Regina Spektor is a Solo singer/ song writer and pianist. She specialises in Anti-folk, Alternative and Indie Rock. She comes from a Soviet and American heritage.
Her album Begin to Hope is her fourth album which was released in June 2006.
The CD case is a standard plastic Jewel case. The main focal point on the front cover is a black and white image of Regina Spektor it instantly grabs the audience’s attention and says this is me, this is my music. It allows them to make a connection with their artist. The black and white also adds a simplistic feel to the case and relates to her anti-folk music.
The only colour on this case is the little stars which sit above Regina, the symbol of childish innocence suggest to an audience that her music is fun and playful. It also adds a flirty quality to the case along with her ‘come hither look’ utilising the male gaze to draw in a wider audience.
The back of the case uses the same simplistic styling as the front of the case, to add continuity. It also goes against the folk genre which uses bright colours to add warmth and immerse the audience in to the music.
The CD itself is brown with the list of songs printed on it. The colour is not the most appealing; however it stands in contrast with the white background. The songs being listed on the CD is very practical, which is a theme throughout the entire CD design.
I like the use of a simplistic design and the use of neutral colours matches the genre of my song perfectly.

Imogen Heaps Digipak for her album Speak for Yourself shows an obscured image of the artist. The immediate anonymity of the character suggests to an audience that the music is the most important selling factor to the artist, and not her own image, unlike artists such as Madonna and Beyonce who use their visual images to create their ‘brands’. Performers sometimes use their identity to attract and connect with their audience. However Imogen has chosen to obscure her character to empathise with her genre of music which is described as electronic, indie-pop.
The format of the Digipak is a twofold paper CD jewel case with a pullout booklet on the inside which includes the song’s lyrics. The font is identical on the cover and printed on to the CD. However the font used on the booklet is more disjointed, by using a continual visual form the CD cover to the CD itself the artist is able to keep a constant identity with her audience, and also simply the audience no that the CD belongs to the case. Giving the audience a booklet creates the connection to the artist that may have been lost through her obscured identity. The art work shows the artist mindset, whilst the lyrics allow them to interact with the music. Also by the audience getting that little bit extra they feel as though they are not losing out, the absolute nature of the credit crunch means that everyone wants to receive their money’s worth and receiving something unexpected or different can cause them to believe that this has happened.
The artwork on the booklet also identifies with the genre of the music, the alternative and differential pictures allow a voyeur to draw their own opinions of the songs meanings, which adds individuality to the music.

This is just an example of Imogens music.

Folk music is the music of the people. "For hundreds of years people have made songs of stories and great ballads. Sometimes they've been adapted from published broadside ballads, but many just appeared and were shaped slowly. Equally, some folk tunes were adapted from popular dances, and others simply developed."
Folk music is described as a ballad or song which is not written down, they were passed down from one person to the next.
Bibliography:
www.musiclessonsonline.co.uk/FolkMusic.html
www.balladtree.com/folk101/002a_origins.html

Hello this is a rough cut of our video

In this essay I will be examining the way the women are represented in Pixie Lott's music video Mama Do.
Within the video Pixie and her fellow females are filmed using voyeuristic angles with their costumes often being minimalistic. However they draw strength from their sexuality, utilising it to their advantage, breaking the idea of binary opposites which are sometimes used to highlight gender differences and power roles.
During the beginning section of the song Pixie is shown through contradictory stereotypes; she is sheathed in white a (symbolism for innocence) but her heavy makeup and her outfit which consists of a male shirt, partnered with the objectifying camera angles all suggest to the audience that she is a sexual symbol. The use of opposition shows how Pixie wants to appear to be an innocent vision to her parents whilst at the same time revealing her true nature to the audience. This is backed up by the lyrics ‘What would my mama do?.... What would my daddy say?’ This thesis is then concreted when she puts on a short red gown, over the top of her white shirt, as it signifies her transformation and utilises the idea that red is the colour of aggression and sex.
The use of feminine sexuality is a reoccurring theme through the video. The voyeuristic shots which utilise the male gaze all cause Pixie Lott to appear as a subject of fantasy and are repeated throughout the song. The camera often lingers on her eyes, lips and legs in order to appeal to a male audience and to position the audience as male.
The girls draw power form their sexuality, instead of appearing vulnerably with their lack of clothing they seem to relish in their ability to shock. However the song is about heartbreak, deceit and being treated in a shameful way, so the minimal clothing could signify defiance, or be a way of showing their counterpart what they are missing. Their power is signified through aggression: in one scene they are depicted wrapping bandages around their wrists and clapping chalk into their hands, mimicking the actions of a boxer before a fight. When the males show up looking very stereotypically masculine on their motorcycles ,the women are shown through a wide angle shot which emphasises their unity, as the fight/ dance ensues both the men and women walk up to their retrospective places along the battle line showing them as equals and as opposites. However instead of the females being defeated by the masculine presence they hold their own and eventually, through the use of violence conquer their respective partners. This shows to the audience that the women are the ones in control; they dress this way because they choose to, not because they are told to.
The three different costumes Pixie Lott wears in her video highlight her state of mind and range of emotions. The dazzling white emphasises her pure and innocent side, whilst the vibrant red shows her aggression and sexuality leading to her ultimate black costume which connotes power, darkness and deceit.
The stereotype of vanity is also used within the video to show the women’s femininity and also to signify their choice in the way that they look. The beauty salon scene with its baby pink lighting and gilt framed mirrors create the look of the salon, or dressing room giving the audience the impression of stardom, however vanity is a sin and suggest that the women are shallow giving them a negative persona. Moreover in the concluding section song after the women have defeated the men they take over their place within society, which is shown through Pixie Lott mounting a motorcycle which could be used as a phallic symbol. This use of replacement suggests that there can never be a point of equality.

I have decided to include some comments (some of which have been monitored due to language and disgustingly graphic detailing) which appear on YouTube on Pixie Lott's videos Mama Do and Boys and girls... and they say women are not objectified.
"jamzster99
she is so fit :P
jgilly1994
absolutely gorgeous shes so hot and cute my perfect date
Dannham
Pixie Lott is so amazingly Hot! Omg, i wanna marry here ... her legs (L) Shes a babe man!i cant believe some people think shes ugly ... freeks .. what wrong wiv yer?she beautiful!!! XD
b191191
her body and her legs :P :P
AND THE QUOTE OF ALL QUOTES
Arsenalfanelliot
yeah well, if ur a popstar then ya have to be pretty hot and sexy (and I all ways assumed it was about whether or not you could sing)

One point I would like to draw upon from these comments is the fact that they were all posted on line. Sights such as YouTube allow people to air their ‘views’ whilst maintain an anonymous character. HotGirl19 could really be a forty eight year old man, but the Internet allows people to be who they want to be (or who they want to pretend to be). So whether they are or aren’t who they say they are, and whether they can or can’t ‘Track you down from your IP code and beat you up’ as someone recently left on a video I watched to a fellow poster doesn’t matter. The fact is the gives people anonymity the power to say and do whatever they want, and there will always be those who exploit that power. Commenting on a pop star’s video claiming you want to ‘get with her’ doesn’t mean a thing; its fictional a fantasy, no one is going to hold them up for it. Their mum isn’t going to come running in yelling at them for being misogynistic and so they are provided with an outlet a way to fit in or cause hassle. It’s a way of them being free to say what they want, to who they want.
Apart from the anonymity posting on sites gives the user a power over their objectified person. By harassing a performer and casting slander to their name you immediately feel satisfaction for getting one over on that character. This means that many people also uses the post to air their frustrations, masculinity or femininity.

The target audience for the 'Sail away with me' music video will be fifteen to twenty five year olds as this is usually the demographic which watches music channels.

Therefore the questionnaire featured below was give to sixth form students in order collect research in to how audiences view and consume their music

The first question that I asked my target audience was, how do you access your music? Five out of the ten participants claimed that the Internet was their preferred portal for accessing the music that they listened to, the four sites YouTube, Limewire, Spotify and iTunes were listed as the consumers favourite music Internet sites. New media is having an growing effect of the way the music industry is distributing its goods, first of all it seems that my target audience see no harm in using the illegal site Limewire or free sites such as Spotify and YouTube, This is having a detrimental effect on the music industries profits as it means that each day less and less people are buying Cd's, and of course being in a time of recession will convince people to source music form the cheapest or in these cases free way. This will effect the way that I distribute my own music video, as I will have to make my music media friendly. I can do this by uploading the video onto the Internet and providing a download link so that my users will be able to upload the video to their ipods and MP3's, which in turn will allow me access to a larger base audience. The video will also be placed onto YouTube allowing user feedback and fan messages to be left about the video, however the embedding code will be disabled so that viewers will not be able to link the video to other web pages. Another idea that could be used to promote the video on the Internet is setting up a Myspace, Facebook and Twitter page for the artist and the song which will allow fans to easily access information on the artist and give appreciation to the artist whilst keeping up to date with their latest releases, which in turn will provide free advertisement.
Another question which I asked my audience was which genre of music do you listen to? For this question pop came out on top followed by rock and Indie, this will have an influence over the type of music I choose to use for my video and also which narrative I use as I want to create a video that will reach my audience in the best way and trying to preach to them about a new genre of music instead of their preferred genres, will be unsuccessful and in some ways insulting.
The final question my target audience group was asked was what do you think makes a good music video? I felt that this question was important and it provided me with base ideas of what I should include in my video. The top two answers that I received were the narrative and the performer. This is important as its suggests that a video has to be aesthetically pleasing in order to attract an audience. It also shows me that I must concentrate on strong casting and plot when I am planning my video so that I can come up with an appealing final product.

Treatment/ Pitch
Sail away with me is a relaxing summer time song, however as winter takes over and the nights come sooner Amy and myself have had to come up with plot which encompasses a perfect summer day within a dreary winters setting. How I hear you ask are we going to achieve this? Well we will set it inside of course.
The original video was supposed to be set on a beach and after two shoots and allot of discussions it was decided that the narrative wasn’t strong enough to entertain our audience for a sustainable amount of time. So we went back to the drawing board and created the second Sail Away with me idea. This time the video reached editing stage before we decided to alter it. Whilst we were cutting, changing and manipulating our material we became aware that the narrative was confusing and unstructured. Also we noticed that although we had filmed some very strong performance footage within the drama studio, our outside Elm Hill shots were shaky, poorly lit and unbalanced. All of the footage can be seen below please remember however that it is still raw and unedited.
The outside world
We will be recycling the tracking shots filmed during the previous videos shoot. However instead of having a pair of microphones as the opening shot we will be using an amp which will link into the performance shots.
Drama studio
The drama studio will house the two performers who will be pretending to play Sail Away With Me. Ruth Bewsey will be played by Freya Manthorpe.. Cameron appeared in the original video and has kindly offered to step in as the lead guitarist. We have chosen not to use Julian again for the simple fact that we needed a female performer. Freya has singing and performing experience and can lend her time to the shoot. She is energetic and can be relied upon to bring her all too each and every shoot. A variety of camera angles and shot types will be used to create focused narrative whilst providing the audience with diversity, as we found from our previous shoot, if a performance is shot correctly it can be a very effective way of connecting the audience to the artist whilst remaining interest.
The Bedroom
The other part of the song will be filmed in Amy Nolan’s bedroom. This is the narrative which will be shown interlaced with performance shots. Freya will be shown preparing for a trip, packing her bag, trying on clothing and generally preparing to leave her home. The narrative will be shot mainly through close ups to add an enigmatic quality to the scene. We have chosen this narrative as it ties in with the songs lyric ‘Sail away with me baby’ it’s also reminiscent of someone preparing for a holiday. People are always elated at the thought of going away and so monotonous tasks such as packing a suitcase always seem less tedious. Freya will be proving this statement by acting animatedly and sanguinely. Eaton Park or another tree lined path The final shot will be of Freya walking away pulling her suit case along with her. This shot is being used to leave the video on a cliff hanger, where is she going? Why is she alone? From our very first discussions about the video we have never wanted to take the narrative down the conventional route of girl meets boy as we felt it has been overly used.
Annotated Lyric sheet

Props and costume
Drama room
For the performance Freya will be wearing a black and white dress. We wanted Freya to be femininely dressed because of the, soft, relaxing, peaceful nature of the song. The dress will be black and white because of the colour symbolism. The white represents the pure innocents the song portrays, whilst the black hints at the modern culture from which the song originates. Also this outfit will allow Freya to move to the music.

She will also be wearing high heeled beige suede shoes, an anklet and a pair of silver earrings. The heels add to her feminine appearance and elongate her body. The anklet symbolises a different culture and also is once again a very feminine accessory. The anklet also defies the Urban legend that prostitutes wore them to show whether or not they had an STD, and highlights that they are now just a contemporary accessory. The earrings draw the viewers attention to the performers face and neck giving them a connection to the performer.
Cameron will be dresses in a grey t-shirt and jeans. We wanted the main focus to be on Freya and for Cameron to be portrayed as an enigmatic character as he is not in the other narrative and we did not want the audience to believe he was Freya's love interest. Cameron will be placed in the background sitting down with a guitar covering most of his body so his costume will be barley visible.
Where would a performance be without instruments?
The main instrument for the shoot will be Cameron's guitar, however Freya will also be using a microphone and tambourine.
The guitar we will use is going to be acoustic as not only is the the guitar that is played throughout the song, but also an acoustic guitar is less threatening and more relaxing than an electric guitar. As well as this the acoustic guitar fits in with the genre of the music. At first it was deliberated whether to just have Freya playing the guitar sitting in the room alone, however it was decided that she should be able to move around throughout the performance, and also that music is all about society, bringing people together. So instead of the guitar Freya will be using a tambourine allowing her to create the music not just with her voice but also with an instrument. It also gives her a prop to use to interact with the audience and provides her hands with something to do so they don't just look static beside her body. The microphone and stand gives Freya a main point in which to stand but also allows her to detach the microphone and move around the setting and of course where would the song be without a voice. An Amp and a stool will also be used. The amp is going to be part of the opening scene and will lead the audience into the performance. Bedroom scene
For the bedroom scene Freya will once again be wearing a dress,and also a skirt a t-shirt as she will be changing her outfit. All of the outfits such as in the performance scene will be feminine and girly. She will also be wearing the silver earrings again to create abridge shot between the two settings.
Her main prop will be her suitcase but she will also need a hairdryer, hairbrush, makeup bag- mascara, lipstick, clothes, paper boat.
Storyboards

The narrative for this video will be a mix of performance and story. The two different plots will be shown in amongst each other. Lots of close up will be used in each of the scenes. For the performance Cameron and Freya will be shot from many different angles which will cut between one another very quickly. This will be the same in the bedroom scene, all of the shots will be faced paced using lots of close ups and extreme close ups.
Shooting maps-

This is a lighting map of ideas for the drama studio.

Shooting schedule

http://forums.about.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?tsn=1&nav=messages&webtag=ab-urbanlegends&tid=4910

In this essay I will be exploring the way the Foo fighters use symbolism and narrative structure, to represent feelings, within their video The Pretender.
The video begins with lights switching on in sequence as they do is most large halls and warehouses. The opening shot of a high wide angled long shot shows David Grohl (the lead singer) walking into shot towards the band’s instruments and picking up his guitar. The combination of a bird’s eye view and a minimalistic setting causes Grohl to be a figure of solidarity, which later links into one of the songs same messages ‘don’t link us all together, we are not the same’. The shots focal points are the large block of scarlet red backing against the ferociously clean white floor, and the straight black line which stretches the length of the hall. These colours are used for effect due to the visual discomfort they create.
The shot then switches to a wide angle view of Grohl’s back and then to a close up of him wrapping a bandage around his arm as though he is preparing for a fight. These shots cause Grohl to be a figure of ambiguity throughout the introduction of the song, as his face is not shown.
The size of the hall should represent freedom as it is a large open space, but the menacing darkness which engulfs the patch of light signifies confinement and connotes claustrophobia and suggests that someone or something has surrounded the area. This idea is accented by the opening lyrics ‘Keep you in the dark, you know they all pretend’. The aggressive scarlet block acts in contrast to the dazzlingly pure white floor and is a representation of confined aggression. The band members enter from behind the block: they are all dressed in black symbolising evil, apart from Grohl who is wearing white, implying he is their saviour and that their heart is pure.
For the duration of the first three verses only performance shots are used in order to introduce the band to the audience and showcase their talent. It also lets the audience form a connection with the band and its members. Throughout the song a succession of close ups, panning shots, tracking shots and zooms are used match the rapid rhythm of the song. The continuous close ups and zooms bring the audience towards the band and make them the watchers focal point.
As Grohl begins the first chorus a fifth character is introduced, the character is dressed in a policeman’s battle uniform; as the band is singing about the repression of freewill and character by the authorities, shrouded in black. He is pictured from behind during his approach; which like with the introduction of Grohl creates an enigmatic character, until he stops when the camera focuses on a close up of his face in which he readjusts his visor which suggests that he is also preparing for a fight. Despite being a representative of good this use of binary opposites suggests a deception behind the ‘good vs bad’ facade. The policeman walks up to the long black line and immediately the audience becomes aware that the line shows a point you do not cross, a boundary. The band continues to play singing directly to the guard their oblivious response is used to taunt the guard and he brings out his weapon once again referencing a fight and violence.
The performance continues switching between shots of the band and the policemen until a long line of guards enter from the darkness and proceed forward to the line.
The sheer number of the force suggests how the authorities always proceed with a greater advantage an unnecessary one. The fact that all of the policemen look the same references the lyric ‘So who are you? Yeah, who are you?’ and ‘What if I say I'm not like the others?’ by painting the band as individuals but showing the authority as being clones. It also suggests the band is trying to say in spite of their face value they are innocent and different from other ‘criminals’. The over dramatised suits the guards are wearing seem completely unnecessary against their four instrument wheeling opponents.
The line ‘What if I say I will never surrender?’ is an invitation for the force to take action Grohl is undermining the authorities power saying what if I don’t want to conform then what are you going to do? The answer of course is exert violence and force. As the tension reaches a climax the music softens. The camera pans along the guard who overstep their line in order to enforce their rules as. The quiet music works in contrast to the oncoming violence showing ‘the eye of the storm’ which draws the audience into the scene.
Then the crescendo hits the music returns to its mutinous volume and as the sound cracks in the scarlet wall breaks letting the anger, aggression and violence combat the guards (every time I see this effect I am completely absorbed by the brilliance of it). The band continue to play within the liquid as the policeman fall down from the force showing that they can be defeated and they are not indestructible.
Finally when all of the guards lay defeated on the floor Grohl collapses onto his knees and the onslaught of liquid comes to an end which suggests that they are either adverse to violence and find no happiness from it or that the battle against the authorities is exhausting, which shows that to gain you must first lose.

The male gaze is a feminist theory created by Laura Mulvey. She wrote about the objectification of women within media and that due to the high levels of male media workers e.g. cameramen, directors and editors, women are repeatedly being perceived and shown as objects of sexual fantasy.
She claims that women always play the ‘mother, virgin or whore’ stereotypes. Mulvey said that in a cinema setting ‘one may look without being seen either by those on screen or by other members of the audience’ This means that men can sit back and watch their idealised ‘perfect female’ without the feelings of guilt, or remorse and that according to Mulvey due to the masculine voyeuristic gratification that media texts provide, society has been shaped into, a patriarchal construct, with women taking on the role of the passive female.
Mulvey’s theory is hard to deny, due to the increasing number of scantily dressed females appearing on screen or in print. The fact that we have become so oblivious or immune to these images shows how common and unsurprising female objectification has become.
For the film transformers it has been reported that apparently director Micheal Bay asked Megan Fox to wash his car during an interview in order to gage how natural and appealing she would look thrust over the vehicles in the film. As is shown in the pictures below the director obviously liked what he saw. The first image has been taken from transformers and the second form transformers two.

This presentation was created on the use of he male gaze within the film Sin City.

But it's not just in films that this is occurring, magazine and television also feature a strong amount of under dressed over siliconed females. If you go out on the street and ask any member of the public to name a 'lad's mags' it is likely that they will be able to. If you ask someone what they would expect to see on page three of the Sun they would more than likely stutter over their answer. If you were to tell someone you wanted to be, or to be with a glamour model their minds would instantly turn to the pornographic male magazines. This immersion of sexualised females with informed public opinion just emphasises the amount of women that are being depicted as objects of desire.

Throughout this essay I will be evaluating the way in which binary opposites and gender representations, as well as the use of pixilation is used to create the narrative in Kate Nash’s music video foundations.

The singer uses socks, wrist watches and toothbrushes to symbolically suggest her attachment to the subject of her affection, with the objects continuously being pictured interacting, touching and moving alongside one another. At one point when the objects are shown the lyrics 'my fingertips are holding on to the cracks in our foundations and i no that I should let go but I can't' are playing. The combination of childlike imagery and vulnerable lyrics suggests that Kate has an innocent and creative character. When the song reaches its climax Kate uses the animation still shots to show her audience that it was her decision to leave the relationship. For example when the watches are shown it is her watch that detaches itself. It is also her toothbrush that begins to shuffle away and her sock which slithers off.
The video utilises gender stereotypes, representing masculinity and femininity as binary opposites, in order to propel the narrative of the video.
The socks shown are a male and a female socks. Kate’s sock is small white and has a frilly trim; it represents the singer as a stereotypical innocent and feminine character. It also attaches a childlike quality to the singer as the sock would usually be seen on a young girl. The male’s sock is also a product of stereotype with the bright blue colour emphasising the ‘pink is for girls, blue is for boys’ stereotype. This theme is used throughout the video to highlight the differences in personality and gender of the couple. For example when the toothbrushes are shown there is one dark green and one bright pink. Then again when the watches are shown Kate’s is a pearly white and her partners, is a dark black. The feminine character issues of Kate’s belongings create connotations of her as an innocent partner in the relationship. This is later confirmed by the way she paints her partner using her derogatory lyrics ‘Your face is pasty 'cause you've gone and got so wasted, what a surprise.Don't want to look at your face cause it's makin' me sick.’

However it is not just colours and props Kate uses in the video to connote her character. Her posture and appearance is always that of a delicate, well groomed house wife. She creates herself to look like a stereotypical ‘well trained’ female. The everyday jobs she performs throughout the video always have a connection to the mundane tasks of cooking and cleaning, and to emphasise her vulnerable feminine character she interlaces shots of her cake decoration with lyrics such as ‘Yes, it was childish and you got aggressive, and I must admit that I was a bit scared.’ These lyrics also suggest that the male shows hostility and aggression towards to Kate, which is another masculine gender stereotype.
Pixilation and animation will be used in the 'Sail away with me' music video as a transition gap between one location to another. A pair of headphones will be used in the shots to create a link from the drama studio to the elm hill scene. These shots will also be use to add to the enigmatic narrative that we are trying to create.

These are some examples of fan made music videos;

Daft hands- harder, better, faster, stronger

"I Feel Fantastic" animated video (This video made me laugh)

I must admit that looks like it took allot of planning

These are some music videos which have influenced parts of 'the Sail Away With Me' video.

Improvements- Added the casting section
Changed what was listed in the comments.
The new and greatly improved ‘Sail away with me’ music video!
Originally the video was going to consist of a linear plot in which a girl entertains the audience at a beach. Some filming and planning was constructed for the video until it became apparent that the original scripting lacked originality, substance and entertainment. This meant that in order to capture our target audiences interests we needed to add another location and plot twist. However as the setting and production had been selected to follow a complete story line, adding another location would of seemed as though we were meshing two different films together. So instead we decide to start afresh. This is the new initial idea and pitch for the ‘Sail away with me’ music video by Ruth Bewsey.

Opening scene
Establishing shot is a close up of a set of headphones on a table, this will be taken from high angle, a pair of hands enter the shot and grab the headphones, the camera pans up to follow the headphones as Julian places them on his head, at this point the camera will be a direct close up framing his head.
Camera then pans down Julian's body tracing the wire and proceeds in a close up tracking shot following the wire along the floor at a minor tilted angle, this will give the effect that the camera is swallowing the wire. This section will be edited to double speed in order to cover a greater length in a small amount of time than in normal speed.
The wire slowly climbs upwards so that with the camera at the same tilted angle it will slowly ‘look up’, at this point the screen will fade to white giving the impression of a bright white light, this will then fade out to reveal the following scene.

Drama Room Scene
The entire drama scene will be shot using a wide angled single shot.
At the beginning of this scene once the light has faded out the room will be in complete darkness. A spotlight comes on in the centre of the stage where Julian with his headphones still on will be revealed looking puzzled. He then looks up into the spotlight to reflect the lyric ‘I’ve got sunshine on my face’. The following lyric ‘rain aint fallin’ around here’ will be accompanied by a set of small plastic colorful balls falling around Julian from above as a metaphor for the rain.
‘Bird people’ swoop in from left and right to mimic birds alongside the lyric ‘birds are singing the same song’. They then crowd in around Julian and envelop him so he is out of the cameras view, this action occurs during the lyric ‘feeling chilled aint nothing wrong’. Between this and the following lyric the group palpitate until just before the following lyric begins. They then disband to reveal him without his headphones and with a tambourine to ‘and it’s a great, great place I’m in’, the birds then walk a complete circle around him and separate with three exiting stage left and three exiting stage right. Julian then shakes the tambourine to the lyric ‘why don’t you come on over here and’, at this point the camera will zoom in on the tambourine until everything is out of focus.
The camera zooms out from the tambourine to reveal Julian and the 6 other birds in a line holding big white boards, each board containing a word from the chorus, ‘sail’, ‘away’, ‘with’, ‘me’, ‘baby’, ‘sail’, ‘away’. And during the chorus they wave these boards up in the air in a Mexican wave, this imitates a wave which relates to the ‘sail away’ lyrics.
The group then looks up into the spotlight, the camera following their gaze by panning up and zooming into the light.

Elm Hill
During the instrumental and the lyric ‘I’ve got sand between my toes’ a stop motion sequence will occur from birds eye view using the headphones for around 12-14 seconds. The camera then pans up and zooms towards the action far in the distance.
At this point during the lyric ‘how I love how this feeling grows’ Julian will be introduced in a suit and tie with a microphone in his hand. He will jump off a ledge in slow motion while the bird people pop their heads in shot at normal speed and nod up and down in time with the word ‘grows’. It goes back to normal speed as soon as Julian touches the ground then he walks off the left of the screen.
The camera then pans Julian walking along, from right to left of the screen while the bird people are huddled together in the background playing like children. In the style of a BBC reporter Julian walks across the screen with his microphone and his arm stretched out towards the bird people in the background, he mimes the lyric ‘kids are playing they’re real near’. Then, in the foreground carrying on the reporter gimmick Julian stops in the left third of the screen mouthing ‘nowhere else I’d rather be than here’ Then he exits to the left. During the same lyric in the background all the bird people look up and ‘notice’ the camera, get up and stand together waving at the camera in the style of ‘Hi mum I’m on the telly’.
The camera arcs straight up through the sky drops down and twists until it is facing the opposite direction, as though it has done a 180 degree turn. To reveal Julian in a canted wide angle shot with a bird mask on, he will walk toward the camera until his body covers it making it go black and then walk out of it in to the drama studio. To appear as though the camera has transported him back to the studio.
The camera turns back up until it’s a straight angled shot again whilst the birds enter the screen form both sides. They hold up the boards again for the chorus but this, time walk around as though they are announcers in a boxing ring. They flip their cards to reveal the words buh bye on the other sides. The birds close the boards together to create a wall, which they push the Julian through. They continue pushing him all the way up to the camera. Camera fades to white. Then the shot of the wire plays in reverse until it reaches Julian taking off the headphones looking confused and setting them down beside a bird mask.

Storyboards

Introduction music:

'I’ve got sunshine on my face
Rain aint falling around here
Birds are singing the same song
Feeling chilled aint nothing wrong'

Chorus
And it’s a great great place im in
Why don’t you come on over here and …
Sail away with me baby
Sail away

I’ve got sand between my toes
How I love how this feeling grows
Kids are playing they are real near
No where else id rather be than here

Chorus
And it’s a great great place im in
Why don’t you come on over here and …
Sail away with me baby
Sail away
Sail away with me baby
Sail away

Saying buh bye
Saying buh bye…
Saying buh buh buh buh buh buh buh bye
Buh buh buh buh buh buh buh bye
Cause we’re sailing, cause we’re sailing away

The music video is taking a cheerful song and interlacing unsettling enigmatic properties in order to challenge the stereotypical linear narrative structure that most folk songs have. To show that sometimes audience interpretations of the song can be contrasting with the artist’s inspirations and ideas.

This is a copy of the song's lyrics showing some remedial annotations, which may be used in the video.

Shoot schedule

Location

There will be two main locations pictured in the video these are, inside The City of Norwich schools ARC building and Elm Hill in Norwich. The two locations that have been chosen are in complete contrast to one another, using a mixture of contemporary, visual architecture alongside a historically vibrant and architecturally unique setting.
The opening scene will be shot just outside the ARC building, however due to the constant use of extreme close ups the audience will not see the location at all. The shots will be played in a sequences of an extreme close up, of headphones alongside a bird mask, to panning close up of Guys body, then a straight angle extreme close up of Julian’s face down to another panning close up of his body. So this location has been chosen for accessibility rather than visual significance. Also the setting had to be the correct distance away from the Arc building, so that enough footage of the camera panning along the ‘headphone wire’ could be collected, otherwise during edit when the footage will be sped up to produce a smother shot finish, the shot length won’t be long enough to last the length of the introductory music.
This video is a short visual preview and explanation of the locations that are going to be used in the music video.

The ARC- As was explained in the above video the ARC has been chosen because of the technology it contains. We wanted to use a single shot sequence in the video to encompass a variety of shooting techniques, by shooting this sequence in the drama room a lighting switch board can be used to manipulate the environment throughout the scene. This means that although the camera will be in a constant still position the viewer will not become restless and board, as a selection of eighteen different coloured lights will be continuously changing the ambiance of the scene. Many modern music video use non ambient lighting to enhance scenes within their videos for example;

La Roux In for the Kill

The ARC was also chosen as it has black backdrops and automatic window blinds so that even when filming during the day the room can be completely blacked out. Finally the location of the ARC means that our cast won’t need to travel to the shoot, which means we can film whenever we want as people will already be present at the location.
Elm Hill- Elm Hill is one of Norwich’s most historical streets, its antique architecture and cobblestone streets have often been considered a spot of influential beauty amongst the concrete buildings of Norwich city. Elm Hill was chosen because of its contrasting factors to the drama studio. Its historical content and absence of modern culture mean that is more stereotypically connected to folk genre music than the ARC. Also by completely changing the setting, it will be easy for the audience to realise that as Julian becomes increasingly immersed in the action his views of the music start to change.

Props

Ball pit balls- Theses plastic shaped balls are being used a representative of rain, to correspond with the lyric ‘Rain ain’t falling around here’ they will be released above Julian’s head in the drama studio. The balls are being used to create the enigma of, why balls and not water? This will draw the viewer further into the video and also act as a buffer for the later more confusing entrance of the bird people. However they are also practical as they are light enough not to do any injury if they land on Julian’s head.
Microphone- The microphone will be used in order to show the audience that Julian is impersonating a news reader. He will hold it in the shot as he is walking along mimicking the songs lyrics. The inclusion of this prop is imperative as it helps tell the voyeur what is going on in the short period of time they have to understand the video. If Julian was not holding it then he would just appear as a man in a suit.
Lyric Boards- the lyric boards will be used throughout the songs chorus. The bird people will hold up the boards which will each have one of the words ‘sail away with me baby’ printed on them. The boards will be held up erratically to mimic a Mexican waves. They are being used as a metaphor for ‘Sail away with me’ in that they create the shape of the waves crashing up and down.
A pair of headphones- The headphones are used continuously throughout the video. They link the main character to the song in that when he places them on his head the narrative begins. They are used in the establishing shot to automatically show the audience what they are watching is to do with music. They are also used halfway through the video to create a transition from one location to the next; they are shown in an extreme close up on screen and will appear to be moving consciously by themselves. This technique is created using a still shot camera to capture images which are then pasted in to Premier Elements.
Bird Masks- The bird masks are going to be used by the six extras. They will wear the masks so their identities are shrouded by ambiguity. This detaches them from being individuals, and instead suggests that they are a singular entity working and moving as one. By objectifying the main character as being a singular unit, isolated from ‘the bird people’, the watcher will become aware of the solidarity the character is feeling. This will act as a complete contrast to the song’s lyrics as they connote a happy and relaxed atmosphere. This contrast will push the audience into creating their own interpretation of the song. As the lyrics’ Sail away with me baby’ could be a suggestion to detach from the current social construct that they are in. Later on in the song the main character will himself appear in a bird mask to suggest, that as he progresses further into the narrative of the song, he is becoming more absorbed in his environment and comfortable with the characters around him. The birds will enter on the line 'Bird's are singing the same song'.

Tambourine- The tambourine will be used to mimic one of the songs instruments. Julian will shake it to the rhythm of the music. The camera will zoom in on the tambourine until the shoot goes out of focus. When the camera zooms back out the lyric board sequence will begin. Having Julian act as if he is creating the music begins to reveal his emersion into the songs ‘alter ego’ into the perceptions he has of the song and the complicated sequence his mind creates when he is listening to it. It shows that his confusion towards what is happening is turning into understanding.

Costume

The bird peoples costumes will be casual student wear such as jeans, jumpers and t-shirts, giving them the persona that they are impersonating birds rather than trying to actually be them. This also emphasise Julians’s confusion and solidarity from the situation as the ‘birds’ are his peers, yet they are not at all alike. They will stay in the same costumes throughout the video connote a state of solidity. They are also a representation of the childlike quality the song has, their enigmatic antics and partially hidden but still benevolent nature is the perfect antidote to Julian’s anxious instability with the situation. They personify the relaxed, tranquil and happy emotions, that listening to the song creates, and although their appearance doesn’t mesh with the normal linear narratives that many videos folk genre songs try to relay, they are still integral for crafting the songs story.
Julian- In the opening scene and the drama scene Julian will also be dressed in casual clothing consisting of a pair of jeans a t-shirt and depending on the weather a jumper. This is to convey his character status to the audience as soon as they see him. It also gives him the ability to interact with the audience, as they are more likely to feel empathy for a member of their peer group or social background than they would for someone who had a completely different life. Also the song is not about money, class or material objects the video is not aiming to make it’s audience jealous or to inspire awe, its main aim is to tell a story and if Julian way to appear with bank breaking jewellery or chequered clown shoes, then the audience will be more likely to focus on his costume than the narrative of the song. Furthermore the object of the video is not to overshadow the song, but simply add to it.
In contrast to this during the Elm Hill shoot Julian will appear in a suit, holding a microphone, this is to portray his gradual emersion into the video. It also shows that he has stepped out of his natural role and is now playing the part of a performer. The suit is being used to show the audience he is posing as a news reader. The use of props and costume within a music video is integral as the audience only has a certain amount of time to understand the narrative, so with Julian appearing in a suit with a microphone the audience will automatically assume that his character role has changed.

Cast
The lead character ‘The man with no name’ will be played by Julian Newton. Julian is a competent and reliable sixth form drama student. He is part of the Norwich playhouse theatre and has been an integral part of many of their productions. Julian is reliable and can be contacted easily. He is a close friend and so will be dependable. Also his appearance fits with the student stereotype, applying a relaxed, communicative, nonchalant visual character to the role.
The Birds will be played by
Catherine Riley- like Julian Catherine is an A2 level drama student. She can also be relied upon to show up to shoots and will be able to easily perform the set choreography.
Cameron Button- Cameron studies drama as an AS level student. His stature enables us to use him to throw the balls at Julian form a proficient height.
Ronnie Cornell- Ronnie is also a A2 media studies student, he understands the time sets and complications of shoots and is able to convert his knowledge into patience, if a shoot needs to be performed continuously he will be empathetic and cooperative.
Kerry – Kerry is a work colleague and can be relied upon to undertake tasks with a constant tolerance. Also by including a character that is older than the other students, it will reaffirm to the audience just how solitary Julian is because of the differences between the bird people in age, sex and appearance.

These are the shoot maps for the 'sail away with me' video.