Costume: Opening Sequence

In my opening shot of a young woman walking down a lonely road, I will get my actress to wear a large navy blue duffle coat similar to the one above, paired with simple jeans and black boots, to connote the colder weather that will later contrast with the sunny locations of California. 

Character Casting

As previously mentioned, I will be featuring my sister Emma in my music video, following her stage name of 'Emma Lauran'. I made this choice based upon her experience with performing and therefore know her ability to act in my video will be strong. 

Furthermore, finding the appropriate time will be simple as I can easily communicate with Emma. I am pleased with this decision as I know she will do an excellent job and help me to come out with a powerful music video to present to my audience. 

Semiotics

Semiotics is the study of signs, the word itself coming from the Greek 'semeiotikos', which means "an interpreter of signs". Signing is vital as it underlies all forms of communication; gestures, facial expressions, clothes, music, film etc, anything that is used for human communication can be defined as a sign. Signs are composed of differing elements, and strategies are deployed to establish, maintain or change meaning.

With semiotics, 2 readings can be obtained from a sign, these are the denotation and connotations. A denotation is about making meaning from association, coming from the Latin 'to make a mark'; signifieds or concepts are denotated or linked to various signifiers. The development of a second level of meaning is its connotation; while denotation allows us to make a direct link between a signifier and its referent, we often have other influences that modify the meaning of a sign. The signifier (denotation) is perceived as resembling or imitating the signified (connotation).

There are 3 main signs: symbolic, iconic, and indexical; 

• Symbolic: Those in which the relationship between the sign and its meaning are completely arbitrary.
• Iconic: Resemble their meaning in some way, such as the Queen's face on a coin. 
• Indexical: Signs that indicate what they stand for by some kind of casual link.

In terms of my own music video, it is essential that I maintain clear signs and symbols, allowing for strong connotations and denotations in order for my video to be read easily by my target audience, using codes and conventions that are iconic to the country pop genre such as a guitar, close ups to show expressions, and an appropriate narrative. 

Shot Inspiration

As a result of viewing and deconstructing Angus and Julia Stone's music video 'Big Jet Plane', I have chosen some key shots that I feel are particularly inspiring to my filming, including both a variety of camera angles and proxemics. Above are 6 of my favourite examples in which I will replicate or base some of my shots upon, from a medium close up of the character to show both her expression and the setting around her, close ups of a clock, maps, and postcards to bring certain connotations of time and travel, and finally a creative over the shoulder shot that captures both the character's thoughtful state of mind and the lights effectively. 

Deconstruction: Big Jet Plane

Big Jet Plane was written by Angus Stone, Julia Stone and Govinda Doyle, whilst the video was directed by Kiku Ohe. The music video follows a narrative structure, showing a young female in a dull and exhausted routine of working at an isolated supermarket whilst she dreams of being elsewhere. It is conventional of indie folk music due to the nature of the song.

This idea is apparent from the very beginning where we see a low angled shot of a woman's hair blowing in the wind; connotations of freedom and warmth come from the sunlight that illuminates her hair, contrasting immediately with the mundane surroundings of the supermarket and the acknowledging of the desktop fan. A close up has been used to present the character's vacant expression; she finds no satisfaction or fulfilment from this lifestyle.

Repetitively stacking and unstacking shelves, wide angled and panning shots from the front and behind establish her solitude and detachment from anyone; leaving her to easily reflect on herself and her own desires. Here, we are introduced to her simple outfit: blue jeans, a black t-shirt and work overalls, challenging conventions of youth as this is not an outfit she would usually wear. However, she wears bright pink nails which give connotations of youth and freedom; as the only bright colour we see on the woman, the idea that she is restricted in what she wants to do is reinforced. 

Further close ups of her character nervously fiddling with her fingers are paired with creative shots of maps and postcards, bringing connotations of travel and wanting to break away. I really love the effect of the fairy lights at this point as the sparking blue colours contrast with the dull colours of the supermarket, illuminating and silhouetting her face. The slowly fading focus onto the hand as well as the extreme close up of the woman's eye suggest she is in a thoughtful state, contrasting with her blank expression as she walks down the aisles. The long shot of the world map and with travel clippings surrounding it reinforces her dreams of travelling around the world. As the lights are flashing above it gives an urgency in that she has to fly or travel soon and also shows that it is a constant desire of her to fly.

Perhaps my favourite shot is found towards the end of the video; the woman is riding in a car with her hair blowing through the open window. The use of slow motion and careful editing in this clip is really effective and portrays the clear sense of freedom that this character desperately searches for.

This clever over head shot is used to show the woman sweeping up colourful confetti and stars, perhaps to represent how by sweeping up the confetti and stars she is in fact 'sweeping' up her hopes and dreams; accepting that she will not be able to escape the routine. The music video ends with the girl spraying the windows at the original setting, showing a full circle in the narrative; her life and routine remains the same.

The edits throughout are cut at a slow pace to match the beat, making the video seem more calm and sobering, matching the gentle nature of the song. In total there are 18 close up shots, 12 long shots, 4 field of depth shots, 7 medium close up shots and 1 panning shot, presenting a wide range of visuals that will engage and be well received by the audience. 

Footage: Initial Edit

After the completion of my preliminary film, I decided to edit together some more footage, re-using my favourite shots from before. This time, I focused on the idea of journeying, with a clearer progression in the lead up to the airport and faster paced cuts. Despite acknowledging that there is still a lot left to be filmed for the beginning of the video, and many further improvements and cropping to be done, I wanted to receive some more feedback at this stage so that I could make appropriate changes. Here, I started the music half way through because I have yet to film the beginning, so it would be inappropriate to place this section of the video at the start of the song when it only fits the last section.

+

Some interesting shots
Narrative gradually becomes clearer

Nice colours and lighting

Opening shot is effective

Good use of slow motion

-

Repetitive and shaky shots

Some uninteresting shots

Some clips need cropping

I am pleased with the comments received for this initial stage of editing, as although some were of a negative nature, these were to be expected and I know there are aspects that I now need to improve. These include being more precise with my editing, such as cropping, and use of slow motion.