2. SYNOPSIS
The music video follows four friends, 2 girls and 2 boys as they spend the day together. It opens
up with them individually getting ready for their day. Their bizarre clothing is established here as
you can see elements of bright and unique pieces. The day begins by the group walking to go
skating. We chose skating as an activity as it establishes the rebellious attitude we were trying to
create. In addition, our aim was to make the video look as amusing and entertaining as possible.
Later in the video, the four friends decide to get food. This scene will actually be filmed in a
restaurant or a café in order to add variety. Here, we aim to show a direct link between the lyrics
and visuals as the beginning of this scene will start with the lines ‘Got another mouth to feed’.
Following this, the day of the friends progresses as they end up going bowling, and staying there
to play on the arcade games. Our video will end with a shot of the four friends sat down, to show
a clean, calm finish to the day. Also, we aim to include a scene in which the four friends dance, as
we excluded the common indie rock music video concept of featuring instruments and/or live
music. Dancing corresponds better with the narrative of our video as it can evidently be viewed
as ‘fun’.
The main plot of the video almost follows a loose narrative, one that follows the characters. The
scenes are organised chronologically and therefore logically allowing the audience to be able to
relate. Our ideas for the activities that are occurring in the music video were premeditated
intending to be relatable to the audience. Hence the bowling, skating and arcade that could be
achieved by most teenagers.
3. CHARACTERS
Since our idea involves friends, we thought it would be ideal to include the members of our
group in the video. That way we can control everything that goes on in the actual video as we
will be the most aware of what content we want and how to present it. Additionally, there are
four of us which is the number of main characters that our chosen artist, Portugal. The Man,
usually include in their music videos (below I attached screenshots from their music video to
’Atomic Man’). The characters they usually include in the videos are stereotypical and vary in
style (for example, the man with glasses and a t-shirt is resembling a geek, the long hair and
dominant stare of the man in a white t-shirt shows masculinity and a dangerous or rebelious
mood). We followed this approach, showing variety as we have two males, differing in
appearance (one blonde, one brunette) and the same with the females.
Including two boys and two girls makes the group gender balanced which is a positive aspect.
While conducting the audience research, the ratio of girls to boys that participated was almost
equal (with girls slightly dominating) meaning that our video is probable to appeal and target
both males and females. To add variety, we will include two of each. This can be viewed in two
perspectives. One being that the males will attract the female gaze and the females attract the
male gaze. And the other that the girls will act as role models for other females and vice versa.
This provides the best solution for us as it covers a wide range of people and their preferences.
As we are young adults, the video is likely to appeal to both teeangers and adults as we can be
seen to represnt the hopeful future of teeangers/children and the reminiscing past of the older
adults.
4. LOCATION
Our locations varied depending on the scenes we were filming. The purpose of this was
to add variety. The locations were all located in York and ones that can be accessed by
the general public and of any age group. We avoided the use of set, as we wanted to
make the video as relatable and natural as possible so that the activities performed in
the video were not alien to our target audience.
Picture 4 is a google map street view snap shot of my house, here I will film the
beginning of the video. The remainder of my group filmed this at their houses. This
saved us time and allowed for varied backgrounds/locations.
Image 5 shows the entrance to where we plan to film the skate boarding scenes
(informally known as Bishy Bumps), a path involving bumps designed for skating/
scootering/ biking.
Furthermore, image 3 is where we plan on filming the restaurant scene. It is located
close to college and has an informal atmosphere which is what we were aiming for. Our
initial idea was to film in a restaurant but we decided against it as that located seemed
too ‘posh’ for our intended vibe.
The main part of the narrative will take place in tenpin bowling and the arcade (picture
2). The place is usually empty and provides us with a mixture of activities and games
from dancing (a typically feminine sport) to punch bags (associated with males).
Conclusively, we debated the location of the last scenes between the park (that we
ended up picking, image 1) and the river. Unanimously, the decision ended in the park as
we were allowed to incorporate dancing and more actions with the equipment (hut as
well as the children equipment). We sacrificed filming by the river where the shots
would have been more aesthetically pleasing g compared to the park, but like
mentioned previously, the park would be more practical.
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5. COSTUME
Although our music video is filmed and set in contemporary times, we aimed for our
characters to evidently stand out from the modern fashion aspect. This will be achieved
by the use of bright colours as well as unique, statement pieces (mostly in the form of
accessories). This idea stemmed from the lyrics of the song ‘I been feeling it since 1966,
now’ and ‘Let me kick it like it’s 1986, now’ where 60s and 80s are mentioned. As a
result, we also decided to include the 70s as a time period as the song specifically
mentions ‘rebels’ as is was the decade of hippies and rebellion.
Taking inspiration from some images and films, most commonly the females wore
dresses between the 60s and 80s. Obviously in 20 years style has changed however
taking the top trends from the years we settled on florals and vibrant colours. As seen in
the images on the right, the colours used for the female clothing was often colourful. We
aim to follow that trend as it fits in with our theme of ‘standing out from the crowd’. We
also aim to apply this to the costume of the males. Furthermore, flowery patterns are an
iconic pre 21st century trend and that is why both myself and Emma will wear a clothing
item with a floral print. The top picture presents layering of clothing with long sleeve/
turtle neck tops, since we are setting the video in autumn/ winter.
This, and blouses, can be an element showing the timing of when our
music video was filmed.
We do not aim to make our outfits overly dressed up as the activities
in our video are casual, therefore both Emma and I will wear flat
shoes. On the other hand, the aspect of femininity is still important
to us. Due to this, both of us will keep our hair down (once again,
corresponding with the images on the right, and most films or music
videos from the 60/70/80s in which the female characters kept their
hair long and down).
6. COSTUME
The concept behind choosing what the boys should wear in the video was exactly the same
as with the outfits of the girls. Colourful, vibrant clothing is an aspect that will make it
evident that we are friends in our music video as it will be one of the factors that will tie us
all together.
As seen by the pictures on the right, the males usually wear shirt’s or polo t-shirts that have
a pattern (either stripy or a geometric print). This will comply well with the floral pattern of
the outfits of the girls. Furthermore, it is evident that from the images the boys usually have
more accessories such as sunglasses or hats. Most probably, we shall stay away from
sunglasses since our filming locations are both inside and outside (where we cannot
guarantee the weather), it will be difficult to keep the sunglasses a consistent feature of the
outfit. However, for both the girls and boys, we will include accessories such as hats (beret or
a fiddler hat for the girl, and a snapback or a cap for a boy) in order to show variety of
fashion. The mix match of the styles, once again, reinforces our concept which takes into
account the fashion from 1960, 1970 and 1980 and translates it into a modern,
contemporary outfit.
Taking inspiration from culture and entertainment, we looked at films and the fashion
industry and quickly discovered that fur coats were a statement piece
throughout the years we are looking at. The black and white picture on the
right presents Marilyn Monroe, model and actress in the early 60s sat in a
dark, long fur coat. The picture on the right of that, is a still taken from the
1982 film ‘Blade Runner’, and illustrates the character Rachael, who is also
wearing a fur coat. As a result of this fashion phenomenon, we will most
certainly include one of the characters in our music video wearing a fur coat.
Since in the entertainment industry it is stereotypically females that wear the
coats, we will most probably have one of the two boys wear the coat in order
to challenge stereotypes.
7. PROPS
The video will open with a medium long shot of all four characters getting ready for the day. This will be
achieved with the help of props. Initially, we will include one of the males brushing their teeth to establish
the sequence of match on action shots being there in order to show the morning preparation for the day.
Secondly, one of the girls will be seen applying make-up, most probably a lipstick as it is usually applied
last and will evidently show that she is about to go out. Next, one of the males will be seen to dry their
hair with the hairdryer, continuing the sequence. Lastly, the a female of the friends will put on sunglasses
to establish that the sequence was to show getting ready in the morning, for the upcoming day, instead of
getting ready to go out at night.
The items we chose for each of the characters are significant. The lipstick and sunglasses that the girls will
apply/ put on emphasise the stereotypical interest in fashion and make-up by girls. We will embrace this
as it shows elements of femininity and something that girls in the audience can perhaps relate to.
Moreover, the tooth brush and hairdryer show care of hygiene from the males which creates a similar
effect to the make-up used by the girls.
It can be said that the following props are part of location, however I believe them to be a relevant enough
to include them as props- the hut that we will dance in as well as the games we play on in the arcade as in
the video we directly engage with them.
We chose to include penny boards instead of skate boards as are still associated with the rebellious culture
of skate boarding but are usually, more colourful and vibrant which fits into our desired effect.
8. LIGHTING AND KIT
Most of the video will require only natural lighting from the sun as all of the scenes that
require to be filmed outside, will take place during the day. This means that the shots will
mostly have high-key lighting.
Since we avoided the use of set or studio, we will not use LED or reflective, created light in
any of our video. We are solely relying on the lighting that Tesco Café or Tenpin Bowling will
provide. We are aiming to make the bowling and arcade scenes a little darker to signify the
day progressing. In addition, the arcade is likely to have bright or neon lights emerging from
the games which will add to the fun, aesthetic feel of our music video.
In terms of kit, we will use a Canon camera to film the entire music video. Initially, we did
aim to use an authentic VHS camera to film certain point of view shots. This would add to
the 60/70/80s atmosphere that we are trying to create through the use of costume
however soon realised that this may be difficult and risky since the camera we were
planning on using was genuine and therefore old and unreliable. As a result, we plan on
perhaps using editing to create a similar effect.
Additionally, since our video includes skate boarding, bowling and dancing- a lot of
movement, we are planning on booking out a Go Pro in order to vary our shots and
experiment using professional equipment that is specifically designed to film fast
movement.
Lastly, since all of our group will be featured in the music video it will be difficult to film
scenes with all of us in. Therefore we will need someone to help us and film the four of us,
alternatively, we will use a tripod at times where we want shots to be stationary yet feature
myself, Emma, Lloyd and Will.
9. WHY THE IDEA WORKS?
The idea for our music video complies ideally with the primary (audience) and secondary research that we
had conducted in the earlier process. This is due to the fact that our idea was created with the opinions of
those who we interviewed and the participants of our survey.
The locations are proximate and therefore easy for us to access within the time that we dedicated to
filming. In terms of the video, York is a big city, the second highest tourist city in England which opens up
our options in terms of range of activities and locations we can chose from. As a result, we are guaranteed
to pick the best locations and for them to suit our desires. All of this translates into why our idea works, as
the places we are going to film in can be accessed by anyone, meaning that our video has the potential to
encourage an audience to go out and spend the day with friends doing fun things.
In relation to costume/ clothing, a similar conclusion can be drawn. Since our clothing is bizarre and goes
against the current 21st century fashion, it can be seen to inspire others to stand out from the crowd and
therefore embrace their own, personal, unique style.
Additionally, the narrative is a loose one, allowing us to experiment with our shots and footage as well as
editing. For the audience, this is also a positive matter as it is relatable. The four characters are not of a
specific background or class making the ‘day out’ style of narrative of our music video one that can be
easily copied by those who watch the video.
Overall, the idea works as the songs beat is fast and catchy corresponding with the fast paced, action full
music video that we will create using skating, bowling, games and dancing. Additionally, our video relies
heavily on the post- production aspect such as the editing where it will all piece together. This is due to
the match of music and visuals / lyrics.
