Filming schedule

Location: Drama room at school (use of dark background in the room)
Date: Thursday 7th November 
Time: 3:15 after school
Actors: during this day I will be using myself for the chorus lip syncing 

I will be using a classmate to film me as she is familiar with the use of the camera and tripod, I know what shot types I am using and the duration of them so I will be directing her during this filming.

Pitch

My music video is based on a female leaving her boyfriend because of the many mistakes that she had made with him, taking this into account I have come up with some ideas on what to do with this. I would like to make my video narrative based as I believe it will be more effective for an R&B song that is about a couple breaking up, through my research on other songs similar to mine I can see that this is a popular concept.

I have decided to have the use of black and white tones involved when I am portraying the couple at their happy times, this shows that it is not current time but it's as if she is reminiscing on the times that they used to have.  As well as using other characters in my video I have thought to use myself lip syncing the chorus only to make it look like I am the artist and that I am telling the story in this narrative based piece. 

The location that I am planning to use is in the bedroom when the female character is showing that she is emotional over this break up, but also using locations outside when the couple are shown together, mainly in a romantic setting.

Top conventions- R'n'B music videos

• FASHION- both males and females are shown quite promiscuously in these videos by wearing minimal clothes which attract the audience's attention. For males it is mostly topless shots and for females bikinis and mostly their stomach showing, these are both done to attract the opposite sex

•   ICONOGRAPHY- for males in r'n'b music videos they are shown in a very sexual light as they are trying to attract young girls who will be intrigued by this connotation of them. They are also shown to be wearing a lot of bling to portray their wealth and again attract ladies. For females they are also conveyed sexually with not a lot of clothing and also having a dramatic look from their make up and their hair to again attract males and also females who look up to them.

• SLOW SONGS- these type of songs are shown in colour tones such as black and white or sepia which adds to the softness of the song. There is also the use of natural lighting to portray a sense of reality to the video and the characters involved. They also usually follow a narrative to again show some realism but it can also add to the sexual portrayal as the co star is usually wearing minimal clothing. 

• FAST SONGS- when a r'n'b song is fast there is a portrayal of flashy cars, jewellery, sexualisation of both males and females. These all add to the fun aspect of the song as they are usually singing about parties and getting 'girls' or 'boys'. Also they are usually in the scene of a club with a lot of drinks and people, which connotes their wealth as well as showing that they are having a good time.

• CLOSE UPS- it is typical of an r'n'b song to have many close ups of the artist so that the audience become familiar with them and what they are singing about. Also because most of these videos are about breaking up and so these close ups allow us to see their emotions clearly while they are singing 

• LOCATION- usually in places such as sunny beaches and clubs/bars, this is to show that the artist or band enjoy using their wealth to have fun in top places but also to make it visually effective for the audience instead of having a consistent dull location where the audience will not be grabbed for attention

• PROPS-the use of flashy cars and jewellery is used to connote their wealth, also sunglasses is a main prop in some of these videos which adds to the 'cool' and 'hip hop' look for the artists

Genre research

Jordin Sparks- Battlefield

• This song visually differentiates between verse and chorus through the editing style. When the verse is sung it is more slow pace with Jordin acting out soft movements, contrasting with the chorus where it is fast and relates to the beat of the song.
• When there is a slow paced beat during the song the visual style of the editing is slow pace reflecting the rhythm this contrasts with the fast pace editing when there is a faster beat in the background. During the bridge the editing style slows down as it relates to the beat and rhythm, this allows the chorus to become the main part of the song as this is where it speeds up and has the most impact on the audience,
• In this song they showcase the artist as the main star as there is no other characters involved, they do this by using many close ups of Jordin. But these close ups are used in many different angles to portray her emotions while singing this song and reflect them. It also cuts between the artist in different scenes in a fast pace style to keep it visually effective especially as the focus is only on the artist, keeping it more exciting than if it was in one particular location.
• Throughout the video the lyrics do not relate to the visuals, this is because the focus is only on Jordin Sparks and no other person so it is not showing a narrative based video but more of a performance base,
• The overall concept of this video is the artist generally being emotional over the fact that her relationship is based on arguments, portraying this through different scenes to highlight the complications of her love, hence the lyrics "why does love always feel like a battlefield"

Rihanna- take a bow

• There is not much difference between the verse and chorus as it is pretty much the same throughout the song, however this allows the audience to become familiar with the scenes and it also makes it consistent as a music video.
• During this video the beat and rhythm is all slow pace, this is reflected through the editing style as there is no particular fast speed but all the same pace which is slow and calm movement.
• They showcase the star (Rihanna) by using many close ups so that the audience become familiar with her, also they have the use of dark backgrounds when she is singing to draw attention to just the artist and nothing else. There is another male character involved but there is not many close ups or generally much camera work on him so the focus does not move away from the main star.
• The visuals relate to the lyrics during some scenes of the music video. She is singing about her now ex who cheated on her and had got caught but is trying to win her back, this is shown through the visuals by cutting to the male character while Rihanna is singing about him. An example of how the visuals relate to the lyrics is when she sings "you look so dumb right now, standing outside my house", right after this it cuts to the male actually standing outside her house trying to reach her, this is done quite a few times throughout the video to allow the audience to see a visual of the narrative involved.
• The overall concept of this video is showing how in a relationship if one cheats then the best thing to do is stand back and laugh as they are the one's who are experiencing the loss

JoJo- too little too late

• When the verse is sung it is more slow pace contrasting with the chorus which speeds up faster. Also during the chorus the focus is more on them as a couple and during the verse the attention is more on JoJo.
• They use the beat and rhythm in the visual style by having a fast pace editing style when the beat is faster with a lot of cuts to different scenes and then slow pace when the verse is playing. When the fast pace editing is portrayed the volume also increases to make the audience aware that it is the chorus (the main part) and become more focused on this.
• They showcase the star by using close ups of her in different scenes which is typical in a r n b music video. There is also a lot of focus on the artist in her bedroom as the target audience (teenage girls) can relate to this and so become familiar with the idea of the video. She is also shown dressed casual to portray that she is young. She is also showcased with the male character as that is who she is singing about and so the audience can see this portrayal and become familiar with the other person.
• The lyrics relate to the visuals quite a lot in this video, as she is singing about a boy that she used to be in love with and so the visuals relate to this by portraying them when they were a couple. An example of this relation is when she sings "I'm trying to move on" and after it shows her throwing out a teddy bear that he had given to her,
• The overall concept is clearly about a relationship that has gone wrong but she is trying to move on and see the negative sides to her ex boyfriend

Lyric mood board

Goodwin's theory and evidence

initial research on Lana Del Rey music video

Lana del rey music vid from dornashirazi