Music Video CW - Production Documentation (8/10/14)

Production Documentation 

Production / Shooting Schedule 

This is the production/shooting schedule for our film. We hope that shooting will commence ASAP and by the latest the 10th of October. If we meet the deadline that is the 14th we can begin with editing and also giving us additional shooting time if needs be. 

-Underdog Music - Fab Soares

-Producer: Gabriel Preston, Clifford Williams 

-Cinematographer: Gabriel Preston 

-Editor: Clifford Williams    

Risk Assesment Sheet

Risk assesment sheets are filled in subject to the reputation of the area, the risks of robbery, the risk to ourselves regarding dealing with equipment such as knives and phony drugs. Risk assesment sheets will be filled out and signed by each participant to limit any riskinvolved in the making and production of our music video. Here is a example of a risk assesment sheet that I made for myself and Clifford Williams my co producer and lead actor in the music video. His role will involve the use of a knife, props which imitate durgs and operating on a busy road where cars will be driving up and down. In the unlikely event that a occurance may happen we have put down the contact number of myself and also of our teacher Mr Holloway. 

Call Sheet 

Call sheets are nessacary requirements of documentation to provide particpants with basic information regarding the location and the time in which they are needed for the film to be shot in. It contains emergency contact information, the people involved and provides myself with a overview of who I need and who I don't need for the shoot and how I can contact them and how they can contact me. It also provides me with the equipment that I need. It will be given to each particpant involved in the making of the film.  

Production Role 

My role in the project is as cinematographer. This involves working with the camera and shooting the music video. The documentation as seen below is a outline of what my role involves and how will I execute it. It's particulary important as it can also be used to help me assess not only my performance but also in my evaluation I can talk about how I have progressed as cinematographer regardingresponsability, technology and camera angles in my last project in AS to how I have developed in A2 all of which is specified in the document. 

Music Video CW - StoryBoard (3/10/14)

Storyboard

Music Video CW - Shot List (3/10/14)

Fab Soares – Underdog Music

Shot List

Scene 1

(Montage edit of urban shots around Ladbroke Grove in a still frame to synchronize with 4 Beat instrumental. Shots will be in black and white)

S1: Low angle shot looking upwards of Trellick tower

S2: Long shot from low angle perspective of Trellick tower from Skate park

S3: Close up shot of Ladbroke Grove sign

S4: Long angle follow shot going down a residential road

Scene 2

(These shots will be in Clifford’s room)

S5: Medium shot of Clifford getting up out of bed

S6: Medium Shot of Clifford getting dressed and doing up his tie

S7: Over the shoulder close up shot of Clifford reaching underneath is pillow for his student card for school. In the frame there will also be a wade of cash and a bag containing white powder.

S8: Medium following shot going backwards whilst Clifford closes the door
S9: Clifford giving his Mum a wade of cash in a close up over the shoulder shot 
S10: Medium shot panning outwards of Clifford's Mum looking up at him in slow motion 

Scene 3

(Shots of Clifford walking around Ladbroke Grove area quick cut to a night scene in between shots whilst he’s walking via a tracking shot)

S11: Tracking shot to the right as Clifford walks in school uniform panning to the right with lockers in the background

S12: Quick edit and change of scenery to Clifford in a boxing attire shadow boxing from the perspective of a medium shot on the street

Scene 4

(Clifford in the gym on the heavy bag)

S13: Quick cut to a black background close up shot of Clifford looking into a camera with boxing attire on (lip sync)

S14: Cut to Clifford from a side view medium shot of him punching the heavy bag in slow motion

S15: Close up shot of Clifford working the heavy bag in slow motion

S16: Close up of Clifford on the skipping rope slow motion

S17: Medium shot from behind Clifford of him shadow boxing in the mirror

Scene 5

(White city estate)

S16: Long shot in a time-lapse format of White City blocks to show how Clifford becomes a different character in his area

S17: Extreme close up of money being counted

S18: Shot of drugs being exchanged

S19 Extreme close up of Clifford’s eyes looking leftwards showing he’s worried

S20: Close up shot of Clifford looking to the left whilst 4 hooded boys begin to run at him

S21: Close up shots of the trainers in slow motion

Scene 6

(Black background)

S22: Clifford extreme close up blowing smoke into the camera

S23: Medium shot of Clifford throwing money up into the air (lip sync)

S24: Medium Shot of Clifford with a girl with his arm around her (lip sync)

Scene 7

(White City estate)

S25: Close up of Clifford’s hands and him being handcuffed

S26: Quick cut to Clifford laying on the floor with blood around him from close up perspective

S27: Over head shot of Clifford laying in a pool of blood

Scene 8

(Boxing club/gym to Notting Hill during the evening)  

S28: Back to Clifford boxing and him hitting the heavy bag

S30: Tracking shot from medium shot perspective of him jogging

S31: Long shot of Clifford reaching over the hill with London in the horizon /background

S32: Medium shot of Clifford’s back and his arms are raised up

Scene 9

(White City estate)

S33: Close up shot from low angle perspective panning to the left with a White City block in the background

Scene 10

(Boxing gym/ring)

S34: Clifford punching the heavy bag from a close up perspective

S35: Cut to Clifford low key lighting in a boxing ring zooming inwards towards his unorthodox boxing stance

Scene 11

(Trellick Tower)

 S36: Clifford walking low angle perspective in a slow motion edit

 S37: Cut to Clifford during the evening long shot looking over at London City

Scene 12

(Boxing gym/ring)

S38: Slow motion edit of extreme close up shot of his opponent falling down to portray that he has been knocked out

S39: Medium shot to show Clifford raising his hands up in victory 

Essay 1 - Contemporary Music Video (3/10/14)

Essay - "Contemporary music video's are nearly elaborate adverts with little artistic,   social or moral integrity. Discuss with refernce to music videos and theorists you have studied." 

This essay will discuss how contempary music video can be interpreted in different ways and that the form, style and genre contribute to perception of a Artists video whether its to bolster the commercial profile or to allign and enhance the artists creative and visual processing to accompany the track for the purposes of there own moral purposes.

Like Sven E Carlson remarks music video is open is open to public perception, he highlights that a form of analysis can be "breaking up the music video into black and white and seeing everything that is perceived as opposites i.e commerce or creativity or naturlism or materilism." For me Carlsons process of analysis is effective as it can distinguish the true purposes of artists video. Now we all understand the basic formalities of a music video and you cannot avert the fact that videos are used to bolster the profile of the artist. This is usually seen in music videos for commercial artists in genres such as RnB, rock and pop. Artists like Nicki Minaj and Britney Spears create overtly sexualised and provocative videos to appeal to the different ideals of the audience. In Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video women are portrayed in revealing clothing and this is perhaps too entice a male audience to which Laura Mulvey  describes as the male gaze theory.

Perhaps Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video is conforming to male expectations of women. In a society were pop culture is becoming increasingly relevant the images of sex is advertised so prominently the guise of sex is a advatageous selling point for the artist label and managment team. For me I feel strongly that Nicki Minaj's Anaconda video lacks creativity, there is no avant garde expression or a stark visual purpose that drives what can already be called a poor track but instead it fits in with the examples of videos that are just elaborate adverts for the artists corperate brand and image. The recent twerking craze as seen in Miley Cyrus we can't stop video represents a ratchet culture where by Cyrus denounces the role of black women in the video and to the ironic 'cheers' of black culture for which the twerking dance originates from. As a white women the variety of angles via the close up shots of Miley shaking her buttocks and the frequency of upper and lower body shots where the camera oribits around her croutch and breasts is designed to advertise her reformed image as this provocative, seductive and overtly sexual women. It;s clear like in Nicki Minaj's video that both women are the dominiant ideoligies and its through the use of voyeuristic images and themes reinforces the concept that sex sells.

The same cannot be said for videos that are actually designed to drive hard hitting social themes with a sharp visual creativity and narrative. Some of the best examples for me can be seen in the genre of Rap. Often this genre is seldom seen to be associated with the sexual exploitation of women, the ideals of success and wealth by the means of illegal activity but its not the case for others. I can use artists like Nas and Mobb Deep for example, where there lyrics contain social realistic subject matter which is represented visually not just for commerical purposes but also for the morality of the artist to because they want to give the audience an insight into there struggle. In Nas's the 'world is yours' video we do not see images of a materialistic nature but visuals that reinforce the struggle of growing up in a deprived area of New York. Contrast this to a video like 50 Cent's candy shop and the ideas are very much omniprescent with women, money and cars protruding the visuals. I think that in the rap genre it's easier to distinguish whether a artist is purposeful in advertising there ideals and virtues as the 'gangsta' or the 'playa' to a artist like Nas who is trying to emphasize social and moral intergrity.

Modern mythical embodiment is a concept developed by Sven E Carlson. Perfomance videos are typical of implementing the artist for the sole purposes of promoting the there product (album, single, etc.) I think that this is a prominent feature of the pop genre. The culture of commercialism is something which the audience expect in a music video. The use of cliched imagery such as for product placement as observed in lady gaga's 'telephone' music video for instance is an example of  and highlights the fact that the video is a elaborate advert to furter reinforce and enhance there video. Anouther theorist Michael Shore maintains similarly to Laura Mulva's male gaze theory that Video's such as the provocativity of Lady Gaga's telephone is a recycled style of soft core pornography to appease to male fantasies. The same can be said for videos such as 50 Cent's 'PIMP' or DJ Khaleds 'Hold you down' video which both connote these recyled visions of wealth, power and girls. From the male perspective dominance over women is a feature that a lot of men aspire to and its something which both men Khaled and 50 Cent have used to promote there ego's to the male eye and even perhaps to certain women.

Elaborating on a point that I previously made, the growth of product placement via media platforms such as music videos is staggering and concedes with the point that some music videos are now just adverts. Advertising in music videos have become progressively prominent and the materilistic implementation of products in the videos are overshadowing the artists creative ambitions. Intertexualtiy as seen in many modern day videos like Miley Cyrus's 'we can't stop' through the 'Dr Dre beats pill' can encourage the people to buy the product as its given light by the established brand image of Miley Cyrus. Such practices that were once deemed to be selling out have now allowed corperate compatibility as now the norm for which artists can make more money from. So in some instances yes it is argueable that videos of today are just a platform for corperations to utilise the popularity of a artist for finicial purposes.

To conclude,  it's not a matter of opinion that the purpose of the artist is to promote there material. However what is questionable is the intent of that artist. The promince of company logo's nowadays is sanitising audience perception with regards to the artists moral and social values. Are they making videos for the purposes of a brand like Dr Dre splattering the product over the video or are they doing it because they want there music to sell and a good way of doing this is by creating a video. The creative process of a video has been a significant player in the music industry. We have seen artists making it or breaking it on the basis of there video like Robin Thicke's 'blurred lines.' His video gave dramatic prominence to controversy in relation to themes like rape and female exploitation and it is his video that gave air time to this. So to terminate my discussion in my opionion certain artists have different approaches to there videos and this is based on there popularity. How a artist like Miley Cyrus makes her videos can be very different to a artist like Tallia Storm a who is a relatively unknown quantity makes hers. It's a matter of your brand image that allows the audience to interpret your video with little or no social or moral intergity or a video that is.