Actors

For my music video, I will need 2-3 different actors/actresses such as someone to play the little girl in the beginning, someone similar in appearance yet older to act her ten years later and a possible ghost/stalker.

Little Girl
Due to a lacking choice in actresses of the correct age, I only have one choice of actress to play the little girl in my music video. This means I will have to choose my second actress carefully in order to find someone who looks like the younger girl.
Olivia
Ollie is an appropriate choice for a number of reasons, for example, she is pale which gives her a ghostly appearance. In addition, almost white skin can work to my advantage on the symbolism side of things due to white being symbolic of purity which is exactly the kind of image I am trying to create for the young girl. She also has large eyes which gives an appearance of being younger and more innocent than she actually is. Innocence is an important thing to portray in my younger actress because she is meant to contrast the horror movie theme of the music video. This contrast will make the frightful aspect stand out more as a whole and will also evoke a feeling of fear in the audience for the young girl.

Girl Ten Years Later
My older actress will have to look similar to Olivia due to my lack of other actors to play the young girl. For example, dark hair and pale skin will be some main features I need to match up.

Monaya
Monaya could be a good actress for my video for a multitude of reasons, for example, she does Theatre Studies, therefore meaning she will be a more talented actress than someone who has never acted before. This would be useful in giving my video a more professional feel as opposed to seeming amateurish due to a lack of talented actresses.
Although Monaya has the appropriate dark hair, there are a number of reasons she wouldn't work as the actress for the older girl. For example, her darker skin does not suggest she has been trapped in a haunted house for ten years. In addition, her facial features do match or look similar to that of Olivia and therefore she does not look like an older version of her.

Emelia
I originally began considering Millie because she is Olivia's sister and therefore I felt they should have at least a little resemblance, however, I feel that the slight resemblance is not enough. There will need to be a closer similarity between the two in order for the audience to easily assume that both are the same person.

Eleanor
Originally I wanted to avoid using myself as an actress for my video, however, due to lacking other options, I found I was the only person who looked similar to Olivia. The main points of similarity are our hair length/colour and pale skin, these are important aspects because they will be the most noticeable and therefore make us appear more like the same person to the audience.
If I use myself as an actress I will have to do a large amount of my filming on a tripod as I won't be able to hold the camera myself. This will still work to my advantage because a tripod will keep my camera still, something necessary if I am to make it look as though the younger girl is becoming (transitioning into) the older version of herself (a switch between actresses).

Preliminary

This is my preliminary project which is approximately 32 seconds of lip syncing to the song 'Never Look Back' by The Nearly Deads.
While this is acceptable for a first try, there are a number of aspects which could be improved. For example, although extremely close, the lip syncing is off by perhaps a millisecond which causes a slightly more fake aspect about the whole video as the video becomes a lot less convincing. I would have to be extremely careful when doing lip syncing for my main product as I now have a clear example of how even a slightly off audio can kill the believability of the video as a whole.

Music Video Location

For the location of my video, I have considered several places which are appropriate to my storyline. The short story which the video is based on is supposed to be located in an old or abandoned house and so I have considered a number of old/abandoned buildings.

Gothic Cottage - Stourhead
This would be a good location choice for the outside scenes of my music video due to its gothic architecture. Such a style of architecture is relevant because my chosen band fit into the genre of Goth Rock and in addition to this, the majority of videos I analysed were largely based in buildings which were Gothic in appearance and so this is an important convention to fit in order to make my video obviously in relation to Rock music.
The beginning of my video is mainly based on the door because it is meant to foreshadow and symbolise the idea of being trapped behind that very door and so a large, Gothic door such as the one displayed would be a good choice in order to display the most relevant and visually pleasing imagery possible. For example, a plain door such as your average house door would not be nearly as appropriate to the video as it would have no visual impact and would not appear quite so intimidating.

Abandoned House - Zeals
This house could be appropriate for a number of reasons, for example, the story of which the song is based on specifies an abandoned house. This house also appears intimidating due to the overgrown foliage and boarded up windows/doors. However, as I said earlier, an average in appearance door would be less appropriate due to the lacking impact it would have on the viewer, therefore perhaps making this house a second option as opposed to a first.

 Cycling Tunnel - Bath
In my video, I will need a multitude of long tunnels to film my actor running through. This is because the main theme, once inside the house, is escape and so the idea of an endless tunnel to run down implies that escape is impossible and also implies an abnormality in the house as most houses do not stretch on for so far. Although long and dark, this tunnel would also be a bad choice for a number of reasons. For example, the unnatural lighting would disrupt my atmosphere of abadonment as most abandoned houses do not have working lights all the way down the hallways. In addition, the paved road/pathway would also give the video a modern appearance which is not the intention of this video.

Grotto - Stourhead
The grotto would be a perfect place to film the inside of my music video due to its abandoned appearance. The combination of darkness and old stone would create the perfect image of a haunted house similar to that of horror movies such as The Descent, although not based in a house, the caves of which the movie are based in are similar to that of the grotto, both of which have a chilling effect with the intention of provoking fear within the audience.
In addition, the grotto has a tunnel running through it and so I could also film my running scenes here.
The only problem with the grotto is the natural light which comes through some of the openings in the tunnels, however, this could easily be used to my advantage, for example, I will be less likely to need unnatural lights to light up my actors if there is already a natural light which illuminates them. This will seem less harsh than false lighting and so the video will seem more natural in appearance.

Due to my chosen locations, there will now be holes in my plan. For example, I will be anable to open the doors to either house and so I will have to use careful editing to make it appear as though the actress has gone through the door. In addition, at the end of my music video, I wanted to pan out through the hallways and out the door of the house, however, this will no longer be possible due to the inside shots of the video and the outside shots will be separate locations. However, with careful editing, this could be something I try and experiment with.

Response To Survey Results

After analysing my survey results, I decided to look into the suggestions of my respondents because these would be the sorts of people I would be aiming my music video at.



In this music video, to create the storyline which the respondent is interested in, the story is kept going instead of repeating the same scenes. This gives the video a narrative. For example, a number of different shots are used to create variation and within each shot is a new narrative scene. Certain scenes are repeated to create emphisis on that scene, however, the story in general does continue to change. In addition, scenes of the band playing their song are used to relate the video back to the band so that there is an almost equal focus on both the narrative on the band.




Similar to the last music video, the kind of music video that the respondent is interested in has a narrative. However, unlike the last video, this one relies on changing shots/camera angles to create a video which is not heavily repeated. This also gives the impression of there being a narrative because the shots make an unchanging location appear as though it is changing and as though a lot more is happening than there actually is. Because my music video will be based in the same location throughout, it will be important that I also have varying shots/camera angles so that my video does not appear heavily repeated.




While analysing the previous videos for their narrative quality, I noticed that scenes of band performance were also an important aspect and so I decided to analyse a performance video to give me a better idea of what sorts of things are included when filming a performance scene. In this video, The Robelets by Japanese band The Bohemians, the focus is not only to show the band's musical talent but could also be said to be to show each member's personality. For example, there are multiple close up shots which show the lead singer's upbeat personality through his excited facial expressions, in addition, long shots are used to show the ways in which the singer dances while singing, this creates an impression that he is an upbeat and somewhat excited person. On the other hand, the bass player (shown on the left) appears to have a far more serious personality as there are multiple close up shots of him using very serious facial expressions which contrast that of the lead singer, this might have been done to draw attention to the lead singer and market his personality over the other band members.

Pitch

Survey Results - Collection and Analysis

"How old are you?"

To help me decide on my target audience, I asked about the survey taker's age. 55 out 78 answered 13 - 18, this shows that most who take an interest in music videos are in this age group and so this should be the age group I aim my music video at to get the largest possible audience.
This means I will have to involve certain elements which appeal to this audience.

"What is your gender?"

In order to find out if there were a specific gender I needed to aim my music video at, I asked the audience their gender. This revealed that 62 out 78 (79.49%) of those interested in music videos were female. This means that the most successful target audience would be teenage females.

 "Which genre of music are you most interested in?"

To find out which genre has the largest audience and therefore most successful target audience, I asked about favourite genre. To get the most most accurate response, I posted this survey on a number of music pages and social medias.
The response I received, however, could be due to rock lovers taking a larger interest in the survey.
Be that as it may, I have decided to aim my music video at those interested in the genre of rock because rock received the majority at 58 out of 78 responses (74.36%).

"Who is your favourite band/singer/musician?"

I asked this question so that I would have some clear examples of the rock bands that people are interested in. This will give me some clear examples of the kinds of music videos people like and will also help inspire my own music video and the appearances of my own band members. In using inspiration from other bands, I will be able to make sure my music video is easily identifiable as rock.

"How often do you watch music videos?"

I decided to use text box response for this question because there is no specific time that music videos are released and so how often people watch music videos will vary.
I found that most people watch music videos daily or a few times a week which proves them to be popular amongst those who responded to my survey therefore making this a secure target audience. In addition, I received responses such as "only when they come out" which shows that there is also an interest in new music videos as opposed to older music videos. This will be beneficial to me because there will also be people who consider themselves 'cutting-edge' that will watch my music video because it is new.

"On which platform do you consume music videos?"

In response to this question, I received a majority in favour of YouTube. As 90.91% of people already use YouTube as their main platform for watching music videos, YouTube is the obvious platform for me to share my music video.

 "In your opinion, what are the elements of a successful music video?"

To assist me in deciding on the main points of focus for my music video, I asked my audience which elements they felt were successful in a music video in order to give me an idea of what people prefer to see in music videos.
I found that an almost equal number of people preferred music videos with narrative and performance. Due to this response, I am going to add performance scenes into my mainly narrative music video idea as this will make it more appealing to my audience.

Audience Research Survey

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Initial Planning

Chosen song: Haunted by Evanescence

Genre: Rock/Goth Rock

Permission received: Yes
The email requesting permission:

The email of confirmation:

Narrative Idea:
Song is based on a short story by Ben Moody - "A little girl around 8 or 9 in a little white Easter dress is walking down a neighbourhood street bouncing a little red ball. As she approaches an obviously deserted large house with a sinister demeanour, her attention moves from the ball to the house. Not paying attention to her bouncing, the ball hits the curb and ricochets toward the house. As she chases the little red ball toward the house, the ball picks up unnatural momentum and bounces right into the huge gaping front door. The little girl pauses for a moment, looks up at the house, which now appears to be staring down at her, and cautiously enters the house in search of her little red ball. as she slowly walks into the atrium, she surveys the decaying mess that once was obviously a beautiful mansion. She becomes mesmerised by the exquisite detail of every inch of the banister winding up the seemingly endless staircase in front of her. Suddenly her thoughts are broken by a horrifying commotion. She whips around to run out the front door, but finds only a blank wall where the door once stood. Frightened, she runs down the first hallway she sees, trying desperately to find a way out, but with every turn the world behind her changes, bending to the will of the house, so that even finding a path back to the atrium where she began becomes impossible. Terrified, the little girl sinks into a corner, puts her head in her hands, and weeps.
10 years later....

The little girl wakes up in a panic, now a young woman. Dirty, scarred. She's now clothed in black pants, work boots, and a black wife beater. Her skin is pale and dirty. Sun has not graced her flesh in over a decade. She wakes to find a meal placed on a dirty silver tray before her, just enough to sustain life, just like every morning before. Placed there by a figure she can only see in passing, around a corner, walking through a door.... a figure that has become her only friend, and her only hate. Her entire existence has become nothing but to hunt and destroy this shadow that keeps her here. As she hunts him relentlessly day after day, she becomes lost in the dichotomy of her being. This thing that keeps her here, this person that repeatedly rapes her mind and watches her when she sleeps, has become her only friend. For is this person left, she would cease to exist. For she live only to kill him. But lives only FOR him. Every day the house changes around her, so that every day she wakes in a foreign land. The only constant... is him. She hears his heart beating, she smells him, she can only think of finding him, but he is also the only thing she knows of love."

Possible Actors:

• Olivia (my little sister) as the younger girl
• Myself as the girl 10 years later

Locations:

• Haunted house (tall, dark, frightening..)
• Underground tunnel/shelter with flickering light in Zeals/Bourton

The Birthday Massacre - Beyond

What is its purpose?
The purpose of this music video contrasts that of the Bad Pollyanna video because this video, rather than being fully focused on the band, is fully focused on the narrative. This video still advertises the band because they are the ones acting in it, however, it is much more focused on the story being told.

How do they reflect the genre?
The genre of Gothic Rock is portrayed through a number of things in this video. For example, the use of a coffin represents a theme of death that gives the whole video a more Gothic theme. In addition, stereotypical Gothic locations and clothing are used to make the genre seem obvious, An example of this is the location of woods which are a stereotypical scene for a horror movie, therefore making the scene appear more obviously Gothic/Horror movie based.
Much like the other videos, the band members in this one wear a lot of black clothing and make up which shows that this is an important element of creating a rock music video.

What are the elements of a successful music video?
After looking through a multitude of videos, I have found that using the band in the video is an important part of making a successful music video as this seems to be a convention of most music videos.
I have also found that the majority of rock music videos involve a narrative (excluding Monstrous Child), therefore making this an important part of a successful music video.
Even in this fully narrative video, editing is still used to link the video and song together, for example, at 0:35, Chibi (the singer) is cut in at the moment the singing begins.

How do they differ?
The music videos I have analysed differ in a number of ways, for example, the Bad Pollyanna music video contrasts this music video because while this one is all narrative, Monstrous Child is all band performance.
However, I noticed more similarities than differences. For example, each video relies on black/dark coloured clothes/make up to portray a Gothic character, therefore making this an important element to consider when making my own music video.

Bad Pollyanna - Monstrous Child

What is its purpose?
The purpose of this video, unlike the others, is fully focused on the band and so its purpose is to promote the band and their musical talent as opposed to promoting a narrative.

How do they objectify women/men?
There is no clear objectification of either gender in this video due to its being fully focused on the band. However, there are small snippets of objectification against men in parts of the video which are flipping the convention of objectifying women on its head. For example, at 2:02 in the video the woman appears to be scratching the vulnerable in appearance man, this almost seems to be sexualizing the man as opposed to the woman which again contrasts the other videos I analysed.

How do they reflect the genre of music?
The genre of music is reflected through the clothing, much in the same way that the other videos reflect their genre. Each member wears black/dark clothing which adds a Gothic appearance, therefore implying an alternative genre. In addition, props such as a severed pigs head (0:06) are used, these effectively give the video an appearance of being a horror movie, therefore closer linking it to the dark genre of Goth and Rock. An almost horror movie reflection of the genre is important to a rock video because this separates it from the usual, light hearted conventions of pop music videos.

What are the elements of a successful music video?
Much like the other music videos, this video is edited to the beat of the music. An example of this is at 0:20 when the video is edited to come into focus on the whole band at the same time as the full force of the song kicks in.
Due to this video only really being one scene, it needs a variety of shots to make it a successful music video. This is evident in their use of a number of shots such as close up shots to show the intense yet passionate facial expressions of each band member and master shots to show the whole body movements of everyone in the band which portrays them as passionate about their music as opposed to portraying them as only there to be pretty.
Their video is also relevant as the purpose is to advertise the band and that is what this music video is doing. The video uses a number of close up shots to market each band member's individual talent yet also uses mastershots to market the talent they hold as a group.

Black Veil Brides - In The End

What is its purpose?
The main purpose of this music video is to advertise the band as the video is mainly based on them. However, similar to the last video I analysed, this video also has a narrative which advertises the film, Legion of The Black by Black Veil Brides. This video differs from the last video though due to its main focus being the band.

How do they objectify women/men?
This video does not have a clear objectification of either gender, however, it could be said to be objectifying women in a way that portrays them as a stereotypical damsel in distress. An example of this is at 0:20 when Andy (the lead singer) is shown to be carrying Eve (the masked girl) away, this portrays her as in need of his help, therefore making women appear the weaker sex while making the band members seem strong and heroic.

How are the stars objectified?
In this video, the band are shown as a group throughout, never really separating from one another, this means that each member is not given their own narrative and are only seen together as a band rather than as individuals. The camera seems mainly focused on the lead singer, this paints a picture of him being higher up on the hierarchy of the band, therefore engaging the audience in him and giving the rest of the band lesser roles.

How do they reflect the genre of music?
Similar to the other music video, this video relies on Gothic make up and clothing to portray a genre of rock. This video mirrors 'Could We Burn, Darling?' through its use of stereotypical black hair over one eye and black eye make which creates a Gothic appearance in the band members. In addition, leather jackets are used to reflect a genre of rock because leather jackets are a stereotypical sign of rock style and music.
Along with this, unlike the last music video, the bands faces are kept straight, this is because this genre is just rock as opposed to theatrical rock, therefore needing more emphasis on the music and seriousness of it rather than the theatrics.

What are the elements of a successful music video?
Similar to the last video, this music video further proves that a narrative is essential to a music video's success or is at least an important part of most rock videos.
In addition, this video keeps to the successful element of speeding up or slowing down the editing to the beat of the music. An example of this is at 1:20 when the lead singers face is edited to flicker in and out of view in time to the flickering of the music, this helps in creating a clear connection between the video and the music.
A successful music video will also include a variety of different camera shots to make the video seem exciting and not create too much repetition. For example, at 0:24, a low angle arc shot is used to make the singer appear powerful and in charge of the situation, this also gives the camera the ability to move to the beat of the music as opposed to staying still.
This music video is also successful in the way that it is relevant to the video. For example, the style of the band members reflects the genre of music and a lot of the locations also succeed doing this. An example of this is the church location they shoot parts of the video in, this relates to their narrative of their video and also their band name Black Veil Brides which Andy explains; "When a Nun has her coronation, she is marrying God and they literally have a ceremony in which she wears a black veil", this shows that their band have mock relations to religion, therefore making the church more relevant.

Fearless Vampire Killers - Could We Burn, Darling?

What is its purpose?
The purpose of this music video is to advertise the band as they are the main feature of the video. A secondary purpose of this music video is to advertise the book, Militia of The Lost, also the name of album from which this song comes from, written by the singer (Laurence Beveridge) because the video plays out a scene from the book.

How do they objectify women/men?
The women of this video are objectified through making them appear an object of man's entertainment. For example, at 0:15 in the video, the women are shown to be stroking the men with feathers in an attention seeking (provocative?) fashion which marks them as there for the men's personal entertainment. This again happens at 1:56 in the video when the girls surround Drew (the bass player), stroking him in a provocative fashion which implies that the women are objects of sex. In addition, the women of this video are also marked as objects which belong to the men of this video. An example of this is at 2:36 in the video when the man known as the Cardinal in the books, possessively takes the girl (Evelyn) away as though she were an object which belonged to him, therefore giving him control over what she does and where she goes.

How are the stars objectified?
The band in this music video are shown as a group in the mastershot at 0:40, portraying them all as talented musicians due to all playing an instrument, this contrasts bands such as One Direction who are all there to look pretty and don't really play any instruments. Not only are Fearless Vampire Killers portrayed as a group but they are also portrayed as individuals through out the video because each band member has a moment of focus which shows their own individual story lines. However, Laurence (the singer) of the band is subtly portrayed as higher up that the other band members as he is the only one to really look into the camera (0:31) which causes the audience to connect with him on a different level and therefore differentiate him from the rest of the band.

How do they reflect the genre of music?
In this music video, the reflection of the genre, Theatrical Rock, is fairly obvious. For example, the theatrical aspect is portrayed through the exaggerated facial expressions of the band used to portray certain emotions which give the appearance of a dramatic theatre production. In addition, everyone in the video wears very theatrical clothing to portray an atmosphere of theatrics.
The rock aspect of the genre is shown through the dark hair and makeup each band member wears. For example, each band member has the almost stereotypical hair style of a fringe which falls in front of one eye and the dark eye make up. This shows that each band member is obviously a Goth and implies a genre of rock.

What are the elements of a successful music video?
A successful music video has various elements that lead to its success. For example, a successful music video often has a changing speed of editing which is linked to the beat of the music. An example of this is at 2:14 in the music video, when the video is edited to pulse to the sped up beat of the music video, therefore increasing the intensity of that section of the song.
In my opinion, an element of success in this music video is the clear narrative which is aided my theatrics as the audience are more engaged in the video and interested as to what is unfolding, it also gives a clear idea of what the song could be about.
Another element of success in music videos is a relevant video. For example, in this music video, the band members are dressed in a way which reflects their genre and the video tells the story of their song.