Best Part of Me: Concept, Storyboard, Mood board, Shot list, Brainstorm

CONCEPT

"Best Part of Me" Music Video

(A song within the Pop/UK Pop genre)

Target Audience:

Gen Z (specifically 15-27 year olds)

This age group tends to have the most experience with the themes that occur throughout the song, such as love and how it doesn't judge based on the flaws and insecurities people have. In addition to this, many younger people are able to relate to parts of the song that talks about our own insecurities that we can't see past but others do, therefore making it more personal and relatable compared to if it were targeted towards younger people.

Institutional/Genre Conventions to be used:

The stereotypical conventions that are used within the pop genre are bright colours, frequent use of colourful lighting etc. However, because this song has a slower tempo, we are challenging these stereotypical conventions and will be using lots of natural lighting, specifically during the dancing scenes, where we plan to only see the silhouettes with the sunset in the background. Additionally, we've introduced more melancholic tones such as personal insecurities and self-doubt. Symbolic techniques such as using close ups and mid shots will allow us to see the facial expressions of the artist that allow the audience to see and understand the lyrics to a deeper extent. Using conventions allows the audience to become familiar with a particular genre and gives them a structure that they can become more aware of, making it easier to understand and making sure that they read and interpret it in a way that is what we are wanting them to understand it as, as Stuart Hall's reception theory suggests.

Best Part of Me Mood Board by Brianna Hodder

Music Video Brainstorm by Brianna Hodder

Symbolism: The colours that will be used throughout the music video will mainly be earthy colours such as browns and natural colours. Oscar's jacket will be a black and red checkered/plaid jacket. This is something Ed himself has worn on several occasions and would fit his personality and the vibe that we are going for. The colours combination is aesthetically powerful with red's association with and representation of life, vigor and black's grounding force and balances it out. His guitar is brown which often is used to represent a sense of strength and reliability, while grey, the colour of his jeans, represents neutrality and balance. Overall, the idea that is coming across is the idea that Oscar is someone that his partner in the music video can rely on and will always be there no matter what. However, the colour grey also has negative connotations and this is symbolic of the doubts that the couple has about themselves that everyone has, but is exaggerated a little bit more because their partner is the one person that is meant to love them no matter what and not judge them but accept them for who they are, and this can be a difficult concept to grasp. 

The dancers (Ella and Tom) will be wearing white. Although we are planning on only showing their silhouettes as they dance to the song, there may be a couple of shots that show what they are wearing by using close ups, however this is prone to change and may be backup shots. The white represents the purity of the true nature of love and links to the scripture 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 that talks about love being selfless and how it "keeps no record of wrongs". This further emphasises the point being that all our flaws and insecurities are inconsequential in the grander scheme of things, and that what we see is not what love sees. It looks beyond what's on the outside and focuses on what really matters. which is who we are on the inside. Furthermore, the two silhouettes dancing to a fading sunset is representative of how despite all their flaws, that's not what love sees. The idea of not being able to see the details of the person properly in the shot but still wanting to dance with them is representative of how when you love someone you look past all the other person's flaws that they think are important and are insecure about. 

Setting/Time: The music video will be set in the afternoon leading into dusk, which often can represent beauty and completion and this will be emphasised by the dancing scene in the sunset that shows their silhouettes. The sunset represents completion and the natural beauty emphasises the point that this song hones in on as people tend to focus on their flaws but love ignores that and focuses on natural beauty instead. Furthermore, when watching a sunset, you feel a renewed sense of gratitude and peace which illustrates how at the end of the song, Ed and Yebba have found peace in the face of their flaws and understand that they are worth more than that to each other, resulting in the gratitude they have for each other.

In addition to this, the performance elements of the music video will  be filmed so that they appear to be filmed at night time, as this is generally when concerts and performances take place. This will also help reinforce the slightly melancholic theme that comes through as it will start off dark and match the simplicity of the lyrics and tune of the first verse and chorus.

Props: 

Guitar: The guitar is a key prop in this music video. Ed Sheeran is well known for his solo performances with his acoustic guitar. The beginning and end of the song has a little riff that immediately sets the tone and atmosphere of the song and its meaning.

Car: During the narrative aspects in the beginning of the music video, both actors portraying Ed Sheeran and Yebba, a side medium close up of the girl will be shown, and as the music starts to fade in, she'll turn up the volume on the radio. This, combined with the lyrics being sung by Ed, will make it seem that he is singing directly to her, especially when it cuts to Oscar setting up to perform and starting to sing on stage. The lyrics "..but, she loves me...why the hell she loves me" almost makes it appear that he is directly questioning her.

Costumes: As mentioned briefly above, there are two dancers who will be wearing white clothing to represent the purity and selflessness of love. Ella will be wearing a white flowy dress that can easily be seen while they're dancing in the silhouette and Tom will be wearing jeans and a t-shirt.

 

Oscar and Chloe will be wearing more earthy colours and contrasting black and white which link to the more serious themes displayed throughout the song and video, as well as the natural elements of the combination of the lyrics and the fact that the insecurities and flaws people have are natural and normal.

Key Genre Elements: Pop music videos demonstrate techniques and conventions that are repeated in the work of many different artists. For example, rock bands will use performance aspects whereas boybands will use dance routines. There is a distinct relationship between the music and visuals in a pop music video and it is often used to further emphasise the lyrics of a video. Pop music videos often use a mixture of narrative and performance elements, but it is not uncommon for pop videos to just use narrative based music videos.

Shots like this will be used for performance aspects

Filming/Editing Choices: Pop music videos often use lots of close ups to express the emotions and expressions of the artist that they want to portray through their music. Additionally, it allows the audience to better understand the perspective that the artist is coming from, creating additional meaning as the artist subconsciously sends messages through the video that the audience automatically receives just from the way the video has been made. Often, pop videos will include the use of bright and frequent colours to create and emphasise the mood and genre of the song (common colours used are pink and blue). Additionally, tints and filters can be used to also set the mood and tone, as well as creating a setting that is different to the way it was originally filmed. For example, if something is filmed in the middle of the day, but the producers are wanting a darker, more serious tone, this can be done by applying filters and changing colours. Traditionally, cutting to the beat is a technique that is frequently used in pop music videos to hold the audience's attention as well as creating continuity and preventing it from being less disjointed. 

Sound: Voice overs can be used over top of footage in a music video, but this is a lot more uncommon as it is not necessary to make a good music video, and therefore is rarely seen in many of today's music videos. In the beginning, there will be a shot of a girl (Yebba) in her car turning up the radio volume, an example of diegetic sound, even though technically it is non-diegetic when the camera shot changes to Oscar performing the song. 

Plot Synopsis:

The establishing shot will be a side medium close-up shot of Yebba in the car driving along a road. She reaches out to turn up the volume on the radio and this is when the music slowly fades in. This will make it appear as if Ed Sheeran is directly singing to her with his naked truths ("my lungs are black, my heart is pure...I am a little insecure") and in a way he technically is and isn't. The camera will then cut to a shot of Ed Sheeran (Oscar) setting up on the stage and starting to perform alone with very few lights shining down on him. The pace of the film is slower, dissimilar to the usual stereotypical tempo of what is considered a normal pop song, and rather is considered a romantic pop ballad. This slower, more romantic is what influenced the lighting and colour choices. We didn't want something too bright that diverts the audience's attention from the meaning of the song and this is why there is heavy use of natural elements, from the clothing choices to the location and scenery within the shots used. The 'climax' of the song is where the song builds musically, and this is done in the chorus with the duo singing together. To balance this and make it more significant is a hard thing to do, but by having the two artists starting off alone in both the narrative and performance elements and then having them come together brings unity and strength with the combination of the two voices.

Characters: 

Ed Sheeran: Ed Sheeran will be played by Oscar Ironside. One of the main deciding factors in this decision is that he regularly listens to Ed and this combined with his natural musicality allows him to be able to portray Ed in a way that other actors may not be able to. Oscar already plays guitar and knows the lyrics to the song, allowing him to be able to make it more realistic and less forced acting for the video. He has been influenced in such a way that allows him to be able to bring out the 'Ed' side of him that can already be seen on a daily basis. If we had someone else playing Ed it would look less natural and take more time for them to learn the lyrics and we wouldn't be able to use the guitar as a prop. Having someone play both Oscar and Yebba for the performance aspects make it appear as if they are almost narrating the music video, especially when shots change from performance to narrative techniques, as well as having lyrics match the visuals. The colours also link closely to the theme of the song and music video that we are trying to portray.

Yebba: Yebba will be played by Chloe Managh. She has been in some of our videos last year for AS Media and so we know she can bring out aspects of the character that we're trying to put into the video. However, if Chloe is unable to be our talent for the music video, our second option will be Helena Sharobim as she can give off the Yebba 'vibe' because of the style in which Yebba sings. She will be wearing dark clothing as well, most likely a black dress with white shoes to emphasise the moodiness and darker aspects of the song. In addition to this, women are often more insecure than men as they are more sensitive to negative information and focus on this to extend to to evaluations of themselves, and this is why Chloe is wearing more darker clothing than Oscar, because men are often portrayed as being less insecure, even if  this is only true to a certain extent. However, 'Best Part of Me' is not an overly critical song in that it chooses dramatic flaws to question why someone loves them, but rather the small things that are often overlooked and simple, such as biting nails or being late.  They are not deal breakers or personality issues that need addressing, but rather the small things that chip away at a person's confidence instead, and is slow and small in its approach.

Practicalities of Filming/Content: The content of our music video is very realistic as it portrays the insecurities that people face on a daily basis, and there are no elements that appear to be dissimilar to what we see and feel on a daily basis. 

Health and safety issues may include the danger of filming in a car while driving. We will need someone to be looking out to make sure cars aren't coming and that we focus on driving safely as much as getting the right shots. However, we will not be filming on a public road but rather on private property as we are filming on the school and church grounds which is private, and so there is a lower risk compared to if we were filming in a public road and carpark.

We will need permission to film on the sanctuary stage and have access to the lighting set up in there, which will need to be sorted quickly as the room is often used for filming and events. However, since the school is on the Church premises, this should be alright, and I own a prox tag which will allow me to gain access to the room we are using.

Availability of people overlapping with filming schedules will need to be arranged carefully as some people have school and work during the week and might be preoccupied during the weekend. However, after school and study periods can be used for Oscar and days off work can be utilised for filming.

Weather will need to be good for certain scenes such as the dancing scene and if we have Oscar playing guitar in a field. However, car and stage scenes are not weather dependent as long as the equipment stays dry which shouldn't be a problem. The weather forecast is predicting good weather with little to no rain.

Equipment used will be the camera, boom pole and fleccie. For the lighting, however, we will need to use the lights on the sanctuary stage to get the effects and tone that we are trying to portray, for example, having a single light shining down on Oscar as he performs. This might be difficult to do though since we may need permission to use them and someone familiar with the system to be able to use them.

Ideas for certain shots:

0:00-0:57 Establishing shot of stage; lyrics start as guy sets up guitar alone on stage

0:58-1:09 Introduce girl ("She Loves Me...")

1:10-1:55 Guy and girl (dancing?)

1:56-2:18 Introduce girl on stage

2:19 girl picking petals off flower (he loves me, he loves me not)

Location:

Car: Side shots and mid shots of Chloe in the car as Yebba are inspired by Ed Sheeran's 'The Joker and the Queen' music video. In the music video, it starts with both Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran walking out of their houses and then cutting into a split screen showing the both of them driving in a car. This was an idea that we originally planned on doing but then altered it as it would make more sense to have one person in the car listening to the song and then cutting to the singer (Ed/Oscar). We plan on having Chloe in the car driving on the way to the stage where they sing together as the music starts to play, where she will turn up the music and it will appear as if Ed (Oscar) is singing directly to her through the radio when it cuts to Oscar setting up on stage in the sanctuary stage, who will eventually be joined by Chloe. This will also portray the more romantic aspects of the song as it begins with Oscar questioning why she loves him and it's as if this creates a response from her as she goes up to join him on stage and gives her own reasons as to why he might not love her.

                                        

Sanctuary Stage: The stage is where majority, if not all, of the performance aspects will take place. The beginning will be where Oscar is by himself setting up his guitar on stage, getting ready to sing. Eventually, as Yebba is introduced in verse two, Chloe will join Oscar and it will be as if they are telling their story in a way. Having Oscar by himself on stage in the beginning links to the idea that when we are alone with our thoughts, this is when most of our doubts and lack of confidence seem to be the greatest. This is accentuated by having low key lighting to emphasise his solitude and feelings of loneliness. When Chloe is introduced on stage in the chorus/second verse is when these thoughts tend to fade into the background, never completely disappearing but not on the forefront of their minds as it was in the earlier verses.

Field/Beach: The dancers will be filmed either in a field or somewhere similar such as a beach where we can get a nice shot of them dancing to the song for our narrative section of the music video. Additionally, we might have Oscar performing with his guitar in the field as well to extend the setting of where they are performing and so its not just constantly alternating between the two different settings and brings in something different and keeps it from being too boring. However, this may not happen and is simply another option to use.

 

Reccie Plan:

These are some ideas of shots that we are planning on using, or shots with a similar feel and atmosphere to what we are aiming on creating:

 

Storyboard:

Inspiration:

While planning we thought of having our music video be quite casual and recently we found this clip which is similar to the actual video of Ed Sheeran and Yebba, but also incorporates more domsetic scenes as well as shots that fill in the gaps - such as a walkway with plants around them, something we also thought of doing previously.

Dancing Scene: Updated:

Unfortunately our first and second options for our dancing scene were unavailable when given the time we planned on filming, so we have asked our church and school dance teacher if she could choreograph a dance to the song, and have sent her some video links to the type of dance we were thinking of using. Her and her husband are willing to do this and are open to suggestions so we have planned to have them do the same dance in different locations that we can cut to throughout the music video. We took inspiration from the videos below:

Additionally, I thought we might be able to have Teacher Meggan and her husband John-Ray Tait in their wedding dress/suit to enhance the strength behind the lyrics.

Locations for Dance Scene:

Dance Studio:

One location that would be nice to film in is the dance studio. One of the walls is a full length mirror which would be nice to get some different and artistic shots while the couple dances as well as regular shots in the studio. We can turn off the lights and put our own ones with a blue and/or red filter over top or just leave it the way it is. We plan on going to the studio this week to try out different shots and ideas we have. I had the idea of getting fairy lights and placing them along the mirror or where they will be dancing to create a more special and intimate moment.

Beach:

Rather than having the dance solely at the beach, we plan on having two or three different locations that can add depth to the song's meaning. Since it will be the same choreography, we can change the location mid-dance as well as cutting from the performance to the dancing scenes. We still plan on including the sunset and silhouettes, but the silhouettes might be more 'low-light' shots due to the location and it being harder to get shots like that due to daylight savings.

Shot List: Stage Performance: