Zain Sheikh

Wednesday, 20 January 2016

Next steps

Zain,

You have been working well on your video, digipak and advert. Next steps:

1. Upload each of your products.
2. Narrate your journey for each of these so that we can see how your research and planning link with your final products.
3. Evaluation.
4. Ensure all planning and research elements are uploaded.

I look forward to seeing your finished products!

Well done.

Mrs Austin

Wednesday, 21 October 2015

Further Research & Planning Blog Ideas

I used a variety of images to explain the concept of my music video, from the colours I will be using to the clothes my artist will wear to emphasise the music video. I gathered a lot of ideas from not only what I thought would look best in my video but from looking at my questionnaire and adding ideas which my target audience would prefer in the video. By including this moodboard, it gave not only me but also my production team what we can include and add in our music video to make it effective and arresting.

The aim for the casual clothing images implemented in my moodboard is for me and my production team to understand what concept will work well with our song. I chose appropriate images to give us an idea and did not go off the line of what we were looking for in our music video, as this will mislead our audience which I did not want. The use of colours I chose on my moodboard was a range of colours, which we would discuss as a team what will work well to reflect on the genre and style of music. I believe by making this moodboard it has greatly helped me to visualise my music video, and giving me and my team an understanding of what should be achieved and carried out in our music video in order for it to be effective and intriguing.

My Moodboard - https://uk.pinterest.com/zain_sheikh/moodboard/

Storyboards & Lyrics

Mise-En-Scene

The costume used in my music video will represent the sadness and heartbreak of the song, which won’t be appealing for my target audience as it won’t express much but it follows through with the theme of the genre and song in the music video. There will not be many props in use in the music video, but both items of prop which will be included will tell a story, for example, the teddy bear which will be used will show the audience something from her childhood. This will allow the target audience to understand the story well but visually seeing what the story is saying. Another prop which will be used is the family picture frame, this will express that her love for her father was not real and that her happy family was ruined by her father being abusive towards her mother. This can appeal to my target audience, as they will possibly be able to understand her past experience even better than a teddy bear.

The location of my music video will be in a room, which won’t have much colour to it as the whole theme of the music is sad. The entire concept of the music video is supposed to show that she was ‘trapped’ in her own room, so it’s important we include a cell like scenario which does not show colour or emotion. The lightning used will be a dim spotlight focusing on the artist, making her centre of attention as she sings the lyrics of the song expressing her past. This will appeal to my target audience, as this is what they wanted to see following through in the questionnaire which was completed.

I want to represent my artist as a lost, unambitious young lady who lost all hope and love when her father abused her mother. Being able to express the whole scenario through her appearance and her facial expressions used, rather than just the lyrics of the song emphasising this. She will be wearing a simple dress to show that although she had a bad experience in the past she has matured into a young lady, showing that she is a strong young woman than she was before. I will communicate the genre of the music through the props, costume and tune of the song used, and making sure I don’t make my audience misunderstand the whole concept of the video and genre. Also remembering to stick with the whole scene throughout and keeping it same with the props used, without misleading my audience.

The elements of the video will present the mise-en-scene as intriguing and relatable, the props and facial expressions used will communicate the lyrics to the audience getting the message across. This makes the whole video not just understandable through the lyrics but through the different objects, facial expressions and camera shots used to express this. Also by using props, costume, location, facial expressions etc. This will create a sad atmosphere to my target audience, but give them hope that not to let the past get to you and this will give them the motivation and devotion that they can continue with life no matter what life throws at them.

References

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Representation In My Video

In my music video I will be representing my artist and characters in many different ways to express the style of the music and genre to my target audience. One way in which I will be representing my artist and characters is by different camera shots which I will be using. The shots I will be using continuously is long and medium-long shots, the reason for this is because I want my target audience to be able to see what is going on in the scene and getting a full view of the whole scenario. Also to make sure that my music video is narrated well and that the story of the music video is well told in order for the audience to understand it. Another shot which I would like to include in my video and which I believe is essential is the medium-long shot, the reason for this is because I want my audience to be able to view my artist’s facial expressions and the characters involved to express the story and create drama to get my audience interested. This is because by representing their facial expression says a lot to the audience and therefore I wanted to include this. The last shot which I'm very intrigued in using is the point of view shot (POV Shot), the reason for this is because my artist will have a flashback of her childhood within the music video which will show her point of view, and for this reason I want to be able to add a POV shot. So not only do the audience get second person point of view but also get the artist’s perspective of the whole scenario of the music video.

The angles used would vary depending what I'm trying to showcase to my audience, I will make sure to include high angle shots in my music video for when the father is being violent towards the mother. By doing this it will represent that males are more dominating and are superior in comparison to women. This will come across to my audience that way and so by including this it will go along with my whole concept of the video. By having a low angle shot it will show the audience the perspective of the mother when getting abused by her husband. Yet again giving the audience another person’s point of view rather than just seeing it from an audience’s view, so the audience are able to feel and connect with the artist by seeing different point of views. The canted angle will be implemented too for when the family picture frame is smashed by the artist, by having this angle it will show imbalance of not just the camera positioning but expressing the artist’s life too, by having transition and instability. From having all these angles implemented will represent different emotions and feelings within the music video which will show across to the audience.

Another way in which I will represent my artist is through the use of costume and props, I want the costume and props to say as much as possible in the video and show it’s meaning through the video in order for the audience to understand it. I want my artist to wear a simple elegant dress which shows that she is sophisticated and mature but yet still hurt and scarred from her childhood, when her father use to abuse her mother. From the costume worn the audience will be guessing what her costume is trying to express. By making my artist wear a simple dress, it will portray the idea of a mature young lady who has gone through thick and thin but still came out strong, although the pain of her father abusing her mother is engraved into her mind and soul there is no going back for her and the only thing she can do is move on from her past. So by her wearing a dress it represents her moving on and being an adult, dealing with the pain just as any adult would. The costume worn shows that she is not from higher or lower class but is average from a middle class status, the dress worn is very retro but there is sadness which emphasises this.

The music video I will be creating, will be representing today's social group in society. This video will represent those who have experienced or are in this situation today, by having this music video produced it will allow many individuals to relate to my music video. This will represent young adolescences and adults who have witnessed abuse with their own eyes, by sharing the same story and making them realise they are not alone in this as there is many people going through this too. This could also be represented to kids in care homes, who may have been living there all their life due to physical and mental abuse used by parents on one another.

My music video is open to all genders to relate to, but is mainly targeted to females as they are likely to open up and speak about their past experiences and share their experiences with others. Whereas for men, in today’s society, can come across as a bit of an embarrassment and therefore they may not want to share their story. My music video is not mainly based upon young girls and adults, but also those in small social groups. I will be representing this to all different ethnic cultures and not just a specific type, as I don't want to form inequality and discrimination within my music video, which may get my message out across in the wrong way.

My music video is not biased and is open and represented to different social statues from A all the way to E. However, my main focus group is young females from the social status of C2, D and E, the reason for this is because as mentioned before females are more likely to express their thoughts and feelings and be able to connect with them and share their experience or even just be able to feel their pain. The music video is based in a ladies point of view and so therefore it is likely that some males would not want to view something from a ladies perspective. The song is also very slow and because of this it was another reason why I represented my music video to this social group.

There are positive and negative representations within the music video, although the song is about abuse and sadness it emphasises the reality of today's society. However, the possible outcome of this representation of my music expresses that no matter what, life still goes on. All you have to do is get back and be strong and not let the littlest things come in your way. These representations will appeal to my audience in many ways, as I'm raising awareness about abuse by telling it through a song as well as including a video so the spectators can visualise the story, using different techniques to represent different methods by the artist and characters.

Within my music video there is not much challenges involved. The conventional representations included in my music video will be the young girl showing her innocence in the video and expresses weakness. The representation of stereotypes in my video will be that it shows men are stronger and superior than the opposite sex, and emphasising that women are weak and are being dominated by men. The child’s stuff is represented through the mise-en-scene by the use of toys, showing her innocence and by projecting a close up of her face displaying sadness and pain.

Locations List

The location throughout the music video will be based in the artist’s childhood room, the reason for this is because it emphasises with the lyrics being sung. This is because it is about her mother being abused in her childhood, and so her childhood bedroom portrays this as that is where the whole scene of her being safe was. However, she felt like she was in a cell as she is terrified to leave the room because of her father. The room will have power sockets enough for the lighting and camera and will be made sure to be a safe place to walk around whilst taking shots. To make sure no one trips over the wires, they will be stuck down to prevent any hazard. Not many people will be around the scene where my music will take place, as we are presenting it in a room, therefore, it should be a safe place to not only take shots but for everyone to talk around without any alerts of hazard. Another way to prevent too many people within the scene is to only include the character when needed for the scene if not needed then the character can either wait outside or be called when needed, in order to prevent any trips and falls within the set. This also includes making sure sockets are fitted in properly so that there is no electrical fault.

Shooting Schedule

DAY / TIME	LOCATION	SHOT DESCRIPTION	PEOPLE NEEDED
5^th October 2015	Bathroom	Mid-shot of girl (eldest) doing her make-up in the mirror	Girl (eldest), all film crew
		Close-up shot of girl (eldest) saying “I’m OK”	Girl (eldest), all film crew
6^th October 2015	School	Extreme long shot of girl (eldest) walking in the rain	Girl (eldest), all film crew
		Long shot of girl sitting on the floor in the rain	Girl (eldest), all film crew
		Close up shot of girl (eldest) looking into camera (intro)	Girl (eldest), all film crew
12^th October 2015	House	Close up shots of girl (middle) with cuts and bruises	Girl (middle), all film crew (including make-up artist)
13^th October 2015	Street	Long, hand-held, tracking shot of girl (middle) walking alone down the street	Girl (middle), all film crew
16^th October 2015	House	Mid shot of father’s shadow on the wall	Father, all film crew
20^th October 2015	House	Mid shot of girl (middle) getting inside tent	Girl (middle), all film crew
23^rd October 2015	House	Mid shot of girl (middle) and boyfriend	Girl (middle), all film crew
4^th November 2015	School	Mid shot of Mother, father fighting and girl (youngest) trying to break it up	Mother, Girl (youngest), Father, all film crew
11^th November 2015	School	Long shot of girl (youngest) sitting on the floor with her toy at the top of the stairs	Girl (youngest), all film crew
17^th November 2015	House	Close up shot of girl (youngest) looking into the camera	Girl (youngest), all film crew
19^th November 2015	House	Mid shot of girl (youngest) holding toy whilst parents fight	Girl (youngest), Mother, Father, all film crew
19^th November 2015	House	Mid shot of girl (youngest) holding toy whilst parents fight	Girl (youngest), Mother, Father, all film crew
	School	Long shot of Girl’s (middle) boyfriend and friends standing up and talking	Boyfriend, Friends, all film crew
	School	Long, point of view shot, girl (middle) watching boyfriend walk past and waving	Girl (middle), Boyfriend, all film crew
2^nd December 2015	House	Close up shot of mother’s hand wiping the blood off and putting a plaster on the girl (youngest)	Girl (youngest), Mother, all film crew
10^th December 2015	House	Mid shot of girl (youngest) lying in bed	Girl (youngest), all film crew
16^th December 2015	House	Close up shot of family picture	All film crew
18^th February 2016	School	Close up, point of view shot of father shouting into the camera	Father, all film crew
22^nd February 2016	School	Close up, point of view shot of father fighting girl (youngest)	Father, Girl (youngest), all film crew
	School	Long/Extreme Long, point of view shot of father walking away after pushing girl (youngest) onto the floor and then throwing a chair	Father, Girl (youngest), all film crew