First Pitch

The task was to pitch our most confident ideas to the our class and the rest of the group. This gave us the chance to think about our ideas in more detail, have feedback and the opportunity to improve our idea from the group and to hear the other group member's ideas. It also gave us the opportunity to discuss the main conventions of a pop video and our intentions for the music video we want to create imitates or subverts them. According to Keith Negus below are the common generic conventions of popular music promo videos.

• The explicit and unashamed promotion of the artist's "image" (aesthetic/generic/ideological) as a specific product with a brand identity, ready for mass consumption. This relates to Dyer who states that an artist should be young, have sexual magnetism, glamorous, rebellious and have an "edge"


• The featuring of the artist (almost without exception)


• A wide and extensive use of shot types (this includes close ups, extreme close ups, wide shot, mid shot ect), camera angles (this includes low angle, high and angle and middle angle) and movement (this includes tracking and cranes)


• Repetition or reoccurring thematic elements and generically specific iconography (one key element often being dominant and providing the skeletal structure for the promo).


• A possible narrative structure


• A possible performance element


• The flexibility to disregard realism, which could include discontinuity editing


• Short cut tightly to the beat of the track


• Use of special effects (lighting, animation, CGIs, camera effects)


• A carefully constructed Mise en Scene appropriate to the content and tone of the track. Everything in the mise en scene should be helping what you are trying to achieve.


• High impact instantly!

I decided to pitch the 'La la la' video idea as I felt the most confident with it. I feel that the band and pop video I wish to create will imitate and subvert the key conventions of a music video. The two girls that form the band with have a specific brand image than would be ready for mass consumption. I feel that the band will imitate 'Dyer's' intentions of what an artist should be. The band is formed of two young pretty girls that have sexual magnetsim, men will want to be with them and women will want to be them. They will have a glamerous but edgy look, for example they will wear fashionable clothes but with a 50's style. I feel this hasn't been used before in the pop world because women are seen usually as a sexual object for exmaple 'The Pussycat Dolls'. I will also imitate the convention that the artist should be featured in the music video. The band will either perform with the old men and women or will perform seperately in the studio and this will be cut into the narrative of the old age men and women. My video will also imitate the convention of using many shot types. I will have close-ups, mid shots, and long shots of the subjects and I may even use an extreme close up of the keyboard. I will subvert the idea of different uses of camera angles. I if I used this is would be too complicated and may look to narrative or that the music video is trying to have a hidden message. I will imitate the convention of use of camera movement. I feel that tracking shots will add more movement and therefore more excitemtnet for the audience who will watch the pop video. I feel it will make the pop video less static and also add to the comic element of the video. I will imitate the convention of a reocurring thematic element. This will be OAP's acting like they are young and this will be what happens throughout the entire video. I will subvert the convention of a narrative structure in the sence that there will be no storyline because the OAP's will not be linked in any way. Howevere, the video is not just a performance so there is a basic narrative structure for the audience to look at something else rather than just the band. I will imitate the convention of a performance element. The band will be playing either in the studio and thsi will be cut into the narrative element or they will be playing along side the old men and women, or I might combine the two ideas. I will imitate the ability to diregard realsim, through the editing and the context of the video. OAP's performing acts of teenagers is not what the audience expect to happen in real life, so this will shock them but also will be a added comic element. I will also use discontinuity editing because the video will not follow a formulaic narrative structure but will cut back different events and come back to them throughout the video. I will imiate the convention to cut shots tightly to the beat of the track. The singers will lip sync to the song, and the narrative element will be edited to the beat of the track. this is so the video and the song seem as one media text and not two seperate ones. I will subvert the convention to use special effects. This is because I feel that the use of CGI, camera effects ect will not read well with the narrative of my pop video. Special effcts are not necessary in communicating the message I want to in my video. Finally, I will imitate the convention of the pop video having an impact instantley. I will do this by using the OAP's doing obsure, comic actions from the begining, so the audience are drawn in and keep watching.

I think my pop video idea recieved an overall positive response in my pitch. I described that I wanted the video to feature differnt groups of OAP's doing teenage activities that would juxtapose their everyday life that the audience would expect to happen. I showed him the origional video for the song, which is two children playing with lego. I explained how I thought that this video was quite boring and unimaginative for the audience and that my idea would improve on theirs. I described how the song reminded me of youth and that it would be a clever idea to juxtapose this completely with retired pensioners. I told the class that I did not want the video to be crude of violent in any way. For example, I did not want to show a group of drunk and disordely retired men as I want to keep the idea of 'behaving as young as you feel' friendly and fun.

I described to the class three scenarios that could possibly be used in the video, which I feel complemenets the song well and follows the overall idea I want to put over in the video.

The first scenario is three retaired women at a sleep over. This would be much like an americanised teen sleepover would be portrayed on Hollywood films. For example, the pillow fight in 'Not Another Teen Movie'. They would be dressed in pink pyjamas and be laughing and easting sweets and popcorn. They then start a pillow flight and this continues. Thye may jump on the bed and have a food fight with the sweets whilst doing so.

The second scenerio is of a first date with a retired couple at the cinema. I wanted to use this beacuse this is an iconic image of two teenagers of an akward 'first date'. The man could put his arm round the women using a technique where he pretends to yawn. This was influenced by the film 'Cheaper by the Dozen 2'; where two teenagers go on a date to the cinema and he does just this.

The third scnenario is in a bingo hall. I feel this could be the last scnerio because then the audience are taken back to their expectaion of where they would expect OAP's to be. This is then juxtaposed, as the woman who wins stands and does a celebration dance that they audience would expect a teenager to do.

Research and Development

Research and development is one of the five stages of production and is the task of creating an interesting feasible idea and to perfect it. I am beginning to research and develop ideas for a pop video and this will help me determine if they are practical. I viewed various pop videos and these influenced my decisions for created one of my own. The video 'Flash Delirium' by MGMT was a helpful video because it would be considered weird or unpredictable which is what I wanted my video to be. I didn’t want it to follow all the main conventions of a pop video and have a boy band type band in a studio dancing. I wanted to challenge the ideas of the pop genre and perhaps market a pop video for a new audience.

My first idea is for the song 'La La La' by The Bird and the Bee. The music video is based around old age men and women getting in touch with their young side. As the lyrics of the song include “make yourself free.”, the idea came from the idea that you are only as you feel. I was inspired by this photograph of an old age woman playing on the wii.

The video is filmed in the studio and possible locations around the school building. The studio is first set up to look like the kitchen of an old woman’s house. It starts a close up of her face and then zooms out. The audience would expect a cup of tea in her hand but instead she is drinking a beer and reading a rock magazine. The band is placed in different parts of the kitchen. The band consists of two girls age 20 and 21 who have the same style and look and the girls in the picture. They both wear vintage clothing and have a quirky image. I think this would contrast well with the old men and women in the video but would also fit in as the video would have the same quirky look as the members of the band. The old woman then calls her friend with her blackberry who is inline at a Bird and the Bee gig, she is smoking a cigarette. The shot of the cigarette changes to a shot of a pen and the studio changes to a bingo hall. An old woman shouts bingo and then gets up and starts doing a “crazy” celebration dance. One at a time each bingo player stands up and starts joining in the dance. The band is playing at the front of the bingo hall whilst this is going on. Then the band members get up and join in the dance at the front. In amongst this there are also montages of old men and women on skateboards and trampolines ect.

My second idea is for the song 'Something Good Can Work' by Two Door Cinema Club. The music video will be filmed in the film studio.

The introduction to the song is layerd with the different instruments; starting with the drums and then the keyboard then the guitar and then the synths. The drums start and then each instrument that plays comes into shot. The instrument then comes onto shot when they play and the one that played before comes out of shot. I also want to use stop motion to have the instruments move but the shot before stays in shot. Whilst this happens the band is still playing on the instruments. There are other elements of the video. One is close-ups of the bands face pulling different faces. These would be edited together as if they are pulling them at an incredibly fast speed. There is also another element where the instruments change positions but as they do so they change outfits. This is from different coloured t-shirts to fancy dress. This is so the audience are aware of their fun loving, carefree image.

My third idea is for the song “She’s always a woman to me” by Billy Joel. This video follows the lives of a couple who are shot in slow motion. The video is filmed in the film studio that is first set up to look like the kitchen of a family home. The couple are arguing sat on either end of the kitchen table and the singer is sat at the foot of the table singing and playing the guitar. Then it moves on to them on their wedding day still in slight slow motion, there is a close up of the woman saying “I do”. A tear rolls down her face, she is crying with happiness. The singer is performing at the front as if he has married them. The camera then goes back to the couple arguing, they then get up and scream in each other’s faces. There is then a shot of their child crying on the stairs. The singer sings whilst looking at them. The camera then goes to their first date as teenagers. They are at the cinema. The singer is projected onto the screen of the cinema as if they are watching him at the leader. There is a closeup of the man’s hand going round the women’s arm. The shot then changes to the man’s arm throwing a plate. Then the woman smashes glasses, they are still arguing. The video then end with a close up of the man as an old man. The camera then tracks back and he is standing at the foot of the women’s grave he is crying. On the grave “your always a women to me” is written.

The Five Stages of Production

There are five stages in the production of any media product and this is true of a music video also. In order to produce the music video I will be making, I will have to follow these five stages. These five stages are vital because they determine the quality of the media product. The five stages help the team who are making the video to be organised and clear about their decisions.

The first stage is research and development. This is very uimportant as the producer needs to know what they arte trying to achieve and the outcome of the media product so their money is not wasted. They would research;

• The possible target audience- this is to determine the cobntent of the video because it would be what that audience wants to see. For example song targeted at age 8-11 girls would not be interested in motorbikes

• Similar or competing songs or pop videos

• Conventions of pop videos- this is so they meet the audience’s expectations They would then develop;

• A timeline for the video- this is so the video is organised and they can see the video take shape before it is filmed

• Casting, by using a camera test

• Write a treatment

• Write a storyboard and an animatic

Pre-production would then take place. This is the act of organising everything in detail so nothing goes wrong. This is important because mistakes can be made on the shoot day and this can waste valuable time and therefore money. Pre-production involves;

• A call sheet- this is a document with everyone’s contact numbers who is responsible on the shoot day from technicians to actors

• A copy of the lyrics

• A confirmed cast

• Locations

• Costume and props

• Special effects

• Lighting

• Studio design

• Make-up

Without any of the above the shoot would not be complete and therefore it is crucial that they are all confirmed and ready for the shoot day.

The next stage is the production which refers to the day of the shoot. If the research, development and pre-production have all been organised and everyone who is supposed to be there is there at the studio, then everything should go to plan and the shoot should be a success. A shooting schedule is vital so that the cast and crew are aware of what is being shot and when, but it is also so they are aware of how long it will take for the video to be shot. The next stage is post-production which involves the process of editing and after effects. This is the lengthiest process because the post-production team need to be certain that they have edited it correctly to be shown for the public.

The last stage is distribution and exhibition. This is the process of releasing the video to selected music channels and other exhibitors so that the public can watch it. Posters and television adverts can be released at the same time as the song to advertise it and then people may watch the video. It can also be distributed on the internet and be exhibited on “youtube”.

The Brief

Your task is to create: - THREE MULTI MEDIA PRODUCTS

- AIMED AT A SPECIFIC TARGET AUDIENCE OR AUDIENCES

- TO ESTABLISH THE IMAGE AND BRAND OF YOUR SINGER AND GROUP

- HELP SELL THE SONG FROM THEIR FIRST ALBUM

- AS PART OF A MULTI MEDIA MARKETING CAMPAIGN The group or singer must be a NEW GROUP (even if they are doing a copy of an existing song). The song is a SINGLE from their FIRST ALBUM. The actual products to be produced are: - THE POP VIDEO - A DIGIPAK for the ALBUM - A MAGAZINE ADVERT for the ALBUM.