Costume Designs

Today the production team and I discussed the attire that was appropriate for the protagonist characters. As the characters embrace diverse traits it was necessary to reflect upon the different ways to portray their personality through their costumes. In addition, I studied the iconography of each character and created a montage of images that reflected their implied qualities.

Through the study of semiotics, the personality of this character is apparent. This is shown by her casual clothing which reflect her cool attitude. Moreover, like a majority of female teenagers it is obvious that this character is interested has interests in fashion.

This character pursues the role as a punk. The black garments embrace connotations expressing a sinister appearance. On the other hand, the heavy make up acts a disguise which suggests that the this character is not confident.

At a first glance this character appears to be similar to the female protagonist, this is because of their fashionable clothing and modern style. However, the various designer items have connotations of an arrogant attitude.

This character would be catergorised as the 'geek'. This is because of his old-fashioned style, which mirrors his personality and lifestyle. Nevertheless, these traits change throughout the video as he is motivated to be more confident, hence the Superman costume.

Characters and Cast

As filming begins in approximately three weeks, it was vital that the production team and I began to consider the characters in our narrative, and make important decisions about the cast. However, the final decisions are based upon factors such as, the ability to stay in role for long periods of time, availability, and general image. The general appearance of the each character is a large factor, as it is essential that they appear within the ages ten to nineteen. This is purely for the audience's benefit as they would be within the same age range, hence understanding the characters in more depth.

Using, Developing and Challenging Conventions- Storyboard

To evaluate the ways in which our storyboard uses, develops and challenges conventions of pop music videos, I decided to compare our initial ideas to three pop videos. To establish which songs to compare I used the billboard chart website, (http://www.billboard.com/charts#/charts/pop-songs). The three pop songs which I will be comparing the storyboard to are Miley Cyrus- Party in the U.S.A, Katy Perry- Hot and Cold and Jonas Brothers- SOS.

Miley Cyrus- Party in the U.S.A


Katy Perry- Hot and Cold


Jonas Brothers- SOS



Conventions:

• There is a balance of domestic and public scenes, which relate to the stereotypical lifestyle of young adults.
• Many scenes exaggerate humor, this again appeals to young adults.
• Long shots are utilised, revealing the costumes and Mise en Scene which appeal to youth culture, as well as close ups illustrating the emotions behind the songs.
• A number of Edited transitions such as, wipes and fades were used in order to create a surreal atmosphere, this also relates to a young target audience.
• The Mise en Scene in all the videos for example, bikes, street dancers, concert scenes, couples, style clothing are frequently associated with youths.
• Florescent lighting is employed as it enhances the idea of a teenagers imagination. It also aids to construct glamorous scenes.
• Pop artists usually promote themselves in music videos, this is most commonly achieved by staring in their own music video.
  

Although our song has been created using computer software, it gives the impression that a band was involved, this is due to the variety of instruments and vocals. Therefore, our production is challenging some of the conventions of a pop band's video. In addition Pop bands usually promote themselves by appearing in their own music videos, this is achieved by repeatedly changing from scenes of the band to the narrative. However, the production team and I do not feel that it is necessary to incorporate scenes of the band, as we believe the narrative is more powerful, and would address the audience through it's comical elements. Furthermore, we made use of lip sycronisation, close up shots and the repetition of chorus scenes. This directly engages the audience and creates rapport between the audience and the characters. Moreover, repeating scenes will allow the video to flow better as it links the different verses.

Camera Angles and Movements
Pop videos generally utilises a range of shots that express the emotions in the narrative, shots such as long shots, close ups, and extreme close ups are particularly common in pop videos. Close up shots on the singer's face, as well as cut in shots are generic conventions to illustrate expressions. However, we intend to develop these shots to make our video more exciting, hence our aspiration to use simplified versions of crane shots and cut away shots from a number of angles. Parallel to this, the camera movements will be fast to intensify the thrill of being young. This will be achieved by considering similar camera movement techniques that appear in pop videos, for example pans and fast dolly tracks.

Editing
A minority of pop music videos include cartoon animations, so it will be a challenge for the team to edit scenes of comic book styles animation. Furthermore, as it is often the beat or the rhythm of the track that provides the organisation for editing movements we have decided to use fast jump cuts, this will show simultaneously to the music, as the song opens with consistent drum beats. It will also create a montage of images, that offer the audience an insight into the traits of the characters. Moreover, it provides the audience with a surreal experience of 'jumping' from location to location, making the video lively and upbeat. Another editing technique which is common in pop videos is the use of slow motions, this usually makes an impact on the narrative, as it emphasises the importance of a specific scene.

Lighting
Lighting is a key feature in pop videos, especially the use of extreme artificial lights to create a 'bleach' effect on the pop artists, this aids to portray the artist as angels. Despite of this technique we have chosen to use florescent lighting to create scenes of bliss. We will also try to apply different shades of artificial lights to emphasise the moods of the scenes.

Mise-en-Scene
Pop videos are unique as they express different themes like historical periods, for example Madonna- Beautiful Stranger echoes the sixties. Therefore, it is necessary that we use appropriate props to reflect the time period, and it's culture. For instance, the characters will be following specific styles that are up to date. Furthermore, as our narrative is based around young adults, it is vital that the mise-en-scene reflects their age. It is for this reason that we will include objects relating to stereotypical representations, such as accessories, objects related to hobbies, school books etc.

Drawing storyboard 1

Today the production team and I were given the opportunity to begin translating our written storyboard into official drawings. However, we have decided that the information relating the camera angles, movements, transitions and timing should be written last, this is for the fear that there could be a possibility of last minute changes.

Beginning to Storyboard 2

Today the team and I had a meeting to finish our initial outline of the storyboard, we made some changes to the previous day's storyboard, but only minor changes.

Beginning to Storyboard

In today's lesson the team and I had a chance to begin working on our storyboard, although we all had ideas, we found it difficult to apply them to the lyrics. This was because our ideas were scattered, hence making our storyboard confusing. We then came up with an idea which we had not used in our previous As storyboards, this was to play the track many times before timing each section from the beginning, and applying specific scenes. However, after reaching 38 seconds in the track, we realised it would be time consuming, nevertheless it was still a productive way of story boarding as it would help us to film the exact details and timing of the scenes.

Our next group meeting will be on the morning of 20/10/09.

Analysis of Kate Nash- Foundations

Kate Nash's foundations video makes use of both acting and animation. The scenes are Parallel to the narrative, showing Kate's relationship with her boyfriend break down slowly, through the variety of scenes it is obvious that they have many differences, but according to the lyrics Kate hold's their relationship together. However, this idea will still be conveyed even if the visuals were played alone.



As the video begins high piano keys are played consistently, parallel to close up shots of paired objects that are used daily, or installations that appear normal to the audience, such as two tooth brushes, two watches and high heels (these objects presumably belong to the couple). However, immediately the average day scenes are disrupted by a bowling ball being thrown towards the row of shoes. This shows that there is some sort of chaos in the relationship, especially because the ball seem to be thrown by the boyfriend.

As the next instruments are introduced to beat begins to have a more upbeat feel, and the scenes change to a two shot of a male and female playing a board game. This is irrelevant to the audience at the moment, as it only gives little indication to what the narrative is about, therefore the audience can only assume who the characters are. However, as Kate begins to sing the storyline become more apparent, and it is now obvious that the board game represents their relationship as a game. As it says...

Thursday night, everything's fine, except you've got hat look in your eye,
When i'm telling you a story, you find it boring,
You're thinking of something to say,
You'll go along with it then drop it and humiliate me in front of our friends.

This shows that their relationships is not interesting for the both of them, as her boyfriend plays along with Kate, but the truth is he does not care. Nevertheless, a sense of optimism is portrayed as Kate sings...

Then i'll use hat voice that you fin annoying and say like,
"Yeah intelligent input darlin" why don't you just have another beer then,
Then you'll call me a bitch, and everyone we're with will be embarrassed,
And I won't give a shit.

This visuals support this as a close up of Kate opening the fridge to many beer bottles, though her optimism is reveled as she uses the empty beer bottle as a vase for her blossoming orchid.

The problems in the relationship are further established during the chorus as the lyrics read...

My fingertips are holding, to the cracks in our foundation,
And I know that I should let go, but I can't,
And everytime we fight I know that it's not right,
everytime you're upset and I smile,
I know I should forget but I can't

During the chorus, the intonation of the song rises making it stand out against the rest f the song, this emphasizes that the problem repeatedly occurs in their relationship, furthermore, a number of different shots accompany the lyrics. Firstly, a close up, over the shoulder shot is used revealing Kate playing cards, however, her boyfriend appears to be large blur, as the camera is not in focus, this gives the idea that her boyfriend is a blur in her life.

Secondly, as the lyrics read My fingertips are holding, to the cracks in our foundation, a cut away of two hands holding on by their fingertips against an over exposed background illustrates exactly what the lyrics mean.

Further into the song the same line My fingertips are holding, to the cracks in our foundation, is conveyed by another scene, of a point of view shot of the boyfriend taking decorations off a cake, and Kate replacing them, this again reveals the same idea of Kate filling in the gaps in their relationship.

Furthermore, the animation of the socks moving together and fighting, also create an appropriate image of the lyrics, And everytime we fight I know that it's not right, this shows that every aspect of their relationship is falling out, since even the socks fight.

Towards the end of the song there is an instrumental, where everything in the scenes seem to fall into place, which is apart from eachother. Like the beginning of the video their relationship is depicted through the daily objects, however towards the end the same idea is used but the object move away from eachother rather than touch eachother.

The final scene is of Kate pacing her bags and closing the door behind her, which represents the closure of her relationship with her boyfriend.

Sound and Vision in Pop/ Pop rock

It is obvious that the use of song and film is extremely important in music videos, especially Pop. A great deal of research carried out on Pop music reveals that Pop videos are concerned with the issues brought up within the narrative, making it most important to understand the relationship between the structured sounds and images. Alf Bjonberg suggests that there are two structural aspects of music, narrative and epic. Bjonberg defines the narrative musical syntax as 'linear', in which there is no repetition in the music, therefore it only moves forward. On the other hand, he describes the epic syntax as 'circular', which is most common in Pop music, this means that the music holds hooks, choruses, verses, bridges and vocal repetition. This is where the visual differences appear between pop and other music genres, since other genre videos make great use of linear narratives, whereas Pop music would apply more circular visual narratives, with repeated images accompanying the lyrics (chorus).

Sound and Vision

Philip Tag(1983) believes that listeners of especially music are able to 'visualise' the music they hear, by making use of semantics, which create a personal, mini music video in their mind. However, this changes for everyone as different people interpret different texts (lyrics) in their own way, according to their personality. Will Straw believes that the use of promotional videos poses as a threat to ones imagination, since it prevents them from visualising the music in their preferred way. He states that the the use of music videos is a way of "diminishing the interpretive liberty of the individual music listener...". According to Goodwin "the debate about whether of not the video images triumphs over the song itself needs to take account of where the emphasis lies in the visualisation, and whether or not it illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the meaning of the song"

• Illustration uses visual narrative to tell the story of the lyrics.

• Amplification introduces new meaning that do not illustrate the lyrics, but add layers of meaning.
  

• Contradictions use obvious visuals that contradict the narrative of the songs.

Interaction With The Audience

Considering the number of videos that include film footage, and film related iconography, Andrew Goodwin states that "songs are not the movies". He claims that music videos should include scenes with lip-synchronization, so that the artist addresses the viewer directly. Lip-synchronization seems to embrace the viewer, including them in the action. On the other hand he feels that the distance between an actor and the audience in a movie is because of the deliberate ignorance of the camera which makes the scene more natural. An example of the effect of lip-synchronization is Smoke City- Under Water Love, which is mostly set by a peaceful sanctuary-like area by a pool. As many scenes in the video appear surreal with scenes that are played then rewound, it leaves the viewer to feel confused. Nevertheless, the consistent referral to the singer, singing directly to the audience should settle any disorientated feelings.

Smoke City- Underwater Love

The Value of Sound in Music Videos

Recently, it has become more common for music videos to only have brief scenes of which the video follows the narrative. However, it seems a fashion for the music video to promote film more than it promotes the album or artist, this is especially common within the Hollywood film business, and music artists. Many music video such as Madonna- Material Girl incorporates images and iconography that have obviously been inspired by Marilyn Monroe's Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend.

Madonna seems to imitate the style of Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend by utilising the same colours, of deep reds and pink, this reveals both celebrities as passionate and seductive. As Madonna created her video years after Marylin Monroe's film, shows that she is trying to reproduce and in fact promote Marylin's lifestyle which was very promiscuous and flirtatious, since she is always surrounded by gentlemen.

As well as trying to imitate the iconography of movies, shown above, there are more obvious link between music videos and films, since many current hits use large film footage in their videos. Some videos like Korn- Did my Time also use similar camera angles and editing techniques to make the music video appear as part of the film, which in this case is Tomb Raider: Cradle of Life. Korn- Did my Time make use of fast transition and extreme close ups to make everything appear distorted and unsettled, as though in an action film. However, music videos that apply film footage and similar filming techniques rarely follow the song lyrics and music.

Korn- Did my Time

'Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life' Trailer

Superman- Barrie Gledden Lyrics

He struts his stuff like his the Mac daddy,
He's one of a kind, invincible and ready,
To take on the world, He's got sex appeal
The man is a dream, the devil did him a deal,

Unstoppable, incredible, irresistible and powerful,
The one and all number one,
He's Superman [superman], he's Superman,

That man's got style, that man's got flare,
Try to compete, oh don't you dare,
He's got the moves, he makes me shiver inside,
And he knows it, yeh he knows it,

Unstoppable, Incredible, Irresistible and Powerful,
The one and all, number one,
He's Superman [superman], he's superman,

He struts his stuff like his the Mac daddy,
He's one of a kind, invincible and ready,
To take on the world, He's got sex appeal
The man is a dream, the devil did him a deal,

That man's got style, that man's got flare,
Try to compete, oh don't you dare,
He's got the moves, he makes me shiver inside,
And he knows it, yeh he knows it,


Unstoppable, Incredible, Irresistible and Powerful,
The one and all, number one,
He's Superman [superman], he's superman,

Superman[superman]
Ehhhhhhhhhhh
C'mon Superman [superman]
Yeh he knows it [superman]
He knows it [superman]

Inspiration for Storyboarding

I briefly explored a few videos from the genres pop/ pop rock to help motivate scenes for our music video. I looked closely at camera angles, editing, animations and characters, in hope that it would encourage our own ideas.

Blink182- Always

I find that this Blink 182 video, is extremely effective as it illustrates the narrative in a unique way. The screen shots from the video reveal the scene to be cut into three horizontal sections, revealing three different outcomes with three different boys. In the second image, the person playing the guitar in each section is the same, however the scene is different. In the future I feel that it will be worth while to try and imitate this, as it is an successful way to direct and compare three different situations simultaneously.

Pink- Please Don't Leave Me

In Pink's video 'please don't leave me' the scenes are edited to create a misty, surreal, disorientated effect. This specific effect caught my attention, as it makes the scene feel as though it is a fantasy, which applies to the narrative of our song 'Superman'.

Powder- Up Here

Powder's video 'Up Here' is based on a Marvel comics, which I think is extremly relevant to our 'Superman' song. There are two aspects of this video which have influenced my ideas, firstly I admire the way the characters and their hero costumes are represented. I also think that their exaggerated acting adresses the plot of the song, which is about working hard to become the heroes that they are. Secondly, the use annimation is significant, as words like 'POW' were used to express the blasting sounds in comic, especially in the renowned Marvel comic 'Superman'.

Tenacious D- Tribute

Tenacious D's video tribute reminded me of Powder's video as it was obvious that costumes played a large role in the video. However, specific the colours and Mise en scene denoted the mood shown. For example, the hero costume in Powder's video is white and blue, which reveal angelic, innocent characteristics. On the other hand, the demon in Tenacious D's video portrays a more sinister feel, therefore enhancing the evil intentions behind the character.

Questionnaire Results

After collecting the data from our questionnaires I input the information into Microsoft Excel, in order to create a tally, which would help make important decisions based on the demographics. For example the targeted 'Age range' and 'Gender and Interests'. However, I chose to imput the most important catergories, hence the headings Gender, Age, Social Class, Favourite Genres, Attraction to Music Video, Interest in Album Covers and Favoured Video.

Class
By looking at the tally chart it was obvious that our targetted audience was of a predominantly Middle Class demographic, this reveals that the catergories will not be effected by the 'Class' demographic.

Targeted Age Range

As the group and I have chosen to produce a Pop Music video, our aim was to create a questionnaire that could display our target age range. After Interviewing a range of twenty people the results show that the most popular age range that preffered Pop music was between 16-18 years old. This was shown as 38% favoured Pop. Nevertheless, ages 19-21 showed similar results as 31% of the candidates also favoured Pop music.
Therefore, it is obvious that our target audience will be young and between the ages of 16-18.


Gender and Genre

After asking the candidates 'What their three favourite genres are?', the results also displayed that a majority of the female candidates favoured the Pop music genre rather than the males. The results from the chart reveal that 8 out of 20 females preferred the Pop genre, whereas only 5 males answered Pop.
This makes it clear that our target audience based on the demographic of 'gender' is a predominantly female audience.


Gender and Preferred Album Cover

To begin thinking about the ancillary tasks of produce an album cover for our artist, I decided to focus on the preferred types of album covers. The results show that between Groove Armada, Pink, Mika and JLS's album covers, Pink was Preferred as 8 out of twenty candidates voted for it. Additionally, the results reveal that the majority of voters were female since only 3 males votes for pink.

These results will soon influence the prduction of the group's album cover. Furthermore, I am planning to carry out more research into 'PINK' to help create a pop ideology that would appeal to females.

Audience Related Theories

Hypodermic Syringe Model
The Hypodermic Syringe Model is the theory behind the effect of the media on an audience. This term refers to the interaction between the medium, and the audience’s beliefs. This leads to the idea that the media acts as a syringe that injects information into the viewer, therefore influencing their views and behaviour. However, Greg Philo, a challenger of this theory suggests that it depends on the type of person, to whether they will be affected or not. An example of the ‘Hypodermic Syringe Model’ is the case of Jamie Bulger, where two teenagers had been discussing violent films, before they went out looking to kill a toddler. The film that the teens watched had said to changed their behaviour, forcing them to want to try out what they had seen on screen.

Cultivation Theory
Professor George Gerbner developed the Cultivation theory from the Hypodermic Syringe model, he used the idea of information injected into the audience but began further experiments. This time it looks at the long-term affects of television viewing, it shows that although one viewing may not have a big effect, viewing constantly over time has a greater effect on people’s behaviour, making them desensitised (distanced from ones emotions). Therefore, the shock factor has lessened, for example more violent television, makes violence seem more acceptable (normal) in society. On the other hand, many may become more sensitised (more attached to emotion), this is where the viewers are shocked by the violence, therefore becoming more aware and emotional.

Gratification Theory
The gratification theory emphasizes that as an audience we have the power to choose what we watch, for example when one watches the television, they do not watch it for no particular reason, they expect to gain something from it, (Gratification). Researches narrow the types of gratifications into four main categories, which are:

Information- (New and Documentaries) Programmes that satisfy our curiosity, to find out about society.

Personal Identity- (Soaps) Programmes that involve characters that people can look to, in order to look for models for our behaviour.

Social Interaction- Programmes that allow the viewers to learn more about other people and their lives, this helps viewers empathise with the characters

Entertainment- Programmes that are watched simply for amusement and relaxation.

Reception Theory
This theory is based on the idea that the audience create their own image of media texts, meaning that although a number of people watch teh same programme, individuals interpret it in their own way. This can be influenced by factors such as gender, class and era. David Morley classes the varied readings of people in three groups, which are:

Preferred- The way in which producers aim for their audience to interpret their text.

Oppositional- Alternative interpretations of the text.

Negotiated- People understanding how they are expected to read the text, but still adjusting it to benefit them.

Introducing Audiences

The media is practically universal, it is unlikely for someone to go through a day without instinctively noticing the media, from the radio, to the television, on billboards and magazines. The theory is that everyone in the world is part of a specific target constituency for one media product or another.
This theory has risen as many believe that audiences are people with different backgrounds, but who can easily be persuaded to buy products through adverts, or corrupted thoughts, for example because of powerful leaders (Hitler). The media is also branded for having the power to change the behaviour of others through media texts.
An example would be the invention of photography, Film, radio and television. Each invention allowed people of different walks of life to appreciate pieces of entertainment that once was restricted. It can be very easy, living in this media saturated world to forget how strange this might have been. Whereas in the past, many forms of entertainment were only available to those who could afford them, now suddenly films and radio are available to all.

HERBERT BLUMER (1950) describes this as...

“First, its membership may come from all walks of life, and from all distinguishable social strata; it may include people of different class position, of different vocation, of different cultural attainment, and of different wealth. ..... Secondly, the mass is an anonymous group, or more exactly is composed of anonymous individuals [Blumer means anonymous in the sense that unlike the citizens of earlier communities, the people who are members of the mass audience for the media do not know each other]. Third, there exists little interaction or change of experience between members of the mass. They are usually physically separated from one another, and, being anonymous, do not have the opportunity to mill as do members of the crowd. Fourth, the mass is very loosely organised and is not able to act with the concertedness or unity of a crowd”

Pop Record Labels

A record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. A record label is the brand name for a music release. Record labels are responsible for the manufacture, distribution and promotion of a particular recording. The major labels are all 4 media conglomerates (firms that have been created by merging two or more businesses), Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music entertainment, EMI Group, Warner Music Group. A number of Pop artists are under the management of these four record labels, since the labels are known world wide, therefore they have the power to promote the artist around the world.

(CLICK ON THE IMAGES TO VISIT THE OFFICIAL RECORD LABEL HOMEPAGE)

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP

The Universal Music Group is the largest leading business group out of the main four record labels in the recording industry. Renowned artists that are under the management of Universal Music Group are Kanye West, Mariah Carey, and pop princess Gwen Stafani.

SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Sony BMG Music Entertainment is the second biggest major record label in music sales. Leading artists like Pop rocker Kelly Clarkson, Alicia Keys, Shakira and Britney Spears are all artists with record labels from Sony BMG Music Ent.

EMI Group
The EMI group is the world's third leading music companies, it is home to many successful recording artists, songwriters and music catalougues. The EMI group first founded the revolutionary pop group 'The Beatles', which had a great impact on the way music has changed over time. Key artists under the management of the EMI group are Robbie Williams, Gorrilaz and Coldplay.

Warner Music Group

Finally, the Warner Music Group is the fourth most largest record labels in the world. Like many other labels the Warner Music Group includes managing, merchandising, touring and other activities which influence the progress of the artist. Pop artists under the management of the Warner Music Group are Faith Hill, Estelle and Madonna.

Chosen Song & Initial Storyline

After deciding between two songs for our music video, we chose the song ‘Superman by Barry Gledden’, which is an upbeat tune, with a catchy positive chorus and female vocals about the relationship between a girl and her superman lover. We came to this conclusion since the team had brilliant fun and exciting narrative ideas for the lyrics. The lyrics have also given us the opportunity to express the humour in our video, as the lyrics are very metaphorical, and exaggerated.

In our group we have individually created an outline of what we vision our storyline to be like, this is so we gather more ideas, and use elements from everyone’s narratives to construct our final storyboard.

Initial Ideas

• Female looking for the right boyfriend.
  
• She goes on dates with a number of different boys from punks, to gangsters to geeks, in the same restaurant, at the same time on different days!
• The scene in the restaurant remains the same but the boys change, and the roses seem more wilted in each scene.
  
• But of course she chooses the best looking boy, but he ends up to be the most big headed boy, and doesn’t really care about her.
• However, the Geek that she dated really likes her and is the ‘real superman’. (He is seen in the background of most scenes wearing a baggy superman t-shirt)
• As the video goes on, the geek appears to be better looking.
• The girl begins to notice him again.
  
• After a number of awful dates with her new boyfriend she is bored and leaves him, he doesn’t care as he is too busy looking at himself.
• Finally she gets with ‘Superman’!
• I also want the video to also include animated shots, which have been influenced by legendary comics and Superman cartoons. For example, speech bubbles and signs that stress the sounds.

Opening Scene to Superman Cartoon (1966)