Locations | Planning

When discussing the different locations we wanted to use within our music video, we wanted to make sure they were easy to access and get to. We knew we wanted to shoot some footage in the woods, and we wanted to experiment with different backgrounds to add some variety to our music video. We had the idea of throwing powder paint and popping balloons with powder paint in them so we had to agree on where we were going to film those shots. We also knew we wanted to use a black and white background, and we wanted to film on a stage. Once we knew the basics of what we wanted to shoot, we had to discuss and agree where they would be shot.

Woods:
We needed to make sure the woods was easy to get to so we weren't having to deal with travel transportation. We suggested multiple woods that we were quite close, but we decided on a woods that is located near Viki's house. We chose this wood as we knew where it was and how to get to it from Viki's house. This meant we didn't have to worry too much about how we were going to get there as we could walk there and it wouldn't take us long.

Powder paint:
For the powder paint a black bed sheet will be used for the background so we just needed a back garden to film in. We decided since we were going to the woods near Viki's house we would film the powder paints in her back garden as well so we could film on the same day and not worry about arranging another day to go round her house.

Black & White background:
For the black and white shots we are using a screen as the background so, like the powder paint scenes, we just needed a house to film in. Since the black and white screen is one of my relatives we decided to film these shots in my house so we don't have to carry it around and take it to other houses.  We decided that we would film it in the living room as it is the biggest room, and the easiest to film in.

Balloon:
For the balloon scenes with the powder paint we needed to film in someones back garden again. We are going to use the same bed sheet for the background so it didn't matter if the location was different the past powder paint scenes we need to film. We decided to go to Nadine's house and film in her back garden as it was easy to get to, and it would be easy to arrange a day to film these shots.

Stage:
For the stage scenes we are going to use the stage in our school hall as we knew we would be able to use it and also it would be easy to get to since we could film these shots after school one day. We just need to make sure we know when the hall is free so we can use it.

Costume & Props | Planning

When discussing what costumes and props we wanted to include in the music video, we made sure to keep it quite basic and feminine to add to pop genre of the music. There are four different scenes that we are going to have in the video so we split them up and discussed costumes we would need in each scene.

Costumes

Powder Paint:
For the powder paint scene we made sure to keep the costumes simple and plain so the colour is the main factor in the footage. We decided that both people in the music video would wear a black top and black leggings to add some emphasis to the bright colours of the powder paint.

 

Stage:
For the stage scene we wanted to create a feminine look, so we made sure to have a costume that would resemble a stereotypical girly girl. We decided that both people in the music video would wear flower crowns, a dress and high heels, and the colours would be pastel or light colours.

Woods:
For the woods scene we wanted to keep to the outdoors effect so we made sure the costume resembled what you would usually wear outside. We agreed that we would wear a nice top and some leggings or jeans, but the main features in the outfit are the boots and the coats with fur hoods. We chose boots and coats with fur hoods because that type of fashion is in at the moment and we felt more people would be attracted to the video if they see fashionable outfits.

Black & White:
For the black and white scene we made sure to keep the costumes plain and not to over powering so the footage focuses on the contrast of colours. One person would wear a black top and black bottoms and we would film them against the white background. Then the other person would wear a white top and white bottoms and we would film them against the black background to create some contrast.

 Props

We don't need that many props in our music video but there a few that we need to make the video eye-catching and enjoyable. The props that we need will mainly be used in the powder paint scenes as the others don't need any props. Here is the list of the four different props we will need:

• Powder paint - We have decided that the colours we want are pink, yellow, orange and green because we feel they are the most eye-catching and the most colourful. We will put the powder paint in the balloons as well as throwing it on the two people in the video.

• Glitter - We have decided that we want a variety of colours for the glitter so the two colours we have decided on are silver and gold. We will throw this on the two people in the video and we might also experiment with putting them in the balloons as well.

• Black bed sheet - We will use this as a background for the powder paint scene.

• Balloons - We will placing powder paint into these and popping them to create a powder paint smoke effect.

Technology | Produce

When choosing what days to film on we needed to know what equipment we needed when. Also we needed to know what software we will be using to edit our video. We also needed to know how we could download the song to put over our footage when editing the video.

Cameras -
Woods Locations -
When filming in the woods location we used the 600D Canon Camera. We used this because we knew you could film on it as well as take photos, but also because we knew the quality was good. The camera is owned by Viki so we were able to use her camera and take it out with us to the woods. The shots created with this camera have come out really well as the focus is good and the brightness has come out well.
Powder Paints -
When filming the scenes with the powder paint we used Viki's 600D Canon Camera again as we knew the quality was good so we knew these shots would also come out very well. We placed the camera on a tripod to do this as we wanted a sturdy shot, and we also wanted a mixture of close-up shots and mid shots and we thought it would be easier to do this on a tripod. These also came out well, and the powder paint can be seen clearly which is what we wanted.
Black & White -
When filming the scenes behind the black and white screen we used my 60D Canon Camera which is similar to Viki's but is a newer version. We used this camera as we knew the footage would be clear and the outcome of the footage would be successful. Also since we were filming these shots at my house it made sense to use my camera instead of getting Viki to bring hers with her. We placed the camera on a tripod as we wanted a sturdy shot again, and we knew what rough shots we wanted to film rather than experimenting with angles. These shots have come out really well and the outcome is very successful.
Balloon -
When filming the scenes with the balloons and the powder paint we used my Canon compact Camera as it was easier to bring along due to it's size. The quality of the camera isn't as good as the other camera's quality but for the shots we wanted to film we knew this camera would do the job just as well. We filmed these shots with a hand held camera as we wanted to experiment with the angles of the powder paint coming out of the balloons. This footage has come out really well, and they will look really good in the final video.

Computer (Mac)-
Editing -
To edit our video we decided to use Final Cut Express. We used this software last year, so we knew how to use it and how it works. We also knew the different effects and filters that were available for us to use in our footage. This software is fairly easy to use, and it's also fairly easy to find information about. For example; if we didn't know how to do something we could find the answer through the internet fairly easily.

Music -
Filming -
When filming the footage we downloaded the song onto a few of our phones. We played the song through our mobile devices when filming the video and sung along to it, as we knew the footage would be muted when we start editing it.

Institutions | Research

Sony Music Entertainment

The institution was founded in 1991, is the second largest music company in the world, and is part of the 'Big Three' (the other two being Universal Records and Warner Music Group). Some of the labels that are partnered with the company include Epic Records, Syco Music and Columbia Records. All these labels have signed successful artists like Calvin Harris, Michael Jackson, One Direction, and many more including Neon Jungle. Doug Morris is the Chief Executive Officer and Kevin Kelleher is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. WE have chosen Sony Music as our institutional record label as it's quite well-known and also we thought it made sense due to Neon Jungle being signed to them as well.

Neon Jungle 'Louder' Video

This music video was directed by award winning director Colin Tilley. He has directed videos for music artists such as Chris Brown, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Jason Derulo, Cheryl Cole, and many more. Tilley has won several awards including a BET award in 2011. He was also nominated for another BET award for 'Director of the Year' in 2014.

Neon Jungle are signed to Sony Music, on one of their main labels RCA. If we were to create a girl group music video, it is most likely that Sony would sign a group similar to Neon Jungle. Other groups that are linked with Sony who have become world wide music artists are One Direction. This could cause Sony to be fairly interested in other music groups as they could help them gain recognition and profit.

Since famous director Colin Tilley directed Neon Jungles music video, he would also be happy to direct another groups music video as well. The girls are a UK girl band, which compliments that fact that he has worked with a variety of popular UK music artists. This means he would probably be happy to work with an upcoming girl group who needs a director for their video.

Neon Jungle | Planning

Neon jungle is a British girl group consisting of four female vocalists. Shereen Cutkelvin (middle left), Amira McCarthy (far left), Jess Plummer (far right), and Asami Zdrenka (middle right). Their music genres are based around electropop, dancepop and electronic dance music. They are best known for their second single 'Braveheart and have an albumn called 'Welcome to the Jungle.'

Shereen Cutkelvin

Born 2nd December 1996.
From Lanark, Scotland.
She is the youngest member in the band and is very shy but claims she has "been singing since she could walk and talk". Her father is her "musical idol" and is inspired by him. She loves motown and soulful music and enjoys listening to music artists such as Diana Ross and The Temptations. To start her off she uploaded covers of herself on YouTube, along with videos that include her family. She was then discovered and asked to audition to be part of the group. She got the call to confirm her place in the group while she was on her way back home to Scotland, and she also worked for Sony before actually joining the group.

Amira McCarthy

Born 2nd February 1996.
From London, England.
She has always known that performing is what she wants to do in her life. She took part in a singing competition at Westminster Academy, which was her school previously. This is when she realised that she wanted to pursue a career in music and not music or dance. She was scouted to be in the group in the location of Westfields Shopping Centre in London. She later auditioned for the group and made in as the final four.

Jess Plummer

Born 16th September 1992.

From London.

She is the oldest member of the band. She previously worked as an actress appearing on two episodes of the CBBC series 'Wizard vs Aliens'. Her musical idols are Mariah Carey, Rihanna and Jessie J. She was discovered throughout the groups current manager in Brick Lane from London. From there she was invited to the audition and made it through.

Asami Zdrenka

Born 15th September 1995.

From Japan, but moved to the UK at an early age.

She has always loved to sing, and as a child, when her father took her on holiday back to Japan, he would make her sing to her family. Her mother was a singer and her grandfather has released several albums in Japan. She was spotted online through YouTube videos of her singing, which caught the attention of the label.

Ideas | Planning

Once we chose the song 'Louder' by Neon Jungle as our song for the music video, we thought of some ideas we could use for our video. Some of the ideas we came up with were influenced by other music videos we had seen before.

Our rough ideas were:

• Drums
• Powder paints
• Speakers with a deep bass
• Dancer ribbons
• Smashing plates
• Walking down the street - experiment with different shots (e.g. front, back, side)
• Fans
• Flashing lights
• Close-ups
• Various locations for each member in the video then meet up for the chorus
• Popping balloons
• Mascara running down the face - we could show this through a close-up
• Quick cuts
• Sparklers
• Glow sticks
• Slow motion

Some of these ideas we found would be fairly easy to do and the props would be available to us (e.g. powder paint, glow sticks), but other ideas we found would be quite hard to do and the props would be hard to find. We discussed as a group what ideas we really wanted to do, what props we wanted and what locations we wanted to film in.

Our final ideas for the music video were:

• Throwing powder paint & glitter
• This would be shown in slow motion through the editing
• We can purchase these items off of the internet
• Popping balloons with powder paint in them
• This would also be shown in slow motion through the editing
• Also the balloons and the powder paint can be purchased
• Starting on a stage
• We would lip sync the song here
• We could use the stage in our school one day after school
• Different locations (e.g. woods, the street, a field, etc.)
• We would also lip sync here and we can use extra footage here as well
• Also we can find a wood near any of our houses to use

In the video we discussed having a cut transition between two different scenes, as well as showing contrasting colours in some of the shots. This idea was influenced by Demi Lovato's music video for 'Heart Attack'.
In the video she shows the contrasting colours of black and white and the editing is quick paced. It looks like she filmed in several locations as the transition between two different scenes show different backgrounds. We want to interpret that editing into our video to show the difference between the people in it and the locations we are going to use.

We also discussed the dramatic eye-catching colours that we wanted in our music video. This can be done through the powder paint that we will be purchasing and we can edit the colours when editing the footage. This idea was influenced by Foxes' music video for 'Let Go For Tonight'.
In the video there are many different colours being presented through the paint that they use and the food that they throw to create a mess. We wanted to create a colourful 'mess' in our music video, but no through food, so as an alternative we have chosen to use powder paint. The inspiration of the contrast of colours was influenced through this music video as well due to the bright colours contrasting with the white at the beginning of the video. This is something we want to think about doing in our music video to make the colours interesting and different.

When discussing what else we could do with the powder paint that we will be purchasing we thought we could put some in balloons and pop them to create a smoke of colour. This was influenced by One Direction's 'Steal My Girl' music video.
In the video Liam, who is part of the band, breaks balloon type figures with a hammer and powder paint breaks out of them. We wanted to do something similar with balloons as we liked the effect the powder paint gave off when seeing it on the video.

We then discussed exaggerating neon colours in the video with a black and white contrast in other shots. This idea was influenced by Shift K3Y's music video for 'Touch'.
In the music video they use bright neon colours to show a quick pace of the song. They also have quick cut editing to speed up the pace as well. This is something that we want to interpret into our music video to make the video entertaining and quick paced. Also the video uses a lot of close-ups which is something we wanted to add to our video as well.

Song Choice | Planning

When discussing, as a group, what song we wanted to do our music video too we decided that we should stick to the pop genre.
The songs that we started off with were:

• Ugly Heart - GRL
• Louder - Neon Jungle
• Human - Christina Perri
• Photograph - Ed Sheeran
• One Way or Another - One Direction
• Really Don't Care - Demi Lovato
• Story of my Life - One Direction

We watched each of the songs music videos and agreed that we should pick a song with a female lead. The reason for this was because we wanted the main character in our video to be female, so it made sense to have a song by female artists. When listening to the songs and watching the videos, we all had some ideas but we still weren't sure what song we wanted to do. We agreed that we should narrow the songs list down to three so we could focus on just thinking about those three songs.

The songs we placed in our top three were:

• Ugly Heart - GRL
• Louder - Neon Jungle
• Human - Christina Perri

We listened to the songs individually again and wrote down some ideas that we had as a group for each song. We didn't really have many ideas for 'Ugly Heart', so we decided we shouldn't do that song for our music video. We gathered some ideas for 'Human' and 'Louder' and discussed the possibilities of doing each song. We all agreed that we wanted to do an up tempo song as we felt we could experiment with props, different shots and the pace of the editing. We had some good ideas for 'Human' but we knew it was a slow song, so we decided that 'Louder' by Neon Jungle would be the song.

We listened to the song and recorded some ideas down for the music video while also deciding whether we wanted to do a narrative video or a performance video. The song doesn't really have much of a story line so we felt it would be quite difficult to add a narrative plot to the video. Some of wanted to do a narrative, and the rest wanted to do a performance. We discussed the pros and cons of both narrative and performance and decided on sticking with a performance type video. We chose this because it would have been difficult to create a storyline since the song doesn't have a clear plot, and also we knew we could experiment with different shots and effects while editing the footage to make the video stand out and eye-catching.

The video is set in a warehouse type building with dark low key lighting to exaggerate the emotions that are being portrayed in the video. Many close-ups are used to highlight the four individuals, as well as mid shots to show them all together as a group. A mix of colours have been used in the video to add some interest and colour to the video. The video is very powerful due to the close-up shots, the panning shots and the smoke used in the video. We weren't sure we wanted our video to be powerful, we mainly wanted it to be eye-catching and entertaining. Quick cut editing has been used in the video to increase the pace, and this is something we want to add to do with our editing in our music video. Also slow motion effects have been used to emphasise the emotions, which is something we were all interested in as a group. While watching the videos we all had some good ideas come to our heads and we are all very happy with our choice of song.