry only filming Charlie and having little footage for our due date, me and Rosie have cast Georgina, Ellie, Max and Manny to film the party scenes. Although Charlie will not be there we plan to film it from a first person point of view, with a me holding the camera to make it more realistic.

Location wise, Charlie's shots were filmed at Harry's house, however we are unable to film there with the rest of the cast due to short notice and the unavailability of the house. With help from the newly scouted cast me and Rosie used the drama studio which had blackout curtains, making the party much more realistic. We also had plenty of room and was easy to clean up afterwards.

Potential Album Cover 1:


For this cover I went for a retro theme to match the songs era on Adobe Photoshop, and went down a comic book style cover. Due to the lack of quality in the image, I added a pixel effect to make it a more retro style, and make the images quality less noticeable. I then adjusted the brightness and contrast, increasing them. Following this I then added a border and the title in a gradient box, highlighting the first letters of each word. Finally to match our original idea of the title on Charlie's face, I added this on and reduced the opacity to make it more realistic and seemingly physically drawn.

Album Cover 2:


For the second attempt at an album cover I decided to keep it simple. Much like Harry's suggestion before, we decided to use Charlie's face once again. This time the writing was actually written on his face, making it much more realistic. I also added the band's name down the bottom with the red rectangle to make it stand out.

During the creation of our music video we faced various issues we had to overcome. At the beginning of the project, our previous filming dates had to be changed due to Harry's personal reasons. After this we found it difficult to arrange another date as we were all busy judging by the time of the year.

We finally found a date to film where both me and Harry could attend, however due to the rural location of Harry's house, I would be unable to make it back. Harry then decided to film on his own, with me taking up the task of editing, and Rosie to continue the blog posts.

Harry managed to film footage on that day, however with only Charlie (our main actor) and no extras, resulting in us having gaps for our video. The footage itself was filmed well, and fit the idea and narrative perfectly, although seemed sparse and seemingly little links without the much needed fillers.

Now so close to the deadline, I intend to resolved this by filming some more shots with a cast I have arranged to fill the caps, using a first person view shot to establish a link between Charlie and the newer footage. Rosie intends to edit this and complete the outstanding blog posts, along with my own goal of completing the album cover.

Part of our task was to create a storyboard:




Our storyboard shows our narrative for the video, and how we plan to film in order matching the reverse effect we plan to put on in editing. Our end consists of Charlie back at the door, and then a quick cut of him on the ground (linking to the establishing shot) with 'the end' written in marker on his forehead.

Our location ideas consisted of an outside area and inside a house. To fit our condition we have to use at least two locations, which fit rather well with our idea.

We decided to eventually film at Harry's house as it fit best and had an accessible garden. After a series of debates we decided to film it in the daytime, and a night time would be harder to film during summer hours.

Update: We still plan to film at Harry's house, however Harry wishes to film at a later time. We also still plan to use both the garden and inside, especially the kitchen, living room and bathroom. We did consider filming at a park or another public location, but it wouldn't fit our idea and would be more difficult without any inside space, also breaking our condition.

For our casting ideas we planned to cast a variety of backing people for the setting, as well as a main lead. Harry suggested Charlie Frazier to take up the role, not only because of his history of acting, but also his appearance to the role. Our backing individuals will hopefully be comfortable on camera, and match up to the intentions of the video.

Update: We still plan to use Charlie Frazier, and also have backing individuals planned. Due to people being unavailable, we may have a shorter amount than we originally planned, but will aim to use these as much as possible to make the shots work.

Our format for the video is going to be fully narrative, with a series of band shots cut between the clips to give it a steady balance. We plan to film our video chronologically and then rewind the footage during the editing process to resemble the 'last nite' title of the song. We plan to use slow motion for some more arty clips.

Update: After planning the storyboard out, we decided to remove any band shots and replace them with some slow motion shots of glasses, people etc. This keeps the narrative flowing and frequent.

At hearing 'Last Nite', Harry immediately thought of the idea of watching the music video backwards as the main character remembers or the audience watch what happened 'Last Nite'. This type of narrative would allow us to play with camera shots, content and techniques to create aesthetically pleasing reversed footage. 
The idea would start with having the band, introduced with The Strokes written in fire, which would begin the backwards filming.

Then the video would consist of shots where the character:
Passes out and having something drawn on their face.
Takes shots.
Their silhouette dances against the wall.
Going to the toilet.
Throwing up.
Smoking.


All of these would align with the backwards narrative, so the end of the night is first and the video itself will finish with the main character (Charlie) passed out on the grass outside with 'The End' written on his forehead. 

In preparation for A2 coursework we have been given a trail effort over the next month to produce an original music video, and accompanying original CD cover for the release of the song, I will be working with Harry and Rosie. We have the song Last Nite by The Strokes.

We have been given the following songs to choose from: