Location Recce

Tamworth Castle Grounds.

This location will be used for the flashbacks and memories that the video will contain. It has been considered because of the open ground where the lighting can be very bright, this allows the right emotions to be impacted upon the audience.

Test Shots

Test shots were taken in order to help understand the lighting and presentation of the subjects within different shots. It was important to create a range of test shots as within the final production lighting will be key when presenting the emotion and helping the devlopment of the narrative. I used the actor that will be used within the final product as this means that the height will remian consistent and therefore the lighting will be presented and similarly to the final product.

When conducting the test shots the main element that we changed was the lighting. This is because the video is going to have a ‘moody’ impact on the audience.

The decision to create a moody effect on the shots means that when shooting we have to be careful. The test shots area shown below, where positive and negative elements of the shots are taken into account and expressed.

Originally it was decided that the subject moves around a light in the center of the shot in order to get an idea of how the light and the camera react with each other and reflects onto the subject. These images are presented below. 

We concluded that the most effective based on the emotions we want to impliment onto the audience is the first image. This is because the lighting is strong enough to clearly see the subject and their facial expression and body language, however isnt too strong that the lighting reflects a postive atmosphere. We have however, considered using the last image to present the flashbacks as these are happy moments that the couple share and creates a sense of untopia. The second image shows a moody lighing, which although is what we want to reflect, the lighting blocks the audience the chance of seeing the subject clearly. From this we decided to take images by windows, although the day we conducted this it was not a bright day due to the rain, it helped us discover the kind of impact that filming the outside and performance elements will have as we are planning on filming this using natural lighting to create the darker lighting.

We decided to use a close up and a medium shot for these test shots, as these are the shots we are most likley to use when filming. After looking at them once they were displayed on the computer we discovered that the artifical lighting took an impact on the subject and therefore we decided that although not natural lighting that the contrast between the dark background and the artifical lighting reflecting onto the subject that the second image is more effective as the lighting on the subject clearly presents the facial expression to the audience.

After this we decided to use a room that had plain wall so that the lighting is reflective across the shot. We took these in order to see the impact on the subject with a strong white light on them. When taking these shots we considered these to be for the flashback mid way through the song to present that although they’re still happy memories, they are not as happy as at the start. We chose to shoot against a wall with two shades (white & grey) in order to see the impact on the subject in comparision to its surroundings. We then added colour into the shot, in order to see the the contrast. We took into account the clothes the subject was wearing, the clothes are nuteral and pastel which will be common theme of the outfit throughout the music video.

After this we took to an area with a different colour light. For this we used the canteen at the sixth form. These shots are shown below. We took one image with the subject in the middle in order to get a complete artifical lighting shot, with the colour that was reflected due to the colour of the lighting, we decided against these shots. However, we took into account the angles and the lighting next to the window. The second and third image are mainly refelctive of natural lighting, so we took to angle shots.  We concluded we liked the high angel of the subject due to the way the light reflects, we decided using a high angel shot would be beneficial due to the connotations that come along with it, these being that the audience has power and knowledge of that compared to the subject. This is the kind of impact that we want on the audience this being due to the subject and actions that the subject is conducting in within the music video.

After this we decided that we would take pictures under a white light again, these were mainly for the brighter scenes such as the flashbacks. We decided to take pictures in a classroom and outside in a coridoor in order to get a feeling of how the light is diributed across a large open area. We concluded that we prefer the whiter light for the flashbacks as they represent a more happy emotion and therefore allow the audience to distiguse between flashbacks and ‘in time’ footage, this along with after affects will enable the point is clearly made. We used different shots such as long shots and close ups in order to allow us to see how the light reflects onto the subjects face. This is because in key flashback scenes it is important for the audience to clearly see the subjects facial experssion.

Production Schedule

The production schedule is important to the creation of the product as it avoids missing the final deadline, as each element of the pre-production, filming and post- production is broken down into small elements with individual deadlines.

Filming Schedule

Producing a filming schedule is important in the pre- production element for the product. It is important to know when and where you need actors and at what date, this is so it avoid incconviences and the filming is smooth.

Copyright Issues

Copyright Issues

The Neighbourhood – Sweater Weather

Age of song: 4 years

Copyright Law

The types of mediums that are protected by the copyright law are:

Literary

Dramatic

Musical

Artistic

Typographical arrangement of published editions

Sound Recordings

Film

Duration of copyright

For literary, dramatic, musical or artistic works

70 years from the end of the calendar year in which the last remaining author of the work dies.

Sound recordings

50 years from the calendar year in which the work was created or 50 years from the end of the calendar year in which the work was first released.

The Neighbourhood – Sweater Weather does not fall into either of these areas, therefore this means that more research was needed to be done in order to see the laws that apply to this song due to it’s age.

Acts that are allowed

Fair dealing (this is the “term used to describe the acts which are permitted to a certain degree without infringing the work”(1))

These acts are:

Performance, copies or lending for educational purposes.

Format shifting or back up of a work you own for personal use. (No profit being made from the video)

Design & Patent Act 1988

This is the current copyright act that s in place in the UK. It gives the creators of products the right in which their material may be used.

Bibliography

https://www.copyrightservice.co.uk/copyright/p01_uk_copyright_law

Codes & Conventions

Mise - En - Scene

Mise -En- Scene can be broken down into five elements:
Setting & Props 
Costume, hair & make up
Facial Expressions & Body Language 
Lighting and Colour 
Positioning of character/ objects within a frame

When applying these to the alternative rock/ indie genre we begin to deconstruct the genre. It is common for a music video to alternate between studio shots and outside shots to portray a sense of reality to the audience. It helps bring the artist to the same level as the audience.

The costumes that are typically used are smart- casual or a branded style, to present the ‘right’ image of the band which will allows them to build the reputation that they want to have shadowed onto them. In the sense of costumes it is apparent that there is no obvious stereotype or un-equal relationship between men and women and how they are presented. An article from The Guardian (1)(Fonarow 2010) titled “Are gender stereotypes still present in indie music?” It goes on the express that although the genders are presented as equal in the sense of outfits and expectations in this “equality –based utopia”. However, we see on a regular basis female musicians ignored or discouraged to contribute to audience involvement.

Some videos use CGI in order to create a background that the help either express the feeling of the song or add to the story if the music video is narrative based. It allows the after affects team to help create the emotions or create a whole new environment for the audience.

For example the music video for Hallelujah by Panic! At the disco to present the artist running around a maze like environment, an image of this is shown to the side. Linking this to the same image, music videos typically contain artificial lighting in most if not all shots. This is to help create the escapism element for the audience as they aren’t struggling to see the artist or to see what is happening within the shot. The image above has artificial lighting as it isn’t a real environment so the editor needs to create a clear environment for the audience. The music videos are typically set in an abnormal place, this links back to helping the audiecne escape, this is because if the music video is set in an abnormal place the audience is focused on where the artist is then thinkig of anything outside of the music video. The colours typiucally lend themselves to the enviroment, the colours that help refelct the mood of the song or the colours that establish the contrapuntal enviroment. They typically contain substance abuse, this is mainly due to the stereotype fueled by other genres.

Sound

Music videos of this genre typically don't have other sounds other then the song, however some incidents for example, Centuries Fall Out Boy contain elements from the music video itself, meaning that they have a second layer of audio. This allows the audience to get a feel for the situation that the artist may be in or get an idea of how the artist is feeling in the situation before and after the song, depending on where the audio is. It gives the artist an opportunity to build a personal connection to the audience, allowing the music to have more meaning to the audience.

Editing

The music videos are typically edited on the beat, for example the music video for The City by the 1975 does this well, editing on the beat to create a flowing sequence which allows the audience to know whats going on in a smoother motion other then cutting not on the beat which causes complication when making the video flow. Another key when editing is that the speed of the song is matched by the narrative, this meaning that the story is able to flow similarly to the video itself, for example when there is a high tempo element of the song then this needs to be matched by a dramatic or action packed segment of the narrative, similarly if there is a low tempo element then the narrative needs to match this. 

Camera

The most common angle that is used in alternative/indie music videos are medium shot, this is because most of the videos have a lot of performance elements in along side narrative elements;. The medium shots give the audience the ability to see both the subjects' expression and their body language which helps communicate what is going on within the music video and the emotions that the video is trying to portray. A good example of this is The City by the 1975 which uses medium shots to their advantage. However, the video mostly uses close ups to present the emotions and subject that the director wants the audience to feel. 

High angles are typically used well in situations such as in Centuries by Fall Out Boy which gives the audience a sense of power over the artist, perhaps they know something that the character doesn't or the type of character they are the audience is morally above them and this is presented through the high angled shots. These shots are also used to help the audience establish where the artist is, as high angled shots of iconic landmarks means that the audience quickly understands where the video is located. 

Bibliography

(1)  Fonarow, W. (2010) Ask the indie professor: Are gender stereotypes still present in indie music? Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2010/sep/01/gender-stereotypes-indie-music (Accessed: 24 January 2017).

The Neighbourhood Sweater Weather Proposal

Album Name: I Love You

Researching channels that the music video would be broadcasted on it is clear that the channel wil be of a indie or alternative nature. This therefore narrows the channels which would broadcast the music video down significantly. The most likely channel that it will be broadcasted on will be Vilanoise as this meet the criteria for the music video. 

Target Audience

General Demographic
The general demographic for the music video will be that refelective of the song itself. This being females aged between 18 to 24 typcially from England as of recent years this genre has began to reach its peak in this part of the world. Gathering data from YouGov it is suggested that the audience will be apart of a consulting society with a monthly disposable income of £1000. 

Lifestyle
The audience is predicted to have hobbies such as writing and collecting of some nature, it suggest that their personality is sensative similar to how the song comes across, this will help me estbalish what should and shouldn't be shown in the music video when dealing with a sensative topic.
We believe that their general interests range from fashion, design and cosmetics which backs the point that we are dealing with a young audiecne as they have relatively modern interests, ti suggests that we could use props such as cosmetics within the video in order to create a connection between the character and the audience. 

Personality
Once again gathering information from YouGov, from the data that was collected they have established that the typical audience for this band considers themsleves to be a leader, firm minded and perky. However, on occasion, cold and impatient, which allows us to use these elements of their personality when attempting to portray a certain emotion on the audience. 

Band
The audience, being typically young adults, means that their brand loyalty is modern, being a customer of Apple, BBC and ITV which will allow us to use these to the music videos advantage in order to impliment product placement within the music video, however when doing so it has to be with subtlty due to the topic of the music video. 

Entertainment 
The audience is also typically a fan of films such as Home Alone and Dracula (2000) and TV shows such as The Great Britrish Bake off. These elements of the audiecne can help the devlopment of the music video as there is a TV involved within the making of the music video therefore if one of these shows are shown then the audience will feel a personal connection to the video and will therefore increase the audience's opinion about the video itself.

Online Activity
Our audiences online activity is important, in a constanlty growing society which is becoming more and more revolved around technology our audience's online activity can become impiortant when the music video is being published. The audience uses Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, this therefore means that the music video should be publisuhed on these websites in order to get the right people to view it. The audience is commonly on 'TheStudentRoom" which is a community page where people ask questions and answer on forums. This means that the music video may be talked about on there in order to discover an extensive meaning to the video and the sensative topic is it surrounding.
There tpypical online time is about 31 to 35 hours per week which means that these aspects are likely.

Genre

The Neighbourhodd Sweater Weather falls under the genre Alternative/ Indie the typical convnetions for an alternative/ indie music video are demonstrated below. 

Mise –En -Scene	Camera	Editing
The location is typically abnormal to the average person (Middle of the desert/ seeing the life of the artist) The costumes are typically smart- casual	High angles are typically used to establish the setting of the video. Performance elements are incorporated using close ups of the artist and instruments.	Editing to the beat is key in this genre; this is so the music and video don’t develop a contrapuntal affect for the audience. Editing such as fades and slow transitions are used when the beat slows down.
The lighting isn’t specific, it ranges to the location however, it is typically natural lighting ( pathetic fallacy is used a lot)	Group shots are typically used to show the band in their entirety. Low angles are used of the singer are used when the lyrics become dominate as it creates the same affect on screen. Medium shots are used in order to establish the body language of the artists.	The speed of the editing is also impacted by the emotions carried in the narrative, for example, if the narrative is carrying a sad emotions such as loss then the editing will match this with fades, whereas if the emotion carried is happy then there will be more cuts then fades.