Costume Analysis

We looked at various music videos and we observed the artists' image: costumes; make-up; hairstyle; and props.  

This close up shot shows the artist's hand with a tattoo saying "UGLY" which is the title of the song. As a group we feel that this is effective as it relates to the lyrics and also has an underlying meaning. We feel that we could use this idea, however instead of "UGLY" we would change it to "STAR" which is a key word in our song choice. 

This close up shot shows the artist driving. On this shot, we are focusing on the make-up. The lighting helps emphasise the artist's image; the black background contrasts against the artist. Because of this, it helps the artist to stand out and she is the main focus of the shot. This allows the audience to recognise the artist and this makes her memorable. The lighting also gives the artist authority and higher status. From watching this, we can fit this idea into our music video. The artist's make up looks quite simple yet is effective; we can apply this to our music video as we want to draw attention from our target audience.

These two long shots shows the same sequence of dance moves but different costumes as well as the locations. The costumes are really effective as it contrasts the background making the artist more visible and recognisable. We are going to have costumes that are visible, and vibrant colours that contrasts the background. The editing of sudden change of location is really effective as not only it makes the music video interesting and entertaining, but it also makes the audience want to watch it again. We can adapt this editing idea of sudden location change as we think that this will give us an advantage.

This mid-shot shows the artist's hip hop image: dark coloured shirt; a baseball hat; and tattoos. We are going to have this image in our music video as image is one of the vital aspects of an R&B/Hip Hop music video. As from our research, we found out that hip hop is not only music but also a lifestyle to some people. Image is really important so we will be aware of this when producing our music video. 

This is a close up shot of the artist. The artist is wearing an iconic accessory: Shutter Shades. This is a type of glasses that hasn't got a lens but instead it has "Shutter" motif. They are not used as a sunglasses but more of a fashion accessory. We can get this idea of having this type of glasses as Shutter Shades are mostly presented in Hip Hop/R&B music videos which then allows our audience to know that our music video is R&B/Hip Hop.

Animatic (by whole group)

Storyboard Explaination By Emily

The first chorus, first rap are going to be shot in the daytime and the second chorus and second rap are going to shot at night time. We will have a variety of shots of cityscapes from different views such as through car windows, train windows and panning shots. We will also have a variety of dancing shots from different angles and people skateboarding,etc. Our video will include famous landmarks such as the London Eye and Big Ben/houses of parliment.

Our music video starts with a glimpise of what Ana (Main female character) is going to become at the end which is a star/famous artist.During this the audeince  cannot see her face only the different features of her body, such as her shoes and hands. These shots are all filmed behind her as if the camera is tracking her. At the end of the music video we see Ana again but we can see her face revealing her as a star. All of these shots are filmed from the front of her as if she is walking towards the camera. These shots at the start and end of the film will be shot in black and white

At the start of the music video shots of the two singers are of a high angle to show they are not in control and have little authority or status. Over the course of the music video this changes to low angle shots to show they have gained status and success and are in control.

Our music video is a hybrid of Performance and Spectacle with some Narrative. In between the rap (calvins character) we will have shots of Ana aswell as dancing,etc. We will use a varity of different shot types and angles aswell as important close-up shots of the artists singing.

Genre Insight by Calvin

This is a Youtube documentary on how Hip Hop has changed throughout the years.

As the video says, Hip Hop isn't just a normal music genre, it is also a way of life in some people's perspective. The way they dress is hip hop; the things they buy is hip hop; the cars they like is hip hop; the way they LIVE is hip hop. 

Hip Hop begun shortly after the era of Disco has ended. Numerous DJs and MCs started mixing and rhyming over funk and disco music tracks in 1979. This is what they call "Old School Hip Hop"; it is considered to be from 1979 to roughly 1984. It is based on the simple rhyming techniques as well as the various subject matters. The term "Hip Hop" came from Keith Cowboy, a member of the Grandmaster Flash and Furious Five through teasing marching soldiers by scat singing the sounds they make: "Hip" and "Hop". Later on, this has been linked to dance moves in the 80s which is now relevant on why most R&B and Hip Hop music video has dancing in them. This music genre evolved into a proper lifestyle creating new stereotypes on Street Dancers being called "B-boy" or "B-girl". In the early 80s, hip hop has been introduced to wider audience through being featured in various films thus claiming new audiences. Hip Hop fashion includes Coats/Jackets, Trainers, and Hats. 

Existing Record Label Company Research by Calvin

Def Jam Recordings

Def Jam Recordings is an American Record Label company which focuses on the music genre, hip hop and R&B. It started when Rick Rubin, an American Record Producer, in his dorm room at New York University released a single by his punk-rock group Hose. Later, Russel Simmons, an American Business Magnate, joined Rubin shortly after they were introduced to each other.
Now, Def Jam Recordings is one of the most popular record label company having successful artists such as Rihanna, Ne-Yo, Kanye West and more.

Elektra Records

Elektra Records was formed in 1950 by Jac Holzman and Paul Rickolt in St John's College. In 2004, Elektra Records was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Record Group; this lasted for 5 years until in 2009 the label was revived by Atlantic. Currently Elektra Records holds various successful artists such as Bruno Mars, Missy Elliot, Cee-Lo Green and more.

Case Study of Iconic Music Video Directors By Emily

Spike Jonze:

Spike Jonze (born Adam Speigel) is a director, producer and actor. He is famous for directing music videos such as 'Praise You' Fatboy Slim (1998), 'Flashing Lights' Kanye West (2008), 'Otis' Jay-z and Kanye West (2011) and 'Get Back Ludacris' (2004).

He had been nominated or won these awards in the past: The Golden Globeaward , MTV Movie award, and an Academy award.
(Jonze holding the producer award for 'The 1 Second Film' in October 2004, on right) In 1999 Spike Jonze recieved the Best Direction, Breakthrough and Best choregraphy at the MTV Video Music Awards for Fatboy Slim's 'Praise You'.

Francis Lawerence:

Francis Lawerence is a music video and film Director. He had worked with famous singers such as Lady Gaga (Bad Romance), OK Go (Get over it) , The Black Eyed peas (Let's get it started), Jennifer Lopez, Britney Spears (Im a slave 4 U), Beyonce, Green Day, Nine Inch Nails, Pink, Akon, Jay-z and Nicole Scherzinger (Baby Love) to name a few.

 He was recognised in 2003 for his work with Justin Timberlake on the music video 'Cry me a River'. Justin Timberlake won Best Pop and Best Male Video. Lawerence recived the Director of the Year Award in 2002 from the MVPA (The Music Video Production Association). He won a Grammy in 2002 for Shakira music video 'Suerte'.He became well known for his imaginative scripts and unique visual directing style.

Synopsis by Calvin

"I Wanna Be A Star" a song about how independent artists wants to be recognized and wants to showcase their talent to a wider audience; generally wanting Fame.

This music video will revolve around a main lead Female and Male (Ana Alvarez and Calvin Serrano); this will be taken by the Cinematographer (Emily Kelly). At the start, a compilation of close up shots showing various body parts of the female lead as a Successful 'Star' wearing fancy clothes and high heels. Throughout the end of these shots, it will show the female lead opening a door which then leads into a fade out. No music has not started at this point yet; only sound effects such as the footsteps and the door opening are presented. This is effective as it allows the audience to see and observe the female lead but the face won't be shown. These shots will be a hint or a foreshadow on what is going to be in this music video.

After those shots, a pan of Cityscape will be presented showing the location of our music video then the artist will be shown by a high angle shot. This is linking to the fact that the female lead at this point is not a 'Star' yet as she is still struggling and trying to pursue her career. There are various performance based shots will be shown throughout the music video and less narrative. However, through these shots, it will connotate the idea of how she struggled at first and how successful she is at the end. This will be supported by High angle and Low angle shots, as well as the costumes and props.
Right before the music video finishes, at the end the video will then again show the first part which are the compilation shot of the star but this time at the end, her face will be shown showing how she has changed throughout the video. The location in this will be green screen showing black background and possible a spotlight.
Various editing will be added to the music video such as: the green screen; video colour scheme; lighting; etc.

London Location Shots By Emily

Location Shots: Graffiti Park, Wall Graffiti, London Eye and Big Ben and Car park

Audience Research Survey Results By Emily (with help form Calvin and Ana)

Our questionnaire was posted on msn and another blog site. It collected these 7 responses:

1) This is the result for the question, "How old are you?". This shows our main target audience which are 16-20 years old.
2) This shows the result from the question, "Do you like the music genre R&B?". This tells us that 85.7% like the music genre R&B proving that it is popular.

3)This shows the response from the question, "What do you expect when watching an R&B music video?". We found out that fast shots and dancing are what people expect to see in an R&B music video.

 4) This shows the answers from the question, "What type of music video genre does R&B fit in?". 5 out of 7 tells us that Performance is the type of music video R&B fit in. 3 out of 7 tells us Spectacle, and 1 out of 7 tells us it's Narrative.

5) This shows the answers for the question, "On a scale of 1 to 5 (5 being very important, 1 being unimportant) how important do you think the image of the artist is in a music video?". 4 people said that Image is very important, 3 said that Image is fairly important and 1 said it is slightly important.

6) This shows the answers for the question, "What locations do you expect to see in an R&B music video?". This tells us that Urban locations are the most popular location people expect to see in an R&B music video.

7)This shows the answer for the question: What's your favourite R&B music vdieo and why? Rhianna and Jessie J were the most popular results.

8) What's your favourite R&B artist and why? Rhianna was the most popular result because her music video are 'interesting' because of her 'diversity' and because she is 'versatile in style and presentation'.

9) The answer to the question 'What shots would you like to see more of in an R&B music video? 57.1% said close-ups of the artists and again 57.1% said establishing location shots. 42.9% said they'd like to see panning shots. In our music video we will use a variety f these different shot types.

10) In the answers to the question, Do you think R&B is a successful and popular genre and why? Everyone who participated said that yes, it was a successful and popular genre as it is a frequently changing genre which is regularly in the charts.

Overall from these results we have found out that R&B is a successful and liked genre which people enjoying watching because of its fast paced shots and variety of locations and shot types. We also know who our target audience are which is 16-20 year olds.

Audience Research By Calvin

This is an interview targeting our target audience asking questions relating to our target music genre, R&B. This research is important as we find out what our target audience's expectations and opinions; this gave us an insight on what our music video would be like.

This is a bar chart showing how important 'Image' in a music video is according to the target audience.  The chart shows that 3 people chose 5: this means that they think that 'Image' in a music video is very important; another 3 people chose 4: this means that they think that 'Image' is fairly important; and one person chose 3: this means that 'Image' is neutral and depends on the music video.

This pie chart shows the percentage of people's expectations on what type of music video genre R&B should be in. 71.43% thinks that R&B music video genre should be Performance; 28.7% thinks that R&B music video should be Spectacle; and no one thinks R&B music video should be Narrative.

Our Audience research Questionnaire (Whole Group)

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