Schedule

This is the schedule we have made for our music video. This will be for the first draft of our music video. We have split the lyrics of the songs into 3 sections, we have also done this with the chorus's. We want to try and stick to this as much as possible, that way we could get the filming done in 2 days, which is good as it would give us more time to edit. We have got an idea in our head of what we are going to do at what point, as well as our storyboard. The schedule shows things like the location and the props we need, so we don't forget to use them when we need them.

The order of which we film will be the same, but the date in which we film it might be different. We need to pick a date where we are both free. The dates i have written on this might not be the dates that we actually film.  

Order of filming

Me and my partner need to work out what order we are going to film the video. The order in which we do can be quite important. For example we need to make sure the bits outside are filmed at the same time, in order for our lighting to be the same.

The problem i had in AS was that because i filmed the outside scenes on different days, it was obvious for the viewer to see, because the light in the sky was different, and it didn't make the video seen as good. So this time in A2 i want to make sure that the lighting is as accurate as possible.

The first thing we think we should film is all the parts which we can film indoors. The reason for this is because, we can control the lighting in their at all times, and so once we have done that correctly it is out the way.

After we will do everything outside of the house. We need to do all of this within one day, because we want the lighting to be as consistent as possible. If we need to re do a certain bit, then it might be worth doing the whole thing again, because that way it will still look all the same. The bits which we will be filming outside which we want to be the same, are when the chorus is sung. Here will do a number of different camera angles in order to keep the attention of the viewer.

(however depending on what the light is like, we might do the outside shots first. This way we can be consistent with the lighting)

The ending of the video will also be outside, but we have an idea where we want to reverse the shot seen at the beginning of the video. For example, at the start the video will start outside, and will gradually move to the bedroom for the start of the video. Because the ending of the song is similar to the beginning we were thinking we could end it with the singer going into the bedroom, and then we could walk out of the bedroom to the outside of the house. The lighting for this if we are unable to reverse it needs to be a similar lighting, and so probably on the same day. 

Copyright permission

Me and my partner sent this email to have permission to use the song which we want to use in our video. We sent it to The Smeezingtons. This is the company that own the rights to The Lazy Song - Bruno Mars. We have to send them an email to them to ask for permission. If we didn't then we are using a product of theirs without permission, and we could make money with it without them knowing which is illegal. By sending them this not only are we asking them if we can use it, but if we can then, we know we wont be breaking the law and we will know that they know we aren't using it to make money for ourselves.   



 

Message:



Hi

We are Toby Allen and Charlie Gibson, and we are currently studying media at A Level (A2). Our task is to create a music video for a song of our choice as part of our coursework. We have chosen to use Bruno Mars's - The lazy Song. We are asking for your permission if we are able to use this in our own video

 

We have no intention of making money from this and the only people we would pass it on to would be to the markers of the course work. 

 

Thank you 

Storyboard

The story board is an important part to the planning of the music video. The story board can allow us to put a story line to the video that we are creating. It is also a useful way to see what the final product might look like before even starting the production of it. We will be able to edit bits that we think look a bit dodgy. Our story board contains 30 slides, we believe this will be a good length for it as it wont be to long and it isn't very short. Each of the slides has quite a lot of detail to how the video will be shot and produced, for example it has the frame that we will be shooting and then text that describes what camera angles will be used and what movements will be used, also in some of the slides it describes what costumes and props we will have in the video. Knowing what the final product is likely to look like is very useful to us because obviously if it looks bad then we will be able to change it and if it is starting to look good then we will feel more motivated and could possibly add more bits in that we wouldn't have thought of before.

Narrative

Music video ideas:

•     Bruno Mars 'Lazy Song

•     Matt Cardle 'When we collide'

•     Cody Simpson 'Summer time of our lives'

•     Matt Cardle 'its only love'

•     Olly Murs 'Dear Darlin'

•     Olly Murs 'Army of two'

•     Bruno Mars 'Marry you'

Out of all of these music videos we needed to make a decision to which video that we would do as our final media product. It was a hard decision as all the music videos were equally good and each of the songs were the type that we wanted. We watched each of these videos twice and then came to a decision of three which were:

•     Matt Cardle 'When we Collide'

•     Bruno Mars 'Lazy Song'

•     Olly Murs 'Dear Darlin'

These were the songs that we believed had the most potential for the best music video. We think this because the lyrics that the songs have have the best story lines that we could act out. Also the music videos would not need a big budget to create so we would be able to afford it as well. After a lot of planning and thought we chose our song. Bruno Mars 'Lazy Song'

This song is very popular reaching number 1 in the charts for 4 weeks. This was one of the first reasons why we chose this video, we thought our video would be more popular because of the song itself. The second reason for why we chose this song is because of the lyrics. The lyrics tell a very good story line that make it easier for us to act it out and create a good media product. Another reason for why we chose the video is because of our budget. We thought this would be the easiest video to make with the budget we have because we won’t have to buy any expensive props or higher out any expensive locations to film on.

In our video we will only need one actor, this makes things easier for us to plan and will be able to control more easily as well. We are less likely to have to not film on one day because we have an actor missing. Also in our video we are going to have only 2 locations which are the house and the field, this will allow us to get to know our surroundings and make the best shots possible. The costume and props are also available for our use at all times so we can therefore film when ever we want without needing to worry about not having any problems

Representation

We are going to represent the artist through the use of our song. We can follow the lines of the songs and do what the lyrics say as part of our acting. We can act lazy and quite cool like Bruno Mars is in his videos. We can represent teenagers through wearing trendy clothes and using any up to date technology.

His videos are all one shot and throughout the whole video he dances with 5 others. Some of the stuff that he is wearing is quite expensive, which is something that teenagers might do and so he is representing them in that way. He also edits the video half way through. He covers the camera with his hands to make the screen go black, and then when he removes it to start a new scene (but still uses the same camera angle).

They then use a man to play a woman's role. In the song they use a woman to sing 'OMG this is great' but in the performance a man plays it.  This could represent the humor that teenagers have, and they might find this quite funny. So for our video we might try and add humor to it which our audience might find funny.

So for our song we will be acting out the lyrics to try and help our audience get a visual for the song and help understand what it is about which is what we got told we need to do in our primary research. Instead of using one camera angle we will use a variety of shots and angles to keep the audience entertained.

Costume & props

In music videos people tend to wear a variety of clothes. In pop music videos they usually wear trendy clothes. We have taken this idea into account and our actor in our music video will be wearing trendy clothes. This will involve chinos, a t shirt, and shoes. These will be the clothes that the actor will be wearing when he is outside the house in the field. The other costume that we are going to use is a monkey onesie, we have chosen a monkey onesie because in Bruno Mars official music video he has actors wearing monkey masks, and also in the song the lyrics say 'chilling in my snuggie' which matches with a onesie. We also think that the onesie will give the lazy look about the actor which then links to the title and lyrics of the song 'Lazy Song'.

Another very important part of the music videos is the props that are used in it. The props help the audience understand the story line of the song. The first prop that will be used in our video is an alarm clock. The alarm clock will be used at the very start and the very end of the song linking to the start of the day and the end of the day. Another prop that we will be using is a mobile phone, the phone will be used because in the song there are lyrics that say 'Don't feel like picking up my phone, so leave a message at the tone' we will then film a phone having a missed call so that it can link to the lyrics of the song. We are also going to use a phone to show texts as lyrics in the song. The next prop that we will use is a television and a fan, we have chosen these too props as the lyrics mention it in the the song and we believe that it will suit the video very well as it is to do with laziness. A TV symbolises someone being lazy as they are sat around doing nothing. We are using a fan because we think that having a random prop placed in the video will make the video more interesting as the audience will wonder why it is there. We have also chosen these props because we can get our hands on them easily and we will not have to spend money on them. Another reason for why we are using them is because they are easy things to include in a video as they are static and do not move.

Overall we believe that the costumes and props that we will be using will relate to the lyrics to the song and will hopefully produce a good quality music video that stands out as a product. The costume and props will tell the story of the song giving the audience an idea what is going on.

Location

The location of the music video is very important, this is because it would usually show the audience the story of the video and will make the lyrics make more sense. The music video will also show the emotions of the song. This isn't the actual house that we will be using, but it is similar in size and the way it looks. The reason why we don't have a picture of the actual house is because there isn't any on the internet as it is newly built. However there is only one section of the music video where you will see the outside of the house, and there isn't any music playing at that point.













The location that we have chosen for our music video is partly at home and partly in a field. We chose the location of the house, because we believe the setting would correspond with the lyrics of the song, this is because alot of the lyrics that he sings are about him being lazy in his house. We also think that having it located in and around the house will allow us to get a wide range of camera angles that show the different aspects of the house. Most of the shot in the house will be within the lounge and the bedroom. We have chosen these two rooms because they are the rooms that lazy people would spend most time when they are at home, this then relates to the song name. The house also relates to the title 'Lazy Song'. The house that we will be using is located in a privately owned estate nearby the countryside. This means that we can film out in the field as well without making the shots of the house look too out of place.

 

Also in the music video we will have cut shots to the field where the actor will be walking slowly whilst singing the lyrics to the song. We took inspiration from the Cody Simpson song that we researched and decided that some of our filming will be done in a field. We have decided to do this in order to add variety to the music video. We don't want the whole song and ancillary tasks to be based inside the house, because that's boring and doesn't add a lot of colour. It also limits us on what we can do in terms of creativity. We feel that colour and lighting can be a big part into what keeps the audiences attention and makes them keep watching the video. Despite it going against the song title this doesn't worry us to much, and we feel like we are challenging media conventions. The video doesn't necessarily have to match the title of the song. For example you could just have a band singing the song rather than filming what the lyrics are saying, and this is what we think we are doing. He is outside which defeats the object of being lazy, however we are trying to make the chorus separate to the rest of the lyrics and so trying to create two stories with one video. One doing what the lyrics say, and the other making him go outside in order to get some fresh air. The picture is of the field that we think we are going to use. It is pretty big, and is surrounded by fences which is what we want, as when our actor is singing he can be sitting on a fence. There is also a woods near by so if we want to use a woods we now have the opportunity to do so.   

performance

On some music videos the artist sometimes sings in from of the camera to the lyrics of the song. They don't do any acting they literally act in front of the camera pretending to preform. Some of the music videos that we have already looked at, haven't done it in their music video's. Olly Murs's - Dear Darlin, doesn't do it. When he sings in the video he acts at the same time and so doesn't preform. The same can be said with Cody Simpsons's - Summer time of our love. At no point do they preform in front of the camera. They are all acting in order to add a visual to the song and to help the audience understand what the song is about.

However In Michael Jackson's Thriller there is a part at the end where he is dancing and preforming in front of the camera, which is something you don't see on modern pop videos now.












Here you can see that he is preforming in front of the camera whilst he is singing the song. I think because you don't see that very often in modern music videos, me and my partner have decided that we are going to try and do that in our music video. In the actual music video to the Lazy song he does sing in front of the camera but it is for the whole song and the reason for that is because it is all one camera angle and it was shown as if it was done on a webcam. With our video i think we will only preform the singing during the chorus and maybe have it in a location like a field, and he is just singing on his own in front of a camera. The rest of the song we will be singing but we will be acting aswell.