Pitch Plan

What I have to do and my ideas towards these:

Brief

• A package for the release of my album to include my music video
• A dijipak cover for my release album
• A magazine advert for the CD I release 

My Music Video

For my ideas for the music video I would like to realise i'll be choosing the genre electronic music, I will be deconstructing music videos within this genre to evaluate the typical music video conventions of this chosen genre. I want my target audience to be around 18 to 25 of both genders because I will be aiming to produce a music video with people of this age involved because this will engage the audience of this age and for this genre.

Ancillary task 

For my ancillary task i would like a very similar theme from my music video so everything is matching together. for my poster I plan to have a open shot of two young people in a landscape to add dramatic effect and show of any locations i also film in. I also would like the idea of having two young people to draw in my target audience. My poster will also include my song titles name and the album release date in fancy writing with social media signs to show it is available in other places (this being for the young people wanting to listen online) For my dijipak I want to use the same image on the front to match with my poster to make the advertising of my song recognisable, my inside will have multiple pictures taken from my music video as well as the same writing from the poster.

Filming and Editing Workshop

After My Lighting Workshop it was time to learn how to use Video Cameras And Video editing. In learning these techniques and skills we were given the opportunity to use camera equipment to produce a 2 Minute clip,which had to involve cameras shots such as close up,long shot and a over the shoulder shot. We then had to achieve the following activities during the clip, walking through a door,a dialog and sitting in a chair. For our short clip we decided to do a Job interview with a twist, to do this we decided to use the following equipment :A Dolly and A skater slider
Camera work:
Both of which we used at different times in our clip,we used the dolly to follow our actor in the clip when he storms out the room for a realistic clip.We then used the slider to follow the foot steps of the actor to make the shot smooth and have another angle to give the shot more action.
To film our short film we started off by thinking about the walking to the interview with this we found some stairs to make different levels of height to make the clip more exciting then have plan walking around. With this we set up our camera on a slider on two tripods at a good height to catch the actor walking up the straight and then sliding to the next level of stairs. We then set the camera up at the other level of stairs to catch him walking towards us,this gave a very realistic feel to the clips. We then came to the Skater Slider on the floor where we caught clip of his feet walking to give a different shot to make walking more interesting, i thought this shot was panning perfectly to how he walked. We also made sure every different clip lead on perfect from the other so we were thinking about everything syncing as if it was all filmed in one take,to make it look realistic. Following this we got a long shot of the actor walking towards us,then we swapped around our position to be behind him so we caught him opening the door without confusion. We then got him opening the door and then we brought the camera through inside the building to get him pushing it from the inside,this effect also made it look very realistic. Once he was in the room we thought about getting a Point of view shot to show what the actor was looking at as he walked into the room, this turned out very well,this shoot was always handheld to make it even more realistic. This then cut into the shot of a close up of both characters talking showing the nerves in the face of the person going to the interview and the confidence of the interviewer. we then used the Camera dolly to shoot a short clip of the boy walking to shake hands with the interviewer, at which they both then sat down in a Two shot to show a relevant connection between both characters. We then go a over the shoulder shot in the speaking of both characters to show the intense dialog. We decided to make the interview more humourous to make it different at which the actor just wanted the job for money so he stormed out and this is where we used the dolly to have a realistic following of the actor as he then jumped off the railings.
Editing: We made our editing at a fast pace so all the clips were smoothed together without shoots being dragged out,we wanted to make it as realistic as possible. We used abobe premiere pro to edit out film. Here i learnt how to import footage,crop using the razor tool,add and remove sound,add effects,and add slow motion. All of these actions helped produce my short film testing out how to use the camera and filming qualitative as well as editing software,i will use these skills i have learnt to make my music video the best it can be and edit it to my best ability.

This is the video created and edited by myself and my group:

Music Videos (Exploring Lighting)

The lighting in music videos can show the professional side of the producer so its key for the music video lighting to be done properly.Lighting is used to create atmosphere and often to emphasize beats of the music.
Pop/House Music Videos have similarities in lighting because  both use bright colorful lighting which they usually set in a party or club like atmosphere which contrasts with the fast beats and upbeat emotions of the songs as bright colours are stereo typically related to this style of music. After The Lighting Workshop i decided to do some research into looking at Music videos and the lighting they use.

I first off looked at a music video called 'Cheat Codes - no promises' The genre being electronic music/pop
Music video: https://youtu.be/jn40gqhxoSY

I noticed that at the start of the music video the artist is standing in a dark from with only lighting from the window making her visible,i noticed how they have either used natural lighting through the window or used lights on the outside to gleam through the window. This effect puts the center of attention straight on the artist as she is the only object visible due to the light.

As you can see here they have used a lens flares: 
Lens flares can intentionally compose shots to emphasize the effect, while most lens flares are created purely to draw the audience’s eye,It has the ability to add realism and gives shots more dimension. They have created this lens flare by the light source in the image being behind the object so the light comes into direct contact with the lens of the camera to create a flare,in this case it has given the shot more tones and made it more dramatic.

Throughout this Music video the continuing of the lens flare lighting continues to play an effect on the video, especially shots in a plain room, this gives the shots taken more colour and attention without the audiences bored by the same scenes.

Another lighting shot is seen in 'Paris' Music Video: https://youtu.be/fRNkQH4DVg8
Where the lighting in the video shows the drama of the shot by just having natural light shining on the artists face to show her emotions towards to the soon,while having the rest of the shot in the dark,giving a bigger effect on the emotions of the artist and keeping the audiences attention on them.

This is shown here:
We can see the emotions of the artist by the lighting being directly onto their face,also this makes the shot look very realistic.










I also looked into background lighting,the same photographic lights i was looking at in my Lighting workshop to see how professional Music Videos use such professional lighting,here i found a music video called 'Stay the Night'
Music Video: https://youtu.be/i-gyZ35074k

This video is purely focused on this Photographic lighting throughout the video, i saw how much the lighting behind the artist created flares in the camera lens that then blurred out when they switched shots throughout the video,it also made the video look dramatic. Even though there was lights behind they were just used to make the video look different then having a dark background.If they just had a dark background it would of changed the whole outlook on the video as the lights make it fun without being over the top,and the focus is still on the artist. We can see how they also use light boxes to light up the artists face without it over powering the dark background and still keeping the lights gleaming in the back ground which they did by having shallow depth of field to make normal lights blur in the background.

Looking at a different genre of music such as Rock music,I noticed how lighting played a different role and how much just lighting effected the other all look of the rock videos to show its genre. The lighting in rock videos tends to be from harsh lights at concerts which light up the back of the artists to show out lines of them,rock videos have quite little amount of lighting its mostly shadows.
You can see here the music video called 'Livin' on a prayer'
Music video: https://youtu.be/lDK9QqIzhwk

As you can see in this Music Video the lighting is all using Photographic harsh lighting which is all that lights up the scene. This corrects a more rock vibe due to the colours being dark and artists being shadowed. This type of genre has minimal lighting making ti dark and mysterious.

My Initial Music Video Ideas/Lyric Ideas

My Media Studies A2 ideas.

I decided I wanted to make a music video because out of all my ideas I had the most towards a certain music genre, that is electronic/pop music. I took inspiration from you tubers who create this sort of music and looked at their songs, I came down to a song called 'Cold ain't for me' By Oceans. i choose this song because it’s very instrumental and focuses a lot on nature, I want my music video to be outside and enjoying the natural surroundings. I have researched into how to make my sort of high energy video as professional and accurate to a real music video, to do this I have watched many music videos that include my sort of genre and have found the traditional techniques by music video producers. Firstly, there are often links between the lyrics and visuals, this can be only a couple of times throughout a music video you will notice how the picture we see links to a lyric played at the same time, not all music videos have narration there are the types of videos that create a story by the lyrics and a character is singing the words. On the other hand, some have many clips without any contact with the camera, and instead are acting as if they aren’t being filmed and they're just living their life. Music videos also fit the characteristics of the genre, this includes things like, light colours, bright lighting, forms of bright costume/clothing this to show fun and enjoyment, which are what pop music/electronic is meant to show, whereas rock and grunge music is in dark lightnings and dull costume, which fits that genre. This brightness also makes the video stand out and appeals to younger audiences and the vibrancy and liveliness attracts younger audiences, as well as it is making it more upbeat and fits the whole genre of the song. I have also noticed this genre of music has well costumed actors, as they all seem to be wearing stylish clothing, this outfits are also vibrant. This is shown in 'Back to you' (louis Tomlinson ft. bebe rexha) where their video is mostly shot against a brick wall, of which there stood in front but the guy is wearing a jacket that is bright purple and yellow and the woman is wearing a bright red outfit, giving it a bright vibe without evening needing a bright surrounding. These videos usually include young actors, as pop music often is created by young artists’ list of other features in music videos of this genre: Love, friendship,having fun, exciting activities,beaches,attractive male and females,sun rises/sunsets,slow motion,time lapses,letter boxing,vibrant colours,different angles,relationships,white cast,lively parties,expensive cars,natural settings.

My ideal plans for camera settings and technology:

I want my music video to be full of different media techniques by using different camera technology and angles to creature cinematic shots. For this I plan to be using my Gopro for under water shots, my drone to do shots from a Ariel view, I then am going to film everything on my Nikon D3100, wish the correct filming settings. My filming settings include 25fps on pane, this means the fps Frames per second will be smooth through clips. Other settings include 60 of a second and at aperture 5.6 this will let light in without shots being over exposed (these settings will change during the course of the video as I head into different lights) I then will have my iso at 100 (also depending on the lightings in the clip) this iso will maintain sharpness of the frames, although if i upped the iso the quality of the frame will decrease so I want to say at 100 for best quality. I will also be editing on Adobe Premier pro cc 2017.

Edit ideas;

I want to use many different editing ideas and skills, these include Time lapses, I want to do time lapses of sunsets and waves on a beach, I think this will give my music video a realistic cinematic look. I also want to use hyperlapse, this being a time lapse but faster to go together with the beat of the music and the lively vibe I want to portray. To opposite this, I also want slow motion shots of people walking or flicking of hair to give atmosphere and make shots more dramatic. This also with shallow depth of field close ups of people or objects this to direct viewers attention, when we strategically place things out of focus, the viewer doesn’t notice them or pay attention. Having shallow depth of field also reduces distractions in the background, as well as making the shot look cinematic. I also want to use letter boxing, this is where the screen is cropped between two black boxes and gives a more wide-angle look, this means you can see how the composition, if you don’t see the wide screen and everything in it you lose the emotional impact of the picture. As I want my music video to be full of nature I want to see all landscapes in the scene, with letterboxing I can produce this, it also means you don’t lose the quality of the video by having it more zoomed in etc.

The song I’m thinking about using for my music video with shots I would liked to do to match the lyrics, in blue brackets are my ideas.

Song lyrics with ideas for shots:

[Verse]
It was a summer night

(panning the beach sunset drone)
Such a perfect day
We were so laid back
Just watching the waves

(1.slow motion wave splashing)

(2. girl watching waves on rock)
It was our time
There was no rain
We would just love
Then do it all again

[Pre-Chorus]
The sun set for the last time

(timelapse sunset)
Oh I hate to say goodbye
Cause we had such a good time
Here's a toast to the good life

(sitting on rock two people clinking glasses champagne)

[Chorus]
I can't stop thinking bout the sand in my feet

(footsteps following person walking on sand)
I got a heartache cause cold ain't for me
I wish my worries would wash into the sea

(running into the sea slow motion)

(slow motion waves crashing)
Cause it's far too cold darling, cold ain't for me

(throws jacket over shoulders boy to girl in front of beach house? in front of sea)

[Instrumental]

[Verse]
It was a summer night
Such a perfect day
We were so laid back
Just watching the waves
It was our time
There was no rain
We would just love
Then do it all again

(all clips from previous reversed)

[Pre-Chorus]
The sun set for the last time
Oh I hate to say goodbye
Cause we had such a good time
Here's a toast to the good life

[Chorus]
I can't stop thinking bout the sand in my feet
I got a heartache cause cold ain't for me
I wish my worries would wash into the sea
Cause it's far too cold darling, cold ain't for me

[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
I can't stop thinking bout the sand in my feet
I got a heartache cause cold ain't for me
I wish my worries would wash into the sea
Cause it's far too cold darling, cold ain't for me

[Instrumental]

[Chorus]
I can't stop thinking bout the sand in my feet
I got a heartache cause cold ain't for me
I wish my worries would wash into the sea
Cause it's far too cold darling, cold ain't for me

Shots to include:

o   Dangling legs (greenscreen)

o   Running (slowmo)

o   Fire pits

o   Night trails

o   Fairy lights

o   Skys (time lapse)

o   Slowmo (Hair)

o   Palm (trees In wind)

o   Slow motion (sea water)

o   Hand (brushing through bushes)

o   Parkour

o   Guy dancing

o   Zoomed (into object)

o   Zoom out

o   Drone (following drone)

o   Gropro

o   Reversed of start of video.

Lighting Workshop

My Experiments In A Lighting Workshop

In order to create my music video plan i needed to know how to work different sets of lighting and what effect they would give to a clip. So today In a class Lighting Workshop  I was given the opportunity to use three different sets of lighting equipment to develop a understanding on the effect they have when lighting up a scene in my video.

From my experiments i could see how much lighting in video can play such a important role in the type of video you're doing,i learnt how its important to use it properly to get the effect intended.

First of all we used Light Reflectors: To begin with I used Light reflectors,Light reflectors reflect light where ever you would like to be more lit,to use a light reflector you have to hold the reflector at different angles and you can see how the light will bounce off either the silver reflector side or the Gold. Both can create different looks,the silver side simply reflects the coloured light you shine towards it,where as the Gold side reflects the given light but creates a more tanned look to your object or person when directed at them. These reflectors can be useful when using natural lighting,for example outside in the sun you aren't going to get even lighting on both sides of a object (if this is your intention) so if the sun is shining on one side of the object and you want to make it symmetrical you can use your reflector to balance out the darker side of the object. Or if you want your object to have a slight tanned look you would use the Gold side yo create this. The only problem with Light Reflectors is you have to have another person beside yourself to hold and position it correct,which i will remember when it comes to my Music video.

Here you can see by using the light reflector i managed to light up her initially,even on a black background. I learnt that you need a more direct light source to get the best results so the reflector can pick up the light and bounce it where needed.

The next light equipment i used was Light boxes,Light boxes are great at lighting up the scene as they're bright but due to the box around the light,the light is softer giving the model a 'air brushed' look as the boxes brought down the intensity of the lights alone,they generally expose the image without it being over exposed. 

As you can see in this image the model is exposed to the right amount of light,this due to two soft boxes on either side of her. The soft boxes create a over all lit up scene without any lighting being too harsh,the lighting is spread evenly,these would be good for a general scene which just needs good quality lighting.

I then used Photographic Lights,these lights were very fluorescent meaning they were very white and very powerful,the lights made the image we took look very professional. I ended up placing the lights facing the wall behind the model so the background was bright white making it look very professional. I found that placing the lights  in front of the model completely over exposed the image,although i think if positioned correctly the lights could look great in the background of the video to give a lens glare in the camera.

This shows how i set up the lights:

As you can see i put the umbrellas on the lights to make it slightly less powerful and to reflect the light away from the models face. Later on i took the umbrellas off and although the lights were powerful,in the background they gave a good lens glare.You can see how the lights also lit up the background making it look very professional.







The picture taken using the Photographic Lights.
As you can see in this picture the background is lit up making it look professional.

Research on Music Videos

My initial Music Video research

For my Media Studies A2 Practical work I have chosen to do a Music video. To further my knowledge of the music video productions I plan to carry out conventions of Music videos. In my research I then plan to look at different music video genres to broaden my ideas of what sort of video i would like to do, and to see what stereo typically each genre has in their music videos.

House/Electronic Music Videos:

• These music videos are usually shoot in Club/Party/Festivals/landscapes/natural (beaches, woods)
• They use bright colorful lights used to give party/electronic effect, as well as outside areas with sunsets and colorful natural settings
• Features varieties of people, dancing/having fun with friends
• Camera shots usually distorted/fast again to emphasize dance movements and beat of the music, they then feature long shots to show landscapes/clubs/fans
• The video is often fast paced,often not many lyrics but electric sounds
• A lot of quick shots are used to emphasize beat of the music and show the fun within the beat
• Don't often follow a story line/ Narrative as limited Lyrics in the songs
• Very instrumental ,meaning all clips are quite random but show fun and show they're having fun to the beat.

Example: https://youtu.be/knd9bJr2AFQ

      

Pop Music Videos:

• Close ups to show excited emotions on the face of the artist
• Camera shots (most hand held, following the artist or star of the music video)
• Artist genuinely dressed bold bright colours wearing lots of makeup, statement jewelry  ,woman often wear provocative clothing this is used as a selling point
• Artist performance, the person who made the song is usually the star of the video.
• The performance of the artist usually very upbeat, with fun and fast dancing
• Some artist use themes to represent the song, those themes usually include relationships/breakups/parties
• Bright clothing, bright backgrounds.
• Usually Young people feature throughout
• Subtle relating lyrics to music video
• Use of video editing (slow motion making the video look dramatic as well as speed ups to give the look of upbeat vibes)
• Most have inappropriate language to show rebeliance and fun
• Bright lighting to make the surrounding more colourful and fun
• Most scenes are full of action, due to pop music videos being related to young people, they want to make all the clips full to keep younger people intrigued.

Example Pop Music Video: https://youtu.be/7hPMmzKs62w

Rap/ Hip Hop Videos:

• Recognized brands/clothing high end
•  Expensive Cars
• Mostly shot at parties, rich houses/mansions ,clubs ,pools
• Camera shots tend to be long establishing shots/long shots, to show off wealth and big locations
• Which there is then fast shots to emphasize the beats in the music 
• Close up shots to show jewellery and assets of the artist, can include "merchandise" created by the artist with their name on etc.
•  Attractive woman and men (women wearing tight clothing, men stylish)
• Doesn't tend to follow storylines, it’s more fun random shoots with some relation to the lyrics
• Artist is featured throughout most the video, especially during rap in the song
• Once again colourful but sometimes more subtle ,clothes are bright but paired with 'normal' clothes (statement items of clothing)
• Lots of dancing, very chilled.
• Not much crazy lighting, normal/natural lighting.
• Different angles, low (showing the artist is important)

Example Videos:  https://youtu.be/uxpDa-c-4Mc

                             https://youtu.be/iAW7-HyxoyE

Alternative Rock Videos:

• Use of black and white filters gives a sense of nostalgia
• Mostly old artists starring in the video
• Some clips could be bad quality to show ageing.
• Dark lighting, to show dark vibes with most of the lyrics not being happy
• Usually consist of a unique narrative/storyline
• Some clips could be bad quality to show ageing, and  shots can be deliberately blurred or appear unprofessionally filmed to give a personal feel to add to the unique alternative style
• Long shots are used to show whole bands together or concerts at which the artist is playing at.
• Due to dark lighting most alternative videos have light studio lights to light up faces of artists, with not much else lit up (artificial lighting)
• Shows can be mostly following shots/hand held
• Mostly male artists
• Shots based around instruments and close up of artists singing/playing instruments etc.

Example: https://youtu.be/Tm8LGxTLtQk

                 https://youtu.be/FSnAllHtG70 

Rock Music Videos:

• Dark clothes (mostly black ,white ,grey)
• Tends to be black and white (because rock is stereotypically thought to be old as rock was very popular back in the 70s/80s)
• Artist is featured throughout, they are often shown to be playing an instrument, often uses moments from concerts and past memories
• Use of extreme close ups, long shots, quick cuts to emphasize the music, also showing the artists up close then showing their audiences (at concerts etc)
• Lighting usually dark, but with bright lights occasionally (often if filmed at concert) 
• Usually has a storyline, mostly about moving on, growing old etc
• Not very high quality clips, showing old artists.

Example: https://youtu.be/hH_j_GjNKaY

Metal Music Videos:

• Very similar style to rock music videos
• Usually have a deep storyline
• Black and white colours, both costume and backgrounds
• How the music videos are set out, is unusual which can make them memorable to audiences
• Stereotypically the music videos are about depression and death, very gruesome, most about war and fighting
• Dark lighting 
• Voices sound deeper the other genres
• Fast and distorted camera shots, often used to emphasize the heavy music and make it seem realistic
• These videos can have extreme make up often worn (sometimes masks in cases of bands like slipknot) very bold clothing choices and unique outfits (some outfits can be historian)
• Close ups of Artist to show emotion and power within their voices at loud lyrics

Example: https://youtu.be/h6-krHfdmGg