Organisation: Hair

I want to have my female actresses hair quite simply, down and loosely waved/curled to emphasise again the natural look. Taylor Swift used to have her hair like this alot as it was her natural do and I like this look alot cause it's very pretty and casual. 

I will also leave my male actors hair natural as well as I feel the casual look would compliment the female actresses casual look too. Noel and Liam Gallagher used to leave their hair quite simple too in their videos with Oasis and so this simplicity will be quite effective.

 

Organisation: Makeup

For my female character, I plan to use as little makeup as possible to keep the look as natural as possible. I will still use makeup however, but I will stick to a look that is very simple, similar to that of Suzy Bishop in Moonrise Kingdom. Although the makeup around the eyes is rather heavy, I like the way the rest of the face is still quite natural and I feel it is a look that the actress for my video would be comfortable with as well. 

 

Research Into Similar Products: Music Video - Catfish And The Bottlemen - Relationships

Catfish and the Bottlemen released a video for their track Cocoon which features a couple who are separated. Although the characters in my video are not a couple, I have looked at the ways in which a separation and distance is portrayed in this video and this has given me a lot of inspiration. 
First of all, in the opening shots you see a physical distance between the two through the use of a straight cut. This immediately makes the audience aware that they have been separated by something but are not sure by what at this moment in the video. I aim to put shots together in a similar way to this when editing my own video to show the physical distance between the two characters. 

The low angle shot used below emphasises the importance of their happiness when they're together and the mise en scene of the characters facial expressions helps to show this. I had not considered using a low angle shot to show the characters happiness in my video but it is something I can now incorporate in my own video as I feel that it is very effective.

Facial expression plays a very important role in this video as a whole. The pain in the male characters face shows how deeply effected he is by whatever has taken them apart and I wish to show this sort of sadness and also guilt in my own video, so this could be good inspiration for the actors I get for my video. 

There are several simple activities that the couple do when it flashes back in the video and these are simple things that I could include in my own video too, as they are usual everyday activities that people do together.

The video ends in a very similar way as to how I would like mine to end. The final shot is there her hands rubbing his in a reassuring way, showing how they've finally become one again in their own way. However for my own video I plan to show the two hands almost touching, further showing the distance. 

Research Into Similar Products: Endings

By looking at different music videos and how they end, I can find inspiration for how to end my own music video as I can see how to do it effectively. 
Doll Parts by Hole  ends with a fade to black after Love shuts the door behind the child. I think that this is an effective way to end a video as it is quite emotive and leaves her to her sadness. I quite like the idea of using a fade to end the video so this is something I will consider doing whilst editing my video. 

The video for There Is A Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths ends with the group of guys cycling away with a pan up to a shop sign and a fade to black. I like the idea of the pan away as it's like the audience is being taken away from whatever has happened in the video. 

The Nine Inch Nails video for We're In This Together Now ends with Trent Reznor completely on his own surrounded by empty clothes which I think is a very powerful ending as for the whole video, he was rushing to be together with everyone but ends up alone, so comes away from the initial theme of the track. 

Arabella by Arctic Monkeys ends with a man talking over Turners singing and the tapes are reversed and paused in strange ways and ends with a zoom in. I think that this is a good way to end this video as it focuses in on the craziness of the party and it also zooms in on a womans reflection making it seem like he's being watched, which could make the audience feel a bit uneasy. 

Research Into Similar Products: Anton Corbijn

Anton Corbijn is a Dutch music video director as well as film director and photographer. He has filmed many videos for bands such as Depeche Mode and U2 and is one of my favourite directors.
The video Strangelove by Depeche Mode that he directed, is filmed entirely in black and white, which fits with the dark-wave style music the band produce. He uses lighting to create a secretive feel to the video as the lighting reveals different things throughout the video. These kind of shots and lighting techniques make it seem as though something has happened between the people and the editing helps to show this too. 

 

A shot I quite enjoy from this video is the one below as I like the simplicity of it and is quite a curious shot. It again adds to the sense of secrecy, especially as only Dave Gahan turns around. This is a shot I could quite easily add to my own music video to show the secrecy between the two people involved in the video. 

Another video Corbijn has directed is Lips Like Sugar by Echo and the Bunnymen. I enjoy this video due to the editing techniques he uses. He switches between black and white and being in colour with a blue tone. This is something I plan to incorporate into my own video to reflect flashbacks, but the way Corbijn has used it here is quite simple but is aesthetically pleasing. 

Corbijn also uses coloured lights to help create a fun feeling to the video, which compliments the strange, fun costume the two women are wearing in the video. 

Heart Shaped Box by Nirvana is another video that he has directed. This video is much brighter than the other videos I have looked at by him; for a start it's not in black and white. Instead he uses loud, bright colours which mimic the loud aggression of the music itself. The band also wear bright clothes to add to this sort of effect. These bright colours plus the obscene props used make the video quite eerie for the viewer. 

More recently, Corbijn directed a video called Talk by Coldplay. This video is quite interesting in it's use of colour as Corbijn uses a 3D effect on some shots which I think adds a child-like feeling to the video, especially with the robot and spaceship and the fact that the band are wearing 3D glasses themselves. 

Also the way in which the video ends with the robot whistling after eating the spaceship makes the robot itself seem very human, which is a nice use of additional sound. It also adds to the childish nature of the video and provides a little humour to it. 

Although some of the artists Anton Corbijn directs videos for are outside of my music genre, the way in which he edits his videos is something that inspires me alot and I can incorporate into my own music video too. 

Target Audience: Music Video Pitch

I pitched my idea for my music video to a focus group today and received feedback on my ideas. 

The first piece of feedback I received said that it was good I was taking inspiration from Submarine and that it was a nice link and that the relationship is very well focused in my storyboard. 
The second said that the way in which the song is acoustic is raw and has a natural style and so can link to the nature of my location and the actors actions.
The third said that it is good how I have clearly involved the audiences interpretation in my planning and how I have considered how the shots present emotion.
The fourth said that I have a clear, good idea with a good story behind it. 
The fifth said that my ideas for camera work are well structured.
The sixth said that they like how my idea is very simple but is also very effective. 

From this feedback, I feel that I am on the right tracks to reaching my target audience and that all my research has been very useful and effective; especially because of my links to Submarine. 

Drafting and Planning: Second Draft Storyboard

Although the changes are fairly minimal, I feel they will make a great difference to the feel of my video overall. I have changed the type of footage I will want for the first chorus of the song so that I can make a better use of my location e.g. the bridge, and I think that sad shots like the new ones are much better than the happier shots that would have been out of place. Instead I plan to keep the happy shots for the end of the video.