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 (Ethan and Amy) 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. Amy will be wearing a white flowy dress that can easily be seen while they're dancing in the silhouette and Ethan will be wearing jeans and a t-shirt.
Oscar and Chloe or Helena who plays Yebba 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.
Lighting: The lighting on stage is going to be down lighting. We plan on having only a small amount of lighting on stage, straying from the usual conventions of pop music having lots of bright lighting. However, this matches the tone and mood of the song, which also is slightly different to usual pop genre conventions. When Oscar starts on stage, we plan on having one light shining straight down on him, emphasising his solitude but also allowing for the focus to be on the lyrics and their meaning, and what they mean for him. More light will be added throughout the song, but it will still be simple lighting, and will most likely be used when Oscar and Chloe are singing together and during the peak of the song. Using cool white will allow for us to replicate that feeling of isolation so it would be good to start with that in the first verse and chorus, then add warm white lighting when Chloe comes in to add that sense of not being alone and unity, which also relates to the lyrics, which emphasise that we are not alone in both having flaws and loving others regardless of these flaws, and learning how to do that and learn to love ourselves in the same way that we love others.
During the dancing scenes with Ethan and Amy, we plan on using natural lighting and having a golden glow. If, at the time of filming, it is not during golden hour or we don't get the effect we wanted, we can add it in After Effects in editing to create a natural glow, using the video below. If we were not doing this in a field or outside, we could have been able to use the lighting supplied by the school, and replicate the lighting created outside as the lights are a warm white and can easily be used to create that effect. Furthermore, we can film some of the footage on our phones and that way if the footage doesn't come out as we wanted, we can edit in easily on our phones. There are several posts and videos on how to do this effectively and which can be used to give it the desired affect.
Final Digipak: After receiving peer and teacher feedback and making changes where deemed necessary, I made my final digipak covers: Front Cover: Inner Cover (1): Inner Cover (2): Back Cover:
Creative Critical Reflection: The song "Best Part of Me" is not clearly defined as one genre such as 'pop', but rather falls into a mixture, including indie, R&B soul, and pop. As it is an acoustic ballad and one of Ed Sheeran's slower, more romantic songs, it was easy to use and challenge different conventions that most music videos conform to when making a music video strictly defined by one specific genre. One of the main subjects represented in my music video is age and gender. The main actors, playing Ed and Yebba, are both young. Rather than having slightly older people to play the part, by having younger people, it is more relevant and can appeal to the target audience as younger people are more insecure and have a significantly lower self-esteem. A recent survey found that majority of people recall they were around 16 years old when they first developed insecurities. And though men were 35% more likely to get insecure at an earlier age, women were ...
QUESTIONS: 1. How do your products represent social groups or issues ? 2. How do the elements of your production work together to create a sense of branding ? 3. How do your products engage with the audience ? 4. How did your research inform your products and the way they use or challenge conventions ? 1) Age Gender Class & Status Love & Romance Camera shots - Close ups (give insight to emotions and expressions) People concerned with love - wanting an established relationship Wedding/dance scenes - visible/proof of commitment, loyalty Chloe & Oscar - authentic, raw performance; white shirt - blank slate, purity Lyrics - questioning themselves & their flaws, genuine & authentic, on stage Dance - being alone in the room dancing shows they're the most important people to each other in the room, paints the relationship in a positive light, meaningful Mature/maturity - not stereotypical teenagers/younger generation Empty rooms (M...
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