Storyboards - Miss Georgiou

Prior to going out and filming our music video we needed to storyboard our music video as you would a film so to ensure that everyone was on the same page with plans. This meant that the team had talked through everything that needed to happen so to ensure that when we arrive on location everything shall run smoothly. As everyone will be aware of their allocated jobs, the actual run through of the video itself and will be well prepared meaning that any props anyone needs to remember isn't forgotten. Planning our music video out first of all in the form of a storyboard meant that we wasn't able to forget any section of planning before filming. Because in the format of a storyboard you have to include every basic element that any music video or film requires such as the use of lighting or any uses of iconography. Meaning that the music video has been planned properly and so long as the storyboard is followed properly the production should go to plan.

Here is an image of some of the frame numbers which filled up my storyboard. As you can see at the very top of the storyboard we numbered the storyboard page numbers, belong that we kept track of how long each frame number would be as well as the numbers of each individual frame number. Belong was were we planned to place an image so to be representative of how we wanted the scene to look this was also beneficial as it enabled us to visualize how the scene would come out more clearly. This also enabled us to make sure that we were all visualizing matching ideas so to prevent their being any confusion when we arrived on set. The role of the drawing was located to Emma as she is studying A level art hence she would be the best as she is the most able with drawing which is important as we want clear images which you can easily work out without any confusion both when planning the production during a meeting and when we are actually on set filming and only want to have to check the storyboards quickly so that we can confirm we are doing things correctly to plan and help us to remember any everything. Belong the drawings was the section we dedicated to writing out the main information for our storyboards.

Although it appears that there is quite a lot of information in these boxes there is actual a rather limited amount compared to all of the planning we have been doing throughout the process of planning out production. We done this as it was important to keep our storyboards straight forward and easy to read as they are an important document which we should be able to refer to easily without feeling as though we are having to hunt for vital pieces of information. Such as the shot type, lighting and a brief narrative description. Any other pieces of information about the narrative would have been on other planning sheets so to avoid confusion.

As I planned the storyboard I used pieces of information I had gathered from both my primary and secondary research so to ensure that I was creating a music video which would appeal to my chosen audience. This is what helped inspire me to create the 'jazz bar' scene as it is able to provide two elements which I know the audience like from my research the concept of the artist performing as well as being a clear location for the audience to pick up on codes and conventions of the soul genre as the actual place itself is a conventional towards the genre as you would expect to see soul artist performing in a jazz bar as the two genres are thought to be so closely combined. Also soul artists are known for performing on in such an element as they are thought to have a pure talent which they are able to rely on alone rather than just a big back drop and tones of extras as their voice is thought to be entertaining enough. Hence this location is conventional as it shows the artist on a fairly simple stage where the sole focus is put on the artist themselves. I gained this information when taking out my questionnaire as I asked par takers what they liked and expected to see within music videos belonging to the soul genre. My primary research allowed me to focus on elements of the genre which I had picked up myself, for instance the Mise en scene used by female artists of the soul genre including their style of make up including artists such as my chosen artist Amy Winehouse, Adele and Duffy. This is beneficial as it enables me to make sure that I am following codes and conventions towards the soul genre which is important as it helps the audience to understand which genre the music video belongs to as well as attracting those members of the soul genre. This works as they pick up on the artists use of codes and conventions towards the genre which proves to them that the artist has a good enough understanding of the genre to class themselves to it as well as highlighting that their admiration for the genre goes deeper than simply the style that they are able to sing within. Hence gaining the audience respect meaning that they are more likely to purchase the artists music.

I issued this into the storyboard by deciding what frames we wanted the artists make up to be highlighted within. Which resulted in various uses of close  ups and mid shots as they are good shots to show the artists face/facial expressions as well as to aid in telling the narrative behind the music video. For instance in the performance scene which takes place at the jazz bar I decided that it would be a good idea to really draw the audiences attention to the artists make up as although the artists make up would conform to the soul genre throughout the music video it shall do more so in these scenes. As the artist shall be in an environment which conforms to the genre more in itself and really applies the feeling of taking the audience back to the 1950s/1960s the period of which the genre was created of which it hasn't developed much from hence being a conventional feeling to take the audience back as it is these classical vibes which the audience adore and recognise with the genre. Hence being in this environment is the perfect opportunity to really fit the artists make up and costume to the genre even more so. Within other locations/scenes such as the 'house party' scene empathising this style of make up as much as we plan to for the jazz scene may look strange as the audience shall be comparing the artist to the other girls at the party as well as girls they've seen at house parties themselves demonstrating how subversive her style is which may then make it look more weird or comical rather than working as an effect convention of the soul genre.

A lot of my primary research as well as watching music videos from artists of the soul genre came from looking at images which suited the typical representation of women of this period as well as watching the television series 'Mad Men' so to help me gain a better understanding of the ways and behavioral patterns of women throughout said periods. Which was beneficial as it helped me to understand why women may have portrayed themselves in certain ways as well as why they would still be portrayed within this manner via fans of the soul genre today. This also helped me to gain a better understanding of the period as a whole which was good as it meant that I was more easily able to notice characteristics of the time period which may still be of use and appreciated within the soul genre today. As our music video also takes a more of a modern spin on the element of the soul genre as seen in the house party scene I looked to other artists music videos which would be able to help me gain inspiration for representing themes of being young and partying with friends. So to help make the experience appear more believable and therefore making the narrative more relateable for audience members helping them to feel closer to the artist as though they have built a greater relationship. This is a good method artists use so to obtain the interest of the audience and get them purchasing their music. For instance a good example of a music video I looked to for inspiration for this select scene was Selena Gomez's music video for 'Birthday' as the entire music video is set at a house party. This particular music video helped me to picture how I could film at what should appear to be a house party location, how I would make it believable, the sorts of things I could have actors doing for instance performing what appears to be more causal dance routines so not to ruin the effect which comes from the concept of the party goers being lost in the party and enjoying themselves yet the artist is still able to provide her audience with different forms of fun dance routines to watch and maybe even try out. I also took inspiration from the music videos lighting as it demonstrating how low key lighting can be used so to create the effect of being at a typical house party as this is the style of lighting you would expect to see but also how filler lights and spot lights can be used to ensure that the audience still have a clear project of what is happening from a good standard of quality. If the quality of the lighting was to be too dull and blurry then the audience would likely think the music video appeared to be unprofessional hence ruining the effect of it straight away before the audience even really get a chance to enjoy it properly.

Examples from Selena Gomez's music video 'Birthday':

Although Emma was located the job of doing the drawings we all took part in the creation of our storyboard.  We talked through our plans for the music video first of all. Referring back to previous planning sheets and our annotated lyrics. This was essential as it
meant that we were all on a clear indication of how everyone wanted the music video to run making sure that no one was confused when we went on to put all of the different frames together. Once we felt as though everyone had a solid understanding of the narrative we began filling out our allocated scenes after which we all came together, pieced the storyboard together and checked that the storyboard all fit together, made sense and that there were no pieces missing etc. This was a good technique to use as it meant that everyone was involved hence everyone felt that there job was important ensuring that they done it to the best of their ability as well as helping everyone to remember certain parts of the storyboard more clearly than others as they were their allocated parts. This is also beneficial as it means that if there is any confusion with particular scenes later down the line that that team member should be able to take charge and clear all of the confusion up.

Generally we shall be closely sticking to the storyboard as well we be using all of the scenes and locations mentioned. As well as all of the pieces of iconography etc. However unfortunately as we are using actors within our music video we cannot guarantee their reliability or corporation. So unfortunately is someone acting within our music video for instance Jack Taylor is to fall ill or decide that they don't want to do certain things within our music video then we cannot force them. This is made harder as we are not an actual music company we cannot offer them the incentive of money to encourage them to work harder and become more committed to the production. Also as we don't have this added factor to encourage our actors we cannot determine the extras corporation at the house party scene meaning that we may have to change a few elements once we are filming.

Here are images of all of my storyboards: