This document provides guidance for a music video assignment, including templates and suggestions for the pre-production process. It outlines key tasks such as idea generation, research, developing the final idea, assessing viability, visual planning through concept boards and storyboarding, and creating a budget. The document provides examples and recommendations to help structure responses. The high-level tasks covered are idea development, pre-production assessment, visual planning, and creating a budget within target limits.

1. MUSIC VIDEO
ASSIGNMENT 2
Natalie Lynch

2. GUIDANCE
This template PowerPoint presentation includes all the
relevant elements you need to cover in your Music Video
Assignment 02
It is suggested you save this PP in a different name and
share it with your group so you always have a copy –
some sections require you to delete the information on
the slide and replace with your own work
Add more pages to each section where necessary [you
should be doing this!]
Add visuals as you see necessary
This document will be added to as you progress through
the pre-production phase.

3. TASK 1 Idea Generation and
Research

4. RESEARCH & IDEA
GENERATION
Select a song/track that you like [or don’t like!]
Generate three ideas for music videos employing styles,
techniques and conventions that we have looked at in
previous sessions. Explore how you could interpret the
song differently using different methods
You can add any extra info you think is relevant, images,
mind maps, etc
For quick mind maps you could use bubbl.us to generate
these

5. RESEARCH
Watch a selection of videos to get your ideas started,
make note of a minimum of 5 – add extra slides,
screenshot the video and in bullet point note down info
in terms of camera, editing, art design, performance, etc
and how this might link to your production

6. BEYONCÉ - XO
•This video includes many camera angles which
range from close ups, medium shots, wide shots
and points of view – all of which I could use in my
work.
•It uses various different lighting which range and
change from shot to shot and are really effective in
creating a certain atmosphere.
•The footage is all quite basic and raw, giving it the
fun and care-free feel of being in the moment. It
was mainly all filmed in one day however some
scenes were filmed during a performance at a
Brazilian Rock Festival.
•Has been edited using fast cut montage between the
footage as well as lip sync sections – focusing on
both the artist and different crowds of people too.
•It’s a really natural and not a highly choreographed
video which I find very interesting and might create
my video with a similar style.

7. KENDRICK LAMAR –
SING ABOUT ME (PART 1)
•The video is a visual art piece, opening up with a
message saying “When the lights shut off, an artist’s dream is that
their work will stand the test of time. The ones that influence our culture
are the ones we most remember. Here, two powerful creative forces come
together to elevate the status quo and lay ground to their legacy. This is
their poetry. Sing about them. This is part one.”. The artist wants
to be remembered for influencing the culture and
the video is a way of putting across this message.
•The video is shot in black and white, the only thing
shown in colour being the artist’s work which is
revealed towards the end of the video. It makes sure
that all the raw emotion and attention to detail is
captured and appreciated though the song.
•It uses a lot of close up camera work as well as wide
shots of the artist and the man making the art in the
video to give the viewer an idea of the emotion as
well as larger scale of what really is going on.
•It’s edited to show the journey of the actual artist
and Kendrick Lamar and let the viewer experience
the journey/story they both take which ends up in
the same location.

9. TECHNIQUES

10. CONVENTIONS

11. MIND MAP OF IDEAS
[SUMMARY OF IDEAS]

12. SUMMARY
5 opportunities of your ideas

13. SUMMARY
5 restrictions to your ideas

14. FINAL IDEA –
ARTIST/TITLE/INFO
Name of track / name of artist
Brief biographical background
Links to other artists
Genre info

15. FINAL IDEA – TRACK
SUMMARY
Summary/analysis of track [consider meaning, content,
duration, pace and style of the song]

16. FINAL IDEA – YOUR IDEA
Your creative concept/video synopsis [describe your
interpretation, use of imagery or narrative, genre
conventions, etc]

17. TASK 2 Pre-production
Assessment

18. GUIDANCE:
PRE-PRODUCTION
ASSESSMENT
You need to assess the viability of your production and
investigate what is required to enable you to make your
music video
Much of this task is hypothetical, which means you will
need to investigate standard costings for such a
production and apply these to your planned production
considering which equipment you would need and
resources, etc
Resources to support this are in the Pre-production
assessment folder on Blackboard
Delete the questions on each slide and insert your
responses

19. GUIDANCE:
BUDGET TARGET
You have provisionally given an outline target of £2000
to make your music video
This target should include a 10% contingency [that
means your budget should allow for £200 pounds within
the budget – so realistically you aim lower than £1800]
Your budget should account for everything, except your
own time and input
Consider more than one option to solve a requirement –
you may be able to balance your budget later, there will
have to be a compromise somewhere

20. GUIDANCE:
TIME
You will need to plan a schedule for the pre-
production/production/post-production
Nominally you should work on 2 weeks pre-production,
1 week filming [2 college days – Mon./Tues first week
after half term] and 2 weeks edit/post-production
Who is going to do what? How will you split the time?
When can you film? What is the availability of the
equipment/resources/locations/personnel?
What problems can you foresee? How will you overcome
them?

21. TITLE OF
PRODUCTION/PRODUCTI
ON OUTLINE
Summary of intended production
Detail here what you are going to make and the intended
outcome
Detailed breakdown of the music track chosen and your
interpretation of it [remember the questions in the
workbook, e.g. pace/mood/tone/structure]
Specific outline your intended technical/equipment
requirements
Include any details that you think [you could use material
from your pitch]

22. LOCATIONS
You need to identify locations and plan a recce.
What are the limitations and risks, eg distance, access, cost,
weather? How will you manage this?
York:
I will be filming in various places in and around York. I haven’t
decided specific places within here yet but I will go and have a walk
round to see where is best. From this I will also be able to figure
out if I will need to do any risk assessment or get permission for
certain locations.
There won’t be any limitations based on distance or cost as York is
very nearby and easy to access, so therefore won’t be expensive to
get to. However, limitations may include the weather not being as
it is expected or wanted, which may affect the lighting needed to
make the video look good. A risk also could be filming in this busy
place, as whoever ends up on camera will need to fill out a consent
form so that the footage can be used, especially those who are
under 18.
I will be able to manage this by filming in times that are quieter, as
it is not necessary for large amounts of people to be in the
background and this will make the possibility of extra people
getting in the shot low. I will manage the weather by making sure
the cast and crew are available on a certain number of days and
then we will be able to go out and film on the days when the
weather is suitable, rather than having to rearrange every time.
Harrogate:

23. EQUIPMENT
What do you need? E.g. equipment, resources? Mostly from college,
but who do you need to speak to get this kit? What is available?
When?
Look at equipment hire places, etc.
Camera:
Canon EOS 5D MKIII – to hire this camera, it’ll cost £64 per day. I
will be wanting to rent this for 2 days so it’ll roughly cost £128
however I will need to take into consideration if this includes VAT
or not.
Canon EOS 2300 – this is £110 to hire per day, meaning I will have
to spend £220 for the two days I will need it for. It is a more
specialised cinema camera and therefore may be better quality.
Tripod:
Manfrotto Fluid Tripod – this is priced at £8 per day. Again I would
need to hire it for 2 days so it’ll cost around £16 all together.
Both the cameras and tripod were based on prices from the website
https://www.hireacamera.com/en-gb/.

24. FACILITIES
Where will you edit your video? Do you
need any other specialist facilities…?
Studio:
The Studio Harrogate -
http://www.harrogatestudio.com - the
first hour of hiring costs £25 and then
subsequent hours are £20 each. I will
only be using the studio for a small
amount of lip syncing within the video
and so therefore will only need it for 2/3
hours max. This will cost between £45 -
£65. I will also need to take into
consideration the costs of transport to
get me and the cast to the studio.
Editorial Suite:
Digital Snowball -
http://www.digitalsnowball.com - This is
an editorial suite based in London. It
includes a Mac Pro 6 computer which
features the programs Adobe Creative
Cloud, Final Cut Pro 7, Final Cut Pro X
and Maya 2011. For a day, this suite
costs £180. Based on my project and
filming time, I will need to hire this

25. PERSONNEL
CREW: What is you team? Who is in it? What are each
team members strengths/weaknesses? When are they
available?
CAST: Do you need any external performers? When are
they available? Cost implications? Will you have to feed
them? Transport them?
Other personnel? Is anyone else helping you?
Crew:
My crew will consist of only a few people, including a
camera operator and myself as the director.
Cast:
The cast will include a number of actors who I will film in
natural settings. They will only need to act very naturally.

26. PROPS/COSTUME/ETC
Costume:
There is no set costume or clothing to wear during
filming. Actors can wear any casual clothing.

27. GUIDANCE:
COSTS –
RESOURCES/SOURCES
Basic Guide to costs
 http://www.justfilm.co.uk/video-production-costs.html
Rates TV
 https://www.bectu.org.uk/advice-resources/rates/television-factual-
rates
Rates all media
 https://www.bectu.org.uk/advice-resources/rates
Research local production spaces for edit and post
production costs
Local equipment hire companies have costs for camera,
lenses and kit [tripod, dolly, steadicam rigs, etc]
Travel by vehicle can be nominally charged at 40p per mile –
so you need to know how far you location is from where you
are!

28. CODES OF PRACTICE
AND REGULATIONS
Do you need clearance for copyrighted materials? [you
will need to contact Mechanical Copyright Protection
Society-Performing Rights Society Alliance (MCPS-PRS)]
Do you have performers external to your group
performing? They will need release forms that declare
you can use footage of them in the production. This
needs to be planned for.
Do you have any actors under the age of 18? You will
need parental permission forms.
Are you filming on private property? You will need
written consent PRIOR to filming. Plan in advance. This
needs to be considered.
Consider where you may need specific risk assessments
and health and safety documentation

29. CODES OF PRACTICE
AND REGULATION
•Risk assessment will be carried out at each location in
order to make sure it’s safe to film there and there’s no
potential danger to the cast and crew.
•Anyone involved who’s under 18 will need to get parental
permission for the footage involving them to be used.

30. FINANCE/PRODUCTION
COSTS
Using industry rates cards and researched costs of
equipment [cameras], cast, crew, props and facilities
[locations, edit rooms, etc] calculate the likely cost of
your production
Outline details of financial considerations of project, this
could be cost of props/costume/travel/food/etc
Explain what your overall budget is [if applicable] and
how this is to be met
How will you deal with any extra costs? Contingency
fund? What percentage of your budget should this be?
[hint: add 10% on to the final cost, this should cover it!]
Do you foresee any problems? How will you manage
this/over come them?

31. OPTION 1
Product Cost
Studio (3 hours) £65
Costume £0
Editorial Suite (4 days) £720
Camera (Canon EOS 5D MKIII – 2
days)
£128
Tripod (2 days) £18
Cast and Crew £0
Travel £10 - £15

32. OPTION 2
Product Cost
Studio (3 hours)
Costume
Editorial Suite (4 days)
Camera (Canon EOS 2300 – 2
days)
£220
Tripod (2 days)
Cast and Crew
Travel £10 - £15

33. FINAL BUDGET
BREAKDOWN
Provide a costs table for your budget, if you have
considered more than one cost option, provide
alternative final budgets and state a preference with
justification for which option you would choose.

34. BUDGET EXPLANATION
AND JUSTIFICATION

35. TASK 3.1 Visual Planning

36. PRE-PRODUCTION:
VISUAL PLANNING
This section is concerned with the visual planning of your
music video
You should use this section to develop the sequencing or
your video, establish the relationship between the visuals
and the track itself and create a structure for you to
follow when filming
It is important that you ‘pre-visualise’ the video before
you make it; it will make filming and production a more
streamlined process
The following tasks are part of your visual planning
 Pre-visualisation and concept boards
 Storyboarding
 Shot list

37. PRE-
VISUALISATION/CONCEP
T BOARDS
Tool for exploring the direction and visuals
Provides inspiration and information for the “look & feel”
Presents key moments in your video
A means to sketch/plan ideas
Information on colour/lighting
Defining the “mise-en-scene”
Include as much here as you like, but keep it relevant to the
production, the following slides have been left blank for you
to approach in your own way, add more as you need to
Extension suggestion: edit a short sequence of clips that
have inspired or influenced your video [similar to this:
http://io9.com/5941145/this-directors-video-pitch-for-
hunger-games-might-be-better-than-the-real-movie]

39. CONCEPT BOARD -
ANNOTATIONS
The images on the concept board all represent how I want my music
video to look visually. The video will be really simple and will flicker
through various people and locations by using fast cut montage. The
shots of the people will be both in locations and in a studio, with some
of them lip syncing too. All the shots will differ between colour and
then black and white to make the video more interesting and show
details differently. It will capture and show a small portion of people’s
lives – their emotions, cities, personalities and stories in a really simple
way. At the end of the video, I will try to recreate the collage of all the
people in order to bring it all together and change the layout of the
video.
The song I am doing is Mumford and Sons – Tompkins Square Park. I
feel like the images on the concept board represent the style of videos I
want to create and when put together, they’ll be able to fit together
and represent/reflect on the timing and pace of the song. When
researching the song, it said ‘the park served as a gathering place for
artists (Allen Ginsberg lived nearby during the 1988 riots), bohemians,
and the homeless. Due to gentrification, the park has lost some of its
artsy vibe.’ This is good as it shows the park was somewhere to go for
a wide number of different people and my video is of different people
and so it works well.

40. RIP-O-MATIC
You should also construct a 15-20second Rip-o-matic
test reel using existing footage to convey the type of
video you want to make

41. STRUCTURAL
BREAKDOWN
Breakdown your track into it basic sections [e.g. intro,
verse, chorus, verse, etc] and apply broad visual ideas to
each section
You can use this as the master template for your
production, then add more shots to each section when
you develop your full visual plan
You should create a slide showing all the sections of the
song, then add a slide for each section with timings,
lyrics, what happens and details on specific shots
You could storyboard and shot list each section as you
go, to break up the process.

42. STRUCTURAL
BREAKDOWN0:00 – 0:14
(Intro)
0:15 – 0:40
(Intro)

43. 0:41 – 0:50
0:51 – 1:05
1:06 – 1:15

44. STORYBOARDING
Your storyboard should bring your idea to life
Provide an idea of the sequencing of you video
Provides a basis for production
Suggested online storyboard creators are:
 https://www.storyboardthat.com
 http://www.pixton.com [very complicated]
 http://www.storyjumper.com [allows you to insert your own images]
Alternatively, hand draw or photograph your storyboard and
scan or copy to insert it onto your slides
There are lots of tips collected together on Blackboard!

47. SHOT LIST
Your shot list should contain the sequential breakdown
of what you need to shoot for your video
It should work in partnership with your storyboard
It will be your working document when you film
It should contain the shot number, scene number, shot
description, framing and action you will see
It should also have information on performers in the
scene and other props, etc
Shot list template is on Blackboard in the pre-production
folder.

48. SHOT LIST
Shot No. Shot Type Time
Code
Description/notes (e.g. camera movement,
specific directions for performers, etc.)
1 Medium
Close Up
Person number 1. No camera movement – performers should
look straight into the camera and keep movement to a minimal.
Black & white.
2 Medium
Close Up
Person number 2. No camera movement – performers should
look straight into the camera and keep movement to a minimal.
Colour.
3 Medium
Close Up
Person number 3. No camera movement – performers should
look straight into the camera and keep movement to a minimal.
Black & white.
4 Medium
Close Up
Person number 4. No camera movement – performers should
look straight into the camera and keep movement to a minimal.
Colour.
5 Long Shot Showing a long shot of a city and pans slowly around. No actors
are featured in this shot. Black and white.
6
7
8
9
10

49. TASK 3.2 Organisational
Planning

50. PRODUCTION GROUP
INFO
Include names, contact info, and defined roles at
difference stages of production, using a table is
suggested

51. LOCATION INFORMATION
Information and images of your location[s] for filming
You should have address details, clearance/premissions
for filming, recce photos and floorplans [including
camera, equipment and cast/crew layouts]
Where possible, have a plan B fallback location option
Assess each location for any issues and suggest
solutions

52. LOCATIONS

53. RISK ASSESSMENT
Risk Assess each separate filming location using the
table in the camera H&S PP on Bb as a staring point
Completing a generic filming assessment would be a
start, then you can add specialist/site specific risks as
you progress your production
Remember, a Risk Assessment is an ongoing document,
you should evaluate if anything changes in production
and when you put control measures in place
You should add the table to each call sheet for each
location

54. RISK ASSESSMENT

55. CONTINGENCY
PLANNING
Things go wrong
Your contingency plan is there to give you a backup or to
minimise the effect on production
You should consider the following areas: Technical,
Location, Personnel and Organisational areas [about 5
potential issues for each]
Use the form in pre-production folder on Blackboard

56. CONTINGENCY PLAN

57. CONTINGENCY PLAN

58. PRODUCTION
SCHEDULE
Provide an outline of what you will do on which days
during production
You should broadly plan to the following structure:
- 2 weeks pre-production
- 1 week filming [plan for up to 2 days]
- 2 weeks editing [essentially 2 days for every day you
filmed]

59. SCHEDULE

60. CLEARANCE AND
PERMISSIONS
Any place you film and anyone you use in the filming of
your video must have a completed form
Blank forms are on Blackboard for you to complete and
insert here

61. PERMISSIONS FORMS

62. TASK 4.1 Production
Record/Log

63. PRODUCTION
RECORD/LOG
Keep track your filming and production work with the
camera here
You could add stills of your work with annotations
You should include any specific details about how your
filming went and what you did on set to enable you to
complete the work
You should include Call Sheets and relevant production
documents here

64. CALL SHEETS

65. TASK 4.2 Footage log

66. EDIT DECISIONS
LIST/FOOTAGE LOG
Templates on BB to insert here
Log which shots you chose to use and which ones you
did not, explain why