Planning - Intertexuality

In the original music video, there is a clear reference to Queens infamous Bohemian Rapsody during the lyrics 'blow, blow me out said I'm so sad I don't know why' I will carry this over into my music video as I feel the intertextuality is synonymous with the zeitgeist, as those familiar with 90's music will have cultural competence of Queen.

A key part of Blurs style is the mocking nature in their music videos, typically humiliating the protagonist of their music videos. In Charmless Man, the band follow the protagonist around, mocking him. I will follow this convention in my music as further intertextuality throughout.

In the second verse, the protagonist is preparing himself for a day at work, with the extras following him around in a mime like nature. For one particular scene, he is looking in a mirror, the camera facing him will look sad, but when the camera turns to the mirror the extras will be holding his smile up, which is of course intertextuality to Joker. 

In the bridge, leading to the chorus, there will be repetition of the protagonist walking through the streets of London, looking busy and in a rush, going straight past people that get in his way. This links with Bittersweet Symphony as this is the primary part of that music video. 

At the end of the second chorus, a mirror is held up to the protagonist, and it zooms in to an extreme close up, ultimately just seeing his eyes, leading to the next verse. There will be direct instructions to the model to ensure he remains serious and stares into his eyes to evoke a sense of questioning himself. This is intertextuality to the American Psycho bathroom scene.

One of the locations for the chorus is outside of the 'country house' with the model and extras prancing around and singing the chorus merrily. This is intertextuality to another Blur song - Parklife.

Planning - Mise-en-scene for Location

All scenes that take place in a field or anywhere in the country side are symbolic of the protagonists mental state, so are bright and colourful. A set similar to this with the same angle would be ideal for the chorus as it embraces the lyrics of the song. The basis of the music video is 90's themed and so bright highly saturated sets are essential, particularly for the chorus.

A similar set to this will be used for the second verse, in which we follow through the protagonists daily routine. The dim lighting and emptiness capture the essence of the protagonists wellbeing, fully contrasting the brightness and saturation of the countryside.

Similarly to the bedroom scene, this takes place in the second verse when the protagonist is getting ready. A particularly effective technique which could be adapted is the dim lighting only in the mirror, submerging the protagonist in darkness except for his face, which is useful for the extreme close up to show his sadness.

A sofa in the middle of a field is a fairly common trope used within media such a music videos to represent solidarity, a particular emphasis I want to make known is the saturation and brightness of the scene as stated before to express the protagonists mental state. If this theme is recurrent throughout the whole music video, ideally the audience would subliminally pick up on this detail.

The primarily grey colour palette is of great significance to the walking scenes in a busy street, another essential feature is the duel paths, so that the cameraman can walk on the oppositional path at the same pace to film the protagonist with people and vehicles passing, this can also transition to a front facing shot as the protagonist is walking very similarly to 'Bittersweet Symphony' 

Planning - Brand Mood Board

Planning - Casting

Name - Will Holland 

Costume - Casual clothes eg: Shorts, plain t-shirt   

Role - Extra    

Name - Bobby Welch    

Costume - Casual clothes eg: Shorts, plain t-shirt  

Role - Extra

Name - Jack Davis   

Costume - Smart Suit & Casual Clothes

Role - Protagonist

Planning - Summation of Key Conventions

 Music Video and Genre Conventions:

• Music videos are either performance or narrative based, or a mix of both. 
• The artist, whether the video be performance or narrative, is presented as glamorous, by dressing up in nice, fashionable clothes and through a variety shots of the artist to allow the audience to feel a connection to the artist. 
• There is likely to be a relationship between the lyrics and music and the visuals of the video, this makes the video more appealing to watch in conjunction with the song. 
• For pop songs, a performance aspect is very prevalent and fast paced editing is used to match the often upbeat nature of the song. 
• Pop songs use a considerable amount of close up shots, to emphasise the lyrics and to highlight the artists face connoting passion.
• The mise en scene of 90's Britpop music videos is usually bright and aesthetic.  

Conventions I Will Adopt:

• The majority of Goodwins Theory. 
• Creating an understanding relationship between the model and the audience to create further engagement, this will be done through fourth wall breaks and sympathetic behaviour.
• Using a bright and aesthetic mise en scene (that will be digitally convergent with my website).
• A fast paced editing style that matches the quick tempo of my chosen song.

Planning - Shot List