Risk Assessment

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment helps to identify and analyse the potentially negative events that could occur prior to filming. This could involve the filming set (environment), individuals involved in filming such as the director or the cast, assets etc. By taking into consideration these possible outcomes, it helps to prevent taking bigger risks and have a plan B in case of an emergency. In other words, I can make a judgement if on the tolerability of the risk on the basis of a risk analysis. 

More professional film settings use risk assessments that are in detail to ensure and account for all possible hazards. They also require the severity and possibility of the injuries to predict the level of seriousness in the worst cases. The more shoots and hazards involved in filming in a day, the more complicated and developed these risk assessments are (example below).

Example

Since I'm working with a small crew, these risks are less likely to happen for multiple reasons. For example, the equipment used for filming does not require a lot of expertise. They are much more compact, simpler and designed for music videos rather than for bigger movie sets. Therefore, using my camera offers more mobility when walking or running while shooting the video, which results in a lack of danger. Injuries are therefore unnecessary to include, especially because even the biggest impacts are easily manageable. For example, a risk could be falling over in a shoot and potentially twisting an ankle, although this is mostly realistic if I was filming with the cast during a rainy time of the day when it's muddy, making the set primarily inappropriate for its purpose. In conclusion, I wouldn't film anything at that time in the first place and would rather delay filming dates for more appropriate occasions. I also wouldn't make my cast members perform any choreographed dance moves requiring professional experience. I would rather improvise on set or ask my cast to perform a few simple moves that I will later edit so that it matches the beat of the song. 

It is important to consider the necessary competence of completing a risk assessment so that it serves it's purpose and is not just created for no useful reason. I decided to create one for  myself and my team so that we are aware of potential hazards and avoid any risks for greater adaptability. 

My Risk Assessment

In conclusion, taking these risk factors into consideration I know I will be more prepared and tempted to take action in case they will be encountered on a setting. This therefore makes the music video production more efficient as useful decisions will be made in time rather than hesitating. 

Mise-en-scene

Mise-en-scene

      Mise-en-scene refers to the setting of the scenery, the props used in production etc. during a  film or a theatrical performance. In other words, it could be referred to as the visual theme of the story of the music video I'm making. The term considers the cinematography, stage design, story-boarding and direction used. 

      Locations and setting:

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    In order to create two story-lines for the two distinctive artists that make up the duo: Lil Gems, I decided to include a number of locations personalized to represent their qualities and emotions. For example, as I've mentioned before, my brother will be a metaphor for happiness and enlightenment. This will be achieved through the use of open spaces/locations and colorful imagery e.g. saturated shots/clips, increasing exposure, speeding up moving images and having some exceptional edit breaking my consistent structure for some parts of the music video as a stylistic choice just to reflect on the unique moment the character is experiencing. Locations will include places like the woods which will be a metaphor for openness, nature being a friend and ideally the implication of being part of a world where someone has full control over the future. I will also include a garden with the idea of someone being around its own comfort zone as gardens have association with home.

     The other side of the Gemini: Danni, will be representing depression and oppression by society, and the state of being lonely and isolated from people in general. Therefore, I decided to choose locations for Danni's character that are darker in reality. For example, a lot of the times the background for her portraits used in the music video will show a brick wall. This will be a good connotation of being barricaded (both literally and metaphorically). The simplicity shown due to the consistent and structured layout of the wall which has nothing special shown in particular suggests how society is directing the community to be the same, not allowing individuals to be who they want to be. 

      Visual story:

   
     As with most pop songs in the music industry, they are less about narrative and have more to do with attracting the audiences' attention for more viewings. In other words, a lot of the times the visual story is inbetween different timelines with in-continuous cuts from one location to another. Therefore, this could sometimes mean a non-chronological order and an unclear storyline. In order to follow traditional conventions of the media industry, I decided to also use a lot of these cuts to and from the same frames from one part of the video to the next. Although because my song and video is much faster paced than a more mainstream song, I decided to include more locations and cuts which also means that the visual story will be represented by each of these separate locations.
     
     The visual story itself is based around the surrealistically represented actions of the members of Lil Gems, taking place between day and night. The visuals will often match with what is written in the lyrics to help engage with the audience more literally. Both characters have fast-paced scenes, however, Danni's clips are black & white while Dom's are in colour to show an imbalance in emotions etc. The song in this case stands for two nonidentical social societies which is why the duo is playing an essential part in the story as they are too two separate social groups. 

      Costume and make-up:

     In order to create an identifiable brand image for the target market, it is essential to present each of these two characters in oppositional ways in order to clearly distinguish their differences. Since the origin of the duo's name comes from the idea that each member have their own individual personalities, their clothing will have to look representative to what they and for.

     In order to achieve this, my brother will have to reflect on the bright side of the Gemini, and to do this it will be rather simple than off-putting in relation to filming. This is due to the fact that I decided he should be wearing casual clothing for the production, not only because the video will be filmed on consecutive weekends outside of school (it's more convenient to wear casual clothes), but also because it simply suggests being comfortable in one's own environment. For Danni, I decided to ask her to wear darker clothing (e.g. black trouser and a grey top), with these colours easily connoting depression and thereby add a more severe degree of thoughtfulness. This helps to reference her inner character without having to say a word about it in the song's lyrics which poses further implications.

    Overall, there is no need for make-up as it would bring a more serious tone for the video which I would consider unnecessary. Instead of costumes, selecting everyday clothing more carefully is a better option and helps to keep perspectives clear and realistic for the audience as they could easily emphasize with them since they dress the same.

      Props:

     Props could be casual objects such as a microphone or an instrument which could be used to imitate the performance of the song in real life while being recorded. They could also be used to represent the artist in the corresponding image that they are choosing to be portrayed in. Props can be categorized into different genres since specific objects have associations with themes which could be present in a song. For example, rock songs often express themes of isolation and rejection in life, which could be well played out by using a hat or a jacket which would be a metaphor for trying to hide from the public.

      Although "Day 'n' Nite" is a pop song and sounds very positive, I introduced a second story line with Danni's character which will express a negative surrounding. She will not be using any props for her sequences, but instead the clothing will play a more significant role for those moments. Technically, costumes are considered to be props, although everyday style that I decided to include (only that they are worn at specific times) do not qualify as props.

      The props I considered to include in the video are: my bike, basketball, speaker,  the car, a phone and a chair. The car and the phone could ideally be used to portray a wealthy image of the artist, showing that Lil Gems does make a profit, although the way in which they have been applied is less likely to show the signification of wealth, but rather secrecy, as the car has only been used to create a fast-paced footage, rather than to show off that it's owned by the duo. This also helps to accurately denote what Lil Gems stands for, which is a troubled personality, instead of a message of an over-used prop-portrayal regarding to richness.

      https://www.slideshare.net/Trampezium/conventions-of-a-pop-music-video-26096998

 
      Lighting and colour palette:

      Since I have gained experience with editing during my photography course, I decided to rely on post-production in order to improve lighting and the natural environment of the video clips. Therefore, my primary, and only source of lighting applied to each scene was coming from the sky. Later on I edited/adjusted the lighting levels so that each shot that I plan to film with my brother would look bright enough to support the story's motive of happiness, in case the footage was too dark in the first place due to the cloudy sky.

     I also used my experience with editing to apply the colour palette appropriately so that it brings out the darker tones for Danni's scenes, and the brighter tones with increased exposure for Dom's shots. Since most of the clips that I've filmed with Danni are in black or will be for those left to film, the rules of colouring apply differently as the colours are seen differently by the program which makes it more unpredictable to edit using any guidelines. Instead, I decided to experiment and therefore, rely on my instincts.

     According to the conventions of pop music videos, a lot of bright colours should be used to create  a positive image in the audiences' mind, while darker colours should be enlightened. fashion accessories are also often used to imply richness and wealth.

      Performance: 

One of the key USPs of all music videos (of all genres) is lip sinking. It gives a much more realistic vibe to the video as if the artists were performing directly to individual audiences. It also makes the video more visual, besides the dancing and camera movements. Although these features help a lot selling the brand of the artists' identity, I decided to exclude it from my music video. In my opinion, "Day 'n' Nite" is too fast-paced in order to allow lip sinking to as a fluent material and therefore, to fit the uncommon style I applied to the song. Instead, the camera movements will do the talking and refer the visual story often by showing exactly what is implied or directly said with the lyrics.

   Similarly to dancing, the pace of the beat drop makes it hard for me to time lengthy and well-choreographed movements in one go. During the filming of each scene, a lot of these movements that I ended up telling the artists to perform were improvised as part of the plan. Altogether, it happened to work out just fine to all the clips that I've filmed so far. For each part of a consecutive beat drop where the beat slows down and speeds up multiple times, simple dance moves will be used while applying the reverse effect and adjusted speed so that cuts can be made at exact times. For these beat drops beside dancing, I also included some objecting such as my bike's wheel rolling forward and then backwards with 300% speed. These sudden, irregular and unusual movements of these objects will make the predictability of the video much more surprising to engage the audience.

    In conclusion, these features applied may not exactly follow traditional conventions of pop music videos, but I find them easy to familiarize for the intended audiences due to the matching of the rhythm and stylistic visuals.

Storyboard

What is a Storyboard?

A storyboard is a graphic representation of different sequences of a video, which in this case is my own music video, although it could be many other things e.g. a YouTube tutorial etc. Different scenes or shots are drawn into squares with commentary below that explain how each and every separate scene will unfold in the video. The notes section could also include a script for detailed storyboards and if it's necessary. 

Why is a Storyboard helpful?

There are a number of benefits to why storyboards are useful for planning ahead. First of all, it is common to be one of the best ways to share one's vision of a project and correctly illustrate what will be done for a specific project. Some people are unable to visualize ideas just by being told what is supposed to happen. Therefore, storyboard makes it easier to inform others better. However, because I'm doing this storyboard in order to make sure that I have my own ideas sketched and that I can remember the ideas I want to include in my music video, I won't have to share the storyboard with anyone, no matter how useful it is to visualize ideas. 

In my opinion, the best reason for making a storyboard and what makes it so useful in my case is the fact that it helps to save a lot of time for production. For example, as I know what shots will be required in the music video, I could match the storyboard with a planned timeline for which I have to finish shooting certain scenes and arrange compositions for recording. Therefore, when it comes to shooting footage, I won't have to worry about wasting time due to unplanned scenes that would require improvisation which in general is much less convenient. 

My Storyboard

Although I finished sketching and structuring my scenes below, these ideas could change throughout the filming process, and the content of the pictures below may change as I develop innovating more ideas. Below I've attached a copy of my hand-drawn sketches and basic explanation to what they represent in terms of the story.

Most of these drawings are not considered to hit the minimum standards of looking professional to my extent, although I was focusing more on writing down my ideas below very specifically that would remind me of what I want to accomplish. However, I also wanted to make sure that the actions and the explanations that come with them are brief so they won't confuse me in long term. 

I also used some terms that would generally be considered incorrect or misused. This is due to the fact that it helps me oversee things more clearly and use language that helps me understand things more rather than search for terms and mix ideas that would lack content in relation to the story of the song. For example, for scene 9 when I've mentioned the 'reverse loop effect' term that I've made up, it reminds of the fact that every time the bass drops repetitively, I will make cuts of my footage that I recorded of my bike. On the other hand, this may not be what I would remember if I used a term that is considered to be exceptional on a larger scale.

Although I forgot to include this in my storyboard, scene 14 is where the location and time change takes place, from day time to night time. I think this will be come one of those parts of that video that are likely to be changed as they don't sound as special or remarkable, and therefore it wouldn't represent well the meaning of the song that is necessary in my opinion to include in order to suggest a more creative and resourceful meaning. Furthermore, the specific reason why the change from scene 13 into scene 14 is an inconstant factor to me is mainly because I haven't mentioned any specific transition effects that would appeal to my eye.

Now that I'm finished drawing my storyboards, my plan for shooting the music video will be much easier. For example, I know that I will construct the music video across 21 different scenes, plus the intro. Furthermore, every time that I will go outside in the open, there will be a minor objective to follow simple instructions on my organised drawings and have notes that will further help me out. 

Casting

Casting

Now that I created my artists' name and logo, I will start working on casting for who is going to be in my video. In order to make sure that I will successfully carry out who should be in the video, I will take a note of all the applicants and have a discussion about which ones I think are appropriate and necessary, as well as which ones are not as useful etc. 

I thought about creating a poster that will advertise the chance for being in the music video, and ask potential applicants to let me know in person if they wish to help me out. I will only advertise the poster for people who know me in person as I want to keep the narrative in the song to be about the same narrative or narratives which would mean the same age group. Therefore, this makes it easier for me to narrow the most suitable people that I want to be in the music video.

Another feature that I think I should focus on relates to the auditions and the context of the song's story. For example, the story is about two separate societies although I want to maintain the same narrative, therefore I know I can't film the same person twice in different perspectives as that would mix up the story line although I do know that I should look for auditions that are quite similar to convey the idea that equal potentials could turn out to be extremely different in real life based on their social background. 

Poster

This is the poster that I've designed for my potential applicants for the music video. For the first draft, it had a portraiture-based structure, although I've changed it to landscape because it enabled me to place my pictures more appropriately around the page. The only piece of information I decided not to highlight in bold is the date, in order to draw more attention to the key detail. 

I chose the colour red for effect, which was also the reason for including multiple pictures making the whole idea and promotion more visual so it's more likely to catch a potential participant's attention. Finally, the information for the location and time of arranging the music video cast was written line by line, in order of relevance. For example, the date first, then the location and eventually the time, being more specific as the reader goes on investigating the promotional feature. 

New Poster

After multiple thoughts on reconsidering the structure of the poster, I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't look good enough for what I'm trying to make it represent. In other words, it looks too commercial in my opinion, whereas the new one above has much more stylistic choices that I've made. For example, it has a better structure that suits the colouring of the whole of the poster, and all details are clearly and consistently written down with enough opacity within the text boxes so that the text alone stands out vibrant enough. It's mostly the white & black colours that make the writing readable. The pictures constituted throughout are also film-related and cinematic looking chosen carefully. I decided to go with much less colouring since, in my opinion, it has a more staggering after-effect to the audience that helps to remember the details within the article. 

Overall, this poster is more developed so it suits better for my objective which is the reason that I decided to go with it. 

Audition Application

After I created the poster, I went on to making an audition application where I included certain questions that narrow down the area of what applicants I want. I included specific questions that instantly make it obvious for me (makes it easier to spot) whether the applicant who filled the application should either be applied or rejected. For example, if someone is above the age of 20, it will not be appropriate because the video focuses on the younger age group etc. Below I attached the application form.

Audition Process

Before the audition application process, I was already planning to be in the video as I thought it would be one of the simplest ways to shoot footage at any time for the music video, as I can both plan and film by myself or maybe with a little extra help from someone that would be willing to help e.g. my brother. This makes it more convenient for me to film as I can improvise different dates and times at which I can film and therefore, I wouldn't have to communicate as much with others and worry about external volunteers arranging inconvenient dates that would result in a lot of backlogs for me as I would have to use the times that I have, and not the times that I need.

Along with this, for me being in my music video could potentially enable me to finish filming recordings and get started with edits at an earlier time. This is due to the fact that there's more free time for me on my own to plan ideas and make them happen on camera than as if I had to work along with other people as decision making would probably tend to be slower as a result of multiple opinions influencing each other. In conclusion, this would leave a lot of time for editing and searching after different methods of combining compositions etc.

Moving on, during the audition application process there was one volunteer who wishes to help me out with my music video and also perform different dance moves during filming. This is the main reason I thought this applicant would be good for the music video. Especially, since I generally wanted to make the song more interesting by including dynamic and hard-to-perform dance moves that could be edited (speed up or slowed down) to fit the beat drop's rhythm. That brings out the visual side of the meaning of the song in a more entertaining way. Other reasons I think this applicant called Tom Marchant is applicable for the role is because he matches all the personalities that I was primarily aiming for when deciding what factors would best convey the meaning of the song's story. For example, he's roughly the same age as me and would make it more reasonable to have two similar looking people in the video to represent different sides of a Gemini, etc.

I also decided to have my brother in the video due to the fact that filming would be more convenient as a conclusion to more flexible hours. He will probably be the main actor in the video, representing both sides of the Gemini, with a few minor characters such as Tom, and maybe me performing a few minor actions to make the overall outcome better looking/suitable for its purpose.

Finally, I decided not to ask for other applicants as I think it's easier to work with a smaller crew as there is more flexibility, and communication is much simpler as messages don't have to get distorted between each other when working as a team.

Artist and Logo

Artist Name and Logo

Artist Name

I decided to call my band 'Lil Gems'. The ''gems'' in the name stand for Geminis since my band is made up of a duo. The meaning of a Gemini is a person usually with two distinct personalities that are completely different. In most cases, people are never sure which personality they are to expect and therefore, it could be an interesting experience for people who haven't witnessed this before. Each member of the duo represents one side of the Gemini concept and what the word and the meaning behind it represents. 

The first name 'Lil' is a reference to being little, which is what modern day mumble rappers use to represent themselves visually and for artistic purposes. However, even though my artists are not related to this musical culture either music genre look-alike wise (meaning that they aren't actually so little), they decided to go with it for effect. 

In relation to the song alone, the reason it's called ''Day 'n' Nite'' is because it's supposed to reflect on the Duos name and how they feel in general. Also, the video may not exactly show how they feel, but more like metaphorically represent the personality that comes with each side of a person who is considered to be a Gemini. According to general beliefs, one of the two personalities is usually ''sociable, communicative, and ready for fun'' whereas the other side is more ''serious, thoughtful, and restless''. Therefore, they are both distinctive and individuals in their own way. 

Even though neither of the members is actually a Gemini, they chose this name because either of them matches with the personality of one of the two identities of a Gemini. One of them is more uplifting whereas the other one generally feels negative etc. However, both personalities have similar interests. For example, being ''fascinated with the world'', also being ''extremely curious, with a constant feeling that there is not enough time to experience everything they want to see''. In relation to this, both members have this interest and they feel like this word describes the most of what they are. 

Artist Logo

This is the logo I decided to go choose of all the other ones that are below. I think this is more consistent and appropriate in relation to letting the artists' audience know about this duo. For example, the reason I think this logo clearly dictates the promotes the duo is because their name is clearly seen in the logo, which makes it easier for the audience to be aware of them. Every time this logo would appear, it is more likely to the extent of my knowledge that it's more likely to remind the audience of the artists, than as if a symbol would've been used for their logo, which requires more thinking to identify its origin. 

I chose these colours because, in my opinion, they are quite relaxing. It also represents some aspect of being a Gemini due to the change in dark colour to light. This would reference the evil and the kind personality of someone with two distinct personalities, but also the openness as well as the alienation of someone to society. I only added the word 'productions' in the logo to create effect and make the duo appear more professional to the intended viewers, as it not only references a group of performers but the fact that it could be a conglomerate business with a lot of money invested in it making people think it's a good band to listen to. 

Development of my Logo

Below, I have included my previous;y developed logos that I think are too under-developed and unprofessional for such a band as Lil Gems. This is both for structure and choice of colour.

This is my first designed logo. Primarily, I thought these colours are quite realizing and that they fit with the fonts used for the text. Later on, I thought they are just generally good for effect especially because of the fade from dark to light. However, when I asked a few people around about how easy it is to interpret the name or figure out what the audience makes out of this logo, they were misinterpreting the name because of the design etc. Therefore, I decided to change it.

At this point, I was convinced that this logo would be clear to read the name, which makes it easier to remember the logo and therefore, be more remarkable. However, I soon came to see that the lack of colour options and design makes it less appropriate for the purpose. In other words, even though it is easy to remember, the level of simplicity would mean not as many people from the audiences would pay attention to it. This makes it useless.

Then, my logo took another step back with a bit more precision than at the beginning. I used the structure of having levels in the names, but putting the first part in one line, and the second one in another. This makes it clear which artist's logo it is, while making it stylistic.

In order to make it more interesting, I added 'productions' to it just to make it sound professional. When I got to this stage, I thought this would make the best of all due to the symmetry from all sides,  but then I decided to talk to have a chat about it with my teacher, and then I realised it's unnecessary from certain perspectives. In conclusion, I decided to go with this anyway because it wouldn't do any harm overall. In the worst case, it wouldn't catch an eye but that wouldn't be because of the that part alone, but because the whole logo itself is not interesting.

After my conclusions, I made this final version. However, it's more complicated and not as good as the earlier one since I find it much less recognizable. Therefore, I rejected it and decided to go with my previous version as the final edit.

Finally, during the development of my website, I have created a moving logo with animation which not only changes colour, but I have also applied a turbulence displacement effect which manipulates its shape and adds a strange effect to it. Shortly after, I have discovered that the starting point of the motion would be a good design for the logo, and the website alone could re-use the effect which the logo possesses, so it coverts the original brand design into a commercial success due to applying the logo as part of the website's convincing design.

Record Labels and Sony Music

Record Labels and Sony Music

What is a Record Label?

''A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos.''

In other words, record labels are usually a company that promotes and distribute music to consumers so that they make money. This could include music videos  especially because they help to gain customer awareness of an artist. A record label has multiple objectives and roles in the movie industry. However, the overall objective is usually to make money using artists and their popularity. 

Other roles include ''managing such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing, promotion, and enforcement of copyright for sound recordings and music videos; also conducting talent scouting and development of new artists''. Recruiting and developing anew artist is also called A&R. 

Record labels become well-known to artists and the public as they are printed on music products such as CDs, vinyl and merchandise, etc. 

Types of Record Labels

Major Labels

Major Labels include:

• Warner Music Group
• EMI
• Sony Music Entertainment
• BMG
• Universal Music Group
• and PolyGram.

These types of record labels have the potential to offer deals to the world's most successful musicians. This label owns distribution networks where the artist's music that is signed to the label is released and distributed to the consumers. The label and the artist have to sing several contracts considering licensing and distribution agreements. This will make sure that the label will get a cut of the artist's earning while the artist and his/her music is being promoted by the label.

Major UK Record labels:

Independent Labels

Independent Labels include:

• DFA records
• Fierce Panda Records
• 4AD, Matador Records
• Electric Honey
• and Factory Records

Independent labels also known as 'indie' labels can find it really hard to offer a good deal to an artist, but their objective is usually to let unknown artists become known to the community and let them expand their musical talent in the future. They do this for cheap deals that bring little profit into the business.

Indie labels have smaller distribution networks so there are less efficient ways of getting the name or song of an artist across to the listener. They aim to focus on their target more specifically. This could be a niche audience instead of a mass audience where an artist is likely to appeal to most of the majority. However, the reason why these labels are well-known and have a good reputation is that they are always up to date with what people prefer to listen to as well as they give distinctive artists a chance to become well-known for their talent. Sometimes, these labels pick artists who later become sensational musicians.

Independent UK Record Labels:

Record Label Controls

This is basically about the terms and conditions contracts that the label and the artist sign so that they will know who has more control and over what. Since signing to a label could be a good move for an artist, the label writes the contracts in its favor. For a new artist who just signed a label, he/she has a low level of control over the music being produced. For example, the label decides the type of music being recorded ''which can include everything from the way the music sounds to the song lyrics''. Also, the album cover could be changed. 

Most of the times, a contract between an artist and a label is beneficial for both of them as they are making money out of the deal, there could be contentions times where the artist disagrees with the contract as he/she could be making a lot more money out of it. The more successful an artist becomes, the more relevant it will be for the label to keep him/her so that the label could increase revenue in the future. This also means that an artist will have the ability to renegotiate over the contract since the label wants to stick to the artist. Letting the artist have more control is the best way to make it happen. 

Labels Today

In the 20th century, record labels used to be the driving force behind an artist's reputation. If a label decided to promote an artist then he/she could become much more profitable whereas if a label decided to stop promoting an artist, his/her career was more likely to end shortly afterward.

On the other hand, in the modern days, a lot of artists distribute their own music through the internet, and music streaming platforms such as Sound Cloud and Apple Music. Labels no offer 360 deals which means that the artists get a cut from their album sales, media appearances, and product endorsements.

https://www.thebalancecareers.com/what-is-a-record-label-2460614

What is Sony Music?

Columbia is the oldest record label in the recording industry formed in 1887. From this point, Sony music evolved and became the best in the business to create a world-class record label and industry leader. Other labels such as Columbia, RCA, Syco, Commercial Group, Red Essential, Relentless, Black Butter, Ministry of Sound and insanity all make up the Sony music family. Sony has signed several local and international superstars both in the past and the present. The oldest ones Include Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash etc.

On the official website of Sony, viewers could look up the artists who have recently signed to the labels of the record, and the music news such as which one of those artists have released new songs, albums or music videos. Unreleased albums could also be pre-ordered for each upcoming album which is a good example of how Sony Music is trying to expand through increasing revenue and the probability of making a potential customer buy a product.

https://www.sonymusic.co.uk/about

Sony Music Record Labels:

 

 

 

Pitching Music Video Idea

My Music Video

What the song is

The song I chose to do for my music video is called 'Day 'n' Nite'. To be more specific, I chose the Crookers remix version although the song has many other remixes. This song has a disco-like type-beat with several repetitive beats drops similar to the original version from the artist's album 'Man on the Moon'. 

The story behind the the music video/song is that Lil Gems is part of two separate societies one of which lives at daytime and the other that's alive at night time. The context behind these two environments is that the character is constantly under the presence of working hard and not being able to rest for a minute as he's personal space is greatly invaded. More specifically, instead of expanding more about what it's like to work through day and night time, I was thinking that I should build more on just simply staying awake all the time reflecting more on the modern generation. This idea often has connotations of improper use of products consumed by customers underage. In other words, energy drinks or excessive amounts of sugar. Similarly to ''Party Rock Anthem'', its all about loosing control over consciousnesses and a metaphorically sober mind of seeing the difference between what is normal and unnatural. 

In relation to this, younger teenagers are often considered to be lonely so I will link that with the lyrics and the idea of isolation. These themes are usually summarized as a whole because they have a compact effect. This is mostly going to be represented by a limited amount of characters on screen. 

Narrative

Continuing the annotations from ''what the song is'' and going into detail about the narrative, I will surely include constant movements and special effects/colors to entertain the audience in a satisfying way although the overall message is supposed to be about the irritation of non-stop living.

The image above shows I how broke down the lyrics into the types of transitions I'm thinking about using for specific references and words. Also, some of my ideas are not written down on the page for the same lines, as I would most likely apply the same transition effect to retain the overall impact on the audience.

Starting with the first verse, the first line contains quite a lot of verbs implying constant movement. I thought I would take a midshot of the artist in the music video while rotating the camera. This would be quite fast in order to match the pace of the song. Also, the line ends with the repetition of the word 'mind' so, therefore, I would repeat the footage. For the first half of the second line, I was thinking about including a landscape to imply the openness of the artist and in contrast,  when it says ''but see I don't attain'', I could cover the camera to suggest that the potential for 'peace' is not present. The word 'play' keeps repeating at the end of the third line which is where I would apply the same effect as I panned earlier. When it comes to the idea of magnets, I was thinking about zooming in and out of the picture with the lens where it deliberately focuses on the main character in the frame. I could also call this the reverse effect. At the sixth line, the camera is moving at the same pace as the person on the footage, but eventually, the camera overruns the person suggesting that he/she is being too slow. This should take up enough time on the screen so that the first verse finishes with this scene.

In relation to the chorus, every time the lyrics mention 'night', the video will include footage of the moon and other places at nighttime to have the same context in visuals as it has in words. Before the first repetition of the chorus, it will be daytime and it will continually change back at the second verse to show the dividend sides of the song and its multiple atmospheres.

For the second verse, at the first line, when it mentions the 'phone', I will rotate the camera around my hand while holding a phone and then quickly reversing it afterward. Then, as a result of the multiple repetitions of 'lonely', the main character is going to be alone in the dark near a source of heavy lighting such as street lights to compose a shade. This not only builds an image of what is being said but also fits the idea of dreams as people usually dream at nighttime when they are sleeping. For that part, I was thinking about including something abstract looking making the subject of the scene unreal. Moving on, pain is often expressed by the color of red due to the imagery of violence and brutality, so I will use a red background to zoom into a pit somewhere in the woods where everything looks lonely and helpless. This color effect will be applied until the end of the repetition of the word 'peep' where the color flashes the screen twice and after the second time, it disappears. The 8th line is going to zoom in onto the eyes of the character suggesting inner emotions and pain as a result of being rejected. At the end of the verse, the camera is going to keep zooming in and out of the iris of the eye with the scene ending with a blink implying the end of everything.

For the second repetition of the chorus, I will apply the same method I used for the first one, however, because I don't want to make the video look repetitive and therefore boring, I will apply different angles, compositions, and color effects. I could possible include clips of hills, streets, forests etc. Anything that has implications of darkness and iconic references to being lot as the artist in the song often mentions himself as being 'lonely'. 

The third verse and the third repetition of the chorus have been cut from the song to make it shorter, therefore, I will apply some of the methods I was going to use for the third verse to be on the second verse. This makes it more proactive in the video. In other words, there will be more effects applied to make it look better etc.

Why it is suitable?

Since my object is to construct a good pop song music video, my decisions for the narrative section are suitable because my target audience is likely to be the younger generation and the younger adults. Luckily, this pop song has a lot of disco-like features that I could use to make the video much better looking that it would look otherwise for just a pop song as I believe that the more color effects and transitions are applied within a reason, the better the overall outcome is going to be. 

I will include several transition effects each varying from one another but also relatable to the lyrics when the effect is being applied. Therefore, it matches the message of the song and delivers the meaning with a reasonable example making it more suitable for the audience. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, this remix version of the song has a disco-like effect which fits very well with additional color effects and flashing lights. However, unlike most typical and iconic disco songs, this remix actually has a fast pace, therefore, I was thinking about making the cuts between each composition and angle change a lot faster than how it would change for a slower song. Whenever the beat drop comes on in the song, I will make the cuts change at the exact same pace as the beat itself while performing an action in a smooth motion. This will therefore be suitable for my audience because it is most likely what they would expect to see.