Style of our Promo

What will your video include?

Our video will include both performance and narrative. The performance in our video will have no band, but it will be close ups of our actress Georgia miming to the lyrics. We will include many extreme close ups of objects such as jewellery and antique items to create interest and there will also be extreme close ups of the singers mouth while miming and her other features. There will be many long shots of both locations because these suit the style and time period look we are aiming for.

Example of extreme close up of eyes

There will be only one actress through out the video and this means that her emotions will need to be intense to create a narrative while it also creates an enigma for the audience to guess whether she is singing about an ex-boyfriend or someone else. We will try our best to make sure all the shots have excellent lighting and are as clear as possible however some shots may have a filter to make them look dream-like which is a technique we admire from some of Lana Del Rey's videos. The editing will match the pace of the song which is quite slow however we may include a montage of faster paced shots to maintain audience interest. Our video will also use slow motion in some shots such as when the actress drops the ring on the floor and this is inspired by some of Lana Del Rey's slow motion shots in her videos.

Lana Del Rey - Music video 'Ride' - An example of strong filter

What style will your video be and did any artists/videos inspire you?

The sound of our song choice is very melancholic and the way the artist sings sounds as though she is very hurt by her boyfriend which made our group feel as though our music videos mood and atmosphere should reflect the singers emotions. The two locations we are filming our video in are Sutton on Sea beach and Georgia Allman's house. These locations have a lot of natural lighting and as we are filming in October the dull weather will reflect the melancholic mood of the lyrics.

Lana Del Rey was a huge inspiration to us while we thought of ideas. The style of our song is very similar to Lana Del Rey's music and so we explored her music videos to find out that she uses very wistful themes and her videos contain a lot of her 50s/60s style. We loved her editing techniques which were a homemade video style and also the filters she uses which makes the video look like an old polaroid. We decided to research 50s icons and realised that Lana got a lot of inspiration for her style from Marilyn Monroe and we also liked the style of the 50s pin up Veronica Lake who was famous for how she styled her hair.

One video which inspired us was Gabrielle Aplin's video for 'Home'. Aplin is an indie-folk artist who uses rural areas in her videos with a lot of close ups and extreme close ups of her face while she mimes. We liked the idea that when the actress ran away in our video, it would be to a more natural place than her stylised house full of antiques and expensive furnishings. This is when we began to look at more videos and found the music video 'Flood' by Cheryl Cole. In the video, Cole is singing about the pain she is going through during problems with her lover and the setting is on a beach. We liked the interpretation that Cole had escaped to the beach to be free from her lover and the location is also natural. A beach setting would be a contrast to the Edwardian house and we decided that our actresses look and style would also become more natural and less glamorous. This signifies escapism and the artist leaving behind her boyfriend and the things she associates with him.

Below is a moodboard with images of artists and icons which inspired us: 

Will you subvert/adhere to any theories?

1. Narrative Theory - Narrative is rarely complete and often fragmentary"..."therefore complete meanings/narratives don't exist"

Our promotional music video will adhere to this theory as there will not be a complete narrative throughout the whole video. Instead there will be fragments which suggest a narrative, helped by the lyrics. For example the narrative we have decided on for our video is about a girl who has an abusive boyfriend and she has just broken up with him or has decided to leave him. This is represented by her removing her jewellery (which could have been gifted by him) or by removing her glamorous makeup which she wore for her boyfriend. She will also escape to the beach away from her troubles so the narrative is hinted upon however the audience does not find out what happened between her and her boyfriend or what will happen when she returns home from the beach or whether she returns at all.

2. Binary Opposition

This theory by Strauss is adhered to in our music video because there are obvious contrasts during the  video. This includes the actresses makeup/costume and the location. In the beginning of the video everything is very stylised, for example the makeup and hair are very glamorous and the costume is dressed up. The location of an Edwardian house is also stylised with antiques and expensive furniture. However towards the end of the video the actresses hair and makeup are more subtle and natural while the location of a beach is also more natural and contrasts the house. This opposition is meant to highlight how the girls boyfriend changed her or how she had to act like a different person while she was with him.

3. Laura Mulvey's Theory

The male gaze theory suggests that we are viewing the video through a mans eyes and the shots of female characters are there to please men. It also states that women are portrayed as either a "virgin or a whore". Our music video will subvert this theory as the video is about the girl escaping her boyfriend and her situation and becoming empowered, finally being who she wants to be without him. She is not presented as a sexual object or something for men to look at because she is upset during the beginning of the video and despite being styled to be glamorous, she is not purposely portrayed as being a 'virgin' or a 'whore'. However, there will be shots panning up and down her body and of an extreme close up of her mouth which could be thought of as sexualising the character and this could relate to the way her boyfriend thought of her.

Mise-en-Scene

Setting & Lighting

We are filming in two locations. The first location is at Georgia's house and we decided to film here as part of our music video production because the style of rooms goes well with the 1950's theme we decided on. This includes the antique furniture and antiques we can use as props and it is also an Edwardian house which makes it a more interesting location than a modern home. It is also consistent with our theme of having a less modern look through out the video until the girls style change. There are specific rooms which we want film in and these include the living room, the hallway, conservatory and possibly the dining room which all are well lit for our filming.



The second location where we will be filming at will be Sutton on Sea beach and this is where the girl's costume changes. Her style evolves and she breaks free from the end of a troubled relationship. We think here will be an ideal area to film in because it represents her moving away from her troubles and also is a location with older style building which suits our theme.

Costume & Hair

We decided on a 50's theme for our music video and this is because our chosen song by Natalie Lungley sounds very similar to Lana Del Rey. Lana Del Rey is an indie/alternative artist who has created her unique style of modern clothing combined with hair and makeup from the 50s/60s eras. We were inspired by Lana's style which is mostly inspired by 1950s icons. In terms of the costume we will use the 50's style and the first outfit idea is for our actress to be wearing a white dress and black heeled shoes. Her hair and makeup will be styled in a very glamorous way suiting the Marilyn Monroe and Veronica Lake iconic looks from the 50s. We will curl Georgia's hair in a similar style and she will apply her makeup to look heavy and 'done up' similar to Marilyn Monroe's look.

Our second costume will change to make her style look more modern; we found an image of Lana Del Rey which inspired this look and it shows a slightly more rebellious look compared to the pure white dress before. She will be wearing black jeans, a leather jacket and her makeup will be a more modern style. It will represent our interpretation of the lyrics which is that she has an abusive boyfriend and she begins to remove her jewellery and heavy makeup which she wore for him to be more natural and modern.

 

Props

A lot of the main props we will use are already in Georgia's house and this includes the antique ornaments and furniture. We are also planning on using items of jewellery and a jewellery box where she will remove the jewellery and put it all away like she is closing a chapter of her life with an ex partner and moving on. We thought this would link effectively to the song since the song is called 'Gem' it has a clear reference. We may also be using the idea of 'a diamond in the rough' suggesting that the girl is escaping her boyfriend to be the person she wanted to be and who she really is. The furniture and ornaments match our theme of less modern styles even though they are not 50's. Props are not a huge part of our video as the video is more focussed on the actresses two different looks and the change of location. The actress will not be actively using any of the props accept from maybe applying red lipstick or using the mirror or props which are part of our chosen locations already. The images below are images of rooms and ornaments around Georgia's house that we will include in our music video.

Script for Pitch

Pitch

Presenting our pitch

Permission Forms

I created permission forms to give to the actor in our video and the person who owns the location so that we had physical proof that we could film our promotional video there. We will also be filming on Sutton on Sea beach however this is a public place which means permission to film there is not necessary.

Risk Assessment

Location Scouting

Concept, USP & Target Audience

Concept

Our concept is that we are working around and amplification, narrative/performance promo. So for this we are having the narrative linking to the lyrics where a girl is leaving behind a bad relationship and her past self, shown through Mise-en-scene such as props like jewellery, and moving on where the Mise-en-scene  changes. The beginning scenes will be set in a 50s style inspired by artists like Lana Del Rey, and will later change as the Mise-en-scene changes as she changes to a darker sense of clothing and moving on from an old house to the beach. We wanted to do this to really communicate to the audience the emotions behind the lyrics and connote them visually through the promo, by creating this narrative of a break-up and moving on. This video will follow traditional theories of music video promos with equilibrium at the start, disruption and then a new equilibrium. Overall our video will follow many conventions of the alternative/indie genre however we will have our own original styles set in some areas of our promo.

 

USP

Our unique selling point is the sense of enigma we will create through close-ups and extreme close-ups, which is not a typical convention of most alternative/ indie videos, which usually use mid-shots and long-shots to present the band and narrative more. Also our video's narrative will be non-linear and create enigma and have action codes where this enigma is answered. from this unique selling point coupled with the typical conventions of the alternative/ indie genre I believe we will have a visually exciting promo.

 

Target audience

Our target audience is young people aged 14-25, mainly females however could be any gender. This is because of the lyrics and visuals being more relatable to females. The Audience will be interested in the alternative/indie genre, period dramas and  older shows such as ones from the 50's, and social media, with how the video links and relates to these things. They will be from socio economic class D/E being students or having part time jobs which will give them enough time to listen to a lot of music. We know this from analysing the lyrics and finding the meaning behind them, which relates to themes of heartbreak and sadness.

Filming Schedule

Storyboard

Auditions

We held auditions as a group to try and determine who would best suit the role of the singer in our music video. We needed someone that could mime well, but also capture the mood and essence of the song.

 

We chose four people for the auditions who we felt would make good candidates and we then gave them a choice of which line they wanted to sing.  The first audition we held was Georgia Allman- we felt that she gave the best overall performance with the right combination of making eye contact with the camera, miming and overall persona. The second audition was Georgina Stevens who we felt also gave a good performance, but her miming and persona just weren't as suitable for the video as Georgia's. The third audition was Alex Storey, we felt that she performed very well and was second to Georgia. She also put emotion into her miming, but she was a little out of time. The fourth and final audition was Charlea Thompson who we felt didn't mime as well as the other auditions.

 

We decided that Georgia would be our performer in our final music video because she performed the best out of everyone and could mime to the song in a way which suited the songs mood. We also decided that she has the right image and style to go with our theme.

Budget List

Shot List