UNIT 29: Music Video Production - Assignment 2 - Research and Planning

1: Choice of Music Track



The video we have chosen to make a music video on is Hello by Adele, here is the music video below (Skip to 1:20)




The reason we have chosen this song is because the lyrics fit with the story line that me and my partner have developed. The storyline is about a young actress who is struggling in the industry to the point where she auditions over and over and doesn't get through. Eventually she does get in through a letter which she receives at the end of the video,

The reason why we have chosen this particular song is because of the tune. The reason why we need this is because as the song starts off slowly and in a calm manner. The song then builds up at the chorus and be ones more intense and passionate. this can give us the opportunity to put different scenes in here that can reflect the mood of the song. For example in the verses and the bridge, the tune of the song is very calm atmosphere and it is extremely slow and light, we could include a scene here when the actress is auditioning looking hopeful, not knowing that she is about to be rejected "from yet another" production. Whereas the more intense scenes when she is upset or angry or throwing away these "scripts" would be showing the chorus as they are roaring with emotion and are louder and more vocally upscale as opposed to the verses. The music video goes up and down in terms or volume and tempo, so it gives us a great opportunity to experiment with the footage. The song is mainly slow but at some point are faster than others.

The reason we chose this song was because it had equal parts of calmness as well as uproarious that therefore, we can include enough footage to show the whole story, as well as put aside parts where the "actor" sing's to the audience  and actually shows their emotion of how they're feeling following the auditions, the rejections, the receiving of the letter and other points in the video to split the scenes of the two parts.

The actual tune itself is in the soul genre, and is neither light hearted or sorrowful, which is in the middle. The music video, and our use of the lyrics can really give the story more meaning and put our own spin of our interpretation of the song. Furthermore, the track has a variety of instruments involved and switches them throughout the song depending, on the storyline. Listening to the song, I could hear the piano . Drums, synthesizers, guitar, strings, and bass. These all compliment each other throughout the song and faint as Adele voice drowns them out in a positive way. Without having watched the music video, I can also imagine it being colourless image either in black and white or a sepia tone.


The lyrics:

Hello, it's me
I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to meet
To go over everything
They say that time's supposed to heal ya
But I ain't done much healing
Hello, can you hear me
I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be
When we were younger and free
I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet
There's such a difference between us
And a million miles
Hello from the other side
I must have called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore
Hello, how are you?
It's so typical of me to talk about myself I'm sorry
I hope that you're well
Did you ever make it out of that town where nothing ever happened
It's no secret that the both of us
Are running out of time
So hello from the other side
I must have called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore
Ooooohh, anymore
Ooooohh, anymore
Ooooohh, anymore
Anymore
Hello from the other side
I must have called a thousand times
To tell you I'm sorry for everything that I've done
But when I call you never seem to be home
Hello from the outside
At least I can say that I've tried
To tell you I'm sorry for breaking your heart
But it don't matter it clearly doesn't tear you apart anymore

The lyrics in the song will also contribute to the music video, as there ae likely to be points where the main character will be talking to the cameral and lip syncing the lyrics.

 What is really great about thee lyrics is that they are vague and general. They tell a story but they can still easily manipulated to turn them into something else. For example, "hello" is the main word. I imagine using this in the video where she keeps coming up to the producer after the same auditions. This is taking the advantage of the fact that hello, is heard nine times across the duration of the song Therefore, each time she says hello in the verse, in the music video. I can imagine the main person/producer lip syncing, it is friendly ad warm. later in the chorus, when she belts it out, out is a more colder distant version of the word..

The lyrics can also be interpreted in a different way, the song originally is about Adele getting in touch with a former lover and hoe she feels about their relationship, how they felt now and then. However, it is also a song about growing up and accepting the mistakes from when you were younger and apologising for them. This video could be the same, about someone who tries and tries again, only to succeed after realising where they went wrong.

The lyrics sum to the idea of comparing the idea of trying to get through over and over but being disappointed each time, except in this case it is a love story not about a struggling artist.

2: Performers style and image

We will have three actors who will be in our music video.

• The actress who is the main character is really enthusiastic and ambitious, but you can tell she has been acting for a while and she is starting to give up because of the reactions and feeling rejected. However, she still tries anyway, as it is her dream to sing. Following many failed auditions she becomes aggressive and angry to the point she stamps around, slams doors and she really takes her anger out. Eventually she receives a letter which says she has got into the production and she is over joyed. Her sister is very supportive and she relies on her sister for moral support, as when she is happy or sad she always counts on her sister. She is seven teen years old, medium height, long hair, medium build. Throughout the music video the artist will be wearing the same clothes so she is easily noticed, however during the auction stage she wears a different set of clothes compared to when she is at home. She will be wearing chilled clothes whilst she is at home but at the auction she may dress smarter such as jeans and a jumper. The actress wears subtle make up and her hair is down. Also, depending on the audition she may wear an accessory for example a hat.
• The sister is a supporting character in the music video who helps the actress who is struggling feel safe and secure and positive after a bad audition and having been rejected. The sister is a positive character who you can tell, comforts her sister all the time and the sister is there when she celebrates at the end, showing that she truly cares for her sister. The sister is a year older, she is a tiny bit taller and she stays in the same clothes throughout, as she is revising in her room. During the whole of the music video she is at the house and she supports her sister once her sister gets home.
• The producer is the judge in the auditioning room, who always rejects the actress and then finally after she writes to him he replies saying she has got through. Even though there are many auditions, the judge will be played by the same character, who wears different clothing or accessories to show the different stages of the audition process. Also, the fact she is going through the process with the same judge but she is not getting anywhere proves she has hope and is not giving up. The judge will be in the auditioning room the whole of the music video dressed differently , behind a table with a script and pen in front of him, or a CV that he may be reading. The point of the judge is for him to find the best person for the part but he is very picky and he takes forever to make a decision.

3: Video style and Creative Cocept

Our style will be in black and white and it will be set in the 21st century, for example mobile phones maybe used in some scenes.

The overall concept of the music video is that there is a young actress, around 17 years. auditions over and over again until she eventually get's a part. in between these audition scenes, there are shots where she is  being shown comforted by her sister following the rejections. 

Hello is a 5 minute song, We broke the music video down based on this.

1st minute: Is the first audition

2nd minute: Her reaction to her be rejected back at home, she is upset.

3rd minute: the second audition

4th minute: her reaction to another ejection, she is more aggressive and angry that the first rejection

5th minute: letter showing that she got into the production, her exaction is happy.

Research and Found Footage

This is a reel of audition tapes of 40 Actors auditioning for roles before they were famous.
Warning: Strong and Explicit Language

From this footage, I have watched the audits of over 40 famous actors auditioning for a rile within the respective movies and who they did it so that we can reflect on the auditions scenes of our video and make it accurate.

Some of the thing's I noticed were that in the majority of these actors videos, they knew the lines off by heart, and were not constantly looking at the script. They were acting towards the camera with confidence and did not need the aide of the script which is what helped them win some of these famous roles.

Another thing i noticed while watching these auditions were that they all had a different physicality, such as standing up/ sitting down or walking around in order to get that role. In the audition scenes we can use this and the actress should actually genuinely act to the best of her ability, so it can show that later on she get's the role even though she may not be looking good at that point.

These actors also took all sorts of risks attempting to receive parts in these movies, such as crying, dressing up, sitting down or moving around. the actress should do this in the video to she that she is trying really hard to get a part but she keeps being rejected. It would be really fortunate, if the actress would share a tear a But as she is an amateur actress, she may have to still use her script to remember her lines in the music video, which is why the producer keeps rejecting her.

























This is what audition rooms look like, I have made a mood bored on the different types of audition rooms to show many different auditions are held. For example, theatre auditions are in a studio or the theatre with many people. Whereas, singing auditions such as the X Factor take place in a hotel bored room and arenas. Below is the mood bored with a range of different rooms to show the difference in audition rooms, also the audition room depends on the type of audition. For example if you are a model and are auditioning for a new fashion brand you will audition in a room with a green screen behind you. Therefore, all audition rooms are different due to the event.



Plan:
Location Permission Form:

RISK ASSESSMENT

NAME AND ADDRESS OF ASSESOR: Gabby Levene, 4 Adams Close Mill Hill.

Location address: 4 Adams Close, Mill Hill, London.

Date of assessment: 24.01.17

Risk description	Risk [1-5]	Severity [1-5]	Prevention of risk
Water Heights / stairs Public Electricity and equipment Open flames Transport	1 2 1 2 3 1	1 2 1 2 3 1	Make sure taps are turned of. No kettles left around, and no water left running. To prevent water spillage make sure glasses are left in sink and especially not near equipment. There are three stair cases going up which are not very steep,but the carpet is easy to slide on, therefore to prevent slipping up/down the stairs do not wear socks. The house is located in a quiet close where the public can not get through, so the prevention of affecting the public is a tiny percentage. All equipment will be left on a shelf so no one touches anything and this will prevent any risk to everyone around. Electricity, the sockets will be turned of. To prevent electrocution.   To prevent flames, the hob will be turned of and the gas box will be switched off, also no candles will be lit. Transport, because we are using a house no transport will be needed.

Local hospital: Barnet General	Address and phone number: Address: Wellhouse Ln, Barnet EN5 3DJ Phone: 020 8216 4600
Local police: Mill Hill	Address and phone number: Dome House, 8 Hartley Avenue, Mill Hill NW7 2HX 999

Declaration that location has been assessed for risk and safety precautions have been considered.

Signed:

Location recci

Location for: Gabby’s House Mill Hill.

Potential location: photo and address	Positives and negatives about location
Gabby’s Bedroom:	Positives: Bright Medium size Big window Negatives: Backs onto the garden When it gets dark out, the room can get darker
Spare Room: Development Gardens:	Positives: Second Biggest room Bright Top floor Negatives: Too big Faces the road Large window Positives: Open space Pretty Bright area Negatives: For all residents can be noisy if many people use it can get muddy easily.
Kitchen:	Positives: Bright Big open space White walls Backs onto Garden Negatives: Dark counter tops Dark Cupboards

Conclusion: I will use X location because …

To conclude, we will be using either Gabby’s room or the spare room as the bedroom for the actress to be practicing her singing in. The development gardens will be used, when the actress goes out to practice singing by herself. The older sister will either be in one of the rooms or in the kitchen doing work. Therefore, we will be using all the locations to help contribute to our music video having a range of rooms involved. By using one of the bedrooms for the actress then the other bedroom can be for the sister or we can film the sister in the kitchen, this shows that we may either be using two bedrooms or one bedroom and the kitchen.

Storynoard:
This is the story board showing what each shot will consist of. There are 46 shots

Shooting Script:

Shot no.	Scene no.	Camera shot /movement	Description of action
1	1	Medium shot	The actress is walking through the door holding a script and looking down at it, slow motion.
2	1	Wide Shot	The producer is in the room by himself sitting at the desk.
3	1	Close up shot	The actress looking nervous, slow motion and a close up.
4	1	Close up shot	Handshake with the producer.
5	1	Medium shot	Medium shot of the actresses face saying Hello.
6	1	Long shot	Cut to her singing in the park.
7	1	Medium shot	The producer saying that the stage is yours to the actress.
8	1	Long shot	Part of the audition, reading the script and she is trying to act.
9	1	Long shot	Back to singing, in the park
10	1	Wide shot	She is blurred out and he is on his phone on social media as he is bored.
11	1	Over shoulder shot	Producer on his phone as he is bored of the audition.
12	1	Medium shot	She stops singing and the producer claps.
13	2	Long shot	She is singing in the park
14	2	Medium shot	She comes home.
15	2	Long shot	Her sister hugs her.
16	2	Medium shot	Back to singing.
17	2	Long shot	Lying on her bed, refreshing her emails.
18	2	Close up	A message on her phone saying she did not get through.
19	2	Close up	Covers her face , facing down on the bed.
20	2	Medium shot	Sits there crying alone.
21	3	Long shot	Her singing in the park.
22	3	Long shot	New audition, her saying Hello to the producer and giving him her CV.
23	3	Medium shot	She turns around and walks back to the stage.
24	3	Long shot	She starts singing
25	3	Long shot	Singing in the park
26	3	Medium shot	Singing on the stage and the producers hand goes up.
27	3	Close up shot	Mouthing that she can go home now .
28	3	Close up shot	She is getting angry.
29	4	Medium shot	She comes home and slams the front door.
30	4	Long shot	Runs up stairs to her room and slams her bedroom door.
31	4	Long shot	Singing in the park
32	4	Close up	When she punches the wall/ tears down a poster, as she is angry.
33	4	Long shot	Trough’s things on the floor.
34	4	Long shot	Singing in the park again
35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46	4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5	Long shot Long shot Long shot Medium shot Medium Shot Close up Medium shot Medium shot Close up Medium shot Long shot Medium shot	Sister opens bedroom door. Sees the sister throughing books and restrains her from behind. Singing in the park Hugging and wiping tears. Run downstairs and outside. Strike a match and dropping a match in slow motion Singing in the park Script on fire Hugging and watching the fire Goes back inside and sees a letter through the letter box Opens letter and cries as she has got through ! Singing in the park, then fade out.

Production Schedule for Music Video

 This is our production schedule for filming within the music video, as you can see we have included dates and times that fall within Week 1 at JCoSS and that do not interrupt our normal lessons or the school's programme. The dates chosen below are all within the same week, starting with Tuesday 7th Feb and ending on Sunday 12th. They include the activity, shots and locations that we are filming down to the hour. We will keep to it to ensure we have a professional and successful music video.

Date	Action	Actors	Location
Tues 7th Feb 2017	Filming “audition “Scenes”	Actress Producer	School Classroom (SLT)
Wed 8th Feb 2017	Filming “audition” scenes	Actress Producer	School Classroom (SLT)
Sat 11th Feb 2017	Filming rejection/letter scene	Actress Sister	Gabby’s House
Sun 12th Feb 2017	Filming rejection/letter scene	Actress Sister	Gabby’s House

Tues 7th Feb 2017 Timings:	Activity	Shot numbers.
8:15	Arrival on location, briefing on scenes.
8:20	Confirm that rooms are booked/ if not, find new rooms in this time
8:25 – 9:00	Registration in form/ Assembly
9:05	Producer’s take out the pre-booked equipment? Sign in for period 1 study session if needed
9:15	Set Up “Audition Scene”, brief actors on what to do. Rehearse if needed.
9:30	Sign into Media, Shoot “Audition Scenes”	1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
10:30	Finish shooting, review over shot scenes and discuss if anymore change are needed.
10:40	Break.
11:55 – 12:30	Continue Shooting “Audition Scenes”	7, 8, 10, 11, 12 (reshoot other shots  if needed)
12:40	Return Equipment
12:50	Lunch
2:05	Return to Normal lessons; go home.

Weds 8th Feb 2017 Timings:	Activity	Shot numbers.
8:15	Arrival on location, briefing on scenes.
8:20	Confirm rooms are booked, if not find new rooms in this time.
8:25 – 10:40	Kvutza and JE (NO FILMING)
10:45	Break
10:50	Producer’s take out the pre-booked equipment
10:55	Set Up “Audition Scene”, brief actors on what to do. Rehearse if needed.
11:00	Shoot “Audition Scenes”	22, 23, 24
11:55	Finish shooting, review over footage and discuss if anymore change are needed. Therefore, film also in this time.	26, 27, 28
12:40	Return Equipment
12:50	Lunch
2:05	Return to Normal lessons.
3:00	If available, use this to review footage and continue shooting scenes.
3:50	Return Equipment
4:00	Go Home
Sat 11th Feb Timings:	Activity	Shot numbers.
9:00	Arrive on location – Gabby’s House (Cast and Crew)
9:30	Use this time to buy anymore items needed for the shoot / Rehearsal and briefing
10:30	Shoot Rejection #1 Shots	14, 15, 16, 17,
12:00	Lunch
1:30	Shoot Rejection #1 Shots	18, 19, 20,
2:15	Review Footage, check changes/ break and rehearsal
2:45	Shoot Rejection #2 Shots	29, 30, 32, 33, 35, 36
4:00	Review footage, check changes
4:30	Shoot more Rejection (1 and 2) Shots (if needed)
5:00	Go Home
Sun 12th Feb Timings:	Activity
1:30	Arrive on location - Gabby’s House (Cast and Crew)
2:00	Shoot Letter Scene	38, 39, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45
3:00	Review footage, check changes
3:30	Break
4:00	Shoot any more footage needed (letter or rejections scenes)	1 - 46
4:30	Record the scenes involving singing in the park.	6, 9, 13, 16, 21, 25, 31, 34, 37, 46
5:45	Review final footage,  discus editing.
6:15	Pack up, go home.

 Selection of technical and performance crew:

• 3 Actors
• Two Girls - Sister will be played by Gabby Levene - main actress will be played by Omar Golani
• 1 Boy - Judge - Played by Bailey Plaskow
• Lighting person - Gabby 
• Shade Person - Gabby 
• Director - Talia
• Producer - Gabby and Talia
• Camera women - Talia
• Tripod
• Lighting equipment 
• Camera, Dixon 
• Final Cut 
• Edittors - Gabby and Talia, sound mixing, Audio Visual.

Team Roles and Responsibilities:

Talia will be the director of the production. Her responsibilities are to and have been to write up the production schedule, the location recce in JCoSS, drew up the story board and labeled each shot of it. She also wrote up the risk assessment for the audition scenes that we will be shooting in school and got permission from Mrs Eyre's (head of BTEC) to film there throughout January to Feb. As  well as contributing to the research she was responsible for talking about audition process and how we can bring that into our music video. While filming, she will be responsible for directing and making sure that everything goes to plan as we have drawn up here.

Gabby will be the producer of the music video and will make sure everything runs accordingly, I have had the responsibility of helping with the storyboard, the shot by shot script, team roles and responsibilities and the location reccce, risk assessment and the permission to film; I did the risk assesment for my house and got permission from my parents to film. I will be having a role of editing and making sure we edit to the best of our ability. I will be responsible for the equipment whilst filming and making sure everything is safe.

We will both be responsible for finding actors, producing and editing the whole music video.

Clearances:
As you can see we have permission to film in both locations, which are Gabby's house and JCoSS respectively. All music heard in the video belong's to Adele and her label, Universal Music Group as in no way our own work. In regards to the video, any characters involved are in no reference to anyone in particular, living or dead  and are completely fictitious as well as the storyline of the music video.

Permission to film for school: Risk assessment: Location recce:

RISK ASSESSMENT

NAME AND ADDRESS OF ASSESOR: Talia Wolf, 35 Deansway, Edgware HA8 9NQ

Location address: JCoSS,  Castlewood Road  New Barnet  EN4 9GE

Date of assessment: 26/01/17

Risk description	Risk [1-5]	Severity [1-5]	Prevention of risk
Water Heights / stairs Public Electricity and equipment Open flames Transport	1 2 3 2 1 1	2 3 1 2 3 1	We do not plan to use water in our music video, however in the SLT there are taps around. We will switch these off and make sure that they are not dripping regularly. We will also not drink water around the equipment and keep bottles away from there. There are 2 main staircases in the school that we might have to navigate around. We plan to only use the staircases when they are empty and not between periods where other students may be occupying them. We will also walk slowly up and down the stairs and avoiding running with the equipment. The public in this case are the children and staff attending this school. To avoid disruption, we will not use the staircases between periods and will make sure that lessons are not interrupted by our filming. By only filming quite scenes. Shouting will not be a factor within our video. All equipment used will be under our supervision the entire time. We will only be using sockets if completely necessary and we will do routine checks on both the wires and sockets to make sure that they are working properly. Wire ill also remain on the floor and will not be stretched or strengthened. There will be no open flames or ga taps associated with this production. In the SLT, there are gas taps but we will make sure that they are switched off and away from the cameras. If an fires do occur, we will follow the school procedure of Fore and exit the building quickly and in a calm manner. Transport to and from the school can be done via car, train and bus or walking. If there is no space in the car park, park at the back on the school. Any other issues that occur the security team will be able to help.

Local hospital: Barnet General	Address and phone number: Address: Wellhouse Ln, Barnet EN5 3DJ Phone: 020 8216 4600
Local police: Barnet Metropolitan Police	Address and phone number: 26-32 High St, Barnet EN5 5RU 999

Declaration that location has been assessed for risk and safety precautions have been considered.

Signed:  T.Wolf

Location Recce for: Jewish Community Secondary School (JCoSS)

Potential location: photo and address	Positives and negatives about location
Science Lecture Theatre (SLT)	Positives: Wide Space Lots of Chairs Lots of Light View of other part of the school Negatives: Permanent Desk and board in the classroom Lots of messy chairs must book, often occupied
Classroom H114 Drama Studio	Positives: ·         Often empty, don’t need to book ·         Adjustable curtains ·         Lots of space Negatives: ·         On the bridge, students can pass during lunch time and make noise ·         Chairs, tables board and computer are part of the classroom as well as shelves ·         No windows or Air con ·         Directly above MPH, could interrupt assembly depending on time of day. Positives: ·         Huge Space to perform ·         Chairs can be easily stacked and therefore removable ·         Easy to locate ·         Curtains can be drawn to shield light Negatives: must book in advance as it may be used by drama students Can be disruptive for those in assembly Quite Dark, Extra lighting may be required. Board, chairs and tables are in there but can be moved out of the way to set the scene