Production Schedule

This is my rough production schedule, I have not finalised any dates yet but I'm hoping to do filming sessions on most weekdays and weekends for certain locations.

Hopefully it will go as planned, but I will have to consider other complications such as changes in weather, snow for example, may prevent me from filming due to slippery surfaces when it melts and also may affect the continuity of the film and if I am re-filming scenes I realize that I need to inform the cast at least a day beforehand so that they can get the same costumes and/or props they were wearing and using in at the time.

PROPS

Props should be fairly easy to get and some of the cast will be able to provide their own such as: shades, jewellery and accessories.

WHY?:

• For the classroom scene, the use of technology is very important to convey the context of the music video. Paper and pens are obvious components which will act as part of the school mise-en-scene.
  
• I thought the cardboard sign is a good idea to be used to show the lyrics 'waving a sign'. In this scene the interpretation of the lyrics are literal, except it is not the 'sign' that the character wants to see. The use of a sign allows a clear representation of the character's misjudgement and creates a comic effect for the audience.
  
• Milshake/food will be needed during this scene so that it fits in with the setting of the scene which is at a cafe
  
• The laptop will be needed during this scene because Rose is seen looking at status' to do with love on a social networking site. This corresponds to the lyrics "Just once I'd like to feel the way that people say it feels, I heard that it's incredible, the ultimate right."
  
• The watch Kemi wears will be a symbolic prop, bringing the notion of time in the scene and reminding the audience that time is passing.
  The shades give Kemi an aspect of 'coolness' to her character, like Lady Gaga's glittery glasses, this can be used as a form of voyeurism, helping the character to pull off their own persona and attitude via their costume. Jewellery and accessories that will be used on the main character will give a similar effect.

Location Report

Time-Lapse Research

I decided to do some more research on time-lapses as it is a main aspect I would like to incorporate in the video.

The article is taken from:
http://www.highballblog.com/2010/08/make-time-lapse-video-edit.html

"A time lapse video consists of footage that is rendered in higher speed than that of the original frame rate. It's basically a clip in which everything moves at high speed - or consider it to be the opposite of slow motion video.

The best subjects or actions to video shoot for time lapse are the ones that take time to unfold/develop. There's a ton of stuff like that around you. Here's a list of the most popular things to capture for time lapse video:

• Weather changes - clouds forming and moving, mist and fog, rain, snow layer building up over time.
• Light sources - sunset and sunrise, sun's travel on the sky, the moon, the stars (especially Polaris time lapse), night transforming into day, beams of light penetrating the clouds, etc.
• Fire - a fire consuming the logs and ending in smoke or a fire that grows bigger as fuel is added.
• Tide - the ebb and flow of the ocean or sea.
• People - crowds moving in an open space.
• Construction work - a wall being build, a tall building being erected, crane booms swinging back and forth - all of a sudden a construction site becomes interesting to watch.
• Car traffic - cars running on the roads at night in fast forward mode look cool.
• Artwork - a painter (artist) creating an oil painting or crayon drawing. Computer graphics creations may fall into this category as well.
• Blooming flowers - a rose unfolding it's petals for instance.
• Moisture (water vapors) rising from a lake early in the morning.
• The road ahead shot from a moving vehicle - a rapid glimpse of an entire road trip/journey."
  
  PRACTISE
  The research has given me insight into just how much of choice of time-lapse I could have, for example, people and crowds may also be a good idea as well as traffic and light sources. I decided to try it out myself with a tripod and my pocket camcorder and here is the result, sped up.
  
  

  Time-Lapse practice 1 from Imani Pratt on Vimeo
  

  As you can see the recording is slightly shaky during the clip, that was due to my dog almost knocking down the tripod! But anyway this is more of a subtle time-lapse and I'm hoping to get a way better result than this when filming, slightly more dramatic - from night to day maybe.
  

Another filming technique I would love to have is stop-motion. I love the way this video effect kind of shocks the viewer in the way that it presents objects as being able to appear themselves. I would like to have this technique during the 2nd part of Kemi's rap/bridge part in the song, this would go nicely with the bit where she says "clock ticks the time away" and you hear the ticking in the background, except I think there could be a different object(s) that could I tried to get some suggestions for various objects/visuals that may symbolise time via facebook to help me out, but I still haven't discovered any of great use to me.

I decided to do some more research on time-lapses as it is a main aspect I would like to incorporate in the video.

Stop-Motion Practise from Imani Pratt on Vimeo.

Stop-Motion Practise from Imani Pratt on Vimeo.

On Twitter I did get a great idea I could use: Pictures!
For example pictures of the protagonist from the past to present, I think this would work well because not only does it suggest that time has passed, it also suggests that a journey has taken place and thus opens the viewers mind up to another possible journey the main character will go through - perhaps a journey of relationships as opposed to life.
I'm pretty happy with the whole concept, but I'll probably keep exploring more ideas for it that I could use later =].

Re-do of Target Audience Surveys

As you can see from the pie chart above, the percentage of those who have a preference in pop,rock and hip hop is pretty equal at 16% of those surveyed, with R'n'B reaching a staggering 24%. This tells me I have chosen a popular genre 'POP' which means the music for the music video will probably appeal to a large audience. However, it is more on the 'pop' side, as opposed to the R'n'B genre so this could be a disadvantage, but as the artists are generally POP/R'n'B, there is no reason why I could not bring in conventions and codes of R'n'B videos if that is what will attract a wider target audience.

As evidential, the data shows that magazines are not a common media product in the audience I have surveyed, but if I were to allow magazines to appear in the music video I could preferably go for common usage of magazines such as HEAT or OK as these seem to be fairly known.

In contrast, television programmes have a higher level of consumption, with soaps and comedies obtaining the highest percentage of all genres. Others include : cooking shows, sci-fi etc. Consequently the research suggests that if I were to have any of these type of programmes playing in the background of a scene in the music video that I should preferably opt for Soaps and Comedies, e.g. Eastenders, Coronation Street or My Wife and Kids/Friends as my target audience would be able to relate to what is shown on the screen.

Change in annotations

Following some recent feedback on my annotations from friends, I decided to add a new scene to the ending of the music video. I feel crosscutting to the beginning scene works really well because it will signal to the audience that her daydream has ended.

The second changes are provisional, depending on the availability of the studio location.

Casting!

ROSEMARY DARKO - as Main Protagonist Rose

(Singer)

I've chosen Rosemary to be the main protagonist in my music video. Having taken an interest in the band I've chosen, and her familiarity with them I think is an advantage. This will put her more at ease for example, in the lip syncing process, the lyrics are fairly known to her so it wont affect the quality of the lip syncing much. She is also a very good actress in terms of playing dominant roles, she has a very expressive way of portraying how she feels and is never restricted so this will be represented directly on the camera and provide the perfect characterization needed for this role.










EUGENIE WHITTLE & LANA SMITH - as Rose's friends

As both funny, down to earth and bubbly people in real life, I feel Eugenie and Lana will be a perfect choice for playing the friends of Rose in the music video. Both seem to adopt a very childlike manner in the way they behave and they know how to have fun which is one thing I am hoping to convey in my music video; the idea that teenage girls in this modern day and age can have fun and be happy and bubbly and chatty without being immoral and interruptive. Their close bond will also make their interactions in the scenes seem more realistic and genuine.

SHARLENE KAWOOYA & MIKAEL - as cafe couple

Both very good actors and actresses. They will be playing the role of the cafe couple in which Rose comes across as she is walking by. I am confident in their ability to act as if they are genuinely in love in the scene. Sharlene will play a very effective part as she has done drama previously at GCSE and was a phenomenal member of the class.





KEMI OLAWOLE - as RAPPER
I've chosen Kemi to do the short rap in the video (the bridge) because she's a very confident person and that's the image rappers usually portray. Kemi also has a unique sense of style that will help to appeal to the target audience, for example she is quite versatile and can pull off any fashion.She also has the skill of keeping a straight face in funny situations so she will save me doing a lot of outtakes for her part in the music video and this will help me to choose the useful scenes more easily in the editing process.

KATHERINE MANNION - as Class Teacher

Kathy is another excellent dramatic student who has proven to have extraordinary acting skills. She will play the part of the teacher well because she is good at using improvisation and really taking on the role of the character she is put in. She is very talented and uses her body language and gestures well to portray emotion and status.

With her currently taking drama and theatre studies as a chosen subject at A - Levels, I think this will be the perfect opportunity to apply her skills and give her even more practise in the development of her existing dramatic skills.

EXTRAS

Classmates: Avril Fernandes,Jolin Ogu, Katrina Toal, Amy Kyaligamba, Lee-Anne Caiado