Copyright permission letter

This is a copy of the letter we will be sending to the music company to ask for permission to use one of The Neighbourhoods songs.

Dear Copyright Holder,

We are A-Level students and are writing to request your permission to use one of your tracks Sweater Weather by The Neighbourhood.

With your permission to use this track we would use it in our current A-level media studies project, which involves creating a music video to a popular music track, as well as producing an album cover and a magazine advert for the artist.

If we received your permission, this track would only be used in an educational context and be viewed by our media class, teacher and the OCR exam board. It would not be released to a large audience.

The artist and your company would of course be fully recognised throughout pre-production and the final video itself. A copyright notice with wording supplied by you can be included in the records of the project. If this is required, please send full details and we look forward to hearing from you.

Regards

Macy Swales
Jasmine Marshall

Risk Assessment

Taking into consideration all the potential risks when filming is and an essential stage of planning as it ensures no one gets hurt on set and no equipment gets damaged which would end up causing a delay in filming. Below are the potential risks we could face and a plan of how we plan on avoiding them.

Risk	Potential hazards	Risk level	Risk management
Sitting on rocks at the beach	Could be slippery	High	Making sure the actor is wearing suitable footwear and making sure its not slippery before hand- Not filming after its been raining
Uneven/slippery surface	Tripping over	Low	Watch carefully where walking
Bad weather	Broken equipment	Moderate	Keeping under shelter until it has stopped
Dropping equipment into water	Broken equipment	Moderate	Using a reliable tripod, keeping it stable at all times
Sparkler	Burn herself	Moderate	Keeping it at arms lengths and making sure she is only holing it for no longer than necessary and short periods of time

Choice for Protagonist

After considering to use  Eleanor again who starred in our AS opening sequence, we have decided that I will play the protagonist as we needed somebody who looked older to play the role in order for our protagonist to be as relatable to our target audience of 13-21 year olds as possible. If the protagonist looked too young than it wouldn't attract as wide of an audience as older people are less likely to watch it, however our younger audience would look up to somebody who is older so this will widen our audience. It also means that we can film whenever we need to without having to rely on somebody else who may not always be free when we need to film.

Media Language

Media language is the way in which a text has been put together to create meaning. This is usually done through signs and symbols as everything in a text is done for a reason and can usually be interpreted in different ways depending on the viewer.


Semiotics
Semiotics is the study of signs and how meaning is created. They can be used to either create an enigma or to get the preferred reading across to the audience. 


Mise-en-scene

Costumes, props, setting, make-up or anything else that is included within the shots scene. This is an important aspect as it helps the audience to identify the genre and gives them a clear idea of who the character represents.

Framing

Framing is the way in which a shot is composed, where you decide what you want to include and what angle the shot will be taken from.


Motif
A repeated image or pattern throughout the scene. It can help create narrative by repeating an element that has a significance in the story.

Visual signs
Visual signs can be easily recognised by the audience. It is a philosophical approach that interprets messages. 

Audio
Audio is the use of the sound/music used in a media text and can either be diegetic, the real life sounds or non-diegetic, background music or sound effects that are added afterwords and not part of the actual footage.

Signifiers
A signifier is a signs physical form and can be sound, printed word or an image as distinct from it's meaning. They represent an underlying meaning.

Signs
Signs are what the audience will be reading throughout whether they are obvious or hidden.

Media Language in our video
Our character will be using signs through the use of costume as she will be wearing stereotypical teenage clothing of a jumper, jeans and boots and this is usually what you would typically expect people to be wearing during autumn which straight away signifies to the audience that she is a young teenage girl and that the video is set in autumn.


Through the use of mise-en-scene we will be creating meaning by the use of natural surroundings, which emphasises the fact we are not using stereotypes and keeping our protagonist natural and not glamorous. We will be doing this by showing shots of water, tress and keeping the lighting to create a reflective and peaceful atmosphere. Through camera we will be using tracking shots of the protagonist walking to anchor meaning she is important and will also be using pull focus to show her change in thoughts.

When editing we will use a black and white filter to fit with the aesthetic of the video and using a mixture of long and short shots to show real life and verisimilitude.We will use cuts and overlays to show the passing of time and the thoughts in her mind as the reminisces memories. 

Representation In Our Video

Representation is the way in which a director portrays a character, social/age group, culture/communities or experiences. In our music video we will be representating couples, our protagonist and teenagers.

Protagonist

In our video we are portraying a stereotypial teenager by dressing her in clothes that you would expect a teenage girl to be wearing in autumn. We are doing this by dressing her in a simple outfit of a jumper, boots and jeans. We didn't want to dress our protagonist in anything too over the top as we want her to be relatable to teenagers a similar age and don't want her to end up looking too old or too young. Similarly, we wanted to keep the makeup simple and nothing too crazy as you would expect a teenage girl to be wearing makeup due to stereotypes, however again we wanted it to be relatable to the audience as an everyday look.

Ideas for our protagonist

Possible Actresses:

When choosing someone for our protagonist we wanted either Eleanor, who was in our project last year, or millie to play the role as although they look young, when they are dressed in costume with their makeup done they would look much older. However, because we are aiming our video at a niche audience made up of a majority of females aged between 13-18 we wanted the protagonist to be as relatable as possible so we would need somebody between the age of 16-18 so it looks professional and realistic. 

How women are usually portrayed
In music videos women are usually objectified and are represented as sexual objects for the male-gaze. Especially in rap and hip hop videos you expect to find the women exposed and dancing around the male singer in a sexual matter as they know this is what will sell in the industry, however all it does is give the impression to males that women are only objects of pleasure. Because of this it encourages the idea that sex sells in the media and advertisemnent industry. This idea links to feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey who believes women are only placed in music videos as objects for males and are victims of the male-gaze. Mulvey used the term 'male-gaze' in 1975 when she said that an audience have to 'view characters from the perspective of a hetrosexual male', meaning women can only watch a film/video from a secondary perspective. An example of this is in Robin Thickes, Blurred Lines where they are treated as objects with no respect:

However, despite this nowadays there are many feminist singers who go against these stereotypes to produce empowering videos and songs. There are many wome in the industry such as Katy Perry, Chritina Aguilara, Beyonce, Madonna and many more that use their music and videos to show independent and strong women with a feminist message. An example of this is Christina Aguilaras 'Can't Hold us Down' where she emphasises the importance of resepct and the double standards women face on a daily basis in society, the whole way through the video it encourages girl power. It is also a perfect example of how after all these years women finally have a voice to stand up for themselves which she starts off the song by singing "So what am I not supposed to have an opinion / should I be quiet just because i'm a woman".

Narrative

After doing our pitch our main criticism was that our narrative might not be strong enough, so we have gone back and changed our idea. Our original idea was a day in the life type of music video, using the time lapse of the sunrise and it finishing with the time lapse of the sunset. 
We have now decided that we are going to focus on the relationship to help add structure and to keep it gripping to an audience. At the start of the video it will how the protagonist falling out with her boyfriend who then walks away. The shot will then switch to a scene of her ripping up photos of each other and the narrative will be her reminiscing the relationship and going back to places they have been together. During the chorus it will be flashbacks of them in each place together. The main video will be shot in black and white while the chorus will be shot in colour to reflect the mood. At the end of the song it will show the protagonist back on the beach again and they end up getting back together. 

To help with the narrative and our ideas, I researched other music videos with similar narratives and themes so I was able to see how they have portrayed a break up and shots they have used to help get this across as I am in charge of camera. The first one I looked at is Beyonce's 'Broken-Hearted Girl', as the video is about a broken relationship and shows Beyonce reminiscing the relationship on the beach while incorporating flash back shots of the couple together in the same place. The video starts off black and white and towards the end some of the shots are in colour, which I think works really well, as I wasn't sure whether this idea would flow properly. For some of the shots they overlay-ed two different shots which I really like the idea of as I think it's simple yet effective and would work really well in our own video when the music changes towards the end. 

Audience Feedback

When presenting our pitch we got the following feedback from our audience: 

Positives-

• Locations appeal
• Like the artistic elements 
• Autumnal theme links with lyrics
• The idea of editing on the beat

Negatives/improvements-

• Could be too girly and not appeal to males
• Possibly include too many random shots
• Not a strong narrative 

Our pitch is a very important aspect of research as our media class includes our target audience which is teenagers aged 14-18 and it is vital to get honest feedback in order to improve our idea and make sure it appeals to a wide audience. For example the male audience said it doesn't appeal to them as it could be quite girly but said they would be more likely to watch if it included the male gaze. It is also important as it allows us enough time to go back and reevaluate our narrative before we begin filming to make sure it's gripping to an audience. 

The Lyrics to our Song

These are the lyrics to our song. We have chosen not to create a relationship between the music and visuals and have instead chosen to disjuncture the meaning of the song, as we think this is the best way to get our narrative across. The only relationship between the song and visuals is the fact that the protagonist will be wearing a sweater throughout. We have kept to the idea of love in the song, basing the narrative on a broken relationship and I think that the lyrics and the beat reflect this idea and atmosphere. We will be using Andrew Goodwin's theory of editing on the beat and star image by using shots of the protagonist repeatedly to show her importance.


All I am is a man
I want the world in my hands
I hate the beach
But I stand in California with my toes in the sand

Use the sleeves of my sweater
Let's have an adventure
Head in the clouds but my gravity's centered
Touch my neck and I'll touch yours
You in those little high waisted shorts, oh

She knows what I think about
And what I think about
One love, two mouths
One love, one house
No shirt, no blouse
Just us, you find out
Nothing that wouldn't wanna tell you about no

'Cause it's too cold whoa
For you here and now
So let me hold whoa
Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

And if I may just take your breath away
I don't mind if there's not much to say
Sometimes the silence guides our minds to
So move to a place so far away

The goosebumps start to raise
The minute that my left hand meets your waist
And then I watch your face
Put my finger on your tongue
'Cause you love the taste yeah

These hearts adore,
Every other beat the other one beats for
Inside this place is warm
Outside it starts to pour

Coming down
One love, two mouths
One love, one house
No shirt, no blouse
Just us, you find out
Nothing that I wouldn't wanna tell you about, no no

'Cause it's too cold whoa
For you here
And now
So let me hold whoa
Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

'Cause it's too cold whoa
For you here and now
So let me hold whoa
Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

Whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa, whoa
Whoa, whoa

'Cause it's too cold whoa
For you here and now
So let me hold whoa
Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

It's too cold whoa
For you here and now
So let me hold whoa
Both your hands in the holes of my sweater

It's too cold,
It's too cold
The holes of my sweater

Our Pitch

This is the powerpoint we used when pitching our ideas to our target audience. We used the lyrics to explain what idea we would use when, for example the green we would use lip syncing to add structure and the red is an example of when we would use shots that link to the lyrics. We then discusses our conventions and who we are trying to represent in our video, which is a stereotypical teenage relationship. We also made sure to include a screenshot of our pinterest page to help us explain what shots and costumes we are after and help the audience see a clear image of our ideas. 

Animatic

This is a rough draft of our animatic.

Rob Johnstone visit

In todays lesson we had a visit from a former student who came back to give us some advice on our blogs and practical work. He gave us lot's of advice on how important planning and research is before starting any of our own work, such as making sure we test out shots so that we know what works and what doesn't, making it easier on the day of filming. He also showed us examples of his ow work from A2 including his animatic, storyboard, shot list and filming schedule which showed us just how in depth they needed to be and how much detail to include. We learnt a lot from his visit, especially on the amount of preparation required to ensure that filming and the editing process runs smoothly.

Storyboard 1

This is our storyboard for our music video so far, we have included shots and locations we would like to use such as Ottery St Mary, Sidmouth Beach, a woods and an abandoned warehouse. By doing a storyboard it helps us to plan out exactly what we want to do and gives us a clear idea of where we want our video to go. They allow us to organise our creative ideas and give our work structure.

Pinterest Board for Costume

This is our moodboard for the costume of our main protagonist, we chose the jumper because of the name of the song being 'sweater weather'. Due to the name of the song we are also setting our music video in autumn so wanted to portray this as much as possible in the outfit by the use of the jumper and boots. Because the costume is quite simple it helps represent a stereotypical teenager. For the makeup we wanted to keep it natural, but also using dark autumnal colours for the eyeshadow to again reflect the season and we also wanted teenage girls to be able to relate to the character.

Pinterest Board for Shots

We created a moodboard for different shot ideas so we were able to cleary see what kind of shots we would like to use and different ways of framing shots, as I would like to focus on artistic shots throughout the video. This also helped when it came to our storyboard as we already had a rough plan of the shots we would like to include and when.

Time Lapse Idea

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsLLrvDDj5Q

After watching the opening sequence to House of Cards it inspired me to use a time lapse of the sunrise at the start of the video and a sunrise at the end to give our video some more structure.  Especially the shot of the beach 0.43 seconds in to the video where they hold a five second time lapse of a peacelful, calming beach. I wanted to include the time lapse at the start as I think it's a really good way of setting the time of day and I think the peacefullness and the fact theres no one around represents the loniness the protagonist feels after breaking up with her boyfriend. The time lapse at the end of the sunset again sets the time of day to show that the day is over and so is the video, but this time it will start with her sat on the rocks on her own before the boy walks over and sits down next to her to give the video an ending of them getting back together.