Changing the narrative and song choice of our video

As discussed in previous blog posts as Ellie and myself began to film more and more for our music video we realised the difficulty we would have with certain individuals who we hoped at the time would be able to act in our video. Over the period of time we spent planning our music video, certain individuals cast due to personal circumstances were unable to continue acting in our media production. We were then faced with a difficult decision of rearranging actors and holding a recasting session. At this point in time, we aimed to keep the idea of various couples in the narrative and follow a range of story lines. However, after the recasting session we held it was made clear that the certain individuals who either could not continue filming or felt they weren't comfortable in the role, would make it almost impossible to keep the couples storyline successful. Ellie and myself therefore made the hard decision of changing the entire narrative of our video. We felt that at the stage we were in the process of filming and creating our music video that we would rather change the narrative now, no matter the extra level of work rather than come to the end of the year with a finished music video we did not think successful. What is unfortunate about this situation however, is the success of the shots we filmed of Lizzie and Sam, Ellie and myself thought we could perhaps include them in the new narrative. This is due to how both the actors and the characters they played in the video relating back to todays ever-changing society and how individuals such as Sam (being transgender) would raise awareness of this brushed aside topic that is rarely translated into everyday life and in things such as music videos. Music videos often stereotype gender and put male and female actors into very specific roles and boxes. By using Sam we aimed to show that music videos can break out of this segregator type loop. But we feel that they worked so well with the old song choice and narrative and did not fit at all with what we planned to film over the coming weeks. So regrettably, we decided to leave Lizzie and Sam's narrative out of the final cut of our video. We then looked at pairing our new narrative with our chosen song of 'Let It Happen' by Tame Impala. It was clear when we set out to do this that this song was much better suited to the old binary opposite narrative than the new narrative which sticks much more closely in relation to the psychedelic genre. We aim to continue to useful and ink moving through water in some shots and to also use abstract props that I hope will enhance the video and actors performance. Props such as coloured smoke grenades, powder paint and neon face paint. All these ideas have sprung from extensive research into the psychedelic genre and how to translate the genre to the audience when filming a music video. 

Taking this into consideration the song we have decided to use for our music video is still a song by the band Tame Impala off of their same album 'Currents' which was released in 2015. We have chosen to use this song 'Love/Paranoia'. The song fits into our planned narrative very effectively with the sound of manipulated vocals and swirling ambience. The song truly is psychedelic and Ellie and I aim to use the various build up of instruments and beat drops to our advantage and pair certain shots with these to show how we have looked at both narrative and song choice and worked with them together. This is something we found hard to achieve when working with 'Let It Happen' and our old narrative. After analysing the tempo, logistics, melody and some of the outstanding lyrics within 'Let it Happen' we then attempted to link this to some ideas we had relating the narrative of our music video. The song will work extremely well with abstract shots of various lengths and colour schemes. The song escalates in volume and speed and returns to slow quiet beats at various point throughout the song and this is something Ellie and I can work with to achieve a professional and precise final outcome. 

A rough outline of things we aim to include, that will be discussed to a greater extent in later blog posts would be: The miss-en-scene of our four chosen actors Luke, Ellie, Seb and Micky and their acting roles. The continuation of the filming of abstract elements such as ink, paint and neon black light shots. 

Re-casting

Over the period of time we spent planning our music video, certain individuals cast due to personal circumstances are unable to continue acting in our media production. Therefore, we were faced with a difficult decision of rearranging actors and holding a recasting session. There is only one couple that remains the same as when we first began casting, Lizzie and Sam. Individuals such as Ellis, Lucy and Micky have been placed into a couple (they were originally cast to act separately and individually) and individuals such as Ellie and Reg have been taken out of a couple where the other actor could not continue and placed together, awaiting a storyline. Seb has been recast after looking back at the auditions held at the beginning of production in search of a new actor, we came to the overall conclusion that Seb would best suit the role and storyline we have paired with him and Lucy.

New couple arrangements:

• Ellis and Micky,
• Lizzie and Sam,
• Lucy and Seb,
• Ellie and Reg.

Filming-Lizzie and Sam

Keeping to our production schedule we shot Lizzie and Sam's couple narrative of strong vs. weak on the 14th of October. The preparation behind this day of filming was organised and intense allowing no room for error. This was effective as upon arrival at the filming location we were able to spend the day focusing on the quality of the shots and angles we were filming, not spending unnecessary time with the equipment (we had already fully charged and prepared equipment before the filming date). We used two good quality cameras and two tripods to allow us to shoot a range of angles at the same time allowing the match on match with shots showing both characters to be as accurate and on point as possible. Overall the outcome of the filming session was positive, this is mainly down to team work and having great actors to work with (drama students) that listened to direction from Ellie and I and gave it their all. To add to this we checked the focus on all the shots that we took on the cameras before leaving an aspect of the scene and moving on to the next. When uploading the media to a iMac we were able to see the full detail of the shots and begin the editing process.

On-going behind the scene photos and videos-Lizzie and Sam

Development of filming skills and knowledge

Before our first filming date I took it upon myself to look into some interesting ways to develop my filming techniques and the range of shots we would achieve. The following are videos that I found useful and constructive:

• Camera Angles with Zach King
• Storyboarding with Zach King,
• Editing with Zach King,
• Filming techniques for students-Lisa study guides,
• Tips and tricks camera angles-Strawburry17,
• Camera angles, filming with the best camera angles-Devingraham

Institutional research

Looking into companies that would produce our music video, I firstly took into consideration music video production companies with good reviews and looked into some of the videos they have produced and which have been most successful. From this I have found three small production companies that would be realistic if we decided to produce our music video and release it to the public through a company (the three companies below are all within a realistic budget for a music video of our size).

• Litewave Media- is an outstanding music video production firm in Tampa Bay, Florida. The crew at Litewave Media has years of experience in the industry and consistently brings major movie studio quality to film productions throughout Florida. Litewave Media has a 3200-square-foot studio in Tampa and their film crew can facilitate on-location filming elsewhere. The NFL, Smithsonian, and ESPN are just a few of the company's clients. Christian Cashmir, the owner of the company, has worked with Foreigner, The Band Perry, and The Moody Blues. Litewave Media has produced music videos for Erin Crosgrove, Sara Alina and Come Back Alice.
• Partizan- is an award-winning video production company with hosting facilities in Los Angeles, New York, London, Paris, Berlin, and Sao Paulo. With a dedicated online following and a penchant for creative, engaging content, they have twice been honoured as Gunn Report’s “Best Production Company in the World.” Music videos, feature films, documentaries, commercials, animation and interactive events are just some of the content that falls within their realm of creative expertise. Their team includes top talent in the television and film industry and their roster of clients speaks volumes about their innovative and captivating production style.
• Go Big L.A- produces high-quality music videos that can help established and up-and-coming artists grow bigger fan bases. This professional music video production company in Los Angeles has made videos for rock, hip hop and country acts as well as artists who perform in other genres. A full crew is able to handle the pre- and post-production work along with storyboarding and editing. Go Big L.A. offers initial consultations free of charge so that prospective clients can learn more about the services.

Props and costumes to be used within our music video plan:

List of props to be used:

• Neon glow in the dark face paint-Ellis, Micky, Joby and Lucy.
• Powder paint-to be used on objects and thrown at people, also to be shot on its own with black background.
• Oil paint in water dish-to be filmed moving around in the water, close up shot so you aren't bale to see the glass dish only the oil paint moving in the water, this will then be edited to further add to the psychedelic element within the video.
• Glass Vase-to be used by Sam, thrown on the floor, this can later be edited backwards and sped up.
• Friendship scrapbook-to be used by Lizzie as she looks through old memories of her and Sam. In seeing this Sam instigates the argument with Lizzie.
• Makeup-to be used by Sam, a variety of shots from different angles will be used and later edited.
• Hair Brush-to be used by Sam in a similar way as the makeup shots.
• Female clothing-to be used by Sam in a similar way as the makeup shots.
• Cigarettes-to be used by Reg, a vital element to his couple narrative showing him to be an unsavoury character when compared to how Mia is represented.
• Lighter-to be used by Reg along side the cigarettes.
• Sunglasses-to be used by a few characters, referencing the indie life style they all live, a key element within most psychedelic music videos.
• Phone-to be used by Callum a key prop to be used within his couple narrative showing his binary opposite 'technology'.
• DS-also to be used by Callum a key prop to be used within his couple narrative showing his binary opposite 'technology'.
• Healing crystals-to be used by Stevie a key prop in her couple narrative, to be used in opposite to Callum's devices, healing crystals and her setting (woodland) showing her binary opposite of 'humanity'.
• Blindfold-one of the most important props within our music video will be the blindfold used by Ellie and Luke, the blindfold representing ignorance within their couple narrative, the prop will be worn by both characters before the end of the video.

Character costume:

• Ellie: Basic and simple indie look. Jeans and a flowery top, the emphasis should not be on the outfit in this couple narrative but on the blindfold prop. Her hair will be curled and down. A minimal makeup look will be used to once again ensure all emphasis is placed onto the blindfold representing ignorance.
• Luke: Also a basic and simple indie look. Jeans and a t-shirt, once again, the emphasis should not be on the outfit in this couple narrative but on the blindfold prop representing ignorance.
• Reg: Reg will be depicted in all black in correspondence with his binary opposite, evil. His hair will be shown as messy and un kept. Black jeans, t-shirt, large coat and black boots.
• Mia: In contrast Mia will be dressed in white and light colours, light blue jeans, a white top, white shoes and I light coloured jacket/coat. Her hair will be down and straight. Minimal to light makeup will be used to give the impression of innocence and youth.
• Lizzie: Psychedelic indie trousers, a simple low cut top (our take on the male gaze) as Lizzie tries to attract Sam, but it is made clear throughout the video Sam is not interested in Lizzie, brightly coloured red jacket (indie).  
• Sam: Sam's costume is vital to the couple narrative he belongs too, he will be wearing provocative female clothing. His hair straightened and down. The video will see him put on his makeup and transform himself in front of Lizzie which is what causes their argument.  
• Callum: Basic yet effective and relevant look including jeans, gaming t-shirt, geeky glasses, dark coloured jacket and trainers. This links closely to Callum's binary opposite 'technology' showing the characters geeky and tech obsessed life within his day to day clothing.
• Stevie: An overall indie inspired down to earth look. Wavy, striped and brightly coloured trousers, a brightly coloured t-shirt, a large coat and converse shoes. Her hair will be shown as half up half down and crimped. Her makeup will be finished to a high standard with outgoing features such as largely winged eyeliner and contrasting eye shadow colours to her outfit.
• Lucy, Joby, Ellis and Micky: All four actors will be dressed in all black along side a black background with no lighting, they will be wearing neon glow in the dark face paint and so this is all that will be shown in the shot. By wearing all black it ensures no brightly coloured item will get caught in the shot.