(R) Creating a Music Video - The Basics

To begin with, I need an action plan on what steps I'm going to take in order to create my music video. So in order to help me with this, I've searched on Google 'creating a music video'. The first link on the page was a WikiHow page titled '8 Ways to Make a Music Video', and reading through 'the long version' has given me useful tips on how to start.

1. Start with a notebook. Gather my thoughts, think of songs which I could use - think of scenes which could relate to these songs, etc.
2. Listen to the songs. Think about how each song makes me feel - does it make me happy, sad, want to dance, want to cry, etc. Write all thoughts of each song down and any ideas for how the music video would plan out.
3. Refine ideas. Once I've thought about how each song could be acted out, I need to think of an actual narrative, what props I need, where it'd need to be filmed, who I'd need to act in it, etc.
4. Decide which idea/song I prefer. Which idea is most realistic - which will I actually be able to create.
5. Create a storyboard. Include simple sketches such as position of things in each frame or more detailed including cutaways, expressions, direction of movement, etc. 
6. Scout locations. Before shooting anything I need a suitable location(s), therefore I need to plan these out.
7. Cast the video. Make a list of all the characters I will need - make notes on how they look/dress/behave.
8. Set up the set. Find all props/outfits I will need and then set up the scene which I will shoot.
9. Start filming.
10. Edit the video.

http://www.wikihow.com/Make-a-Music-Video

(R) Music Video Genre Conventions

Pop

Pop videos are generally upbeat, fast-paced and bright in order to make them more appealing to a younger audience. Bright, colourful, cheerful settings/locations are used as well as bright lighting which emphasises the artist's facial expression during a close-up. Furthermore, the video usually incorporates a dance sequence which is used to illustrate a section of the lyrics, thus making the video more upbeat and cheerful. Costumes are also an important part in pop videos and there are usually several changes throughout the whole thing. The storyline is usually cheesy and based on some sort of romance or other conventional teenage 'problem'. An example of a popular, conventional pop video includes Britney Spears' Baby One More Time:

Hip Hop/Rap

Generally hip hop/rap videos feature expensive clothes, gadgets, jewellery and fast cars and expansive mansions where many a party takes place. Females dressed in skimpy clothes also feature a lot in this genre of music video and expensive branded items are usually included as a way of product placement, thus advertising the companies involved which therefore emphasises the idea of expensive gadgets and a lavish lifestyle. The video usually involves a party scene of some kind which inevitably features (expensive) alcohol and even sometimes illegal substances. Females are a very prominent fixture in this genre of music video, whether in a party scene or to act as 'arm candy', and they are either dressed skimpily or expensively and stylishly, as if showcasing what a famous rapper expects out of a female. These females are always beautiful, with perfect make-up and hair and generally slender bodies. These music videos nearly always tend to fit in with Laura Mulvey's Male Gaze theory - that females are used just for the gratification of males. Mulvey theorised that the audience is put into the perspective of a heterosexual male, for example, the camera may tend to linger on the female's body and perceive them as being sexy even if the product itself isn't sexy. The male is usually portrayed as the character with the power, whereas the female is just an object to look at for the male's pleasure, which is how hip hop/rap music videos tend to be. To put it simply, a hip hop/rap music video showcases the 'perfect' lavish lifestyle - money, female, designer clothes, fast cars and massive mansions. An example of a conventional hip hop/rap video is 50 Cent's Window Shopper:

Rock

Rock videos are generally very dark and dim which gives the video a mysterious, almost scary tone. Musical instruments - guitars, etc. - are usually present in this genre of music video, and the artist/band are usually present playing them, generally on stage with a crowd surrounding them. Crowd surfing is also popular in this genre of music video, which gives the impression that everyone who is a fan of this music are all friends - it gives a sense of belonging, etc. Normally rock music videos don't have a set, continuous storyline; mainly the video just features the artist/band on stage and maybe several cuts to a different scene featuring someone who isn't a part of the band. The artists are usually dressed in dark clothes and adorn many piercings and tattoos giving a sense of rebellion and danger. Facial expressions are usually serious or angry, emphasising the sense of rebellion throughout this genre of music. An example of conventional rock music video can be seen below, Papa Roach's Last Resort:

Indie
Indie music videos generally include lots of various scenery shots: clouds, sunsets, trees, etc. and usually feature a random, 'loose' storyline that is generally irrelevant to the lyrics. The video tends to be full of various different camera shots which are edgy and give a whole new prospective to the video. On top of this, the video usually includes the artist/band and any instruments that they happen to play. These videos are usually quite casual and slow-paced with longer shots featuring the artist/band just sitting around, laughing, talking, etc. To sum an indie music video up, I'd use the word 'quirky'. An example of a conventional indie music video is Two Door Cinema Club's Something Good Can Work:

Choosing a Brief

For my Advanced Portfolio, I have chosen the following brief:

A promotion package for the release of an album, to include a music promo video, together with two of the following options:

• a website homepage for the band;
• a digipak for the album's release;
• a magazine advertisement for the digipak

Out of the three ancillary tasks, I have chosen to create a digipak and a magazine advertisement for the digipak.

I have chosen this brief as video is something I haven't really tried before: my comfort area lies within print and Photoshop, therefore I thought I'd challenge myself and broaden my skills. However, for the ancillary tasks I chose to create a digipak and a magazine advertisement because, as I have just stated, print is comfort area and is what I am most confident with, thus meaning I don't have to learn yet more skills and can therefore focus most of my attention of the main task.

Preliminary Task

For my preliminary task, I had to film and edit an opening to a film which represented British youth culture. To do this, I worked with three other girls in my media class - Mikaila, Hannah and Amelia. Myself and Hannah used two cameras to record and Mikaila and Amelia starred in the film opening, but we all separately edited our film opening using Final Cut Express so that each one was different and we all had the chance to learn. 

For me, it was my first time recording or editing a video but I found it easier than expected and I actually quite enjoyed the whole process, thus meaning I'm quite excited to get started on my main project. I spent an hour recording and around 4-6 hours editing, and after doing as much as I could with the footage I shot I have decided to allocate myself with a Level 2/3 grade. This is because I believe I showed a basic, bordering on proficient, level of skill when recording and editing my footage to say that it was my first time I'd ever tried. I believe that I edited the footage so that the meaning of it was apparent to the viewer and that I made effective use of transitions, text and sound.

To improve my film opening I would spend more time recording, and plan it out more beforehand so that we all know exactly what we're doing and exactly what shots we need. In the end, we only ended up with 23 different shots, with some only being a few seconds long so next time I would make sure I had more footage than what I actually needed, just to be sure I had everything I could possibly need to create the finished product.

Through this process, personally I have learnt to not be scared of new, different things as initially I was quite uneasy about recording and editing as it was a completely new thing for me as my comfort zone was with print. However now I feel much more confident and am quite excited to get started on my music video as, by doing this preliminary task, I have learnt the basics of Final Cut Express and will therefore know how to start with my music video.