Final costumes information for all 3 products (Courtney + Ben)

Below are the costumes that we used throughout the music video, magazine advert and the digipak. We used the same costumes for all three sections as we believed that it would help to tie the three together easier.

For the headdresses we decided to have leaves as the primary components as the performers will be in a forrest. To do this we went out to a nearby woodland path/area by our school and picked out a bunch of larger visually aesthetic leaves which had fallen on the ground.

As one of the costumes will be blue and silver and the other orange and yellow we decided to make the leaves these colours to match. We first tried sealing the leaves with PVA however due to the hydrophobic surface it was repelled and didn't dry on. After this we decided to simply use acrylic paints on most of the leaves and with the remaining ones we wrapped in tin foil.

Headdresses are used in all of the Empire of the Sun music videos so we decided that it would be a good idea to carry that aspect over to our own music video. The headresses help to add the section and creativity and originality. Athough Empire of the Sun uses headresses We have not copied them we have made our own personal response to the artists costumes. 

The Artists

 The blue and silver headdress was made for Steven. I decided that as Steven was taller his headdress would be slightly smaller and less extravagant, it was made from reeds from the edge of a pond, some of these reeds were painted light blue and the others were painted in a darker blue, this created some contrast within the piece. The remainder of the reeds were covered in a layer of tin foil this worked with the silver theme and the tin foil helped to catch the light and will make the headdress glimmer and shine adding extra depth to the music video. I brought some glitter glue to add to the different coloured reeds the light blue reeds have blue dots of glitter glue and the tin foil reeds have silver dots. These were little pockets of detail that added to the overall aesthetic of the headdress and helped it to become more extravagant. To go with the headdress Steven also wore a light blue top and a pair of jeans, this added to the blue theme and the light blue helped to add a contrast between the actor and the surrounding area. as well as the headdress I also added a layer of blue and silver eye shadow to Steven face this added to the aesthetic of his appearance and made his character more believable and realistic. 

Olivia's costume was fairly similar to Steven's, her headdress contained leaves and a few reeds, the leaves were painted in different shades of orange, this matched her bright orange top. The leaves were first covered in a layer of PVA glue and coated in a couple of layers of orange paint, a couple of the leaves I left clear because they were the colour I needed and they added to the range of colour throughout the headdress. I left a couple of the reeds green to fit the theme of the forest. On top of the green reeds I added green dots with the glitter glue, some of the leaves were also layered with some of the green glitter glue - it helped to bring the two colours together. The remaining leaves included orange glitter glue to match the colour of the leaves and to create more divers colours overall. Olivia also had eye shadow on her face however, this time the colours were orange and sliver - this matched the headdress - and the silver eye shadow also helped to link her costume to Steven. As well as her bright orange top, Olivia wore denim shorts and leggings, these were a comfortable choice, they were bright and the blue from the shorts matched Steven and linked them together quite well.

The Explorer

The explorers costume was more relaxed and fit into the surroundings better. Steven wore a dark green jumper, this green didn't completely blend into the surrounding area and therefore it provided a nice contrast between the two colours. To add to the Mise considerations for the music video I decided to add some mood to Steven's face, this added to the costume and made his role feel more believable. The explorer also wore a beige hat, this also to some degree blended in the the surrounding of the music video, but also produced a contrast between the two colours.

Draft Magazine advert shotlist (Ben)

This is the shotlist for our magazine advert; we did this to avoid wasting time when taking the photographs for the magazine advert. This gives us a simple list to work off of and will help us better organise the shoot.

Draft shotlist for Digipak (Ben)

This is our shotlist for the Digipak. This will help us when creating our Digipak as we'll have a list of shots to select from once we have shot the photographs. When we are taking said photographs this will also give us a simple list to go off of; saving us plenty of time.

Equipment Information (Ben)

When we film our music video and shooting the photographs for our promotional package we plan to each use a DSLR which we are each familiar with and know well; this will be beneficial as it reduces the risk of running into technical issues and we will have the suitable experience and muscle memory to handle the cameras well, keep the actors in focus etc.

Music video

Cameras

To film our music video we plan to use two DSLR cameras, these will be a Canon 550D and a Nikon D3300. These are entry-mid level cameras with the capability to also shoot video as well as stills. We will use the 18-55 kit lens with the 550D as this will be more of an auxiliary camera; shooting the sequences at an alternate angle to the main camera, and so we will need some limited zoom capability. This method will help us to be more time efficient and save us time and is often used whilst filming interviews.

Lenses

For the D3300 we will utilise both the 18-55 kit lens as well as a 35mm prime, the kit lens will be more of a back-up in case we can't get the camera near/far away enough from the actors with the prime. The prime will give use greater image quality and visual clarity as well as a faster autofocus however has no zoom capability. The prime lens also lets us use a lower f-stop (smaller aperture) and thus will allow us to get softer backgrounds and let more light in. We will also take a fisheye lens adapter with us as there is a couple of shots where an extreme close up would be suitable.

Equipment

Whilst filming we will also use tripods for the main camera as it will be recording the angles and shots we know that we definitely want. For the secondary camera we will take another tripod for filming however most of this camera's shots will likely be handheld as it will be used for alternate shots which will be decided more on the fly.

Lighting

For the forest scene we won't need to use artificial lights as we can utilise natural light (as we will be filming early in the day) which will be softer, more even and brighter. For the office scene however we will not be able to solely rely on natural light and so we will use a series of artificial lights to create soft, warm lighting.

Magazine advert/Digipak

Both of these cameras and the named lenses are also excellent stills cameras, and so we will use them for this purpose as well. Whilst one camera is filming a section we will also use the other to take some shots as well as film for the magazine advert/digipak. This will help by giving us more shots to work with when we create our magazine advert/digipak other than posed shots. This will also help us save time greatly.

Casting/audition information (Courtney + Ben)

For our music video we need to have two actors; one that is solely a performer and one that is both a performer and the explorer during the narrative sequences. We chose our potential actors as they are likely to be available and willing to perform and fit our demographic of late teens/early twenties. Below is a profile of the three potential actors that we looked at I also asked all three actors for a quote saying why they think they would be suitable for the part in the music video.

We decided to select Steven and Olivia as our actors as we felt they both had the best mix of passion and experience to represent our artist. They are also both comfortable in front of a camera and available in the time period we plan to film in.

Our potential actors include:

Name: Jack O'Neill,
Age: 17
Ethnicity: White British
Personality: Bubbly, fun loving, always up for a laugh, kind hearted
Information: An avid musician and very musically minded. He has had previous acting experience.
Quote: " My lively personality would add an extra level to the performance aspect"

Name: Steven Turner

Age: 22                   

Ethnicity: White British

Personality: Driven, funny, goes out 

of his way to help people. 

Information: A professional dancer and

has performed many theatrical dance pieces and could be a good asset to the music video.

Quote: "As a professional dancer the experiences with rhythm and musicality that it has given me will be useful in this project. Recently I have been working on projects using a range of creative communicational styles including dance, mime, photography and video editing." 

Name: Cameron Finlay,

Age: 19
Ethnicity: White British
Personality: Caring, funny, cheerful, willing to help people that need it.
Information: Has extensive theatrical experience and has worked on many plays at Eton college's Farrer theatre and Caccia studio (unfortunately this photo is quite outdated as he has since grown a beard and appears much more mature, however it was the most suitable one available)
Quote: "Due to extensive experience working at my old school's theatres I have gained a great deal of knowledge and practical experience working on performance pieces"

Name: Olivia Brook 

Age:17                   

Ethnicity: White British

Personality: Lively, loud, very confident, caring up for anything

Information: Has taken part in a number of school productions and therefore is not afraid of being the centre of attention.

Draft shotlist (Ben)

This is the draft shotlist we created for our music video. We did this to get a better feel for how much footage of each section we needed which helped us greatly later on when we were filming. This was useful as it helped ensure that we had the appropriate amount of footage for each section of the music video.

Lighting notes (Courtney + Ben)

Below are the notes that our group has made about the different lighting conditions in the different scenes from our music video. Overall we found that the most suitable route to go will be to use artificial lighting in the office scene as it will provide more adjustable low-key lighting and then using natural lighting (filming at mid-day for the best light coverage) for the forrest scene.

Office scene 

• Although it may be a little too dark - if this is the case we would need to provide some lights to brighten up the area.
• The location its self it quite dark so there will be a lot of low lighting conditions. 
• However this could create the right atmosphere for the first scene.
• Or we could switch the lights on in the area - but there is the danger of making the area too light for the atmosphere we are trying to create. 

Forest scenes 

• But if we are filming on a dull/cloudy day we may have to make our own light to brighten up the scene because the song is very jolly and upbeat - title of the song is Alive - probably a good idea to make the lighting mimic the song title. 
• This scene is mainly going to contain natural lighting, because the explorer is outside in forest - could make the area look more realistic and relaxed not fake or forced. 

Ideas for magazine advert (Courtney + Ben)

Below are the plans for the magazine advert that we came up with individually;

Courtney

Design 1 -

Design 2 -

Ben

Design 1:

Design 2:

Ideas for digipak (Courtney+ Ben)

Below are the ideas that we came up with individually for the digipak;

Courtney

Design 1 

Design 2 - 

Ben

Design 1 -

Design 2 -

Animatic storyboard (Ben)

After going through the lyrics and deciding on the narrative for the music video we went on to create a storyboard. To better illustrate this we took photos of each section and pieced them together in the rough layout they would be in to demonstrate how they would look in the form of the music video. This helped us visualise our initial concept for the music video and brought our attention to various areas which we needed to add more visual interest to and develop further.

Initial location Scouting (Courtney+Ben)

Below are the different locations that we as a group have looked at, we believe that these are all potential shooting locations for our music video and that they will go well with the narrative and style of the music video. This will be useful moving forward in the development of our music video and promotional package as it will help us determine which locations will be the most suitable for filming (with regards to areas such as lighting, the general atmosphere, room for filming etc.). This effectively gives us a shortlist for possible locations which we can then narrow down through further research and discussion.

Forests 

Pleshey

Pleshey is a village in the middle of the countryside surrounded by fields and trees there is a lot of woodland area that we would be able to film in. The woodland area is quite isolated and away from busy areas so we would be disturbing anyone and overall it would be quite quiet with only a few dog walkers passing through.

Garnetts wood

Garnetts wood is a large woodland area in Dunmow,  it is owned and managed by the Essex County Council, it allows a lot of space for the music video to be shot in. some areas of the woodland are denser in greenery than others. This is a larger version of the location in Pleshey. People use it as a good place to walk there dog. It is also in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by fields meaning that we would not by disturbed when filming making the whole process go a little more smoothly. The woodland area is also local to one of the group members  

Hyde Hall

RHS garden Hyde hall is a public display garden run by the RHS (Royal Horticultural Society) in the English county of Essex, east of London. We looked at Hyde hall for a possible filming location because it was local to one of the actors and they were a member of the RHS. However, even with the discount from the actor the price to get all of us there and inside the grounds was too expensive for us to pay to film.

Hylands house

Hylands park has over 574 acres of parkland, including an ancient woodland, grassland, ponds, lakes and formal gardens

 

 

Stotfold

It is a small town and civil parish in the English county of Bedfordshire. We were looking at filming in Stotfold mill meadows. there we would find Wildflower meadows with wetlands of interconnected ponds and a small woodland. the overall area is managed by the Stotfold Mill Preservation Trust.

Offices 

The leather bottle 

The only office area that I chose to look at was the leather bottle in Pleshey. It is local to me, I chose to look at this location because the interior is very interesting - quite bland and unique. The interior features a large wooden table which I thought would be perfect for the explorers desk.

Grandfather's office

This is my (Ben's) Grandfather's office in the house he moved into in the 50s, I believe that it hasn't been redecorated since. This would be suitable for our music video as It has a large desk and chair, several bookcases with hundreds of old books, an antique desk lamp and is suitably cluttered.

Props information (Courtney)

Below includes all the props that we think we are going to need for our music video and for the different scenes

Office scene 

For this scene I had the idea of making it look a little old fashioned - this shows through the type of objects that are included within the moodboard. The actor in our narrative section is going to play a 1930's explorer and I wanted the objects to mimic the actor to make the character more believable. Some people from our group already have some of the items featured on the moodboard we would just need to source a few other items these could either be from charity shops of on the internet. 

Forest scene 

This scene will need quite a few of the items found in the previous scene so therefore the amount of items that we will need to source is quite minimal compared to what it could be. The explorer will need to take a few props of of his desk in order to pursue his adventure into the forest. Some of the items are actually part of the costume.  

Costume information (Courtney + Ben)

Below are the costumes ideas that my group are considering for the explorer and for the two artists.

The Explorer

Above is the moodboard that I put together on initial ideas for the explorers costumes. The moodboard consists of images of objects that I believe are essential in order to bring the character to life. I decided that we wanted out explorer to be quite traditional, these costumes ideas could be purchased either on EBay or Amazon. there we could get quality product quite cheaply. I was mainly looking at neutral tones so nothing too bright because I thought it would be a good idea for him to blend into his surrounding - which in this case would be a forest.

The Artists 

The idea for this moodboard was to make it as bright and as flamboyant as possible. I looked at artists that I thought wore very extravagant clothing, so I chose to look into the costumes worn by David Bowie and Freddie Mercury. I also thought it would be useful to look into Pantomime Dames - from personal experience of going to watch pantomimes at Christmas time the most memorable part was the costumes that were worn by the Dames, they are very bright and out-going making them extremely memorable.

We looked into flamboyant costume design as our artist's costumes are always very colourful and flamboyant, with Luke Steele wearing a particularly iconic headdress which has become part of the duo's image and a motif for sure.

From looking at Dames I then when on to research different types of wigs, the aim is to make the artists stand out from the scenery and make them appear different to the explorer. All of these things can be purchased cheaply on the internet from various different websites.

The last item that I looked at was carnival headdresses - these are always stereotypically over the top and massive, its safe to say anybody wearing one is going to be noticed. We wouldn't need to purchase any headdresses online because they are fairly easy to make by using headbands, feathers, sequins etc. 

Draft filming and editing schedule (Courtney + Ben)

Filming Schedule 

This is the filming schedule for our music video, sticking to this schedule will ensure that we have enough footage to edit down for our music video. it also helps us to know what we will need for that specific day of filming, what time of day we are going to film and where we are filming.

Editing Schedule

This is the editing schedule for after we have finished filming. It includes brief notes about what we will need to edit on that day in order to meet out deadline.

Draft Story Board (Ben + Courtney)

Below is the first copy of our groups story board, it is only a draft so therefore it is not the final decision - some of the content may change.  

Rough plan for music video (Courtney + Ben)

Rough plan for music video and editing

• Explorer starts in an office, cut in different angles of the same footage - looks at map
• Cut between him and the typewriter, uses the typewriter - looking busy
• Explorer in the woods  - face covered in mud
• Looking for something - following the map.
• Use a dull looking filter for all the narrative sections to make it more obvious that it differs from the chorus.
• In the chorus up the saturation so that the greens are more vibrant and pop out of the music video.
• Chorus contains lip syncing and dancing - actors looking like they're enjoying themselves.
• The shots will be cut to the beat of the music to make it flow easier.
• Use cross dissolve and the end of the final narrative section when the explorer finds the headdress (and himself)
• Give the appearance of a mirage as he transitions into who he's truly mean to be.

Group research into music videos by your chosen artist (Courtney)

From looking at the different music videos from Empire of the sun there a some similarities and differences.

Walking on a dream

• Uses very extravagant costumes.
• Slow paced editing
• Very performance based - not a lot of narrative
• A lot of different shots - however, they all appear to be from the same angle
• very static - not a lot of movement from the artists
• A variety of different locations
• Uses a lot of cross dissolve transitions

We are the people

• More narrative then performance
• However, has an element of performance 
• Variety of different shots and angles
• Extravagant costumes 
• Uses quite a few different editing techniques
•  Has a variety of different locations.

Alive

• Uses a lot of different locations
• Faster editing pace - cut to the beat
• Extravagant costumes - one more colourful than the other
• A range of different angles
• Loads of different shots
• Uses a variety of different editing techniques

High and low

• Uses a range of different locations
• Slower paced editing
• uses a variety of different shots and angles
• Uses a range of different editing techniques
• Extravagant costumes
• A lot of green screen use 

Group research into our chosen artist (Ben)

Our chosen artist is Empire of the sun, an Australian electronic duo formed in 2007 with Luke Steele (who came from an alt-rock group) and Nick Littlemore (who came from from an electronic dance group). Their debut album was released in 2008 and was certified as a double platinum in Australia and a Gold in the United Kingdom, and received many favourable reviews. One of the duo's most notable characteristics is their flamboyant stage performances and elaborate costumes. When asked about the costumes, Luke Steele said: "the vision of this band, it's built on imagination, so it comes from studying the samurais in art school to digital graphics, to topography, to filming under the ocean, to oil paintings, anything really." This confirms that the costumes have no concrete basis and are often based on a wide variety of sources and thus vary greatly in style, complexity, and elaborateness. When we create our own music video for Alive it will be crucial that we have suitable costumes planned and produced to fit the duo's motif.

It will be useful for us to know our artist well beforehand and have had previous experience with their work as we will be more used to their style. This may also lead to us making subconscious decisions based on our experience with their work which will help in matching our work and their style more seamlessly.

The song we have chosen to create a music video for, Alive, was released in 2013 as the lead single for their second album Ice on the Dune. The song is an electro-pop piece and is one of the duo's most well-known and popular songs as well as their 4th most listened to song on the popular music streaming service Spotify.

Our favourite music videos (Ben + Courtney)

Ben - Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - Downtown

I'm a big fan of this music video, I feel that it combines the narrative from the lyrics of the song and Macklemore's characteristically humerous style very well. The video clearly follows the plotline of Macklemore purchasing a moped and cruising around on it, as well as performance sequences (most notably those featuring Eric Nally). The performance sequences are also well linked to the narrative sequences and the lyrics, with many mopeds and riders, being filmed in the same setting and with Macklemore himself in some with similar mise-en-scene. There is also good reference to Goodwin's theory where he uses his hands to make signs at the camera during one section. Like with many of Macklemore's songs and music videos Downtown doesn't take itself seriously, for example in the aforementioned shot he's sitting atop another chap's shoulders riding a motorbike down a street. I'm glad that this trait was carried over to Downtown (especially considering the lyrics and narrative) as I feel it makes it more engaging and enjoyable to watch.

Courtney - Olly Murs - Dance with me tonight

Personally I am a big fan of Olly Murs, I enjoy listening to his music and I love watching his music videos. They always have a very good balance of performance and narrative and the narrative is always very easy to follow. This particular music video starts with the artist being taken through a police station and Into a room to be photographed. He holds up a board, this board tells the audience exactly where he is - it includes his name and also the name of the song I thought it was a very creative way to start the music video. The narrative follows what happened the night before and how they got to be in a police station. I find the editing really interesting throughout the whole music video. There are moments when the video appears to be in black and white and it also apears sketchy/blured at points. This uniques editing helps to make the music video stand out. The editing of the music video mimics the beat and pase of the music. The artist is visable to the camera throughout the entirety of the music video and there are quite a few mid shots and occational close up including the artists face. There is also a range of different locations which helps the narrative, of a guy travelling through a busy city and the time leading up to him in a police station.

  

Representation in music video (Courtney)

When we make our music video we will need to consider some of the representations that we could include within our video, below are all the representations that we considered and why we looked at them;

Gender

When we were looking in to the gender within our music video first of all we were thinking that it would be better to include a male and a female as the artists, we believed that this would have broardened our target audence and made a lot more people feel included within the music video. However, we then decided that the two artists where going to both be male. Having both the artists as male would help to get our narrative across to the audience and also tie into why we looked at the representation of sexuality.

Age

We chose to look at age because we wanted to show are target audience in a posiive light. Stereotypically young adults aren't normally viewed very positivly within a society especially within videos. they are viewed at the age braket that loves to party hard - drink loads and cause trouble. but that isn't neccessarily the case for everyone in that age braket and thats something we want to get accross in out music video.

Sexuality

The fact that we have chosen all males for our artists in the music video helps aid our representation of sexuality and it also fits in with out narrative. Our music video is primarily about an 1930's exporer whos on a quest to find his true self. Our two artists are going to be wearing flamboient and brightly coloured clothing. The two artist are going to be very stereotypical within the way they present themselves to the camera, homosexual people are stereotypically very over the top, very dramatic. In the media homosexual people are represented as very "camp" and the majority are shown to be wearing flamboient clothing so we as a group decided to go with this stereotype and represent sexuality in this way.

We only chose to look at these three different representations because they were the ones that applied to our narrative and our music video.

Plot and narrative work for the music video (Courtney)

Below includes the plot of the music video and also a bullet pointed list of the plot and the narrative for our music video;

The plot 

The plot of our music video is that an explorer sets of on an adventure through the forest on a quest to find his true self. In the end the true explorer turns out to be one of the members from Empire of the sun.

The Narrative

• First scene includes Andrew Goodwins screen within screens theory when the explorer is sat at his desk.
• The explorer carries intertextual references for the explorers in the 2016 film, The Lost City Of OZ directed by James Gray. 
• There is close up of the explorer as he looks through his binoculars, this is another of Goodwins theories because as the audience will inevitably find out, the explorer is one of the artists.
• As the explorer treks through the forest he finds items that relate to himself.
• He finds a sun emblem which links to the temple like structure nearer the end of the video.
• The explorer discovers a chest and it is surprised when he takes a look inside.
• At the end of the music video the audience see the explorer transform into the other half of Empire of the Sun and they finish the music video together.

Target audience brief for the music video (Courtney + Ben)

Target audience brief

We believe that the song is aimed at people in their 20s, both males and females, however possibly more so males than females due to both members being male. We also feel that it covers the ethnic majority and thus would be popular with people of varying races and ethnic backgrounds. We also see no reason that the song wouldn’t be suitable for people of any sexuality as the lyrics are not specific of gender in any way.

To attract this demographic to our video we will need to include people in their 20s. Overall the song is quite diverse and inclusive in it’s demographic, with the major containing factor being age and it’s appeal to predominantly people in their 20s.

Music video brief (Courtney + Ben)

Music video brief
Stereotypical British explorer decides to leave the comfort of his office to take a trip into the unknown on a quest to find his true self.

The song will work for our group because it is very upbeat and contains a good tempo making it easier to edit the video to the song. The artists themselves are very flamboyant and out there. within there videos they would always wear extravagant costumes and this would make them stand out from the crown and we believe that these brightly coloured costumes makes them quite recognisable and memorable.