Planning Artist Image - Miss Miller

An artists representation is essential within a music video because it allows the artist to portray themselves in a certain light. They can do this through acting a certain way in the music video or through the use of clothes, hair and makeup etc. An artist may want to be painted in a certain way because they would like to express themselves or appear a certain way, such as glamorous or down to earth. Artist representations also give the audience to opportunity to become more like their role model by imitating their style and acting like them as an attempt to buy into the artists lifestyle.

The first costume we discussed as a group for the artist to wear is the first outfit she will be seen in. This will entail of black and white pyjamas with love hearts and the word 'dreamer' printed on them with messy hair and minimal makeup. This will suggest that the artist has just woken up or has been at home all day being unproductive due to something being on her mind. This will be seen in the first shot of the artist when she is at home and decided to open the memory box. The hearts on the pyjamas are white which portray innocence and purity which the artist may have felt before and during the early stages of the relationship. The rest of the pyjamas are black and therefore hold negative connotations of sadness and mourning which suggest the artist is sad and almost mourning the loss of the relationship. The contrast in these colours represent how the relationship corrupted her innocence. This is conventional to the indie genre as strong emotional themes are common due to the fact that indie artists are known to write all of their own songs which cause the subject of most songs to be based upon personal experiences and emotions. The clothes connote these emotions that are being sung about and therefore reinforce the idea that the song is personal to the artist. The artist will be wearing minimal makeup with natural messy hair which will build a level of trust between the artist and audience as the audience will feel that the artist trusts them enough to see them in their natural state and setting. This further suggests that the artist is being completely honest and has nothing to hide from the audience. As a result this confirms that the lyrics being heard are completely accurate and honest about a personal life experience of the artist which will make the audience feel closer to her if they can relate to the song because they will believe that they are directly relating to the artist.

The second artist representation we discussed as a group was the one that would take place in the field setting scenes which will include the picnic scene and filler memories. The artist will be wearing an light coloured jumper with a green camouflaged jacket. On her bottom half will be denim shorts worn over black tights and on her feet the artist will wear creeper style shoes. Like before, her hair will be natural and wavy while her makeup will remain minimal. This outfit is conventional to the subject of my chosen music video because the green coat has connotations of jealousy which is a theme in this scene as the artist begins to show an interest in someone else which sparks jealously in her boyfriend. The black on the tights and shoes holds negative connotations which show the dark and troublesome times in the couples relationship which have started to form after this picnic scene due to the jealousy being formed. Again, the artists natural look in terms of hair and make up, portray her as honest about herself to the audience which reinforces their trusting relationship.

Another setting I will include in my music video is a garden setting whereby an outdoor cinema scene will take place. The artist will be wearing black leggings, an oversized, comfortable looking jumper and Doc Martens boots. The boots are black with pink laces and a pink floral pattern on. The artists makeup will entail red lipstick and her hair will be styled in plaits and decorated with flowers. The representations of this costume are conventional to the indie genre. For example, the flowers in the artists hair and the floral pattern on her shoes will represent nature and therefore represent her as down to earth and also girly. This will therefore suggest that the artist is modest and similar to the audience so they can build a relationship with her on the basis that they are similar. Also the flowers being girly help the teenage female audience to stay engaged as flowers are something that they would visually like. Furthermore the comfortable looking jumper will suggest that the artist does not prioritise her looks and image over what she is comfortable wearing which makes her appear unique compared to other artists in mainstream genres such as pop who would like to always appear attractive and glamorous so wear more flamboyant clothing which is more likely to be less comfortable. This makes the artist a good role model as she is suggesting that looks are not everything and that you should not care too much about what you look like. Another way in which the artist is portrayed as a role model comes under Dyer's theory and suggests that the artist is both ordinary and extraordinary. The artist is shown as ordinary through her representations of nature and being down to earth yet she is portrayed as extraordinary through her unique quirky style. This means the audience will relate to the artist through her being down to earth yet be inspired by her unique style and encouraged to express themselves and stand out.

Also in the garden setting a scene will take place that requires a different costume and artist representation. At a bonfire setting, the artist meets the male character for the first time. She will be wearing white clothes, preferably a skirt or dress, in order to portray her innocence. this will be worn with a denim jacket, long socks and boots as these clothing pieces are conventional to the indie genre. This is the scene whereby the couple meet for the first time and so will take place at the start of the music video. Meanwhile, at the end of the music video, a contrasting scene in the same setting will take place. In this scene the artist would have broken up the relationship and is now standing at a bonfire by herself, throwing items that remind her of their relationship onto it. Here she will be wearing a similar outfit to what she wore at the start to show the high contrast in situations. However, in this scene the dress/skirt will be black to portray dark times and corruption. This is conventional to the indie genre as the concept is that there is always good and bad in situations such as relationships and this is conventional because indie songs tend to be honest due to the fact they are written by the artist themselves who want to have an honest and trusting relationship with their target audience.



Indie artist Lana Del Rey wearing a flannel shirt

Another image that I discussed with my group for my artist to have will take place in a kitchen scene whereby the couple will be making cakes with each other and throwing flour at each other etc. the artist will be bare foot with an ankle bracelet on, she will wear ripped jeans and a black top with a flannel shirt tied around her waist. The artist will have her hair tied up in plaits. This costume is conventional to the indie genre as it creates an edgy style which is typical of indie artists who like to look unique and quirky. The edginess reflects parts of the artists personality and represents the dark aspects of the narrative. The uniqueness of the image will help the audience to build a relationship with the artist as she stand out to them among other artists and therefore teaches them to be unique. The audience will respect this message that the artist is trying to get across about how it is not important to want to conform to mainstream expectations. This encourages and inspires the audience to express themselves. The flannel shirt is an item of clothing in which I have seen on several indie artists either in every day life pictures or in their music videos. This highlights how this item of clothing is conventional to the indie genre. The denim jeans hold connotations of damage due to them being ripped which may represent the damage done in the relationship and how it eventually breaks down. Although this is a happy memory, the ripped jeans foreshadow the negative event of the breakup that will soon occur. Her bare feet show her as down to earth and uncaring about her image as she does not care what she looks like constantly. However, the ankle bracelet is a unique accessory that not everybody wears and so portrays the artists quirky nature.

The final costume I planned with my group is the costume my artist will wear in the pub scene which will signal the start of the artists breakup with her boyfriend. She will pay attention to another male character and this causes an argument between the couple. Again, the artist will be wearing ripped jeans but black - this time with a dark jumper, straightened hair and red lips. The ripped jeans will reinforce the representation of the relationship breaking down and the red lips will create connotations of both love and danger which portrays their dysfunctional relationship - the artist has feelings for the boyfriend but does not want to commit. The dark colours of the artists clothes create a negative atmosphere which portrays the breakdown of the relationship. The audience will be able to build a relationship with the artist as it is very likely, especially with the target audiences ages group, that they can relate to the connotations present in this image (a relationship breakup). in this scene the artist is represented as confused and  not knowing what she wants which is reinforced by the negative connotations created by the image. This evokes sympathy in the audience which will help them to build a relationship with the artist as they understand the position she is in and may possibly relate to it themselves.

This planning post has helped me ensure that the image of my artist will be successful in what it portrays and suggest to the audience about the narrative and artist as a person. me and my group have made sure that the costumes are all conventional to the indie genre and relatable to the audience which will mean the image representations will be received well by the audience as they enjoy the indie genre and will be able to build a relationship with the artist as they fell as though they can relate to her.

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Risk Assessment - Miss Miller

I created a risk assessment table in order to outline any risks or hazards that could occur when filming my media product so I would be well-prepared for any problems or dangers that could occur when filming. I also did this so I could prevent any harm by identifying risks and then deciding how I would stop them from occurring. Creating this table meant that I could make sure my whole group was aware of the risks and can share responsibility in preventing them. Risks are important to consider before filming because if you do not then you are unprepared for potential hazards to take place and those who are participating in filming could be harmed.

I made sure I was strict in following the risk assessment  as I made sure I remembered how to prevent all the potential risks I identified, for example I remembered to bring a torch for the dark scenes and extra clothes for the actor when filming so she did not get too cold and could change into them in-between scenes. Following the risk assessment as well as possible meant my group and I could remain safe and free of harm whilst filming. The artist did get too cold when wearing summery clothes but having warm clothes to change into in between filming prevented her from ant serious harm such as becoming ill. Filming scenes in the dark proved to be a struggle as some shots had to be deleted as they were too unclear but no harm was done to any group members as we were careful not to trip and fall and brung torches when filming at later hours. We did not come across any other risks or problems when filming but we did bring an umbrella to every filming day in case it rained and broke the camera. Fortunately it never did rain when filming so we did not encounter this problem. Also we intended to film play fighting and piggyback scenes on the grass of a field but decided on the artist and male actor standing on the concrete path instead to prevent either of them slipping and falling. One risk we encountered that we had not thought about beforehand was smashing the alcohol bottle in the breakup scenes. The artist smashed an empty glass bottle but luckily nobody trod on any glass or was cut by it. I have learnt to understand the importance of risk assessments as I now know that some harm could have been done to any group members had we not thought about them beforehand. Also, there were some risks encountered that my group had not considered and therefore I have learnt that we are lucky that none of these risks causes any of us harm and that next time we should think about the risks more concisely. 

Filming Schedule - Miss Miller

       A filming schedule is important to have because it will provide those filming with a list of all of their shots to film so they will not forget to create certain content. This will make the filming a structured and organised process as a filming schedule will be there for the group members to refer back to and film each shot step by step, making sure everything is as planned such as costume and type of shot etc. I did follow the schedule when filming in that I filmed all of the shots that myself and my group had planned. However, as we filmed, me and my group would sometimes form new ideas and so intepret them into the filming. For example, we would decide that a low angle shot would look best
      where we had planned to film a mid shot etc. I have learnt  lot about the role of a filming schedule. They are very useful because they allow you to organise all of your ideas and prevents you from forgetting them if you bring it with you on the filming days. It acts like a checklist of all the shots you need to include. However filming works best she you do not stick to them completely and film some spontaneous shots  that were unplanned. This is because it is a good idea to include as many ideas as possible and sometimes it is easier to come up with ideas when you are in the setting and filming anther than in a class room and planning. It is a good idea to film as much as possible so you have more than you need and a lot to cut and edit when it is time to edit. 

I attempted to follow the filming schedule as accurately as possible but did have to change the schedule as we went along due to problems we encountered such as spending too much time filming certain scenes and so it got dark which meant we could not continue filming and had to continue the scene another day. Also on some filming days we forgot to bring the storyboards that dictated the order of shots we had to film and acted as a checklist for us. Because we did not have them when filming we had to try to remember what was on them and as a result ended up forgetting some shots and filming new ones to make up for it.

The first scheduled shot is of the boyfriend and artist letting off the lantern and due to weather not being windy enough, the lantern would not lift off into the air when the released it. Instead it kept falling to the ground quite suddenly. We planned for this scene to last around 2 seconds long as the camera would watch the lantern float off into the air but because we had to cut the shot very shot so you could not see the lantern fall to the ground, it was much shorter. Therefore we had more space we had to fill up with other shots that we had not yet planned yet. 

Due to the pub scene, shots 3-16, being filmed quite late and so the footage was too dark and had to be deleted. This meant that me and my group had to plan a whole other scene to film because we had a lot of space in the music video with no footage. We filled this time with faced paced editing scenes of London such as time lapses. I have learnt a lot about the organisation involved in the role of film making. If you do not plan the specific days and times you are filming and what you are filming then you will inevitably encounter problems such as the footage being too dark and therefore too grainy. Also when we forgot to bring the storyboards we did not film many planned shots so I have learned that you need to be clear on what you are filming when you do film.