Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment 

A risk assessment is an examination and analysis of ay risks or hazards that may occur, in our instance of creating a music video, I have taken all of the risks that may occur and what may interfere with our filming and found out who they could harm, the impact of them, the risk management and what could be done to prevent them along with a back up plan if our original risk management doesn't go to plan. Identifying the significant hazards and risks allows us to plan ahead if they were to happen so we know what to do and know any changes we may need to make to our filming, our shots or our narrative. The purpose of each column had a huge impact on helping me plan the filming of my music video and how I was going to structure each piece of filming and how I would film it and what precautions I would need to take. The purpose of the first column, the 'risk', was to identify what the main point and risk was and the main thing we need to look out for and highlight when filming, without any of the details and content into it. It gave us an idea as how we could prevent this from being a risk to us and whether we prevent it before filming so we were way ahead of ourselves and organised if necessary rather then making changes on the day. The purpose of the 'who could be harmed' column was to identify who may have been affected so they knew about the risks at their own alarm in case the risk affected them or our filming. It also gave us an idea on what equipment and iconography could be harmed so we had time to have a plan B if the risk proved harmful to it. The impact column and risk management allowed us to highlight how dangerous and effective the risk and could be and the exact details of the risk and what the exact dangers and harms were. The back up plan column was also to be planned and ahead of ourselves is worse came to worse so we could carry on with filming to the best standard we could to create our content and not waste anytime.

When filming our music video, we followed our risk assessment thoroughly and had it with us at all times in case any of the risks were to happen. One of the risks which came up was the slippery grass and mud which we had to film around and deal with for many of our shots as our chosen settings were filmed out on open fields or gardens where at times, the weather was against us and the rain and cold winter weather meant most of our settings were muddy and we had to be careful we didn't slip over or ruin any of our equipment. In order to prevent this, we followed the structure of our risk assessment and made sure we we're extra cautious when filming and wore shoes that still looked conventional but were safe for the weather conditions. Other then one or two of the ones already identified in our risk assessment, we did not encounter any other risks when filming. I have learnt about the role of risk assessments and how they are vitally important when filming to make sure everything runs smoothly and we do not encounter any problems and if we do, we know how to prevent them. Creating this also helped with our filming and overall production as it meant that no matter if the risks affected us on the day of filming, we were planned and ahead of ourselves to still create our content to a good and conventional standard rather then having to wing it on the day and create something that wasn't realistic or unprofessional. 

Filming Schedule

Filming Schedule

A filming schedule is important to have as it allows myself and my group to follow a structure and plan for all of our camera shots. A filming schedule is a list of shots that are listed out in order that include all of the different micro elements that go into them so we know exactly what we have to film and what goes into every single shots. These details of the filming schedule include the date and time of the shot so we know where and when we are filming it and what time we want it to be during the shot to help support our setting and other micro elements whilst making it look realistic. Other micro elements that are mentioned within the filming schedule that are shown in each shot include the mise en scene with location so we know where exactly we are filming, the content, e.g the narrative we are filming the and action so we know what to film and what we are trying to achieve from the shot in terms of visuals for the audience. It also includes the shot type and duration in terms of cinematography, the costume/hair and make up of the artists and iconography and equipment that is required for each shot allowing us to get organised and ready for our filming and bring any props, etc. that are necessary. This therefore means a filming schedule keeps us planning ahead occupied for filming and allows us to go back and make any changes that are needed if something was to go wrong or if we wanted to change something that didn't go to plan. It also means that we don't have to waste time when filming planning what shots to do next and thinking about what we include because we have it all ready for us in our schedule and can follow that list of shots. We also don't need to worry about making each shot conventional or detailed as everything is planned out and ready for us and with the filming schedule, all we need to do is put everything in place and create the paper plan version into a visual for our audience and music video. filming schedules are therefore important to have in order to create a conventional and successful music video.

When filming our music video, we did not follow the structure of out filming schedule or film our shots in order sue to changes we had to make with filming and changes we had to make to our shots. This was done multiple times and was due to complications with many of our micro elements that went into every shot, including the date and time, setting, type of shot and duration and the personnel. Firstly, we had to change the order of shots for our pub scene as we did not have our filming schedule or storyboard on us so we therefore had to film on what we knew and the shots we remembered. This held us back when filming as we didn't have the exact shot list on us so we didn't know the shot lengths or shot types so we had to improvise with the narrative we had and what we knew yet still make it conventional. For example, we did not film in the correct lighting or at the right time so we had people walking in the background and it didn't look as professional or realistic as we hoped, despite us using the correct shot type and other micro elements. Therefore, the changes we made were that we had to come up with a new shot type so we didn't have any random extras or interferences in the background and we had to change the lighting and filter when editing as the shots we filmed didn't match up with the filming schedule. As well as this, someone in our group didn't turn up to filming the scene and they were needed to work the camera so we had to cut someone out of our music video who was supposed to be in the background of the shots and they had to be our cameraman. To make up for this and because we couldn't include our pub scene that we filmed, we filmed an alternative scene of the couple alone with each other during christmas where they are opening presents for the artist Kerry to find her boyfriend has bought her alcohol as a present, demonstrating how he has an alcohol problem. We included this so our narrative has a clear structure and breakdown of the relationship so it makes sense for our target audience and its done in a professional manner but we still had to ensure that it was conventional to the indie genre. Other complications we had during filming and altercations we had to make to our filming schedule were that we had to change the editing and camera techniques as we didn't film some of our shots correctly. Some of the additional shots we filmed were we introduced a lot more filler memories into our narrative and filmed a series of them to tie in with the breakdown of the relationship and to be played during the end of the song when it is at a higher tempo and a more dramatic moment as these filler memories will be fast paced and meant for dramatic and emotional purposes. Some of the filler memories we introduced were mis shots of the couple having fun, playing around and joking with each other at our chosen settings and also darker ones of glass alcohol bottles being smashed, pills being laid out across the floor and the boy in a dark place. We filmed these additional shots in order to have more content in case we needed it or to give our video a more dramatic effect. Some of our filming also didn't go to plan or wasn't as long as expected so we therefore made up for it with these filler memories. From this, I have learnt the role of a filming schedule is vitally important in planning the structure and ideas of a music video and is needed in order to stay on task and organised when filming. It is also not going to turn out exactly the same as we expect or had planned on our filming schedule so we will therefore need to film precisely and use our filming schedule wisely and correctly at all times. To make up for this, we went out and filmed some of the same shots twice so we had the option between the two to pick whichever one looks the most professional and better, as well as filming each scene we had to do still after this problem twice and at different camera techniques so we again had the option of the two. 


Planning digipak

Planning Digipak

Digipak's are deluxe and bigger versions of an artists CD that costs more to make and to buy, but gives more content for the consumers and the artists audiences. It is a special style of packaging that is used for single CD's or albums and they typically consist of a gate fold (a book style), paperboard or card stock outer binding with or more plastic trays capable of holding a CD or DVD attached to the inside generic. It is different to a generic, jewel CD case as CD cases are three piece plastic cases with the artists liner notes and a simple back card. They are constructed into 4 sides where the information about the CD and songs is on either the front of the back, whereas with Digipak's, the information is displayed on lots of different sides as is a lot more detailed and useful for the artist. Jewel CD cases have been used ever since 1982 and are what we think off and expect to see when buying a CD. However Digipak style cases were introduced and became very popular in the early 2000's amongst record labels and recording artists. This is because Digipak's allows the artist more opportunities to show off their artwork, information such as lyrics and their promotions. This way the artist has more chance of appealing to potential buyers as they see the digipak's as collectable items, in comparison to the classic jewel CD's which are seen as very basic and contain less information. However, Jewel CD's will often contain lyrics of the artists so that the buyers know what they are getting and have an insight to the type off songs and content they will listen to and relate to the artist more. The artist also benefits the artist as the digipak will often have content that relates to the artists character and what they represent, as well as their predominate genre. It will likely embody a message or theme that the artist is trying to show and what they represent, increasing their image for audiences allowing them to increase their popularity. The digipak also exemplifies the artistic and creative approach is artist is taking and showing throughout his music. All aspects of the digipak, brand image and music video all interwoven together so that they all share a similar theme and share the same objectives as to how they make the audience feel and how they want to perceive themselves. They also benefit the artist as their music as digipak's are promotional aspects of the music industry that help to bring awareness to the artist by selling the artists representations and encouraging consumers to buy and listen to all their music. By buying a digipak, consumers and audiences are almost pledging their loyalty to that artist as they are paying more for more content in order to get as much as they can from that artist and I will be creating my own digipak for my artist Kerry Boyne and have taken inspiration from digpaks made by similar artists such as Gabrille Aplin and birdy.

 My Digipak consisted of 6 slides which all shared a similar structure, layout and all consisted of conventional colour schemes and images that related back to the indie genre and representation of my artist. The representation I was aspiring for was to show our artist as down to earth and fragile with her relationships, yet showing signs of youthfulness and star quality in order to appeal to a wide audience and grab audiences attention for the Digipak and in return, make it more successful. My Digipak consisted of a main front cover which shows the name of the artist, a picture of her and the album name. A back cover showing the legal works of a Digipak, record label name and a list of all of the songs on the album supported by a image from a narrative of the song 'panic cord'. It also includes two images of the artist and different settings of the songs videos that we took when shooting our music video to give fans extra content and special features, as well as a customised CD cover and personal messages to the fans, making it unique and giving it more content then an ordinary CD. The first thing I looked at when creating my Digipak covers and the design of each part was which colours to use and what suitable colour scheme I should follow. For the majority of the Digipak, my main colour used was red followed with yellow and blue to help bring out the red and give it a brighter edge towards it. I chose the colour red as red is a connotation of danger and love and those are two of the main concepts of the Digipak. It is used on the artists clothing to show she is passionate and stylish and blue and yellow are also used here as they are connotations of joy, peace and stability, three representations of our artist in her songs which we attempted to draw comparison with in the Digipak to show that conventional link and for audiences to memorise it. The colour red is also seen on the memory box and love hearts used in each shot as red is the colour we associate with love and how her love breaks down in a number of her songs also portraying the daring romance and excitement of both her character and the Digipak. It is also used to highlight and put a filter on the personnel message speech bubbles to show the messages are deep and meaningful and this is supported by the black and grey (dim colours) as the background for most of the sides of the Digipak as they give it sophisticated and powerful feel for the audience. These colours are conventional to the indie genre as it shows the artist as having a number of different sides to her character and someone who is spontaneous and creative, much like many successful an popular indie artists.

The conventions of the indie genre is also something I looked at and took inspiration from many other indie artists posters and album covers in order to put them into mine and create a similar, conventional feel towards it. One of the main conventions used in my Digipak was the front cover where it displays some conventional camera shots as the artist is shown in a close up. This is conventional as it is the first thing our audiences sees when picking up my Digipak and they are able to relate to her expressions and emotions. It shows the girl as pulling a straight yet unsure/sad face expressing her and the Digipak as emotional and meaningful, also giving the audience an insight into what to expect from the songs and content inside. This is conventional to the indie genre as close ups are a popular and good way of expressing emotions and deep meanings. We also included conventions of the indie genre in our Digipak through mis en scene and the setting and iconography included in the background of the shots. This is seen in the back of the album shot where we see a picture of the memory box which Is potrayed as indication and main souviner of her realtionships and past showing her as thoughtful and down to earth as she dwells in to her past and isn't afraid to open up about anything. Portraying iconorgphy in shots and in the Digipak is conventional to the indie genre as it gives audiences an insight into her music and character and indie artists and artists in general want to give audiences back as much as they can and make them become hooked more, as well as trying to sell themselves and the product. In terms of the setting, both our images displayed in the Digipak show images from two settings in our panic cord video, the open garden fields and bridge, and the bonfire scene. These are conventional to the indie genre as they are natural, loving places which portay a lot of meaning and make audiences dwell into thought while listening to the music. Other images we used in this Digipak included all of the small fillar memories and images of the couple that are seen on the CD. These are placed there to make the CD look more inventive and creative whilst giving the audience a idea of what the couple and the artist was like and a insight into her personnel life and character away from music.

The typography and language of my Digipak is kept simple in the way that the only language it consists off is to help give the audience information on the content of the Digipak and artist and the main one being the personal message to the artists fans. The front cover reads 'Kerry Boyne, Panic Cord' which is the name of my artist and the name of the Digipak. It is displayed in bold black writing with sharp edges to show connotations of mystery and stability in the artist character and what she aspires to create from her music. This is supported by the heart beats in the background which link up with the language and these are created and placed there to show the ups and down of her relationship and how she has many sides to her character and this isn't a ordinary Digipak. The audience are able to relate to this as it shows the artist as a more passionate and meaningful person who likes to take things seriously and not keep things simple. The other main piece of iconography and language we had was the personal message. My personal message reads 'dear my fans... thank you for your endless support with the new album memory lane. You are all my inspiration to create music you have made me who I am today. I wish every single one of you love and support in everything you do and cant thank you enough for what you have done for me, love Kerry xxx'. This whole passage represents her loving and caring side and how much her audience and fans mean to her, allowing the audience to dwell deep and feel more emotionally connected with the artist and feel more appreciated. It is also all written in red and in a feminim font to help portray it as compassionate and sensitive. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists tend to remember where they came from and appricate all there love and support and really care about their fans.

In conclusion, I will use my research to inform my planning by taking on  board what I have learnt about the layout, typography and structure of a digipak and apply it to my own. For example, my research showed that a digipak has 6 sides to it and each one has a different purpose so therefore I will make use of each side and apply to necessary features to my own, e.g the text styles and layout of the front cover, the style of the CD and how the background looks around it and also what conventions I can add so make it relevant to the indie genre and a successful digipak. I took my inspiration and research from digipaks who were similar to my artist such as Gabrielle Aplin, Birdy and Ed sheeran so there ideas would be suited to mine and mine would look for conventional. Some of the ideas i took from theres and my research that i will include into my own are the colour schemes which i will match for the majority of my sides and also the style of pictures in aplins digipak which i can take and recapture for my artists. 

Storyboards

Storyboards

A storyboard is a template of plans and pictures to create a visual media product that can be both created in written form or through drawings. In my case to create a music video, we used a storyboard to note each media element we will use for each shot and draw out how we wanted the shot to look. This was for us to put into context and on paper what we wanted to create and the ideas and images we were planning on using to create a particular concept or narrative. The purpose of a storyboard is to plan out every shot I am going to use and in order to put everything together to see how it may match the visual image and what looks right and wrong. It also allows us to put every shot into a sequence and in order of our narrative and how we can match up each element of the shot in terms of having suitable cinematography for each shot, editing styles that will match up and match the shots look realistic and our video be high quality. It also allows us to plan what sounds we will use on the shot and what part of the video suits which part of the song in terms of timing and the necessary mis en scene.  

The first thing we did for when planning our storyboards was do our primary research. Primary research is any type of research that we went out and found out ourselves, in comparison to secondary research which involves planning and summarising already existing research. The primary research we done for planning our music video was that we asked 40 people to fill out a questionnaire based on questions related to our planning for our own music video and questions on the indie genre and put our answers into pie charts in order to find out the most popular ones and our target audiences preferences. We also created 5 vox pops, video questionnaires, of people answering our questions in order to take on board their feedback and to get an understanding as to what audiences prefer and expect from existing indie artists and from the indie genre as a whole. This research was carried out in order to get a clear understanding as to what is deemed suitable and relevant in terms of conventions, camera and editing techniques and other media elements when creating our music video and to get an understanding as to what our audiences prefer and want so we can make it as successful as we can and as relatable to our audience as we can. Both of these also helped us when planning the shots of the music video as we had a wide variety of questions based on a number of different elements so it gave us variety when choosing what would suit each shot and when we could use everything that was answered. In terms of secondary research, this was when we took all of our answered data from the questionnaires etc and planned out what would work best for each shot and when we will use it. For example, we would have a idea for a shot or narrative and then use all of the different micro elements required in a music video such as the camera shot, editing technique and use of mis en scene and that put it all together to make it conventional to our narrative and for what our target audience expects to see from the indie genre. As well as this, our secondary research helped us when planning our music video as it allowed us to choose whether our video will have more performance based shots that have been influenced by the structure of our storyboards or whether we will stick to having it primarily narrative and concept based and in the end, because of the data we summarised, we chose to have more performance based shots as our audience would like and expect to see them; this was a big change of our video that was down to the findings of both our primary and secondary research. This primary research method was incorporated into my storyboard when we were deciding what method of style of shot to use for each scene, for example whether the shot will be performance based or narrative based or include content that highlights our video concept. This was also supported by the micro elements we planned around the shot to make it more conventional and show the shot and scene clearer. 

When creating our storyboards, we took inspirations from the indie music videos we had already watched and analysed such as Gabrille Aplins 'please don't say you love me' and Ed Sheerans 'give me love'. We chose these videos as they are very similar to the initial idea we had before creating ours and they belong to the same music genre as our own artist, as well as all having similarities to our artist in the way they are represented through their music and their music videos.  When analysing these music videos and taking inspiration from them, we looked at the order and sequence of shots and all the micro elements went into them so we could attempt to replicate them. We also looked at visuals in depth as it gave us an idea of the narrative and concept of then videos and whether we could use this in our own music video. We made use of this in our storyboards through our drawings as these would be the visuals and whole creation that our audience would see once we had a finished products. We also took inspiration for our storyboards by planning each micro element individually so we could focus on what looks best and what is most conventional. This also gave us more knowledge on these micro elements and allowed us to create a more in depth and successful storyboard.

Me and my group, grouped our storyboards by planning out our narrative in order and deciding what will be shown at a particular part of the song and what order everything will go in, as well as choosing how long each shot will be. We then, between all 4 of us, had a storyboard each and collaborated with each other in who was planning what sheet and what shot, whilst making sure it was in order and still realistic and conventional. For example, we done this by one of our sheets finishing at 1:41 and the others starting at 1:42 and so on, so everything would be in order. In terms of sharing the responsibility, one of us focused on planning out our own individual sheets. We also each focused on our own micro element depending on what we knew the most on and who had the best and most conventional ideas for each shot, for example I focused on the cinematography and editing of each shot and Meghan focused on the drawing so we all worked to our strengths in the best interests of our group and the music videos.

Some inspirations I took from my group members when planning my storyboards for the music video with them were a number of the settings and iconography techniques and examples we could use. For example, one group member of mine mentioned how we could film in a isolated location in Theydon Fields were we filmed the performance scene of the artist sitting under the sunset on an open village field on a tree swing. This proved conventional and successful to my video as it was the main performance scene that is featured a number of times in my video as it looks the most conventional as is the most engaging for my target audience. Another inspiration I took from a group member of mine was to include a variety if close ups and extreme close ups of my artist after and before the break up in our narrative to show the contrast in her emotions and how she has become more depressed and saddened over time. This proved successful as it portrayed a clear connotation and concept of our video that relationships are both good and bad. When planning our storyboards, me and my group focused on different aspects of the shot each depending on what we know most on and who had the best and most conventional ideas, for example one of us focused on the drawing and structure of the shot and another which camera technique we would use. 

One problem we faced when using creating our music videos and using our storyboards was that we didn't have our storyboards with us when filming some of our scenes. This prevented us from filming certain shots and meant we couldn't follow all of the micro elements that we had planned for the scene as we did not remember all of them so some of our shots aren't filmed as scheduled or planned. Firstly, we had to change the order of shots for our pub scene as we did not have our filming schedule or storyboard on us so we therefore had to film on what we knew and the shots we remembered. This held us back when filming as we didn't have the exact shot list on us so we didn't know the shot lengths or shot types so we had to improvise with the narrative we had and what we knew yet still make it conventional. For example, we did not film in the correct lighting or at the right time so we had people walking in the background and it didn't look as professional or realistic as we hoped, despite us using the correct shot type and other micro elements.

Individual magazine advert

Individual Magazine advert

Magazine adverts are vital when promoting an artists album as they are seen as highly successful and popular forms of marketing. Advertising a magazine advert is seen as a form of cross media and are used to get across the product the artist is promoting, e.g an artist, song, album or product as a way of getting their target audience or consumers to get involved and take a liking into that artist and their work. By promoting their media product in a magazine, this means that the artist is able to reach a wider target audience from the people who already read that chosen magazine and people who listen to her genre or a similar genre of music. This is effective as the artist is able to build a larger following and expand her target audience for future albums or songs, allowing her to add a lot more conventional features and scenes to her songs that her new target audience can relate to and give her a bigger name and reputation in the music industry. It is a good form of promotion as magazines are a popular for a lot of music fans and there are some major companies and magazines that are artist can use such as billboard, rolling stones and Q which have many features on mainstream artists, as well as small indie independent artists such as my own one, Kerry. This is a good from of promotion and very effective for independent artists as they are able to expand their popularity and reputation once again. For our own music video, we will create a magazine advert of out own for our artist, Kerry. The features we will plan for this is what colour schemes, camera shots and iconography we will use in order to make it as successful and conventional to the indie genre as we can. It will also need to be suitable for our chosen magazine and have consumers and audiences relate to it and hooked on it to take notice of the information on hand. 

There are many elements that we need to take in to mind when planning our individual magazine advert, including the colours, codes and conventions of the genre and many more, all of which that have connotations that are conformed or subverted to the indie genre. The first element I have used in my magazine advert is colour. I used a variety of different colours in my magazine advert, including red, blue, dark colours such as grey and black and our main colour scheme, red. The blue used in my advert is displayed on her dungarees and is used in order to bring out the bright, extravagant colours of her character and her clothing. The colour blue is also a connotation  of peace and confidence therefore giving her audience a true representation of her character. The dungarees are also partly yellow, as well as the image of the sun in the corner as the colour yellow expresses joy and cheerfulness. This is conventional to the indie genre as it shows indie artists and their style of music as having a bright and cheerful side towards it, despite its usual dark and miserable concepts. Our main colour scheme used for this advert is red and this is because it is the colour we want audiences to identify our artist and the colour that best describes her character. This is because the colour red shows danger, passion, style and romance, all clear characteristics that my artist will show in the music video and that are used to support the narrative. The colour red will be used in my magazine advert to show the heartbeats across the page, making it stand out and identifying the advert as exciting and energetic.

The conventions of the indie genre I have used in my individual magazine advert include the image of our artist, the heartbeats displayed across the poster and the small pictures that make up the artists face.  The close up picture of the artist is conventional to the indie genre as it allows the audience to focus on her facial expressions and emotions whilst making the artist the centre of attention. The audience can relate to the artist through this convention as they can relate with her sad expression and will feel curious as to how the song and music video will plan out. This is also conventional to the indie genre as indie artists like to be the centre of attention and we often expect them to be very open and expressive in through different micro elements and marketing work such as adverts. Another code and convention used in my magazine advert is the heartbeats displayed across the poster. The heartbeats are a connotation of the ups and downs in the artists relationship and her split personality where at one point she is loving an her relationship is in a good place then at other times she is beginning to show cracks in her relationship and a more dark and mysterious side to her character. This is both conventional and subversive to the indie genre as she is showing a dark mysterious side towards her character yet she is a bit of a wild child and sways towards the pop genre with this advert showing her as subversive. In terms of layout and design for this magazine advert, we have the image of the artist displayed in full to the left of the poster showing that she is the centre of attention and the main focus of the advert. The other key parts of my design and layout is the name of the artist, song and album displayed in big bold black font to the right of the picture and is another stand out element for the audience to focus on. Another feature of my magazine advert are the heartbeats displayed across the advert in red and the beams of sunlight coming into shot in the corner are displayed there in order to add a bright light filter to the advert and make it more conventional and relatable for the audience. This is because it portrays both the artist and the advert as having a bright and joyful side.

Lastly, the typography and language of my magazine advert remains the same for the artist name, album and name of song and is designed in order to appeal to my target audience and look conventional to the indie genre. The style of writing I have chosen, my typography, is to have each piece of information displayed in big bold writing with the end of letters having a sharp line across them to give it a further dramatic and stand out effect. it is also displayed in capital letters and is bold in order for the audience to remember what they have seen and in order for the details about the advert to receive more recognition and be recognised on a worldwide scale, not just for her target audience. In terms of language, the information we have displayed on the advert is my own artists name, 'Kerry Boyne', the upcoming album name, 'memory lane', her new song, 'panic cord', and the extra detail given, 'upcoming 2015'. All of this given information and language is conventional to the indie genre and common with music magazine adverts as the artist wants to make as big as an impression and impact they can with their music and magazine adverts are an influential marketing and promotional way of doing this, as well as presenting their own character at the same time.

s

      In conclusion, I found planning my individual magazine advert useful for when taking my pictures and using photoshop as it allowed me to gather an understanding on what micro elements will be going into my pictures so I was able to plan them and get them ready and have a picture in my mind of what i wanted to take before i got them making it much easier for me when putting together the real thing. For example, I knew what colours of the outfit the artist was wearing before I took them and already knew they were conventional so I therefore was able to plan this and tell my artist what they had to wear. It also helped with photoshop as I then knew what i had to find and what I had to do to make it conventional. This also makes photopshop easier to use as i know what I'm creating and looking for. I know feel as well that I'm more aware of the pictures i need because i now whats conventional in each micro element and more about the indie genre. 

Lyric Analysis

Lyric Analysis 

The purpose of analysing our song lyrics before planning the visuals of our music video is to be able to have a clear representation and understanding of the songs meanings, values, genre conventions and everything else that goes into making a successful and relevant music video for that song. When analysing our chosen song, panic cord, we looked for the hidden meanings of the song in order to try and match these and film them so they are clear for the audience when making the video, as well as the audience relationship to highlight a clear target audience and engage them when creating our music video. We also looked at the ideas of MES, narrative and style , in order to re create them through different micro elements which we also planned to match the lyrics and purpose of the song. These include different styles of cinematography, mise en scene, editing and lighting and colour, all of which can be identified and made into a visual representation by analysing the lyrics. We will be able to find a clear structure for planning our narrative and when and what we will use certain visuals, as well as deciding whether our video will be performance, concept, or narrative based for our audience to enjoy. Finally, we looked at artist representation in the lyrics and how each line, flow, chorus etc. represented the artists personality and the character she is playing in the narrative, for the audience to then judge and have their opinion on. Analysing our song lyrics also helps to demonstrate certain planning techniques as we then know what is in order and needs to be completed and set out for us to make it conventional through the micro elements. We are able to identify what cinematography can be used, what editing styles and lighting and colour techniques as well as any mise en scene elements that have already been noted in the lyrics such as certain iconography and settings that we can then put into visuals, in a manner that is conventional to the indie genre.

When analysing our song lyrics, I was able to identify a number of different hidden meanings through the lyrics which can be filmed and put into the music video so they are clear for the audience. The main hidden meaning I identified in these lyrics was the repetition of the word maybe to start a new line of the song. This lyric is the hook of the song and is a notable and key utterance that audiences will memorise and identify with the artist and song, therefore it shows some connotation into the propose of the lyrics and the artist representation. The repetition of the word 'maybe' shows her confusion about the relationship and how she is unsure as to how things are going and where she stands with her boyfriend. It also shows how she has panicked in the relationship and she is contemplating as to what she has to do next in order to get things back on track. The audience are able to relate to the artist as well through this hidden meaning as it shows she is down to earth and a loving character. The lyrics also say 'maybe I pulled the panic cord', which shows that she didn't know what she wanted and panicked in ending the relationship. Another hidden meaning I found in the lyrics for panic cord was when she repeats the lyric 'Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do' followed by, 'that's the way the story goes'. This is a hidden meaning that shows society's views on the perfect relationship and how things should go, yet this is to high an expectation and she preferred to have a relationship at her own pace and how she wanted to do things. It also shows that the video has a performance style towards it as these lyrics and music notes which she is singing. These hidden meanings can be used in my narrative through micro elements by planning a particular camera and editing technique that will suit them such as close up and fast paced editing as they are perceived as mysterious and a way of expressing emotion, much like the purpose of these hidden meanings. In terms of mise en scene, the lyrics help to identify a particular setting and representation of the artist therefore we will follow the structure of the lyrics and written narrative and put them into a visual effect.

There were many genre codes and conventions that we identified when analysing the lyrics for panic cord, with each of the elements of codes and conventions identified belonging to the indie genre, as Gabrielle Aplin is an indie artist. One of the main codes and conventions I found in the lyrics was the materialistic idea of the souvenir box when she says 'We're just a box od souvenirs'. This is conventional to the indie genre as it shows the iconography that can be used in the video and she is referring back to the indie purpose and concept of the song, love. She is suggesting that her love with her boyfriend is like a bunch of memories and items that remind them of each other showing that she is very thoughtful and loving towards the boy and it is not a simplistic relationship. The audience are able to relate to the artist when seeing this as it shows that she is down to earth and a loving character and the box of souvenirs are portrayed as a symbol  of their love. This is also conventional to the indie genre as we often expect indie artists to be very thoughtful and extravagant with their relationships. Another code and convention used in the lyrics was when the artist says 'I wanted you to change'. This shows that there is complications in their relationship and the concept of the song is beginning to take structure as by this point they have broken up and the artist is singing about what she wanted to happen and her idea of her perfect relationship. It is conventional as she is describing her take on love and expressing a lot of emotion in her lyrics, which is common amongst indie artists. It is also conventional as she is engaging with the audience by giving them an insight to her relationship and feelings.

The cinematography identified in these lyrics are chosen by myself and when analysing the lyrics as the lyrics of the song give us an idea and impression as to the relevant and suitable camera shots and techniques in order to give off the concept of the song. One of the cinematography shots we will use for our music video is  a close up. A close up shot is effective as it dramatically shows the expression  and emotion on the artists face and it is also a common and popular camera shot that Gabrielle Aplin uses herself in other previous music videos. This shot will be used a variety of times in my own music video, most notably during the chorus where she states 'maybe I'm the one to blame, maybe I'm the one to blame'. A close up will be used here as there is nothing significant in terms of the narrative or artist representation going on in the video or a lyrics so a close up is a way off adding some dramatic and emotional effect for the audience and the purpose of the song. The close up will be used to show our artist Kerry looking sad and thoughtful, whilst contemplating whether she has made a mistake and and her relationship. A close up is effective for this as it clearly shows her facial expressions and leaves the focus on her rather then the setting in the background, allowing the audience to really capture the moment and emotion. Close ups are conventional to the indie genre because they are suitable and relevant to the personal lyrics and song that indie artists tend to produce and they give an insight into the artists life and feelings as we expect indie artists to be very open and not hold much back. Another camera technique myself and my group used when analysing the lyrics and planning our music video was panning. Panning is where the camera tracks and follows a certain character, object or moment in a visual representation for the audience. In my case, we had the camera track and follow one of our extras, myself, the person who breaks up the relationship. This camera technique will be used towards the end of the video where she says '  maybe, you were just to nice to me and maybe, it took me way to long to leave'. The camera technique shows the boy walking over to sit down with the girl and talk to her in a attempt to get her away from her boyfriend and this is suitable to the lyrics as she is describing how maybe her boyfriend is to nice and not there sort of guy she is looking for and how she wants someone different and a bit more dangerous and on edge, something which this new boy appears to be. She also explains how she wanted to leave earlier and that maybe she was looking out for this boy and wanted to talk to someone else and by using the panning technique, it is a connotation of the series of emotions the artist is feeling as she is feeling adventurous and happy at the start off the panning shot, before looking sad and confused when her boyfriend leaves. This shot is also conventional to the indie genre as it helps to highlight how indie artists are often mysterious characters and the panning is a connotation of a journey with deep and thoughtful meaning, much like many indie artists music careers. 

One of the most common editing styles we used in my groups music video was shot reverse shot. Shot reverse shot will be used a number of times during the music video, most notably during the out scene and bonfire scene and these will be used towards the start of our lyrics and song to first introduce the love and happiness amongst the couple during this moment. The lyrics that show shot reverse shot are when the artist says 'this meant more to you then it did for me, i was full of doubt and you believed'. The lyrics used during this editing technique are subversive as they do not support the visual representation of the artist. The lyrics show how uncommitted and unsure she was in the relationship and how the boy was more committed then the girl and felt more feelings towards her then she expected, whereas our visuals show how at the time the couple were loving towards each other and each shot of the faces of the artist and boyfriend show them smiling and hugging, full of hope and admiration about their relationship. This editing technique is also conventional to the indie genre as it shows the contrast or similarities about each persons emotion and helps to bring the narrative to life and be more realistic, which indie artists pride themselves on as they are down to earth and natural. Another editing technique my group used in our music video was fast paced editing to show a montage of memories. This will be used during the chorus where the artist sings 'maybe it you were just to nice to me, maybe i took way to long to leave, maybe once we felt the same, maybe I'm the one to blame' with the last line repeated three times. This editing technique will correspond well with the chorus as they are both fast paced and upbeat moments of the song and the video. It is conventional as the memories shown on screen during the montage will quickly flash up to add to the extreme and hectic emotion that the artist is feeling and how everything she says in her lyrics is visually true. This editing technique is also conventional to the indie genre as where it shows a montage in a high tempo tone and pace, the artist is sharing many personal experiences and emotions that we expect indie artists to identify in their music as they are very open and down to earth. 

Mise en scene will be used effectively during the whole music video I have made and is identified a number of times is the lyrics. Firstly, we identified the costume, hair and make up that our artist will wear when analysing the lyrics 'I pulled the panic cord'. The panic cord is the name of the song and and a significant part of our video and lyrics which shows a lot of dark and meaningful emotion of how she is confused and in a bad position in her relationship. The panic cord is also a key terminology that audiences will recognise us for therefore she will wear dark coloured make up and have natural straight hair to give her a gothic and mysterious look, whilst wearing black tights, doc martins and a baggy jumper to also show her natural and conventional indie side towards her. This will correspond with the lyrics as she does not look glamorous and extravagant but in contrast looks like she's ready for heartbreak and pain, also showing a dark representation of her character which we can also identify in the lyrics. This clothing and make up is conventional to the indie genre as it shows her and all indie artists as having two sides to their character. Another aspect of mis en scene we used in our music video and identified in the lyrics was iconography. This gave us our first incentive and idea to use the memory box when the lyrics say 'we're just a box of souvenirs' and this is a key part of our narrative. A memory box will be used at the beginning of every scene and the artist will draw a souvenir out of a love hearted shape box as a connotation of her still having feelings for the boy and how she is feeling heartbroken. This is conventional to the indie genre as indie music videos tend to have significant items of iconography in them which help to portray the deep and meaningful concept of the video. The next element of mise en scene used was the facial expressions and this is used in the form of a close up shot. during the chorus where she states 'maybe I'm the one to blame, maybe I'm the one to blame'. A close up will be used here as there is nothing significant in terms of the narrative or artist representation going on in the video or a lyrics so a close up is a way off adding some dramatic and emotional effect for the audience and the purpose of the song. The close up will be used to show our artist Kerry looking sad and thoughtful, whilst contemplating whether she has made a mistake and and her relationship. This facial expression is conventional to the indie genre as it shows her as natural and down to earth and someone who is not afraid to show emotion, therefore the artist are able to relate to her as it shows her as strong and independent. The final element of mise en scene identified in this music video positioning and lighting. This is used throughout the video and lyrics where she is performing in her bedroom with natural lighting coming from the sun beaming down on her in her bedroom playing the guitar, singing to show she is natural and down to earth. 

I can represent our artist in a number of ways through the hidden meanings in the videos and the lyrics as they express a number of connotations of the song, the artists characteristics and the concept of the song. One of the main hidden meanings in the lyrics for panic cord is where in the chorus she states 'maybe I'm the one to blame'. For this lyric I will use a clip of a scene where my artist is showing her darker and more mysterious side to her character to represent how the couples breakup was down to her and her unpredictable character rather then just because of the boy. This will be seen in my video when the boy is trying to acting loving and sympathetic towards the artist but she is turning him away and also where she throws the picture of the couple into the fire at the end of the video to portray how she is done with the relationship and has no feelings for the boy anymore. This hidden meaning therefore represents my artist as mysterious and having a darker side to her character. Another hidden meaning in the lyrics 'we're just a box of souvenirs' at the beginning of the song. This hidden meaning and connotation is a metaphor for the couples relationship and how there relationship was nothing but a bunch of past and broken memories that the girl cherishes with her memory box (as seen in the video). This helps to represent the artists character as nostalgic and that she likes to reflect on the past back to happier times

In conclusion, analysing my lyrics has helped me with preparing and planning for my storyboards and filming as it has given me a clear understanding of the concept and narrative I want to use and adapt in my video. Analysing the lyrics highlights the important and most conventional lyrics that I film scenes for and  use to represent my artist. For example, lyrics such as 'lo ma fi di so la di do' are examples of music keys and notes and the music is at a low tempo during this part of the song so for my storyboard I will either include a montage of filler memories or a performance based scene of her singing the musical keys. I can then plan the micro elements around this lyric and scene depending on what my audience want to see the most and what is most conventional, so analysing lyrics therefore gives me a clear understanding of genre conventions and what micro elements such as cinematography, editing techniques etc are best suited to my song. 

Planning editing techniques

Planning editing techniques 

Editing styles are essential to planning a music video as editing techniques are what make the whole video and all the other micro elements come together. They are used to form and put together different camera shots and techniques, to express and add effect on different aspects of mise en scene and are essential in expressing the lighting and colour of a music video as most lighting and colour techniques seen in music videos use editing. This is used when we see a colour filter is added to a shot, something I will personally use in my music video, or when we see the transition between the lighting of two different shots or settings in the music video. Post production of a music video is also primarily the editing stage and is used to help give the video a perfect flow and helps add the conventional feel towards the videos cinematography and music genre.

One editing technique we will use in our own music video is camera recording filter. This is where we will add a filter on to the chosen shot when editing where you can visually see the details of the camera on screen so it is perceived to the audience as the artist or another character in our narrative is filming themselves. We will use this editing technique when we see the artist filming the boy during the park scene to help support a POV shot and where the random stranger who disrupts the relationship, myself in the narrative, is asked to take a picture of the couple. This is conventional as it helps to show the artists life and her take and view on things as we the audience are able to feel like we are in the narrative ourselves and are experiencing what she is experiencing. This editing technique is also conventional to the indie genre as it shows creativity and low production values as it is not a highly advanced or expensive editing technique however helps to portray a lot of emotion. This editing technique also represents the artist as creative as she is able to make her own video and create her own memories whilst showing her loving and warm side as she is able to make the most of the situation and make something simple loving and bring the couple closer. The audience are able to relate to this as they see the artist as down to earth and just like them.

 Another editing technique we will use is fast paced editing. This is where the shot is sped up and it shows a transition of many different shots and micro elements. This technique will be used at the end of the narrative when our relationship between the couple breaks down and the girl, our artist, is throwing pictures and souvenirs around whilst looking at them in a depressing and angry way. It will also be used to start of our narrative where we will film  the clouds in the sky moving at a fast pace to set the tone of the video and begin our narrative scenes. This technique is conventional when we see the couple breaking up as it is a connotation of how the artists mind is racing and she is all over the place, not knowing where she is. It also matches well with the fast paced moment of the song and tone of the music. It also shows how quickly the relationship went wrong and how the couple. particularly the boy in our narrative were quick to rush things and helps to pin point where they went wrong and why it all fell apart. This editing technique is conventional to the indie genre as it helps to portray a lot of emotion in the scene and indie artists tend to have a lot of relationship  problems and struggles highlighted in their music videos, much like our artist. It also is used to represent my artist as loving and isolated as she is seen playing with her boyfriend, play fighting etc and then all alone throwing memories onto a fire. This technique represents our artist as confused as she is ripping everything up yet still feels love and emotion of the boy and mind boggled as she is lost and in a bad way in the scene. The audience are able ton relate to the artist through this as they see her as having shared experiences with them and feel her pain and emotion.

The third editing technique we will use in our music video is a montage. A montage is a collaboration  of shots and editing techniques that have been used in the music video and are all shown in one passage of the video. In theory, our whole music video is one big montage and memory of when the couple were happy and together, however we will evidently use the montage technique to filter memories between the couple after the souvenir memory. These filler memories and the main montage will contain shots of the couple arguing, shots of alcohol bottles and pills to show what was a big cause of the break up and other shots of conventional and high end settings such as shots of London looking busy and nice and then London looking run down as a connotation of good vs bad, something expressed in my narrative quite frequently. Using this montage represents my artist as having a highly emotional character yet very dramatic as the clips used show some extreme and dark moments of the couples past. This is conventional as it represents the development and breakdown of the relationship in one passage giving our audience a clear representation of the narrative and the breakdown between the pair of them. It is also conventional to the indie genre as a montage is a good way of expressing a number of different emotions and feelings amongst the artist and is a way of showing a number of different micro elements, which indie artists tend to use in their videos to give a number of different representations of themselves. This editing technique represents the artist as sentimental as she is looking broken and is experiencing heart break.

The final editing technique we will use in our music video is shot reverse shot. This is where we see a back and forth representation on the artist and her boyfriend talking to capture the emotion of both party's and to give a full image and representation of mise en scene for the audience. Shot reverse shot will be used in our video when we see the arguments between the couple in the pub and when we first see the couple together during the bonfire scene, cuddling with each other. This is to show the couple in a happier time and a more depressing time to show the contrast in emotions between both conversations and how the same technique can be used to express different moments of our narraitve. The technique will be used in both scenes at the start and end of the narrative to show the comparison in emotions between them and how they were happy and loving towards each other at the start of the video to arguing with each other and falling out towards the end. It helps to represent my artist as a loving and down to earth person who cares about her boyfriend and relationship and is at a happier time when acting loving with her boyfriend and when they were both on good terms. This is conventional as it expresses a number of different emotions and feelings the couple has towards each other and is conventional to the indie genre as indie artists often portray a number of different characteristics and representations in their videos. This technique also helps to represent the love between the couple as well as the changed character of the artist and how she is loving yet heartbroken at the same time. The audience are able to relate to the artist through this as most relationships, particularly at the artists age and her target audiences age, break down at some point and it is not all love and happiness. From this, the audience will be able to engage further with the artist and be more interested in her and her music making my artist more conventional and realistic so we receive better feedback. 

In conclusion, I feel that my editing techniques will help the music video to build a relationship with my target audience as the audience are able to witness the emotion and effect portrayed in each individual scene and are able to view different sides to the video through a series of different editing techniques. For example, when they witness the montage technique they may feel drawn to the emotion of the video and the artists background whereas when they see the shot reverse shot they will be hooked on the narrative and focus more on whats happening with the song lyrics and matching visuals on screen. I will also be able to build a relationship with the target audience through my editing techniques as it will with the use of a variety of complex techniques, I will be able to create a more successful and conventional video making the audience for hooked and interested in the video.