Proposal

The main idea that I have considered to use for my music video is the idea of a lyric video. This is not something that you will typically see in the music industry, therefore, my reasoning behind this idea is that there is a gap in the market for something like this to work as it is somewhat original and has not really been seen too much prior to this. It will still feature some typical conventions that are seen in everday music videos such as having a basic equilibrium narrative in which there is a beginning, middle and end, but there will also be some differences, such as the person who is featured in the video will not be what I would consider to be the most important.

The story that will surround my video is that of going on a journey as the song itself is called Maps and is performed and written by the band Maroon 5. The song could be interpreted in various ways, with the direct interpretation being that the song is some form of love story. However, I believe that there are some subtle signs within the lyrics which allows the song to have alternative meanings. For example, the lyrics "When I was at my worst" and phrases such as "darkest nights" and "darkest times" could connote the inability to love and of someone going through quite a difficult and dark time.

I have decided that I wish to portray the message of the video through the imagery of photos and lyric cards. I have imagined that the actor herself will be sat in the middle of the dark room - which has been lit up - with a scrapbook set in front of her. My own interpretation of this being that she is trying to piece her life together, which can be signified through the placing of photos in the scrapbook. In terms of this equilibrium narrative, the typical construct of this is where there is an opening, which in terms of my music video is the looking through the photos and some what reminiscing, then there will be something that disrupts this, in terms of my music video I will have the actor start to get frustrated and upset which leads to her tearing up the photos, then finally, the end of this cycle is where the peace is restored, but not necessarily in the way it was present initially, in terms of my video this restoration of peace will consists of the actor trying to put the pictures back together again in order to gain back some normalcy. Ideally, this will show progression within the video, highlighting the story that is trying to be told.

In terms of how I will use the camera, I wish to have a mixture of close up shots, high angled shots, over the shoulder shots mainly, however there will be the inclusion of movements and shots such as panning of the camera and mid to long shots to gain some variety within the work. However, the main reasoning behind my choice of using lots of close up shots is to allow the audience of the video to see various emotions portrayed by the actor, but also to see what is included in the photos within the scrapbook and what is on the lyric cards that I have made which I am considering using alongside the photos as captions for the images.

In terms of locations, I had initially been considering places such as London or Ruislip Woods. However, I believe that for the simple yet effective look that I wish to achieve, somewhere such as the drama studio at school will be suitable. The room is simply just a room with black walls so can be quite dark. However, I could use this to my advantage in terms of being able to bring in lighting equipment and adjust it until I am happy with the outcome. I can move and change the position of the lights to achieve different effects. For example, one way that I could should the visual progression within the video would be through having the room slightly darker towards the beginning, however have the room getting gradually brighter as the video progresses. This could also be achieved through the editing stage when I get to using Adobe Premiere once I have filmed the video.

In terms of who I will be targeting this product to will be in terms of the band itself, but also the style of video that I wish to produce. Maroon 5 are a Pop Rock band so are likely to have both a male and female audience, most likely to be within the ages of 16 and 25. The band have been around since the 90s so are likely to have quite a large fan base which range in terms of age. However, in terms of the video, I believe that this simple yet effective style could attract both male and females as it is not something that could typically be considered as girly.

Risk Assessment

When filming my music video, there have been various things that I have had to consider. A way in which I have presented this is through carrying out a Risk Assessment which is allowing me to regard the safety and wellbeing of those who will be involved in the process.

Storyboard

Contact with Artist

As a part of the planning for my music video, I had to request the permission to use the song Maps by Maroon 5 from the artist and their label due to the need for me to explain that I do not plan to gain any profit and that I have no intent for any copyright infringement.

Editing Raw Footage - Stabilising/Brightness and Contrast

Production Diary #14

From the footage that I filmed when I went on the helicopter ride over London, I found that it was a bit shaky, so I have decided to use the 'Warp Stabilise' tool to make the footage more fluid. I also found that footage seemed a little dark, therefore I decided to increase both the brightness and contrast using the brightness and contrast tool. Initially, both were set to 0.0, however I increased them both to 26.0 and 25.0 respectively. The computers that I am using do come across a little dark so I might need to make some adjustments when I use a different monitor.

 

By making these alterations, the quality of my footage has increased and  looks a lot more professional. I had not used these tools before, however, by simply going to 'Help' on Adobe Premiere Pro CS6, and then clicking on 'Adobe Premiere Pro Help,' I was able to get some simply instructions which has allowed me to get the effect and high standard of footage that I wanted.

London Footage

Production Diary #13

                                 

                                  

                                  

                              

On the 11th January, I took a camera that I had borrowed from school on a helicopter trip along the  River Thames that had been planned. I thought that footage from this experience would make a great opening sequence for my music video. It was a challenge trying to keep the camera still so the footage is a little shaky at times, however, I believe that having that establishing shot at the beginning to open the video where the city looks so busy highlights this idea of confusion which I have considered to be one of the main themes within my music video. The ride lasted half an hour and in total I got a good amount of footage which I think can be used within the video and overall I am happy with how the footage turned out. I have not had a chance to start editing the footage for the opening sequence of the video due to having mocks last week, however, this week I hope to have it completed.