Pie chart

Last week I made a questionnaire asking people aged 18-24 what their favourite music genre was. I then condensed the results into a pie chart:

Pie Chart showing favourite music genre of people aged 18-24

As you can see, alternative, pop and hip hop were most popular. This would mean that as ill Manors is categorised as hip hop, soul and pop/rap, my targeted audience would be 18-24 as it is most popular. Plan B started off as a very niche artist who has developed and grown within the last few years. I still don't feel he is completely mainstream though, as the views and subjects of his songs are controversial and could be classed as niche. As for the song 'Michelle', I would definitely class it within the niche genre.

Another reason as to why I would my video would be targeted for 18-24 year olds is because is is taken from 'ill Manors' which is certificate 18. The themes explored within the film are drugs, violence, crime, exploitation, prostitution, sex and gang culture.

I would definitly agree that people aged 18 and over could truly understand the video and therefore relate to it in some shape or form, however people over 24 years old could still enjoy this type of video, but it could just be a lesser majority than those younger. Today, drugs are very prominent within society, as well as gang culture and violence which means people can identify with the video in some way. An example of the crime today would be the London Riots in 2011.

ill Manors

Today I watched 'ill Manors' which is where my song 'Michelle' is featured. Directed by Ben Drew (Plan B) I found it really helpful in terms of gaining inspiration for my music video.

Dark lighting- ominous

Skimpy clothing- energetic shot, wanting to escape

Close up of face, shows cuts and bruises, could be a shot to show her determination in wanting to change- looking to the future

Above are pictures of the actual character of 'Michelle' in ill Manors. This is who I am basing my actress Imogen on and feel I have fitted the brief well in terms of costume and make up. What I gained from watching this film and actually seeing the character were the effects of simple camera shots to convey raw emotion. I want to portray an angry and broken girl who is seeking independence and freedom, whereas in ill Manors, Michelle is heavily prostituted and is involved with lots of hard drugs which is quite difficult to watch at times. Overall, I found watching this film inspired me to really think about the character I want to portray, and to plan ahead the types of shots and angles I want, as in the film, less is more.

Ill Manors

Ill Manors is a low budget British crime drama film which was written and directed by Plan B (Ben Drew). The film was produced by Atif Ghani, it features Riz Ahmed, Ed Skrein, Keith Coggins, Lee Allen, Nick Sagar, Ryan De La Cruz, Ahouska Mond and Nathalie Press. The film was distributed by Revolver Entertainment and three studio's called Film London Microwave, BBC Films, and Aimimage. Ill Manors was released on the 6th June 2012, a budget of £100,000, which raised to £453,570 in the UK box office. The film is set in Forest Gate, London which focuses on the lives of eight characters mentioned above, the director Plan B (Ben Drew) has six original songs which connects with the narrative of the film.


Plan B's soundtrack album was recorded during 2011-2012 in the UK at Edge recording studio and the Sanctuary, the album was released after the film 'Ill Manors' on the 23rd July 2012. The producer of the album include Plan B, Al Shux, Eric Appapoulay, David McEwan, 16 Bit, Labrinth and Saul Milton. Some of the recordings were featured in the film which were called Ill Manors, Lost My Way, Deepest Shame and Playing With Fire. The album had debuted at number one in the UK album charts and received positive reviews by critics which promoted the actual film too.

Production aims

After filming last week, I feel really pleased with the stage I am at. My aim is to have finished filming by the end of January, and then to start editing straight after. Looking at the filming I have done, next time I would like to:

• Get some more shots of Imogen upset (close up/long shot)
• More urban shots (cluaustraphobia/cramped/busy/unsafe)
• Shot of man to illustrate abused childhood
• Panning and location shots
• Abstract shot

Below are the kind of shots I would like to get:





Filming: Day 1

Earlier on today I completed my first session of filming. I was really pleased with how it went. I managed to get a variety of shots, including some setting shots to add to the atmosphere. In terms of shots of Imogen, I got some extreme close ups and long distance as well as some panning.

I was really happy with Imy's costume and overall look for the filming. Below are some pictures of what she looked like. I wanted to portay a girl who was obviously troubled and involved with the wrong sort of people. Therefore, in terms of her costume, I didn't want her to look very 'cared for' or 'nice' because I feel a more revealing outfit would be much more effective for the kind of concept I want to portray.

Dark eye shadow and red lips- provocative/striking

Hoop earrings, messy hair

Ripped tights and frayed mini denim shorts

Low cut top with necklace, tight tank top, leather jacket

I wanted to create a character who was clearly troubled, but could be recognised as a girl who once was beautiful but has turned to drugs and a bad life to escape from her reality. The leather jackets adds an edge to the outfit, whilst the tight low cut vest top emphasises her intentions and way of life with men. The dark eye shadow adds to the edgy look as well as the bright lips. The hoop earrings and ripped shorts and tights give the outfit a slight cheap and rough look which is perfect for the character I want to portray in this video. I also kept the hair messy and natural to add to her care-free, hostile lifestyle.

Story Boarding- Michelle

I have been thinking about the order of events I would like my video to go in as well as the overall concept of the filming. I want to show the extent to which the character's past has affected her future, but also include flashbacks to hint to the audience what she has gone through in order to end up how she is. 

Opening shot

-Character walking towards camera, emotion in face

-Close up of face (heavy eye make up)

When she is walking to the camera, I would like to see if I could slow it down during editing, therefore placing it in a slower motion. This could be effective and add to the eeriness that is presented from the start by the opening music. 

Flash back shot

-Character running away from camera 

-Dressed in 'younger attire' (hair tied up, more covered up etc, no make up)

The concept of this flash back would be to show the vulnerable little girl that went through the trauma and has therefore ended up going off the rails and down the path of crime and drugs. As it shows she is running away, it adds a sense of drama and mystery as the audience don't know who/what she is running away from, t could be metaphorical  but I would like the audience to think about it as it makes it more interesting and dramatic. Ideally I would like to cross fade this shot into another shot, when the lyrics "Back in the day, sexually abused as a child..." are being said.

Middle

-Shots of her anger/upset

-Slow motion shots of smashing bottles, kicking/punching wall

I would like to show her anger at its' peak, but then her vulnerability afterwards to portray the true 'Michelle'. It will also look very effective if shot correctly.

Ending

-More flash back shots intertwined with current shots to show the juxtapositioning between her past and future. 

-Perhaps another close up of face (striking, creates a lasting image with the audience)

I don't want to have a typical 'happy' ending as such because I feel it would be too generic and could take the meaning and effect off the shots before of her trouble. However, I would quite like to portray an ending that shows promise/potential hope. I thought about perhaps filming the character running from the camera and taking off various pieces of clothing to show how she is going back to her roots and maybe trying to start again.

In order to help me, as well as watching 'ill Manors', I also watched a short interview with the actress that plays Michelle in the film to further my research and inspiration. You can watch the video below:

Mood Board

Mood board portraying images I have brainstormed once listening to the song a few times and analysing the lyrics.

I created this mood board to help to inspire me with my music video. Once listening to the song numerous times and analysing the lyrics I translated the meanings and quotes to these images.

The top left is a close up shot of a girl smoking that is quite an intimate picture and could be effective in my video. If planned carefully and correctly, I feel it could be a great shot. 

The top center image is of drugs which is very relevant for my video. This would be expected for my song and video as it is a heavy theme throughout the music, and the film, and is mentioned in the lyrics: "So she folded the pain and lit the flame...//Inhale, exhale out once again..."

The top right image is a screen shot from the film 'iLL Manors' and is of the character Michelle herself. The dark lighting creates a very eerie atmosphere with her body language portraying a vulnerable and lonely situation.

Below is a picture of barbed wire which is a metaphor for the character's life. She is trapped, and is she tries to escape from her troubles she will get hurt. It also connotates danger and entrapment which is relevant for my video.

Below that is a close up image of a girl crying with make up down her face. When I saw this I found it incredibly striking and would like to try to re-create a shot like this for my video. Ideally, I would also like it to be in black and white but would have to see what the editing looked like. The emotion portrayed from this image is exactly what I want to convey.

The bottom left corner is a picture of loneliness. I believe this would be effective in my video as underneath all of the troubles (drugs, men, anger etc) she is just a very lonely girl who has gone down the wrong path and ended up afraid and isolated. I feel the shot is very compelling because you can only see the silhouette of the person which makes it more ominous and interesting/striking.

Michelle- Lyric Analysis

1. She was once a princess, but now she's a mess
2. Fiend for a fix like a restless
3. And the sex won't puck it less
4. When she was a sweet thing, nevertheless
5. Back in the day, sexually abused as a child
6. She was surely likely to end up this way
7. The past lived in her dark parts of her brain
8. And only having... took away the pain
9. So she folded the pain, and lit the flame
10 .Inhale, exhale out one again
11. She's on the game, the... love a face,
12. Just lock the name
13. With only herself to blame, she lives in hell
14. But there's a million other girls just like Michelle
15. Out in the streets with nothing else to sell
16. To do desperate males, of a denim sells so
17. No wonder she's a thief to boot
18. And the cost of searching things she can loot
19. What it's worth to her and what it's worth to you
20. Any other way, rhyme vice first the truth
21. She's ignited, plus she got a support habit
22. And she resort towards source of...
23. Even to... she's always out... she spares no goodbye

24. I've been tracking myself to know with the lone
25. For such a while, I just don't know
26. Cause the path I've take it's something I can't change
27. Or what step in my way, it's a deepest shame.

Analysis

"She was once a princess, but now she's a mess..."  - As this is the opening line, it sets up the overall atmosphere of the song and indicates to the listener/audience that the character is in a bad way and therefore will be represented like that in the video. 

"Back in the day, sexually abused as a child..." - Gives an indication to the audience of a possible reason as to why she is such a 'mess'. Very open lyrics, not holding anything back.

"With only herself to blame, she lives in hell//But there's a million other girls just like Michelle..." - Emotive language. Portrays to the reader that underneath the 'bad girl' image, she is just a troubled, scared little girl. Also brings to light of the problems of today. As this song is from Plan B's film 'ill Manors', he is trying to say how there are girls out there who go through what this character is going through. 

I produced a mood board following the analysis of the lyrics which can be viewed here.

Preliminary filming

For the screen tests, I wanted to go to a few of the selected locations where I was planning to film the music video just to see how it would look on camera and also to see if the overall concept would work.

The shots I manged to complete were:

• Establishing shot of the opening location
• Long shot of Imogen sat by the tree
• Shot of Imogen running past the camera
• Close up of Imogen's face looking back as she was running
• Extreme close up of Imogen's face to show vulnerability
• Shot of the tree branches against the white sky
• Shot of the traffic on the motor way
• Panning shot of Imogen sat on the motorway bridge

This allowed me to see what shots would work, and confirmed my decision to edit the whole video in black and white. What I need to do now is edit my tester shots and then I can go on to film some real scenes ready for the rough edit by Christmas.

Screen Test

Above is a screen test with Kate Winslet for 'Titanic'. A screen test is a method of determining the suitability of an actor or actress for performing on film and/or in a particular role. In terms of my music video, I am going to film Imogen in various locations where I plan to shoot my video, such as on the motorway bridge and down country tracks. I believe that from these test shots I can determine whether Imogen is suitable for the role. Once I have filmed the scenes, I will then go on to edit them in black and white and in colour so I can decide which edit suits my filming the most.

Production Meeting

Yesterday, Imogen and I met up to discuss the schedule for filming and to talk over any other ideas for the music video. We came up with a rough target for the actual filming of the video, and the dates of the screen tests I plan to carry out around the start of November. We also discussed more on costume and happenings that I want to include in the video.



Schedule/brainstorming



Slight change of plan

Deepest Shame vs. Michelle 

'Deepest Shame' was first composed as a freestyle rap entitled "Michelle". The track was first used in Plan B's 2008 short film Michelle, and this version features beat boxer Faith SFX. The version of "Michelle" that was used in ill Manors has some elements similar to "Deepest Shame", however for the album release, the song was re-written as more of a soul number, although "Michelle" is included on the deluxe edition bonus disc. "Michelle" was originally a freestyle rap, featuring an extended rap verse and no "Deepest Shame" chorus. 

'Michelle' is very similar to 'Deepest Shame', but is just a bit shorter and grittier. I want to use 'Michelle' rather than 'Deepest Shame' as it seems a little less pop/hip hop and more of a soul/grime/tribal song which fits better with my planned filming. 

To listen to 'Michelle', click below!

If you want to listen to 'Deepest Shame', click here.  

Now that I have completely decided that 'Michelle' is the right song for my video, I will not change my mind again and I do not feel it will set me back in any way or create any problems. It is the same song, just slightly different with the instruments that have been used which actually work better for what I am trying to portray so I am happy that I have found it!

Planning for filming

In order to try and get some inspiration for the types of scenes I want to include for this video, I listened to the song many times paying particular attention to the lyrics.

'This life has taught her she must pay...'

'I guess she only has herself to blame...'

'I've been walking alone this dirty road...'

'There's no way back from here...'

Obviously this is a very emotional song so I want to keep the shots deep but minimalistic. I think it would be important for this genre to not give too much away and go over the top. 

I recently watched Ed Sheeran's new music video for 'Give me Love' and found that it gave me a lot of inspiration for my project. The shots and angles from some of the scenes worked really well with the genre and I feel that I can gain ideas from it. I also love the actresses's costume. Have a look for yourself:

Camera Shot Ideas

Brainstorm of camera shots

Above is an image of some brainstorming I completed regarding camera shots for my music video. After looking, researching and analysing similar genre music videos, I came up with a few ideas. I know for certain that when the first beat of the song drops, I want an extreme close up of her eyes opening to look directly into the camera. Prior to this shot, I am only going to have subtle shots of the girl, with none showing her face as I want to add mystery and suspense.  I hope this will add some drama to the very opening of the video and set the scene of what is to be expected. But I will experiment on preliminary shoots and decide whta shot is most effective. I also know that I want a close up shot of her feet walking towards the camera and shots of her silhouette against the lighter background. Within the video, I was thinking of doing a long shot of the character standing with her back towards the camera, looking out to the view in front of her (look below for what I am thinking of).

Back to camera shot- opening

Prop List

Prop List for filming

As I am now preparing to start filming some scenes for my video, I am having to do some planning about content and what props I want to include. To fit with my genre and story, some props I definitely want are:

• Cigarettes
• Alcohol bottle
• Blanket
• Mobile phone
• Bag

As I was doing some research on YouTube I came across Plan B's music video to 'Playing with Fire', featuring Labrinth. I would love to have some fire in my music video but it is quite hard to do considering the safety hazards- will definitely look into it though! It would add to the atmosphere of my video and fits perfectly with the genre.

Colour Vs. Black and White

Which will be better? 

After watching various music videos, including Ed Sheeran's 'A- Team' which is edited in black and white and other videos which are in colour, I have decided that black and white will be more suitable for my video and story line as it will portray (I hope) vulnerability and deterioration. I hope it will also emphasise the character's colourless, dependent world that she has got herself into.

From watching the A Team video, it is clear to see that by editing the film in black and white, it adds sadness and emphasis to the character's bad state. This is exactly what I am looking to portray in my video so I think it would suit well. It also automatically adds darkness because of the lack of colour which connotates decay.

From watching this video, which is 'Time' by Chase and Status, it is of the same sort of genre as mine, but is edited in colour. I definitely think it works for this video, but for me, I do think black and white would have given it a more sinister and darker depth. This has helped me to fully decide that for my video I will edit it in black and white.

Time Management/ Health and Safety Power Point

In order to ensure I film and edit my footage within the timescale I have been given, I decided to make a power point with my planned dates to complete each job. It also made me think about the health and safety precautions I will have to take. It also benefited me as I thought about all of the shots I would like to complete, as well as the preliminary filming.

Time Management by alirosella

Location Shots

I have decided that I want to have a mixture of urban and countryside shots for my music video. I think I would like to open the video within the urban, and then integrate urban and country shots throughout. 

Here are the locations of the countryside and of the motorway bridge:

Motorway

Country track

Open fields

Motorway bridge

Track leading up to motorway bridge

I believe that I can get some really effective shots here. Ideally, the motorway bridge could be one location for a flashback, as well as the country track. In terms of the urban shots, I have decided that I am going to film in Bicester in the Kingsmeadow area- there are many areas that aren't very busy but will provide the perfect back drop for the video.

Derelict building

Bicester

Dream Locations

I have been thinking about where I would like to film, as well as what would be most appropriate for my genre. If I had a larger budget for this video, I would ideally like to film the majority of it in London as it is urban, vibrant and offers a huge variety of different sets and locations.  

Busy crowds

Tower block- lower class, in keeping with my theme and genre

The London Underground- could be very effective if filmed correctly

Obviously, these are just the ideal locations I would choose if I had more money, longer time and easier access to London. What I can learn from these initial ideas however is the types of shots I want to get, but just closer to home. I believe this to be very achievable  so once I have really thought about the story line of my video I will then research and view many potential locations.

Presentation Brief

Below is a presentation, which I pitched to my class in order to get feedback,  based on initial ideas of my music video. 

Music Video Brief by alirosella

FEEDBACK?

-Good costume choice

-London would be good location idea if possible as it would be in keeping with the theme

-Are you going to have the actress mime any of the lyrics? Or just acting?

-How would you like to edit your video?

Final Decision on the music

I have thought long and hard about what song to use for my project, and after lots of research and evaluating, I am going to go with Plan B's 'Deepest Shame'. I feel this to be the best option as it is from the genre I like and the lyrics in the song are dramatic and I can match them with a story.

I have written to Warner Music Group who Plan B are signed to to seek permission to use their song.

Actors for my Music Video

Ideally, if I had a much larger budget, I would have liked to have cast Kaya Scodelario who is best known for playing Effy Stonem in Skins. I feel she has the look which I am going for (young adult, dark hair, dark features) and having seen her acting on Skins, I know she would be perfect for the video. 

However, I have found the perfect alternative, in the form of my friend Imogen. Imy is a dancer and has had a lot of acting experience and completely fits the brief. 

Imogen

Kaya Scodelario

Further research and analysis into different music videos

In order to further my research and thought process for my music video project, I deeply analysed two music videos: 'Just One Last Time' by David Guetta, ft. Taped Rai and 'Sweet Nothing' by Calvin Harris ft. Florence Welch. I feel it enabled me to think more clearly in the kind of think I want to create. Click here to view my power point presentation.

Music Video Research- conventions and target audience

Ed Sheeran- The A Team

Typical Conventions

• Black and white, giving the impression that she is at a bad time in her life which is backed-up by her homeless state.
• She is very central in many of the shots making her centre of attention.
• Lots of close ups to show her vulnerability and state of mind.
• Watch her state deteriorate as we see how she is resorting to prostition, shots of her putting her make up on and leaning seductively in car then shots with a client.

Targeted Audience

• Teenagers and young adults.
• Young character and shows the urban culture.
• Majority of audience probably go out at the weekends, perhaps this video is to show the dangers of drugs and hostility.

Drake ft. Rihanna- Take Care

Typical Conventions

• Lots of slow camera movements.
• Shots on snowy mountains and a misty sky.
• Many shots of Drake, close ups and wide shots.
• Some scenes in black and white, others with an orange tint to the light.
• Lots of close ups of Rihanna to show who he is rapping about.
• Shots of a bull which connotates to power, fighting and dominance.
• Shots of a forrest fire which indicates danger and passion.

Targeted Audience:

• 16-25
• Quite mature themes

Chase and Status ft. Plan B- Pieces

Typical Conventions

• Shots of the artist in the singing booth to introduce the artist/character]
• Story progressing to make the video seem real.
• Dark lighting to give the sense of a sinister atmosphere.
• Shot of the reactions from the men when they are watching the tape.
• Subtitles
• The tape that is playing is edited to make it look very eerie and obviously like the people in it shoudn't be doing what they are doing.
• Beginning, middle and end.

Targeted Audience:

• 16-early to mid twenties
• Mature themes

 

Plan B- Deepest Shame Music Vid

Plan B- Deepest Shame

For my A2 project, I am making a music video. This music video beneath is exactly the kind of thing I would like to base it on. It has given me a lot of inspiration, and the song is without doubt a definite contender.

I love the lighting at the start, so you can just see Plan B's silhouette underneath the spotlight, and the close ups of the lady on the street looking on. I also love the part where she holds her palm up to the camera and there is writing emphasising the lyrics (2:08). It is obviously a very powerful video with a deep meaning.

Different types of music videos

Katy Perry ft. Snoop Dogg- California Gurls (Pop)

-very colourful

-feminine

-bright

-partly animated

-expensive (high budget)

Coldplay- Yellow (Indie/rock)

-dark

-low budget

-simple

-strong message

-mysterious

-personal

Professor Green ft Ruth Anne- Remedy (Rap/pop)

-spotlight on Pro Green at the start

-upbeat 

-party atmosphere to fit with the song

-sense of the viewer being involved (camera sometimes hand held)

I now need to work out what genre of music I would like to do my music video on and then find a song to match my genre. I would like to film it to a song which has an element of sadness about it, but would also like to include some kind of club/party atmosphere. 

Year 12 Evaluation

Evaluation: 'A Point of no Return'

One strength I feel was obtained whilst making our opening sequence was how I learnt to use a video camera properly and correctly. I learnt how to fast forward, go backwards and pause so that it would benefit my group's final product. Also I also recognised the importance of the tripod and how, if positioned correctly, can really help professionalise the filming. I also learnt the skills of intricate editing. Before making this short film, I never realised the amount of time and effort that goes into editing the actual material. At first I found it tricky to know exactly when to cut the filming, but as time went on I began to grasp the concept of what editing really was. This is a huge strength to come out of making this film and I feel overall our editing was good. 

One thing to improve on next time would be organisation. At the very start of making this film, we had the wrong type of camera, so unfortunately the filming we did at our original location could not be transferred to our editing programme. Therefore we lost valuable edited clips which would have been great to go with the rest of our filming. 

The most valuable learning to come out of my first year of media studies would be the learning of editing. I feel editing is the most important part of any film and can make or break the final product. The great thing about editing is that there are so many possibilities with it and, done properly, can create almost any atmosphere.

Outfoxed- Bill O'Reily attacks 9/11 victim's son

Manipulation

Aggression

Hostility 

As a class, we watched a clip from 'Outfoxed' which showed Bill O'Reily seemingly attacking a 9/11 victim's son. The episode had been edited to make it look like the interviewee was accusing George Bush of starting the war in Afghanistan. Obviously, this is a very hot topic in the States with the majority of Outfoxed viewers being Republican supporters and therefore in favour of Bush. Therefore, as a result, O'Reily was manipulating the situation and undoubtedly trying to turn the viewers against the victim's son so O'Reily could make his point and have everybody agree with him and his opinions. 

It is known that Rupert Murdoch owns Fox News. He is famous for his opinionated and shocking ways. It could be said that Fox News reflects just that. It is an example of how an international channel can be so heavily influenced.

A2 Briefs

Music Video

-strong message
-meaning
-lighting to match atmosphere
-not too many actors/actresses
-example of the type of music video I would base it on:

Opening trailer of a film

-romantic genre

-colours that connotate love e.g. pastels (blue, green, pink), red

-action genre, in my opinion, too hard to portray in such a low budget film

-example of the type of trailer I would base it on: 

After some thought, I am going to do my A2 project on a music video.