23 February 2021
Media Studies
Week 3 - New Song and Idea for our Music Video + Research
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The main reason for this decision is the fact that the new song really provides us, as a group, with so many fresh and exciting opportunities and possibilities to create an interesting, immaculate and captivating music video that is to an exceptionally high standard. There are endless options we can choose from when it comes to shots, because the song lyrics are so clear and easily heard as opposed to the lyrics of "Lessons" which are quite hard to clearly hear, at times sounding a bit bland and monotonous. We plan on really playing around with some narrative editing and additionally incorporating cutaway shots to our talent lip-syncing the song as well.
Brainstorm:
Props and costumes:
Costumes:
In our production we have two main characters: Phoebe Armitage (confirmed) and Ethan Scharneck (to be confirmed).
This is effective as the two are opposite genders, and different cultures, enabling us as the creative team to play around with some contrasting stereotypes, such as boys and their emotions, compared to girls and their emotions and themes similar, for example.
As evident in the visual brainstorm, our music video contains the themes of regret, lament and a deep sense sadness throughout. Then, in the final shot, this mood lifts to a bittersweet, emotional one as Phoebe Armitage (our main actress), allows a slight smile as she places flowers on her mother’s grave and leaves the cemetery. Here, Phoebe will be wearing a white dress, paired with either a pair of white sneakers or sandals. The white dress will be ‘flowy’, hopefully blowing in the wind. This is symbolic of the past and its worries being blown away.
The colour white is symbolic of both peace and a fresh start, symbolising the fact that there is now (at the end of the video) a new found sense of peace, and a decision to move on from the past and walk in to the future with courage, and a smile. The dress is symbolic of that new freshness, that sense of peace and gentleness. Purity.
Oppositely, throughout the rest of the whole beginning of the video up until this point, Phoebe will be draped in old, baggy, black and navy blue clothing. The colour black resembles death, darkness and despair; feelings felt very strongly by the artists during their hard times. Ideally, Phoebe will wear black jeans and black converse sneakers in a fair amount of the shots, paired with a plain navy blue hoodie. In certain shots, the hood of the hoodie will be over her head, symbolising that just as her hair is hidden by the hoodie in these shots, she too had things to hide in her darkest times which are now being sung about. Even now, part of her past she’s very ashamed of.
The transition of Phoebe going from wearing black clothing to a bright and beautiful white dress at the end of the video will be what moves the viewers in the sense that she is finding healing through the grief and regret.
The male actor, Ethan Scharneck, will also wear dark clothing throughout the video. Black jeans and a red or black jumper. Ethan’s clothes will be slightly neater than Phoebe’s, and here the messiness of Phoebe’s clothing in contrast to his supports the typical stereotype of woman being emotional and easily affected by situations, as opposed to men who are believed to handle situations more ‘rationally’.
As discussed in our visual brainstorm, one of the main elements to our music video will be contrasting the joys of childhood to the stresses of adulthood. This will clearly be depicted in the sections of our music video where we cut from shots of joyous children (the lighting in these shots airy, bright and natural) to shots of these children as teens or adults, appearing distraught and worried (here, the lighting being gloomy and dark). Examples of these shots pictured below.
Ideally, their clothing will be yellow, orangey and warm pink coloured jerseys and jumpers. Yellow and orange being the colours of the sun, they resemble joy and brightness. The hues of pink, similarly, establish that fun and excitable ‘vibe’ of being a child. All three of these colours are similar to the colour of honey, a substance which resembles gentleness and abundance. The children have an abundance of carefree joy!
Props:
A Bible
One of the key lyrics of the song’s chorus talks about how the artist “used to call my mom every Sunday”, and with Sunday being the day of church, we decided as a group to get a few shots of Phoebe with her mom as a young girl, in church, as well as a few close-up shots of the Bible. A Bible is very clearly symbolic of the Word of God, and one of the song’s main themes is the regret the artist now feels for straying away from the wonderful and beneficial lessons her mom tried to teach her and the Biblical ways in which she tried to raise her. It’s as if she wishes she never stopped reading her Bible and diving into God’s Word, because that is what gave her true peace and joy before. As a group we were even thinking of comparing her childhood Bible, neat and full of life, to her Bible as an adult which seems scruffy and hardly read. This symbolises her dryness and sense of being lost.
A black or bright orange umbrella
An umbrella is typically only used on rainy days. It covers and protects the person holding it from the rain. As a group we plan on perhaps having some shots of an umbrella lying open on the floor, upside down, and other shots of Phoebe holding the umbrella as well. The upside down umbrella will symbolise the fact that something is being misused, just as the artist feels as though she has misused some of her years.
Another idea is perhaps using a bright orange umbrella. According to Google, the colour orange represents deliverance and breakthrough. This could be interesting to incorporate in some of our shots; amidst the dark sadness the artist is experiencing, breakthrough is on it's way (represented by this umbrella).
Cars
In a couple of the cutaway shots, both Ethan and Phoebe will be depicted driving their cars/sitting and looking into the distance from their cars. Their cars resemble an escape-mechanism. A way for them to ‘evacuate’. To run away. To hide from their current situation. A few point-of-view and over-the-shoulder shots of Phoebe driving the car in the pitch black darkness of the night will be used to build up a sense of fear and worry within the viewers who may begin to sympathise for the artists.
Landline phone
Day light/natural lighting will be used in the shots of the children, and more sterile cool white beams of lighting will be used in some of the shots of the adults.
I personally love the 'rim' and 'key' lighting hues for our production.
As discussed in our group's treatment, one of our main locations will be a quiet road at night. The fact that it will be nighttime will make achieving the 'rim' lighting effect relatively simple and achievable. For other day-light shots of the adult talent, using the 'key' lighting option will assist in creating that gloomy and dark feel.
CONCEPT
“What Other People Say” Music Video
(a song of the mid-temper pop genre)
TARGET AUDIENCE
Sixteen years and older
This is because those under sixteen years old may not cope with the themes within the music video (themes such as depression, lament, regret and just an overall dark atmosphere) which require a certain level of maturity and understanding.
INSTITUTIONAL/GENRE CONVENTIONS TO BE INCLUDED
Although part of the pop genre at large, our chosen song is a mid-temper pop song of a more sad ‘vibe’. This means that it is not your typical pop song which includes bright lights, happy smiles and lots of make-up and dancing. Instead, we’ve challenged some of these conventions and incorporated more serious themes of lament and regret, as well as more intense scenarios within the shots (e.g. having the actress visit her mother’s grave).
- Symbolism/iconography – the little girl’s (Phoebe when she was younger - acted by Amone Greyvenstein) clothing (costumes -> mise-en-scene) will be bright and warmly-coloured, relating to her innocence and joy. Additionally, the clothes of all the other children depicted in any of the shots throughout the sequence will be yellow, orangey and warm pink coloured jerseys and jumpers. Yellow and orange being the colours of the sun, they resemble joy and brightness. The sun resembles a new day, which correlates to the carefree zest children face each new day with. The hues of pink, similarly, establish that fun and excitable ‘vibe’ of being a child. All three of these colours are similar to the colour of honey, a substance which resembles gentleness and abundance. The children have an abundance of carefree joy!
- Oppositely, the older generations (teenagers and older) featured in the music video will be wearing darkly coloured, black and navy blue clothing which are scruffy and don’t appear to have had any effort or thought put into them - supporting the typical stereotype of teenagers not really caring about organisation and cleanliness, as well as highlighting the emotions of depression and sadness experienced and felt by many teens.
- Irony – the orange umbrella laying upside down on the road is ironic. An umbrella is typically only used on rainy days. It covers and protects the person holding it from the rain. As a group we plan on having some shots of an umbrella lying open on the floor, upside down, and other shots of Phoebe holding the umbrella as well. The upside down umbrella (signifier) will symbolise the fact that something is being misused (signified), just as the artist feels as though she has misused some of her years.
- The umbrella is bright orange in colour. According to Google, the colour orange represents deliverance and breakthrough. This could be an example of foreshadowing; amidst the dark sadness the artist is experiencing, breakthrough is on it's way (represented by this umbrella).
- Our music video contains the themes of regret, lament and a deep sense sadness throughout. Then, in the final shot, this mood lifts to a bittersweet, emotional one as Phoebe Armitage (our main actress), allows a slight smile as she places flowers on her mother’s grave and leaves the cemetery. Here, Phoebe will be wearing a white dress, paired with either a pair of white sneakers or sandals. The white dress will be ‘flowy’, hopefully blowing in the wind, symbolic of the past and its worries being blown away. The colour white signifying both peace and a fresh start and the fact that there is now (at the end of the video) a new found sense of peace, and a decision to move on from the past and walk in to the future with courage, and a smile.
- Throughout the rest of the whole beginning of the video up until this point, Phoebe will be draped in old, baggy, black and navy blue clothing. The colour black resembles death, darkness and despair; feelings felt very strongly by the artists during their hard times. Ideally, Phoebe will wear black jeans and black converse sneakers in a fair amount of the shots, paired with a plain navy blue hoodie.
- In certain shots, the hood of the hoodie will be over her head, symbolising that just as her hair is hidden by the hoodie in these shots, she too had things to hide in her darkest times which are now being sung about.
- Lighting - day light/natural lighting will be used in the shots of the children, and more sterile cool white beams of lighting will be used in some of the shots of the adults. The bright white lighting of the children is typical of pop genre songs where the shots are illuminated, bright and vibrant.
- Camera shots - close-up shots are very common in pop music videos, used to highlight emotion and really reveal the actors’ facial expressions. Throughout our entire music video, we’ll be using many of the closeup and medium closeup shots to capture specific moments. For example the children will appear joyful and carefree, while the older talent will seem deep in thought.
- Shadows – in the more darkly-lit shots, and those filmed on the road at night, the extensive use of shadows will be used to reinforce and mirror the depressing and sad feeling felt by the artists. Just as parts of the artists’ faces will be concealed, its as if for part of their lives, they had poor character and made decisions they’re ashamed of. A road symbolises life-decisions, moments of being at crossroads.
- Narrative – the narrative itself builds excitement and suspense as the viewer follows this sequence of jump cuts between locations and times.
- Editing - we have decided, as a team, to hold out a few of our shots for a longer period of time, and then contrast this to other shots within the music video which will be slightly quicker shots. Longer, more dragged out shots stimulate a more lament-like feel, and this challenges the typical convention of a pop genre song where there are countless quick-cuts, lots of shots and shot combinations and a busy feel created, a typical example of this being “Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor. Challenging that typical convention sets our music video apart from the norm.
- Flashbacks to Phoebe Armitage (who's actually representing Demi Lovato as a child, happy as can be with her mom) will be effective in portraying that regret she now feels.
- That will then link to the shots of the road. She is now at a crossroads, where she is beginning to decide to actually choose the right way. The way her mother taught her.
- Irony - Instead of shooting a very typical shot like the one below, we plan on getting a shot of the phone actually just dangling from the wall as well - a more interesting and unique way of depicting the props within the shot, perhaps even at a low-angle. By using unique camera angles and positioning, a sense of intrigue and excitement is built up within the viewers, especially considering that our target audience is teenagers from sixteen years old and older, and this age love something to be different.
- For the shots where Phoebe and Ethan are lip-syncing to the song on the stage in the church sanctuary, we've decided not to include actual microphones as props. This way the entire song feels more personalised to their emotions and feelings as opposed to being a performance.
- Additionally, we will get some shots from Phoebe's point-of-view, looking out from the stage towards the audience. These shots will correspond to the words of the song where Demi Lovato expresses how she cared too much about what other people thought. Essentially, she allowed the voices of others to drown out the guidance, advice and wise counsel of her loving mother, which she now realises and regrets. It's the deep and meaningful themes like this one which challenge the more excitable and light 'vibe' more typical of pop songs.
- It’s very typical for pop-genre songs to incorporate many props and lots of costumes. In a couple of the cutaway shots, both Ethan and Phoebe will be depicted driving their cars/sitting and looking into the distance from their cars. Their cars resemble an escape-mechanism. A way for them to ‘evacuate’ and run away from their current situation. A few point-of-view and over-the-shoulder shots of Phoebe driving the car in the pitch black darkness of the night will be used to build up a sense of fear and worry within the viewers who may begin to sympathise for the artists. Within our music video we plan on including many more props like the landline and the Bible discussed earlier as well in planning.
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TREATMENT
FOR OUR
"WHAT OTHER PEOPLE SAY"
MUSIC VIDEO
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Prepared by Grace Watson
2 March 2021
It is proposed that the music video will be of 3.5 to 4 minutes in duration, and that it will be filmed at the following locations: a church sanctuary, a dark and quite road at night, a graveyard, a flower field, kitchen and the beach.
The church is a symbol of Christianity, being a place where people gather to praise and worship God. Throughout the song, the artists make countless references to biblical elements in lyrics such as "every Sunday" (with Sunday being the day of church) and "not take chances with God's name".
We have decided to film in the church as it enables us to highlight that theme of the artists wishing to go back to the days when they followed their parents guidance, spent time with God and made good choices. Also, on a practical level, the church sanctuary has a large stage as well as ample lighting which will enable us to capture the performance shots of Phoebe Armitage and Ethan Scharneck (our lead talent) dancing and singing to the song with the lighting consisting of dark purple and dark navy blue hues. There will be a few over-the-shoulder and point-of-view shots, from Phoebe's perspective looking off the stage. This correlates to the lyrics "'Cause I care more about what other people say", and even the song title which is "What Other People Say", allowing us to highlight that theme of both artists having allowed the voices and opinions of other random people to replace the guidance of their parents.
The road is another one of our locations, symbolising being at crossroads and having to make important decisions along the journey of life, the road also representing that journey.
- Symbolism/iconography – the girl acting as Demi Lovato when she was younger will be wearing bright and warmly-coloured clothing, relating to her innocence and joy. Additionally, the clothes of all the other children depicted in any of the shots throughout the sequence will be yellow, orangey and warm pink coloured jerseys and jumpers. Yellow and orange being the colours of the sun, they resemble joy and brightness. The sun resembles a new day, which correlates to the carefree zest children face each new day with. The hues of pink, similarly, establish that fun and excitable ‘vibe’ of being a child. All three of these colours are similar to the colour of honey, a substance which resembles gentleness and abundance. The children have an abundance of carefree joy!
- Oppositely, the older generations (teenagers and older) featured in the music video will be wearing darkly coloured, black and navy blue clothing which are scruffy and don’t appear to have had any effort or thought put into them - supporting the typical stereotype of teenagers not really caring about organisation and cleanliness, as well as highlighting the emotions of depression and sadness experienced and felt by many teens.
- Irony – the orange umbrella laying upside down on the road is ironic. An umbrella is typically only used on rainy days. It covers and protects the person holding it from the rain. As a group we plan on having some shots of an umbrella lying open on the floor, upside down, and other shots of Phoebe holding the umbrella as well. The upside down umbrella (signifier) will symbolise the fact that something is being misused (signified), just as the artist feels as though she has misused some of her years.
- The umbrella is bright orange in colour. According to Google, the colour orange represents deliverance and breakthrough. This could be an example of foreshadowing; amidst the dark sadness the artist is experiencing, breakthrough is on it's way (represented by this umbrella).
- Our music video contains the themes of regret, lament and a deep sense sadness throughout. Then, in the final shot, this mood lifts to a bittersweet, emotional one as Phoebe Armitage (our main actress), allows a slight smile as she places flowers on her mother’s grave and leaves the cemetery. Here, Phoebe will be wearing a white dress, paired with either a pair of white sneakers or sandals. The white dress will be ‘flowy’, hopefully blowing in the wind, symbolic of the past and its worries being blown away. The colour white signifying both peace and a fresh start and the fact that there is now (at the end of the video) a new found sense of peace, and a decision to move on from the past and walk in to the future with courage, and a smile.
- Throughout the rest of the whole beginning of the video up until this point, Phoebe will be draped in old, baggy, black and navy blue clothing. The colour black resembles death, darkness and despair; feelings felt very strongly by the artists during their hard times. Ideally, Phoebe will wear black jeans and black converse sneakers in a fair amount of the shots, paired with a plain navy blue hoodie.
- In certain shots, the hood of the hoodie will be over her head, symbolising that just as her hair is hidden by the hoodie in these shots, she too had things to hide in her darkest times which are now being sung about.
- Lighting - day light/natural lighting will be used in the shots of the children, and more sterile cool white beams of lighting will be used in some of the shots of the adults. The bright white lighting of the children is typical of pop genre songs where the shots are illuminated, bright and vibrant.
- Camera shots - close-up shots are very common in pop music videos, used to highlight emotion and really reveal the actors’ facial expressions. Throughout our entire music video, we’ll be using many of the closeup and medium closeup shots to capture specific moments. For example the children will appear joyful and carefree, while the older talent will seem deep in thought.
- Shadows – in the more darkly-lit shots, and those filmed on the road at night, the extensive use of shadows will be used to reinforce and mirror the depressing and sad feeling felt by the artists. Just as parts of the artists’ faces will be concealed, its as if for part of their lives, they had poor character and made decisions they’re ashamed of. A road symbolises life-decisions, moments of being at crossroads.
- Narrative – the narrative itself builds excitement and suspense as the viewer follows this sequence of jump cuts between locations and times.
- Editing - we have decided, as a team, to hold out a few of our shots for a longer period of time, and then contrast this to other shots within the music video which will be slightly quicker shots. Longer, more dragged out shots stimulate a more lament-like feel, and this challenges the typical convention of a pop genre song where there are countless quick-cuts, lots of shots and shot combinations and a busy feel created, a typical example of this being “Dear Future Husband” by Meghan Trainor. Challenging that typical convention sets our music video apart from the norm.
- Flashbacks to Phoebe Armitage (who's actually representing Demi Lovato as a child, happy as can be with her mom) will be effective in portraying that regret she now feels.
- That will then link to the shots of the road. She is now at a crossroads, where she is beginning to decide to actually choose the right way. The way her mother taught her.
- Irony - Instead of shooting a very typical shot like the one below, we plan on getting a shot of the phone actually just dangling from the wall as well - a more interesting and unique way of depicting the props within the shot, perhaps even at a low-angle. By using unique camera angles and positioning, a sense of intrigue and excitement is built up within the viewers, especially considering that our target audience is teenagers from sixteen years old and older, and this age love something to be different.
- For the shots where Phoebe and Ethan are lip-syncing to the song on the stage in the church sanctuary, we've decided not to include actual microphones as props. This way the entire song feels more personalised to their emotions and feelings as opposed to being a performance.
- Additionally, we will get some shots from Phoebe's point-of-view, looking out from the stage towards the audience. These shots will correspond to the words of the song where Demi Lovato expresses how she cared too much about what other people thought. Essentially, she allowed the voices of others to drown out the guidance, advice and wise counsel of her loving mother, which she now realises and regrets. It's the deep and meaningful themes like this one which challenge the more excitable and light 'vibe' more typical of pop songs.
- It's in the teenage years that some individuals struggle with where they belong, how they should be, what they should be able to do or not to do or how to be 'cool' etc, and so for them they may really be able to resonate with this song (which is why they seem to be the target audience of the actual original song as well as our music video), and find a sense of inspiration from the fact that the artists seem to wish that they had listened to their parents' guidance, perhaps even encouraging teens nowadays to do just that. To talk to their parents and appreciate their guidance. Because actually, it's a blessing... It's for this reason that we have chosen that the teenage talent in our music video wear clothing that is relatable to many teenagers nowadays.
- It’s very typical for pop-genre songs to incorporate many props and lots of costumes. In a couple of the cutaway shots, both Ethan and Phoebe will be depicted driving their cars/sitting and looking into the distance from their cars. Their cars resemble an escape-mechanism. A way for them to ‘evacuate’ and run away from their current situation. A few point-of-view and over-the-shoulder shots of Phoebe driving the car in the pitch black darkness of the night will be used to build up a sense of fear and worry within the viewers who may begin to sympathise for the artists. Within our music video we plan on including many more props like the landline and the Bible discussed earlier as well in planning.
