Unit 29: Music Video Production Pre-Production Booklet for Music Video

Name: Harry Cowley

Order of contents (italics show areas you must add in yourself) Song Lyrics Meaning of the song Storyboard Script Mood board Props list Locations Shooting schedule Call sheet Risk assessment Clearances

Rules for your production 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Your potential track must conform to the following criteria: It must provide opportunities for original and creative work It must have a clearly definable target audience It must be generically identifiable i.e as clearly belonging to a particular genre/sub/genre it must be of digital quality and in an appropriate format for capturing to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 The track must have been missed and recorded to a high standard, including if using an independent artist (e.g. local band) You need to be able to prove you have checked ownership and have sought permission to use the track.

1. 2. 3. -

Your choices will need to: Be filtered out by your teacher if unsuitable (please anticipate the likely 'secondary' audience at Henley (parents, younger children, principle etc) Inspire the group to make a creative, original music video that uses and/or challenges conventions Be suitable for broadcast on mainstream music television so No swearing No sexually aggressive language/imagery Avoid drug related lyrics/imagery

Song

Song title Bittersweet Symphony

Artist The Verve

Genre Alternative Rock

What are the conventions of music videos from this genre? High angle shots are used to establish the setting of the video Constant close ups of both members of band and their instruments Group shots that show the band Low angle shots capture the lead singers and allow them to dominate the screens Mid shots are used to good effect to show detailed movements of people in the video Long shots are used to capture an overall image of the narrative of the video Editing goes to the same speed as the beat of the song Fading is used when the music is at a slower tempo Speed of editing matches the narrative of the video e.g. if someone is angry the editing speed a quick, whereas if someone is sad the speed of the editing is slow

How are you going to meet these conventions in your video? Style (in-concert and as live footage; animation (stop motion, digital); interpretative; narrative;
impressionist; surrealist; pastiche; parody; referencing; homage)

Despite being an alternative rock song, we are not actually going to be including any live footage of the band playing the song, but it will mainly be a narrative on some of the negative points in life. The lyrics will relate to the visuals throughout the song by walking through the town desolately; however it is slightly indirect as the character walking down the only road I've ever been down will not be lip-syncing to the lyrics too much in most shots. This is because we plan to have the character walking when the actual video is reversed, thus it is too hard to lip-sync backwards in this manner and will have to use a green-screen at certain points to mime this, by using a reversed background.

Costume In this case he will be wearing a black leather jacket with a standard shirt and black jeans. The clothing will not be coloured as the songs story is mainly focused on the negative points of life. However, The white T-shirt symbolises that there is still bright in darkness.

Lighting The entire music video will be colour corrected in order to make each shot look dark and grainy. As some of the shots will be filmed outside and others in a studio, some shots will need to have more changes done than others.

Locations Henley-on-Thames Town The Henley College Studio in R115

Shot types Long-shots Mid-shots Close-ups Tracking-shots

Lyrics

Insert the song lyrics below

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life Try to make ends meet You're a slave to money then you die I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down You know the one that takes you to the places where all the veins meet yeah,

No change, I can change I can change, I can change But I'm here in my mold I am here in my mold But I'm a million different people from one day to the next I can't change my mold No, no, no, no, no

Well I never pray But tonight I'm on my knees yeah I need to hear some sounds that recognize the pain in me, yeah I let the melody shine, let it cleanse my mind, I feel free now But the airways are clean and there's nobody singing to me now

No change, I can change I can change, I can change But I'm here in my mold I am here in my mold

And I'm a million different people from one day to the next I can't change my mold No, no, no, no, no I can't change I can't change

'Cause it's a bittersweet symphony, this life Try to make ends meet Try to find some money then you die I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down You know the one that takes you to the places where all the things meet yeah

You know I can change, I can change I can change, I can change But I'm here in my mold I am here in my mold And I'm a million different people from one day to the next I can't change my mold No, no, no, no, no

I can't change my mold no, no, no, no, no, I can't change Can't change my body, no, no, no

I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down Been down Ever been down Ever been down Ever been down Ever been down Have you ever been down? Have you've ever been down?

Meaning of the song

Does the song have a meaning? If so, what is it? This song is about life, the title 'Bittersweet Symphony' refers to the ups and downs of life. The song definitely has a great sense of irony about it, the lyrics, 'try to make ends meet, youre a slave to money till you die' have a message of inevitability about them. The song furthers this idea of the inevitability of life with the lyrics, I'll take you down the only road I've ever been down, you know the one that takes you to the places where all of ends meet yeah'. The 'places' in this case are the end of life or the end of the road in the metaphorical sense the song uses. The 'Bittersweet' aspect can also be see in the lyrics, the singer often expresses hope citing music as an important factor in this 'I let the melody shine let it cleanse my mind I feel free now'. However the 'bitter' aspect is always shown straight afterwards 'but the airways are clean and theres nobody singing to me now'. Essentially 'Bittersweet Symphony' is about the realisation that all life will end at some point and uses the metaphor of a road to express this.

How will your visuals relate to the song? (Illustrate, Amplify or Disjuncture) Firstly, the background will look like it is in reverse and the character will be walking forward discontentedly this illustrates the idea that the character is like an anomaly to the world, and just wants to try to make ends meet, but it clearly wont happen as he just can't change. Also instead of moving forwards in life, the reverse illustrates the way in which things are not developing, but rather going backwards instead which matches the mood of the lyrics and the disjuncture.

Storyboard Who?
Which characters/ objects are in the scene? Insert your storyboard here

Where?
What is the location for the shot?

Say What?
Is there any dialogue/text?

Lighting
Natural Ambient Torchlight Spotlight Direction of light?

And then.?
What happens? Describe the action.

Camera?
What is the camera angle?
Is there any movement from the camera?

Time?
Duration of the shot / number of frames action is held for.

Think carefully about the shots you will be using. Consider the range of shots/angles to give interest and perspective

Shots
Extreme long shot Long Shot Medium Shot Two Shot Over the Shoulder Medium Close up Close up Extreme close up

Camera Angles
Birds-eye view High angle Eye-level Low angle Oblique / canted angle Worms-eye view Ground Shot

Movement
Pan Tilt Tracking Shot Zoom

Editing
Montage Cross cutting Match cut Shot, reverse shot Eye-line match Jump cut Tracking shot

Script
Description of what will happen in your video inc. camera movements, angles etc
EXT. HENLEY-ON-THAMES TOWN CENTRE. DAY time-lapse of the square in reverse Shot cuts to a Time lapse of the Henley Town Centre clock in reverse Shot cross fades into a pan right on cars moving backwards Cuts to main character getting out of bed in reverse Cuts to shot of main character walking down the stairs Cuts to shot of main character picking up coat in reverse Cuts to title shot Camera zooms down the street with Gaussian blur Cuts to a shot of main character walking forward while everything else is going backwards. Close up Cuts to a shot of main character walking forward while everything else is going backwards. Close up Cuts to green screen shot of main character singing while the lyrics of the song appear around him Cuts to close up of main characters feet as he walks forward Cuts to a clip of a rocket going backwards Cuts to a shot of the main character walking down a street while everything is going backwards. Close up Cuts to a close up of the main characters feet. Cuts to another green screen shot from the side. Medium shot. Cuts to slow motion footage of a glass of milk breaking in reverse Cuts to a close up of the main character walking down a street Cuts to a shot of and aeroplane taking off in reverse, Time lapsed clouds overlay this shot Cuts to the final green screen shot of the main character signing with multiple changing backgrounds.

Mood board
Create a mood board showing what look your music video will have. Add images showing ideas of mise-en-scene, characters, costumes and colours that will be present in the different shots.

This is an example of what the final visuals may look like. A dark colour correction is added to match the mood of the video. Also the letterbox style gives it a more professional look. The character will always be in the middle of the shot, and the people and cars in the background are just ordinary people who are not acting. The setting is around the Henley-

on-Thames town where different spots will be used to add variation. The pictures used here are from a film that I created a few years ago and have no relation other than the shot type.

The Verve Bittersweet Symphony Music Video We are going to use the idea of the leather jacket for the costume, but keeping in mind that our music video is not based on the original, but instead adds a lot of other creative features such as visual effects, green screen footage, some stock footage, a different storyline and reversed events.

Props List
What props / models / furniture etc will you need to make your music video?

Production Name: Bittersweet Symphony Music Video Producers: Andy Raynes and Harry Cowley

Item Camera

Script page All

Description Used to capture the footage Steady the camera movement Remove background in post-production

Character/location Harry / Henley-onThames Harry / Henley-onThames

Notes N/A

Tripod

N/A

Green screen

Harry / Henley-onThames

N/A

Black leather jacket. White tshirt. Black Jeans.

All

For casual wear and symbolism

Harry / Henley-onThames

N/A

Location recce
Complete the location recce for the final venue.

Shooting Schedule for production:

Week 1

Monday 8:45am 11:55am All of outdoor filming

Tuesday 12:55pm 3:55pm All of green screen filming

Wednesday Editing any time I have free

Thursday Editing any time I have free

Friday Editing any time I have free

Saturday Editing any time I have free

Sunday Editing any time I have free

Call Sheet
VIIBE PRODUCTIONS @ The Henley College Production: Bittersweet Symphony Music Video Client Information: Locations: Henley-on-Thames Town The Henley College Studio in R115 Cast and Crew: Andy Raynes Harry Cowley Role: Phone Number: Cameraman, main editor 07776115183 Actor, equipment provider 07754319569

Production Requirements: - Camera - Tripod - Green screen

Brief: Filming a music video based on the roads of Henley-on-Thames, where one character is walking forward, but everything else is reversed

Other Information:

Risk assessment of venue

Complete risk assessment for the shooting locations

RISK ASSESSMENT
ACTIVITY HAZARD RISK H/M/L PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE REVIEWDATE REVIEWER

Walking

Tripping over

While walking backwards, the actor must be cautious and the camera man must direct him around objects While walking backwards the actor must be aware of other cars that are on the road. The camera man is tasked with directing the actor around objects.

YES

10/12/13

Harry C.

Walking

Other cars

YES

10/12/13

Harry C.

Moving around in studio.

Tripping over wires

While walking around the studio, both the camera man and the actor must be aware that there will be loose wires trailing around.

N/A

10/12/13

Harry C.

Please leave this section blank: Risk Assessment checked by: Name .. . Date

Signed

KEY:Activity :Describe the component part of your pursuit.Hazard : List the things you anticipate might cause harm or the things associated with your activity that have the potential to cause harm. Consider the likely harm. Risk: Assess the risk as either H (High), M (Medium) or L (Low). When concluding your assessment consider all of the circumstances. Precautions: Consider what you could do to minimise / negate the risk. In Place: Will the precautionary measures be in place at the time of the activity? Review Date: When would it be reasonable to review your assessment?

Remember it might be whilst you are undertaking the activity. Reviewer: Name of the person responsible for completing the risk assessment. A copy of this form should be taken on the activity or visit by the Reviewer.

Clearances
Insert copy of email sent to record label requesting permission for the use of chosen song As my friend and I worked on the shooting of the music video together and used the same song, this is a copy of the email sent to ask for clearances.