Theme For Music Video

We have decided to use the R&B music videos from the 90's as inspiration for our one to put more emphasis on our chosen genre. We plan on achieving this by conforming to the conventions of a 90's R&B video, such as having a clear narrative throughout, low-key lighting in a wide range of locations including the home as well as public areas, depth of field to focus on the singer, close-ups while lip-syncing and filming it with very dramatic angles. We will refer to 'Talkin' To Me'- Amerie to stimulate ideas for creative camera angles and locations:

The music video will consist of a girl breaking the fourth wall and singing to the camera with inserts for flashbacks of her past relationship. The narrative for the flashbacks will be looking at a relationship, a break-up and the after effects of a break up from the angle of a female. We hope to convey an empowering message to all females, that they do not need to find their worth in a man, but that they can be single and secure!

Song + Theme Change

Unfortunately, we were having difficulties with our chosen song, 'Piece of Mind'- Kehlani because of lip-syncing issues and the meaning behind the lyrics not quite fitting with the narrative we were trying to create. Instead of spending hours searching for another song we decided to use our runner-up, 'Better in Time'- Leona Lewis because the structure of the song is more in line with the ideas we have for the video and there is a female singer so we won't have trouble finding a singer. However, this song in the pop genre which is great because it will allow us to explore with subverting the conventions of the genre.

As stated before, this song represents women as independent and liberated which is in line with our theme about the representation of women in the media. The narrative throughout the song talks about how the female protagonist [no longer needs a man and that shes better off now], this gives us more than enough substance to build a strong storyline for our music video. A bonus is that the song is slow and Leona Lewis' voice is very clear which will make easier for us to match up the lip-sync to the song.   

Here are the lyrics to the song: 

Mood Board

This is our theme for our music video, it is light-hearted and casual in the beginning, with high key lighting and shots in open public spaces as well as the girl's bedroom, this chirpy mise en scene is typically associated with teenagers and couples which are the focus of the video.  However, we want to create a different atmosphere during the middle when the song hits its climax and the couple break up by using secluded locations and low key lighting, hopefully this will emphasise the change in her attitude and mindset. The colour pallet and mise en scene will change towards the end again as she gains confidence, we plan on using prominent locations to underline this to viewers. 

Final Song

Our final song choice is 'Piece Of Mind' by Kehlani:

In the end, we decided that we like the message behind the old R&B songs especially the ones that were all about empowering women, but the biggest issue was that all the songs we liked were very much mainstream songs which we were trying to avoid for fear of comparison. Instead, we decided that we would try and find a more modern R&B song that carried the same positive message, this way we could use the old ones as inspiration. Throughout the song, she mentions how she learned from her experiences which encourage girls to not only move on from certain relationships that are not healthy but to also learn from them. Another reason we chose this song is that there isn't a music video for it which is great because we will able to be as creative as we like without any chance of being influenced by the original video. We hope that we can send out a positive message to women using this song.

Here are the lyrics to the song:

Tryna forget all of the messages

Tryna forget all of the stressin'

'Cause damn it was

Tryna forget all of the secondary

Feelings I had, man, it was fuckin' scary

Tryna get back to all my old ways

Tryna get back to all the hobbies from my old days

(Gettin' back)

Tryna forget all the unnecessary

Thoughts from my head, man, it was pretty scary

At least I learned a thing or two (yeah)

About me and you (yeah)

What we went through (yeah)

It made me who I am, I am, I am

I can feel again

Won't be numb again (numb)

At least I didn't mess it up (yeah)

That was all your touch (yeah)

I don't miss it much (yeah)

But it made me who I am, I am, I am

I can feel again

Won't be dumb again (dumb)

Said I'm tryna break off a piece of mind

A piece of mind that I can't get right

(I can't get right)

Said I'm tryna break off a piece of mind

A piece of mind, my heart's on my side

(My heart is on my side)

You said yourself you made me who I am

You told me that after you I would never love again

(Didn't i?)

Oh you made sure that I would lose myself

So I wanna see I need no one else

Just tell me that I was worth a million smiles, and

Tell me that I was worth a million miles, and

Tryna make sure that I forget the times that

You made me think that I just couldn't shine, yeah

At least I learned a thing or two (yeah)

About me and you (yeah)

What we went through (yeah)

It made me who

I am, I am, I am

I can feel again

Won't be numb again (numb)

No oh oh oh

At least I didn't mess it up (yeah)

That was all your touch (yeah)

I don't miss it much (yeah)

But it made me who I am, I am, I am

I can feel again

Won't be dumb again (numb)

Said I'm tryna break off a piece of mind

A piece of mind that I can't get right

(I can't get right)

Said I'm tryna break off a piece of mind

A piece of mind, my heart's on my side

(My heart is on my side)

On my side, yeah

On my side, yeah

Gotta get a little piece of mind

Gotta make sure that it feels just right

Gotta make sure that I make it alive this time

Said I'm tryna break off a piece of mind

(I'm tryna break off)

A piece of mind that I can't get right

(Boy that I can't get right)

Said I'm tryna break off a piece of mind

(A piece of my mind)

A piece of mind, my heart's on my side

My heart's on my side, yeah, yeah

Da, da, da, da

(Da)

Da, da, da, da

Yeah

Da, da, da, da

Da, da, da, da

Da, da, da, da

Da, da, da, da

Song Choices

Here are some of the songs that were contemplating using for our music video, however, they did not quite make the cut:

1. Leona Lewis - Better In Time

The words for this song are clear and easy to lip sync because the pace is not too fast to follow. The lyrics represent women as independent without the need for a man which fits in with our overall theme of the representation of women, however, it is a very well know song and we didn't want to choose a song too mainstream for fear of comparison to the original video. Another positive for this video is that there is a progression throughout the song and it's as if she gains confidence and independence through the lyrics. The overall storyline for the song is very relatable to lots of women that go through a breakup so this could empower them to continue to with their lives without a man.

2. Jennifer Lopez - All I Have

A big issue for why we didn't choose this song was that we would need to find a male willing enough to sing all of the parts for LL Cool J and we couldn't think of any of our friends that would be convincing.  Some lyrics like 'shes leaving because he's mistreating her' are empowering for women, they encourage girls not to stay in a bad relationship when they can leave. We were struggling to think of camera shots we could do in relation to the song and locations that we could film in. Again it was far too known and would be harshly analysed in comparisson to the original.  

3. Jazmine Sullivan - Masterpiece (Mona Lisa)

The singer Jazmine Sullivan does not sing the words clearly so the lip syncing would be very challenging to line up during the editing process. The lyrics put women on a pedestal by reinforcing the fact that they are 'a work of art' and 'every part of you is beautiful'. This is a very positive message to be sending out to women and it contradicts the usual representation of how women view themselves in the media. Also, there is not a video for the song so we would have had a blank canvas to work with, without any possibility of sub consciously getting influenced by an original video. 

This Is Us...

So this is our group for our A2 project, left to right: Rachel, Me, Nimra and Yasmin. It's going to be a fun year!