Teenage Dream Ideas (Six)

After the music video conference yesterday Pete Fraser said that "music videos need to be visually memorable and worth repeat viewing" bearing this in I had a lot doubts about our chosen song and the narrative for our music video. We was recommended to do a song which was unknown, although it would have been easier to have done an unknown song I felt confident within our chosen song. To make our video memorable I think we should change some of our narrative such as, I believe that the lead girl in our video should be schizophrenic which would make her 'dream' of the relationship and it would be insightful to the illness.
Schizophrenia is a "mental disorder characterized by a disintegration of the process of thinking and of emotional responsiveness. It most commonly manifests as auditory hallucinations, paranoid or bizarre delusions, or disorganized speech and thinking, and it is accompanied by significant social or occupational dysfunction. The onset of symptoms typically occurs in young adulthood, with a global lifetime prevalence of around 1.5%. Diagnosis is based on the patient's self-reported experiences and observed behavior." Schizophrenia is explored in Hollyoaks with the character Newt and him seeing his alter ego Eli, this is a clip from the programme.

The girls illness would lead her to become obsessed with the boy and the life that she wants to have. We could show this in the beginning by a back shot of a girl picking up a frame and then a close up shot of the picture in the frame coming alive and it would be the alter ego and the boy, this would have included an element of voyeurism as the star is watching herself. Women becoming obsessed with men are shown in films such as He Loves Me Not and Obsessed, this is the trailer of them both.
He Loves Me Not Trailer


Obsessed

When wondering how we could portray her illness I thought of having quick shots and choppy editing which could show her time in Brighton which is her dream and her normal self and I thought about having a high angle shot spiraling down of the girl which could represent her coming to terms with the realisation of her illness. I wanted the girls alter ego to be very flamboyant in clothing such as bright colours and sequins which could portray her alter ego as over the top and it makes her stand out. At the conference we were shown Pete Fraser's favourite A Level music videos at the majority of them were performance. Bearing this in mind the alter ego could sing in the Brighton shots as well as the bedroom performance for instance when walking down the beach she could be staring at the boy and singing romantic lyrics which portrays her love for him. Also, the we could have two people in the video one who is the actual girl and the other girl would be her alter ego, I got this idea from Shakespeare's Sister- Stay.

I love the idea of having an innocent woman and an evil and flamboyant woman I thought that we could have an extreme close up of lip syncing.

The illness will be exposed near the end of the music video which will become a surprise to the audience as the last shot would be of the girl putting down the frame and it will be a different couple and then the camera turning 180 degrees to show her in an office with a middle aged man wearing a suit who is a psychologist who was the man in the real picture.
My group did not agree with my idea as they said that our idea was original but I think that our video conforms to the original Teenage Dream video as the setting, narrative and clothing are the same and the lyric. My group also said that the idea does not conform to the lyrics. However, I want to make our music video memorable and the video will conform in the beginning as it shows a couples relationship but ultimately it will challenge the conventions of a pop music video. I believe that through this story it will be unforgettable as it will surprise the audience and it will be a video that people could watch again and still be intrigued.

Charlie Chaplin- Modern Times

On Thursday 24th October I attended a viewing and discussion of Modern Times at the Pheonix Theatre in London, I was very interested in watching the film as I have never watched a silent film and I knew that Charlie Chaplin is iconic within the film industry.
This is a trailer of Modern Times made by a YouTube user.

I found the film intriguing as the film was humorous with the exaggeration of movement and expressions to convey emotions but the undertone of the film is very serious such as the mistreatment of the factory workers which led them to have the Factory Workers Protest were Charlie Chaplin was accidentally involved and the police arrested him. Throughout the film people who have superior roles within society are shown by speaking roles which was the manager and when the police entered a scene dramatic music was played which reinforces their power, Chaplin made the authority seem careless for instance the police station was raided by criminals and Chaplins character who is seen as low class and 'mad' saves them. Police were seen as against the poor as they wrongly accused Chaplin of being the ring leader to the protest and they continuously tried to arrest the young women. I knew that there was hardly any speaking in the film but I was surprised to see text which is quotes of what the characters are saying in the shot.

In the beginning of the conference we was given a sheet with questions about the film to answer at the end of the viewing, these are the questions:

1. Silent films were no longer made in Hollywood after 1929. Why do you think Chaplin decided to make Modern Times in 1936 as a silent movie?

I think that Chaplin still created a silent film even though history was against him as dialogue was beginning to be used in films because he wanted to protect his image as he is iconic for silent films. It could be argued that silent films are more intriguing in comparison to dialogue films as the actors in silent films have convey the correct emotions to portray the storyline and in dialogue films the emotions and the audience thoughts on the dialogue cannot be interpreted or developed but in silent films the audience imagination is used more. Also, Chaplin would be been able to challenge the politics during that time without being too explicit and being complained about.

2. What was your favourite sequence of the film - why?

My favourite scene in the film was when Charlie Chaplin sang a song as it represents that he has become higher within society as only the authoritative roles speak during the film, this portrays that even though he was arrested he is a 'respected' person. Chaplin singing in the film is very iconic as it was the first time that he spoke in one of his films which shows that he needed to keep the audience entertained and through singing he did not ruin his image. This is a clip of the singing scene.

3. What ideas did you have about Charlie Chaplin before today's film? Have these been challenged by watching Modern Times?

Originally I thought that Charlie Chaplin only starred in the films however I found out that Chaplin starred, directed and came up with the ideas. Also, I thought that Chaplin only created comedy films and I did not understand how humour could be expressed without any dialogue but the use of exaggeration, the close up shots of the characters facial expression and the use of movement such as when Chaplin was blindfolded and he was skating at the same time earned many laughs in the cinema. I never knew that Chaplin does include social historical times to portray society such as the hard labour in the beginning of the workers and then the strike shows there determination and the harshness in society.

4. For a long part of his career Chaplin was criticised as being "un-American" in the messages contained in his films. This became particularly bad in the decade after Modern Times and finally things got so bad for him that he moved permanently to Switzerland in 1952. Can you see any evidence in Modern Times to explain the criticisms made of him?

Chaplin could as been as "un-American" as Modern Times seems like is was made in England which is shown by the policemen who were wearing English Policeman's uniform, it could be seen that the film has 'English' humour as it is quirky and witty.

For films we have chosen for these screenings the topic of Home and Identity.

1. In Modern Times is there a sense of 'home'- or is this a film about surviving without a home?

There is an element of surviving without a home in the film as the young women has been taken away from her family and she steals from market stalls to provide food for her family which creates a 'motherly' role which reinforces the idea of home. Both Chaplin and the girl dream of having the perfect home and the perfect life but Chaplin is showing the reality of the situation by the cottage which is falling apart and at the end of the film the couple walk down the road hand in hand which shows that they are going to create their version of a perfect life.

2. Why do you think Chaplin held on to the same screen identity through so many films, including Modern Times? What is the identity?The screen identity throughout this film portrays Chaplin as 'mad' and a 'criminal' although he seems charming and a reliable as he tries to go back to prison as he felt secure and safe in prison.

3. Does the girl (the gamin) offer a different idea of home from Charlie?

The girls dream of the perfect home seems high class and glamorous as she tried on a fur coat and went to sleep in a double bed with white blanket which represents her naivety and innocence in comparison to Chaplin as he only wants security and simplicity which is why he tries to return to prison.

4. What do you think of the ending of the film? Are the pair going off to find a home?

I think that the couple does try to find a home as they are both desperate for a home and some one to love which is why they seemed happy in the cottage as they had a home, although I think that Chaplins intentions were to promise the audience a happy ending as both characters deserved to be happy.

I found the conference very insightful and I am going to attend the next conference held which is a viewing and discussion of Last Resort. A recent music video reminds me of Modern Times as they both have similar editing and the ideas of a happy ending is conveyed and the police and the managers are seen as negative influences, this is the video to 'We Speak No Americano by Yolanda Be Cool VS DCup'

Audience Theory

What is Audience Theory?
Audience theory is a developed theory which is either literary theory, cultural studies and a main focus on rhetoric, it was said by Walter Ong suggested that "the audience is a construct made up by rhetoric and rhetorical stituation". However, other theorists like Ruth Mitchell and Mary Taylor have said "writers and speakers actually can target their communication to address a real audience". Other theorists such as Ede and Lunsford tried to combine both of the two approaches and create situations where audience is "fictionalized," as Ong would say, "but in recognition of some real attributes of the actual audience".

What is the Audience Theorys Effect Models?
The hypodermic needle model: The intended message is directly received and wholly accepted by the receiver.
Two step flow: The people with most access to media, and highest media literacy explain and diffuse the content to others. This is a modern version of the hypodermic needle model.
Uses and gratifications: People are not helpless victims of mass media, but use the media to get specific gratifications.
Reception theory: The meaning of a "text" is not inherent within the text itself, but the audience must elicit meaning based on their individual cultural background and life experiences.
Obstinate audience theory: This theory assumes that there is a transactional communication between the audience and the media. The audience actively selects what messages to pay attention to. The Zimmerman-Bauer study found that the audience also participates in the communication by influencing the message.

What is the hypodermic syringe effect?
The hypodermic syringe effect says that media is similar to a 'magic bullet' and when an audience is targeted it will immediately be knocked down when they are hit. Also, it suggests that society is passive, over-bearing and that the media “inject” their media influence into society and manipulates it. The Frankfurt school envisioned the media as a hypodermic syringe, and the contents of the media were injected into the thoughts of the audience, who accepted the attitudes, opinions and beliefs expressed by the media without question. This model was a response to the German fascist’s use of film and radio for propaganda, and later applied to American capitalist society.

Teenage Dream Ideas (Five)

We want our artist in the music video to be fashionable in the Brighton shots and 'girly' in the bedroom shots. There are not many iconic pop female artists who I feel will suit for clothing for our music video for example, Lady Gaga's clothing is very eccentric which gains her publicity. I then decided to research female bands as they tend to be very fashionable for example, Girls Aloud who seems to mix fashion, promiscuous and individuality with each member in their clothing. Although, most female pop artists have personal stylists I feel that we can give our artist an fashionable and individual style with our budget.
After using search engines such as Google we found style icons that we feel will suit our music video for example, for clothing I thought our inspiration could be Frankie Sandford and Vanessa White, I thought of Leighton Meeser for our hair inspiration and lastly Frankie Sandford and Rihanna for our make up inspiration.

Clothing Style Icon

For the shots filmed in Brighton we felt that we should have the clothing as 'rocky' and 'edgy' which challenges the pop genre and we want the clothing to suit our artist's name Crystal Rox, we want the clothing to be fashionable and modern so the clothing will be bought at Riverisland and Topshop or use clothing which looks like it would be sold at Riverisland and Topshop. For the clothing style icons I thought that Frankie Sandford and Vanessa White both from The Saturdays will suit our style. However, whilst shooting in the actresses bedroom she will be wearing pink pajamas which represents is a verisimilitude of her feminity and child like attitude, we do not have a style icon for the bedroom scene as we have already planned the outfit which is on the right.

Brighton Day Clothing Icon (Vanessa White)

The photograph on the left is of Vanessa White from The Saturdays as I felt it will suit our day time look in Brighton, I really like her choice of outfit such as her skinny black ripped jeans, black vest top, black leather waist coat and black leather fingerless gloves. I would like this outfit in our music video as it gives Vanessa a 'rock chick' edge and this outfit would conform to our ideas in our music for example, the lead girl dreaming and in the dream her style changes to make her seem 'popular' and 'cool'. However, in our music video our outfit will differ from the picture as we will have black skinny jeans without any rips because of the possibility of cold weather and rain the actress would be freezing.

Brighton Night Clothing Icon (Frankie Sandford)

The photo on the right is of Frankie Sandford also from The Saturdays, I really like the outfit in this photograph as I feel it will suit our night clothing. When filming in Brighton we thought about portraying Brightons nightlife in clubs and raves, we wanted to film in clubs and raves which are shown in Skins which portray a stereotypical teenage life in Brighton, however we would have to film in a club for teenagers as some of our group will not be over eighteen.The clothing in the photograph consists of a mid thigh length dress which has a long zip down the front of the dress, black open toe high heels, black leggings, black waist belt with gold studs and gold bracelets. I would like to incorporate this night time style if we do decide to film in clubs, pubs or raves as I think it looks very fashionable and youthful. The outfit would make the actress look older which suits the idea behind the clothing which is to make her suit the recent fashion and I really like the accessories that Frankie has included in the outfit for example, the bracelets and the belt. However, our night time clothing would not look exactly the same as the photo but the image has inspired us for the night time style.

Make-up Style Icons

When filming in Brighton we want the lead actress to have dark smokey eye make-up as we feel it will suit the clothing and the 'rock chick' style. This make-up will conform to the idea behind our music video of the lead girl's rock style will challange the pop genre. Although, when filming in Brighton we want the lead girl to wear foundation and nude or pink lipgloss, so we have only focused on style icons for the eye make-up. For the smokey eye make up we have used search engines such as Google to findmake-up icons who we feel are suitable for our music video.

Whilst researching I found that Rihanna and Frankie Sandford have similar make-up styles as to what we want in our video. However, for our shots in the bedroom we do not have a make-up style icon as we know what we want to have which is shown on the left, the shots in bedroom we will have natural make-up such as light foundation, mascara, eye liner and brown eye shadow.

Brighton Make-up Style Icons (Frankie Sandford)

The photograph on the right is of Frankie Sandford from The Saturdays eyes I really like the long eye lashes as I think they stand out even though there is black and dark brown eye shadow, although I think these eye lashes are false eye lashes. I think this make up style will suit our music video as we wanted dark smokey eye make-up and even though the eye shadow is dark is also has other shades of colours to add interest for example, black, grey, dark brown and glitter light brown. However, I do not know if we should have this eye make-up style during the day in Brighton as it may seem too over the top, although we want the lead girl in the video to stand out and be over the top with her dreaming such as the romantic hand heart symbols which portray their love.

Brighton Make-up Style Icon (Rihanna)

The photograph on the left is of Rihanna's eye make-up which I feel could inspire our make-up in our music video, again I really like the eye lashes even though they are false but I think it makes Rihanna's eyes stand out. I love the choice of multiple colours in the eye shadow for example the eye lid has black liquid eye liner and dark brown eye shadow and below the eye consists of black, grey and dark green/navy, the choice of the colours once again make the her eyes stand out. I feel that this eye make-up style suits our music video more than Frankie Sandford's eye make-up as this style is more subtle however it is still dramatic and I feel this eye make-up would suit the clothing in our video.

Hair Style Icon

When we are looking for hair style icons we have to think about the hair colour and hair length that our actress has, our lead actress has mid length brunette hair. I found a photoshoot in Elle Magazine which I felt would suit the hair in our music video, Leighton Meeser is the model in the photoshoot. The photograph on the right is of Leighton Meeser from Elle Magazine, I think we should have the actresses hair in the bedroom scene the same as the photo as the length of the actresses hair and the style is similar as they both have layered hair. I really like the parting in Leighton's hair as it seems like she pushed her hair to that side, I really like that the longest layer which is curled although the top of her hair is straight. Though when we are filming we may decide to have the lead actresses hair in a pony tail as she is dancing.

Hair Style Icon (Leighton Meeser)

The photographs are taken from a photoshoot from Elle Magazine which is a fashion magazine aimed at women, the image on the left is a montage of the photoshoot. I really love that Leighton's hair is curly and it seems like she has a low side pony tail, I think that her hair has been clipped on to one side and the use of the clips gives her hair volume and it adds layers. Although Leighton Meeser has extentions in her hair I think that her hair seems natural which is shown by the top right photo. Also, I like that the hair seems messy and I think the hair style would suit the 'rock' style that we want in our music video. The photo on the right shows the hair style more clearly as the thick curls on one side is shown, I really like the length of Leighton's hair aswell. However, ideally I would like to have this hair style as I feel that the curls would portray her actresses feminity although the messiness gives her a 'rock chick' edge. But the actress in our music video does not have long or dark brunette hair, so we could still incorporate the curls on the side but it will not be as dramatic.

Artist Name Ideas

We found it very difficult to try and find a name that we all agreed on and to find a name that we all thought suited our artist who is a soloist and the genre. This a list of names that we were considering:

1) Ohlala- This name seems iconic and modern, when researching Ohlala we found out that the phrase is used in perfume adverts such as Chanel and we was not sure if we would be allowed to use the name due to copyright reasons. We felt it would be more suitable for a band name so we did not pursue with this name.

2) Iris- We found this name using search engines such as Google by typing in unique names to try and find a name that will be noticeable. When researching Iris we found out that it is a flower which conforms to the pop genre as feminine and girly. Although, this name is interesting it does not conform or challenge our age range in pop genre, we then decided not to continue with this name.

3) Pink Poison- We liked this name because half of name conform to the pop genre 'pop' and the other half challenges the pop genre artists and it seems 'rocky'. We thought this name was unique and intriguing because there are no artists called Pink Poison, however we later realised that a Cheerleading Squad is called Pink Poison and we did not want our artist to be associated with them nd the name seems more suitable for a band.

4) Crystal Rocks- We finally settled on calling our artist Crystal Rocks because it seems like a first name and surname which conforms to pop artists within our age for example, Miley Cyrus, this name could further our audience because of it's catchy name. The artist name could be spelt in two different ways such as Crystal Rocks or Crystal Rox which seems modern, however we have not decided on how we want to spell the name. When researching the name we found that out that a Christian group, a water bottle company, a high fashion organic clothing range and a T-shirt company are called Crystal Rock, so we will have to spell our name 'Rox' to make us stand out and not be associated with them. Although, there is a band called Crystal Castles they are in the electro genre. The name could be interpreted as crystallised rocks or the artist is innocent which contrasts to rock. The name conforms to the pop genre 'crystal' which is glamorous and expensive this makes the artist seem iconic and rock challenges the pop genre.

Katy Perry at Capital Radios Summertime Ball

In the summer of 2009 I went to Capital Radios Summertime Ball, the concert was at the Emerates Stadium which is home to the Arsenal football team.

Katy Perry was the first act to perform, she was one of my favourite artists who performed on the day because she interacted with the crowd and her vocals were brilliant.

When I saw her in 2009 she performed songs from her second album such as I Kissed A Girl which was the last song because the song reached the number 1 in the United Kingdom. According to Offical UK Charts Company the song sold over 535,000 copies in the United Kingdom, it was also the first Virgin label single to sell more than half a million copies since the Spice Girl's- Goodbye (1998). Also, she performed Waking Up In Vegas, Thinking of You and Hot N Cold which was the opening song. I took these photographs are from Capital Radios Summertime Ball showing the Emerates Stadium, the stage when Katy Perry was performing and Katy Perry on the screen.

From seeing Katy Perry live I know that she is a good performer because she keeps the audience entertained, through the whole set she ran along the stage to make everyone be able to see her.

Also, her style has changed from 2009 in comparison to 2010, in 2009 she wore a red and white polka dot play suit which is quirky and fashionable during this time but now in 2010 she wears flamboyent and sophisticated clothing.

This is a video that some one recorded at the Summertime Ball performing I Kissed A Girl, I found this video on Youtube.

Teenage Dream Ideas (Four)

In Rihanna's new music video Only Girl (In The World) there are particularly noticeable and brilliant editing techniques which I feel would suit our music video.
Below is the music video to Rihanna- Only Girl (In The World).

In the beginning of Teenage Dreams there are seventeen beats and we wanted to have a different shot for each beat, we thought we could have seventeen different shots of the couple with out showing the couple so the love would be through symbols for example, a couple holding hands, feet entangled with one another and a shadow of the couple hugging each other or holding hands and walking. In Rihanna- Only Girl (In The World) quick and fast face shots are used to match the beat (2.49-2.58), there are three shots which are repeated in this editing technique and the pace slows down, there are a wide shot of Rihanna standing on a pillar which symbolises her power, a mid shot of Rihanna on the pillar singing to the camera and a close up shot of Rihannas face looking down to represent her vulnerability. The repetitive shots make the audience want to know what are the shots which gains interest in the music video. The quick shots portrays Rihannas different emotions such as innocence which is shown in the close up shot when she is looking down, power in the wide shot when she is standing on a pillar with a long dress and promiscuosness which is portrayed in the mid shot because she is wearing a tight corset and her posture.
I think the use of the quick shots for our music video would be interesting because we can still show symbolisms of the love that the couple share and the audience will have time to see the shots instead of the seventeen shots which will be too quick.