Roles and Responsibilities- The Kooks

PLAN


Location(s): Park, Boy's house, Girl's house, Party, Classroom, Town, Performance space.
We decided on such a wide range of locations to show the strength of the feelings in the narrative..they weren't affected by where they were.
Personnel: Female: Jenny Gibson, Male: Jeff Leyland





Roles and responsibilities:


-Camera Work- All three of us.
We decided to share the responsibilities of filming our product because it was the biggest  element of our project and therefore it would be too much to ask of an individual. Also, each of us has our own strengths in using the camera- from a steady hand to framing and composition techniques- so in all three of us sharing this responsibility we would be able to achieve the best outcome possible.


-Director- All three of us.
Again, we decided to split this responsibility due to it's scale and importance. In addition to this it depends on who's filming and who's other responsibilities are being called upon to who would be best to/ or available to direct the scene.


-Props/costume- Maisie Hesketh. 
I was chosen for this role because of contacts working in the business so access to appropriate clothing and props was easier for me than perhaps other people. We understand that not everyone has these opportunities but decided to use what was accessible to us to our advantage.


-Coordination of actors and locations: Brogan Adams.
Due to advances in this area through other A Level subject and extra curricular choices,  we decided on Brogan to take the lead in this area- she knew people who would be willing (and able) to help us in our films, and knew locations that would be appropriate from past experiences.


-Time Management: All three of us. (Depending on other responsibilities).
Again, depending where we were required due to other responsibilities timing would be different people. However, we felt that it was most appropriate for us all to be responsible for time management as all of our other roles and responsibilities- including our blogs- would need to be timed and done regularly anyway.


-Equipment coordination: Tiffany Pickford.
Tiffany was in charge of coordinating equipment as the cameras, tripod, steady-cam etc. needed to be 'checked out' using the cards system in our College. Therefore, because Tiffany checked them out, she had to sign to confirm that, should any loss or damage occur, she may be held responsible. Therefore, they automatically become her responsibility although we will still all be using all pieces of equipment. 

Storyboards- The Kooks

Shooting Scripts- The Kooks

Once our ideas had been decided upon we began to plan our ideas more thoroughly and created a shooting script using timings from the songs and lyrics.

Audience Feedback- Ideas- The Kooks

As a group, due to unavoidable circumstances, we were unable to collect adequate audience feedback of our ideas.

Therefore, I shared our plans with my family and friends and personally collected feedback from them. Although it is not as Media-Studies specific as would be ideal, it is helpful nonetheless as it shows opinions and views from a typical audience member.


The majority of our feedback was positive. People also said that they thought our ideas were good and stereotypical of the genre, helping the video to match the song more effectively- this is exactly the type of thing we were trying to create!

Nonetheless, people also said they thought that maybe our shots could be more varied to slightly break stereotypes and to make the viewing more interesting; I have taken this in to account and made a "Cinematography Spider-Diagram" to help lay down and organise my ideas, and to help incorporate more creative shot types. I will upload this diagram.

Ideas Questionnaire- The Kooks

Due to the school holidays we were unable to get audience feedback from appropriate people before we began production (as we wanted the best Media Studies related feedback and advice as possible) but here is the questionnaire that we created:

Costumes- The Kooks

When filming 'She Moves In Her Own Way' we decided on costume to try and reflect the personality and character traits of our characters.

Our female (Jenny Gibson);

We asked Jenny to wear a feminine dress, something floral and pretty. We wanted this because we felt it showed her feminine side, reflected her beauty, naivety and innocence. With this, she wore brown leather brogues. These were to represent some sort of structure in her person. To try and show that perhaps underneath her weaknesses she was a strong character. Along with a knitted chunky cardigan in a dark green colour- this was to reflect her natural beauty and her links to being an earthly character.


Our male (Jeff Leyland);

We wanted Jeff to wear something casual, but quite modern and up to date with modern fashion. He wore a green hoody, grey trousers and pumps. The colours reflected his mood to be quite calm and restrained. His character however contrasted this slightly in the narrative.

Social and Cultural Context- The Kooks

Morley


Introduction to the Theory


This model suggests that the meaning of the text will be constructed differently depending on the reader's position on society. So, differences may be based on things like social class, gender, ethnicity and these may determine an individual cultural tastes.

Below are my notes from our theory lesson on David Morley:

How Might Different Social Groups Respond Differently to Your Product?

We aim for our music video, and it's meaning(s) to be accessible to a variety of social groups and positions. We are going to use a lot of montage editing and therefore will contain a large variety of cinematography, special effects, locations, characters, and mise-en-scene. Henceforth, we hope that no matter what social group you belong to you will be able to relate to- or at least feel empathy towards those who do- in some of the scenes we use. At the beginning of our video we would like to use a monologue and think that this would help the audience- no matter who they are- to take our desired message from the video. Nonetheless, the realisation that the majority of music video audiences are teenagers and young adults and therefore we will try and target these social groups more so than perhaps elderly people or young children.

Using Theories- Dyer (Stereotypes) - The Kooks

Dyer's Representation Theory of Stereotypes

http://www.slideshare.net/niajones1/week-4-stereotypes

 

In our music video, we plan to both oppose and abide by this theory. We plan to show 'stereotypical' young females getting ready to go out with high-heels, make-up and alcohol. This supports Dyer's theory of representational stereotypes. We then want to contrast our protagonist with these stereotypes (opposing Dyer's theory). This also matched Andrew Goodwin's theory in a way because she is "moving in her own way" as the lyrics suggests she should be.

Using Theories- Mulvey- The Kooks

Mulvey's Theory of 'The Male Gaze' 

Nhttp://blogs.warwick.ac.uk/michaelwalford/entry/laura_mulvey_and

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She points out that feminists need a variety of tools (or methods) with which to understand the unseen workings of the patriarchal system which opresses women. Mulvey is concerned to argue that psychoanalysis is an important tool whilst recognising the need for many others.

Mulvey then moves onto a section which argues that pleasure needs to be destroyed and that this destruction is a radical weapon. Cinema particuarly Hollywood cinema which is primarily structured upon bringing pleasure raises questions about how the unconscious structures our ways of seeing and understanding of the world and also why we gain pleasure from looking.

Mulvey from hgill1

Mulvey The Gaze Theory from jakeclaridge

In our product, we also plan to oppose this stereotype through our protagonist. She is not a stereotypical teenage female and wears casual clothes and is constantly seen in natural locations; whereas other females are seen very made up, in high heels and in urban locations. We therefore, purposely challenge the conventions of Mulvey's representation theory of visual pleasure and the male gaze. This is also challenged in the fact that our male protagonist finds her attractive due to her demeanour and characteristics, rather than her appearance. 

Using Theories- Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin has identified a number of key features in music videos. They are:

-A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or disjuncture the lyrics.

-A relationship between the music and the visuals.

Amplifying - This is similar to repeatability, meanings and effects are constantly shown through the video.

Disjuncture - This is when the meaning of the song is completely ignored.

Illustrate - music videos can use a set of images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre (this is the most common)

Andrew Goodwin's theory of music videos will be applied to our product through the links between the lyrics and the images seen on screen. For example, in Beyonce's 'Single Ladies' video, we see her dancing and pointing to her hand whilst singing "put a ring on it". However, rather than using the actions of actors the to mirror the lyrics, we are going to use objects and editing. For instance, at the part of the song where they say "Monday" the word "Monday" will flick across the screen letter by letter- as with the word "Tuesday".

Andrew goodwin from mohammedhassanfxl

Goodwin’S Theory from chrystina13

Andrew goodwins theory from Loren Aldridge

Encoding/Decoding- The Kooks

Hall


Introduction to the Theory


Audience members will respond to the text in different ways but the preferred reading of the text is encoded using the conventions and technologies of the medium. The possible positions are:


Dominant- when the reader shares the text's code and accepts it's preferred reading.


Negotiated- when the reader understands the text's code and generally accepts the preferred reading but modifies it according to their social position and experiences.


Oppositional- when the reader understands the code but rejects the preferred reading. The audience member would be reading the text from an oppositional position.




What is the Preferred Reading of Your Product?


We aim to give a positive message. Our video aims to be more meaningful than ordinary music videos and we want it to make people think. We also want it to be one of those videos in which you notice something new every time you watch it- whether that be a scene or clip, or even another, deeper, meaning to the action.


How do You Plan to Encode this Meaning?

In order to encode this positive meaning we plan to use montage editing of a large range of happy and positive scenes and locations. All of our actors will be smiling, laughing and having fun in order for catharsis to take place. Pathetic Fallacy is also a technique we aim to use by filming our footage in the summer holidays. Our editing will be fast paced and the camera will move a lot to mirror the happiness and elation usually associated with positive activities for example- dancing, running and playing. We also liked the idea of using point-of-view shots and handheld effects in order to help the audience to relate to our characters more effectively.


What Different Ways Might the Audience Respond to Your Product?

We aim for our music video, and it's meaning(s) to be accessible to a variety of social groups and positions. We are going to use a lot of montage editing and therefore will contain a large variety of cinematography, special effects, locations, characters, and mise-en-scene. Henceforth, we hope that no matter what social group you belong to you will be able to relate to- or at least feel empathy towards those who do- in some of the scenes we use. At the beginning of our video we would like to use a monologue and think that this would help the audience- no matter who they are- to take our desired message from the video. Nonetheless, the realisation that the majority of music video audiences are teenagers and young adults and therefore we will try and target these social groups more so than perhaps elderly people or young children.

Uses and Gratifications Model- The Kooks

Blumler and Katz

Introduction to the Theory
This model suggests that audiences have expectations which they expect to be satisfied by media texts. The audience needs are:
-Surveillance (r.e. the world around us)
-Personal Identity (personal opinions and how we see ourselves in society)
-Personal Relationships (relationships with media characters)
-Diversion (escapism from daily life)

What Audience Needs Does Your Planned Product Satisfy?

We want our product to challenge peoples surveillance of the world surrounding us and the stereotypes placed with different genders and age groups. We also wanted to oppose many existing music videos which portray the world today as depressed and negative and help them to see things in a more positive light. We want our product to also have this uplifting effect on personal identity because we are going to aim to show a variety of ages, genders or locations (depending on availability) in our music video. We want our characters to be everyday people so that personal relationships can easily be created which also allows the emotions to be felt with more strength and empathy. This will not only make our audience feel good but we aim to help them to emit their emotions and aid social interaction. We thought that by using positive, realistic and meaningful shots, locations, characters and imagery but in a positive light we would also allow diversion and escapism from daily life in simply watching our music video. 

Why Might Your Audience Consume Your Product?

Simply because we aim to give a positive message. Our video aims to be more meaningful than ordinary music videos and we want it to make people think. We also want it to be one of those videos in which you notice something new every time you watch it- whether that be a scene or clip, or even another, deeper, meaning to the action.

Using Theories- Dyer (Stars)- The Kooks

Dyer's Representation Theory of Stars

http://www.mediaknowall.com/as_alevel/Music/music.php?pageID=popstar
Dyer theory suggests media makes the artist and the star is the images made out of different things e.g. magazines, films. For example, artists who are open to the public and fans through platforms such as radio, television and internet, if it wasn’t for these then their music wouldn’t be as widely heard and they wouldn’t be artists. Stars are commodities (products) produced and consumed on the strength of their meanings. This means that for them to be ‘stars’ they were on covers of magazines and featured in movies. As the Dyer theory suggests ‘stars depend upon a range of subsidiary media (magazines, TV, radio...) in order to construct an image for the target audience.’ This means that an artist has to act and present themselves in a certain way to attract a certain type of audience. For example Beyonce may be seen in a magazine such as Cosmopolitan in a sexy dress. This may be to attract a male audience as she looks seductive or female teenagers/ young adults as they may aspire to look like her.

Character & Personality

A star begins as a "real" human, possessing gender & race characteristics, and existing against a socio-historic background. The star transformation process turns them into a construct, but the construct has a foundation in the real.We tend to read them as not-entirely-fictional, as being are very much of their time and culture, the product of a particular generation. Stars provide audiences with a focus for ideas of 'what people are supposed to be like' (eg for women, thin/beautiful) - they may support hegemony by conforming to it (thin/beautiful) or providing difference (fat/still lovable).

Here are some common values of music stardom: youthful, rebellion, originality, creativity/ originality etc. Not all stars carry all these common values. For example Susan Boyle is original and creative but not a rebel, although Paramore can be seen to carry all these values.

Much of the discussion of stars in celebrity magazines is about how stars compare to the current hegemonic ideal, and how we compare to the stars.

Dyer says:

In these terms it can be argued that stars are representations of persons which reinforce, legitimate or occasionally alter the prevalent preconceptions of what it is to be a human being in this society.There is a good deal at stake in such conceptions. On the one hand, our society stresses what makes them like others in the social group/class/gender to which they belong. This individualising stress involves a separation of the person's "self" from his/her social "roles", and hence poses the individual against society. On the other hand society suggests that certain norms of behaviour are appropriate to given groups of people, which many people in such groups would now wish to contest (eg the struggles over representation of blacks, women and gays in recent years).Stars are one of the ways in which conceptions of such persons are promulgated.

Richard Dyer — The Stars (BFI Education 1979)

A pop star's persona, therefore, as depicted in terms of character and personality, is a fragile thing which needs constant nurturing, and is the product of constant discourse between the star and his or her audience.

Dyer’s pop star theory from sezpenfold

http://oahtolu-barnes.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/dyer-theory-album-cover.html

Richard Dyer star theory is a theory which defines a star and ideas behind a star. The term ‘star’ is semi-mythological (half true) persona and set of meanings constructed around music performers in order to sell the performer to a large and loyal audience. This means that a star is presented as an artist but we as an audience don’t know them as a person. The stars do this so people would want to buy their products. For example we know Beyonce as an artist but we don’t know who she is as a person.

We are choosing to oppose this theory in our music video as we want to present the artists (the characters) in our video as 'every day' people rather than 'stars' and therefore allow the audience to relate more effectively with them and the storyline.

Using Theories

• Which theories might be applicable to your planned product?

• How well?

Very evident: exactly as the theory suggests?     OR

Only in parts: some elements evident but some not at all or only minimally?

• Is there a combination of applicable theories?

• Which theory might help your audience to make sense of your product?

Using Conventions in Planning Our Product- The Kooks

"Media texts rely on cultural experiences in order for audiences to easily make sense of narratives."How are you planning to use conventional and/or experimental approaches in your production?

We plan to use unconventional techniques of the "indie" genre in our product- in that bands/artists of this genre generally use shots of them singing and/or performing their songs throughout their music videos. They don't tend to use a storyline technique. We wanted to break this convention because we thought that using a storyline gave the song more meaning and helped the audience to create an interpretation which was accurate to the desired connotation, and therefore created more effective moods and feelings towards the song.


Some examples of "Indie" songs which use the convention of singing and/or performing the song in their videos are:


Coldplay- Yellow http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MwjX4dG72s&feature=related
Oasis- Wonderwall http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hzrDeceEKc
Razorlight- Burberry Blue Eyes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-n91hTca9o&list=UUuCizFs0RF-WqubMIphSgQQ&index=8&feature=plcp


Nonetheless, in our research we found that a number of "R'n'B" and "Pop" use the more storyline technique that we liked. Some examples of these songs are:


Rihanna and Calvin Harris: We Found Love http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tg00YEETFzg
Beyonce: If I Were a Boy http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWpsOqh8q0M


Also, in both of these videos monologues are used. We really liked this idea because we felt that they gave the songs a lot more meaning and engaged us as an audience more effectively and meaningfully.


Other songs which used this technique are:


Bright Eyes- At the Bottom of Everything- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qikRcAiCtKM
Vaughan Brothers- Tick Tock http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLs5REzFvOY

Planning- Scenes Spider-diagram - The Kooks

Before making a storyboard or any final ideas I created a spider diagram to help look at all of the possible scenes and locations that we wanted to include. This process also helped to put them in an order which we felt created the best storyline and went with the song in the best possible way.

Planning- Shots in existing products

When planning what shot types were stereotypical in music videos of the Indie-Pop genre I looked at a number of existing videos and made notes regarding the shots used; these will be helpful for later on in the production of our own music video.

Cinematography Spider-diagram

I created a Spider-Diagram to help me organise ideas of shot types, angles, positions and movements. Here is a photograph of the diagram; I am unable to access the scanner for the time being so this is as best as I can provide- sorry.

Lyrics- The Kooks

Lyrics are a hugely important part of a song to explore when creating a music video. Therefore, we decided to use the lyrics of our chosen song as a base for developing our ideas. Here are our plans written on the lyrics of "She Moves In Her Own Way- The Kooks":