Day One Shoot

Before filming even started, we encountered a problem in the fact that the person that was meant to star in our video, couldn't make it to either of the days which we had planned to shoot. This meant we had to work around the situation and ultimately use one of our own group members as the person to fill in the role.

Our first day of shooting was mainly placed in the music studio at Park High. I made sure to get a variety of different shots from different angles to enable us to have freedom with the footage available to us. Once each take was complete, we would discuss if we thought it worked or not and if we had to change anything. At one point we decided to move the lighting that was available as it caused shadows which we felt would be distracting and would effect the final outcome of the video once changed into black and white.
Our timings were precise and we managed to stick to our original schedule. As well as filming all of the studio shots successfully, the remainder of the day was spent on the photoshoot and taking pictures of our star which would ultimately make up the Digipack and the album cover. This allowed us to be creative in coming up with a look we thought would work best for our artist, the genre of music and the audience too.

Schedule for Day One

Day One Schedule

Shot List

Initial Shot List:

This was the shot list that we produced as a group. It shows the shot number, what the shot is of, the actors and any props that are needed.

More Detailed Shot List:

1. Close up - Actress’ face looking out of the window crying – in a house; water and pipette needed to make it seem as if she is crying.

2. Close up – A notebook with the word “Numb” on it and a teardrop running down it – this too will be set in the house and the props needed are pen, notebook, water and pipette.


3. Mid shot – The actress in the studio singing into the microphone. This would be a single shot with only the actress in the scene (to be in black and white) - this will be filmed at Park High’s music studio.

4a. Long shot – This would be of the two main characters walking on screen to sit on a bench looking happy and in love– this would be filmed at Centenary park.
4b. Mid shot – Two characters would be placed directly in front of the camera whilst sitting on the bench and would show the relationship between the two of them.

5. Close up – Back to the studio but from a different angle.

6. Long shot – Will show the two characters cuddled up on the sofa together watching a movie. The lighting will be dim and the majority of it will come from the TV.

7. Mid shot – Back to the studio but again to a different angle.

8. Long shot – Would be the same shot of the two characters on the bench in the park but you’d see the boyfriend walk away from the bench and then fade out.

9. Close up – Back to the studio but this time a closer angle.

10a. Mid shot – Actress walking into her house holding a photo frame of her and her boyfriend looking happy and she is smiling – would be set at the house and a photo in a frame would be needed.

10b. Point of view – A shot of the camera tilting shows the stairs and clothes trailing up them which suggests that he has cheated on her – will again be set at the house and clothes and underwear are needed.

10c. Close up – Shot of hand dropping the frame on the floor.

10d. Extreme close up – The frame is dropped and smashes.


11. Mid shot – Back to the studio to show her performing.

12. Mid shot - Shows the actress now sitting on her own without her boyfriend in the park.

13. Mid shot - Studio shot filmed from the opposing angle.

14. Close up - At the end of the song, the final scene shows the actress closing the notebook.

Storyline Pictures

Timeline

The pictures above show a rough storyboard as to what I hope to achieve in terms of my music video.

The first picture shows a close up of our star and her crying. An extreme close up is next and shows the tear drop falling onto a notebook which has the word "Numb" on it, causing the ink to then smudge and run on the page. We are introduced to the artist through the following shot where we see a mid shot of her singing in the studio. This would be intercut with the narrative; flashbacks of the star and her boyfriend would be seen where they are together and then would lead to us seen him cheat on her.
When thinking about the shoot, I felt that filming the cheating scenes would prove to be difficult and not as easy to accomplish as I'd thought, so felt a more effective way of portraying the concept of cheating would be to show the boyfriend's clothes draped on the stairs along with the "other" woman's clothing. The reaction of this by the artist would be to see her drop a picture of the two of them and have the glass smash. This would symbolise the end of their relationship and mimic the lyrics of the song.

The scene with the clothing on the stairs is a popular one which is seen in many movies and films which links in with intertextuality.

Moodboard

Jamelia Pitch

Jamelia Pitch

Feedback:

What they liked:

• It seems well thought out and the concept behind it is good.
• The locations are practical and suitable to the narrative making it easy to get to for filming purposes.
• The fact that there is no video currently made for the cover version of the song gives us more freedom to come up with an idea for a video and we don't have to worry about our videos being the same.
• It is a good hybrid of both narrative and performance videos.

What they were unsure of:

• Was it going to be black and white the whole way through?
• What effects would we use?
• Was it going to be a slow edit or a fast edit?

Letter of Permission

Letter of Permission

As a group, we felt it was necessary to contact the music company and ask for their permission in order for us to use the track in our video.

Chosen Song

The song that I chose to make a music video for was a cover version of the song Numb by Jamelia. The song was originally performed by American Rock band Linkin Park in 2003. The main task here is to create a music video that would appeal to both types of audiences as the cover version of the song falls into the R'n'B genre.

The cover version of the song had no video made for it so gave us enough freedom as a group to come up with our own idea's for what we thought would make it work. Upon watching the original video by Linkin Park (shown below) we thought of using the studio effect as we thought it had a good base behind it and linked in well with the R'n'B genre as it is a shot seen in many other videos such as One Sweet Day by Mariah Carey and Boys II Men. Narrative scenes would be intercut with the shots from the studio to give the song more meaning.

This is the original video of Numb by Linkin Park.

Performance Video

I chose this video as a key example of the type of effect that I would like to use in my video as it is in black and white and the artist is the main central feature. The lighting is very prominent and used well to highlight the artist. It is also seen to be used during the close ups of the artists body parts which enhances the sexiness and the sexual aspect of the video.

The cuts in the video mirror the narrative behind the story and the lyrics: "I'd give my all to have just one more night with you..." The visuals show mid shots of a man topless which suggests that he is her man and she is singing to him.

What I find most interesting about this video is that the whole thing is filmed in one shot.

Evolution of Christina Aguilera

Christina Aguilera on Prezi

Star Evolution Through Music Videos

Music Channels Research

Music Channels Research on Prezi

Eminem - Mockingbird

Goodwin states that one of the conventions of a music video is that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. This is seen to be key in Eminem's video for "Mockingbird" which is taken off the album Encore. It was released by the labels Shady, Aftermath and Interscope.

Marshall Bruce Mathers III, better known by his stage name, Eminem, is an American rapper, record producer and actor born on October the 17th 1972. He quickly gained popularity with his debut album, The Slim Shady LP, which won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. His following album, The Marshall Mathers LP, became the fastest selling album in United States history.
The lyrics are a tribute to his daughters about his failed marriage and his relationship with them and his wife. This is an example of Eminem's extraordinary storytelling skills.


The video starts off with a movie reel showing his daughter Haley when she was younger. It then switches to a mid shot of Eminem sitting in a dark room on a chair with the projector rolling beside him. Many close ups are used of Eminem to show his facial expressions and the emotion portrayed.

The film clips which are used in this are all personal clips which makes the song more significant and allows the audience to empathise with him. There are many occasions in the song where the lyrics mimic the video clip shown on the projector. An example of this is when he says:
"I remember back when you and daddy had no money
Mommy wrapped the Christmas presents up
And stuck 'em under the tree and said some of 'em were from me
Cuz daddy couldn't buy 'em
I'll never forget that Christmas I sat up the whole night crying..."

Another effect that works particularly well is the faded picture of Eminem and his wife Kim used when he raps the line:
"We did not plan it to be this way, your mother and me
But things have got so bad between us
I don't see us ever being together ever again
Like we used to be when we was teenagers
But then of course everything always happens for a reason
I guess it was never meant to be"

This could be used to reflect the fact that their relationship did work at one point but has faded away and is now gone.