Planning - Mock up of CD cover

Planning - Shooting Schedule

I plan to shoot the music video in two stages.

The first stage will be shooting the scenes in the car, and around the house. I have chosen to do this on Saturday 19th September, or Sunday 20th September, depending on Sam's, and my own, availability. I have chosen to film these sections as we will have more time in the day to get a series of shots, putting less pressure on us.

The second stage will be shooting the college scenes, and I will arrange a date in college the week commencing Monday 21st September. This way, everybody needed will be in college anyway, so there will be no problems arranging to meet up. This will also mean people will be in the background of my shots, which is perfect as it will become a much more realistic setting.

Planning - Mock up of Website

For the website homepage I am designing, I have decided to technically have two homepages.

The first is simply an image on a solid black background. The image is of a dog kennel sitting on a tuft of grass, with a bone and a drinking bowl next to it. This will be drawn in a slightly abstract cartoon style by hand, and I plan to use the rotoscope technique of painting over it to give it a cartoon effect. There will be a small sign saying "Home" on it, and this image will act as a link to the second, main home page. Colour wise, I am going to have it on a solid black background, with vibrant green grass, light brown/wooden colour for the kennel, and a vibrant pink roof. These colours will add to the cartoon style I want to become associated with DoBERMAN, plus the use of pink and black is something else that will become associated with DoBERMAN, and I plan to use it on the second page, and the CD cover. Hopefully, I can get the activation of the link to trigger the sound of a dog barking as the user is navigated to the next page, linking with the idea of a dog associated with DoBERMAN.

The second page will again be a solid black background. In the bottom right will be the DoBERMAN 'logo', a patch of vibrant pink spray paint, with DoBERMAN present in a stencil like form. This is also on the bottom right of the front cover of the CD case, continuing the theme.

This second page is very basic, in the bottom left is the character I have decided to create for DoBERMAN, a man with a dogs head, inspired by the image on DoBERMAN's myspace. This character will also be in cartoon form, and will also be incorporated into the CD covers. This character will be clutching at a fistful of leads, again associating with dogs, that are attached to the five links on the page, that lead to 'Gallery', 'About DoBERMAN', 'Videography', 'E-mail Service', and 'Music'. At a later date, I may use play on words to associate these with dogs again. The links will again be images, perhaps using the words and drawing them into dog like shapes attached to the leads.

Planning - Risk Assessment

For shooting outside:

I will have to take precautions for if it rains whilst shooting outside. To combat the possibility of damaging the camera and other equipment due to rain, I will take the following measures:

• Check the weather forecast in advance
• Have water proof storage/bags ready
• Have an umbrella ready
• Check the sky for signs of rain before filming

For shooting inside the car:

This has the potential to be dangerous, as Sam, or someone else, may be driving with the helmet on, also, I will possibly have to readjust my seating to get a good camera shot. Therefore, I will take the following measures:

• Ensure Sam, or whoever is driving, is comfortable with driving in the helmet
• Possibly drive at a time when the roads will be less busy, therefore less dangerous
• Ensure all seat belts are working well and are securely fastened
• Ensure Sam drives sensibly, and at a reasonable speed

Planning - Props preparation

There is only one prop that I will focus on using on in my music video. This is because the rest of the mise-en-scene in the video is meant to be natural looking. I want the rest of the mise-en-scene to look natural, because it will make the character look even more abstract in his helmet, but also if it is more natural, I can use the rotoscope technique to possibly edit it into a surreal image.

The one prop I will be using, is the space mask.

The space mask is a mask of a clone trooper from the Star Wars film series. The whole idea behind having a space like mask was to do with the track. I felt using something space like would provide continuity with the song title, 'Fell From Space'. I had originally planned on purchasing an alien mask, but on discovering a teacher who could lend me this mask, I chose to use the mask instead. I chose it for 2 reason:

1. It looks really futuristic and surreal.
2. If I had used an alien mask, the contrast of alien skin and human skin would have looked tacky and cheap.

Below is a picture of Sam wearing the mask. Another reason why I decided to use it, is because it just looks so perfect on Sam, exactly how I wanted it to look, and I am confident that it will provide the surrealism I want in my video.

Planning - Costume

Here are the sketches I have drawn of the costume designs I have decided on for my characters.

Planning - Actor/Performer decisions

For my video, I will need just 3 primary characters who will act, and there will be many extras in the background to create the normality I am looking for.

The first character is the main protagonist, the guy in the space helmet. For this character I have cast Sam.

I chose to cast Sam as I have worked well with Sam before, he is a good friend, and I know he will bring a certain charisma I will be looking for in my character. Sam is of average build, which is not necessarily important, but all the same, means the character will look even more normal.

The second character will be the girlfriend of our main protagonist, and for this character I have cast Hollie.

The character having a girlfriend will seem strange, but everyone in the video will act as if the character is just normal, adding the the surreal idea. I chose Hollie to be the girlfriend character, as she is a good friend, I know she will work hard, and plus she is very good looking, which will add perhaps an attractive quality to the video, as beautiful women are often used in music videos.

The third character will be a random girl who the protagonist "flirts" with, sparking a row with his girlfriend. I chose Hatti, as I know she will do a good job for me.

Planning - Location shots

Above are location shots of the first setting of the music video; my house. It is a simple, normal setting, that will provide an adequate backdrop for the beginning and the end, of the video. I will look to take advantage of the simplistic, plain design, as it will be easy to edit in the rotoscope style, and potentially allow the insertion of more surreal effects.

Above are shots of the second location I will be using. It is of my college, a simple, normal setting, with people constantly there. I decided on this location as it will provide a normal setting for my abnormal character, and I can therefore create a surrealism with people just accepting my abstract character. I also chose the college as many of the rooms are plain, which means editing with the rotoscope style I plan to use will be easier, but also I can add a few unique and surreal moments to stand out more.

Planning - Storyboard

Planning - Treatment

This is a treatment for a music video for the DoBERMAN track, 'Fell From Space'.

I propose to use the idea of space, and the futuristic sounds of the track, as the main inspiration and focal point of the video. The story is simple. The video follows the day in the life of a college student. We follow him from the day he wakes up in the morning, to when he goes to bed at night. However, the element of space, means that this student has a space mask on. This would usually be seen in modern society as extremely surreal and abnormal. However, using the actions of the other cast in the video, I intend to make it seem as normal as possible. The student will be accepted and just act completely normal, as will his fellow students. Doing this will slightly confuse the audience into thinking, "Why is he wearing the helmet/mask?" and "Why is nobody taking notice of this odd attire he is wearing?". I intend for the audience to ask those questions, to draw them into the video.

A common element of a good music video, is humour, and I think the fact that the audience will be watching someone walking around acting normal in a large white Star Wars mask will act as this element of humour, providing a strange humour. Another element is performance, and I have considered this. Because there is no real band to perform, in the synthesizer solo I will have somebody dancing in the helmet, to provide a performance element, and I will have a close of up a mouth or face miming to some of the lyrics at points in the video.

To make the video surreal, unique, and stand out, I plan to film it and edit it in its entirety, and then paint over it in a method called rotoscope, to make it seem like a cartoon. By doing this, I can also add random, unique effects, such as random UFOs at some point, if I feel it will benefit the video.

The storyline is as follows:

The protagonist wakes up, has breakfast, and gets dressed. The protagonist drives his way to college, where he meets his girlfriend. He attends lessons, spends time with friends, perhaps engages in sport of some sort. He then "flirts" with another girl at college, is caught by his girlfriend, and a row ensues. He goes home, watches TV in a downheartened mood, and then goes to bed.

At times, I intend to play with the colour, chopping and changing it to the beat of the song, to again add an abstract and surreal feel to the video.

Planning - Brainstorm

Resarch - CD Covers

Fat Freddys Drop - Dr Boondigga and the BIG BW

Above are a series of images of the front/booklet and back cover of Fat Freddys Drop record 'Dr Boondigga and the BIG BW'. It is a very image based design that is continuous through out. The front is designed on the basic of the title, as we can see an illustration of the Dr named, and the BIG BW mentioned. Inside is a mention of who the band are, and a thankyou from the artist. And other than some illustrations that seem to set the stage for a story, that is all there is in the simplisticly designed booklet. However, I really like the idea of just images carrying on the story that seems to be present, as it is simplistic and slightly unique.

The back cover just continues this, with the illustration of perhaps a secret hideaway, and a mention of the track listing. The illustration is not crude, but is not perfect, and I really like the illustration, and the sort of comic book effect that is created.

Kanye West - Late Registration

Above are a series of images of the front, back, and inside covers of Kanye West record 'Late Registration'.

As evident, images are predominantly throughout. In this case, it is of a bear/guy in bear suit. This is because this record is the second of 3 that follow a theme of college (the first record named 'The College Dropout', and the third named 'Graduation'). The bear is featured heavily throughout these 3 record covers, and this is an example of artists creating a story, and continuing it through this form of advertisement.

The use of font is interesting in the way that somne of the letters are in upper case when it seems they should not be, and vica versa with lower case. This is where it says the artist's name, 'kanYeWest', and this is perhaps to seem unique. This is something I will need to do with an interesting font to present the name DoBERMAN.

In the booklet, there are credits for each song, something I may need to consider, and many pictures continuing the idea of a bear in the school. The font on the credits is very simple, as it makes them easier to read.

The front cover shows the front of the bear, coming through some large doors, and the back cover shows the back of the bear, going back through. This is a nice touch, and something I may need to consider as an option when creating my CD case/cover, as, along with the booklet, it helps create a sense of continuity.

Research - Websites

This is the homepage for the Daft Punk website. There are just 3 things on the website:

1. A main title piece in the middle, advertising a music video of the band. If the cursor is hovered over this a small icon pops up offering the user the option to watch this video.



2. Below this, is a small option to sign up for the bands email service. This indicates the simplicty of the website may be down to more extensive information provided in regular emails.



3. The final thing is located in the bottom right of the screen. It is simply a link to purchase some action figures that have featured in Daft Punk music videos. A common trait of these kind of unique artists, is that their tracks form storys, and websites, CD covers, and musics help to continue this theme and idea.

Above is a screen shot of the simple home page of unsigned band The Brett Domino Trio. I chose to use this website as an example, because the unsigned status of the band means that I can use its level if quality as a bench mark upon which to create my website for my artist DoBERMAN.

Upon clicking the Enter button on this page, the audience is taken to the more commonly styled home page below:

This is quite a typical band home page. With many links it offers the following to the audience:

• Information about the artist/band
• Images of the artist
• Videos of the artist
• Audio of the artist

This just shows that the idea of a website, reguardless of the record label the artist may be signed up to, is to promote the artist. Therefore, I will look at making a plain, yet slightly quirky and wacky website to match the image created by my artist.

(http://www.daftpunk.com/)
(http://brettdomino.com/)

Research - Target Audiences

I conducted some target audience research to give me an idea of some aspects I may wish to include in my music video to make it appealing. I produced an open questionnaire with the following questions/enquiries:

1. Gender
2. Age
3. Preferred style of music
4. How often do you listen to music?
5. How often do you watch music videos?
6. If you could pick one thing that stands out in a positive way from music videos, what would it be?
7. Would you be interested in seeing any of the following in a music video: Animation, Flashing/Changing colours, A space/alien themre
8. Do you have any other comments about music videos you'd like to add?

I chose to use an open answered questionnaire rather than the bog standard questionnaire with a choice of answers, because I feel that, with a music video being such a creative project, I wanted to get the full opinion of my target audience. Having the full opinion will allow me to understand the many ways in which a music video can appear appealing, and then narrow that down to match it to my track, and produce an appealing music video that fits the criteria I can develop

Having conducted my questionnaire on a range of 20 people, aged 15 to 47, I concluded the following:

• The style of a music video depends heavily on the genre of the track
• However, commonly appreciated traits in music video, reguardless of genre, are humour and a sense of uniqueness.
• Out of the 20 people questioned, only one would not appreciate animation in a music video, therefore this seems to be a positive aspect of music videos.
• More people listened to music every day, rather than watching music videos on a regular basis.
• In creating a music video, I am in a way reaching out to a niche audience. However, if the video focuses heavily on the track, I believe this can widen the audience numbers it will appeal to.
• An element of performance seems widely appreciated.

Research - The Industry

I decided to ask a friend of mine, Rob Madin, if I could use one of the tracks he recorded under the alias DoBERMAN. This was because his music is not only of a really high quality, but also, as an unsigned artist, I feel making a video for him will be beneficial to the both of us.

DoBERMAN is one of a few musical projects Rob has, and is an experimental/electronic project. The idea behind the projects name, the cross between a dog and a human, is an example of the different nature associated with electronic music. This demonstrates that the surrealism behind Electronic acts is not only demonstrated through their music, but also the image they portray. However, despite much of the artists promotion coming through their image, I do not believe that this means that Electronic music and its artists follow the theory of synthetic creativity. Far from it, as I believe, particularly in the case of DoBERMAN, that it follows a very original, organic style of creativity. The image is just present to go hand in hand with the music, and mirror it.

To summarise DoBERMAN:

• DoBERMAN is an Electro/House music project.



• Based in the UK, they have produced a number of original tracks as well as remixes.



• The track I will be using is titled 'Fell From Space'.



• DoBERMAN uses originality and surrealism in its image to support the style of its music.

Above, an image from the DoBERMAN myspace page. The edit, to have the dogs head on the human body, representing the artist name, is an example of the surrealism of the artist.

DoBERMAN is not signed to a record label. Some record labels that would possibly be suitable for the artist are:

• Ninja Tuna/Ninja Tune
• Pleasure Records
• Soma
• Dirty Beat Records
• LGR Music
• Dirty Trax
• Flux

I selected these record labels as they are labels that specialise in the specific genre of Electro/House, which DoBERMAN can be categorised under. Many of the artists on theses labels can be described as quite unique, and "wacky", even if the label is major or minor. This just demonstrates that for my website, CD cover and music video, a unique idea is essential to work with the genre.

(http://en.wikipedia.org)
(http://www.google.co.uk)
(http://www.myspace.com/dobermanremixes)
(http://www.ninjatune.net/ninja/release.php?id=1448)
(http://www.somarecords.com/)
(http://fluxrecordings.com/)
(http://www.dirtybeatrecords.com/)
(http://www.dirtytrax.co.uk/)
(http://www.purepleasurerecords.com/)
(http://www.lgrmusic.com/)

Research - Genres

Genre comes from the French for 'kind' or 'class'. A genre is a category used to define something. However, there are many of these categories with un-defined boundaries, and there is regularly overlapping of genres to classify products. Genre is used for classification in many areas, but there are three main areas:

• Television Genre
  
• Film Genre
  
• Music Genre

Within each area, there are many genres that help define a product. In the music genre there are 4 criteria which group the genres among themselves. The genres then go on to classify the different music, by artist, records, and songs. The 4 criteria are:

• Art Music
  
• Popular Music
  
• Traditional Music
  
• Regional and National Music

My track, 'Fell From Space' by DoBERMAN, would come under the criteria of popular music, as it is similar to some of the music that is breaking into the charts style wise. How ever, "Pop Music" is itself a genre, and my track more fits the genre of Electronic, and is a cross of many of its sub-genres such as Electro, Glitch, House, and Dubstep.

The genre of Electronic is characterised by its futuristic sound, its use of experimental methods, and its sometimes unique combinations of sounds and experiments with tempo and beat. Some of the main artists who fit under this genre are Sub Focus, a Drum and Bass/Dubstep band/artist, and more similarly to my artist, Daft Punk, an Electronic House band who have managed to force their music into popular culture.

The traits of Electronic music videos are that they look to do something unique, original, and look to create something never seen before by the audience. The video often plays off the beat of the track, as many electronic songs lack the lyrics to create a narrative for the video. Therefore, dancing is sometimes used as the performance element, and often the unique, futuristic sounds help determine the focus of the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGBhQbmPwH8 (Link to Daft Punk Video 'One More Time'.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9MszVE7aR4 (Link to Daft Punk Video 'Around the World'.)

Above, an image of house band Daft Punk. This image just demonstrates the unique style associated with the Electronic genre.

Above, a screenshot from the video to the track 'Shadrach' by Beastie Boys, which demonstrates a unique style of animation used. Coincidentally, it is done through the method of rotoscoping, which I will be looking to use to animate my piece.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/)
(http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/intgenre/intgenre.html)
(http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/genre)