1. Artist decision
2. Initial ideas for the video
3. First Meeting with Artist
4. The Song Update: new demo with bass
5. Ideas: Initial Pitch + First Sample Footage
6. My Target Audience
7. Artist Research - Mura Masa and NOVAA
8. Pre-production Plan
9. Final Idea
10. Cast, Costume, Make-up
11. Make-up Run-through
12. Production Schedule Update
13. Coronavirus update: cast lost!
14. Prep for croquet shoot!
15. Spontaneous change of plan!
7th September 2019
1. Artist Decision
The artist I'm working with is local Luxembourgish artist, Aem (Youtube, Instagram, Facebook), a young Portuguese singer who recently won the Screaming Fields song contest with the single, City Ties. We are going to meet up soon to discuss ideas and songs that she has either completed/works in progress.
Her genre of music is electro dreampop, a more lo-fi subgenre of electropop. I don't know too much about conventions of electropop music videos, so I'm excited to learn more.
It's really exciting that I'll be working on making an actual promo music video for an artist, instead of imitating/recreating another artists style, it's an opportunity to be really creative.
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2. Initial Ideas
Initial Idea 1
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Initial Idea 2
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16th September 2019
3. First Meeting With Artist
I met up with AEM for the first time today to talk about some of the initial ideas and see if she had a song, some lyrics or a work in progress that she thought would work well with the ideas, and to see if she was enthusiastic about any of them.
She was interested in the gender idea, but thought that the split personality one would work really well with a current song in progress called Fake.
She showed me the demo she had, and some of the lyrics and I think it's going to work really well, it's going to take her a few weeks to get it finished.
In the mean time I'm going to do research on general conventions, and electropop conventions.
...
1st October 2019
4. The Song Update: new demo with bass
AEM just sent me the latest version of the song
Changes:
- bass added
- more layering
- higher quality recording
- longer
Lyrics:
Lately i've been wondering if i fell apart Would I Finally have a reason to cry if I pick up my mess will know what its like to be real but I keep on faking for you cause im not supposed to show u that all, all I do is for me so I, I'll go on hiding I-I-I I'll go on hiding you don't get it at all im just trying to fall because if I fall then I feel and if I feel I know its real
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20th October 2019
5. Ideas: Initial Pitch + First Sample Footage
Now that the song is closer to being finished I have a more solid idea about what direction the music video can go in.
Because its quite a slow song with a lot of heavy bass I'd like to experiment with making it quite psychedelic. I'd still like to play with gender bending characters, and have some violent element that can be filmed in slow motion.
...
...
6th December 2019
...
I asked AEM who her main influences were, and she told me Novaa and Mura Masa. I hadn't heard of either of these artists, and I want the music video to be representative of the artists' style and inlfuences.
This post looks at Mura Masa and Novaa's work, to see what influence I can take from them in the video.
...
Novaa
Young, Berlin based lo-fi electropop artist, Novaa, is one of Aem's main influences not only sonically, but aesthetically.Here I have a look at her work to see what influence Ame has already taken, and how I want to take. ...
...
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
The movement of Novaa (or more lack there-of) is quite similar to AEM's.
...
...
Mura Masa
English rapper, he rarely appears in his own videos, and when he does he is not the main performer. I see less influence form him in Aem's work, but 2 of his videos caught my attention for some potential influence.
...
...
6th December 2019
6. My Target Audience
Demographics
My target demographics can be broken down into these 6 categories:
Gender/sexuality
Ethnicity
Age
Region
Socio-economic status
...
Gender/Sexuality
The primary target audience is female, based off of the colouring choices - dark shades of pink and neon purples, and a range of pastels.
This is highly influenced by Halsey, Novaa and Chvrches aesthetics, who also have a primarily female target audience
However - Aem's primary target audience is does not necessarily adhere to the male/female gender binary, either in gender representation/identification of sexuality.
A queer target audience is also primary, as Aem herself identifies as a queer artist.
Therefor they will be targeted in the music video/website/digipak.
Uses and Gratifications theory suggests that an audience will seek out the media they with to consume based on certain criteria, 2 of which being identification or aspiration - if a queer audience is able to identify with Aem, they will likely consume more of her media.
...
Ethnicity
bell hooks explored how colonialist ideas are still omnipresent in our representation of ethnicity, and that Caucasian representation was considered the normative representation.
This can be seen in film, with subsidiary of Universal, Working Title, having almost exclusively Caucasian protagonists - as those films have a high budget there is a risk for the studio, and they most produce films they know will be successful, so they make the protagonists more 'identifiable' characters., suhcas those played by Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, About a Boy, Bridget Jones etc.
Smaller, Indie production companies like Warp, on the other hand, have less financial risk as they receive grants to make culturally important films, and have a wider range of ethnicities represented in their productions, such as Huang Lu, in She, a Chinese.
Aem, being Portuguese, is not immediately identifiable to a more typical Caucasian audience, having a more obscure accent. This adopts bell hook's post-colonialist view, and a more diverse representation than usual.
...
Age
Uses and Gratifications theory would suggest that a 14-24 year old target audience would identify with Aem or aspire to be like her.
The secondary target audience could be tween, although the final cut of the music video may be too edgy, so the secondary target audience could be a bit older (25-30).
Stuart Hall's theory of Readings would suggest that an older target audience would pick up on the preferred reading, with the use of an extended croquet scene based off of the cult film Heathers. Being an older film, and also an obscure cult film this appeals to an older target audience as they will understand the intertextuality.
The younger target audience (tween) may have some contested reading, as Heathers has lately been turned into a stage musical which ahas gained a lot of attention from young viewers - an episode of popular American teenage tv show Riverdale had a Heathers: The Musical episode in the latest season.
...
Region
The uk north/South binary divide is highly relevant to the target audience.
The North is typically represented as being more working class than the South, and more community oriented, whereas eh South is typically more upper class and individualistic.
An example of this is The Smiths (from Manchester) vs. Ed Sheeran, who I compared in this post.
In the music video I aim to target both these audiences, by using contrasting locations to explore the idea of what's real vs. what's fake - the old mining district in Luxembourg, featuring brick walls and old railways, vs. the new electric tram, with neon multicoloured doors and modern lighting.
I also want to target a Luxembourgish audience specifically, with Aem being a member of the quite tightly-knit Luxembourgish indie music scene, knowing local artists CHAiLD, the band TUYS and 2sticks, The Choppy Bumpy Peaches and Pleasing.
The use of well-known, central Luxembourgish settings helps the Luxembourgish target audience identify with the music video.
...
Socio-economic Status
Being an indie music video and having a low budget will help target a C1C2DE target audience, having to use basic props and no cgi. The mining district setting may also help through identification.
However, the plan for an extended croquet scene would appeal more to an ABC1 target audience, and may exclude the C2DE audience.
...
Moodboard
Demographics
My target demographics can be broken down into these 6 categories:
Gender/sexuality
Ethnicity
Age
Region
Socio-economic status
...
Gender/Sexuality
The primary target audience is female, based off of the colouring choices - dark shades of pink and neon purples, and a range of pastels.
This is highly influenced by Halsey, Novaa and Chvrches aesthetics, who also have a primarily female target audience
However - Aem's primary target audience is does not necessarily adhere to the male/female gender binary, either in gender representation/identification of sexuality.
A queer target audience is also primary, as Aem herself identifies as a queer artist.
Therefor they will be targeted in the music video/website/digipak.
Uses and Gratifications theory suggests that an audience will seek out the media they with to consume based on certain criteria, 2 of which being identification or aspiration - if a queer audience is able to identify with Aem, they will likely consume more of her media.
...
Ethnicity
bell hooks explored how colonialist ideas are still omnipresent in our representation of ethnicity, and that Caucasian representation was considered the normative representation.
This can be seen in film, with subsidiary of Universal, Working Title, having almost exclusively Caucasian protagonists - as those films have a high budget there is a risk for the studio, and they most produce films they know will be successful, so they make the protagonists more 'identifiable' characters., suhcas those played by Hugh Grant in Notting Hill, About a Boy, Bridget Jones etc.
Smaller, Indie production companies like Warp, on the other hand, have less financial risk as they receive grants to make culturally important films, and have a wider range of ethnicities represented in their productions, such as Huang Lu, in She, a Chinese.
Aem, being Portuguese, is not immediately identifiable to a more typical Caucasian audience, having a more obscure accent. This adopts bell hook's post-colonialist view, and a more diverse representation than usual.
...
Age
Uses and Gratifications theory would suggest that a 14-24 year old target audience would identify with Aem or aspire to be like her.
The secondary target audience could be tween, although the final cut of the music video may be too edgy, so the secondary target audience could be a bit older (25-30).
Stuart Hall's theory of Readings would suggest that an older target audience would pick up on the preferred reading, with the use of an extended croquet scene based off of the cult film Heathers. Being an older film, and also an obscure cult film this appeals to an older target audience as they will understand the intertextuality.
The younger target audience (tween) may have some contested reading, as Heathers has lately been turned into a stage musical which ahas gained a lot of attention from young viewers - an episode of popular American teenage tv show Riverdale had a Heathers: The Musical episode in the latest season.
...
Region
The uk north/South binary divide is highly relevant to the target audience.
The North is typically represented as being more working class than the South, and more community oriented, whereas eh South is typically more upper class and individualistic.
An example of this is The Smiths (from Manchester) vs. Ed Sheeran, who I compared in this post.
In the music video I aim to target both these audiences, by using contrasting locations to explore the idea of what's real vs. what's fake - the old mining district in Luxembourg, featuring brick walls and old railways, vs. the new electric tram, with neon multicoloured doors and modern lighting.
I also want to target a Luxembourgish audience specifically, with Aem being a member of the quite tightly-knit Luxembourgish indie music scene, knowing local artists CHAiLD, the band TUYS and 2sticks, The Choppy Bumpy Peaches and Pleasing.
The use of well-known, central Luxembourgish settings helps the Luxembourgish target audience identify with the music video.
...
Socio-economic Status
Being an indie music video and having a low budget will help target a C1C2DE target audience, having to use basic props and no cgi. The mining district setting may also help through identification.
However, the plan for an extended croquet scene would appeal more to an ABC1 target audience, and may exclude the C2DE audience.
...
Moodboard
...
25th December 2019
7. Artist Research: Mura Masa and NOVAA
I asked AEM who her main influences were, and she told me Novaa and Mura Masa. I hadn't heard of either of these artists, and I want the music video to be representative of the artists' style and inlfuences.
This post looks at Mura Masa and Novaa's work, to see what influence I can take from them in the video.
...
Novaa
Young, Berlin based lo-fi electropop artist, Novaa, is one of Aem's main influences not only sonically, but aesthetically.Here I have a look at her work to see what influence Ame has already taken, and how I want to take. ...
...
via GIPHY
via GIPHY
The movement of Novaa (or more lack there-of) is quite similar to AEM's.
...
...
Mura Masa
English rapper, he rarely appears in his own videos, and when he does he is not the main performer. I see less influence form him in Aem's work, but 2 of his videos caught my attention for some potential influence.
...
Mura masa from harriet Barlow
...
21st January 2020
8. Pre-Production Plan
1. Cast
Costume
makeup (for performance - 2 highly made up, some stripped - artificiality, maybe experiment with black and white - sweet child)
Lyrics timing sheet
21/01/2020
2. locations scout (fond de gras, tram, studio, gardens and fields)
film for sample cut + experiment with kit (gimble)
do animatic, do voiceover of track, with pics and sample footage (ties in with lyrics timing sheet)
23/01/2020 + 25/01/2020 (for fond de gras)
3. expand on planning for narrative scenes
brainstorming
23/01/2020
4. props/set dressing
24/01/2020
5. refresh and revisit genre egs
schedule all this - rough end point is Friday of next week
costume - maybe waistcoat? fob-watch? cane or hat (alice cooper, pimp association?)
2 locations - one very feminine w masculine touches, the other the reverse
maybe stockings and suspenders?
ripped jeans with fishnets
maybe bring multiple costumes to the sample shoots
subtle references, maybe to cabaret (cultural capital, simulacra)
in studio, maybe use colour masks, everything in black and white but the hair?
costumes for croquet players
make sure to complete ordering by this weekend
each have a feminine prop - parasol, nail file, that kind of thing
Costume
makeup (for performance - 2 highly made up, some stripped - artificiality, maybe experiment with black and white - sweet child)
Lyrics timing sheet
21/01/2020
2. locations scout (fond de gras, tram, studio, gardens and fields)
film for sample cut + experiment with kit (gimble)
do animatic, do voiceover of track, with pics and sample footage (ties in with lyrics timing sheet)
23/01/2020 + 25/01/2020 (for fond de gras)
3. expand on planning for narrative scenes
brainstorming
23/01/2020
4. props/set dressing
24/01/2020
5. refresh and revisit genre egs
schedule all this - rough end point is Friday of next week
costume - maybe waistcoat? fob-watch? cane or hat (alice cooper, pimp association?)
2 locations - one very feminine w masculine touches, the other the reverse
maybe stockings and suspenders?
ripped jeans with fishnets
maybe bring multiple costumes to the sample shoots
subtle references, maybe to cabaret (cultural capital, simulacra)
in studio, maybe use colour masks, everything in black and white but the hair?
costumes for croquet players
make sure to complete ordering by this weekend
each have a feminine prop - parasol, nail file, that kind of thing
...
10th February 2020
9. Final Idea
10. Cast, Costume, Make-up
Heather 1
Ryan, Aem's Boyfriend
Red shirt/blouse/cardigan from Ema's wardrobe, black slacks, going to dye some cheap white sneakers red.
red make-up (eye shadow or lipstick, maybe both we'll see how they look)
Red croquet bat and ball
Heather 2
Adam, mutual friend, long hair
Green jumper with furred cuffs, black slacks, going to dye shoes green
green themes make-up (eye focused)
green croquet bat and ball
Heather 3
Jade or Eli, mutual friends, long hair
Yellow knitwear vest with white shirt underneath, flared sleeves (pirate-esque), going to dye shoes yellow
yellow make-up (eye focused)
Yellow croquet bat and ball
"Buttler"
Jade or Eli or Leigh (preferably female)
white shirt, bowtie, black slacks, smart black shoes, black tux, top hat?
Silver tray with lid, glass/fancy vase with strange food inside (gummy bears or tic tacs)
Winona Ryder/Christian Slater mashup character
Aem
still uncertain on wardrobe, thinking a pair of dungarees she has with puffy mesh brightly coloured blouse underneath, blue shoes, long black trenchcoat on top (to be taken off during vid)
blue make-up
...
25th February 2020
11. Make-up Run-through
11. Make-up Run-through
Make-up Run-through
We practiced the different make-up looks on one of the cast members, I'm really happy with it - the colours pop, conventional for the electopop genre, and the level of skill was really good in applying it, so the androgyny doesn't look distasteful, Ryan actually looks really glamorous
...
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30th February 2020
12. Production Schedule Update
Because the weather has been so bad, we're postponing the filming of the croquet scene, in 2 weeks there is meant to be sun!
...
...
13th March 2020
13. Coronavirus update: cast lost!
Cast members lost!
we have lost 3 cast members - their parents have forbid them from leaving the house in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Remaining cast members are:
-Aem
-Ryan
-Adam
I'm thinking that they can just be the 3 heathers now, and I've asked Adam if we can borrow one of his mums' dummies to be the butler, it looks quirky and we can but a top hat, bowtie and the long JD trenchcoat on it to still be a reference to the Heather's character.
His mum had quite the selection to choose from:
we have lost 3 cast members - their parents have forbid them from leaving the house in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
Remaining cast members are:
-Aem
-Ryan
-Adam
I'm thinking that they can just be the 3 heathers now, and I've asked Adam if we can borrow one of his mums' dummies to be the butler, it looks quirky and we can but a top hat, bowtie and the long JD trenchcoat on it to still be a reference to the Heather's character.
His mum had quite the selection to choose from:
...
Final Decision:
...
15th March 2020
14. Prep for croquet shoot!
Props!
all the props are gathered in the kitchen ready to go, were picking some up with Adam, costumes are prepared.
Make-up
Aem is doing the make-up while I put the nail polish on the boys
Costume
We've had to try a few different costumes, because some just didn't look right, Adam is now wearing a dress and Ryan is wearing a loose fitting shirt with loose black trousers and a necklace. We've added some jewellery too (pearls and the necklace for Ryan and Aem)
...
15. Spontaneous change of plan!
We thought it looked really cool as when we were carrying all the props to the end of the garden, so we've decided to put them all back and film it to include in the video
...
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