Music Video Planning

Locations

Location 1 – Brayton Barff, SelbyFor our first location, we needed a large wood, for the shots where Ben is running through the trees being haunted by Sue. At first, we looked at the area around college, so see if anywhere would work. However, we felt that the space wasn’t big enough to allow us to fully show the story, and we would need reimagine the video on a slightly smaller scale. We want the video to look like it’s set in a large wood, so we decided not to downscale, and instead find a larger location. The red circle is college, and the blue circles are the locations that we considered.

We then decided to explore Brayton Barff, as this is a large area with lots of trees, and has areas of different terrain. First, we looked at the area on Google Maps, before travelling down to explore. As it’s located in Selby, it’s not too far from college, allowing for regular bus and train options, for both the crew and the talent. There is a clearing with picnic tables, allowing for us to sit and eat lunch. There is also a hill, allowing for different shots to be possible in the video. The circled area is where we would be filming.

Photos from Brayton Barff

Location 2 – Tom’s house, SelbyFor the memory shots, we need to shoot at a house. We will be using the exterior for when Sue storms out of the house and dies, as well as the dining room in the house for the initial argument. After discussing the different houses of the crew member’s, we decided to settle on Tom’s. The dining room has an exterior door leading to the side of the house, where the characters will be able to walk up and onto the road. Inside, the décor is quite simple, so minor changes could be made if necessary to enhance the mise-en-scene. The house is also in Selby, so the location isn’t an issue, and if more than one day of filming is necessary the same travel routes will be able to be used. Dining room

Garden and exterior

Location 3 – Media Studio, York CollegeOriginally, we planned to shoot the shots of the band performing in the woods, so that they would appear to be in the same place as Ben, creating a coherence throughout the video. However, we realised that transporting the instruments for this would be difficult, as there is a lot and they’re quite large and heavy. The drum kit in particular would be very difficult, as we would need to transport the kit individually then set it up in the woods. Not only would this be time consuming, but this would be quite difficult. Instead of the woods, we decided to use the media studio in college. The studio is located very close to the music rooms, and therefore taking the instruments down to the studio will be much easier, as we can just carry them down. This also makes it easier for the band, as they will be in

college already and won’t need to travel over to a different place. Using the college also means that we have easy access to things like toilets and food.

We have decided to use a white background for the shots, so that it looks very simple. At first, we considered black, but the band will be wearing black, and we didn’t want them to blend in with the background. Therefore, we chose to use white instead, so that the band would stand out more.

Props

PropsThe main props that we will need for the video will be the instruments for the shots of the band playing. For this, we will need:• Microphone• Mic stand• Guitar• Drum kitTo get these, the guitarist has agreed to bring his own instrument to use, and we will be borrowing the drum kit and mic/mic stand from the college music department.

We will also need a teddy for the shot where Sue throws it at Ben in the memories. We will be buying the teddy from a charity shop so that it already looks old and slightly worn. The teddy will be simple and a plain brown colour, so that it fits in with the colour scheme and tone of the whole video.

The final prop that we will need is a ring, for the shots where Sue takes the ring off and leaves it on the table, and when Ben picks it up to look at it. This ring will need to look like an engagement ring, to fully convey the idea of whereabouts the relationship between these characters was at. We will be using a ring that we have from home, so that we don’t have to purchase a new one.

Talent

Character Description + costume

Ben Male. Age 18 – 21. A timid looking guy. Clothes are simple with just a t-shirt and jeans. When in the forest, he looks more dishevelled.

Sue Female. Age 18 – 21. More confident than Ben. She looks fashionable but casual in jeans, a jumper and boots.

Singer Not gender specific. Age 18 – 21. Dressed like a typical rock band member – jeans, dark colours.

Guitarist Not gender specific. Age 18 – 21. Dressed like a typical rock band member – jeans, dark colours.

Drummer Not gender specific. Age 18 – 21. Dressed like a typical rock band member – jeans, dark colours.

In order to find the talent for Ben and Sue, we talked to the vocational Performing Arts students in college. Here, we found an actress to play Sue. The actor for Tom is also a previous drama student. By having the actors be drama students, we know that they will be able to convey the characters and their emotions fully.

The band are from the music department in college, and are actually a band together. This means that they can actually play the instruments, making the video look realistic, and they have chemistry playing together, so will look like a unit.

There are two reasons as to why we have decided to use talent between the ages of 18 and 21. Firstly, they are more accessible to us, as we can work with students from the college. However, it will also relate to our audience. The audience for our genre is often made up of a younger crowd, mainly older teens and young adults. By having

the talent starring in the video be of a close age to the audience, it will be more relatable for them. They will be able to see themselves in the talent, and form more of a connection with them than if they were adults. We need to have the audience and their needs in mind when making the music video, as we’re making it for them. We want to be able to target them. This also applies with the clothes of the characters. Their outfits will be casual, and won’t be a lot of huge named brands. This means that we will be inclusive of all of our fans from all kinds of social backgrounds.

Equipment

This is the equipment that we will need to take to each individual location.

Brayton Barff• Tripod for the first shot in the video of the trees.• Shoulder mount for the rest of the shots of Tom and Sue

in the trees.• Canon 600D camera.• SD card.• Battery and spare battery, in case the first one runs low.• Second camera for behind the scenes (personal

camera).• Phone to play song while filming

Tom’s House• Tripod for most of the shots.• Shoulder mount for the tracking shots.• Canon 600D camera.• SD card.• Battery and spare battery.• Second camera for behind the scenes (personal

camera).• Phone to play song

Media Studio• Shoulder mount for all shots.• Canon 600D camera.• SD card.• Battery and spare battery.• Studio lights (set up in advance).• White backdrop (set up in advance).• Second camera for behind the scenes (personal camera)• Phone to play song