Summer Sky Smith Media: P3 - Pre Production Documents

SHOT SCRIPT

STORYBOARD

GANTT CHART

LOCATION RECCE

Ilkley Moor

I will be filming all outdoor scenes here. I will also be shooting lots of the pictures here which I'm using for the projected images and the images (prop) in the first scene which the protagonist ends up burning. I will be filming during sunset here.

Roof:

I will be filming one of the final scenes here. All of the shots on the roof when the protagonist burns the images will be here. I will also be filming during sunset here

Bedroom

I will be filming the first and last scene here where the character is finding the box of pictures and eventually putting it back in a cyclical structure. This will mostly be in natural day light.

Drama:

I will be using these rooms to film the scenes where images are being projected onto the protagonist as these has projectors and blank walls that I can film with.

MISE-EN-SCENE

Location:

*IMAGES ABOVE IN LOCATION RECCE*

Ilkley Moor = I have chosen this location because I think its a great place for my outdoor scenes because it is very low-key and quiet for filming, it is also free and easily accessible to me. I also think the beautiful nature setting really correlate to the music in my video so that I am able to stick with music video conventions by Andrew Goodwin. Having wide spans of grass and field also help to represent the emptiness that the character is feeling. Nature is often represented in the indie genre, and because I'm sticking with conventions I think it's important for me to use these scenes so that the audience has a sense of familiarity and are more likely to remember and like what they are seeing. Because the album cover that this song is in - Strange Trails - also shows a woodland setting, I felt like it would be good to include this aspect of nature. I chose this specific area because I like how there was a patch of open grass, as well as trees and a nice background setting of the moor and open sky to really help me creating the atmosphere I was hoping to present o my audience. Using this outdoor scene also means that I can also present the time which I am setting my video, and make the storyline more realistic.

Roof = I really wanted include a roof in my video so that I could film a really nice scene of the sky which is accessible to me. Because I am trying to show a movement in time during my video, from day to night, having the sky and outside visible towards the end of the video was very important to the continuity of my story and how the story is understood by viewers. this was also to represent the movement and change of how the character feels - and the representation of their emotions. Additionally, because the protagonist burning the images is key to the story and again the development of the character, I wanted to be able to do this in a place that is safe, free to use, and that we can access the help of adults whenever needed. I am hoping to create a really nice contrast between the blue tones of the sky and orange tones of fire. These colours are often presented in alternative/indie videos so that I can stick with conventions, it also creates a contrast compared to the beginning of the video. these visual shots with the fire, sky and colour also help me to correlate to the music the audience is hearing; having an almost harmonious relationship between calm and chaos is something that the song really features. this also helps me to stick with music video conventions stated by Andrew Goodwin.

Bedroom = The main purpose for using the bedroom was to help the viewer establish a relationship with the protagonist from the start of the video. The character sits on their bed at the beginning and end of the video to represent how they feel at home, a calmness which creates a cyclical structure in the video also. The room is decorated in a way which will have familiarity with my target audience and the character. This means that they can relate to the character better, to full-fill the purpose of my video as personal identity and escapism for strugglers and explores (as stated by the Uses and Gratifications theory stated by Blumer and Katz). The colours in the room also link with the indie genre which often uses a wide range of colours and the continuous theme of colours I am using throughout my video which is help the viewer to feel a sense of continuity through the video with the story and the character I am trying to make. This room is also completely free and easily accessible for me to film in.

Drama Room = I am using this room because it is a room that has a projector which I am able to access for free. The projected images in my video are really important in representing the chaos going on inside of the characters head. This also happens during the most chaotic section of the song so that I am able to make a link between visuals and the music the audience is hearing to stick with music video conventions by Andrew Goodwin. Displaying the pictures from earlier and throughout the video help me to keep continuity through the video and also show to the audience in a very obvious way how the character is replaying the events in her head. I think this scene is very important in portraying the emotions of the character which is why I wanted to include it. The room also has colourful lighting I can use incase I decide to take some shots with colour for example, it also has blank background walls so that I can clearly show these projected images without background distractions. These projections also link in with lots of the music videos I took inspiration from as well as the indie genre, that uses this feature in a lot of the videos.

Props:

*INSERT IMAGE AFTER FILMING SCENE*

Box of Pictures = This box of pictures is key in telling my story. The box is first found by the protagonist as a catalyst to the whole story of the video; it tells the viewer why this character is upset, and what happened in her relationship to make her this way. These picture are used throughout to almost haunt the protagonist and then are eventually burned. When the character puts the empty box away at the end it really proves her development throughout the video and how her thoughts and emotions have changed. I wanted to also use pictures to link in with the lyrics of the song 'Take me back to the night we met' that repeat over and over, the repetition of these images (her memories) being included over and over again throughout the video, linking to everything, is to symbolise her memories of the relationship and how they are haunting her. these help me to stick with music video conventions by making a link between lyrics and visuals on screen, as stated by Andrew Goodwin. It also helps me to achieve the narrative style I am following in my video so that I am able to follow the brief by my client as well as sticking to the indie genre conventions.

Fire Pit = I am using a fire pit for a small section of my video so that I can show the pictures being burned. This is to symbolise the idea of her putting her memories behind her and starting fresh, by removing these pictures from the box (her mind) for good, it means she can move on from the past which is evidently haunting her throughout the video. I also like the chaotic and almost explosive nature this brings to the middle of the video - where the music is most upbeat and powerful - to represent her emotions and also make a link between lyrics and visuals to stick to music video conventions by Andrew Goodwin. It also links in with my target audience of explorers and strugglers by having a more powerful and expressive section to the video which will link into how they feel so they can relate t the character and video better so that I can achieve my purpose of escapism and to help their personal identity (as stated by the Uses and Gratifications Theory by Blumer and Katz).

Costumes:

For the images used throughout the video (see props section above), I wanted to dress the main character in something quite neutral. Most importantly, I wanted it to be appropriate for the age group and suiting to the indie/alternative genre. I dressed her in a relatively plain out with a brown coat from a local charity shop. I wanted the outfit to be affordable to fit in the demographic of my audience (C1), so that I can represent this group as good as possible (as referring to the Representation Theory by Stuart Hall) and make my character relatable for the audience . It also fits in with the time I am filming and setting my video at so that I can keep continuity in my video and set a clear feeling throughout the video. I also wanted to make sure I didn't dress my character in a lot of skimpy or small clothing as to avoid representing my female character through the male gaze (The Male Gaze theory stated by Laura Mulberry). For the other person, I wanted to dress them in gender neutral clothing as we never actually see their face. I wanted to make sure that the other character (how their dressed, their gender etc) didn't take away from the actual pictures and the message I'm trying to show. Keeping their gender ambiguous means I am also able to represent all groups who are watching the video in the best way I can, using a gendered relationship could have meant that I fell into stereotypes about that relationship which I want to avoid the best I can (theory stated by Walter Lippmann/O'Sullivan).

For the outfit used in the outdoor moor scenes I wanted to use an outfit which was appropriate to the time of filming (why the actor is wearing coat and hat) to assure I have continuity in my video and link in with all the other outfits to make sure I am developing the personality of my character through her outfits. She wearing jeans because I wanted to dress her in something casual and common, that my audience can relate to as something they would wear themselves. These also fit in with the genre, having a character be more casually dressed so that viewers can relate to them better for the purpose of escapism and enhancing their personal identity. I also wanted to dress her in a black coat to again be relatable to the audience but also show her mood. Black can connotate sadness and gloominess so her wearing black throughout the video represents her emotions

to the audience subtly.

For the outfit used in the majority of the video (bedroom and roof scenes), I wanted her to wear a dark piece of clothing. She wore the dark jumper to tie in with the dark pieces of clothing throughout the whole video and also represent her sadness. Black often connotes sadness and depression and is used a lot in sadder indie songs to represent the mood. I wanted to keep her hood up to show how vulnerable she is at this point and how she's concealing herself from her emotions. Her trousers are just plain green, these weren't too important as I am mostly using shots of her upper half throughout however these do add to her character and what we see of her throughout the video. It gives the audience a sense of her emotions and who she is.

This outfit was used during the projection scene. We see more colour here than in all her previous outfits, this is to represent her emotions at the time. Like her emotions, the music is the most powerful and passionate at this time. This is shown by her more colourful jumper than compared to dull black clothing throughout the video. The outfit also shows what lots of people who support the indie genre may wear, therefore people can feel like they relate to the character more which gives them a sense of escapism and helps them to enhance their personal identity as stated in the Uses and Gratifications Theory by Blumer and Katz. However, most of the outfit is concealed by the dark area of the projection so it was mainly the jumper that was a focus for this scene.