PROPOSAL DOCUMENT
PARTY AT 8
The product that I am creating is a music video, this is titled “Party at 8”. The genre for the music video is indie/alternative rock. The target audience for the music video is 16 to 21-year-olds being a predominantly female audience.
The music video that I am creating is a narrative which follows a girl, through her day starting off with an interview for a job. This job interview is then something that is touched upon at the end of the music video, showing whether she has been offered the job or not. It focuses on the character Megan as well as the treatment that she gets from the man that she is being interviewed by. A large focus of the video however is the party which is a theme that is shown throughout the whole music video. This is due to the way in which it fits into the song, “Party at 8”. It is also something which develops the character of Megan due to showing the diversity of how she can act as a professional and viewed as an object but is really, deep down, just a teen wanting to enjoy herself.
The locations which will be filmed in are an office space, for both the beginning and end of the music video as well as a place for the party scene to be held in. This will take place in someone house due to it being a houseparty. There will also be shots took in various places such as on a bus or walking down the road as this will show the travelling forms he interview to the party.
My client, The Sundowns, is a small Sheffield based indie/alternative rock band. They only formed in October 2017 and therefore are very small on the music scene amongst other bigger Sheffield bands. However, they have performed many gigs all over Sheffield including at the O2 Academy Sheffield, and are set to do big things. By creating them a music video, it will give them exposure around the city, widening the audience who listen to their music and also creating new opportunities for the band in terms of booking more gigs in the future. Currently they have a very strong, but small audience who support them at all of their gigs, however a music video for the band would mean that this audience gets boosted. It also gives them a way to express their music through a different medium, which could get audiences to recognise them through clips of the music video posted on their social media. The song, Party at 8, which the music video would be created for is a newly released song which is part go their first EP, Houseparty at 8. By having a music video created for a new song it would mean that it goes hand in hand with the release of the new EP, this means that not only the music video would help to promote their newly released EP, but this release could also mean that it gets more hype around and subsequently more people to view the music video. A music video will not only promote the music but also promote the band, The Sundowns, as a whole.
The music video that we are creating is a narrative which follows a girl, Megan. The music video starts off with a shot of a secretary and Megan sat waiting for her interview. There is no sound playing during this part of the video, it is just silence as the secretary calls Megan into the interview. The next shot is in the interview room, with the interviewer and Megan, there is a small amount of dialogue between the two, exchanging a "hello" as they shake hands and both go to sit down. The music starts playing quietly in the background and the interview scene starts to become slow motion. There will be shots of the clock ticking and the interviewer writing, this is mixed with jump-cutting to close-ups with connote a party scene. These include close-ups of drinks, speakers and people laughing. During this part, it is in normal time and the music is slightly louder. This foreshadows what is going to happen later on in the video but could also connote Megan's thoughts during the interview. Throughout the whole interview scene, we see the male interviewer have an interest in Megan, he looks at her in a sexualised manner and as these are not feelings that she reciprocates, he informs her that she has not got the job. We see this through the use of his shaking his head, still shot in slow motion. We then see Megan, react in a negative way to the news that she has been given, the way she reacts is jump cut between the party, these cuts are very quick to show a change. The next scene shows her leaving the interview and travelling to the said party, this is on different forms of transport including trams and walking. We also then see her getting ready for the party, this shows a transformation between how she is seen in the interview scene. The sound for this part is now at a normal level, along with the speed that it is being filmed in. The party scene shows not only Megan enjoying herself but also shots of the location which will be a house due to the song being titled "House party at 8". There are shots of things that would typically happen at parties such as drinking, dancing and laughing. After a while of shots of Megan at the party, flirting with different people, the music stops and we just hear the ringing of a phone. As Megan looks at who the caller is, her face drops and the party scene fades to the next scene. The song is playing in the background but quietly. This final scene is showing Megan looking upset and disappointed whilst sat at a desk working. We then see a slow-motion shot of the interviewer walking past her, this is the man who has harassed her during the interview. This cuts between the man smiling and winking at her and then she sat at her desk looking disappointed, to connote that she was so desperate for a job that she was willing to put up with someone who harasses her. Finally, the music goes back to normal volume and we see a shot of Megan answering the call at the party. This leaves the audience open to interpretation of whether she is thinking about what could happen if she took the job or if she actually did decide to take it herself.
The locations in which the filming will take place are within an office space, this is to film the interview in and also for the office scene at the end of the music video. This is a location that I will need to hire out, therefore budgeting is essential for this. Another location in which I will be shooting for the location is at the party, this is going to be a party which will be set up to look as real as possible. As it is meant to be a house party, this is best shot in a house as this is the most natural environment for it to be filmed, this is also good as it means that many different things can be a lot more controlled during filming such as lighting and people. There will be a use of props during this scene in the music video including things such as bottle and games. On the way between the interview and the party scene, I would like to have some shots which will connote the travel and journey between the two places. This will be most effective if there are shots of different modes of transport such as busses as well as shots of Megan walking down the road herself. Whilst filming this, I would need to be careful as to not get logos of different bus companies as this could mean that the music video may not be able to be used as the company has not given permission.
Some specialist equipment will be needed in order to create this music video. The camera that I would like to film the music video on is the Sony 4K camera. This will mean that my music video could be viewed in 4K meaning that it is the best quality that it can be. I will also need some soft box lights in order to control the lighting in the places that I am filming, this will mean that each shot is well lit. This means there is less post production editing, like trying to brighten each shot.
There is also a need for props within the music video. These are things which will make each scene within the video more believable. For the office scene, there is a need for props such as paperwork, office furniture and beverages such as tea or coffee. Where as for the party scene the props will include items such as alcohol bottle, food and party games like beer pong. The lighting in the party scene will be different
The milestones and deadlines for the music video will be planned using different pre-production materials such as a production schedule and a gantt chart. A production schedule will allow individual tasks and milestones for the different people in the production team to be planned. This is effective in the production of a product because it means that everything will run smoothly as each person knows what they need to do and when It needs to be down by. A gantt chart is a more visual way of showing when each different section of the project is going to be completed by, this allows for comparison between tasks showing those that are going to take a long time and also the quicker tasks. It also shows how everything fits together.
Budgeting is an important part when planning a product such as a music video. When working out what the budget for a music video is going to be there are things that have to be considered such as the prices of location rental as well as travel and food for crew members.
Here is a table of the costs for the music video:
Budgeting for Music Video
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+ £8 (Extra £1 per person)
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+ £12 (Extra £1.50 per person)
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+ £25 (if props cost more)
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Behind the production of my music video, I need to have a production company. These are the roles as to who will be doing each thing and also what each job role requires as well as why each is important to make sure that the music video is as successful as possible.
Production manager - Olivia Cocker
Manages all aspects of the production including budgeting and schedules, making sure the production runs as smoothly as possible. This is important to my production company because it means that there is someone who has a clear focus into everybody's job roles so therefore can priorities different parts and put contingencies into place if any part the production falls through or changes.
Videographer - Lucy Spires
In charge of capturing the footage for the music video by working from the storyboard in order to take the shots which fit with what has been planned.
Sets up and manages the lighting, is a specialist so knows what is appropriate for different environments and locations making sure that the shots, therefore, are bright enough so are successful.
Editor - Damian Palliyaguruge
In charge of editing the footage from the music video, this means making it flow but also adding some effects to it such as filters to make the video look a certain way. This could for instance be a “recording” overlay to make some of the footage from the party look as if it was recorded on a phone or being recorded inside of the actual recording.
Special effects/ graphics - Edwin Womersley
They will create any special effects or graphics which are going to be included in the music video, this could include the logo for The Sundowns which will be at the beginning of the music video along with graphics reading “Party at 8”.
Sound specialist - Tom Frow
Specialises in sound for the music video, making sure that it is the greatest quality it can be. This is important in the video that I want to create as I am wanting a variation in sound, with is being more muffled or muted in some places and louder in other places to connote different ideas and themes throughout the video.
Location finder - Isaac Parker
In charge of location scouting to find the best places to film the music video and is also in charge of all of the legal factors that may effect this such as whether a location is public or private and how this may effect filming.
They will be in charge of all of the costumes which are going to be used in the music video. This includes styling for the different scenes and what is most appropriate to fit each different shot within the music video.
LEGAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
Within the creation of a music video, theres many legal and ethical considerations that need thinking about. The representation of different genders within the music video is an ethical consideration which needs addressing. Within the narrative of my music video, Megan, will be viewed by the interviewer in a sexualised manner, this is something which could be seen to be an ethical issue however the reason that I want to include this in the video as it shows the way in which Megan reacts to this. The negative effect that this kind of behaviour will be included within the music video. A legal issue that would need to be addressed is the copyright of music used in the video. This however should not be an issue as the music that is being used is that of the band that the music video is for. The video is being used to widen their audience and so therefore they will allow for the use of their music within the video. There will also need to be some documents signed such as release and consent forms, these will be needed both for the actors in the music video and the locations. Release and consent form are a form of written consent to show that everyone involved In the product allows for it to be used.
POTENTIAL CLIENT QUESTIONS
I knew when creating my pitch and proposal, I had to think about what my client may potentially ask me. Some of these things were the likes of budget and timeframe, I made sure that I included the answers to these potential questions within my pitch so that my client was as informed as possible.
These are three of the main questions which I believed I would get asked after I had created the first draft of my pitch.
- How many people are going to be in your team in order to produce the music video?
- How are you going to face the different legal and ethical issues that the music video may create?
- How are you going to create deadlines and milestones?
In order to make sure that I covered the key questions which I believed that my client was going to ask me, I made sure that I answered these myself within the pitch. For the first question, I made sure that I included not only the job roles that would be needed but also the names of the different people who would take these roles as I believed that this would reassure my client as they would know I already had people set out to do these jobs. For the second question I thought of the key legal and ethical issues that I thought my client might raise, these were things such as the use of release and consent forms as well as representation. I made sure I covered everything which I thought might be a legal and ethical issue and also outlined these in my pitch so therefore this was something that my client would be concerned about. The last thing that I thought my client may ask me was about the use of milestones and deadlines. I know that this is something important as it is the way that I would plan the creation of my music video. It would also be important for my client as they would need to be in the loop about the milestones and deadlines within the creation of the music video, whilst also sticking to milestones and deadlines which they also might set themselves.
PITCH
Below is the pitch that I created and communicated with my client for my music video idea, Party at 8. I used the ideas that I had written about in my proposal and supported these by creating a presentation aided by visuals and information that was easy to understand and digest. I supported my pitch through verbal communication.
