The document outlines a production concept for a pop punk music video for the song "American Idiot" by Green Day. It will feature shots of the band performing, as is conventional for the genre. The video will tell a narrative of teenage rebellion and liberation through angst-filled youths. Scenes will be filmed in run-down public areas using props like instruments, cigarettes, and spray paint to portray the genre's themes of rebellion and youth culture. Costumes, hairstyles, and makeup of the band members will be casual to appear relatable to young fans of pop punk music.

1. PRODUCTION
CONCEPT
AN OUTLINE OF MY POP PUNK MUSIC VIDEO

2. SONG TITLE / ARTISTS
I will produce a music video to accompany a song called “American
Idiot” by Green Day. This band is current and relevant within it’s genre,
having grown constantly in popularity amongst its young fans for
decades; these are typical fans of pop punk music and enjoy similar
music. It is useful that I will my target audience will have a known
demographic and psychographic because as well as making my media
product conventional, I will also be able to target it to those that I wish
to see and enjoy it.
The song sounds upbeat with a strong instrumental, therefore will be
appropriate for fast paced editing and youthful/rebellious themes to be
used. Drums and guitars are involved in the sound as well as strong
vocals, therefore many long shots of the band performing as well as
close ups of the instruments being played can be utilised to show their
skill and passion for music. The primary theme of the song’s lyrics is
rebellion and liberation from the “brainwashing” of today’s society, so
will appeal to the young listeners who may be going through a stage of
angst as they grow up.

3. CONTENT /
NARRATIVES
From analysis of existing music videos such as those made
by Major League and Chunk! No, Captain Chunk, it has
become apparent that it is majorly conventional for pop punk
bands to include shots of themselves performing in music
videos that are produced for their songs. For this reason, I
will include shots of the band that I will be filming in between
shots of the narrative throughout the video.
The narrative supporting the lyrics of the song will project a
story of rebellion, liberation, attitude and fun. This narrative
will be acted by three eighteen year oldsthat will play a circle
of friends. Their age make them relatable to the target
audience, who will be familiar with what it is like to be at a
similar stage in their life as well as experiencing similar
events and feelings. The narrative will relate to the lyrics
which come across as quite angry and passionate.

4. SETTINGS / AREAS TO
FILM
I will mainly shoot the footage used in my music video in run
down areas, for this is conventional within pop punk for
many reasons explained on the ‘Genre Research’ page of my
media blog. The background of these shots will be places
such as vandalised public spaces, skateparks, dark
walkways and other public spaces.

5. PROPS
First and foremost, all three musicians belonging to the band in my music
video will play instruments during shots of their performance; these props
will consist of a drumkit, an electric guitar and a bass guitar, all of which are
played in all bands of pop punk because they create the distinct sound of
the genre.
Other props included in many shots of my music video will be bottles of
beer and cigarettes to represent rebellion and boxes of pizza, because this is
a junk food enjoyed by most young adults and adolescents due to its
convenience and taste; the brand of this pizza will be Domino’s, which is an
instantly recognisable brand amongst the target audience, for the chain can
be found in almost every town and city across this country and many others
as well. At the beginning of the video, a television and games console
controllers will be needed to show the passive behaviours of the
adolescents before liberation of this monotonous lifestyle.
Skateboards will be ridden in some shots, for this is a popular hobby
amongst the majority of the young, alternative target audience. Cans of
spray paint will be used to show the teenagers vandalising public property
and rebelling. A can will be needed because it will be kicked over.

6. BAND / CHARACTERS
The band used within the music video that I am to eventually create will
comprise of three members, which is a commonly seen number of
musicians within bands of the pop punk genre and is demonstrated by
influential bands such as Blink 182 and Green Day that have been
considered during the ‘Genre Research’ stage of my coursework.
Two male musicians and one female musician will belong to the band. The
inclusion of a woman is to demonstrate the progression in pop punk that
has resulted in more and more women becoming involved in the industry
such as Hayley Williams of Paramore and Tay Jardine of We Are The In
Crowd. More men than women will be in the band, however, because
although the musical opportunities for women have become more abundant,
there still remains an unbalanced ratio between the genders, with far more
men than women seen in the bands of all subgenres of rock and punk
music. The members of the band will all be eighteen years of age, which will
make the band relatable to its target demographic of adolescents and young
adults for they will be of similar ages. This is also conventional because
newcomers of the genre have become younger within recent years, with
bands such as Neck Deep also containing members as young as nineteen
years old. The relatively young age of the musicians will add an edge to the
band because it will make them seem current.

7. COSTUME
The costumes worn will be relatively simple and noticeably casual; this is to imitate the carefree attitudes of
existing pop punk bands, meaning the outfits will be conventional. The clothing will also allow movement
during shots of the performance, which will require the exertion of a considerable amount of energy as the
musicians jump to the beat of the music and play their instruments.
Worn by both of the men of the band will be skinny jeans; this is conventional and can be seen on almost all
current pop punk musicians. The style of this clothing item is in presently in fashion, meaning the individuals
will seem ‘cool’ to those watching the video, who will be impressed because the psychographic for most of the
young target audience includes an interest in current trends even though these people often value their
individuality to match the nature of the music that they listen to. As well as being stylish, the skinny jeans are
functional as well so will allow movement. Worn by the female musician will be a pair of high waisted shorts in a
shade of navy blue; high waisted shorts are on trend at the moment so will make the individual and, when seen
with the fashionable skinny jeans worn by the other members, the band, look current so will appeal to its young
target audience who enjoy keeping up to date with their peers. The dark colour will give the artist attitude. Also
giving an impression of rebellion and therefore youth are the ripped tights that she will wear, which will match
themes in existing pop punk music; these tights have previously been seen on a number of pop punk artists so
is conventional as well.
Shirts worn by all members of the band will be causal, therefore appropriate for the genre of pop punk. A plaid
shirt will be worn by one member because it gives off a carefree impression and can be seen being worn by
many existing pop punk artists in music videos and during performances and everyday life. Band tshirts of well
known pop punk bands such as Blink 182 and Green Day will be worn by the remaining musicians in order to
express their interest in the genre and also to show that they are the inspiration of this band along with the
multitude of other musicians that look up to them. The tshirts will be instantly recognisable for the band’s target
audience who will almost certainly already listen to the hugely popular bands advertised on the merchandise.
This will make band members more relatable because it shows that they share musical interests as well as
making them seem more human because it shows that they are still fans of other bands just like their fans are. It
is important to leave this impression because it will make them more likeable.

8. HAIR
Hairstyles worn by musicians in my music video will be untidy to suport
their youthful, carefree attitude. This will make the band relatable to its
young listeners and supports the energetic feel of their music. One
musician will have his hair dyed a bright colour to inject fun into his
appearance; many adolescents like himself dye their hair
unconventional colours to express themselves, which is encouraged by
the majority of pop punk bands and coincides with the band’s image.
His hair will be styled into a mohawk, chanelling the genre’s punk
origins whilst insinuating that the man holds a rebellious attitude not
dissimilar to that held by the members of the movement. The other male
of the group will have a simple, casual hairstyle so as to show the
man’s conventionally relaxed persona.
The remaining member, who is the female of the group, will have untidy
waves that will give off an impression that she is not affected by other’s
judgment of her appearance. This is conventional for the genre of music
that she plays because this attitude is shown by many existing
musicians of the genre and women in pop punk do also tend not to be
stereotypical of their gender in general for this lack of interest in
feminine interests such as hair and makeup.

9. MAKEUP
Makeup worn by the female musician in the band will be
minimal to accompany her carefree appears and to match the
styles of existing women in pop punk such as Tonight Alive’s
Jenna McDougall. Not even natural looking makeup will be
applied to the male members of the band so that their
masculinity will be apparent and the DIY nature of the band
that is conventional for the genre of music will remain,
because usually when men have makeup applied for music
videos and photoshoots, it is done by professional makeup
artists so as to applied with enough skill to be unnoticeable.
The laid back appearance of clothing worn also gives off the
impression that the musicians have styled themselves rather
than hiring stylists, representing them as being grounded
and individual.

10. ACCESSORIES WORN
To match the laid back appearance of costume, hair and makeup,
accessories worn by musicians will also appear casual. Shoes will be of the
brands Dr Martens, Vans and Converse; these are arguably the three most
common brands worn by those who listen to pop punk music, with Dr
Martens representing the punk movement from which the subculture
originated from and the Vans skate shoes representing to the hobby of
skateboarding that so many young pop punk fans enjoy with their friends,
provoking positive memories and making the musicians seem relatable as
well as up to date with current trends because the brands are fashionable at
this moment in time.
Minimal jewellery will be worn, with bracelets made of leather and thread
being worn on the arms. Collections of these types of bracelets are often
built from pieces acquired from festivals and during travels, giving an idea
of the musicians’ lifestyles just from a glance. The jewellery does not have
an expensive appearance, making the band seem grounded again whilst
also maintaining their relatable amongst their target audience of listeners
belonging to the age bracket of 16-24 who hold similar interests and styles
and can be quite short of money. A simple gold studded bracelet will also be
worn by one musician, with the spikes connoting a rebellious nature.

11. EQUIPMENT NEEDED
The camera used to capture footage for use in my music video will be of
fairly good quality. This piece of equipment will produce high definition
content so will ensure that my music video appears professional and is
enjoyable to watch for it will be easier on the eye. The camera has a
number of modes that can be used, meaning filming can take place in
the several settings and variations of lighting that I plan to film in. A
tripod will also be needed so as to keep the camera still whilst filming.
This will ensure that the shots appear professional as opposed to the
poor, handmade quality of a handheld shot. The tripod will need to be
adjustable so that a variation of shot types and angles can be applied.
Editing will be done on a Macbook Pro with retina display on an editing
programme that has many useful features that are discussed under the
subheading of “Editing” for this task. The computer itself has a high
definition screen with retina display, meaning the image will be crystal
clear and so can be edited accurately and be aesthetically pleasing to
watch.

12. EDITING
Fast paced editing will be used throughout the music video to
match the pace of the upbeat pop punk music and to create
excitement to match the vibes of the song. More short takes will
be included as well as scenes being relatively short in order to
create the illusion of fast paced editing.
Several scenes will contain multiple shots edited in a way that
will produce fluency, such as two shots being used to show
someone turning or jumping. Also included will be eyeline
matches and action matches for similar purposes.
Colour corrections and alterations will be made in the post
production stage to alter the way that the lighting appears,
making it brighter at some points and darker at others.
The video will be edited using a professional editing programme
that contains a number of tools that can be used to improve the
music video and to add effects. It will produce a professional
looking music video.

13. CAMERAWORK
A variety of shot types and angles will be used throughout the music video that I will
film. Firstly, a number of close ups and extreme close ups will be used to film the
playing of the instruments during the band’s performance; this is to show their musical
skill and the raw feel of the song’s instrumental, which has been made using actual
instruments rather than computer software, which plays a large part in many other
genres sush as hip hop, pop and electronic music. Long shots will be used to film the
whole band playing the song as a collective to demonstrate their unity and to show all
members playing at the same time. One of these shots will be the establishing shot to
introduce the band as a whole because all members hold equal importance. These will
be two person shots because multiple individuals will be included within the take.
Close ups will be used to show facial expressions of the musicians to convey feelings
associated with the song’s lyrics and beat as well as shots of props to draw attention to
them and their connotations. Mid shots and long shots will allow body language to be
read to show that the band are carefree and young because they are able to exert lots of
energy by jumping in time with the music.
A mixture of high and low shots will be used to represent the character of the narratives
in different ways at different intervals of the plot. This will show weakness and strength
as the narrative progresses. More low angle shots of the characters will be shown as
the song goes on and they become more empowered when they rebel against authority.
Over the shoulder shots and tracking will also be used to add variety to the shots used,
resulting in a more interesting music video that will hold the short attention span of the
video’s young audience.

14. LIGHTING /
COMPOSITION OF SHOTS
Types of lighting will vary throughout the music video, with both high
and low key lighting used during the narrative to connote themes and
feelings associated with changes in the plot. High key lighting will be
used to show the band’s performance to show their lighthearted nature
to match the vibes of the song that the music video is to promote.
As well as with lighting, variety will also be present in the composition
of shots throughout the video. The principle of thirds will be considered
in the vast majority of shots, for example showing band members
playing their instruments towards the left hand side of the screen rather
than in the middle, to create a more artist, interesting video. The route
of the eye will also be considered in a number of shots to keep the
viewer interested.
A variety of depths will be seen throughout the video, with a
combination of deep and shallow focus to show characters, props and
settings at appropriate times. Shifts in focus will also be used in some
shots to move attention from one factor to another. Characters in the
narrative will be shown on varying levels to demonstrate roles and their
strengths and weaknesses; these effects are not dissimilar to those
created by the high and low angle shots taken.