Storyboard: "The Fight"

Enclosed is my storyboard which I will refer to when filming and also creating my animatic. The artwork itself is incredibly lax, however, this gives me a reference point to work with when going out and filming my video so that I can have a solid foundation to work from. It will help me decipher what shots I will use in my project and also provide some help when working out timings and transitions in the video. Depicted below are my final storyboards complete with annotations which give me a solid reference point to work from when filming.

Initial Shot List/Script

I have decided that in order to help the execution of filming be more concrete and incisive (so that I can go and film as soon as my ancillary texts are completed and I have all my other required materials such as storyboard, animatic etc.) I should produce a provisional shot list to give me a good idea of how the video will be shot and to take a more pragmatic approach to making the film.

 It is important to note that this is merely a provisional shot list and that these shots/timings are at the moment a guideline and are subject to change in the future, whilst my animatic may also differ should I choose to change the narrative structure of my product.

Below is a synopsis of the scene/shot and the duration of time it will feature for.

My shot list will be as follows:

ECU of eyes moving laterally in conjunction with slow opening guitar riff 00:10 - 00:15

Shot of title screen featuring band name and title of the song along with "directed, edited and produced by Joe Grogan" 00:15 - 00:20

ECU revert back to original ECU of girls eyes moving laterally 00:20 - 00:25

Mid Shot/Possibly Establishing Shot of house girl is in kitchen reading note containing abuse 00:25 - 00:34

Close Up to focus more clearly on the girls face to reflect her emotions and how she is feeling 00:34 - 00:39

ECU of girl's eyes moving laterally to denote she is reading the letter 00:39 - 00:45

Mid Shot of girl in lobby putting her coat on 00:45 - 00:52

Intercut to mid shot of girl crying and clutching teddybear whilst sitting on bed 00:52 - 00:54

Back to mid shot (high angle shot to connote inferiority) of girl putting her coat on (from behind to emphasise her insignificance) 00:54 - 00:58

Mid shot of girl reaching for door handle 00:58 - 01:01
                                                       Match on Action to maintain continuity                                                                                                   
Cut to ECU of girl's hand on the door handle, her opening the door and proceeding to leave the house and shut the door 01:01 - 01:08

Long Shot of girl walking away from house and then a cut to her walking past (away from camera) 01:08 - 01:19

POV Shot of girls feet that denotes she is looking at the floor (emphasising that she is emotionally hurt - melancholy) 01:19 - 01:24

Close Up Tracking Shot of girls face whilst walking through cul de sac - capturing facial expression 01:24 - 01:28

Mid/Long Shot of girl walking past camera 01:28 - 01:32

Close Up/Canted Angle - girl unearths an alleyway she has not seen before - looks past the camera 01:32 - 01:35

POV Shot of alleyway from the girls point of view - evokes empathy from the audience 01:35 - 01:39

High angle shot of girl walking past camera through the alleyway (slow motion for dramatic effect) 01:39 - 01:42

Cutaway to high angle close up of girl staring vacantly by a telephone post whilst music stops this creates a sudden change in tempo and allows the visuals to work in conjunction with the music 01:42 - 01:46

High Angle Mid Shot of girl looking curiously into what lays at the end of the alleyway (which she is already standing in) and edging closer into the alleyway past the camera 01:46 - 01:50

POV Shot of field 01:50 - 01:57

Cut to Mid Shot of girl who is mesmerised by the open field she finds herself encompassed in 01:57 - 02:01

Cutaway to girl crying clutching oversized teddybear in a mid shot and then cut back to Mid Shot of girl in the field smiling whilst removing her hood 02:01 - 02:08

Girl experiencing happy cathartic release by running in the field (whilst intercutting footage of close up of the girl sitting in her room ripping up the note angrily and bursting into tears). The shot of the girl running will be a mid shot that documents her incrementally moving further and further away from the camera until it eventually becomes a long shot with the omission of a tracking shot which connotes insignificance and neglect 02:08 - 02:15


Cut to black screen 2:08 - 02:12

Wide shot of field with time lapse effect on Premiere (adjusting speed/duration setting to speed up footage) 02:12 - 02:16

Cut to black screen 02:16 - 02:20 - these cuts to black are to connote a lapse in time in conjunction with the time lapse itself, if these fail to achieve the desired effect then I will make adjustments and may omit them altogether if they break the continuity of my production.

Long Shot of girl in very open field walking towards camera, staring vacantly but also looking melancholy, she will walk slowly towards the camera until it is more of a mid shot, intercuts of the girls hands in a mid shot/close up tearing up the note will be apparent but this must happen in time with the beat of the drum, this will create a sense of foreboding so that the visuals match the audio 02:20 - 02:30

Eventually this will culminate in the chorus where guitars are amplified and feature more distortion, which the vocalist screams "I've got to run away!!" which is why I will adhere to Goodwin's thesis and add a clip of the girl in a long/mid shot running from behind the camera (so that the visuals match the lyrics) with a slow motion effect, despite the fact this is where the song culminates a slow motion effect would actually work incredibly well to create dramatic effect.

I will then intercut this with footage of the girl throwing the ripped note around in a mid shot, probably tipping it out of a bin before tossing the bin (still using a mid shot to capture her body language) and retreating to her bed to hold the teddybear and cry - this is another binary opposition of her being happy/sad. I also intend to have cutaways of the girl on playground rides such as swings and possibly rocking horses looking pensive and upset in mid shots to establish that she is on a swing, before using close ups to capture facial expressions/emotions, creating another opposition between the rides which we usually associate with joy and innocence (children on rides are usually enjoying the best years of their life) and the girl who is clearly very depressed and carrying emotional baggage. 02:30 - 02:50

After this I intend to use footage of the note that has been sellotaped back together: with a close up of the girls face (intercut with the ECU of the eyes moving laterally) re-reading the note and then cutting back to the close up to capture her giving a brief smirk - she will then place the note on the table and run off - at this point I intend to blur the background (whilst she runs away) but keep the note on the table in focus. I will then cut to a close up of the note which can be read saying "YOUR NOT MY FRIEND I HATE YOU NA NA NA NA NA!!!!!" or something very similar - this will probably disturb the audience to see a girl so young psychologically tortured and will shock the audience. I then intend to use footage of the girl running away again whilst intercutting this with slow motion clips of her genuinely smiling and enjoying herself in either the playground or another location in which she was previously featured looking miserable. A mid shot will be used so that she does not look as insignificant and a close up will elaborate on her facial expression and capture her happy expression.

I am undecided as to whether I will feature a black screen with text saying "The End" or whether just to fade the video to black. 02:50 - 03:37

Mock Up Plan

Over the rest of the academic year I intend to complete a number of tasks in order to ensure that I have a more vivid idea of what I want to create, this will involve planning and researching pre-existing texts similar of that that I intend to emulate - some of my research has been conducted on an eclectic range of music, however, I now hope to focus on collating research and mock ups of ideas that relate more to the style of music I will be producing for (Indie Rock/Rock). The tasks will be as follows:

Ideas for digipak inspiration
Ideas for magazine advert/poster inspiration
Initial ideas and perceptions - Spider diagrams
First draft of digipak
First draft of magazine advert/poster
Analysis of 4 magazine adverts
Analysis of album covers/digipaks of a similar genre to mine (at least 4)
Initial script of video
Shot list
Shooting schedule
Codes and conventions of rock/indie rock music videos
Conventions of music videos that feature children
Produce a list of equipment/resources I will need
Rough storyboard
Actors
Locations
Props
Produce an animatic with feedback
Final designs for digipak and magazine advert/poster

Hopefully I should have all of this completed near the end of term which would allow me to commence with the filming of my video and also post-production, all of these will have been inspired/informed by my research which will allow me to gain even more of an idea into the codes and conventions of my music video and how it will pan out.

Initial Ideas and Perceptions

Due to the name of the song - "The Fight" - My initial thoughts were to create a video featuring an array of martial arts sequences to embody the metaphor of the song, however, due to practicalities I decided to take a more pragmatic approach and use some actors

Ideas

Combat montage: I thought that in order to body the metaphor of the song, I could use some martial art/combat specialists to emphasize the frustration of the singer, I would preferably use a martial arts specialist or a boxer, this would adhere to the songs message and convey the struggles of the protagonist. One of the most recent examples of a music video like this would be Maroon 5 - One More Night in which lead singer Adam Levine is shown in a number of shots training intensely in a boxing gym for a number of scenes/shots until the video culminates in a big fight. This video serves as a useful reference point on which to base some of my ideas should I choose to use this idea. This idea would have to involve a series of close - ups and extreme close ups to capture the emotions of the protagonist. In addition to this, the most intense scenes should be used as the song is in the chorus, as this is when the song is at it's loudest. If I were to apply this idea to my video, the fight scene would have to happen towards the end of the video to keep the audience in suspense. During the fight, a shot reverse shot must be used (whilst adhering to the 180 degree rule) to convey to the audience that the two parties are very much against each other, however, when the protagonist and coach are training together they must be presented through the use of a two shot to connote unity. The environment in which this video is set is of paramount importance: it would require a boxing gym to stage training sessions and give the video a sense of verisimilitude, therefore having more of an effect on the audience as the text will have more cinematic credibility.

Performance video: I would also like to explore the idea of having a performance video for the band, as my research has informed me that many bands similar to the band I am creating for have taken this approach to music videos. For example, Guns N' Roses have made two very successful performance videos with hits "Sweet Child O' Mine" and "Paradise City". One commonality among these videos is the use of monochrome effects that connote a very vintage and minimalist approach to music and reflect the artist's musical ideologies. Also, a band performing in a video for which they have quite a lot of creative freedom reinforces the minimalist approach to music, as it shows them doing what they have done for there entire career - performing their songs for the fans - with the omission of any drastic special effects. This video would require the use of some wide shots to represent the band as a cohesive whole, before using close-ups/extreme close-ups on each member of the band individually, placing special emphasis on certain members of the band depending on the juncture of the song i.e. if there is a guitar solo, emphasis will be placed on the guitarist. I have also contemplated the idea of using a number of extras to pose as fans, however, I felt this would be too difficult as it would be incredibly difficult to organise such a plethora of actors and it could also incur unnecessary costs for actors/extras who are not needed.

Development from adolescence ( narrative video): Whilst the song encapsulates many of the negatives elements of an intimate relationship, it also describes how relationships can elicit immaturity but also become mundane, hence the line "Our youth you've strangled from us has brought me to this state" - commenting on how love can constrict our personalities. Therein, I plan to construct a video that revolves around younger actors in order to get an idea across - the idea that our behaviour in relationships does not differ much regardless of our age, that we manifest similar characteristics whether in the midst of a silly playground romance or a long-term relationship. This is why I may use younger actors, is it almost simplifies the problems we face in loving relationships. This will use a series of shot-reverse-shots to emphasise the burgeoning animosity between the two, rather than presenting them in a two-shot, which would connote that they are together and there is no discord between them. As per usual, it will also have to include an array of close-ups/extreme close-ups to capture the expressions of the actors in order for the audience to empathize. I believe the binary opposition between young and old and love and hate really encapsulates the meaning of the song.

Research: Music Video/Target Audience Survey

Please take my survey on music videos, all responses will be appreciated.

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1_CJcF10gpFOLH0K_JnM14f_Gc5x3pNik3LDcSee_Szk/viewform

Digipak Analysis: 50 Cent - "The Massacre"

50 Cent's The Massacre  digipak has been designed/formulated to boost his street credibility, reputation and sex appeal. The artist is surrounded in what appears to be an ink of some sort, although it could be something else. This 'ink' further accentuates his muscular physique, creating more striations across his body to make him seem more intimidating to other men whilst also painting him as more sexually provocative and appealing to the opposite sex. The attire he is wearing (shirtless with gloves) connote he is aggressive - the gloves look similar to those that would be used for fighting in fight clubs (MMA). However, the presence of the christian cross he bears around his neck means that the image is somewhat of a binary opposition: he looks rough, masculine and ready to fight, however, the christian cross is a symbol of peace and love, which completely subverts the message he is trying to get across through his fighting attire. Although, the cross itself appears very lavish which denotes that he is wealthy, again boosting his reputation and self image. He is completely centralized and takes up a huge proportion of the frame to ensure he is the first thing the consumer sees when picking up/looking at the album; adjacent to him is his name in large gold typography, ensuring that it can be spotted easily and that it is unmistakable.Gold is considered expensive and luxurious, which relates back to the necklace and how 50 Cent is seeking to promote his self image as a positive and wealthy 'alpha male', it also menas the text contrasts nicely against the white background and is not difficult to decipher. Another intriguing aspect about the album cover is that the title (located underneath the bold typography "50 CENT") "The Massacre" is styalized in a way the relates to the word 'massacre' which is essentially a brutal and messy slaughter of a vast number of people. It is not a coincidence that the title has been written in a way that looks as though it has been 'scratched' into the album with a sharp implement, in (apart from the text's blue colouring) what could otherwise be described as blood. I think the message the artist is trying to convey is that after being one of the most acclaimed rappers in recent time, he has essentially 'massacred' all other artists - the album title is an extended metaphor for how he has surpassed the acheivements of many of his rivals. [UNFINISHED TO BE CONTINUED]

Digipak Analysis: Guns N' Roses - "Appetite For Destruction"

The digipack uses a black background, a dark colour that bears sinister connotations that is heavily related with rock music. It is a simple album cover featuring only the logo of the band, which has been used religeously since it was first used to promote the band. The fact that the band have chosen to use one image on the front of their album connotes that they are taking a minimalist approach to making music and remain focused exclusively on their craft. The logo itself (at the time of it's release) was branded as offensive, as it decorated the christian cross with skulls (some of which smoking cigarettes) which meant that the album - which was released in 1987 - had to be issued with a parental advisory sticker. The dark background in conjunction with the outrageous emblem paved the way for a number of other bands within the field of metal/hard rock (although Guns N' Roses themselves were probably influenced by punk bands who were rebellious and produced offensive album covers - for example The Sex Pistols' debut album "Never Mind the B*******"). Therein, offensive/controversial album covers have become a commonality among bands in the rock genre, bands that thrive on the notion of revolting, being rebellious and advocating an anti-establishment type attitude. Each of the skulls used embody a different member of the band: the skull situated at the bottom of the cross boasts lead guitarist Slash's trademark top hat, messy hair and a cigarette, whilst the hat worn by the skull stationed directly in the middle of the cross is typical of the band's lead singer Axl Rose - this denotes that the band are a brand, they have an identity and they are promoting their product by personalising it, making it recognisable to the fans who are able to empathize. In the same font typography, the album name is placed horizontally along the spine of the digipak to ensure it can be easily located on a CD rack. In terms of the dimensions/confines on the front of the album, the logo is centralized and takes up a massive proportion of the front panel, with no other decorations surrounding it. Essentially, this has been employed to ensure that the logo/name of the band sticks in the consumers mind and means the band are more marketable as a brand/product if they have a recognisable identity. The orange tint at the top of the logo allows the typography (the band's name) to be displayed clearly, as it contrasts perfectly against the jet black background. The logo in itself is a binary opposition: the christian cross symbolizes atonement, god's love and Jesus' victory despite death, however, due to the controversial adorning of the cross it now appears ostensible and somewhat negative, manifesting ideas that have nothing to do with christian religeon/culture - which therefore qualifies it as a binary opposition.

This digipak uses semiotics: the attire that adorns the skulls are quite clearly a trademark of Guns N' Roses' look e.g. the tophat is one of the main indices of Slash and is in fact in itself iconic, which is what makes this digipak so intriguing.

Digipak Analysis: Arctic Monkeys - "Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not"

As with other digipaks I have analysed, this album - Arctic Monkeys' debut release Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not - follows some conventions relevant to it's own genre, a hybrid of garage rock and indie pop/rock. For instance, the black and white effect on the photo is distinctly similar to the colour scheme used by indie band  The Kooks on their debut album Inside In Inside Out. The album cover is ostensibly simple, however, many techniques have been employed to create an image in the mind of potential consumers and provoke certain reactions. The first interesting point is the fact that the man on the front of the album isn't actually a member of the band, which will evoke curiosity from loyal fans who will question the relevance of the individual on the front of the album. The way in which the bands logo has been embossed on the top left hand corner of the album is also intriguing - it suggests a carefree/carelessness about the album, it looks as if it has been stamped on without being given a second thought. Not only that, but the fact that the man is smoking a cigarette (which has been made incredibly conspicuous) also connotes that the album is aimed at young people, who in the modern day media are painted as rebellious and angry youngsters that like to 'fight the system'. The fact remains, though, that the image of a man smoking appeals to a young demographic who indulge in the unhealthy infatuation of doing things they have been warned not to do. In addition to this, the man is clearly under the influence of some drug (presumably alcohol), which again young people can relate to, as this is a notion that the album thrives on: nearly every song on the album involves lyrics that encapsulate a typical night out for pretty much anyone under the age of 25, probably younger than that. This allows the consumer to empathize with the man who looks disorientated and incoherent, but this is what young people can relate to - they can see glimpses of themselves in the man's demeanor. The black and white effect on the photo denotes a sense of nostalgia and individuality, traits used by many other indie bands to give the album a retro image. The album cover appears with only one image, the bare minimum they could have placed on the front of the album - this connotes that the band are focused exclusively on making music rather than creating lavish album covers and an exorbitant image. This indie ethos appeals to the fans and adheres to their target demographic. The typography used in the logo is slightly more flamboyant than that on The Kooks' album, although this logo has been used ever since it's inauguration which connotes that the band set out to create a brand identity to make them recognisable to their fans and meaning that they can gain easy exposure through advertising etc.