Planning: Research into similar videos

1) Artist Representation:


I chose "Over" by Drake for my analysis on a music video. This is because it applies to my group's idea significantly. 

Body language/movement and facial expressions of artist:
In this video the body language of the artist is portrayed as extremely confident due to the status he has. He is simply sitting on the bed looking down whist an edit of fire occurs over his body suggesting the power he has even though he hasn't even moved. He looks straight into the camera when lip syncing the first lyrics of the song showing that the main focus of the song is him alone and as if he is talking to his fans. His facial expression whilst asking "Who the f*** are y'all?" is quite cheeky implying he doesn't care about the people around him. The fact that he portrays this line with a smirk on his face shows he is not serious at all. Throughout the song he uses his hands as gestures for his rapping portraying his passion for music as he is enthusiastic about it. As he says "Over" he makes even bigger gestures with his hands to emphasise the title of the song.

Costume, hair and make-up:
In this video, the costume the artist wears is mostly t-shirts, hoodies and jackets. This is a typical dress sense for a male because they are stereotypically seen in hoodies mostly. Also, the artist has jewellery on e.g. chains around his neck to portray the 'rich' and 'lavish' lifestyle he lives. This is also shown to prove to the audience the money he has. The artist's costume follows the conventions of a Hip-Hop artist which is why the song fits the genre well.

Interaction with others:
In this video the artist has no interaction with others as the song is focused on his representation. He is portraying the lyrics in his own way without the interaction of others. Although there is a female character in this video, the two do not ever come face to face with each other and only through edits they are standing side by side. The female is purely there to show she is the love interest of the artist however, this is not built upon as this is not the main focus of the song. 

Camera work around artist:
In this video the camera follows and focuses on the artist around to grasp the life style of the Hip-Hop artist. The camera does close-ups on the artist's face in order to catch the emotion and expression whilst performing. The camera therefore follows whatever the artist is doing to ensure the main focus of the video is the artist. This will keep the audience engaged and entertained because the demand is to see the artist perform their song. 

From doing this analysis, some of the ideas I have taken are:

• Body language of the artists - I would prefer to have the same confidence portrayed in my music video to show the audience that my artist's are able to be comfortable around other artist's and girls.
• Costume - I would prefer to include a similar dress sense because I will also include male artist's therefore, the dress sense being hoodies, jackets and jewellery would be conventional to the Hip-Hip genre.
• Interaction with others - I would prefer to include a similar interaction with the another female character as my music video will most probably be focused on the theme of love.

2) Content and visual style:

The music video "Over" also applies when analysing the content and visual style.

Themes Apparent:
Themes evident in this music video are, love, struggle, fame and wealth. These themes are the ones we want to relate to when we are making our music video also as this is usually the conventions of a Hip-Hop music video.

Lighting and Colour: 
The colours are dark, using blacks, greys, blues, greens and reds in order to follow the conventions of a Hip-Hop music video. The lighting is mostly low-key with some top-lighting to emphasise the artist as the main focus. We would also like to follow this convention of dark colours, and low-key lighting.

Setting:
The music video takes place inside a plain bedroom as this portrays the idea of him having time to think and being alone. Also, it represents that the rapper feels most comfortable rapping about his life in the personal space of his bedroom. Other settings take place through the projector which projects into his room which portrays his feelings, e.g. the busy people walking around suggests the confusion in his mind.

Iconography/Objects:
The iconography in this music video is limited as there are not many objects with significance. The only significant object shown are his chains which suggest the fame. 

Character Representation:
There are no characters apart from the female which is only slightly shown in the music video.

Artist Representation: 
The artist is represented in a conventional way as Hip-Hop artists are always portrayed through fame and wealth. 

Editing:
The edits put in front of the character of fire outlining his body shape suggests the power he has. These shots match the beat of the song also. Fast edits take place when the beat of the song gets faster whilst slow edits are used when the beat of the song slows down.

Planning: Shot-list

Planning: Artist Image

Genre Ideas:
Our genre is Hip-Hop/Rap which we will tend to follow the conventions as well as challenge them. Our artist's will be reflective of artist's in the Hip-Hop genre, e.g. Kendrick Lamar, Drake and Tyga. This will ensure our artist has the right conventions to take on this genre. However, every artist has their own beliefs and opinions in which may differ to other artists even if in the same genre. This may mean our artist may challenge some of the conventions in the Hip-Hop/Rap genre.

Morals and Values:
We want our artist to portray morals and values that will influence the audience a positive way. We wants our artist to be able to have opinions and views in politics as well as the music industry. Also, our artist will be able to express themselves freely without the influence in following a certain 'image'.


Media perceptions:
Our artist will be portrayed in the media as a successful performer who is able to express originality within the mainstream genre of Hip-Hop. Due to the artist's own ideologies the media perception will express his own niche personality within Hip-Hop. The media perceptions should always stay positive for the audience to stay loyal to their artist.



Similar artists:
                                                                                                                         Tyga:

Tyga, Drake and Kendrick Lamar are all artist's similar to the one we wish to create. They have a certain image within the way they dress e.g. gold chains, sun glasses and hats/caps. This suggests the convention to the Hip-Hop industry. They portray confidence when performing and are extremely successful with their music. Tyga is a rapper which relates to my artist 'J-Cole' who is also a rapper. Tyga tends to also wear hats, sun glasses, chains and grills in his teeth which is also conventional to the Hip-Hop genre. All artist's also portray their own views on Twitter where they also engage in the problems in the world. Also, in his lyrics he states he is religious a number of times by stating 'I pray to god he forgave me' suggesting his morals and values.

Drake:                                                                          Kendrick Lamar:

Planning: Pre-Production Paperwork

Planning: Locations.

Planning: Group Roles.

Director = Katie: We chose Katie for this role because she has experience in directing from directing her thriller production in last years’ project where she was able to organise the production efficiently.  

Editor = Me: In last years Thriller Production, I was able to edit my thriller successfully. Therefore, we chose her to be our editor as she has experience from creating a successful project last year. I am also the most creative in the pair which suggest why she would be better for the role. 

Camera person = Me & Katie : Last year we both took part in filming our thriller production, so this means we both have good experience with film and framing shots that suitable. Also I have good knowledge of cameras due to work experience within a photography firm. 

Print design = Me: We decided that I would be the print designer due to her previous work experience in photography where she gained a specific skill set on how to take professional pictures which will benefit us when we are doing our Digi pack.  

Producer = Me: I was chosen for this role as i have experience of being a live sound producer within my music technology classes. This is beneficial to our pair because i have developed skills such as time-keeping, organisation and spotting risks. I am also able to figure and fix any technological downfalls. 

Storyboard = Katie: We believe that Katie was best suited for this role because she had a very specific idea for the narrative of the video. This also led us to believe that our music video would be most successful if we based around her creative ideas. 

Location manager = Katie: Katie has given us several locations that we can have easy access to and that we as a group have found that these locations that Katie has recommended are very suitable to our production idea. 

Photographer = Me: Due to my developed skill set from working in photography studio,I would be most appropriate and suitable to the photographer role. 

Cast control = Me:  I immediately acquired the cast consisting of the main performer to our artist therefore, I would be most suitable for the role to control and handle the cast.

Costume, Hair & Make up = Katie/Me: We will both be taking on this role are as we are very familiar with using make up. We are both also very passionate about fashion and clothing so we would have certain ideas for what type of costume our artist should wear to match the particular locations. 

Lighting = Katie: In last years thriller production, Katie took on the role of lighting and successfully provided the production with different lighting equipment. 

Planning: Copyright Letter.