Storyboard (1)

Filming schedule

Mise-en-scene

Casting female – Hannah Mitchell
Casting male – Maxwell Toseland

Outfits – Hannah will be dressed in floral shorts for the main parts of the video where the main narrative is taking place. However, there will be parts of the song where she will be wearing more of a dressed up outfit for example a party dress for the lyrics ‘dancing at discos.’
I will also need the younger girl and boy to use the same sorts of outfits so that the relationship between the two characters are clear. Max will be dressed in chinos and a polo shirt with vans. So that he looks fashionable but quite quirky.

Items I will need -

- Cheese on toast

- Discoteque items such as a discoball or discolight

- Pearl necklace

- Telephones

- Flowers

Proposal - Lyrics

Watching me like you never watch no one
Don't tell me that you didn't try and check out my bum
Cause I know that you did
Cause your friend told me that you liked it
Gave me those pearls and I thought they were ugly
Though you try to tell me that you never loved me
I know that you did
'Cause you said it and you wrote it down
Dancing at discos
Eating cheese on toast
Yeah you make me merry make me very very happy
But you obviously, you didn't want to stick around
Dancing at discos
Eating cheese on toast
Yeah you make me merry make me very very happy
But you obviously, you didn't want to stick around
So I learnt from you
Do do do da do do do do do da do do do do do da do
So I learnt form you
Do do do da do do do do do da do do do do do da do
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone
I can watch a sunset on my own
Sitting in restaurants
Thought we were so grown up
But I know now that we were not the people
That we turned out to be
Chatting on the phone
Can't take back those hours
But I won't regret
'Cause you can grow flowers
From where dirt used to be
Dancing at discos
Eating cheese on toast
Yeah you make me merry make me very very happy
But you obviously, you didn't want to stick around
Dancing at discos
Eating cheese on toast
Yeah you make me merry make me very very happy
But you obviously, you didn't want to stick around
So I learnt from you
Do do do da do do do do do da do do do do do da do
So I learnt from you
Do do do da do do do do do da do do do do do da do
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone
I can watch a sunset on my own
(do do do da do do do do do da do do do do do da do)
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone, yeah
I can watch a sunset on my own
I can be alone
I can watch a sunset on my own
(do do do da do do do do do da do do do do do da do)

Mrs D

You have some nice ideas about how you can use editing techniques and I like the idea of using different people to explore the different ages of the characters. You need to get a storyboard up asap. Good luck.

Proposal - Merry Happy

After beginning to plan my story board for Mariella I felt that the lyrics would not allow me to create a narrative based video that would be as successful as I wished for it to be. This is because the song does not have any real narrative/story behind it. My new choice of song is Merry Happy and is also by Kate Nash, so still fits to what my audience would like and what they prefered. This song however has more of an emotive story behind it that I could fit a narrative too. For example, I wanted to use different aged characters in order to create a very clear story. Also I feel this song will allow me to use skills I have acquired in media for example, the use of camera angles, and editing effects in order to create the best possible music promo that I can. For example, I can use split screens in order for the visuals to tell the story.

DIGI-PACK - Magazine advert layouts

DIGI-PACK - Front and back cover layouts

DIGI-PACK - Inside layouts

DIGI-PACK - Side panels layout

This side panel of my music album digi-pack includes very clearly the artist name and album title. This is useful as it must be clear if the digi-pack is on its side that the owner of the album can see that it is on its side. I will also include the logo of the artist or the logo of the record label. This is to advertise the logo in order to get recognition of the record label. I will have a colour background on the side panel that will be the same colour as the front cover and back cover of the digi-pack. I will use the same colours and same fonts to show continuity.

This side panel includes only the artist name and album title. I have chosen to seperate both album artist and album title in order to show clarity between the two as some album names could be used as album artists and vice versa. Again, I will have a colour background on the side panel that will be the same colour as the front cover and back cover of the digi-pack. I will use the same colours and same fonts to show continuity. I have got rid of the record labels logos so it is more simple.


















This side panel is very similar to the first side panel. However I have chosen on this one to have the album name first although I don't think this is preferable to the first choice as I think the album artist should be first as the digi-pack is promoting the artist, mainly. I have chosen to use a colour background on this one as well for the same reason as the other side panels.

Proposal - Mariella

For my music promo video I have chosen to do a narrative based video. I have chosen this as it is a popular choice of music promo from my questionnaire audience and also it will have a repeatability factor as it will not be boring to watch. I have chosen the song Mariella by Kate Nash, I have chosen this song because it is by an alternative/pop artist and this was again, a popular genre choice from my questionnaire audience. The song is from the album ‘Made of Bricks’ and although the album was platinum selling the single was never released and has not been in the top 10 charts.

Initial Ideas

Mrs D

This is very detailed and the research should help you with your planning. Why are there some gaps in terms of your RMAs? You haven't emailed anything?

How research will inform planning

The research I have carried out has allowed me to recognise very clearly as to what sort of product I will be producing. By using a selection of focus groups, questionnaires to fit every part of my task and RMA's I have been able to decide certain factors I will use in my music promo and certain factors I will avoid due to them not being liked by audiences I have asked.

My questionnaire first of all allowed me to decipher what genre of music my audience prefered to watch in a music video through the use of my 3rd question so I now know I will use alternative/pop music as pop is the most popular choice however, alternative music is up and coming in a pop catergory and becoming more and more mainstream with a lot of new artists from the alternative/pop genre now dominating chart spaces. I also know that music promos are watched very regularly by my audience with the majority of my questionnaire participants stating that they watch them everyday, so I know that my music video must be interesting and fun to watch so that it has a repeatability factor. I also have decided that my music promo will be narrative based as this was the most popular choice of genre. I also know that I will promote the fact it is the artist in the musc video as 70% of my participants stated that they preffered the artist to be in the music promo rather than an actor/actors.

I also sent out questionnaire regarding my ancillary tasks of a digi-pack and a music CD advert. From this it has been clear that an image on the front of a digi-pack of either the artist or a shot of the music promo are the two most popular choices and therefore I shall choose one of these. I also know that the audience prefer a music tracklist to be on the back of a digi-pak and therefore this is where I will put mine. I also asked what other features they like and from this have decided I will include more images of the artist and lyrics as my two other panes of the digi-pak. I also know that the album name must be in a prominant place i.e. at the top of the digi-pak. I also know that on the music advert the artist wll be attracted to an image of the artist or an image of the music promo so these are features I will use when constructing my music advert.

Product placement

For my media coursework I will be making a music promo that is of an alternative music genre and it will be narrative based. I have chosen these two because they were most popular in my questionnaire. I will also produce a digi-pak and album advert to match and advertise the music promo.

The placement for my product will be on music channels. The music channels I can choose are channels such as MTV, MTV Hits, Viva or the box. I would choose these because alternative music is becoming more and more popular in the charts with artists such as Ed Sheeran and Florence and The Machine hitting top 10's and number 1's so if I am going to use this genre and want to hit a mainstream market that this genre appeals to then these channels were suffice. I will also stream the music promo on websites such as YouTube and Google Video, I think in ways these are more important as these are where people have free access to music promo's and therefore use them more. Product placement is incredibely important to a product as if they are not directed to the right audiences or available to the right audiences then they will not get recognition.

The product placement of my promotional advert is almost as important as the placement of the music promo as again it advertises and gives recognition of the artist. Because the genre of music I am using is becoming more mainstream I believe this will change where I place my products. For example, I may put them in music magazines that more dedicated fans will read like NME and Q, but because it is mainstream I could also put it in magazines such as Cosmopoliton or Glamour, as my target audience is mainly female and the audience I am aiming for will probably also read these as the both have the audience of the same age group.

The product placement of the digi-pak I believe is not as important for the advertisement but for the availability so I must make sure it is places that my audience will go. For example, my main audience are females/males between 16 and 25. These sorts of people are likely to be found in shops such as Tesco and HMV as they have access at these ages to places like these. Therefore I must make sure that they are available here. However, I think they are most important to be available online as e-commerce is a growing trend. Therefore I should make them available in places such as Amazon and iTunes especially as people browse iTunes when listening to music, and most people have iPods/iPhones/iPads therefore will have iTunes.

RMA7 - Foo Fighters - music advert

Foo fighters are an alternative/rock band and they are promoting their new album 'Greatest Hits.' This advert is in a Q magazine that was published in December 2009. The advert features the bands logo in the centre of the magazine, I believe this will mean that the artists advert is trying to attract most to the bands loyal fans as they will recognise the logo. However, if they were trying to advertise to a new artist they would more than likely use their band image i.e. picture of themselves so they can gain recognition. They have used a steel effect background for the advert, I believe this is because they are quite a rocky band and metal has connotations of being hard and tough and so do rock bands, so the look of the advert and the adverts artist all link together.

The advert uses a bold black font that has some graphic effects of lightening. The bold black font allows the words of the artist and the album title to stand out to an audience however the graphic effect also allows it to attract to an audience as it has more of an interesting look about it. The bottom of the advert has a black banner with white font writing on. The boldest, biggest font states the release date and how you can access the album, I believe this is good as the audience can get the information and recognise it quickly. It has in grey additional information for the album i.e. feature tracks that are most popular again this will help advertise the album. At the bottom it has the artists website and where it is available. This is good as it is extra advertisement for the band.

RMA6 - Jamie Cullum - music advert

This Jamie Cullum advert was advertised in a Q magazine in December 2009. Jamie Cullum is an alternative artist. This advert advertises his new album 'The Pursuit.' A pursuit means the following of something or someone. The word pursuit has connotations of action and this is represented well in the advert as the piano is not just sat there but looks like it has been blown up. The use of the white background and his black suit and black piano allows his image to stand out, and for him to look dominant in the advert.

The font used to present the artists name 'Jamie Cullum' and the album name 'The Pursuit' is in a black font with a shadowed effect. This allows it to have an artistic effect and also stands out as it is black and in a bold font. Also, th release date is bold to allow it to stand out for the audience to recognise this and be able to see it. The advert also has a review by GQ, and established magazine so it will give the audience confidence that the album is good.

RMA5 - Florence and The Machine - Digi-Pack

The album cover is mainly an image of Florence but also includes the artist’s name ‘Florence + the Machine’ above the image, the font is italic and artistic looking and in white so that it stands out on the black background. At the bottom of the front cover of the digipack it includes the word 'Lungs' - the album name.This is in a simple, clear font but also in italics which has connotations of being attractive to look at, and also links to Florences look of being pretty and feminine. The image allows reference to the artist and the name of the album as it shows Florence clearly but also has her lungs on a necklace so this links to the album name.

The album name 'Lungs' is represent through the back of the album cover as well as it has an image of a pair of lungs. The image has tag lines coming off of them showing numbers as if it were labelling each part of the lung, however the numbers link to the tracklist which is shown beneath. The tracklist is shown beneath the picture again in white italic font that shows continuity through the digipack and also allows it still to be clear on the black background as no other colour would show as clearly. The digi-pack also includes, at the bottom, the website of the artist and extra information. This allows extra advertisement to the artist and how to obtain more information of the artist. These are factors I could include in my digi-pack.

RMA4 - Kate Nash - Made Of Bricks - Digi-Pack

Kate Nash's digi-pack suggests that she is an alternative artist because it does not mainly focus on her. Most R&B/Pop albums focus mainly on the artist as they have a huge picture/close up of the artist where as the image on this digi-packs main focus is the house. The house also looks quite quirky so this goes with the fact the she is alternative. I also like how it uses a lot of bright vibrant colours and it uses all the primary colours of red, blue and yellow which makes it seem friendly. I like how this goes well with the music promo as they help promote one another with their similarity. I also like how the 'Kate Nash' is written in almost hand writing so again it adds to the friendlyness of the album and also looks quite fun, just like the music promo.



The back of Kate Nash's digi-pack shows clearly all of the tracks that are featured on the album very clearly but again, it also maintains the idea of being fun and friendly as it uses the same handwriting font. The use of the fonts on the front and the back shows good continuity and allows the audience to create an image that they can relate to Kate Nash.

The digi-pack also involves some further images of Kate Nash. Again, the continue the theme of being quite quirky. We can tell this through the general look of the image. She is wearing clothing that is of quite a quirky fashion sense, with the yellow high heels and plain navy off the shoulder dress. She wears the same sort of thing in both the front cover of the digi-pak and music promo so the image is continued through. Also, there objects such as the skeleton and the rubber ducks show a quirky odd side of her. Also there is black cats, that were also shown in the front cover of the music digi-pak.

RMA3 - Kate Nash - Foundations - Music promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryH5cga0yUI&ob=av2e

The song foundations is about Kate Nash trying to hold onto a relationship but she knows deep down that it is bad. The song is fast tempo and the music promo uses lots of short takes to match this. I believe this works well because the song is quite fast so it may not be easy to keep up with so having the visuals there helps. The song is quite light hearted for the chorus but there are deeper verses such as when she says 'I know that I should let go as I can't' for this part it zooms in on her face I think this helps to remind the audience that although it's quite fast it does have deep meaning. It also has good visuals in the way in which when the lyrics say 'why don't you just have another beer then' and it shows a fridge full of beer. I also like the fact that because it is up beat it is also in very vibrant colours and also her tights and clothes are very bright colours.

RMA2 - Ed Sheeran - The A Team - Music promo

The A Team music promo is a narrative based music promo. It is about a girl who is a prostitute and is homeless. She is a prostitute so she can pay for her drug addiction. The music promo uses long shots for the majority of the video, I believe this is because it is quite a deep meaningful song so it allows us to get a sense of the surreal nature of the lyrics and also allows us to build up emotion to fit the song. Also, it is a slow tempo song so it would not match if it had short shots. This video is quite different to many other music promos as it usually focuses completely on the artist and promoting on the artist. I think this is different for Ed Sheeran because he is more focused on promoting his music rather than promoting himself as he is quite an alternative artist. This is shown as he is only shown once in the whole music promo when he gives her money. The video showing on the music promo also often links closely to the lyrics for example when it says 'angels to fly' it shows a sign with the word 'angel on.' Also, when it says 'go mad for a couple grams' it shows her being handed drugs and this is what the word 'grams' will be associated with. The video also shows the emotion all the way through as it is all in black and white this helps create the sad meaningful theme of the lyrics as if it was in colour it would look more of a happy emotion and this would not fit the lyrics or style of the song. The music promo also uses an effect that speeds up the cars this helps to fit into the genre of the music promo as it shows how her life is passing by which is the feeling we get.

RMA1 - Scouting for girls - She's so lovely - Music promo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ABNEjPxWEg

This music promo is about a male being in love with a female and thinking she is 'lovely.' The music uses a narrative based genre in order to tell the story. It involves medium length clips that jump from one to the other, this matches the song as it is quite upbeat and fun and has a lighthearted subject. The song matches alot of the lyrics for example when it says 'I think that she is beautiful' as he sings the words 'is beautiful' it has a close up of the girl he is talking about in the song. It also at this point uses slow motion in order to allow us to recognise who is is talking about and see her 'beauty.' The video also uses some voyeuristic features such as when it says 'I love the way she shakes her hips' it has an extreme close up of her bottom. I also like the way the lyrics match the style of the video for example they use words such as 'fitty' and 'stunner' and 'I want her' and they are all dressed very casually. I believe this is done to create a band image of them all being relatively laid back, and because they are an alternative band this may be the case as more often that not they are more worried about their music rather than their appearance than most mainstream pop artists.

Focus group analysis

My focus group task has allowed me to find out, in a lot more detail, exactly what my target audience like and don't like about certain music videos. I asked about the Gwen Stefani music promo of the song 'Cool.' I used this as Gwen Stefani is an artist that would fit into a pop/alternative grouping and this is the choice I would like to use for my music promo.

In my first question I asked what they enjoyed most about the music promo. I was given feedback that they liked the fact that the song lyrics and video went well together so it allowed them to have more of an emotional attatchment with the song. They also liked that what they saw on the screen matched what the lyrics were saying and that the artist was acting in the promo. They also liked that it was easy to follow. I can use this when creating and planning my music promo as I can make sure that my promo is easy to follow and easy to watch by matching the lyrics of my chosen song with the action on the screen. I can also make sure that I make sure it is clear that it is the artist acting in the music promo as this seems to be a popular option as in both my focus group and initial questionnaire this was stated.

In the second question I asked about what they liked about the use of narrative genre. They answered that they liked they could more easily connect to the lyrics as it is represented through the video. I am also going to use this technique as the target audience obviously like it and therefore it is going to be popular with them. They also liked that because it was a story it was easy to watch again so it has the repeatablitliy factor. Again, I will ensure I use the narrative genre in order for my audience to want to watch it again as this is what will promote the music video.

I also asked, in my third question, if the audience thought the narrative and the song worked well together. Most liked it because the video and lyrics followed the same theme of being quite meaningful so I will make sure my lyrics and video follow the same theme. However, my focus group said that they got confused between what the lyrics were actually saying and what the video was showing and therefore they got confused by the meaning of the lyrics. I will make sure mine is more clear.

In my fourth question I asked about what they would change. A lot of them said that they would change how clear the relationship between the lyrics and video was. I will therefore make sure mine is very clear and act out some of the lyrics within my video so that they can link closely between the two. Some also didn't like how it was a long introduction, so I will make sure mine goes straight into video as this will help the repeatability because they will not be tempted to turn it over as it does not go straight into the song.

My fifth question asked whether they felt the digi-pack and music promo worked well together. Some said that they felt it did as Gwen did not change her look between the two so this helped create a relationship between the digi-pack and music promo, I will ensure this is the same case for mine so they recognise the artist on the digi-pack from the music video in order for them to make the link and want to buy it. However, they also said that she had a different style about her look in the digi-pack to the music promo so I will make sure this is not the case in mine.

Focus group response - QUESTION 5

QUESTION 5 - DO YOU THINK THE MUSIC PROMO AND DIGI-PACK WORK WELL PROMOTING THE SONG TOGETHER?

PARTICIPANT 1.

I think that the digi-pack and music video could work better together if they continued the same theme throughout for example, in the music promo Gwen Stefani has a classy look about her whereas on the digi-pack she has a more urban look so the customer may not make the link and may not realise the video is linked to this album.

PARTICIPANT 2.

The digi-pack and music promo work well together as the digi-pack and music promo both have Gwen with the same sort of look/hair so they will realise they are being released at the same time as the artist has not changed her look.

PARTICIPANT 3.

I think the look on Gwens face on the front cover shows a very serious meaningful look and the song is also meaningful so they could be linked and work well with each other to promote one another.

PARTICIPANT 4.

The song shows quite a timid side of Gwen Stefani as it shows how she is in need of somebody or missing somebody however the picture on the front of the digi-pack shows her looking powerful so that could be confusing for an audience.

PARTICIPANT 5.

I think they do work well to promote the artist as it shows on the cover that she is powerful as she is holding her head high and looks very serious however the music promo shows a softer side so this could show how she's versatile to different audiences and be more attractive to a larger amount of people.

Focus group response - QUESTION 4

QUESTION 4 - IF YOU COULD CHANGE ANYTHING ABOUT THE MUSIC VIDEO, WHAT WOULD YOU CHANGE?

PARTICIPANT 1 -

If I could change anything I would chose to focus more on Gwen Stefani as the song talks about her feelings but the video focuses more on the ex and his new girlfriend so I'd focus it more on Gwen Stefani or whoever the songs point of view it's coming from.

PARTICIPANT 2 -

I would change the beginning of the song as there is quite a long introduction.

PARTICIPANT 3 -

If I could change anything it would be the relationship between the video and the lyrics because it doesn't seem like the lyrics are sincere but the video is so it's quite confusing.

PARTICIPANT 4 -

I would make sure the song lyrics tie in very closely to the video on the screen because then it is easy to understand.

PARTICIPANT 5 -

I would change how much it is focused on her ex and his new girlfriend as the lyrics focus more on Gwen Stefani's character and her feelings.

Focus group response - QUESTION 3

QUESTION 3 - DO YOU THINK THE SONG AND NARRATIVE WORKED WELL TOGETHER?

PARTICIPANT 1.

I think the song and narrative of the video worked well together because the song is quite meaningful and so is the video.

PARTICIPANT 2.

The video and song worked well together. This was because the lyrics at some points matched what was going on in the video for example she talks about although they've been through a lot they are still friends are they are shown as friends in the video.

PARTICIPANT 3.

The song and video match well together in different ways for example the lyrics and video match and also the tempo of the song and the speed of the clips match well.

PARTICIPANT 4.

I don't think the song necessarily is sincere about the way she feels about being okay with being friends but the video does not show this as well so I do not think they work as well together as they could.

PARTICIPANT 5.

I think that it would work better together if some of the lyrics matched exactly what was going on, in the video.

Focus group response - QUESTION 2

QUESTION 2 - WHAT DID YOU LIKE ABOUT THE USE OF THE NARRATIVE GENRE IN THE MUSIC PROMO?

PARTICIPANT 1.

I like that when it is a narrative you can watch the story as well as listening to the story so you can more easily understand the lyrics. I like this because it causes more of a relationship between the song and the audience.

PARTICIPANT 2.

My favourite thing about the use of narrative was that it is easy to watch more than once because if you are watching a video of just a person singing or something then it gets boring to watch. Whereas there is more to this than a song and this makes you want to watch it again and listen to the song again and grow a love for the song.

PARTICIPANT 3.

I liked the video because it brings you closer to the artists feelings by using things like going really close up on Gwen Stefanis face when she's smiling and this allows you to understand that, that part of the song is happy and you can feel the same emotion she feels.

PARTICIPANT 4.

One thing I liked about the use of narrative is that it is very closely linked to the lyrics in the song.

PARTICIPANT 5.

I liked that the narrative really tells the story of the song but it doesn't just do this through two people acting it out it has Gwen singing in it to help tell the story at the same time and it also uses technical things like camera angles to help show us the emotion of the lyrics.

Focus group response - QUESTION 1

QUESTION 1 - WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST ABOUT THE MUSIC PROMO?

PARTICIPANT 1.

The factor I enjoyed most about the music promo is that the song followed the same theme of the video in the song, because they went well together. So, the song was quite slow and meaningful an this was also shown in the video on the promo because we could see it was a meaningful story as it was about two people still being friends even though they were together in the past so it has quite a deep meaning just like the song.

PARTICIPANT 2.

I liked the most that the song in the background and the lyrics of the music video matched together. So when she talks about the fact that they have been through a lot but now it's good to see him with someone else it shows her together with him and the girl he's now with, and them getting on okay like it says in the song.

PARTICIPANT 3.

My favourite thing about the music video is that it is Gwen Stefani singing the song and also acting in the music video. Because when I watch a music video I like it being the artist because otherwise it feels like it has two different things going on and the video and song aren't related. And also, the reason I like the songs is usually because of the artist so I like seeing them in the video as well.

PARTICIPANT 4.

I like how the video has some bits where you can see it's her singing and some bits where she is acting. Because, if it was all her singing it would be a bit boring, but because you see her acting as well it makes it more interesting rather than just watching someone sing a whole song.

PARTICIPANT 5.

I like the fact that the music video and the actors and the story are quite cheesy because it makes it easy to watch and also nice to watch again because it is happy and also easy to follow.