Lana del Rey – Video Games Music Video Proposal
Having thought long and hard about the sort of angle I wish to take for my A2 Music Video Coursework, I have decided to create a video for the song ‘Video Games’ by Lana del Rey. As her debut single, this song is the first impression that the artist gave to her audience, and therefore the song has boundless opportunities about how it can be represented- the artist does not yet have a reputation or well-recognised style. The audience will be open-minded as they do not know what to expect from the artist. However, I think my interpretation of the song through music video will be more appealing to the female market, of ages 17 – 35.
I plan to have a strong thematic and conceptual approach to my music video, in that I want it to have an Alice in Wonderland theme. I have chosen to depict the music video in this way, as the theme of Alice in Wonderland is very recognisable and therefore will be identified easily by audiences. I want to capture the fantasy-like qualities of the theme, and along with the sleepy, dulcet tones of the song, I think this will result in a dreamlike quality for my final finish. I will create this Wonderland theme through the location, props, costumes and actors I use. I am going to use my back garden as my location because the back of it is secluded and overgrown, and I think that by decorating this with fairy lights and lanterns it will have a mysterious and magical effect. I am going to set up a ‘tea party’, which is a distinguishable feature of the popular children’s book and film, I will use a long table, and cover it with a lacy tablecloth and decorate it with mismatched teacups and teapots in order to project the theme as vividly as possible. Around my table for many of my scenes I will have my actors. I am going to cast the most symbolic and memorable characters from the film; Alice, The Mad Hatter, Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee, The White Rabbit, and The Queen of Hearts. These characters will be represented subtly through the actors’ costumes, for example the Mad Hatter naturally wearing a top hat, bow tie, and unusual face paint. The White Rabbit will wear rabbit ears or a mask, white face paint, and a clock around his neck. Alice will be wearing a blue dress, a white apron, and will carry a white lace parasol, much like the character from the film. However, in many ways the film has darker connotations than the children’s book, particularly when directed by Tim Burton, and therefore I want each of my characters to be slightly edgy and creepy. This is why I want to juxtapose Alice’s innocent image by having her sport pale makeup with dark eye makeup and big, black false eyelashes. I also am going to portray Tweedle-Dum and Tweedle-Dee by having the same actor play both parts, and then in the editing process put them together by using multiple exposure.
I am also going to use green screen for small sections of my song, which I hope will enhance the fantasy atmosphere. I am going to have Laura, as ‘Alice’ singing the words of the song, in front of a background of a spinning doily, the spinning emulating the falling of her down the rabbit hole and into Wonderland. I also am going to have the Mad Hatter simply sitting on a chair in front of the green screen, staring directly into camera and beckoning, as a haunting invitation for the audience.
This approach is not a lyrical depiction of the song, but I have chosen it due to the tone and sound of the song itself; slightly moody yet enchanting. However, the song does capture the daydreaming and fantasy of the theme, as the singer speaks of how she wishes things to be with the person she loves.
During the editing process, I will use various different techniques in order to portray a dreamlike form; these will include reverse action, multiple exposure, manipulation of colours and effects like ghosting and old-fashioned style crackles.
Some problems that I may encounter are that I want the ‘tea party’ setting to look as effective and authentic as possible, and therefore I am going to have to collect a number of different props, which may be difficult and costly. For example, in an ideal world I would have a range of different chairs, including a large armchair for the head of the table, white roses, playing cards, a chess board, candle sticks, and a cupcake stand full of cupcakes. I’m sure I can attain the majority of these props from charity shops or from borrowing them.
Olly Murs – Accidental Music Video Proposal
After much deliberation over what sort of angle to take for my A2 coursework, I have decided to make a music video for the song Accidental by Olly Murs. As a popular male artist who rose from prime-time TV competition The X Factor, I understand that this will have a mass appeal to a large audience of both males and females. I will aim my music video at an age 15-30 bracket, as I want it to have a very relaxed, young and fun vibe to it that may be more appreciated by a younger audience.
I am planning on shooting my video at various locations, and one of the main concepts of it is that I want to use a mix of live images and cartoons collaborated together, like the effect seen in the video for Watch the Sun Come Up by Example (which you can find on my Inspirations page). One of the locations I am definitely going to use is the Urdang Academy studios in London. It has been used previously in music videos by the likes of Ellie Goulding, and is an impressive setting with high ceilings, polished floors and large studio spaces. I am going to use one of these studios to film parts of my music video, and thankfully this is quite accessible as my actor, Aaron attends this college and can book a studio for use. He can also dance, which is what I will have him doing in these scenes.
The narrative for my video is a direct reference to the lyrics of the song, where the artist, or in this case Aaron, vies for the affection of his love interest by setting up coincidences for her to discover, and blames them on fate so that she sees they are meant to be together. My video will follow Aaron on his day as he does things such as leaving notes for her to find, playing her favourite song loudly outside her house, fixing pink paper hearts to trees on the route she walks home and other typically ‘cute’ romantic gestures. During these parts of the video, he will be dressed with slightly ‘geeky’ quirks about him, such as large geek glasses, and perhaps a bow tie, casting him as a stereotypical high school ‘nice boy’ with a crush on a girl. I also want there to be a clear contrast with the parallel narrative, where Aaron will be simply dancing in the studio, and singing the words to the song. At this point he will be dressed fashionably, looking and acting with typical pop star confidence, as a juxtaposition to the nervous, nerdy character from before.
I will also be casting a girl, who will be the object of his affection. She will be shown simply going about her day as normal and discovering these things that have been left for her by Aaron. She will be dressed like a ‘normal’ teenager, looking pretty and like a suitable partner for Aaron.
During the editing process, I will transform sections of the live action into black and white drawing-style cartoons, for example a bus driving past in the background, or the artist himself walking along as a cartoon in a ‘live action world’.
Some problems that I may encounter are that I would like to shoot outside on a sunny day, and this could be difficult to rely on in Autumn/Winter in England, so I will have to be ready to shoot at any point just in case a suitable day comes along. Also, I will need heavy practise to get to grips with how to create the cartoons to a high-quality finish, and this could be time consuming so I will be familiarizing myself with After Effects and the exact technique I need before going out and shooting.
