Music Videos

Andrew Goodwin from Dancing in the Distraction Factory 1992, Routledge, has identified the following features about music videos;

- They demonstrate genre characteristics such as stage performance in metal videos, dance routines for girl and boy bands, etc.
- There is a certain relationship between the lyrics and the visuals which are either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.
- There is also a specific link between the music and the visuals which are either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting.
- The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups on the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work. Something like a visual style.
- There is a frequent reference to the notion of looking - (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment towards the female body.
- There is often intertextual reference to films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc.

Considering that most music videos are either performance-based, narrative-based or concept-based, each of the elements above are used in them.

Narrative: The story that is portrayed throughout the video.

Concept: There is no relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The video can be really random and nothing to do with the song.

Risk Assessment

A risk assessment is a chart that is filled out in the pre production process of a film. It is when you consider all the dangers that can come to your actors and crew members. Also you have to cover what can go wrong during the production process. As a basic summery, it contains all the health and safety elements during filming.

Some elements that could be considered are;

- Alcohol/Drugs

- Camera Cables/Grip Equipment

- Unstable Structures

- Old, Derelict Buildings

- Confined Spaces

- Electricity/Gas (other than normal supplies)

- Fatigue

- Long Hours

- Fire/Flammable Materials

- Hot/Cold/Extreme Weather Conditions

- Hot/Cold/Extreme Temperature Conditions

- Noise-High Sound Levels

- Radiation

- Smoking whilst on Set

- Stunts/Dangerous Activities

- Working on Heights

- Working Overseas

As a director, it is your responsibility to make sure all actors and crew are safe throughout the whole production process, no matter what conditions you are working in.

Recce Checklist

Things to take:	Complete	Notes
Camera	Y
Mobile phone	Y
Notebook, pen, PDA	Y
Programme risk assessment form	Y
Maps/directions	Y
Student ID card	Y
Brief	Y
Checklist	Y
Talking to people:	Complete	Notes
Confirm ownership	Y
Exchange details	Y
Explain intentions	Y
Discuss fees/contract	Y
Editorial policy	Y
Are passes required?	Yes      No	Yes, to enter the college you will need a ID pass.
Availability and timings	Y	Opening time- 8am-10pm, 6days a week,
Local events	Y	Open evenings
Dress code	Yes     No
Copyright issues	Yes     No
Children’s details	Yes     No
Transport/access:	Complete	Notes
Landmarks for directions	Y	Southend central (train)
Neighbour disturbance	Yes     No
Risk of trespass	Yes     No
Internal access	Y
Vehicle access	Y
Toilets	Y
Traffic control needed?	Yes     No
Shelter	Y
Safety for hazardous environments	Y
Tidal waters	Yes     No
Boats/safety	Yes     No
Camera/lighting:	Complete	Notes
Position of the sun	Y	Compass.
Window direction	Y
Power supply	Y
Size of location	Y
Strobing	Yes     No
TV/computer screens	Yes     No
Is floor level?	Yes     No
Secure place for kit	Yes    No
Cables	Y
Smoke alarms/sprinklers	Yes     No
Sound:	Complete	Notes
Listen	Y
Traffic/roadworks	Yes    No
Aircraft	Yes     No
Electrical hazards	Yes     No
Schools	Yes     No
Weather	Yes      No
Background music/PA system	Yes     No
Air conditional/fridges	Yes     No
Wooden floors	Yes     No
Things for director:	Complete	Notes
Take photos	Y
GVs/top shots	Y
Cutaways	Y
Backgrounds	Y
Events	Y
Additional contributors	Yes      No
Food/accommodation:	Complete	Notes
Eating	Y
Hotels	Y

Film Treatment

Intro;
My short film will last approximately 10 minutes and will contain about 5 crew members and about 3 actors. It will be budgeted at a really low cost and will be easy and affordable to produce and market.

Outline Script;
- Overall Story;
    - After his father is sent away to fight in the war, 15 year old Mike O'Donnell from Nottingham, is forced to move south due to financial reasons, away from his normal friends and family. When his father is declared missing in action, Mike doesn't seem to handle the news very well. He idolised his father and wanted to grow up to be just like him. After causing his mother - Julie - grief for a few months, Mike runs away and seems to disappear off the face of the earth. After being officially pronounced missing, the police begin a MisPer investigation. A year goes by and nothing is recovered to prove the whereabouts of Mike, the investigation appears to fade away, leaving Julie with no closure about her son or her husband. After taking on the burden of depression, Julie takes on the task of finding her son herself. A few years pass and just as Julie learns to cope with everything that has happened, her husband walks through the door of their current family home, expecting to come back to a normal family life. Little does he know how much it has changed.

Scene 1:
A [POV] shot of a train window looking out onto a countryside setting, with faded images of men in the army fighting and getting injured. A quick flash of white and then a [MS] of a middle-aged woman, sitting on the seat, looking at her son with a sympathetic face. The train pulls up at an almost abandoned station and the doors open, then a quick cut to a front door as it shuts. A [LS] of Mike and Julie standing by the front door with their suitcases by their sides, just looking around at the state of their new house.

Scene 2:
A montage of [LS], [MS] and [CU] showing the next few months of Mikes life. Showing him starting a new school, getting bullied for being different, having arguments with his mum and also him having suicidal thoughts. As well as containing some of Mikes thoughts, there is also [CU] shots of Mike suffering, pulling at his hair, screaming and hitting things.The montage ends with a [LS] of the front door of their small family home slamming.

Scene 3: 
The police investigation starts and there are a lot of shots, passing rapidly across the screen proving how long it is taking to even find one scrap of evidence about where Mike had gone. After seeing the upset in Julie's face and how her health goes down hill, the rapidness of the shots slows down and becomes almost slow motion, showing the audience the raw emotion on Julie's face, using [CU] shots.

Scene 4:
After showing the audience how hard it is to cope with depression and making the audience feel sorry and sympathetic for her, you see her daily life, on her own. The audience go on a journey with Julie throughout the whole film. By this point, they are able to connect with her easily and go along with her everyday life, feeling the emptiness of the house without her beloved husband and son. To shock the audience, I decided to add in a section at the end where the father returns to the household, knowing nothing about their sons disappearance and the stress it has caused his wife. He walks through the door expecting a hug and a kiss from his wife and a firm handshake from his son but little does he know how much has changed.

Budget;
All productions have a specific budget to stick to and i have estimated a realistic budget that will help create my short film. With the small budget of £25 to £30, i will be able to afford to get to the location in a car and also afford to buy certain costume elements from charity shops for a cheap price. As we are collaborating with South Essex College throughout the making of this process, they are allowing to use their facilities for free. These include equipment hire and also the use of the college as a location. This helps reduce the budget a lot and we don't have to waste money on un-necessary things.

Personnel Involved;
Throughout the process of making my short film, there is a lot of different personnel that needs to be involved. A director to make sure everything is running smoothly and that everyone is sticking to the timings and budget requirements. A camera operator to assist in filming the actual film. Sound and lighting technicians to change the colour of the lights and to play the music when it is needed. Also an editor can be included to help assist the director when it comes to placing actors in certain places and offering suggestions to make the film better when it goes through the post-production stage. Every one of these roles are vitally needed throughout the whole production process.

Contingency Plan; 
My contingency plan is really clear because I know what I am going to do if something goes wrong. If a piece of my equipment breaks during the production process, i will be able to access a backup camera or other part of equipment quickly so it doesn't waste any filming time. If my actors can't make it to the shoots, i will have understudies already planned out so that they will be used instead of the original actor. If the location becomes un-avaliable for some apparent reason whether it is too dangerous due to severe weather conditions or is being used for something else, i will have a second location that will work just as well as the original one.

Production Roles;
The roles that will need fulfilling during the filming process are; Director, Actors, Editor, Cameraman and Sound and Lighting Technicians . I personally think that i know that the people i am planning on using are comfortable with the roles i have to offer and are able to push themselves to help me produce a really good final product.  

Research;
When researching ideas for my film, i noticed that i can only target a specific audience but i thought this would create a challenge for the director as it will have to be really grabbing and informative as well as keeping the final plot quiet until the end. Films like this do well in the box office but can gain some trouble if it is released at the wrong time. If the release is at the opening of the summer holidays, it wont gather as much money as it would if it was released in the winter months. the reasons for this is because its quite a dull film so it should be released when the weather outside is dull and cold allowing the audience to get a chill down their spine and also at the start of the summer holidays, there will be a lot of children in the cinemas, making younger rated films bring in a lot of money. When thinking of a name for my film, i had a few ideas but i finally came up with 'Just like Daddy'. It has a childish element to it but can be seen as quite creepy. It also links in with the story so well as it shows how much Mike idolises his dad that he wants to be just like him in every single way. I would like to rate my film a 15 as it is quite complex and you really have to read between the lines to understand the real meaning behind the disappearance of Mike O'Donnell.

Film Treatment Basics

Writing a Treatment

Development of your idea from your proposal. It should include;
- An indication of the size and content of your product
    - Duration (10 mins)
    - Number of actors
    - Number of crew members
    - Content - Storyline
- An initial script
- Estimated cost of production
- An idea of the personnel involved in the project
- A contingency plan (Plan B)
- Research carried out for the production

Intro;
A short paragraph that summarises the original proposal  and the approach you will take to develop the idea. Use the opening act to sell the idea.

Outline Script;
In order to understand what actual resources you may need and the timeline of your work, you will need to produce an outline script. This brings together your ideas into a format that clearly demonstrates how the product will progress, what it will look like when it is completed. In general, it just gives you a clear picture.

Budget;
It is essential that you understand the budgetary requirements of your planned project. You will have to produce a realistic budget for the project your producing. You must use real examples of equipment hire and cost when developing a budget.

Target;
A clear list of who is doing what, mention who is doing what in your film such as acting, voiceovers and presenting. This will give a clear understanding of how your film will look and who is getting involved.

Production Staff;
Who is woking on the project - breakdown of the crew.

Contingency;
Things can go wrong so it is vital that you prepare a back-up plan. All reasons need to be covered in this as it will stop time being wasted.
- Client changes their mind about the content of the product after agreement has been reached.
- The price of materials or equipment changes once the production has started.
- An actor is ill or they can't make it due to other commitments.
- Equipment breaks down during the production process.
- Severe weather conditions or just the change in the weather means continuity is difficult to maintain.

Contingency planning is extremely important. It is there as a safety net when things do go wrong. All productions have to have a contingency plan.

Research;
Include any conducted research. This might link to similar products that you have looked at, online research of articles or surveys carried out.

Film Proposal

Rosie Smith,
Dynamic Productions,

South Essex College,

Luker Rd,

Southend-on-Sea,

Essex,

SS1 1ND

Dear Sir/Madam,

I propose to produce a film about a boy who goes missing due to his fathers disappearance in the war. His mother disbelieves the police in the way that her son will not be found so she takes matters into her own hands and attempts to find him herself. After 20 years of searching, she begins to come to terms of the lose of both her husband and her son and develops depression. After learning to cope with her illness on her own with no help, her husband reappears home expecting a normal family life but everything has changes for the worst. The title that I was building around is 'Just Like Dad'. This connects well with the film because the boy goes missing after finding out his father is missing in action. At the age of 15, boys are going through the stages of change and copy what heir fathers do so this also links in with the title.

The main character in my film goes by the name of Julie. A standard housewife who looks after her son and husband when they are at home. With her husband gone and her son disappeared, she is finding it hard to cope. Learning to cope with depression is a hard task but after overcoming it, her husband returns home, adding confusion to her mind as well as upset and heartbreak. Mike, Julie's son, is a normal boy, going to school and growing up in a functional family environment. When it is announced that his father is missing in action, he starts to become withdrawn and it gets to the point where he runs away from home and is declared missing.

When making this film, I was intending to reach an audience of maybe late teens and adults. People who like films that contain a bit of mystery and emotion. People who my film is aimed at should like programmes like law and order and also programmes like white chapel. The concept of my film is a young boy who is grieving for his father as he is missing in action causes him to go missing. His mother works with the police to try and find him but as the police investigation starts to fade, his mothers will starts to get stronger and she takes it upon herself to find him. With the stress of the situation, she takes on the burden of depression and has to cope with it.

Some major participants in the making of my film is South Essex College who will be supplying a possible location and also the equipment hire. Some of my colleagues will also be helping with the filming and producing of my film. The visual style of my film will be very dark with the use of bruised colours and a lot of different shades of grey.

Yours Sincerely,

Rosie Smith

Film Proposal Basics

Film Proposal

The purpose of a film proposal is to sell the idea of a film.

They are used to gain funding to be able to extend the budget for the film.

It has to explain the concept.

It has to make the film sound interesting and exciting.

However, all of this has to be achievable.

What to include;

- Your Name, Contact Details and Company Name (if applicable)

- A working title for the project (title in progress)

- The audience type that you intend to reach

- A brief explanation of the concept

- A brief description of the main characters

- A brief description of the main sequences

- Name any other major participants that are involved in the project

- Any major technical or stylistic considerations e.g. a particular visual style, special effects, certain sounds)