Pop Video Planning

Planning

For our AS work we had to create the opening sequence and titles for a thriller movie with the target audience of fifteen, for A2 coursework we have chosen to produce a music video, its digipak and an associated magazine advertisement. Clearly we are using different media in these tasks and have identified a wider target audience for our A2 project. The film will clearly be accessed through cinema, DVDs and web streaming. The music video will also be accessed through these media forms but can additionally be seen by mp4 and dedicated music channels such as MTV.
We created a questionnaire which is shown below that asses what our target audience thinks about Beyonce's videos, what they believe should be included in the video and their individual opinions. We then handed the questionnaire out to ten people within our target audience range of 15-20. After we analysed the results into graph form we included some of the ideas into our planning, such as the use of lead in and outs and black and white effects.

Planning Questionnaire

1. How old are you?

15-17 18-20 21+

2. How high do you rate Beyonce’s videos?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

3. Do you think black and white is a good effect to use?

Yes No

4. Do you think instruments being played are a necessary part of a music video?

Yes No

5. Do you think a pop video should be more than just the song, such as having an introduction and then the song?

Yes No

6. Which performance style do you prefer?

Solo Two backing dancers Two+ backing dancers

7. Do you think outfit changes are necessary?

Yes No

8. Do you think there needs to be a storyline linked to the lyrics?

Yes No

9. What should a pop video aim to achieve?

………………………………………………………………………………

10. What other effects do you think we should include in a Beyonce pop video?

………………………………………………………………………………….

From the questionnaire response we learnt that our target audience thought black and white is a good effect to use and that instruments being played are not fully necessary as they are not Beyonce's normal style. Our target audience thought that the video needs to be mo

re than just the song, with a narrative storyline, they liked outfit changes within the video. They also preferred the artist having two backing dancers, these results are portrayed in the

graphs as shown.

To give ourselves a better idea of the shots we would use, such as the shots of the performance but also the narrative shots, we created a storyboard as shown in the pictures, this has given us a closer idea of the shots to create so we can stick to an intentional plan.

In the video we are going to include a lead in to show Beyonce getting to the destination before the action and music begins, this will build the narrative and establish the location to the audience. We are also going to use a lead out to show Beyonce leaving and making the audience aware of her attitude and the Diva she really is after all the action has been completed. We chose the locations for the video, we are using an old barn which Beyonce goes to and inside is her dance studio where the sequence takes place, there are cuts to her meeting a man who has a smart truck, she seems to be mocking him with her singing whilst he looks on in admiration. The other location used is the street at the end showing her leaving the scene in a public moment. This links to Todorov's narrative theory with the stasis being Beyonce leading to the location, the disruption is when the dancing begins and she meets up with the man, followed by the completion as she walks away still with her head held high, into a new stasis.

We will be shooting in wide screen using a Panasonic GS500 digital video camera. We will use three girls in our video, one main singer (Beyonce), with two backing dancers, then there will be the young man who is in love with the main star. We have decided that the backing dancers will wear a white long top/dress with black leggings and heels. The main star will wear a selection of dresses with heels to incorporate outfit changes in response to a new location. The man will wear jeans and a smart shirt, to suggest sophistication. For props we are relying on the use of the man's truck where Beyonce sings to the man whilst leaning on the truck as though she has no care in the world what he thinks of her. We are also using a chair in the dance sequence to attract new height levels which will catch the audiences attention to what the star is doing. For the music playing, due to Beyonce not incorporating musical instruments within her videos, we decided that she would carry in a boom box radio which the song would start to play from. For make up we will be using quite dramatic eye make up to emphasise them, with bright lips and clear skin to show femininity. For the lighting aspect of mise-en-scene we will be using natural daylight for shooting outside, but inside the dance studio we will use the bright spotlights to create dance shadow effects. To ensure we are using new media technologies, we shall shoot using digital cameras, edit using the Abobe package and record all of this via blogging rather than traditional writing methods.