Planning of Music Video

My music video will be mainly performance based with a slight underlying concept.
 Florence will be performing in a variety of locations, most of those being outside in order to create the nature-loving side of Florence and the Machine.


At the beginning of my video, there will be several short clips of Florence and her "love interest". These clips will set the passion/love/romance side of the music video and the lyrics. 


There will also be clips of things such as running, sinking, churches and moons in order to help create a relationship between lyrics and visuals.

 Storyboards:

The first half of the video will be shot in the day time, whereas the second half will be at night time. I want this contrast for my video to represent the Heaven and Hell lyrics, but also to show the change in music, as in the second half of the song the music gets a lot louder and faster.

Some clips in my video will be cut to the beat, and I will also try to convey the speed of the music by clip length, so for example the clips for the verses will be longer than clips for the chorus.

In the video I will try to convey Florence's style through my clothing and accessories.

I have decided to wear a long, flowing dress, similar to ones that Florence would wear. It of a dark blue colour, helping to represent water and the river lytics, but also keeping to the dark colour schemes that run through most of Florence and the Machine's videos.

For my make-up, I will keep it simple as my research showed me that Florence tends to wear extravagant make up for promotional shots, but she accessorises a lot in her videos.

I am going to wear nail varnish, as she is very rarely seen without wearing any. When shooting outside, I will wear a big coat and fur lined leather gloves, which are seen as glamorous and vintage.

Second Ancillary Task - Digipack

Research:

I analysed the original Florence and the Machine album digipak. The the album cover, back cover and CD are shown below;

Looking at the features of the original digipak has allowed me to get a good understanding of the typical style that Florence and the Machine use for their promotional products.

The colours on the album cover and back cover are very dark. The image on the album cover is very artistic with Florence dressed up fairly glamorously. The use of flowers and birds in the image support the fact that Florence appreciates nature.

The image on the actual CD is really peculiar; it is Florence's hands squeezing what looks like a pomegranate. It is not dark in colour, but it appears dark in concept.




Planning:
I do not want my digipak to be exactly the same as the original digipak, but I will take some inspiration from it. For example, I really like the image on the back cover of a diagram of lungs where the different parts are labelled with the titles of the album tracks.

Although the album cover is related to the title of the album, I do not particularly like it. However, I do really like the use of material for the background of the image.

Some conventions that I want to challenge include the use of a photo of the artist for the album cover as I think album covers without the artist are much better. Also, my research into similar artists showed me that most of their album covers did not include an image of the artist or band, such images were found on the back cover or on the inside pages of the digipak.



This is my first rough draft of the layout for my digipak:

 I was considering doing a double page spread for my digipak, which would feature either a large image of Florence or a pop-out owl. I was interested in doing a pop out owl as it is a feature of digipaks that you rarely see. I got influence from many resources, such as the images below.



I really liked this idea, or the idea of including a slip of paper that is a net of a 3D owl which buyers can make into an owl themselves, however I do not have the right materials to create this idea in an effective way.




Development:

Draft 1:
This is the first draft that I created for me and my partner. The front cover was designed by my partner before she left, so I used it to make the back cover and the double page spread of a band photo which I have manipulated.

Draft 2:
I developed my first digipak by taking out the double page and replacing it with a lyrics page and the page where the CD is placed, on which I put the same band photo on. I manipulated an image of a CD tray with the band photo to try and make it look realistic.

Draft 3:
I wanted to re-draw the owl from my second draft, and I also decided to draw the owl diagram on the back cover as I felt this would make them link better.

When I decided not to have a band anymore, I changed the band picture to a picture of me as Florence. To this page I also added a small "Thank you" from Florence at the top of the page, and and then on the rest of the page I included information, such as information about the production of the tracks.

When reviewing my previous drafts, I felt that the colours used did not represent the genre, and this was one of the conventions I wanted to try and keep similar. I changed the colours to much darker ones, such as the black borders and the dark orange, which matched the colours of the owl.

Also, on the front cover I have included a small box with a real album review on it to help sell the album.

Draft 4:
In my fourth draft I have changed the colour from orange to blue, as I felt that it would match the background of the front cover better. It is alsoa much more attractive colour than previously, and the blue helps to highlight Florence's red hair.

First Ancillary Task - Advert

Research:

For help with creating my advert, I looked at other adverts by Florence and the Machine. I bought several magazines with the intention of finding adverts for her new single in, which I did not find.

The only advert for her album that I could find on the internet is shown below, but it is not a magazine advert, it is a billboard advert.






















Although it's not in the same medium that I will be making, it is still useful. I can use it to help me with style, layout and colour. It is a very simple image, with dark colours and bold font.

When planning, me and my partner had several ideas involving Polaroids. We were influenced by images such as the one below.

We found these type of photos really interesting as they capture emotions very well. We also liked the idea of taking photos of separate areas on the body and placing them together to make one.



 Planning:
Here is a rough draft for the layout that we wanted for our advert.


























Development of Advert:

Draft 1:
Our first draft was very simple, with plain, dark colours and a simple layout. We used the Polaroid idea, taking photos of each band members' head, torso and legs and then placing them together.

A thing that we felt needed changing were the Polaroid images, as they appeared too straight and "neat".

Draft 2:
Once the album cover had been created, the advert needed to match it more efficiently, so I incorporated the owl on the album cover onto the top of the page, and I also used the same writing and colours for the font and the background.

Draft 3:
When I decided to change the idea from a band to an artist, I had to make the advert match my new album cover and I also had to remove the other two Polaroid images of the band members.

I incorporated different aspects from my album cover into the advert, and also replaced the other Polaroids with more of Florence.

Draft 4:
In draft three I felt that the bright background did not work very well, so I changed it to be the same as the top bit.

Target Audience

The target audience for my music video is going to be females aged 15 to 24.


I have chosen this age for my target audience as when reasearching I found that this was the typical age who listened to Florence and the Machine.


However, I also found that an older generation, around 35+, enjoy Florence and the Machine due to the broad genres that the album covers and also that the the music is similar to old female artists.

I am going to attract my target audience by using the typical conventions and styles used by similar genres and also by the positive portrayal of Florence.



I conducted a questionnaire as part of my research into music videos, but also in order to gain information about what my target audience likes. I asked 30 people, many who fit my target audience, but I also expanded it to outside of my target audience so I could access a deeper insight.


Here is an example of one of my questionnaires:

Some of the most important questions and their results are shown below:

"How often do you watch music videos?"




"How do you tend to view music videos?"




"What do you feel makes a music video keep you interested throughout the whole video?"




"What do you think about music videos in the Indie/Rock-Pop genre?"





"What do you think about music videos by Florence and the Machine?"

I asked these types of questions to enable me to understand where people tended to watch music videos, what they found good about music videos and particuarly to find out what they thought about music videos by Florence and the Machine and by similar genres.


My results showed me that most of my sample watch music videos everyday and that they tend to view them through a range of music channels. The most popular music channels from my questionnaire were MTV Rock, MTV Dance and NME. I believe that music channels are the most common form for watching music videos due to nearly every house hold having cable TV, which therefore makes viewing much easier and more efficient than Youtube where you have to wait for music videos to upload.

Most of my sample find that a good storyline in a music video is what makes it interesting. Original concepts in a music video are what keep audience watching throughout, and often they are so good that the music video is abled to be watched over and over several times, without the viewer getting bored.

The question "Why do you think that iconic music videos, such as Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen and Thriller by Michael Jackson, are seen as great?" helped me to see why other people believed why such music videos became iconic. Some example anwsers include:

"I think it's because they have different ideas to other videos - most videos now are influenced by them. Also thy never get boring when you watch them over and over - they're timeless."

"I reckon they're iconic because they're just really out there and bizarre which makes them stick in the mind."

The result of this question helps me to understand what makes a music video good enough to watch again and again, with the concept still being intriguing for viewers. I need to make sure that my music video will be good enough for my audience to enjoy time and time again.

Some people thought that a comedic storyline was important, for example one person's favourite music video was Learn to Fly by Foo Fighters, where the band members dress up as many different characters.

A few others felt that voyeurism is important in a music video. All the people who ticked this were male, and one person who ticked it said that there favourite music video was Sexy Chick by David Guetta and the reason for this was due to the "many sexy ladies".

By asking people what they thought about Indie/Rock-Pop music videos I was able to see how popular they are. More than half of my sample think that this genre of music videos are "usually really good". I then asked people what they thought about music videos by Florence and the Machine. The results of these two questions show me what kind of reputation the videos have among my target audience.

Planning of Music Video

Locations:
I visited several different places that I felt could be possible shot locations. Here are some pictures -

I want quite dark, mystical surroundings in my video in order to fit in with the song. I would like some shots to be outside and nature inspired, as I know that Florence is very in touch with nature, as shown by her videos and also her live performances where flowers cover the stage and her microphone stand.

Costumes:

For my costumes I will need to take influence from what Florence Welsh tends to wear. She dresses in very unusual, artistic clothes that you don't see on generic pop stars.

I have found that her outfits vary depending on what situation she is in, so she is not that consistent.

When performing, she wears long 'floaty' dresses and is usually bare foot.

However, in promotional shots, she tends to wear bizarre but trendy outfits. Usually they are quite revealing.

In music videos her outfits greatly vary, such as in Drumming Song.

In the video she wears shorts, with floaty material on her top half. The colours are dark, mainly black and blue.

For my video I want quite dark colours, such as black, blue, bottle green or crimson.



Make-up and props:
Florence doesn't tend to wear that much makeup, but instead she accessorizes her outfits with quirky jewellery, for example in the picture below she has a glittery mask on, which is from the video for Drumming Song.

I will save wearing extravagant and quirky make-up for my ancillary tasks, as this is where Florence tends to dress up the most. In most images she has very dark eye shadows on, and often she will wear lipstick.

Florence is well known for her "fiery red hair" and her care-free attitude, which I will try to convey that the best I can in my music video.

Concepts:
To help me create possible concepts that I could use in my music video, I created a Mood Board consisting of words and phrases that I felt were related to the song and the original video.

I have been adding to this Mood Board, and it has enabled me to produce several ideas already, such the use of dark colours and including a boy in the video who would help to represent the passionate sign of the lyrics.

In this promotional shot of Florence below, and the still from the video "Starry Eyed" by Ellie Goulding, they have their hands covered in sequins.

I really like this concept, and I think it would fit into my video with the "sweeter than Heaven" and "hotter than Hell" lyrics.

Another idea is where there are clips throughout the performance of Florence (me) running through a forest in order to meet the boy she is passionately in love with. This will play with the strong passionate side of the song.

I like the concept of changing colours, perhaps of costume and, for the Heaven and Hell elements of the lyrics. For example, Heaven could be colours such as cream, and Hell could be colours such as black and crimson.

I want my video to be mainly performance based, but not live, which will mean I need to practise liy-syncing to the lyrics.

Research Into Music Videos

I researched old music videos and the history of their development in order to help me get a better understanding of them. I analysed them and compared them to each other. I also looked at music videos of a similar genre to Florence and the Machine, as well as other music videos by Florence and the Machine.

Codes and Conventions of a Music Video:
I looked at the Key Features of Music Videos, which were theorised by Goodwin:

1.      Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics

2.      There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

3.      There is a relationship between music and visuals

4.      The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work

5.      There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

6.      There is often intertextual reference

I looked at many music videos and found that nearly all of these were featured in each one, and I will try to convey as many as possible in my own music video as well as trying to develop and challenge them.


The History of Music Videos
When researching, I looked at the historical development of music videos:

In the 1920s, the synchronisation between sound and vision was developed, and led to the making of the first ever sound film in 1927.

This allowed the making of television music programmes such as "Ready Steady Go" and "Top of the Pops" where artists would promote themselves by performing their songs. In the 1970s, Top of the Pops began to play music videos as well as having artists perform.

The first type of music videos were by The Beatles. They were called TV Promos and consisted of the band singing to their song in different settings. For example, the TV promo for Strawberry Fields Forever, which is very surreal and psychedelic.

"Bohemian Rhapsody" by Queen was the first music video, released in 1975. After the success of the video, it became regular practise for record companies to produce promotional videos for their artists' single releases.


















MTV launched in 1979, first airing "Video Killed the Radio Star" by The Buggles.

By the 90s, there were many iconic music videos, such as Girls on Film by Duran Duran, Express Yourself by Madonna and Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel.

Some of the first music videos competed to be highly creative and original in their concepts and great videos, like those mentioned above, also led to the making of music video award shows, such as the one by MTV, launched in 1984.


Other Music Videos by Florence and the Machine:
I analysed three other Florence and the Machine videos to ensure I had enough knowledge of her typical type of video, which would then influence mine.

Rabbit Heart:

This video is very fairytale like as I feel it slightly resembles "Alice in Wonderland" due to the dinner party scene and the rabbit lyrics. Alice in Wonderland is quite a dark and disturbing story which suits the lyrics. The video is also similar to the gothic feel of Drumming Song's lyrics and video.

There is a lot of choreography in the video, which is similar to the video for Drumming Song where Florence and four other girls are dancing. Although most of the dancing in the Drumming Song video relates to the lyrics of the song and conveys them well, I think that it is a bit weird and maybe too over the top.

The concept of the video and the lyrics for Rabbit Heart is quite dark. The lyrics state "This is a gift; it comes with a price; who is the lamb and who is the knife", talking about sacrifice, and the video shows Florence being put in a white coffin, still alive and left floating on a lake; so she is the sacrifice. Sacrifice implies the killing of a human or animal in return for something from from a God. The lyrics also talk about Midas - a King from Greek Mythology who turned everything he touched to gold. This mythical based lyric supports the fact that Florence tends to write about very imaginative things, like fairytales and emotion-fuelled lyrics that I will need to try and convey in my music video.

Florence's outfit is similar to her regular dresses when performing, with long flowing material. She accessorizes extravagantly with big earrings and a bejewelled headdress.

The video is very light, being set in the day time with Florence in a white dress and the other actors wearing light colours. These colours are most opposite to the colours used in the Drumming Song video, which are very dark.

 You've Got The Love:

I found that this video is much more "main stream" than the rest of Florence and the Machine's videos. This is because it does not reflect the typical motifs that recur across her videos, the gothic concepts and dark colours. The lyrics are also very different to typical Florence and the Machine songs, mainly as she did not write these ones.

Florence is shown very voyeuristically in this video, wearing a revealing outfit consisting of a very tight leotard and hotpants. She also dacnes quite provocatively. This video is much more voyeuristic than other videos I have looked at, although she does tend to show off her legs in a lot of them.



Heavy in Your Arms:

This video is much more dark and haunting compared to the other videos by Florence and the Machine. It is all in black and white, which gives it a very dark atmosphere, complementing the concept in the lyrics.

The video consists of Florence lying down a lot, representing her "heaviness", and being carried by a man, her love. This concept is conveyed very well through relationships between visuals and lyrics, as the lyrics state "I was a heavy heart to carry; my beloved was weighed down".

Her outfit is a light coloured dress, white or cream, whereas the man wears black. Her make up is also very simple, her only accessories being nail varnish a rings.

 

I have concluded that Florence and the Machine videos tend to be very dark and gothic, mainly due to the lyrics and concepts. The colours of the mise-en-scene are also very dark.

Florence is only occasionally shown voyeuristically, which makes her stand out from the other generic female pop stars.

Videos from the Same Genre - Pop-Rock/Indie:
I researched what bands are of the same of similar genre to Florence and the Machine.

This was hard to do as Florence and the Machine cover a very broad range of genres on the album, including Indie Pop, Indie Rock, Baroque Pop and soul, however they are mainly categorized as Indie.

Bat for Lashes:
This female artist is often compared to Florence and the Machine, so I looked at several of her videos.

I found that her video are as simple in production as Florence and the Machine, but the concepts are far less complex.

Little Boots:
A female artist, often compared to Florence and Machine.

Her videos are much more voyeuristic than Florence and the Machine. She has the same quirky glamour as Florence, and the videos contain around the same level of dance.

Temper Tap:
A male band of the same genre as Florence and the Machine.

The videos are far less concept based than Florence and the Machine - they are performance based. However, the differences I found between the videos may be due to the difference in gender.


I Blame Coco:
A female artist of the same genre as Florence and the Machine.

I found that the videos are very similar to the videos of Florence and the Machine with dark colours and unusual concepts; however she does not dress as extravagantly as Florence and is not voyeuristic.


XX:
A band consisting of two males and a female of a similar genre to Florence and the Machine.

This band has a similar videos to Florence and the Machine. The colours, being very dark, are highly similar to Florence and the Machine videos. They too have a large amount of concept based videos, most being of love and heartache, like Florence.


The Yeah Yeah Yeahs:
A band of two males and a female lead singer. They are of a similar genre to Florence and the Machine, however they are slightly more "rock".

Their videos tend to be more performance based with the band performing to audiences in the videos, but some have slight underlying concepts. The concepts do not tend to relate to the lyrics, meaning there is little association between lyrics and visuals.


I think that Florence and the Machine videos often adopt the forms and conventions that are expected of their genre.


The colours are all very similar to each other, usually being dark. Also, the concepts are quite similar, for example many portray great passion, or are very deep and unsettling.