The artist that I am working for is British singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding. The song I will be using is a remixed version of her and Calvin Harris's song "Outside". Ellie Goulding reaches out to her female audiences by challenging the stereotypes of sexualised female representations. This is shown by the way she dresses, for example in the original music video for "Outside" one of her costumes is a sports bra contrasted with ripped jeans and a leather biker jacket. This is similar in most of her other music videos, and it denotes that her style is quite hipster - which matches very closely with the electropop genre that she specialises in.
However, instead of using the artist's name, I will create a stage name which will link to Ellie Goulding's style of branding.
Audience-
My target audience is for both males and females around the ages of 16-25, more specifically between 17 and 21. They are quite likely to listen to popular radio stations such as Kiss FM and Capital, as well as tuning in to music channels at home on tv and watching the music videos there. The survey I conducted shows that my target audience mainly listened to R&B as well as EDM - there is a slight pattern as many new songs from these particular genres are played on Kiss FM and Capital, e.g. Drake, Clean Bandit, The Chainsmokers, The Weeknd etc. I think in order for my music video to fit in more with the target audience, I would add some small elements of R&B such as jewellery (big earrings).My vision-
Mise en scene - Music videoFor the mise en scene, I have considered following a similar costume to the Ellie Goulding in the original music video. For example, she wears clothing that may suggest some R&B as she is showing some skin. I think for a similar idea to this, the main character could wear a crop top with a skirt and a leather jacket.
Ancillary Products: Digipak and MagazineFor both the digipak and the magazine, they will feature the same images, but as I am going to be using my own stage name and branding that will be similar to Ellie Goulding's style, the images and fonts used will reflect them.
The stage name I am going to use will be "Estella K". The reason why I picked this was because the name "Estella" is Latin for "star" and the "K" is the initial for my first name. I liked this idea because it connotes how I am promoting myself as a star, and the stars are also quite symbolic to soul-type music. To reflect this in the digipak and the music video, there will be a picture of the artist lying down (surrounded by a ring of lit up star-shaped christmas lights) on the grass looking up at the starry sky and pointing. The artist's name will be placed against the backdrop of the starry sky. These take some elements from Ellie Goulding's album Lights.
Technology Use-
FilmingThe technology I will be using is a high quality digital camera and an adjustable tripod. I am going to alternate between them, so some shots will be just the camera to create non-static movements that are conventional to most music videos, and other shots will be with both the camera and the tripod- there are various parts of the tripod that I can use for a more variety of shots, for example I could also use the crane to tilt the camera upwards or downwards.
Editing
For the editing, I will be using Final Cut Pro X on the Mac. Last year, I used Final Cut Express, which was obviously an outdated version and the features were slightly more complex, so hopefully with Final Cut Pro it will be a lot easier to use which may improve the quality of the final product. Also I will use the slow-motion feature for the beginning shots in order to enhance the narrative of the music video and convey the message as well as matching with the pace of the music.Key Concepts-
My music video will follow two main theories- Todorov's Equilibrium theory and Propp's theory. In the original music video of "Outside" there is a mixture of Todorov's theory and some elements of Propp.
Todorov- 1) State of equilibrium: as the camera goes down the stairs, before the audience can suspect anything out of place- 2) Disruption of equilibrium: Two parents arguing with each other- 3) Recognition of disruption: Artist looking distressed, then seeing photo album with note on the floor- 4) Attempt to fix disruption: 'campaining' about domestic violence (extras in the music video holding up pieces of paper with phrases/symbols and smiling at the camera)- 5) New restored equilibrium: artist holding hands with mother and photo album in new location with new note next to it with symbol.
Propp- "Hero"-- artist; "Donor/Helper"-- members of public (extras); "Villain"-- perpetrator (artist's father); "Dispatcher"-- photo album with note next to it
Logistics-
Locations
I have considered using a few locations such as public places that I have easy access to. My initial idea for a location apart from my house was Romford Marketplace- although there are usually a lot of people, there are some flaws with this as most people may have been too busy to stop, and the permission forms may have wasted more time. I then considered going to London Zoo to film some random shots that would be conceptual in my music video- e.g. a caged animal would be symbolic for the artist in the music video about feeling trapped. I think the most popular public location for most of the shots would be my church as there quite a few people who would be willing to participate. I think I will also record some shots of London whilst I am in the car. These locations should hopefully fit the shooting script.Actors/Cast
I have decided who is going to be cast in my music video:
-- Parents arguing- My mum and dad
-- Artist- Myself
-- Members of public- Random extras (people that I know well and see very often)
