Locations

In terms of locations, they must adhere to the themes/codes and conventions I am employing in my video, so I have chosen to use a plethora of locations scattered around where I live, in Iver/Iver Heath. These areas comprise of very open landscapes that will only reinforce the insignificance of the protagonist in my narrative, which is a theme in the song which I intend to emphasise as much as possible. I am also going to film in a series of cul de sacs to obtain footage. This is essentially an extended metaphor for what the protagonist is enduring throughout the narrative. By using residential areas and fields open to the public I am being sure to avoid incurring extra costs, for example, London Underground have the right to charge £300 for a two hour permit, which would have adverse effects on other areas of my music video i.e. the mise en scene and props etc. Therein, I have taken a more frugal approach to my film making, not only because it will save me money but because the locations I am using seem more suitable for the content of my narrative.

This is a shot of the front of the house that will be used to film the opening/end scenes and also used for the establishing shots, it also sets the scene and gives a brief insight into the life of the young girl - it is set in a cul de sac in a suburban area in a house that connotes that she is a fairly ordinary middle class young girl. This goes someway to describe the socioeconomic background of the girl and gives the audience a concise insight into her everyday life. I will adapt this by adding a series of effects such as low key lighting to place an emphasis on the melancholy theme of the video through the use of some editing software (Adobe Photoshop).

This shot emphasises the fact that the next shot is likely to take place inside the house which causes the viewer to invest interest. It also gives the reader an insight into the socioeconomic background/class - indicating that she is a young middle class girl who lives in a suburban area. This also sets the scene for the beginning of the video preventing confusion - it also effectively discloses roughly what time of day it is (morning/afternoon) and that it is not late in the evening. However, despite the fact it is not late in the evening I will be using after effects to tweak the lighting making it more low-key, giving the video a slightly more sinister effect.

This location/shot emphasises the distance of the walk and gives a very good perspective, this effect will only make the subject/actor appear more diminutive and more isolated, which is an effect that I am aiming to achieve as in my video one of the main themes is isolation and melancholy. By using low-key lighting and more open areas (in less industrial locations) the locations will seem somewhat more bleak and bare which, again, is an effect I am striving to achieve as I believe it is relative to the ideologies in the song. This shot in conjunction with a high angle shot will reinforce

Likewise, the use of a cul de sac to play on the notion of perspective will help emphasise the lonely connotations in the video and create the illusion of making the subject more diminutive than they actually are, constructing meaning through the use of lonely, frail and weak/insignificant connotations. The fact that the girl walks through these seemingly obscure and secluded locations reinforces the idea that she is dealing with rejection from a lover or a friend, and feels she has been ostracised as a result.

These locations are going to be made more gloomy by utilising specific tools on Premiere during the post production process, most notably a black and white effect and using the colour correct tools. The field itself also looks quite sinister and due to the magnitude of the environment, it will help me achieve the effect I want of making the girl appear smaller and more isolated, lonely.

I certainly intend to include various close ups and ECUs in order to capture the expression of the girl in order to convey the girls emotions more clearly, allowing the audience to empathize with her - ambiguity is a feature of my video, but this principle cannot be stretched too far or else it will lead to confusion and I will not be able to build meaning through my camera work.

This alleyway plays a key part in my narrative: it serves as a means of escapism for the girl (and hopefully for the audience when taking into account the uses and gratifications theory) and shows her stumbling upon a large open field in which she feels she can run which serves as a means of catharsis and hedonism she hasn't had. This, again, will represent the importance of binary opposites in my video showing the contrast in the girl's mood. The heavy foliage in the alleyway is another reason I chose it to shoot this particular scene - there is certainly something very mysterious about the alleyway and it comes across as obscure, it will also look far more intriguing when adding contrast on Premiere Pro and also colour correcting it - this will show it in a more low-key manner which is another feature I am aiming to emphasize in the video. By filming in more accessible, realistic locations it renders the video with a sense of verisimilitude/realism which is exactly what I want - similar to the music video "Robbers" by The 1975 directed by Tim Mattia - it is this rawness, this strong and completely undisguised method of production that interests me and so I will be referring to such videos as an archetype, almost as a basis to my music video. This could be seen as a sort of intertextuality,: the meaning of my text is being shaped by elements of another, a notion introduced and advocated by Julia Kristeva.

This bleak field will work fantastically well in conjunction with after effects such as higher levels of contrast and possibly low key lighting. The field signifies negative connotations and embodies some of the metaphors in the song such as pain, misery and dulness/lack of youth - this field severely lacks vegetation and is exposed to the elements.