Initial Costume Idea

Ideas

Knowing that we will be using a large amount of visual concept ideas in our music video and using our make-up ideas as a guideline, we will now be looking into potential costume/outfits for the dancers to wear during the dance routine. Taking inspiration from contemporary band HURTS and their artistic videos we first agreed that our dancers should be dressed in predominantly black clothing. We were not interested in exposing the dancers in the way many female artists are these days on television are shown - provocative clothing showing a lot of flesh and glamorous hair and make-up. This was not our intention as our chosen song and idea for the video was not an expression of exposing the female dancers in that way. By using mainly black clothing which was not revealing, we thought that would give us our desired look.


By looking at existing music videos, through magazines and at dance performances we selected a range of clothing items which we believed would reflect the female dancers in a suitable way and also which would compliment the concepts in our music video.


Firstly we looked at leotards. Leotards are associated with the dance style ballet and are not usually seen as 'sexual' unless manipulated that way. A simple, plain, standard black leotard would be a good basis for the dancers' outfits because they would be able to move freely in them without restriction. 

The style of dance we had considered would be very elegant, smooth and rounded. We would conform to typical ballet shapes and positions which would keep the dance routine soft and un-aggressive. To accompany the leotard, we considered a tutu styled skirt. A tutu, although being short, is heavily associated with delicate dances which would steer away from any 'sexual' label it might be placed with.


We considered a type of shrug of cardigan because the dancers may get cold but we thought it was interfere with the dance itself and restrict any dramatic movements included in the routine. Plain black dolly shoes or pumps would be the most appropriate footwear to use for the dance. Heels would be a challenge the dance in as balance might be a problem from one of or both of our dancers. 


Development
We will of course continue to come up with possible ideas for our dance outfits until we are sure that what we finalise on will be suitable to dance on and that the clothing will resemble any hidden meanings we include in our video. Keeping the outfit non-sexual is very important to us as our song is completely non-sexual and we would not want our audience to feel that the video and the song did not compliment each other.

Initial Make-up Ideas

Ideas

After finalising our idea on what our music video would consist of and include, our next task was to design the make-up which would help to establish the scene and the mood we were aiming for. Considering our music video is now primarily concept, also with areas of narrative and performance, we decided that the dancers in the video should have the make-up to suit the gloomy and almost sad themes which run through the song. Having being inspired by the contemporary band HURTS, we felt that an extravagant make-up design would conform to what we were trying to achieve and that it would also appeal to our target audience. 

Our first thought was to a design and a colour palette which would show up well whilst on camera from various distances (not just close ups). By decorating the eye area heavily on each dancer with either dark or a vibrant colour range, we believed that would show up in the way we hoped on camera. 

The images to the left demonstrate the use of a vibrant shade of blue. Although the colouring looked very effective close up, it was not suitable from a distance of even a few feet away let alone a distance concerning a matter of metres whilst filming. We did infact include a strip of silver eye liner just above the eye lashes. The fact that the whole make-up design did not even show up on a close up picture confirms that this style will not be suitable for filming for our music video. We continued to experiment with colours, shapes and designs for our make-up as it, we feel, an important aspect of the video.

The black and silver design, right, is the next thought which we put into practise. As you can see, the picture is a lot more grabbing and creates more of a bold statement than the previous design. This experiment uses far darker colours, predominantly black with flashes of silver which we feel is more accommodating with the concepts we hope to include in our music video. We will use this style of make-up as the basis of our 'final' make-up idea and we will continue to develop it.

Location Possibilities

Before we decided on a location we explored many near by, local areas to us to see if any of them were possible or suitable filming locations for our music video. Our chosen song Snow Patrol - You Could Be Happy has themes and references to a broken relationship and setting the ex-partner free to move on and be happy. We needed a location that would suit our concept, a place that could convey our emotional song choice and the theme of 'moving on'.

Wildwood Estate
Wildwood was where we group looked first. The large housing estate offers a diverse range of surroundings ranging from built up housing areas to greenr areas which would allow for a range of imagry to be shown. The estate is sat in the centre of a 'ring road' which loops round the whole estate meaning easy access to other areas, and a continous loop for a moving car shot if required. The estate is reasonably quiet meaning filming will not get in the way of residents. The houses featured here tend to be of an older design compared to other estates.

The Meadows
The meadows is a medium sized estate and the houses are of a different appearance to both Wildwood. The area has a large grassy area which features a park and canal which would allow for the filming to have some diversity. The estate has quite a lot of road area which would also allow for decent car shots. The roads in the estate are all quite narrow with a lot of turns and bends in so while this could make for some interesting and varied shots,
it could also be a challenge manoeuvring a car around the estate. 


Shugborough Hall

Shugborough Hall and Estate is a popular tourist attraction site in Stafford for the public. Within the grounds, there is lots to see and do and it's filled with picturesque gardens as well as the mansion house and a park with monuments. Many of these settings would be a different and interesting place to film for our music video but we decided we would have difficulty in getting access to some areas of the house and we would also have to wait for people visiting to be out of the way for shots.   

Acton Trussell Farm

Acorn Farm in Acton Trussell belongs to my Grandma and Granddad and is a strong possibility for our filming location. We could have access to all areas of the farm, some including; the farm house, the gardens, the barns, the stables and the fields. We would be able to use plug sockets and extension cables from the house and have access to the animals if we needed/wanted. We would have to consider the weather as when it rains, the whole farm can get very muddy and because it is situated on a hill, the area gets extremely windy.

Cannock Chase

Down the road from Acton Trussell is Cannock Chase, a large public wooded area where by we would have access to all areas. Some heavily wooded area of The Chase can look gloomy and depressing which could link to our chosen song. On the other hand, some areas are brightly lit (in the sun) due to lightly scattered trees. This gives us a range of settings to consider which is a big advantage.

Initial Music Video Idea

Initial Idea for our Music Video
We first decided to do a narrative video following a love enchanted couple who are torn apart by a horrific tragedy.
Our initial idea was based on a man, walking down a road after falling out with his girlfriend/wife, and getting confronted by a car. The shot would move quickly from a two-shot (containing both the man and the car from side angle) to close up of the mans face. Then a dream effect would be used to simulate a flashback of his life and the shot would disappear with a fast zoom into his eye. With the dream effect still in place several events of his life such as a wedding, children's birthday parties and the pub with his mates. To make this seem more realistic quick cuts would need to be used to create a montage effect for the audience. After this series of events the camera would quickly zoom out to reveal a close up of the man breathing heavily with shock as the car has stopped inches from him, which would be revealed with another two-shot. 


Where the Idea Came From
We came up with this idea based on our understanding and interpretation of the lyrics of the song. You Could Be Happy contains ideas and themes of a broken or damaged relationship so we thought we could start the video with a couple in mid-fight with the male nearly being hit by a car as we walks out. The song goes on to express how the partner wants their now ex-partner to move on and find happiness, "you could be happy, i hope you are..." so the footage we considered using of them living their lives as normal, showing everyday situations was based on that idea. The twist at the end showing the male not getting hit by the car, we thought would shock the audience and it also suited the nature of the song because it is not an aggressive or angry song so using a death or severe injury would not follow the mood of the song and lyrics.


Why It Wouldn't Work
After analysing our initial idea we decided against it because it would be a challenge to create the idea in front of a camera to a high enough standard. Our idea would have to include a lot of fast editing and establishing shots. There would be pressure to make certain shots look believable for example; when the male lead nearly gets hit by the car. Our actors would also have to be confident and professional to portray the acting skills to make the video look of a high quality.