A2 Planning

Timeline Research

My Timeline - Popular Song - Ariana Grande & Mika:

 My timeline on the music video for 'Popular Song' has allowed me to see that it's very important in a pop video to heavily showcase the artist. Every shot of the artist singing or performing is either a close up or mid shot. This allows the viewer to focus their attention solely on the artist. It also forces us to focus on the lyrics and the song which also showcases the song which is the objective of a music video. I have also noticed that the narrative aspect of the video and the artist/performance aspect share equal screen time. Neither dominates the video and we keep changing between the two in order to keep a viewer engaged. The artist is often incorporated into the narrative as well - thus, further showcasing them. The cut transition seems to be the most popular transition used throughout the video as it allows you to quickly cut between shots and this can match the beat. The fade transition was used at the beginning and end of the video to signify it's start and finish to the audience and wipe transitions were used at the beginning of each act of the narrative. Knowing the effect of each transition in a pop video will be helpful when editing my own music video.

Sophie Ordidge's Timeline - Unconditionally - Katy Perry:

From watching Katy Perry's music video and recording on a timeline the exact events that happen at what point in the video, i have learned conventions that i shall need to include in my own music video - in particular conventions that shall ensure my music video is suitable to the desired genre, Pop. The video has shown me that dancers/extras may have a large quantity of screen time, but never as much as the main star of the video. When these extras are shown, in the case of the 'Unconditionally' music video through dance choreography montages, their sections of the narrative must be interrupted and separated periodically with frequent cuts back to the star, usually in close ups, either in short or long takes, always making sure the star is at the forefront of the audience's mind and that they are not outshone - this is an example of how a music video showcases the star. In these shots, the star is most likely to be lip syncing to further draw the audience's attention to the lyrics of the song, preventing them from being overpowered by the relevant Pop genre dance routines. The video also demonstrated how various settings must be used, however they do not necessarily need to be presented in a progressive timeline, and can be cut back to at any point in the music video - there is no definite order to the shots and scenes shown in a music video, them mirroring musical phrases is the most important factor. As expected, the video revealed that camera movement is a key aspect of music videos, and the video displayed how almost all of the time the camera is moving, most noticeably through zooms and pans. The only time the camera may be stationary is in closeups of the star, which are cut back to very regularly. Finally, the video taught me it is very effective to use a partial narrative, even if it is just a dance routine which suggests a party, as this shares out the camera time equally between more than one setting and offers an interesting variety of voyeuristic pleasures for the audience to experience, engaging them. 

Samantha Leason's Timeline - Gravity - Ella Eyre:

From doing this timeline, I have learnt that pop music videos contain many tracking shots using a dolly camera to follow the artist during the video and this creates the sense of movement and excitement. There is also a lot of close up shots of the artist to emphasize their importance to the music and the video. These close up shots also show them lip syncing and this creates the idea that the lyrics are of importance also and allows the audience to concentrate on the lyrics as well as the narrative. 

Low angle shots are used to make the artist look dominant and this shows their relevance to the song. The use of many ariel shots in this video creates the idea that the artist is the only one in the world and this implies that they are of high importance. 

Samantha Leason's Timeline - Single Ladies - Beyonce :

From this music video, I have learnt that the main transition used is cut as it keeps a quick pace and also ensures that the editing is non- continuity which is typical for a music video. It has shown here that the camera is not usually still and always has movement, for example zooming in or out or panning and this ensures that the video matches the tempo of the song. 

Charlotte Bell's Timeline - Maps - Maroon 5:

By doing this timeline, I have learnt that pop music video camera shots tend to never be still as they are showing all the detail in a setting or the importance of a character or a certain event. In Maroon 5- Maps there is a lot of close up shots to show detail in the setting and how it is important to the narrative, e.g the alcohol. In addition to this, there are a number of small montages to help the momentum of the narrative carry on. Also, the music videos narrative tells a complete narrative. BY starting in the very present and moving back in time before returning to present day again it allows questions to be raised in the audience mind but by the end of the video they are still fully answered. When i come to crate my own video I will take this idea into account as it is a good way of engaging with the audience.

Team Meeting Two:

From looking at our timelines, we have arrived at the following conclusions:

• The cut is the most frequently used transition, as it allows you to quickly change shots on the beat and can demonstrate a non linear narrative
• The artist is heavily showcased through the use of closeups, often interrupting the narrative
• Low angles make the artist look dominant, and high angle shots make them look insignificant 
• Lip syncing is extremely important as it highlights the lyrics as well as the music, it also creates a connection between the artist and the viewer
• Short takes are used most in music videos, as the shot tends to change every few seconds
• The camera is shown to always be moving, for example through pans and tilts
• Actors are only used in the music video to showcase they artist, not to serve a purpose to the narrative
• Dance routines are very common, conforming to the genre convention, but are never shown in full. They tend to be shown mainly at the chorus part of the song.

My Textual Analysis - Katy Perry Wide Awake Music Video:

My analysis of Katy Perry's Wide Awake music video has allowed me to see that in pop music videos, the narrative very often acts as a visual aid to the lyrics of the song. This showcases the song as a music video should because it interprets the lyrics in a way which is engaging for a viewer. The artist also plays a crucial role in the narrative - often acting as the 'main character' - as again this highlights them to the viewer. It also makes more sense to somebody watching the music video as the song is often a part of the artists own experience as is here with Katy Perry. Bright colours are used and I have noticed that this is one of the more common conventions of the pop genre. This looks appealing for the audience to watch whilst again, also making the artist stand out. Close Up's seem to be important in creating a connection between the artist and viewer as they focus our attention on the artist and lyrics only. Cuts are the most common transition as they take place on the count of a beat or in between two lines of lyrics to emphasize the song rather than make it seem disjointed.

Sophie Ordidge's Textual Analysis - Ariana Grande The Way Music Video:

My analysis of Ariana Grande's The Way music video has demonstrated to me how the star must be the most prominent actor in the video, who therefore must have the most screen time. They must be referenced back to frequently, interrupting the dance routine convention of the Pop music video genre in the case of this music video. The video has shown me how the star can be presented in more than just one way, for example through the use of super imposition, in which two shots of the artist can be layer over each other. This ensures they shall always be at the forefront of the audience's mind when viewing the video.  The Way is a good example of a video that supports a theme throughout, that makes the video a pleasurable experience to watch, for example to similar pans, shots and colours used in every shot that show a correlation between each aspect of the video, and the same cut transitions used between each shot - this allows the finish product to come together in perfect harmony, where no one shot stands out as not fitting the theme.

Samantha Leason's Textual Analysis - Rita Ora I Will Never Let You Down Music Video:

In conclusion, this music video involves many conventions of a typical pop music video as it has the use of bright colours, dance routines, bold costumes and makeup and also change of shots on the beat of the music. The main shot used was mid shots and close ups of the artist to showcase her and the backing dancers are there to support the star. There is performance of the song within the narrative which breaks up the video and also showcases the star and this is mainly shown through midshots and close ups of her dancing with the backing dancers. Cut transitions are the most common transition used throughout the video and special effects are also used to create the impression of flashing lights, enhancing the video and also complying with conventions of a pop music video.

Charlotte Bell's Textual Analysis - Katy Perry 'The One That Got Away' Music Video:







After looking at this music video I have been able to learn that in pop music video there is often a clear narrative that can be set in normal very day/life settings and locations. This helps make the video more relateable to the audience as they feel that something like this could possibly happen in their own life. In addition to this, the colours used in the video helps the audience know what the character is feeling as warm colours, red and orange etc, help create a happy and peaceful feeling to the video. Whereas colder colours, grey and blue etc, create a sad/depressing feel to the video. This can be very useful when I come to create my own music video as there will be no dialogue in the video so I will need to think of other ways to indicate to the audience what to feel at a certain point in the video, this could be very useful to use. 


Team Meeting Three:

From our textual analysis, we have learned the following:

• As Pop music videos, all the videos we analysed were colourful regarding setting, costume and props
• Black and white can be used in contrast to the colourful aspects to stand out and to create a different atmosphere
• The narrative of the video acts as a visual aid to the lyrics. The artist is often part of the narrative, showing their connection to the song
• There shall tend to be a performance incorporated in the narrative to break up the screen time and to showcase the artist
• The narratives often include subtle links to relationships 
• Pans are used as the best camera movement to focus your attention on to the artist 
• Fade in and out transitions are used at the beginning and the end of some videos to signify the start and finish of the video
• The narrative of the video has a meaning, which helps the viewer interpret the song 
• Unrealistic settings can be used, including special effects, to make the video more entertaining. It also acts as a distraction for the audience from the reality of normal life
• The video may include concert footage of the artist to highlight their success 

Team Meeting Four - Final Song Decision:

Taylor Swift - Out of the Woods

Questionnaire 1 - Ascertaining a clear target audience

We have surveyed a group of 50 people, 25 of which were men 25 of which were women. These were split between different age groups. These are: 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34 and 35-40.

1.  What genre of music do you prefer?

2. Of the 14 females who liked Pop, we asked what age group they fell in to.

3. Of the 57% of these females were 15-19. We then asked them what their occupation was. 

4. Of the females aged 15-19 that like Pop, we asked: does a Music video affect whether you buy the song?

5.  Of the females aged 15-19 that like Pop, we asked: How do you listen to music (internet, TV, Radio, Itunes,)

6. Of the females aged 15-19 that like Pop, what appeals to you most in a music video?

7.   Of the females aged 15-19 that like Pop, we asked do you illegally download music?

 8. Of the females aged 15 - 19 that like pop, we asked How often do you watch music videos?

In conclusion, we have discovered that our target audience is comprised of females aged 15 to 19 as this group favours the Pop genre most and the song we have decided to make a video for is from the Pop genre. As our target audience is aged 15 to 19, we have found out that the majority of them are students or part time workers and for this reason, they use free streaming methods to listen to music. This suggests that we should make our video available on platforms like YouTube to suit this to our target audience. The majority of our target audience has said that the music video decides whether they purchase the song so therefore, we must include what appeals to them.A narrative and a performance were the most popular choices in our questionnaire. So, we will ensure that we will include these in our own video. Many of our target audience revealed that they watch music videos daily or weekly. This demonstrates that they a fan of music videos. Therefore, we should adhere to genre convention to meet their expectations and make our video successful. 

Questionnaire 2 - Ascertaining What our Target Audience Likes

We asked 25 females the following questions as this is the gender of our target audience.

1. What are your favourite music videos?

2. Out of the following Pop videos, which do you most enjoy?

3. Would you like to see a music video to Taylor Swift's song 'Out of the Woods'?

4. Is Pop your chosen genre of music?

5. Which of the following conventions do you most associate with the pop genre?

6. Which of the following settings do you most associate with the pop genre?

7. What sort of clothing do you mainly associate with the pop genre?

8. What type of narrative do you expect from a video of the pop genre?

• Option One - Full Linear Narrative
• Option Two - Partial Narrative with cuts between the artist & narrative
• Option Three - No Narrative

9. Do you have any ideas we could use in our music video?

Out of the 25 people we asked questions from in our target audience, the most popular ideas we were advised to use were:

• Dance routines which would match the tempo and genre of the song

• Lots of shots of the artist performing and playing an instrument

• The use of bright colours, costume and lighting

• Special effects

• Insert shots of things relating to the song that also match the lyrics

From our questionnaire, we have discovered that members of our target audience do enjoy listening to Taylor Swift. This confirms to us that our target audience will also enjoy our music video as it is a Taylor Swift song. 17 out of the 25 people we asked confirmed that they would definitely be interested in seeing a music video for this song. Dance routines and close up shots of the artist have been revealed as something the audience expects to see in our video. So, we will include these in order to make our video as successful as possible. The setting of woods is also shown to be the most popular as it is well suited to the song so we will also ensure that this is included. This questionnaire has also revealed that bright, modern clothing should be worn in this music video. Finally, we have discovered that our target audience expect to see a partial narrative which will cut between the narrative and performance shots of the artist. We will ensure to incorporate this in to our video.

Artist Research - Taylor Swift: (Kate Harrold)

Taylor Swift - Brand Image (Sophie Ordidge & Samantha Leason & Kate Harrold)

'Pop Genre' Research (Charlotte Bell)

 

Annotation Of Lyrics

In conclusion, annotating the lyrics of 'Out of The Woods' has allowed us to see that we believe the best setting for our music video would be a forest or woodland setting. This suits the songs lyrics as Taylor Swift uses the woods as a metaphor throughout. Also, in our survey with our target audience, we asked what they thought would be a suitable setting for a pop music video and 56% of our target audience agreed that an outdoor location would be desirable. We have decided to split the video between a performance section which will show the artist lip syncing in the woods and a partial narrative which will follow the story of the relationship between the singer and a boy as described in the lyrics. We felt this would help showcase the song as Taylor Swift writes her lyrics in a way that very much portrays a story. By showing this on screen, we felt it would give a visual representation to what she was saying which encourages you to focus on the lyrics. Also, 80% of our target audience said they prefer music videos that contain a partial narrative so this will help ensure the music videos success. Partial narratives are a common feature of many videos of the pop genre. Again, due to the songs heavy featuring of the theme of nature, we believe it would be effective to super impose images of nature over either shots of the singers performance or the narrative. This would help create a whimsical atmosphere which the song fully embodies. This will also be well suited to our artist's brand image as we want her to appear to be ethereal and enchanting. Our target audience also suggested that we should use some form of special effects in our video and the super imposition will satisfy this. Close Ups and mid shots should be used throughout to show the artist lip syncing, thus highlighting the song but we felt they should be used excessively in the chorus as this is the where the main idea of being trapped in the woods is encompassed. We felt that showing the artist singing the lyrics here would be effective in showing the anxiety that the song is trying to portray. Finally, we felt that the artists mood in the woods would change and develop throughout the song. The relationship begins as one that is carefree and happy before developing to the anxiety ridden state that is revealed at the end. For this reason, we believed it would be suitable to have shots of the artist walking through the woods at the start contrasted to shots of her running at the end. This mirroring would show the development of the relationship as the song describes, again highlighting the lyrics.

Questionnaire 3 - Mise En Scene Survey

We asked 25 members of our target audience what they would specifically like to see in our music video for Taylor Swift's 'Out of the Woods'. Our target audience is comprised of 14 -19 year old females who like the Pop genre.

1. What location would you most like to see Taylor Swift's song 'Out of the Woods'?

2. What props would you expect the artist to use in Taylor Swift's 'Out of the Woods'?

3. What props would you expect the artist to use in the narrative of 'Out of the Woods'?

4. What colour costume do you expect to see in a pop music video?

5. What kind of costume do you think would suit our pop music video best?

From our mise-en-scene survey with our target audience, we have discovered that the most popular location chosen by our target audience was a woodland location. This is well suited to the lyrics of the song and we will ensure we use this in our music video to make the video as successful with our target audience as possible. Leaves and a Notebook are the most popular props chosen to be used by the artist. The leaves are keeping in fitting with the woodland setting and the notebook could be incorporated through the writing of lyrics. A Polaroid camera and paper aeroplanes are shown to be the props of choice to be used in the narrative. Again, these connect well with the lyrics which helps ensure a successful music video for our audience as it should be enjoyable whilst also highlighting the song. We also asked what costumes our target audience would most like to see for Taylor Swift's 'Out of the Woods'. Our audience have revealed that they expect to see a mixture of both bright clothing and neutral coloured clothing. We can use this to emphasize the mood and tone of the video as the relationship in the song appears content in the beginning but becomes more tense as the song continues. Our target audience also revealed that dresses and dance costumes should also be used in the video. This informs us that we should use a dance sequence and the artist should wear a dress to suit the mysterious atmosphere of the song.

Treatment

Original Treatment:


Producing a treatment allowed our group to plan out a clear structure for our music video. We were able to break down the video into 8 different sections, as shown below. Recurring sections are the chorus, where we decided similar images and clips would be shown, such as purely performance clips such as a montage of our dancer and the dance routines, close ups of nature and the artist. Our treatment allowed us to firmly decide no narrative would be shown in the chorus - this shall help us ensure the narrative of the video does not overpower the performance, as we must remember the song is the most important aspect, not the video, The video should serve the purpose of simply advertising and promoting the song. Each section was broken up into narrative and performance, showing our video incorporates more than just one type of music video - however, our video shall not include anything of the conceptual genre.




In our treatment for Taylor Swift's 'Out of the Woods', we split the song into relevant sections with timings to decide what narrative and performance would fit appropriately with the song. 
We decided what action, cast, costumes and props, locations and problems would be present during the filming of the music video in detail for each verse and chorus of the song. 

Original Treatment Feedback:

We handed our target audience a copy of our initial treatment and allowed them to give our group constructive criticism to help us improve our treatment plan.

Concerns that were raised by our target audience after looking over our treatment included: what does it mean for our artist to be acting carelessly, how will we show the shots of the polaroid pictures, is it possible for our group to access a stage, and to consider all the problems we could face filming in the setting of a wood.

In our amended treatment, we were able to clarify that 'careless' means the actors shall be acting with a carefree attitude in their relationship, representing it as unproblematic and pleasant, which mirrors how the beginning of the songs portrays the relationship as being in a good place, contrasting with the deterioration of it towards the end, to which our actors shall be acting 'frantic' in the bridge. We further clarified that the polaroid camera shall be shown in a clip in a close up while being used by the couple, appearing at the appropriate time when the song lyrics mention the prop, not as a picture. Concerning the accessibility of a stage, our group agreed that perhaps that could be problematic to find and to hire. After considering other options, we decided on featuring a dance studio setting, replacing the stage setting, as we have easy access to a dance studio for free. It also correlates well with the narrative of our music video, in which our lead actress playing the artist is attending a dance studio, using dance to vent her frustration and exert her energy. 

Finally we considered deeper any problems we could face when filming in the woods and listed all the things we would aim to avoid and that we would alert ourselves to upon arriving at our location.

Amended Treatment:

After receiving our feedback, we edited our treatment to include improvements that allow our planning process to be more thoroughly thought out and any possible problems targeted and found a solution for.



Now, our treatment shows the final formula for our music video. From this table, our group can state exactly what shall be happening at each section of the song, whether it includes both narrative and performance, or just performance, and the variety of shots we shall be including. Our next step to further finalise our plan is to create a shot list, which thanks to our treatment we have a very specific outline for.

Music Video Intial Pitch & Feedback

This pitch was created in order to present the idea for our music video to a large group of people. We presented this pitch to 20 students in our class aged 16-17. They provided us with valuable feedback that covered what was/wasn't suitable, how practical certain things would be and they questioned how certain things could be achieved or carried out. Based on this feedback, we then met as a group and discussed all the points brought up by the audience of our pitch. This allowed us to adapt some ideas and change some completely. Other questions brought up could be easily answered and just allowed us to see that some ideas were not explained clearly in our pitch. We then amended our pitch based on what we had discussed. Here is a picture of the feedback we received after this original pitch:

Our feedback informed us that we needed to differentiate our artist's brand image from that of the original artist of the song - Taylor Swift. As a group, we discussed how we wanted our artist to be seen by an audience and this slide was then adapted in our amended pitch. The Feedback also questioned who our dancers would be. Our original pitch failed to mention that they would be members of our group so this information could also be added in to our amended pitch. Finally, we were asked how we were going to give the woods the aesthetic needed for a pop video so we decided we would use battery powered fairy lights and fake electric candles in order to give our settings a whimsical and magical feel.

Amended Pitch

Based on the feedback we were given, we amended our pitch so that it was much more clear and detailed for our target audience. We then presented it another group of students who were suited to our target audience - females aged 15 to 19.

Focus Group Pitch

We presented our amended pitch to a group of our target audience which consisted of females aged 15 to 19. This is the feedback we received:

One piece of feedback that we received was concern over the use of fairy lights and candles in the woods. Our target audience wondered whether the candles would be a fire hazard or how the fairy lights would work. We have decided to use both battery powered candles and fairy lights which means they will neither be a hazard and they will also work in a woodland setting. Our target audience also questioned the relevance of Polaroids. The lyric 'You took a Polaroid of us' is featured in the song so we were going to show the singer and male character briefly with a Polaroid camera. This will only be featured briefly in a short take as a visual representation of the lyrics as Taylor Swift's latest album is highly associated with Polaroids and we don't want to replicate her brand image. The main concern was the relevance of the dancers and their location. We have decided to change it so that the dancer is now the same person as the artist. At the start of the music video we will see her be dropped off at the dance studio by her boyfriend which means that when we show shots of dance movements, it's easier to understand for a viewer. The parts of the narrative with the singer and the male character will act as flashbacks as she goes to the dance studio to clear her head. This answers any concerns about dancers being irrelevant. We will also only use the location of the studio for the dance section rather than an outdoor location as again, this makes it more understandable.

Prop And Location List (Samantha Leason)




Permission Letter to Record Label (Kate Harrold)

Risk Assessment (Sophie Ordidge)

Location Letter (Kate Harrold)

Actor Letter (Charlotte Bell)

Potential Problems And Solutions (Samantha Leason)

Original Storyboard (Kate Harrold, Sophie Ordidge & Charlotte Bell)

Amended Storyboard (Kate Harrold, Sophie Ordidge, Charlotte Bell)

We gave our storyboard to a group that consisted of our target audience (Females aged 15-19) and asked if they could provide us with feedback. Mainly, this was to be more specific in what each shot would show in order to create a clear narrative and overall vision. We also realised a line of the lyrics had been left out so we also added this in. Our treatment was then amended which included adding more detail to our descriptions.



Shot List (Samantha Leason)



Music Video - Provisional Mark: