Health and Saftey Measures

During the filming of my music video, there will be scenes where two main characters will be required to dance on tables and this of course requires health and safety measures to be practiced and carefully put in place. Whilst filming these scenes we ensured that getting on to the tables was safe and secure and that the actors did not rush, putting themselves in danger as a result. It is extremely important to take health and safety into consideration as if someone was to get hurt during filming as it is the director of the video who will be questioned. Another reason it is important is to ensure that everything is done correctly and to the best of the dancers' and singers' abilities and if health and safety is not considered this could have a huge impact on the video. If someone was to be hurt whilst filming as a result of neglecting health and safety procedures, it could be detrimental to filming and could mean that new people must be acquired to help or could cease filming altogether. 

Another safety measure we ensured was carried out was that filming did not take place in one long continuous shot between scenes. This meant that the actors could safely get on and off of the tables with help and so that they would not be rushing. Firstly we decided that a large group of people dancing may be the most effective look within the video, however after filming this, it was clear that instructions were ignored because of having such a large group. We then found that using a smaller group of actors helped us to ensure that all health and safety procedures were gone through with the dancers/actors and also enabled us to get the most footage out of filming. Having reduced the amount of people in the video from 25 to 10, meant that more time could be spent on going through health and safety measures to make sure that every person knew what they were doing and what was expected of them.

Filming the Video

I have decided that my music video will ensure all aspects of a pop music video are incorporated within, this will enable me to reach out to my target audience and achieve what I have aimed to do. My music video will use the song 'Saturday Night' which was originally sung by Whigfield, as I believe it has a feel-good vibe about it, it is catchy and offers me many opportunities to be creative and original.

I am planning on filming a group of employees at a staff meeting which will take place within a classroom in the Sixth form I am filming in. I am planning on filming a continuous shot so that the video flows and runs through without jumping and needing many transactions to be used in the editing phase. The camera angle will be aimed so that the meeting can be seen clearly and at eye-level, there will also be a close up of the manager pointing his finger to emphasise his supposed authority to the audience.

I had originally planned and made a story board of a party scene within the video which was supposed to take place after the work time. After careful consideration, I decided that it would make more sense to have the employees stay in the office rather than for the video to jump, in order to create a clearer picture for the audience to understand. In changing my ideas, I had two main characters taking the lead and encouraging the other employees to get up and dance and enjoy themselves whilst the manager was taking a phone call outside of the room.

I have come to a conclusion that I will include the infamous 'Saturday Night' dance, notoriously known for its widespread use at parties, as it will create a party-like vibe. If the video is to be a success amongst its target audience, it must be something they would participate in themselves.

To add a funny twist to the plot of the music video, it has been planned that a conga line will make up the last scene. The two main characters will go past the window first, then followed by a small group of people and then by an even larger group. In order to gain a comic feel, the 'manager' will then jump past the window. The intention of the music video is to ensure that viewers will enjoy and wish to join in with what they are watching, the video is also intended to be humorous and entertaining for the viewers.

Planning of Music Video

Questionnaire Summary and Research
We decided that after our questionnaire had been given out and the results collected, we would learn best from the results if we were able to analyse them in a simple way. We mind mapped peoples opinions and popular pop artists who we would aim to take inspiration from in our music video. 

Planning
In order to plan our video, we had to take into consideration the setting of the video, the locations in which we would like to film, camera angles, costumes for characters, how the lighting would be set and the roles of characters. Detailed planning is important as it ensures that I know what I need to consider before and during filming. 

Storyboard
Planning a storyboard will ensure I am aware of the order of which I will organise the footage we film. It will be used as a rough example of how I would like to see the video turn out to be like. It provides details of camera angles so that I am aware of how a shot might look best and also explains what is happening in each frame - to be used as a rough guide. 

Finalising my Planning

After careful consideration of song choices, I have decided on the song I wish to use. In my planning, I have been looking for a song which will capture the imagine the imagination of the audience to make it feel-good and upbeat and so that the audience will remember what they have seen. I have listened to many various songs and worked out which would best follow my brief.

I have decided that in order to follow my brief and ensure that I am able to reach out to the widest audience, I will use a song which is catchy and has scope to be individual and original. I have decided to use the song 'Saturday Night' by Whigfield as it already has a world famous dance which I may in some way be able to incorporate into my video. Whilst being as individual as possible in the creation of my music video, I will ensure to incorporate a group of people into my video to dance to the song.

I believe that my song choice will enable me to make the most out of my brief and audience profile. It will ensure that my video has lots of scope for creativity and for defying convention so that I am able to make it my own. Saturday Night is energetic and is the perfect song as it fits my brief exactly. The song meets my brief of a pop song, aimed at a majority, teenage audience.

How I intend on targeting the audience...

In following the techniques used in similar music videos of the 'pop' genre, I am going to be incorporating feel-good music with catchy lyrics and style. This will capture my intended audiences' attention as I will follow the conventions set by past music videos they have enjoyed previously. I will have to incorporate various techniques in order to target the audience effectively.

As part of my research I have created a questionnaire which I intend on asking ten females and ten males, all aged between 16-18. The questionnaire will enable to me to decide what would make my music video popular and how I should go about in the filming and creation of my course work piece. In order to come to a conclusion of the correct song choice, I have undertaken extensive research into how different songs are used to capture the audiences' attention.

I am sure that with the levels of research I have completed as well as some market research of various girl bands as well as songs, I will make the correct choices in my production and this will enable me to target the audience effectively.

Song Choices, Spice Girls - Wanna Be

The Spice Girls

Wanna Be

This song is aimed at a teenage girl audience rather than a whole teenage audience. It is an energetic and original song which has a lot of scope for creativity and individuality in the creation of my own music video. Wanna Be was released in the late 90s and so fits my criteria profile, it features five young women who are the artists and I feel that the girl group I have set up would fit the mould but at the same time challenge what has already been done.

Dancing could be incorporated into my music video if I were to use the song and this is one of my main focuses. The video must be enjoyable to those who watch it, I would like it to be able to tell a story which I believe this song has the prospect to offer.

 

Song Choices, The Tide is High - Atomic Kitten

The Tide is High - Atomic Kitten

This song is fully aimed at a teenage / young adult, gender being female, audience which means that the target audience is much narrower than other songs, although of the same genre. I would expect to target the audience by using various themes to encourage viewing, I would tie in the lyrics. The Tide is High would enable me to incorporate various techniques to encourage a female audience to enjoy and watch the video as it is fitting of the genre I am aiming use.

The song would not necessarily include dancing and so in comparison to other songs I have analysed, I will have a smaller audience to target if I was to use this song. However, it has a distinctive chorus and the scope to become modern once again. I would consider using this song as the target audience would have listened to it when they were younger and using it would allow for new popularity of the song.

Song Choices, Saturday Night - Whigfield

Saturday Night - Whigfield

The song Saturday Night by Whigfield is a properly energetic dance song which has been played at many a party over the years. The song has a very good vibe to it and I feel as though a lot could be done in a music video based around it. In creating my music video, I am looking to incorporate dancing within, and Saturday Night would provide a perfect basis for doing so.

The song is not only aimed at an audience of young girls as many female singers are, but instead at a much wider range of people. The dance which accompanies it allows for much greater audience viewing and participation, and based on this alone, the song reaches out to a far wider audience than expected at first glance.

Research: The Spice Girls

The Spice Girls

The Spice Girls were formed in 1994 and was completed with five members; "Baby Spice", "Scary Spice", "Ginger Spice", "Sporty Spice", and "Posh Spice". Their debut album, Spice, sold more than 28 million copies worldwide, becoming the best-selling album by a female group in music history.

Their music and image were specifically aimed at a young, teenage audience. The Spice Girls were branded to incorporate 'Girl Power' and performed much of the meaning of the band. Author Ryan Dawson said, "The Spice Girls changed British culture enough for Girl Power to now seem completely unremarkable." They were amongst other artists e.g. Madonna and Bananarama, who had similar ideas.

Research: Atomic Kitten



Atomic Kitten

Atomic Kitten first formed as a band in 1997, with three members and three UK number one singles. Their songs and albums were aimed at a teenage audience of girls and conformed with other girl groups of the time. Their music is in the category of pop and was energetic in terms of their sound and their styles. The band follow Andrew Goodwins theory exactly with their themes being conventional and stereotypical of the genre and of the time they were filmed.

Research: Whigfield

Whigfield
Saturday Night

The song was a nationwide hit in the summer of 1994 with a catchy rhythm and dance which people could enjoy and take part in. The song stayed at number one in the charts for a total of four weeks. It sold 680,000 copies in the process, sold a total of 1,092,250 copies and is currently the 65th best selling single in UK chart history.

The song is still played as a popular dance number and people of all ages know the simple dance moves. It is an excellent example of a song which has stood the test of time in still being a popular and remembered by a wide audience.

Locations For Filming

• On our first day of filming we had over 20 actors and actresses taking part in our filming, people were positioned according to height. It was important to have a large number of people taking part as the video was intended to have a 'dance' theme and was supposed to be full of movement. However, on attempting filming with so many people as originally planned, it was realised that ambitions for the video were not going to be completed if so many people were taking part. Many directions were ignored and it was hard to control the direction in which the music video was intended to take. On finding this problem, it was decided that the music video would be filmed on a smaller scale in order to ensure that the brief was met and so that it looked as professional as possible with the equipment available.
• My initial plans then had to be adapted and it was decided that an empty classroom would be used as the initial location to create an office look, moving the camera away from anything which may give the location away e.g. whiteboards, displays. The way we filmed this scene made sure that the most was made out of the space we had to use but also to steer way from the 'classroom' feel of the room. Tables were positioned in the centre of our filming space and actors were sat around the table in the establishing shots.
• The tables were arranged centrally so that between shots, the two main characters of the video who make up the girl band, could dance on them safely and so that the shot ran smoothly.  Many of the camera focus was such that it would emphasise the fact that they are who the audience should be focused on, as would be the demand in real life from the record label.
  
  
• The window at the back of the classroom was used at the end of the music video to create a funny ending as it fits in with the genre we have chosen. We gathered a line of people which we encouraged to gradually build up to walk past the window a few at a time.
  
  
• Filming also took place in a woodland area to give an impression of the two main characters - who were members of the workforce - walking home from work. The ground at the time of filming was icey and made the perfect setting for this part of the music video as it looks magical. In fact, in the end we didn't use this as part of the video as it din't fit in with the specification and planning.

Cast Costumes

• For the office scenes in my music video, I am ensuring that the actors will wear smart clothing which is suitable as serious office wear. This will set the scene for the video as it is vital that the actors are portrayed in a believable manner. The way their costumes will be put together will lead the audience to believe that it is a serious video and will be surprised at how the video pans out from this concept.
• Whilst the manager is out of the set up office, everyone will become far more laid back and so, although wearing the same outfits, everyone will appear far more casual.
• It is important for the audience to understand that the actors are in an office and this should be represented not only in the location but also in how they are dressed. Therefore, it is extremely important that all actors are briefed before they arrive on the set so that filming runs smoothly and in the way that I have planned.

Questionnaires and Results

In order to gather an understanding of the various and most popular types of music people listen to, I have devised a questionnaire. Many of the questions I have decided to ask require simple, one word answers, yet at the same time will be extremely valuable in my production. It is important that Questionnaires were given out and information gathered from these as I am looking to appeal to an audience and not just to my taste. Out of the ten questions asked, I aimed to gather as much information as possible.

Firstly I asked the question 'How old are you?', this would enable me to discover whether certain age groups were more inclined to like certain types of music. We asked an age range of beterr 16-19 year olds and so felt that we were asking the intended audience of the video.

I also feel that gender effects the type of music people listen to, by asking people to circle their gender, I would be able to take this into consideration whilst evaluating their answers. We gave out 20 questionnaires in total and ensured that 10 males were questioned and 10 females were questioned.

I am looking to create a pop music video at the end of all of my planning and so felt that it was necessary to work out a rough percentage of how many people would watch the video out of choice. I asked people to circle whether or not they listened to pop music and if they were to answer 'no', they were asked to state which type of music it was they did listen to.

Furthermore I felt it necessary to ask people what they felt would make a good pop song, whether this be the pace of music, the beat, the video behind it, the specific artist etc. We were looking to understand what would improve our choices with our production and so took people's thoughts into consideration.

For the fifth question in the questionnaire I decided to ask what people felt should be included in a music video in order to make it a success. We could then incorporate these opinions in our own video which would then make it appeal to more people and choose a song which would enable us to do this.

Next, I asked what people felt made a successful pop artist and why they thought this. This will ensure I understand what I will have to do to transform the face of the girl group to become popular and successful. I would have to follow conventions so that they meet the prospective audience's expectations.

I then went on to question people on whether they had seen any pop videos which may have caught their eye in comparison to others. This will help me in my production as I can review these certain videos and evaluate how to incorporate certain aspects into my own video, such as how the transactions are used.

For question 8, we asked 'Do you feel the image of the artist affects the audience?' This will further my knowledge of how important the image of the girl group will be to the audience, the kind of audience they will attract and the way I should portray them.

I already knew that we were aiming to use a song from the 1990's period, this would allow for us to us to use a song which had been released when we were younger. We asked people whether there were any 90's pop songs they may actually still listen to and then we would go through the answers received in order to help us into narrowing down our choices.

For our final question we asked whether people felt like party dance songs e.g. the Macarena, Saturday Night etc. were still popular. We could then discover if our choices would appeal to a modern- day audience, our video will be aimed at.

Brief For Music Video Production

Firstly, I am going to create a music video which follows the expected, traditional conventions at the same time as challenging them. I am planning on using a fast-paced song from the 'POP'/ dance genre to attract my video to a younger audience which includes older teens.

In addition to this, I am planning on using a song in which dance moves can easily be incorporated for greater interaction with the audience of the video. This will ensure popularity and memorability of my music video. I am planning on having dance sections in the video to encourage greater participation of the audience.

Furthermore, I wish to encorporate a large group of people into my video whilst filming. I also wish to film an office scene in which a group of emplyees are in a meeting. I am then planning on filming various party scenes which I will then incorporate into my finished product.

As well as the action scenes, I am going to employ three main characters to bring out the story line within the video to ensure it all ties together fluently. The main characters will tell the story and set the scene for the audience. The three main characters will pose as part of a girl-group and so the song I use will have to apply to the conventions of existing groups of the same kind.

Audience Profile

My intended audience is not gender specific as I believe that dance/ POP music should be enjoyed by all. Aiming the video at a wider audience means that more can be included in the video to ensure that it applies to all who watch it. I would say that the age group of my target audience would be between 17-24 who are College and University students. I am planning to use a song to create a video which can be played at parties and in other similar situations.

My music video will be aimed at those who enjoy dancing and light-hearted music, it will not be over complicated but instead, easy to understand. I intend to capture the imagination of those who enjoy POP music and incorporate dancing, as well as a story-line into the video. The aim of the music video will be to attract a young audience who enjoy the POP genre.

Evaluation of Practice Task

This is the finished product of our music video to the song 'Fever' sung by Peggy Lee. A range of camera shots have been applied as well as special effects to fit with the different scenes. Having completed this practice video it has given me an insight into how a music video has to be created in order to come across well to the audience and to come across well. It has given me a chance to figure out how to use the software.

The practice video has enabled me to evaluate what I would and wouldn't like to include in the production of my next music video and has given me the chances to experiment with various techniques in filming and editing.

Application of Andrew Goodwins Theory to my own music video

1. Thought beats- The style of the song is very dark and in a way designed to be mysterious in particular parts. The style of both the artist and song would be clear to the audience and they would be sure to make associations between the two.

2. Narrative and Performance- The theme of the artists mouth is shown a few times throughout my music video and is coherent with the song. The artist in my music video is seen to act as narrator and yet still be seen as the main focus so that the audience can see it as being realistic.

3. Star Interest- In my music video there are many close ups of the main artist. To the audience I am sure that the artists style will come across well and it will be obvious the type of music they create. How the artist looks and dresses is sure to lead an audience to come to a conclusion of the type of artist they are e.g. by seeing diamond bracelets, deep red lips and a long black dress, the style of music is clear.

4. Relations of Visuals- My music video amplifies how the song will be perceived by an audience and goes along with the theme of the music. I wouldn't say that the music video contradicts the music but instead is quite conventional.

5. Technical Aspects- The music video flows nicely through the use of special effects we put in place. The lip-syncing is well timed and the camera work was done to give the mysterious look of the video. We were planning on useing a smoke machine in our video but instead found that we could insert a smokey effect whilst on the editing stage of the video.

Andrew Goodwin: Music Video Analysis

Andrew Goodwin has identified a number of key features within music videos which the audience should look out for, these include:

1. Thought beats are a way of seeing a song, the audience will visualise the song in their mind making associations to the artist. The sound may also be associated with the particular singers style etc.

2. Goodwin explains how narrative and performance should lead a music video to have 'coherent repeatability'. The narrative and performance of the artist should work together to make an audience able to watch a music video multiple times without losing interest.

3. Star interest is another vital aspect of any music video. Demands of the record label will include the need for many close ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs from this which recur across their work (visual style). This is a form of advertising the artist as it puts their face to the work.

4. Music videos work to promote a certain song by amplifying, illustrating and contradicting. All of which are relations of visuals to songs.

5. The technical aspects of a music video are what holds the whole piece together through the use of camera work, movement, angle, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and special effects. The video is cut to match the beat of the music so that the finished product flows.