Chosen song- Sorry

Pictured below are the lyrics to our chosen song, 'Sorry' by Nothing but thieves. The song discusses the battle of facing your own demons and overcoming them.

Overall, I am very happy with the decision that we made to change our song. I believe that it fits the look of the video far better and assists us in telling the narrative of our music video. 

Contacting the artist

In order to seek permission to use the song 'Sorry' for our music video, we decided to attempt to contact the artist, Nothing But Thieves. We decided to do this using twitter as we agreed as a group that it would be the best social media site to do this on as it is very current and is often used as a bridge between artists and their consumers.

We all retweeted and shared this post in order to try to get the attention of the artist and are waiting on a response.

Contingency plan

In order for the production of our video to run as smoothly as possible, it is necessary for us to create a contingency plan to ensure that all aspects of the production process were carried out in the time frame that we have been given.

Weather

As we are filming much of our video within the winter months, there is a very high chance of bad weather conditions. In order to combat this, we decided that we would gather as much footage as possible on the days where we had appropriate weather. This would mean that if we were to hit a patch of bad weather, we will not be lost for shots as we will  have these backups that were filmed on previous filming days.

Availability

As there are 4 members in our group, it is quite difficult to arrange days where we are all free and available to film for a long period of time. As I am strongly featured throughout the video, it is necessary for me to attend all filming days. As much of the footage is also set to include josh and jade, it will be essential for at least one of them to be present in the majority of our days for filming also. In order to deal with this issue, we decided that we would arrange filming around the availability of jade and josh. For example, if josh was unavailable, we would arrange to film the shots where jade is featured on these days instead. In order to keep track of our filming days, we created a group chat on Facebook in order to arrange days where we are available to film.

Transport

As none of the members of our group are able to drive, it will be difficult for us to reach some of the destinations needed for filming. We will need to rely on friends and parents to drive us to these places so we must arrange filming days around this. This will limit the amount that we are able to film, putting pressure on us to get more done on the days where we are able to film at these locations. In order to combat this, we will discuss filming days with these people and work out a filming schedule to ensure that all shots are filmed on time.

Locations

Whilst planning when we were going to get together to film our music video, we needed to decide where the shots were going to be filmed. 

Josh's house

We have chosen to use Josh's house as his character's house in the video. We have decided to do this as it is easy and convenient for the whole group to get to as he lives very close to our school. His house is also very bright and open, allowing for easy filming.

My house

We have chosen to use my house as my character's house in the video. We have decided this as the layout of my bedroom will allow for this to be done easily. We have also decided to use my bathroom to film some of the shots where my character is reflecting on her feelings. My house is also very convenient for the whole group to get to so this helped to make our decision also.

Winter wonderland

Filming in Winter wonderland will allow for us to take advantage of the many multicoloured lights there. As the rainbow is the symbol of the LGBT community, we have decided to include as many colours as possible throughout our video to symbolise my character's feelings towards Jade. The shots filmed in winter wonderland will provide us with the colourful shots that we wanted including both mine and Jade's characters spending time together.

Woodland's field and the common

We wish to film some of the shots where mine and Josh's character's are spending time together in an open field. We wish to do this as it will help to symbolise my character's loneliness that she feels within her relationship with Josh. She feels isolated and trapped, represented by the empty scenery within the shot.

Bridgend town 

We have chosen to use this location to film a few of our shots as we want to portray the idea of my character losing herself. As the area we will film in is quite run down, filming here will really help us to capture this as the shots look quite dark and dull in comparison to other shots used throughout the video.

Ogmore beach

We have decided to film at this location as the openness of it will allow for us to create a lonely, isolated atmosphere. It will allow us to symbolise my character's feelings on her relationship openly through the mise-en-scene of the video.

Moodboard

I decided to create this moodboard to display the overall look that we wished for our video to have. I created this as a source of inspiration for us whilst filming for our video. We wanted to use a range of light and dark shots throughout our video, in order to portray the differences in mood and atmosphere throughout across to the audience. 

Potential song choices

Whilst planning for our music video, we have created a list of songs that we believe could be options for our project. 

We gathered a large range of songs that are liked by everyone in our group and narrowed the list down to our top 4. The original list is pictured below.

Our top 4:

Somebody else- The 1975

As a group, we are all very big fans of the band The 1975 and the style of music that they produce. This song talks about the breakdown of a relationship and reflects on one's opinions and thoughts after the breakup. We thought of creating a video that followed the protagonists thoughts as he tries to work out his true feelings towards his ex. The video would be created very stylistically, using a range of camera shots and angles to put across his emotions to the audience. We chose not to use this song as the lyrics were very strict as to what we must film and when, limiting our freedom within the piece.

No1 Party anthem- Arctic Monkeys

We wanted to create a video for this song as the lyrics tell a very clear story from the narrator's perspective. We felt that his vivid storyline would help to create a clear structure for the video, providing an ideal structure for a narrative music video. We wish to create a narrative video as this is the style of video that many of our favourite artists have used for their own music and we take inspiration from the work of these artists.

Anything- Catfish and the Bottlemen

We added this song to our list of possibilities as we very much liked the narrative of the breakdowns within a relationship. We chose not to use this song however as we felt the song didnt lend itself very well to our preferred style of video, narrative. As a group, we felt as though the song would be much better with a performance video but this was not the style of video that we wished to follow.

W.D.Y.W.F.M?- The Neighbourhood

This song also reflects on the problems in a relationship, eventually leading to the breakdown of the narrator. As a group, we saw the song in a different light and interpreted it in our own way. We had the idea of creating a video where a girl in a heterosexual relationship begins to question her own sexuality, leading to her own confusion and despair by the end of the video. We created this idea from many of the lyrics throughout the song but one of the main themes in the song is the idea of something being 'wrong inside.' We felt that this helped to shine light on a very topical issue, where many people questioning their sexuality are scared of being shunned and put down in society by being 'different.' We believe that creating this video would help to raise awareness to what is currently such a massive issue globally.

The Goodwin music video theory

Goodwin's theory suggests that a music video must to contain 6 sperate elements in order to be successful. These elemements are:

• Genre conventions
• Visuals match upwith lyrics
• Visuals match up with music
• Star representation
• voyeurism
• Intertexuality

Genre conventions

Visuals and lyrics

This element suggests how Goodwin noticed that the lyrics of a song either coincide with the video or contrast with them entirely. The idea of a music video running alongside the lyrics of a song creates an emotional connection between the two. Having the video contrast with the song lyrically creates a sense of mystery, forcing the viewer to think about the deeper meaning behind the video.

Visuals and music

Goodwin realised that the relationship between the chosen song and the video can have a great impact on the final product of a video. This relationship can be illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.
Goodwin believed that the most effective style of video is where the visuals correspond with the beat that the music follows. Artists may choose to feature synchronised transitional shots with the beat in order for their video to run smoothly alongside the vocals.

Star representation

Star representation refers to the star's identity and the different characteristics that make them unique. It speaks of the way that the artist is presented in the video in terms of costume, moves and appearance. It aims to create a sense of identity for the star, attracting people to the video, encouraging them to wish to find out more about the artist and the other songs that they have to offer.

voyeurism

This is where the viewer is allowed to see something that they wouldn't usually, enticing them into the video. This can be displayed in many different ways including:

• Intimate locations e.g a bedroom
• Frame within a frame
• nudity/revealing clothing

Goodwin discovered that females will often be sexualised in this way as a method of enticement. This will be done through camera shots and editing, focusing solely on the body of the woman in the frame. 

Intertextuality

This is the idea of referencing something or someone that already exists in a music video. This is often done as a way of engaging the audience with existing products that they already know and enjoy.

Codes and conventions of a music video

The codes and conventions of a music video are the different techniques used to create the final outcome.

Technical techniques

This is the way in which meanings are constructed through the digital methods used. These include:

• Different camera angles/shots
• Non-diegetic/Diegetic sounds
• The pace of editing

Symbolic techniques

These are the ways that the meanings of the videoare portrayed to the audience through the mise-en-scene of the piece. These techniques can include:

• facial expressions
• costumes
• Poses
• gestures

Brief

I will be working with Jade Dibble, Jasmine Greene and Caitlin Elward for this project.

Our task this year is to create a promotional package for an album. This package will include a music video, digipack, and a magazine article to promote the album.