Planning - Explanation

This process has been meticulous and the delegation of roles has been something which we managed well to manage our time efficiently and ensure all areas of this project has come together. It was essential to delegate tasks fairly to manage the load of work whilst communicating with one another to ensure deadlines were met and work got done.

Overall, this process has been enjoyable and the manner in which we, as a group, have conducted the process has been successful and resulted in a music video of which we can be proud of due the sheer amount of hard work which has gone into this process.

Planning - Intertextual References

Intertextual references

A media text can often be embedded with intertextuality for numerous reasons. To pay homage to another text can provide depth for its audiences. This notion was created by Julia Kristeva, who stated that “any text is the absorption and transformation of another”. Kristeva argues that no media construct is original as different concepts/themes have been included before. Every media text is a ‘mosaic’ of references to other texts, genres and constructs.

They are used in TV famously in shows like the Simpsons, or TV adverts, where the audience’s representation is influenced by another text. This offers the audience the pleasurable feeling of recognising something they can relate to from another media text, but also reminds us we are in a meditated reality. John Stuart’s description of the music video as “incorporating, raiding and reconstructing” is essentially the essence of intertextuality. Using something familiar to the audience may generate both potentially nostalgic associations and new meanings. This was a theory extended by Roland Barthes, who opted to put a postmodern label on intertextuality by announcing that this was the ‘death of the author’ and the ‘birth of the audience’. The interpretation of the audience is considered more important than the meaning which is intended by the author/director of the text.

When considering the theoretical side ahead of our video, we are keen to tip our hat to several things in our music video, including Great Expectations, the novel by Charles Dickens. This is evident in our video whereby we include a house which is similar to that owned by Miss Havisham. This is included due to the symbolism it represents the frustrated expectations of the couple who argue in front of the house. This frustrated expectation is due to the fact they have become confined in a relationship which isn’t working.

In the Killing (1956) (https://youtu.be/V5Rzh8XjzHI), chess pieces were introduced to kick-start a relationship between chess and Hollywood which has been extended for decades, this relationship between chess and film is something we want to transfer to music videos. It will help represent the strategic and intricate nature of relationships. The multifaceted relationship represented in our video displays the characteristics mentioned.  By observing the manner in which chess pieces are deployed in films like The Killing and Blade Runner, we can capture the pieces in close up manner which shows relationships are games.

By Connor Southwell

Planning - Shooting Schedule

Shooting schedule from Connor Southwell

Planning - Actors

Actors

For us, the process of selecting actors was something we felt was important to the success of the video. The quality is of performance within acting is something which can define the video or could make it may seem amateurish. Therefore, the quality of acting was something we wished to be a substantial standard which supports the quality of our camera work and mise en scene.

It was all about equilibrium in regards to acting, we wanted a mix between authenticity and naturalistic acting which could portray our artist in a realistic manner. What we wanted was an actual couple to perform in our external shots to ensure we had a realistic representation of a couple and whilst employing actors who could have performed this role would have granted us professionalism and a representation of a couple, we wanted to take this a step further and having a real couple to enhance the emotion and realism surrounding our video.

With this in mind, we sought balance by opting to get an A Level drama student to perform as our artist in order to a degree of professionalism and authenticity in our video. Furthermore, we wanted a performer who could accurately and emotionally lip sync to the song and competently play guitar but also has a presence on camera alongside being able to perform consistently on a set but also in front a camera. This was something we were keen to get the most out of our video.

Actors

Martha Carpenter and Thor Forster – These actors played the roles of the couple who are in the relationship, as the pair are a genuine couple, this will allowed our music video to be played out between a couple who share the emotions of love but the challenge will be whether or not they can adapt to a given circumstance and respond in a naturalistic way on camera. This authenticity could not, in our opinion, be replicated.

Connor Southwell – The reason for Connor’s inclusion is his involvement with drama and also the experience of him being in our thriller. His comfortably and willingness to perform in front of a camera is reason for his selection. Furthermore, his ability to perform naturalistically, whilst adapting to direction makes him a prime candidate for inclusion. 

Planning - Location

Location from Connor Southwell

Choose Wisely - This Love (1st Edit)

Visual Styles Research

Visual styles investigation from Connor Southwell

Audience Profilling

Audience profile – indie rock from Connor Southwell