To do...

Before shooting the music video there are a few things to prepare:
- Come up with a dance routine for the chorus - DONE
- Confirm the bar and timings - DONE
- Book the gallery for shooting in the studio
- Make sure everyone has their costumes
- Confirm that the limousine will be here on the 9th Nov
- Confirm dates of video shoot
- Put the song on a CD

Recce

Below are the photos of the three locations we will be using.

The main location being the bar will be used a lot. It is a refurbished Student Union bar and fits the modern look for our band. One artist will be at the bar, another will be on the sofa and the other will be on the dance floor. The dance floor will also be used for the performance. It also has spotlights so whilst filming we want to get the lighting perfect like they're in a bar; dark however a spotlight on the artist and the man she is with.

The second location is inside the limosine. All the band will be in the limo together and just using mid shots and close ups. We want again it to be dark but spotlights just on them so they look flawless.

The last location is a white gallery. The lighting is great in there already but we want to add more of a music video effect and have fans so the band looks like they're glamorous. They will stand out in their black dresses and red lipstick with the white background. The monochrome look will also give a more sophisticated look to the whole video and the band.

Props needed for the music video

When shooting the video each area needs specific props.
Limo:

• Video Camera
• Tripod
• DSLR still camera
• May need spot lights
• CD with song on

Studio:

• Video Camera
• Tripod
• DSLR still camera
• Fans
• Music system for the song

Bar:

• Right lighting (may need spotlight)
• Video Camera
• Tripod
• CD to put song on.

Storyboards

My Digipack Design

Above is my design for my Digipack for Scarlett Divas. I have included all the conventions for a digipack representing this mainstream girl band. The colours used are linked to the music video so there is a noticeable ideology all the way through.

In my digipack I have chosen to use one of the discs as a DVD. When buying a digipack it's as if the buyer has something special of the band which this DVD would include. It would have the music video of No Scrubs and also behind the scenes of the music video; a personal touch.

The photos would be shot when filming the video so the costumes would be noticed.

Animatics

R Kelly Digipack analysis

R Kelly Digipack on Prezi

Girls Costume

There will be three costumes changes which is expected in an r&b video.



For the individual shots with their guys they will be wearing red dresses. They will be together in red dresses in the limo also. However, the styles will be different, one will be flowy, another will be tailored and another will be fitted and flared. They all then have their own personal style however looking like a band.



The second change would be for the performance. They need to still look amazing however, comfortable and able to dance in clothes. That is why we are going to dress them in leggings and a nice floaty blouse.

The third outfit change is when they are in the studio. The contrast between the black dresses and white background will be perfect as they will stand out. So it doesn't look too monochrome and it adds a little colour they will also be wearing a leopard print accessory. This is very important because we want to show their fiesty side.

Lastly, a very important accessory to a female music video is the amazing heels. They will be wearing black heels with both their dress outfits.

To add a little more they may wear red lipstick and they will be wearing big eyeliner and eyelashes. However, it will be a in a glamorous way not a cheap way.

Props

Extremely happy that we have been able to get a free Limousine for our music video. This will be used for a group shot with them sitting inside. This prop will definitely bring out the glamour of the group and video. Furthermore, it ties in with how they are able to afford to ride in a limo but the guys they are talking about have to get a ride only from their best friend.

Poster analysis

Poster analysis on Prezi

Responses from our questionnaires

I have received responses and feedback from more females than males because our video is targeting at females more. I decided to ask a range of ages so there is mixed in responses.

As you can see from the chart above, we purposely ask more females than males. This is because our video is targeted primarily at the female audience whereas, the males are a secondary audience. We decided to ask at least two males to see what their views would be also on this female dominated video.

We asked all our sources between the age range the music video was targeted at. This is because they are our niche and main audience who would take an interest in our music video. We asked more 16-18 year olds because they were easily accessible to answer the questions. However, we had to ask a few more over the age of 18 so we could compare and see how their views are similar to 16-18 year olds.

Most of our answers showed that the band they like is Destiny's Child. This is very good for our Scarlett Divas because we feel that Destiny's Child are our influences and our band and video will kind of link into their codes and conventions. Pussycat Dolls came up too which shows how they do like independent and empowering women.

The question asking the person what their favourite music video was varied but had similar genres. They ranged from Kanye West's 'Gold digger', Beyonce's 'Single Ladies', Usher's 'Yeah' and Micheal Jackson's hits 'Smooth Criminal' and 'Bad'.

The above question links into the answers for whether a narrative and studio performance would be effective. This is because all the mentioned videos are a combination of great dance moves but also real close ups and shots of the artist/s singing. This is also ties in with a question asking if they thought it were appropriate to shoot in a bar. Every person answered yes and a couple went to on to say that this would be expected of an r&b video.

For the females definitely and the males said yes to, they felt it was enough to have three outfit changes. This shows that they would expect fashionable women and artists; this is also expected of r&b female artists. Furthermore, to the most important question of how they feel about men that are half naked. The female answers were yes because it is something for girls to look foward to also it is different to expecting half naked girls. Even the male answers said that it was good as it gives something for the ladies. One even said that it may make the men jealous and try and get good bodies like that (which is what women tend to do, see another woman with a good body and want to be like them).

All our answers said that they feel it is a strong and contemporary idea for the music video. They do not feel we have to improve anything as we have a solid idea and they believe it will work very well.

Analysis of a Digipack

Lloyd Banks' Digipack on Prezi

Digipack

A Digipack is a cardboard case for an artists or bands album. It's codes and conventions are their name, a recognizable logo for the audience, photos, colours or artist motif and song names. It also includes the record label, copyright, producers and writers as well as a barcode. It does not have to but sometimes includes a little booklet that can contain the lyrics to the albums songs or many photos of the artist or band. Furthermore, on the spine it will have the name and record label on the spine if it is put on a shelf so people can access it.

The benefits of having a digipack to a jewel case is that it is cheaper. It is also easier because of being able to give promo copies free which newspapers or magazines. It advertises the artist and seems like it gives something much more personal to a buyer than a jewel case. If it contains a booklet a buyer might feel as if they are buying the album along with a little extra with it.

Things to do...

These are a list of things that need to be done before shooting the music video:
- Confirm the club
- Find a nice car or limousine
- Costume
- Storyboard
- Find another boy

The X Factor

'The X Factor is a weekend prime time entertainment programme, that discovers a new superstar.'

I have learned that in the X Factor the judges opinions are not professional criticism. The judges actually hold a professional point of view that they may not share with the contestants auditioning.

After judging some contestants from this years The X Factor, we thought about what the X Factor is actually looking for.
Looking for talent or a money-maker?
- The artist is a 'commodity'.
- How marketable is the artist?
- What genre will the artist fit into?
- What songs can they sing?
- What audience will they appeal to?
- Can they be christmas no.1?
- The judges are already putting together a business plan for this 'product'.
- The X Factor can be seen as a hegemonic institution.

The Culture Industry
Adorno and Horkheimer adopted the term 'culture industry'. They argued that the way in which cultural items were produced was analogous to how other industries manufactured vast quantities of consumer goods.
Adorno and Horkheimer argued that the culture industry exhibited an 'assembly-line character' which could be observed in the synthetic, planned method of turning out its products.

The X Factor 'Machine'
Adorno and Horkheimer linked the idea of 'culture industry' to a model of 'mass culture' in which cultural production had become a routine, standardized repetitive operation that produced undemanding cultural commodities which in turn resulted in a type of comsumption that was also standardized, distracted and passive.

Who's in control?

Hegemony - The predominant influence a group has over another and this maintains the status quo.
Capitalism - An economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately or corporately owned. Rough Trade were against capitalism.
Omnipotent - All powerful.

Theh capitalist corporation seems to enjoy an almost omnipotent form of domination and both the consumers and the creative artists are not separate from but are directly connected to this system of production.

Adorno and Horkheimer stressed the structures of economic ownership and control of the means through which cultural products are produced and argued that this directly shaped the activities of creative artists and consumers.
Adorno and Horkheimere argued that the 'culture industry' operated in the same way as other manufacturing industries. All work had become formalized and products were made according to rationalized organizational procedures that were established for the sole purpose of making money. The metaphoe 'assembly-line' was used to stress the repetitive and routine character of cultural production.

What makes these boybands different from eachother?

We found apart from a few obvious differences such as age and target audience in terms of age, there is not much difference.

Adorno and Horkheimer argue that all products produced by the culture industry exhibits stanndardized features, and there is nothing spontaneous about any of them. They are critical of pseudo individuality, which is the way that the culture industry assembled products that made claims to 'originality' but which when examined more ccritically exhibited little more than superficial differences. Adorno and Horkheimer evoked the image of the lock and key - an item that is mass produced in millions, whose uniqueness lies in only very minor modifications. In conclusion, they believe that the culture industry allows people to become 'masses' and be easily manipulated by capitalist corporations and authoritarian governments.

Questionnaire

This is the questionnaire we will be using to get feedback for our music video. We will be giving it to ten people asking many females our primary target audience but also a few men as they are our secondary. Hopefully we will receive good feedback.

Questionnaire
Song: No Scrubs
Our music video will include the band members sitting in a bar, with men in shorts serving the girls drinks. There will also be a studio performance of the girls singing and dancing. There will be 3 different outfits the girls wear. Our target audience is 16-25 year old girls. The video shows the band as dominant women and independent, therefore not needing a man. However, they are also glamorous and sexy, appealing to our secondary audience; 16-25 year old men.

Male / Female (please circle)

How old are you?

Who is your favourite girl band?

What is your favourite music video of all time?

Do you think that a bar is an appropriate location for our music video?

Do you think that 3 outfit changes is the right amount? (if no, please specify and explain)

Do you think that a combination of the narrative and a studio performance will be effective? (Please explain)

How do you feel about the men in shorts? Do you feel this is appropriate and effective for our video?

Do you feel our idea is appealing to our target audience?

Do you have any ideas that you think would be effective for us to include in our video?

Setting

For the lip syncs, many close ups and a more glamorous shot of Scarlett Divas we wanted to shoot it in just a white studio. We will be using a gallery which has excellent lighting. We would like to add fans so the girls look really good and flawless.

For our video we want a really nice bar. Like in Usher's 'Yeah' and R Kelly's music videos. We want it to look slick, stylish and expensive. If the bar has a stage or a big room that's empty the performence could be shot there also with the really nice background.

Audience Profile

Meeting notes

On our last meet we decided we need to plan and confirm what bar we will be filming at. We want a sophisticated but funky bar to represent the song and band. Also, we need to confirm where we will be shooting the more glamorous shots.
Casting: We need to cast three guys for our music video. They all need to have good bodies and be able to act in the video. We will have to choose in the next week or so we can plan who they will be partnered with and how we will position them.

Band Members and Costumes

Scarlett Divas

Kate, Sonia and Beth

The costumes of this video will vary as in r&b videos one of the most important things is what the artists and especially female artists wear. To represent the name they will wear red, leopard and black in the bar area. These are all dominant colours and strong.

When performing it will be black leggings and a blouse of either black, leopard or red.

When outside in a softer light they will be wearing maxi dresses. These dresses give a more feminine feel.