The document discusses how mise-en-scene elements like costumes, props, locations, and lighting can be used to attract audiences, represent artists, and communicate genre and narrative in a music video. Costumes featuring expensive streetwear brands can attract audiences interested in rap culture. Props like money can represent wealth and the hip hop lifestyle. Locations shift from urban settings implying a difficult past to luxurious settings implying current success. Mise-en-scene choices aim to position the artist and genre while also communicating a narrative around the song's themes like relationships and career progression.

1. ADDITIONAL RESEARCH- MISE
EN SCENE
Joe Hardy

2. How mise en scene will attract
audience?
Costumes- Everyone who appears in the video will be wearing clothing
which is stereotypical of the genre, such as clothing garments such as
branded jackets, distressed jeans and designer items which could
include belts and bags which are often worn by popular rap artists to
show their wealth. Clothing is popular for the hip hop/ RnB culture as
many of the fans will invest in expensive streetwear brands after
seeing the artists wear garments from a particular clothing label. A
good example for a well known clothing brand is ‘supreme’ which is
worn by popular artists such as Tyler the creator and Famous Dex,
this indicates that popular streetwear has merged into the rap culture
therefore if the clothing shown in the video is recognisable by the
target audience they will have more interest in the video. The
audience will take interest in jewellery being worn in the video as it is
a popular accessory in the rap/hip hop culture, Many artists own very
expensive jewellery in particular gold chains and rings which are worn
excessively in the videos which allows them to glorify there wealth to
entertain their target audience.

3. Locations/settings/lighting - In the video we plan to use a range of
settings which are conventional of a hip hop and RnB music video.
Many artists show their past life which in a lot of cases was a bad
upbringing due to being influenced into gang culture and a life of
crime, to represent this in our video we will be shooting parts of the
videos in urban locations, the setting will contain graffiti and places
with ambient lighting to give a gloomy effect. By having locations
with these conventions it will help us show the darker side of the
artists life. However artists also show their life once they have
attained success and fame, this is achieved in music video by
shooting parts of the video in more exotic locations such as a beach
and usually places which look contemporary or luxury. To represent
this in our video we will have the artist filmed in modern locations
such as a busy city to portray the idea of a fast paced life, in these
setting we will aim to use high key lighting which will change the
mood of the scene to convey the idea of the artist living a better life
than in previous time.

4. Props- The props we are intending to use in the video are conventional
of a hip hop/ RnB music video. The props will help the video be
recognised as an RnB music video as similar props will appear in
songs of the same genre. The props we are using will make the video
more exiting and portray what many similar artists will do on a daily
basis. Props are used in always every music video in the RnB genre,
a popular prop used is money which we are also incorporating into the
video. Although rather than having the artist use this prop we will be
filming it dropping which will allow us to represent the genre as it is a
common convention rather than use to represent the artist. The props
will attract the audience to there video as they will assist the scenes
and the general narrative which means the audience will have a better
understanding of what us going on in the scenes.

5. How will mise en scene represent
the artist?
Costume- The costumes who are being worn by the cast are
conventional of the hip hop/ RnB genre although as there is no
evidence of the artists appearance or style we are unable to represent
what the artist would wear, for this reason members of the cast will be
wearing masks and hooded jumpers to represent the anonymity of the
artist. The costumes will represent the culture as the alternative style
of clothing is what is worn by many of the similar artists. The
costumes will be representative of wealth and stylish lifestyle which is
what many artists of the genre aim to do as this is what will impress
the fan base.
Props- The prop for the “narcotics” featured in the video will be
representative of the artist. Drugs are mentioned extensively in the
artist lyrics, this will be an important element of the video due to drugs
being a big part of the hip hop culture as recreationally they are often
shown or used in the music videos. In other cases the lyrics and other
props seen in some hip hop music videos suggests that the drugs are
sold for financial gain.

6. Locations/setting/lighting- The location of the shots in the first half of
the video could possibly be an accurate representation of the artists
past life, although we are not showing crime or violence in the video
these elements could be portrayed through the urban settings as the
settings may resemble places where various crimes could take place.
Also in these settings we aim to be able to create an ambient lighting
in the scene which will give the impression to the audience that the
artist has been brought up in a bad environment. Also we are
portraying how this still affects the artists everyday life as he has not
escaped all of the bad elements of his past life, due to this it signifies
how crime may still be a factor of the artists life which is why these
locations are suitable to represent the artists reality of life.

7. How will mise en scene communicate
the genre of the song?
Costume- The costumes used in the video will represent the genre as the crew
members will be wearing costumes which are in the style of the hip hop genre.
For example the clothes worn by the main protagonist in the video will be very
similar to many of the popular American artists this could include quite dark
clothing but with luxurious features such as gold chains or watches. The
jewellery present in the video will make it indicative of the RnB genre as this is a
classic trope used. Usually the female members in conventional RnB videos are
sexualised to help the videos appeal to a heterosexual audience, where as in
our video the female will not be sexualised due to the narrative of the song
being that the artist is talking about his dispute with the female rather than how
he is attracted to her. Furthermore the costumes will be representative of the
crime side of the RnB culture. By using masks and Bandanas to hide the
identity of the members in the video it will give the video a criminal connotations
as along side the urban locations it can give the impression of the artists being
involved with criminal activities and gang culture. On the other hand the
costumes in the more luxurious scenes where the artist is wearing a suit and
designer items in locations near high-rise buildings can imply how many RnB
artists have changed their life around and are becoming increasingly involved
with business for example The Weeknd who appeared in the 2017 Forbes
magazine due to his success in both the music and advertisement industry.

8. Props- All of the props used in the video are conventional of both rap and
RnB music videos, this means that it is hard to depict which genre the
video could be. This is largely due to the artists who aim to promote their
wealth to the audience, in most cases this is used in both contrapuntal
and performance videos as the wealth which is shown in the ‘props’ often
provides a part in the narrative. We are able to communicate the genre of
the song through the props of “money” which is shown in many context
in RnB videos, by symbolising wealth in the video we will be able to
portray the artists expensive lifestyle.
Location/settings/lighting- the locations we plan to use in the second half
of the song represents the RnB genre a lot more than the locations which
appear in the first half of the video. This is due to the usual convention for
the RnB genre if the video is in a performance style as the artist will want
to promote their expensive lifestyle, In the second half of the song after
the beat switches we aim to put many shots in which suggest the artist
the artist if living in luxury by filming the artist in many contemporary and
exotic locations. By using scenes with high key lighting and vivid
scenery it will help the video be established to a video from the RnB

9. How will mise en scene communicate
a narrative or message?
Costume- In the moments with the artist wearing formal clothing it can
help build on the narrative of the artists involvements outside the music
industry, it can help portray to the audience how the artist in on to
bigger things after moving on from the regrets of his past life which is a
main message which is shown by the artists lyrics. Although the video
we are producing is not in the style of a contrapuntal video it will still
have elements of the narrative while the artist is performing which is a
more popular way to show a message in this genre as it has been
seen in similar products.

10. Props- The props which help participate in the narrative include the
‘phone’ which is being used by the female in the video, this prop
purposes to show that she had been messaging and meeting with
another person named on the phone as “someone else”. It helps link
with the lyrics at the point of this moment as the artist is asking what
she had been doing behind his back. This prop is also used to show
the artist communicating with his friends and business associates in
the video which can further portray the message of music artists living
a social lifestyle.
Location/setting/lighting- Certain settings in the video will make the
narrative clearer to the audience, For example the scene inside the car
where the artist finds out that a girl has been cheating on him.
Moments in music videos with two characters in a car have been in
similar products as it is a place where disputes between a male and
female are often shown. Another setting which adds to the narrative is
the scenes filmed in London which implys that the artist is here to
create financial gain as this place is often associated with business.