R+P Post 33: Reflections on my role and contribution during Research and Planning

In terms of planning our test shoot I feel like we all shared more or less equal responsibility and all contributed ideas to every aspect of the planning. The roles I think I was strongest in were storyboarding the video, creating potential designs for the digipak, working on the lighting in the studio and editing the rough cut of the video. I think the main aspects I need to work on in the real shoots are my performance skills as the DJ in the video, as this is something I have yet to master. There have been several steep learning curves, such as learning to use the camera in the studio and especially learning to use the lighting deck, but I believe that I am now confident in these areas, and I am ready for the main shoots!

R+P Post 32: Test shoot and rough edit

Our Test shoot went very well, as we followed our test shoot schedule:

We focused mainly on four different setups, one using a projector:

One using a sofa with different lighting setups:

One with lighting that we attempted to use to emulate a police car's flashing lights:

A two shot of the Dj and singer, which we also used to film the handheld shots of the DJ:

The test shoot was very useful to me, as it highlighted some practical problems we had yet to consider, such as how footage using projections would flicker. Because we realised this, we had to think about how to stage our shots using the projector to minimise the effect. It also gave us a chance to test out different lighting set-ups, and as a result we have several saved set-ups that will save us time in the real shoot.

The rough cut we produced using footage from the test shoot is below:

R+P Post 30 & 31: My shoot-board/ call sheet

This is our combined shoot-board and call sheet for our test week of filming. It has a tightly scheduled layout of when we are doing specific set-ups we had planned. It also contains a call-sheet of when each of us was available, as during the test shoot we used every possible opportunity to film. We didn't have any actors that weren't already in our group, so we didn't need to add any other names to the document. This shoot-board/call sheet was extremely useful for the test shoot, as it was kept us on schedule and allowed us to see who was available at what time, allowing us to plan when to shoot the shots requiring specific group members as actors easily.

R+P Post 29: Rehearsals

In order to make sure the test shoot ran smoothly and that we were cast in the correct roles, we held a test shoot for Aisha, who plays the lead singer of Cruze. This was immensely helpful in seeing whether Aisha would fir the role of the lead singer, and the result proved that she was very confident and enthusiastic in the role.

To get into my role as a DJ I watched various videos of professional DJ's to get a feel for what actions to do. I found this video especially helpful:

R+P Post 28: My kit list

 Our Kit varies depending on whether we are shooting in the studio or shooting on location. For our location shoot, the kit we use is shown here, consisting of:
-Canon Legaria HD camera
-Tripod
- Headphones
- Microphone that attaches to the camera

This kit works well on location, as the camera is small and lightweight, allowing us to take handheld footage, which we plan to do on our location shoot. The tripod is easily portable, and is useful in the studio and on location because it allows us to keep the camera still while we shoot.

The microphone and headphones are useful particularly on location, as it will allow us to capture sound, which although will be absent in the finished video, will make it much easier to match our footage with the song.

R+P Post 27: Casting

The three most important parts in our production are played by the members of our group - Aisha is the singer in the studio shots and the main focus of the narrative aspect of our video, Sayo is a major character in the narrative, and I play the DJ of the group in the studio and location shots. We made ourselves the main characters because it is convenient, as we had already discussed what we wanted our artists to dress like and have experience using the various pieces of equipment needed in the studio. We have all also acted in the A2 prelim, which means we all know the dedication required for the shoot.

The other actors we have collated for our video are mainly to make up numbers in the location shots and to give the 'posse' effect of videos like 'Shutdown' by Skepta and 'You Know You Like It' by AlunaGeorge which have inspired us, as we hope this will make our singer look social and popular. These actors are friends of members of our group, so we will be comfortable working with them, and trust them to be committed. The full cast list is below:

R+P Post 26: Set design, locations and props

The set design for our video is fairly simplistic, with the only major piece of set being a sofa to go in the centre of the frame for several shots. We think this will make the video seem casual, and will also look pleasant.

An example of one our storyboard post-it notes, which shows the sofa on set.

The props we are planning to use in the studio are mainly in relation to the DJ, specifically his 'DJ deck' (We are using a soundboard as a substitute.) and laptop, which we believe are vital in making sure the viewer knows straight away that this man on screen is a producer. We are also planning to use a stool in some shots for the singer to sit on, as this will also add to the laidback vibe of the video.

On location we don't have the soundboard, stool or sofa, and instead we have headphones for the DJ and a mobile phone for several shots in the narrative portion of the video.

The locations we are planning to shoot in are the graffiti covered side streets of Brick Lane and Wood Green, which we believe connote the urban sound of the music and the London-based location.

R+P Post 25: Costumes, props and make-up

Our costumes and make-up will hopefully connote the genres of UK R&B/garage and house music that our song falls into. We have attempted to make the costume for the singer and the extras on location based around casual, streetwise clothing that is popular primarily in the UK, with brands such as Adidas and Nike. The costume for the DJ is based off of what the most popular and influential DJs wear, and it is fairly similar to the rest of the costumes - it's usually streetwise and dark in colour. The only major addition is headphones, which seem to be omnipresent among DJs.

Our final costume is shown below:

Our props are different depending on whether we are shooting on location or in the studio. On location the only specific prop we need to use is a phone, for several shots as part of the narrative section of the video. In the studio we are planning to use:

-A sofa, as this will give the video a casual look and is also more interesting than just having the singer sing in front of a coloured background.
- A table, soundboard and laptop for the DJ, as this will make him seem professional and also connote that he is a DJ to the audience straight away.

R+P Post 24: Planning my digipak panels

To plan our digipak panels we took our inspirations and I drew up some designs based on them.

This is the sheet showing all of our initial ideas for the cover of the digipak. We decided before we started that the design would focus on the lead singer of the duo.

These designs were inspired by the covers of Adele's albums, which have tasteful black and white photographic portraits of Adele's face on their covers. However, we decided this didn't fit with our more electronic genre, so we discarded this idea.

This is an idea we liked much more, as it shows the singer and the DJ, which signifies the genre much better. We also like the idea of the artists standing back to back, although we are thinking of having this position be photographed in a way where the singer is facing more towards the camera, with the reverse image on the back cover which would focus more on the DJ. 

This is a demonstration of this idea, although the image above is a design for the inside of the digipak.

When we asked our target audience which of these designs they preferred they said they liked the idea of having the female singer, as the main draw of the act, having a portrait on the cover, and they also liked the idea of having the back cover being more focused on the DJ.

R+P Post 23: Planning my web pages

We designed our website pages using hand-drawn documents, and using the inspiration from several different existing websites.


We first asked our target audience what they usually looked for on websites for artists, and the main areas that came up were a merchandise shop, information about the artist and tour dates.

Based on this and websites we had looked at for other artists, we have planned our website to have 6 distinct sections, a home page, a page for the music of Cruze, a tab on the status of the duo's current tour, an about section giving information on the artists individually, a merchandise shop and a tab labelled 'More' that will contain news about the artists, as well as a picture gallery and information about Nimbus records. We also worked on finalising our ideas about what to put on the merchandise available in the web store, where we decided to mainly focus on putting the logo on various items of clothing and accessories.

Our website was inspired by the websites of artists like Rihanna and Ariana Grande, which we thought were intuitively designed and easy to navigate. Ariana Grande's website is linked in the image below, click to access it:

R+P Post 22: Planning my promo shots

Our promo shots will be a mix between studio shots and location shots, and will be used on our digipak artwork and website. Our ideas are for shots that focus on the singer primarily, but also contain some focus on the DJ. We are planning for the location based shots to be spontaneous and casual, in order ot maintain a gritty, independent feel. We have planned out the studio shots in more detail.

This image shows the final position we want the singer and DJ to stand in on the cover, and also shows some of the coloured backgrounds we are thinking of adding in during post-production.

This image and the image below it are some ideas we have for other shots we would like to get in the studio.

R+P Post 21: My key shots storyboard

Our storyboard was a vital tool in our planning process, as it was the first time that we were really able to visualise our project and compare each others visions of the video.

Our storyboard was created mainly to show the different set-ups we want to use in the studio and for the narrative shots on location.

It was really helpful to make a storyboard, as it was the first time I had thought about the framing of my video, which is a vital element any music video. It also helps you to really get a feel how the video will look when it's finished.

From our research we realised that most music videos use extreme framing that switches quickly between intense close-ups any long shots, contrary to the general rules of film. We tried to emulate this in our storyboard, as it makes a video much more exciting and attention-grabbing.

This close-up shows a specific shot we have planned for the location shoot of the video, included here to give an idea of the individual detail of each post-it note.

R+P Post 20: My Music Video Timeline

A very important element to our planning process was the music video timeline, which made us think about the structure and timing of our music video and about how the lyrics might affect the video.

The whole timeline. There are two main parts to the timeline, the lyrics in the bottom third and the timestamps/ specific shots in the rest. 

This 

R+P Post 19: My influences and vision for the project

To show our influence and vision for the music video, we produced this video made up from clips from other music videos to try and show what shot types, locations and moods we are going for.



Some of these shots feature effects we want to emulate in our own video, such as the cycling coloured lights at 0.19 in the video, and the projected background idea shown at 0.24. The urban locations seen at 0.26 and 0.11 are the kind of places we want to shoot in, and putting this video together showed me how effective shooting on location can look. It also made me consider costume, and about how it should fit with the surroundings.

My vision in summary is to make a video which takes these familiar elements from garage and R&B music videos and transforms them into something which is stylish, confident and cool, that will appeal to our target audience of R&B fans and young people.

R+P Post 18: Analysis of my track's lyrics and instrumentation

Full lyrics for 'On My Mind' (Click this link)

The first thing that the listener notices when starting this track are the chopped up vocals that, while are technically lyrics, are fairly indecipherable and meaningless. For this section of the video I'm going to try and cut to the beat of the song, and use the fast pace to show a large amount of establishing shots of the locations and characters in the video.

For the "Don't want to feel you, don't want you on my mind" segment, I'm planning to use some shots that last for longer and focus on the singer, in order to fit the calm, dreamy way these lines are delivered.

Verse 1:
"Why on earth would I leave
If you were everything I wanted you to be?
When I saw what you did, who you were with
Got me questionin' the things that I believe"

This implies some kind of relationship has recently ended between the singer and someone else because they were cheating on her. To convey this we are incorporating a narrative story-line into our music video where the singer of our group will similarly end a relationship with a disloyal boyfriend. This narrative will start during this verse, to correspond with the lyrics.

Pre-Chorus:
"So I ask myself, do I let you go?
Or do I keep you in the frame of my mind?
Now I'm growing wise to your sugar-coated lies
Nothing's sweet about my misery, yeah"

For this section, which is repeated once more later in the song, we get another small dose of information, which suggests that the singer is indecisive about whether or not to leave her partner. The wordplay in the last two lines relating to sugar and sweetness are some of the most memorable lines in the song, and I'm considering taking advantage of this by having a shot of the singer stepping on some kind of chocolate bar wrapper as this line plays.

Chorus:
"I Finally found what went wrong

I finally found the wrong in you"

These lines are sung in a way that suggests the singer doesn't seem to be too heartbroken, and may in fact be relieved that they 'Dodged the bullet' with this person. the music supports this by becoming more uptempo, and it is arguably the climax of the song. To react this, I plan to have some energetic group shots for this portion of the video.

Second verse:
"You again, whyd'ya call?

I don't need to hear you crying out my name,

Unlike before, when you and I lay eye to eye,

Now it's time for you to taste the bitter end."

This verse fleshes out the narrative of the song some more, by showing that the boyfriend is trying to win her back, with the words used making his attempts seem pathetic, and the closing couplet puts the singer in a position of power, making her seem like the partner that ended the relationship. In my video I plan to show the phone call detailed in the lyrics, and to show the couple splitting paths on the final line.

R+P Post 17: My Chosen Track

We have finalised our decision on our track, and have decided to go with 'On My Mind' by Jorja Smith X Preditah:



The song is written and performed by Jorja Smith, is produced by Grime DJ Preditah. The song is published by the label FAMM, which seems to be completely independent. We wrote this e-mail asking for permission to use the track to them:

We chose this track for several reasons:
-It has parts which are upbeat and slower parts, giving us an opportunity to shoot a wider variety of shot types and giving us more interesting options for editing.
-The song's lyrics are fairly vague, but are evidently about some kind of break-up, allowing us to take this idea and go in whatever direction we want.
-It fits in with contemporary trends in music, as it has an R&B song with house music influences, and both genres are both very popular right now.

R+P Post 16: My Band or Artist

Our artist is a singer/producer duo that produces R&B with influences from UK garage and Electronic Dance music. The duo is named 'Cruze' (Pronounced 'Cruise').

This is a logo I created for 'Cruze' using two black bars and the duo's name written in Franklin Gothic Heavy. This logo is inspired mainly by the logo of the band Muse, which is fairly similar, and the Cruze logo is also reminiscent of the parental advisory logo that is on many hip-hop and R&B albums that contain explicit language.

They are inspired by artists such as Amy Winehouse an AlunaGeorge, who have both managed to draw large fan-bases through being very genuine and also through having a clear and unique style, both musically and visually. The singer is Mahalia Jordan, a soul singer from East London who met with producer Alex Grey after he heard her at an open mic night.

R+P Post 15: My Record label

Our record label is one of our own creation, named 'Nimbus Records'. It is an independent label that prides itself on promoting the artist as well as the music, and focuses on London based artists. It is a subsidiary label of Sony music, so it allows the artists to have professional promotion but keep their creative control. The rough logo is below:

The logo shows a roman soldier surrounded by a Halo and a nimbus cloud, linking the logo with the name of the label. We chose the roman soldier because it once again links with the idea of Ancient Gods, and makes the label seem classy.

It is inspired by several other independent labels that operate primarily in the UK, such as Ministry of Sound. The memorable logo and the distinctive garage/house sound of most of it's signed artists have made the label synonymous with these genres, and therefore artists signed to it are immediately more appealing to a fan of these genres.

R+P Post 14: My Target Audience

Our target audience is 16-24 year olds who are fans of R&B, as we think that this will be the largest and most receptive audience for our artist.

This is a collage of images I made to demonstrate who I believe the main target audience for our music is: An urban, London-based audience of young people, specifically those between the ages of 16-24. This group of people primarily consume music through digital means such as through downloading music, and increasingly through streaming music on websites like Spotify and YouTube. In terms  of gender, I would say that women are more likely to consume our song, as several studies have shown that women are more likely to listen to female artists than men and vice versa, as seen on the study that will open if you click on the image below:

We have also conducted audience research, where we got verbal feedback from many 16-24 year olds, and from this it seems that women tend to listen more to the genres of pop music and R&B, which I would say our song falls into. The lyrics are also presented as an empowering break-up song, a type of music which is primarily marketed to women, Fans of the R&B/garage genres are also one of the main target audiences for our song, and since this genre is primarily popular in the more urban areas of London, this links strongly to the area and clothing usually worn by the target audience. The clothing usually worn by young people from these areas is streetwise and usually dark, such as black puffer coats and jogging bottoms. To appeal to this audience, our video should feature people wearing this kind of clothing.

Our primary audience will therefore be 16-24 year old fans of R&B, with an emphasis on women.

R+P Post 13: Influences and inspirations from art, fashion and culture

Since our artist is inspired by urban sounds and landscapes, much of the material I have been inspired by is related to this. Street art and graffiti are the primary forms of art that have been influential in my thinking, specifically the art of Jean-Michel basquiat and Banksy.

The vibrancy and roughness of Basquiat's work is something that I would love to capture in my music video, and since he had a huge influence on the styling of graffiti, it shouldn't be too difficult to find something similarly exuberant and colourful. Banksy's street paintings are similarly a staple of street art, with the way they incorporate a unique method of using stencils and the humour he manages to fit into the images, although usually with a political undertone.  

The fashion that has inspired me most is the streetwise, casual clothing that is currently popular in London, such as tracksuits and trainers by brands like Adidas and Nike. This urban style of fashion will hopefully identify our artists as from London, and will make them more relatable to their target audience.