Risk Assessment

Cast:

Problem:
People that we want to use in video can't make it.
How to overcome this:
Make sure to have a few people as back ups that can step in.
How to prevent this:
Ask people that are reliable and we know well.

Equipment, Location and Mise En Scene:

Problem:
The camera breaks whilst filming.
How to overcome this:
Make sure all files on camera are backed up as soon as possible and make sure another camera is available to use.
How to prevent this:
Make sure camera is secure when using a tripod and use hand strap when using camera hand held.

Problem:
Costume could be unavailable
How to overcome this:
Make sure we have doubles or other costumes we can use and easily get hold of.
How to prevent this:
Make sure source is reliable and we have double checked that the costume will be available in plenty of time before filming.

Problem:
We can't use location we wanted to.
How to overcome this:
Make sure we have other ideas of where we could shoot all parts of the video.
How to prevent this:
Check with owners (if owned) of location.
Check site prior to filming.

Problem:
Lose or can't get hold of props.
How to overcome this:
Make sure to have an alternative idea.
Make sure to have spares or doubles of props.
How to prevent this:
Plan to use props that will be easy to get hold of and make sure we know where we are getting them from prior to filming.

Problem:
Wig doesn't look right.
How to overcome this:
Change the initial idea of what the main character will look like.
How to prevent this:
Try to get hold of a few different wigs from different places so we have a range to choose from.

Editing:

Problem:
Lose files when importing.
How to overcome this:
Make sure all files are backed up at least once.
How to prevent this:
Make sure computer has been used for this kind of work before and is reliable.

Problem:
There are gaps in video when edited to fit lyrics.
How to overcome this:
Make sure we have filmed more footage than we need so we can extend it if we need to.
How to prevent this:
Create a reliable storyboard and shot list to work from.

Theorists and Codes

Enigma Codes
We will use two enigma codes in our video. The first is the question 'where is she going?'
The main character is running but the audience won't know if she is running away from something or towards something or why until the end of the video.
The second enigma code is 'what does the letter say'/'what is her confession?'. This question actually won't be answered in the video, leaving the audience to wonder.

Todorov:
There are some links with Todorov and our video in that the character's actions (running away) result in a 'new normality' although you don't actually see why she's running away (the 'previous normality'.)

Schedule for 28th September

• Finish storyboard
• Turn storyboard into Animatic
• Take location shots
• Apply theorists
• Write risk assessment

Representation

Where? The alleyway shots show that the character is running away from her problems and that she feels trapped. Some of our shots will be shot in a field and this will represent the character (main singer) being alone and deserted. The fact that she is in the outdoors shows that she is trying to break free from restrictions. In contrast to the field shots, when she is playing with the band she will look comfortable and happy, as if she is 'home'. The room they are in whilst playing represents the fact she is back in reality and not running anymore.
Who? The characters in the video will be the members of our fictional band. The character played by Laura will be representing a character and the emotions that are portrayed in the song. However, the other band members will not represent any characters; instead they are playing themselves as the only shots of them will be performance shots.
What? Our music video represents the feelings in the song. We interpreted these feelings as someone wanting to run away from a problem and finally be honest with themself. For example, the lyrics 'I've been running away, but I'm tired of being on the run' show her finally coming to terms with what she has to face.

How? We will show the character's feelings through a series of camera shots such as close ups on her facial expression to show her emotion. As well as close ups we will have a range of shots showing her body language. This will allow us to portray her as scared and lonely. As we said earlier we are representing her feelings through location. We will also represent the emotion through editing. We want the lighting to be quite dark and gloomy to mirror the lyrics in the song but in contrast to this we will use bright ground lights for the band shots.

Why? We chose the song 'Save Me' by Automatic Loveletter because it is not a well-known song which means not many people will have preconceived ideas about the song. Also, it does not have it’s own video so we can produce an original piece without being influenced by somebody else’s work.

Pitch Evaluation

The feedback we got after giving our pitch was mainly positive. Mrs Hammond thought that our idea was clear and well thought through. She thought that it was well organised because we have planned ahead. She liked that the mise en scene we want to use is simple to get hold of.
In our pitch we should have been clearer about the singer's costume because we didn't have a picture of the specific dress we will be using. The dress we did use in the pitch confused people slightly as they connected the dress with a wedding,making them think it was a love story. Therefore we will post a picture of the dress we will use on to the blog as soon as possible.

Twitter Feed

https://twitter.com/TheDejected

Animatic

Video Idea

Our video will be a mixture of narrative and performance and also includes flashbacks. The narrative is that a girl is running away from her problems and she wants to tell somebody something but she can't. She eventually finds her escape in music and this will be the climax of the video. We created this narrative because of the lyrics of the song we are using.
The lead character will first be seen running through an alley which then leads to a field. She will be singing and running through the field as this represents her trying to be free. In between these shots will be performance shots of a keyboard player and a guitarist. As well as this there will be flashbacks in black and white of her writing a letter and going to meet someone. She goes to give the person the letter but she gets scared and thats how she ends up where she is now.
At the very end of the video we see her running again and then from a shot inside the building where the performance is happening we see her come through the doors. We then realise that all the shots are linked and that she is the lead singer of the band.

The Song

Pitch

Other Influential Texts

Evanescence -My Immortal

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the long wavy hair, the natural looking make up the white lacy dress, the black and white effect

and the fact that they used a female artist. This video shows how important it is for the emotion to look real and what camera angles and shots can be used to amplify this. Because the song is slow the shots are quite long but the movement of the camera (panning, zooming and handheld-like shots) combat it looking uninteresting and static.

Paramore- Brick by Boring Brick

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the white lacy dress, the location, the natural looking make up, the fantasy aspect and the camera angles that capture emotion well. This video uses a lot of editing in terms of colour to make it look 'unreal'. We won't be using this effect but it did give us ideas about our what effect we will use.

Flyleaf - Sorrow

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the white lacy dress, the dark look, the close ups, the band shots and the fantasy element. This video shows how a narrative and performance shots can work together. It also uses emotion well and gave us ideas of how to create an atmosphere using lighting.

Christina Perri - Jar of Hearts

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are how the camera captures emotion using close ups, the colour and lighting effects, the white lacy dress, the grunge boots and how the story and performance shots intertwine. The fashion that we want to use for our video was heavily based on this video. Also we want to use a similar kind of lighting and colour effect for our video to make it look 'gloomy'.

Automatic Loveletter

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the black and white effect, the natural make up, the portrayal of emotion and the camera angles. Because the narrative of this video is very simple it means that a lot of focus is put on to the emotion of the character. We like this idea and will try to create a similar effect in our close up shots.

Taylor Swift - Love Story

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the lacy dress, fantasy element, the location, the hair and the natural make up. This video shows the performance shots and the narrative shots coming together at the end. We want to use this in our video so it gave ideas of how to do this and how to build tension so that the end of the video is like a climax.

Avril Lavigne - When You're Gone

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the make up concentrating on eyes, the dress, how it shows emotion, the hair and some of the locations. This video mixes a narrative with unrelated performance shots which lets us know that it can work without becoming confusing for the audience. Like in our video, the lyrics fit well with the video. 

Ellie Goulding - Starry Eyed

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the camera angles and shots

the make up, the hair and some locations. This video uses a lot of close ups on Ellie. This shows us how we can play to the camera and what looks good in terms of framing the shot.

Ellie Goulding - The Writer

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the dress, the hair, the location and the make up. This video uses a lot of shots of Ellie singing which focuses on the emotion of the song. It also uses a panning shot at 0.44 that we would like to recreate in our video.

Birdy - Skinny Love

The things from this video that we want to use or are inspired by are the natural make up, the hair, some locations and the dress. the lighting and colour effects and used in this video are very similar to what we want to use. It gives an atmosphere that fits with the lyrics and meaning of the song. 

  

Biography

The Dejected are a relatively new band who formed in 2008 as a soft rock band. The band is made up of Frankie (22) on vocals, Jay (21) on bass, Johnno (22) on guitar and Matt (23) on drums. They are based in south Sheffield where all members grew up apart from Matt, who they met in 2006 at an early gig at The Shed in Leicester. After the success of their debut album, ‘Pipelines’ they headed back into the studio to create their second album ‘Circles’. The first single from this album is ‘Save Me’ for which they have created a video scheduled for release in early December 2012.

Frankie and Johnno met at college as they shared a music class. After forming a quick friendship they decided to group together with mutual acquaintance Jay. They dreamed about forming a band and had small jam sessions when they could. After playing a few small gigs for fun they met Matt his enthusiasm for their music pushed them to focus more serious attention on their passion for music. From then on the band was no longer a hobby, but a lifestyle.  

Audience Profile

Kelsey Graham is a 17 year old student from Derby. She’s currently in her last year of A Levels studying music, drama and English.
In her free time she goes to festivals and concerts, her favourite festival being Reading. Her favourite bands include Paramore, My Chemical Romance and The Dejected (our media band). Kelsey herself plays guitar and would love to make a career in performance.
She loves grunge fashion but puts her own feminine twist on it. She mainly wears dresses with boots or converse and a lot of accessories. She mainly shops in DollyMix, Accessorize and Urban Outfitters.
Her tastes in both fashion and music would relate strongly with the music, video and general appearance of the band we have created. This is because the genre of ‘The Dejected’ is similar to the bands listed above and we based the fashion on feminine grunge.
Kelsey enjoys horror films, her favourite being Silent Hill, this links in with the dark look of the video we are hoping to create.

Schedule

A2 Media Studies Schedule 2012-13 Lutterworth College