Production Meetings - Research & Planning 2

Once we knew enough about our artist and completed the animatic, we decided it was time to begin bringing these ideas to life. In our remaining research and planning production meetings we delegated the tasks that we would have ahead of us so that each person could get on with a part of the project. We got ideas and fed back to each other on what we had come up with.

I was in charge of:

• Planning the lighting set-ups
• Initial ideas for the website
• Initial ideas for the album cover

Josh was in charge of:

• Organising Props
• Making Shootboards and Call Sheets
• Making flat plan for website
• Making flat plan for album cover

Yssy was in charge of:

• Initial ideas for the website
• Initial ideas for the album cover
• Planning the publicity shots
• Making plans for costuming and make-up

Unfortunately, Matt was out of school during this period so was unable to attend to a number of these meetings. However, we were able to feedback to him what we had come up with and, once he had been briefed, he was given the task of continuing work on the website.

Props

Once we knew all our shots we produced a prop list and immediately established:

• What we did and didn't have
• How/where we would get the missing props
• Who would get them
• How much they would cost

Rehersals

Our music video did not involve a huge amount of rehearsals as for a lot of the narrative and concept we wanted a natural feel, and acting that didn't seem too planned out. This added to the authenticity of the relationship. The main rehearsal time was spent practising certain, more difficult performance shots.

The main shots that needed to be practised were the fire performance shots and the silhouette performance shots.

Performance

Before we had access to the studio we rehearsed the fire shot, as we knew that, due to the fire projection, this would be one of the harder shots to film. Yssy was almost blinded by the bright projection shining in her eyes and was unable to perform to begin with. Also, with the whole shot being lit by the projector, we had to ensure there was enough light to be able to see Yssy.

The silhouette shots would also be also difficult to shoot since Yssy and Josh had to interact with each other without actually being able to see one another. For this reason, this shot required a lot of planning, practise and strict choreography before we could shoot. Shown below is the initial rehearsal where Josh stood in front of the sheet so he could see exactly how he needed to interact with Yssy.

Rehearsing kitchen scenes

Narrative

Since we wanted to create a natural and unscripted relationship between Roza and her boyfriend, there was very little rehearsal time used for these shots. However, on shoot days, we did practise exactly how we would interact before shooting so our natural interaction was still framed well and looked good on camera.

Call Sheets & Shootboards

28th & 29th October

We were due to begin shooting in the studio on 3rd November so we decided to use 2 days in half term before this in order to get most of our location shots done. This has helped us later on in the process. This also meant that we would have plenty of time to reshoot any of these shots.

We decided to shoot all the Central London shots on one day and on the following day shoot the Narrative shots at my house, since we would be in fewer locations on each day.

3rd November

On our first studio-based shoot day our aim was to shoot our main performance shots and some of our concept shots.

10th November

On this shoot day we didn't have much time so wanted to get another one of our performance shots done.

11th November

On this shoot day we had access to the studio after school hours and late into the evening. For this reason we decided to shoot our club scene, which involved a lot of extras, here. We got these shots done early so that the extras could get home quickly and would not be standing around all evening.

 

19th November

We spent the majority of this shoot day taking promo shots but also had another performance shot to take.

22nd November

We had the majority of our shots by this point but we decided that some should be reshot. We spend the morning of the 22nd November taking promo shots and reshot some performance shots later on in the day.

24th November

Again, we knew we had scenes that still needed to be reshot so focussed on these, as well as more promo shots, on our final shoot day.

Shoot Schedule

Upon receiving our shootboard we were able to begin planning which shots would take place when.

Since we have the studio one Tuesday after school and one Saturday all day, we decided that it would be most beneficial to for shots with a lot of extras and external performers to be taken here as students would be available.

Kit List

CAMERA UNIT:

Canon Legria HFG30

Go pro

Canon 5D

HDMI cables + Converter
64GB Memory card

PLAYBACK UNIT:

50 inch monitor

15 inch mac book pro

Studio sound system

Stereo Jack to 2 x Xlr box

2 x Extension cables

LIGHTING:

Studio lighting rig

2 x floor lights

1 x turret light

Leapfrog lighting desk

STUDIO:

1 X White Cyclorama

1 x sheet stand

1 x sheet

1 x camera dolly                                                 

Lighting & Set Design

Throughout the video we are using a number of different lighting setups in order to create specific themes and effects. I found myself very at home at the lighting desk so throughout the process Josh and  I spent most of our time controlling the colours and intensities of the studio lights, while Matt and Yssy altered positioning of the lights themselves. However, everyone participated in all aspects.

As you can see from the above image, before making any technical decisions regarding lighting we planned out exactly how each setup would be lit and where the camera and (minimal) props would be placed.

Narrative

Since our narrative scenes are shot on location there is a lack of choice and flexibility regarding lighting. For the shots in my home we used spot lights to create a naturally coloured and well lit scene and with the shots taken on London streets we were reliant on sunlight and, in the evening, streetlights.

Costume, Hair & Make-Up

Make-up and costume were vital for creating the correct look for our artist, establishing her identity and genre. We wanted to go for an urban and sexy (yet not sexualised) PBR&B artist. We used specific hair and makeup to achieve this.

Make-Up

We were able to talk to a professional make-up artist about the look we wanted to create. Despite not being able to have her present during the shoots we learnt and discussed what would best suit or artist and how this could be achieved.

Narrative

For the narrative we wanted to create a clear separation from the performance part of the video and create a real life feel. For this reason we used very natural make-up for the shots that we took of the couple at home, and more dressy make up for the shots when Roza was going out.

We also had a range of costumes to further establish the situation that Roza and her boyfriend were in at the time and her real life identity.

As shown the above from the various narrative shots, the top left one is a very casual shot and this was established through the use of narrative loungewear and very natural hair and make-up for both characters. The bottom right image shows Roza about to go out. For this reason there is a massive contrast in the dressy make up and attire that Roza is wearing. This allows the audience to immediately understand the situation Roza and her boyfriend are in in the short, fast narrative shots.

Performance

Our main performance shot was a close up of Roza with a wet look to it. For this shot we took inspiration from Beyonce in "If I Were A Boy." We really liked the wet look that can be seen on Beyonce's hair and make up and emulated this. This, paired with a simple white background and natural lighting created a strong shot that we could return to throughout the video.

The makeup in our fire shots was much bolder for a number of reasons. Firstly this is a very colourful shot and with a lot of moving light a natural make up look would end up being lost. Therefore we used bright lipstick and bold, black eye make up.

Roza also wore a white dress with black detailing in these shots. This meant that the fire projection would show up well on the white clothing.

Casting

Roza

We decided that Yssy would play Roza. This was due to her previous acting experience and similiarities to the artist we had in mind that she would be perfect for the role.














Boyfriend



I was cast as Roza's boyfriend throughout the narrative shots of the music video. We felt that I had the strongest chemisty with Yssy and this would be very important in playing a convincing relationship between the two. Also, being in part of the group I would be more committed than an external actor and would definitely be free during shoots.



Boyfriend - Screen Test

We screen tested our potential candidates for the role in order to establish who would play the role best and who had the best on screen chemistry.

Despite Ama's previous acting experience, we felt that the chemistry between Yssy and me was a lot more convincing.

Album Cover

We took inspiration for our album cover from a number of similar artist from the same genre as Roza would be from.

In particular we liked the album covers shown above; from Ariana Grande, Ellie Goulding and The Weeknd. The greyscale theme was consistent throughout these three and this was something that we felt we should carry over to our own album cover.

Another aspect that attracted us to these album covers was the composition. In all of them the artist is the main focus and the album is very plain apart from this.

We emulated this theme for our own album cover on the flat plan shown to the left. As shown, Roza is the main focus of the cover but is positioned slightly to the right. This is so there is space to also highlight Roza's logo. This is anther very important aspect in creating Roza, not only as an artist, but also as a brand. This logo will be present throughout all media products and will make Roza's brand immediately noticeable.

As shown above, The Z in the logo continues onto the back of the album cover, where further information is shown. Also there is a rose inside, behind the CD itself. This is another symbol that will be shown throughout the video and will, again, be related back to Roza as an artist and brand.

Website

Inspirations

We took inspiration from a number of websites. We liked the design of The Weeknd's website as it had simplistic black and white theme with simple tabs for each page and a header with the artist's name; creating a strong brand.

Although we haven't got a lot of content for our website yet, I began working on it and created the general layout. I decided that a black and white theme would suit our artist best, with the only real colour coming from the photos of our artist (that will come after the promo shots are taken). Also, the artist logo is clearly shown at the very top of the website, on every page. This gives it a clear identity.

Following the ideas that I came up with, Josh created a flat plan for each page with what they would contain. He kept this original theme consistent throughout.

Animatic

As we progressed as a group, and our ideas moved forward we produced an animatic. This is a step forward from the steal-o-matic as it meant we narrowed down all the ideas and references that were used in our steal-o-matic into definite shots that would be included in our music video.

As shown in the animatic there are a number of themes that run throughout the video. For example, there is a loose narrative featured in the video, of a seemingly perfect relationship which, as we see it develop, becomes progressively worse and worse, with more arguments. This is shown through a montage of memories from the relationship.

We also see a theme for fire and ice throughout, starting from the opening shot. The melting ice and fire, and burning of a rose shows the collapse of Roza's past relationship.

After reviewing our animatic we found that there was a lack of structure to the performance of the video as there was no real performance bed. Also the narrative was all too sudden and, again, lacked a real structure. In addition to this, the identity of our artist was lacking, and this would have to be portrayed strongly since this was a debut video and album.

Following this, we ammended these mistakes and created a revised animatic.

Steal-O-Matic

Above is out steal-o-matic, which is effectively a moving mood board consisting of ideas of costume, mise-en-scene and the various types of shots that we want to include in our music video. None of these ideas are confirmed and set on, but in the video are other music videos and images that we drew inspiration from. Our animatic is the next step, where out ideas will be more specific to our video and more likely to be exactly what we want to do and how we will do it.

Track

After a lot of deliberating, and many other potential tracks, we finally found a track that we all liked and we felt fitted with the brief of our task and the ideas we all had for the video we wanted to create. The track we chose is called 'Teen Spirit' by SZA.

There were a number of reasons why we opted for this track:

• It falls under the PBR&B genre, one main genre that would be included in the types of artist under our label. Not only did it fall under this genre, but through the artists soulful voice, there are elements of soul in the track. Also there is a Hip-Hop and Dubstep feel created by the instrumental and beat of the track. Therefore it fits well with our record label.
• We felt that there was a gap in the market and in the PBR&B genre for a soulful female, as this genre is dominated by male artists.
• The tempo and general feel of the track is soft and slow, while being intense. Since our group all agreed from an early stage on a very conceptual music video we felt that this idea would work well with this track.
• Despite the slow instrumental, there are parts of the track where the beat kicks in, lifting the track. This means there is less repetition in the track and allows us to use these changes as changes to narrative of the concept of the performance.
• The lyrics are deep and very conceptual. Since they can be interpreted in a number of ways, we felt that this would work well with the conceptual performance video we wanted to create, as well as the involvement of a loose but still present narrative.

Copyright

We contacted SZA, who owns the rights to the track, in order to inform her that we wanted to use the track for our project. We have not yet received a response.

Artist

One thing that all members of our group immediately noticed was the fact that the PBR&B genre is dominated by males such as The Weeknd and Frank Ocean. For this reason, we decided that we should make our artist a female as there was a gap in the market, within the genre, for this type of artist. I also felt that this worked to the group's strengths as Yssy would be perfect for the role; this also strongly influenced our decision.

One thing we found, upon further research into the genre, was that males tend to have more of a Hip-Hop feel, whereas females within the genre have much more soulful vocals.

Name

Once we had this pinned down we came to a slight stand still, as cementing the details of the artist such as name and identity was a very difficult tasks. Immediately I knew that the name would have to be a single word, and something short and easy to pronounce identify. After going round in circles for a while we eventually came up with a name for our artist: Roza. This short, punchy name would remain in the minds of our audience.

Image

When deciding on an artist image we took inspiration from other artists such as Jhene Aiko, Cassie and FKA Twigz, who fall under the PBR&B genre and the general R&B genre. We made some costume decisions:

• Our artist would mostly wear black and white clothing.
• For the shoot photos we would have a range of outfits from dresses and a more formal image, to some more urban styles, as shown above.
• We also decided that our artist would dress in a slightly revealing way, however, not over sexualised.

Record Label

Our record label; Raw Sound Records, is an independent, UK based record label. Despite being independent, we are a UK branch of Universal Music Group and can therefore use their financial and industry support.

We took inspiration from a number of currently running labels in the creation of ours, and based RSR on elements from each.

We used Relentless Records as an example of the type of artists we wanted on our label. Despite their still being a variety of artists, ranging from hip hop, to pop, to R&B, they all fall under a more urban style and genre.

We also liked the fact that they operated under Virgin, allowing them to take experience and use their industry connections. We also liked Mercury Records for this reason.

As a record label, RSR specialise in R&B, more specifically PBR&B, Hip-Hop, Soul, House and Dupstep; and we currently carry, or aim to carry in the future, artists from all of these genres.

Our aim as a label is to work with the best up and coming artists and bands within these genres and turn them into the next biggest and best thing in the industry, without massively altering them as an artist and their creative capabilities.

Our label would include artist such as:

• FKA Twigs
• The Weeknd
• Sampha
• SZA
• Jhene Aiko
• Joey Badass

Audience

As a group, we researched potential gaps in the music market, and found a movement towards alternative music, in particular, alternative R&B.

Primary Audience

We decided that our primary audience would be quite wide, as to not discriminate against any ages or genders in order to reduce our audience and, subsequently appeal to less people. We found, during our group meetings that due to the many elements and sub genres that PBR&B consists of, as shown to the right, PBR&B appeals to a wide range of music consumers as it has elements for everyone.

For example, hip-hop fans, such as myself, may find themselves attracted to the genre due to the production and beat of PBR&B tracks. Furthermore, soul fans may connect more with the soulful vocals of many PBR&B artist.

Secondary Audience

Again, shown through our meeting notes to the right, we identified a secondary audience. This audience consisted of males and females between 16 and their late 20s.

I found through my initial research (shown in a previous post) that older music consumers have already established their preferences and tastes in music, with preferred artists and genres. Therefore, as a group, we decided that it would be easier to appeal to younger audiences as they would be more open to a new sound.

Production Meetings - Research & Planning

Our group have meetings scheduled twice a week, after school, for around 2 hours per meeting. We always have a set agenda for each meeting, which is established and communicated prior to the meeting on our Whatsapp group chat or Facebook group. During the meeting we normally sit around a table, using iPads and more traditional, large sheets of paper to gather our ideas. These meetings mean we have set time together during which we can focus solely on our project.

Throughout the research and planning period we used these meetings to establish the audience, record label, track and artist.

We began with audience, where we identified the various sub genres that contribute towards the PBR&B genre and who they would appeal to, as shown in the image to the right. Following this, we set our primary audience and what, exactly would attract them.

Shown above, is evidence from another group meeting we had, where we established or record label. During this meeting I came up with a possible name and logo for our label, before pitching it to the group. Following this, as a group, we took the logo and name and fine tuned it the rough idea into a real record label. As you can see in the photo above, there is a transition, from left to right, where I began drawing rough ideas, before playing with the ideas, and, eventually, coming to the final design on the right. 

In addition to our group meetings, we also communicate through social media. We use a Whatsapp group chat and a Facebook group where we are able to:

• Arrange meetings
• Set agenda for meetings
• Bounce ideas off each other

Inspirations & What I Want to Make

Music Videos

One music video that I found particularly inspirational is the performance video for "Quintana" by Travis Scott. There are a number of reasons why I like the style of this video.

One thing I like is the dark shots filmed in HD in a studio. I like that they are shots taken of only the artist performing the song. This combined with the dark background, and the various costumes is very appealing to me and definitely something I would like to use and incorporate in my video.

These HD studio shots are used alongside what appear to be VHS shots on location. The contrast that this create brings further attention to both parts of the video.

*Please note: the video contains explicit content*

Another video I took a lot of inspiration from was that of "I'm Leanin'" by Meek Mill, again featuring Travis Scott. Below are some parts of the video and particular effects that I would like to recreate.











The use of UV lights and paints on a dark background in the video created a glow effect and brought detail to particular part of the costume and set. This effect is something that I will definitely use as it builds the theme and mood of the slightly disturbing performance video. 

Another effect in the video that I liked was the use of a filter in order to create a double image of what is shown on the screen, as shown below. This further adds to the disturbing nature of the video.

One thing done throughout music videos is a crossover of multiple transparent shots layered on top of each other. One example is shown below, where this element is used in a narrative video as a means of telling the story of the main character.

Artists

Kanye West in one artist who I find particularly influential for a number of reasons. Firstly, his artistic talent, combined with his arrogant attitude mean that he breaks stereotypes through his music, clothing and behaviour. This is something I look up to.






Websites

I like the layout of the website of The 1975 as there is no real set format. It does not separate the different art forms displayed by the band. This makes it seem like more of an artistic blog as opposed to a promotional website. However, this 'mishmash' is held together by the black and white theme.

Another website that I like is Kanye West's which is shown above. One thing that I am really attracted to is the minimalistic but also 'in your face' approach. As soon as you open the website a film begins to play immediately. Below this is information about his tour. This lack of information or real format is very striking and leaves a strong impression of the website and the artist himself.

Changes

Since joining with my group, we noticed that we all had very different ideas in terms of the genres that we wanted to explore, whilst still having similar ideas for the style of music video that we wanted to create.

For this reason, it is unlikely that I will be able to make a video for one of the tracks that I have named above and in my previous post. However, we have agreed to incorporate ideas from each member of the group, and settle somewhere in the middle.

Suitable Tracks

 Ideally, I would like to use this track for my music video, as it is one of my favourite songs and would work really well with my video idea. However, my inability to find a clean version of the song may mean that I cannot use it.

Alternatively, I could use this track, by Ab-Soul and SZA. It has a slightly less mellow feel but a similar tempo and could still definitely work with my idea.

Finally, if I cannot use either of the above tracks, I can use Terrorist Threats by Ab-Soul. I think it will still work for the idea I want to create but I believe the others will be more suitable.