Initial song ideas and pitch

For our A2 coursework, our teachers gave us a CD with a list of songs on, and we could only choose one for our coursework. Initially, we had three ideas for songs; track 3, 11 and 17. We decided as a group that track 17 would allow us to be creative, especially with the instrumental. We had to pitch against another group in order to get this song, and we succeeded in the pitch. In our pitch, we discussed several good ideas we had for the music video. We talked about star image, voyeurism, mise en scene and the narrative. The big USP of our music video is that there is a constant enigma running through the song- meaning the audience will have lots of questions in their head about it.

Mise en Scene

Here, we discussed the lighting, costume, location/set design and camera shots/angles. The ideas we had regarding the lighting in our music video was that while the instrumental is playing, there is flashing lights, which makes it harder for the audience to see what's going on, enhancing the enigma of the video. After the instrumental has finished, the lighting is dim for the rest of the video, to make the audience wonder who the girl is. To help achieve this, we will use camera shots to only show her eyes, lips and nose. We never see her face until the end of the video. This will be achieved through the use of extreme close ups. Also, we will try and make the camera angles mirror the lyrics, for example: "get out of bed"- we will use a close up shot of just legs getting out of bed. This is also an example of voyeurism, because the protagonist does not know we can see her. We will also use over the shoulder shots, not only because it's an effective use of voyeurism, but because it will help the audience relate to how she is feeling and what she can see. At the end, the two (protagonist and male figure) will meet, and a shot reverse shot will be used to show they are looking at each other- also hinting that this is the end of the video. In terms of costume, we will have bright, colourful costumes during the instrumental section, but dull, dark clothes when the lyrics are playing, to show that the character is in a dark place. In terms of set design/location, we have decided to shoot in a wide range of locations, to reflect the fluctuation of the music but also her mood.

Interxtuality, Star Image and Narrative

For intertextuality, we thought we could refer to the story of Romeo and Juliet, when the lyrics say "Poison"- the couple are imagining/dreaming about taking the poison, but don't actually take it. Because this song is quite modern, it would be creative if we made it look like a 'futuristic' genre. We would achieve this by using colourful costumes, and so thus, creating a star image and stereotype of futuristic music. One of the main reasons we chose this song is because of the upbeat tune it has- it allows us to be creative with what we film. Our music video will be narrative based as well as performance based, this will mirror the flucutation and constant change of the lyrics and her feelings. At the start during the instrumental section, we will have someone playing the drums, and the rest will be narrative based, as we will have an actress acting out the story alongside the lyrics. Lastly, the sound at the start reminds me of a train, and that fits in with the storyline we are creating for the character; she is in a very dark place, a boy she loves has made her depressed, but at the end the audience are left wondering if they get back together or not. The train noise could symbolise her attempting a new beginning, but failing to because she can't get over him.