Shot List
Budget
StoryBoard
Consent Forms (actors)
PRE-PRODUCTION WORK / FMP
Month: March 2017
FMP Pitch
Focus/ concept. My music video will be to the song Lady GaGa Do what U Want Ft Christina Aguilera . Although the song is about the struggles of the celebrity industry and the horror of the press I have interpretated the lyrics in a different way in order to because controversial and interesting which is what Lady GaGa likes to achieve in her music videos. She likes to interoperate sex into her music videos but at the same time have a meaning or logic to the music video which inspires her audience to think.
For my music video I will be splitting the song into 6 sections. This has been split into verse 1, Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Bridge and the last chorus. I have 5 different characters in my music video. These characters are all inspired by famous disney characters. The 5 characters I have chosen are Queen Elsa, Ariel, Pinocchio, Snow White and Princess Jasmine. I chose these 5 characters because they are easy to link to the lyrics.
[Verse 1: Lady Gaga]
I feel good, I walk alone
But then I trip upon myself and I fall
I, I stand up, and then I’m okay
But then you print some shit
That makes me want to scream
Verse 1-
[Pre-Chorus: Lady Gaga]
So do what you want
What you want with my body
Do what you want
Don’t stop, let’s party
Do what you want
What you want with my body
Do what you want
What you want with my body
Write what you want
Say what you want ’bout me
If you wanna know that I’m not sorry
Do what you want
What you want with my body
What you want with my body.
For this verse I have chosen to have a dark Queen Elsa miming the lyrics. This is because The lines ‘ do what you want don’t stop this party’ This can be easily linked to the fact her frozen powers are exposed at her coronation party. It can also be linked the the characters storyline with the lyrics ‘Write what you want, Say what you want ’bout me, If you wanna know that I’m not sorry’. This can be linked to the fact that the villain in the film ‘ The Duke of Wesleton’ is constantly after elsa because he wants to expose her secrets. The also tells everyone how evil she is. She could be singing these lyrics to him and the world saying think what you want about me but you can’t have my heart or head.
Chorus-
You can’t have my heart
And you won’t use my mind but
Do what you want with my body
(Do what you want) with my body
You can’t stop my voice cause
You don’t own my life but
Do what you want with my body
(Do what you want) with my body
For this part I have chosen Ariel to be miming the lyrics. This is because you can link two of the lines to the story of the little mermaid. In the film Ursula the Sea Witch who is Ariels Auntie promises to remove Ariels tale and give her the ability to be human instead however In this process removes her voice. However Ariels mind is her own
‘you won’t use my mind but do what you want with my body’ – Ursula can’t have her mind but she can do what you want with her body.
‘You can’t stop my voice cause you don’t own my life’- Ursula stole her voice but Ariel gets it back therefore In a powerful fierce way Ariel is saying you can’t have her voice.
Verse 2-
My bones hurt
From all the shows
But I don’t feel the pain ’cause I’m a pro
I, I sink in
And then I’m ok,
‘Cause my body belongs to you when I’m on stage
I have chosen to have the character Pinocchio because the lyrics can link to his story. In This his story Pinocchio is a puppet who is owned by a clock maker. The owner wishes upon a star that he had a son and therefore over night Pinocchio becomes a real boy, a part human part wooden boy. He is lured by some villains to become a star however he is used for money and locked up in captivity. The lyrics can link to his story. Lines such as
‘My bones hurt, from all the shows but I don’t feel the pain cause I’m a pro’ –
Pinocchio becomes a star in the film therefore is relating to the struggle of being star and being worked till his bones hurt but in my music video he wants to be a star. The lyrics are sarcastic saying ‘he doesn’t feel the pain because he is famous’ this is irony and it making a point that celebrities have feelings too because they are too human.
The line ‘ cause my body belongs to you when I’m on stage’ can be linked to the fact Pincchio is too on stage and also that now he’s a performer the audience owns him and he is not his own person. This is too irony.
Pinochio, Ariel and Elsa Split Screen.
So do what you want
What you want with my body
Do what you want (Ooh, do what you want don’t stop let’s party)
Don’t stop, let’s party
Do what you want
What you want with my body
Do what you want
What you want with my body
Write what you want
Say what you want ’bout me
If you wanna know that I’m not sorry
Do what you want
What you want with my body
What you want with my body
Because this part of the song is sang as a duet I will be split screening Elsa, Ariel and Pinocchio to excite the audience because I wanted to symbolise the overlapping in the music on screen.
2nd Chorus-
You can’t have my heart
And you won’t use my mind but
Do what you want with my body
(Do what you want) with my body
You can’t stop my voice cause
You don’t own my life but
Do what you want with my body
(Do what you want) with my body
For this part of the song I have chosen Snow White to mime the lyrics. This is because the chorus can link to her story too. In snow white her evil step mother becomes extremely jealous of her because the evil step mums magic mirror declares snow white to be the fairest in the land meaning she is perfect. This angers the evil step mum and because of this she sends a huntsman to kill Snow White by stabbing her and she wants him to cut out her heart and bring it to her to keep.
You can’t have my heart and you won’t use my mind’ This is Snow White saying that you can’t have her heart or mind meaning you can’t kill her.
You can’t stop my voice cause you don’t own my life but do what you want with my body’ This is Snow White saying to her step mum that she doesn’t own her life and she is her own person. And that she can be mean about her as much as she can but it won’t affect her because she can’t take her voice or life.
Bridge-
Sometimes I’m scared I suppose
If you ever let me go (aah, aah)
I would fall apart (apart)
If you break my heart (ooh)
So just take my body (body)
And don’t stop the party’
For this part of the song I have chosen to have Princess Jasmine mime the lyrics this is also because this part of the song can be linked to her story. In Aladdin, Princess Jasmine is a feisty princess who is being set up to marry a villain, she falls in love with princess aladdin however Aladdin has actually wished a genie to become a princess but however is only a poor Arabian man. In they’re words a ‘Street Rat’ because he steals from markets. The lyrics can link to the story because
‘Sometimes I’m scared I suppose if you ever let me go’ – She doesn’t want the kingdom the judge her if she marries Aladdin.
‘ I would fall apart if you break my heart’- For this she is saying to Aladdin that she would cry and fall apart is he left her.
‘ So just take my body and don’t stop the party’- She is singing this because she is confident in her decision to marry Aladdin and that he can just take her body, meaning she is all his and she is telling the Kingdom to party which is showing she is joyful and excited.
For the final Chorus I will be mixing all 5 characters by split screening in a variety of different angles and shots to appear exciting. This is because its sang as a duet with overlapping riffs so I want to portray this on screen to excite viewers.
The music video will empower woman and also show a more dark, confident powerful side to disney. It will be colourful, inspiring and overall I want the audience to feel wowed after watching it.
Run Time-
The Music Video will be 3 Minutes 36 seconds long because thats how long the song is.
Target Audience-
My Target audience would be 18-24 year olds, aiming at girls. Aiming demographically at
C2, D and E because most people at 18-24 are university students and will be likely to go out to clubs which will most likley be playing Lady Gagas music.
I think my music video will be aiming at Explorers, Succeeders and Aspirers. This is because my music video could aim at explorers because my music video has 5 different actors dressed up in disney inspired outfits with disney inspired hair and makeup linking them to well known characters from disney movies therefore a younger audieince may recognise and enjoy this music video. It will aim at Succeeders because the music video empowers women and men, but mostly women which may inspire viewers to be more confident and seek control of their lives. Finally, My Music video will aim at aspirers because the music video is highly focused on makeup, fashion and hair which an aspirer may enjoy. Aspirers are materlistic and orientated to image meaning the music video will attratct and aspire them to try out the makeup etc themseleves.
Inspiration – This idea for the music video actually as cliche as it may sound came to me in a dream. I was listening to the song late at night and it led to me dreaming about the song and how cool it would be if I could link the lyrics to something completely different that you wouldn’t think of when listening to the lyrics. One of my practitioners Todrick Hall was my main inspiration for my music video. I have a deep love for his music video to 90’s Disney. I love the colour, exciting split screen shots and the overall aesthetic. From this music video I took costume inspiration, I have taken on the idea of making my own animated backgrounds and have also taken inspiration from how they have split screened it.
Key Conclusions of Research- I researched into similar videos to the one I wanted to make. I learnt how to create a star persona and how to attract an audience without having a narrative. I will be doing this through split screening and keying the screens smaller so they’re multiple screens on at once. I have also looked into how much it would cost me to make the music video which means I can prepare finically. I looked into how other music videos have been made by students in the same box as me. Ive realised through research that I will be ordering a Ring Light because I liked the way it looked on screen. It made the characters faces bright and glowy which I think looked really good and very professional. I researched one music video which looked very unprofessional due to the quality of camera and amateur shots make it look like a student has filmed it. I want my music video to look like a professional production and not some amateur work by a non experienced student. I want to show off what I can do and show off my creative flare.
Production Schedule-
20/02- 24/02 February – complete first part of brief (proposal) Find Actors/ Actresses.
01/03 – March- Begin Journal entry, begin research into practitioner (Lady Gaga). Present proposal to class.
02/03 – Research into Previous lady gaga music videos and look into her fashion and style of music videos. Research into previous Lady Gaga controversies.
03/03 – 06/03 – Research into Miley Cyrus, Ariana Grande and Todrick Hall her competition for this music video. Learn how to create a star persona.
08/03 – 10/03 – Write a detailed blog post about my target audience. look into legal and ethical issues that might occur if I made this music video. Write a blog post about budget and costs for this music video and where the money is being spent, and how much it would cost if I was making it for real. ( If I were really working for Lady Gaga )
13/03 – 16/03 – Research concepts and ideas related to music video. aka the press, celebrity break downs etc. Write a blog post about all props, costumes and media equipment I will be using.
17/03 – FMP TEST SHOTS.
18/03 – 23/03 Edit and play around with FMP test shots. Learn how to colour grade and split screen. Try out flying carpet green screen idea.
23/03 – 24/03 – write and finalise pitch, Perform Pitch to class.
27/03 – 29/03 – Create Storyboard for music video and remix music ready to use for FMP.
30/03 – 05/04 – finish music. Buy/ make all costumes and props needed.
06/04 – 07/04 – Write risk assessment and Cast and Crew List.
08/04 – 09/04 – Write a blog post about green screen and my experience with it.
15/04 – 23/04 – Film Bryonys part on the 19th of april 10.45-12.15, Take album cover shots and promotional single shots.
24/04 – 28/04 – Film Taylors, Magdas, Shauna and Harrison. begin animating backgrounds.
1/05- 5/05- finish editing backgrounds and start editing footage. COLOUR GRADE
8/05- 12/05- Editing fmp
15/05-18/05- Editing fmp
19/05- Spend whole day colour grading FMP. Making sure its perfect.
22/05- Take Music Video Cover in TV studio.
23/05- 26/05- Finish evaluation and final major project.
Legal and Ethical Issues/ FMP
When looking into legal and ethical issues I firstly decided to remind myself what legal issues in music videos meant.
Legal Issues.
BBFC: British Board Of Film Classification
The British Board of Film Classification is a body which has classified cinema films since it was set up in 1912.. It has also classified videos and DVD’s since the Video Recordings Act was passed in 1984.
If a video contains one of the following,
- Drug misuse
- Dangerous behaviour presented as safe
- Bad language
- Sexual behaviour and nudity
- Threatening behaviour and violence
Then you would have to send it to the BBFC and they would classify it and give it a rating. If your video doesn’t contain these things then you wouldn’t need to. After investigating into my idea for my music video and people who have done similar I found that practitioner Todrick Hall had problems with his music video ‘ Beauty and the Beat’ because he used Disney characters and a Disney song and because of this had to put the video on a channel with 0 subscribers to avoid a legal battle. He was worried Disney would sue him because he was choosing how a Disney character would be portrayed and using his massive platform which could allow people to take a different view on the Disney characters leading to them losing money. However because my music video is portraying all of the Disney inspired characters in a positive way I don’t believe It would suffer legal issues. The song ofcourse If this wasn’t being made for educational purposes would have to be asked and permitted to be used. The only legal issue it would have would be the few swear words used in the song however with it only being one word I don’t think it would be a problem. Other than the odd swear word my music video doesn’t contain any of the above therefore I made the decision that I would not need to send my music video in to the BBFC because I would just have to beep out the swear word when put in the charts and have a separate explicit version. Other than this, the music video would be the exact same for both versions of the song.m
Ethical Issues
In my music video I believe I have two ethical issues in my music video. One ethical issue is that it will defiantly receive a younger audience due to the characters in the music video being Disney inspired. Young people may recognise them and therefore receive the wrong message from the video. In 2017 young people; typically girls watch stars in music videos and look up to them as role models. I have chosen all 5 of my characters to be wearing perfect makeup and costumes and younger people might believe that in order to look attractive they need to look just like this. Although this is not an illegal issue, it may cause some problems with some people, for example parents of younger girls and therefore it is an ethical issue. The other ethical issue is that people may interpret the lyrics as being about sex. Although this is not 100% inaccurate, the main focus of the lyrics is actually about the press and struggles of being a star and that people can say whatever they want about her because in the end of the day they can’t have her heart or her mind. However Because I am using characters who will be glamorised and sexy in the video and also with the song being called ‘ Do what u want ( with my body)’ People, especially parents of young Disney loving children may find this controversial because they might believe that the video is setting a bad example to their children despite the fact the video overall is actually empowering women and showing that men can can empower women too.
Technical Requirements & Cost and Budgets.
If I were making this music video for the real Lady Gaga I would Start by hiring my actors and actresses. I used a star scouting website and decided these 4 actors would be perfect for my music video. They all charge 200 pounds per day.
I would hire out these two cameras to give two different feels/ effects. together they would cost $650 pounds per day to hire. I would be filming for 4 days therefore for camera hire overall it would cost $2,600 pounds. So far this music video would cost me 6,600 pounds.
For a hair and stage makeup artist I would hire Kristen Griffins. She is based in London and hires $200 pounds a day due to the price of products she would have to use and overall for her talents. This would cost $800 pounds a day.
So far this would cost me $7,400 is I were to film for four days.
I would hire this man as a cameraman and director of lighting. http://adamcarroll.co.uk I’m not sure how much he would cost for a day however I have messaged him to find out. Its average for lighting like these to be hired out for £75 per day.
I would also hire these two types of light. The LED light would cost me £13 a day and the redheads would cost me £32 pounds for 3 lights for one day. If I were to be filming for 4 days in a row this would cost me £345 adding up the total to £7,745
I would need a green screen for my music video. I looked into hiring this from
It would cost me £445 per day so very expensive. Instead I would chose to buy one myself and it would cost me £33 off amazon UK.
To edit I would use my mac book pro and final cut pro which would cost me nothing.
Overall If I had a unlimited amount of money to spend and were making it for the real Lady GaGa the music video I imagine would roughly cost me £9000 because I would have to hire runners, rent costumes and find props etc.
MY FMP MUSIC VIDEO COSTS AND BUDGETS.
For my FMP so far I have spent £30 this is due to makeup, hair and costumes and I have paid for a led light. Overall my budget is £50 pounds and I will not be going over this.
Camera wise I will be borrowing a friends Canon 700D and borrowing a tripod and lighting from my learning resource centre in my college building. We are also very lucky to have a TV studio which is equipped with professional cameras, lighting a white screen, black screen and green screen. I will be using a Green background for my music video because I will be featuring self made animated backgrounds for my shots. My whole music video will be filmed in front of a green screen therefore this will not cost me any money.
All actors are volunteering therefore will not cost any money at all however, to do there makeup I have paid a family friend Kayleigh Blackmore to do both makeup and hair. This cost me £20.
Costumes have cost me only £4 so far due to outfits being found in vintage stores and charity shops. All other costumes are owned by the actors.
I will be ordering a Ring light to use for FMP because it brightens the face of the actors on screen and give the makeup they are wearing a shimmer effect which I think looks amazing on screen.
Final Major Project Test Shots.
For my test shots I wanted to see how my makeup looks for the characters would look under lighting and on camera. I specifically chose the mermaid makeup look because its very glowly and I wanted to test out how the glow would look on camera. This is the finished look
This is a awfully put together video of how I achieved this look.
This is another makeup look for another character. I tested it out infront of a ring light and the finished effect is glowing which is exactly what I hoped for.
Research Evaluation
When researching into the idea of making my music video I decided to chose two practitioners who have made videos similar to mine, research into competition for Lady Gaga who sings that song I chose to make a music video for and also look into competition for me at this moment in my life. I also looked into different concepts and ideas that would help make my music video the best I could make it.
I found looking into my own competition really useful because i was watching music videos that people doing the same course as me were making. It meant I could really take ideas and what I would do and wouldn’t do because we all had the same funds and same equipment. I liked one of the music videos I looked into because it was colourful and bright which is exactly what I wanted the main focus of my music video to be. It was also interesting looking into my practitioners because I could take inspiration from Todricks Halls 90’s Disney which I took initial inspiration from, and also Akerlunds Telephone by Lady Gaga because the way he has colour graded it and made it pop with colour is what Inspired me to really focus on the use of effects and colour with my music video.
I didn’t use any of my competition for Lady Gaga research because I didn’t need too. Although it was helpful a bit because It meant I could learn about the characteristics of a typical Lady Gaga music video, I could do this by researching into my practitioner Jonas Akerlund. I didn’t need any of this research to create my music video but however I did learn more about stereotypes to use and also that I needed to make it fun and wacky in order to be a success. Some of the concepts and topics related to music video that I researched into were not as useful as I thought they would be. I didn’t need the meaning behind the lyrics or to look into the history of Disney. Although this did educate me more about Disney I don’t think I necessarily needed it in order to make my music video therefore this research was not as useful as the other research I did.
Overall I think its really important to do as much research as you can before making a media product. It is useful to know your target audience because this helps you to create a product that this target market will really enjoy. Its also important to hear peoples opinions on your product and although they might not always be positive its helpful because It can mean you can make changes so its a more successful product. I lot of my research was really helpful in order to make this music video. Some of my research wasn’t trustworthy because I used sites that could be edited by the general public. I really enjoyed watching my competitions music videos and and also looking to famous directors/ producers videos that I can take inspiration from. This helped me decide exactly what I wanted and means I can now go on to make my storyboard. Although some of the research I did was probably unneeded i’m glad I did it because its made me feel more prepared for when I film my music video.
Concepts, Ideas and Topics Related
Female Empowerment-
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often involves the people developing in their own confidence therefore being empowered.
Empowerment involves a person:
* Having decision-making power of their own
* Having access to information and resources for taking proper decision
* Having a range of options from which you can make choices (not just yes/no, either/or.)
* Ability to exercise and be assertive when it comes to decision making
* Having positive thoughts and the ability to make positive change
* Ability to learn skills for improving one’s personal or group power.
* Ability to change others’ perceptions by democratic means.
* Involving in the growth process and changes that is never ending and self-initiated
* Increasing one’s positive self-image and overcoming stigma
I will portay female empowerment by expressing emotion and confidence through my actors. I will do this by usuing facial and physical expressions that the audience will recgonise as confident. The lyrics are powerful and full of feircness and 4/5 of my actors are women.
Disney-
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney, is an American diversified Multinatoinal Mass Media and entertainment corporation, headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios in California. The company operated under the names The Walt Disney Studio and then Walt Disney Productions. Taking on its current name in 1986, it expanded its existing operations and also started divisions focused upon theater, radio, music, publishing, and Online Media.
In addition, Disney has since created company divisions in order to targer more mature content than is typically associated with it’s family-oriented brands. The company is best known for the products of its film studio, Walt Disney Studios, which is today one of the largest and best-known studio in American cinema. Disney’s other three main divisions are Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, Disney Media Networks, and Disney Constumer Products and Interactive Media.
The Problems with Disney films-
Disney built its massive Princess empire ; which now stretches from 1937’s Snow White to 2017’s Moana by making the dark stories of the past and cleansing them. From Snow White to The Frog Prince, Disney edited out fairy tales of their inherent horror and changed it to a policy of “Happily Ever After”. The darkness was cleansed, but despite the company’s best efforts, a social darkness has remained.
Disney has a sad history of gross racial stereotypes and highly problematic female characterizations. For example, The little mermaid when Ariel gives up her voice for the man she loves. Unfortunately, Virtually every Disney princess has received a redesign that makes her look more like the others: Narrower jaws, larger eyes, smaller noses, and waists narrowed so drastically that the characters look as if Disney has marched them into a plastic surgeon’s office for liposuction and rib removal.
These redesigns are in conflict with the films, which show Mulan hating the matchmaking makeup put on her, or Merida violently tugging at the oppressive fashions she has to wear. The redesigns come after the films which means that the ultimate message is that these characters have found happiness in this restrictive femininity, as the nonstop Disney marketing that young children are subjected to on a daily basis begins to become a reality and young girls and guys are being taught that a boys role is to look after a woman , and a womans role is to look perfect, give up hobbies to love her man, and to clean and cook to be the perfect woman. They need to prove themselves to be the perfect woman in order to gain a husband but however when they are a damsel in distress the man will always over power and save them because that is what a mans role is. This causes a lot of controversies espcially with it being 2017 where the fight for Feminism and Equlaity strongly fights on.
Meaning beind Do What U Want –
“I feel good, I walk alone / But then I trip upon myself and I fall / I, I stand up, and then I’m okay / But then you print that s–t / That makes me want to scream.”
Gaga has said that the song is about the strength of the mind replacing that of the body. So on one level, it’s about the media’s words being like a whip to her body. They attack the body, but the flesh is temporary and the gossipers and critics cannot attack her mind. It’s as though the media gets off on knocking her down. Lady Gaga is walking tall and confident; then she gets trashed by the media with their cruel words and inaccuracies.
“So do what you want / What you want with my body / Do what you want / Don’t stop, let’s party.”
No, it’s not about having wild and crazy sex. No matter what “they” say, she’ll keep having her party aka her good time and her life. Their words won’t stop her.
“Early morning, longer nights / Tom Ford, private flights / Crazy schedule, fast life / I wouldn’t trade it in / ‘Cause it’s our life…”
So while the media assessments are impossible to drown out, she is accepting it as an occupational risk. She lives the glamorous, luxe life and the trade off is the media nonsense. She’ll take it, since it means she’s also wrapped in tom ford clothing and jet-setting.
“You can’t have my heart / And you won’t use my mind but / Do what you want (with my body).
I can’t deny that there is a carnal element of the song that makes me think this is meant to have a slight euphemism to the song. Aka SEX!
“Sometimes I’m scared I suppose / If you ever let me go / I would fall apart / If you break my heart / So just take my body / And don’t stop the party.”
There’s a lyrical shift here. Gaga furthers the sexual and relationship metaphor. I think it’s about a relationship that is purely physical and carnal. But, the deeper meaning is that while Gaga might hate the gossip and tabloid media, she accepts it and although she hates the fake news the tabloids write about her if they were too ‘ let her go’ it would ‘break her heart’. It could also be interpreted as gaga accepting that broken hearts may come along if it means that the fame party continues. It’s a small price to pay for her luxury life.
Aspirers-
I have chosen this advert for the aspirers audience as they are youngand would care about their apperance a lot in the sales job world. This adverts tries to sell us make up products from the Avon brand which is ever lasting, this could convince young audience to buy this product as they would want to look beautiful. It is more fashionable and attractive to buy these product for a young target audience as they would wear make up more than other audiences. The product uses famous ideology to attract the audience such as using Reese Wetherspoon to promote the product, therefore more peopel such as the female audience will be interested in buying the product.
Competition For Me
Sophie Gollop is an english aspiring editor. Living in Lyme Regis, Sophie created music videos using her mac book and home made green screen in her bedroom and this is where her love of editing music videos came about. In 2015 Sophie created a youtube channel posting videos about makeup, fashion and lifestyle and to this day she has 200 subsribers. Sophie started a Creative Media Course in 2015 and finished in 2016 with a distinction however decided not to carry on with the course due to health issues which made it hard for her to travel to college. During her course Gollop created two music videos and therefore is my competition because one of her music videos is edited to perfection and therefore her talent alone is a competition if I want to make it into the idustry too.
She starts off with a simple lilac background in order to let the viewers know that the music video will be bright and colourful without giving too much away. The music builds up slowly at the beginning which builds tension. She has recognised this and therefore filmed and edited the footage around the slow build of the music which builds tension alongside it. 
In This Scene we can hear the lyrics ‘ It Was A Crush’ which Sophie has recognised and therefore used the colour pink as the background beacuse the colour pink has connotations of the colour pink are
- a delicate color that means sweet
- nice
- playful
- cute
- romantic
- charming
- feminine
- tenderness
Its also associated with bubble gum, flowers, babies, little girls, cotton candy, and sweetness. In this shot Magda is seen making a joke and making a cute smile which will entice viewers to relate to her star persona and start to follow her as an artist.
I really like this scene because I think its exciting and vibrant. I like how the pastel yellow and sun effect symbolise the lyrics ‘ All Night All Summer’. Music is layered which sophie has portrayed on the screen but layering Magda who is her actress. Her white outfit matches the white sunshine effect in the background and also compliments the pastel yellow background. The Colour yellow has connotatons of peace, summer and happiness which suits the lyrics and overall vibe of the song.
I love the background effect of this scene. The pale orange colour with the fire ball effect in the background makes you feel warm and relaxed. It also symobolises fire and power which could entice viewers to feel more confident and empowered which overall is a positive trait to have. The outfit Magda is wearing is current and compliments the background. Its stylish and girly which Aspirers ( The Phycographic Media Chart) woud love because they are drawn to products involving high fashion, makeup and overall materialistic themes.
The Dark background with stars addes deph to this music video and gives the star persona a sence of mystery about her. I really like the way she has used white silhouettes Magda singing because it makes the overall scene really exciting and packed with fun and energy. Overall the scene is dependant on vibrancy and zing which really works.
This final scene shows Magda dancing around with her hat. This has been done in a comedic way which entices the veiwers to fall in love with her image and star persona. It always means the audience may relate to her because she is showing she has a bubbly and down to earth personality and doesn’t take herself too seriously. I believe the use of white fireworks in the background were used to make the scene exciting an fun without taking attention away and distracting the viewers from the main focus which is Magda.
This is another A2 Music video I have watched and looked into as competition for my final major project. This Student has created a music video for the song ‘BO$$’ by Fifth Harmony. She is an aspiring music video director like myself therefore She is major competition. The video has received 1,043 views and has potential to go viral which is what the goal of my music video is.
I don’t like this scene. I find it a little bit cringe and although the Idea is there, It is clear they are filming this in there school gym/ theatre which makes me feel that its unprofessional and a last minute venue choice aka not very adventurous. The outfit doesn’t fit the theme/idea of the song and the lighting is dull. When making my music video I will make sure outfits are eye catching and it is clear why I’ve chosen them. I will also make sure my screen is bright and clear and that its not filmed in my college.
I
I also do not like this scene. I think its badly choreographed and I don’t like that you can see that they’re filming in front of a white screen. The lighting colour doesn’t compliment the white background or black outfits. I will not be using blue lights in my music video or a dance routine because I think its very hard to make a music video look professional when you’re not a professional dancer.
I really like the use of colour in this scene. The plain white background make the audience able to focus on the girls. I like how they’ve all worn a different colour skirt/ short which means the audience can easily recognise that this is meant to portray a girl band. I will be using bright colours in my music video. My background will be dark instead of light but I’m still taking the idea of keeping a background fairly plain so that the audience can focus on the characters on screen.
I like the use of a dark background and white lights. It makes the shot dark and mysterious but also exciting with the use of bright lights moving around. I will using white lights in my music video but however I want the whole focus to be on the characters on screen so the lights will be shining onto the characters instead of moving in front of their faces.
The next music video I found that I thought was competition was another students a2 music video to the sonf ‘Sorry’ by Justin Bieber. I thought this was competition because it was a music video made by a student like myself to a current pop song which is similar to what I am doing. The music video is exciting and bright.
I really love how clear the shot is. The lighting is well lit and bright and overall make the shot feel professional. The brightness of the shot gives a pleasant feel to the music video which explains that the song isn’t about sadness and instead about a happy couple who have had a slight tiff getting back together and apologising.
I think the quality of this shot is pefection however I think it looks tacky when a music video use both colour and black and white shots in a music video. I previously made this mistake in a music video of my own and the end result looked ammature and unprofessional. I will make my music video better by not using this mistake and making my whole music video in colour.
The Quality of this shot is great and I like the dulled background because it means you focus on the emotion of the characters on screen however the lighting for this shot is very poor so in my music video I will ensure the I make the picture of my screen bright.
The like the lighting and the use of the over the shouder shot in this scene. The audience is clearly focused on the expression and emotion that the girl character is portraying. In my music video the music video will be highly focused on expression, emotion and the beauty of the human face which is why I will be filming the same scenes from two different angles because I think it looks really professional on camera.
My Target Audience for my final major project
My Target audience would be 18-24 year olds, aiming at girls. Aiming demographically at
C2, D and E because most people at 18-24 are university students and will be likely to go out to clubs which will most likley be playing Lady Gagas music.
I think my music video will be aiming at Explorers, Succeeders and Aspirers. This is because my music video could aim at explorers because my music video has 5 different actors dressed up in disney inspired outfits with disney inspired hair and makeup linking them to well known characters from disney movies therefore a younger audieince may recognise and enjoy this music video. It will aim at Succeeders because the music video empowers women and men, but mostly women which may inspire viewers to be more confident and seek control of their lives. Finally, My Music video will aim at aspirers because the music video is highly focused on makeup, fashion and hair which an aspirer may enjoy. Aspirers are materlistic and orientated to image meaning the music video will attratct and aspire them to try out the makeup etc themseleves.
Competition Research
Miley Cyrus-
Actress/singer Miley Cyrus, daughter of ’90s country star Billy Ray Cyrus, achieved early fame as the star of Disney’s ‘Hannah Montana’ series and went on to become a hugely successful pop artist.
Born in 1992 in Franklin, Tennessee, famed actress/singer Miley Cyrus is the daughter of country star Billy Ray Cyrus. She began acting at a young age, landing the starring role on Disney’s hit show Hannah Montana in 2004. Cyrus went on to release several successful albums, including Breakout (2008) and Can’t Be Tamed (2010), while becoming increasingly known for her wild behaviour.
In 2013 she bought out her single ‘ We Can’t Stop’ which was her first music video with Miley portraying a new pixie hair cut ‘bad ass’ look and portraying wild behaviour. This music video was seen as very controversial with a range of unusual shots, sexually explicit scenes and drug references. Her 2013 single “Wrecking Ball,” also backed by a controversial video, became her first U.S. No. 1 hit.
Miley Cyrus rose to celebrity thanks to the success of her Disney Channel show Hannah Montana, which premiered in 2006 and cemented itself as one of the most popular Disney Channel television shows until it finished in the January of 2011. Hannah Montana followed the story of a white, teenage girl growing up in America. Hannah Montana was America’s sweetheart, and the complete epitome of the virginal white girl. As the actress who played her, Cyrus also came to represent this white, girlish purity, even as she grew into a woman. Originally, Cyrus was signed to Hollywood Records, a sub-label of the Disney Music Group, but has since then left to sign with RCA Records, a sub-label of Sony Music Entertainment, thus severing her physical ties with Disney completely.
When watching recent Miley Cyrus music videos back one thing that stuck out to me was her use of the colour white. White is associated with light, goodness, innocence, purity, and virginity. It is considered to be the colour of perfection.White means safety, purity, and cleanliness. As opposed to black, white usually has a positive connotation. I believe the colour white has been chosen because of the irony. In Miley Cyrus music videos such as ‘We Can’t Stop’ and ‘ Wrecking Ball’ We can see Miley in sexual positions and naked on a wrecking ball. We can also see drug references in ‘ We Can’t Stop’. This is clearly suggesting Miley is not pure, angelic and a virgin and instead suggests she is very sexually active and takes drugs which she has admitted on many chat shows that she does do.
I think Miley Cyrus is competition for Lady Gaga because of the controversy she causes. Gaga makes most of her controversy through outfit choices and the weirdness of her music videos which is very similar to what Cyrus does. They are both very similar in the way they love to perform and shock an audience.
Miley cyrus’s album ‘Bangers’ sold 4,500,000 copies in the United States where as Lady Gagas most recent album ‘Joanne’ sold 435,000 in the United States. Therefore Miley is huge competition for Gaga.
Ariana Grande
Ariana Grande is an actor, singer and songwriter. Ariana grew up in Boca Raton. She first appeared on Broadway in 2008 with Charlotte in the musical shoulder 13. From 2010 to 2013, she played in the movie Cat Valentine sitcom Victorious, iCarly and Sam & Cat by Nickelodeon .
Grande achieve success when the single “The Way” from their debut album Yours Truly in the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum.
As a child, Ariana Grande performed with Fort Lauderdale Children’s Theatre. She is said to have been determined to progress with a musical career from age 13, aspiring to create an R&B album at only age 14.
However, Ariana only became truly famous after she was casted as ‘Cat Valentine’ in the hit Nikelodeon television show ‘Victorious’.
Later on in her career, after ‘Victorious’ ended and due to issues with the spin-off show ‘Sam and Cat’, she left Nikelodeon and decided to pursue her original dream of being a music artist and currently has two albums to her name.
When watching Ariana Grande music videos back I found that they are all largely centred around the way she looks, which can also be said for Gagas music videos. I found that many of them lacked a narrative and instead were mainly just Grande miming the lyrics to a camera and a large amount of beauty shots. Her face can be used as a promotion of the pop music promo – she shows her positive face to the audience to make herself be liked and in a way that predominantly the female gender can relate to her, she sexualises her persona with the minimalistic and tight costumes that she is usually wearing.
Gagas music videos all centre around the way she looks but however most of them have a meaning or story to them in order to allow her fans to really think and feel when watching her videos and listening to her lyrics.
However in Ariana Grandes music video ‘Into You’ there is a clear narrative structure that shows and tells the story exactly. At the beginning you might think that it is a love story, but it ends up being a forbidden love story, you can tell this through the facial expression of the characters. When they are together they are ‘happy’ and once they get separated form each other and can’t be together they are ‘sad’. This can be done through the Todorov’s theory: however, I think that this theory has been applied but in a reversed order… 3. Recognition of the Disruption – There are flashbacks of the ‘reality’ and what is could be like, this is like a realisation part that the protagonist (the female) doesn’t have to be treated the way she currently is by her partner but she can be happy and adventurous with the love interest.
Ariana Grandes Album ‘ My Everything’ Sold 693,000 copies in the United States Therefore Is a huge competitor for Lady GaGa.
Shauna Church 