We were asked to pitch our ideas for our music videos to the class in order to get some feedback on how to improve our ideas. However as I have been very ill recently I missed the day where we had to pitch to the class and instead pitched to a group of my friends who were the same age as what my target audience will be. As I am still struggling to decide between both 'Heartbreak Beautiful' and 'Innocent', I decided to pitch both of my ideas and whichever idea they preferred would ultimately be the idea I go with unless I encounter any problems. I also showed them my ideas for camera shots and editing so they could get an idea of what the video would look like.
Media Pitch
I have struggled to decide between two songs (Heartbreak Beautiful and Innocent) for my music video. In order to be prepared to choose either one I have planned both videos.
I have interpreted Heartbreak Beautiful as a song that looks back on life and on the decisions a person has made, whether they be right or wrong. I have taken my inspiration for the look of the music video from the film 500 days of Summer, where they use a split screen to convey what the character is expecting and what actually happens in reality (this would be good as it shows my knowledge of intertextuality and music videos, etc). In my music video, I will use this idea but in a past tense, so the character looks back on past events that she has embedded in her mind.
For instance, one event could be where the character opens a letter she has found on the table, excited that it could be a university acceptance letter. When she opens it, she expects she will be accepted, however in reality she is rejected.
Another could be where the character dreams (expects) that she would one day become a singer. A letter comes through the door and she dreams that it would be a record company offering her a recording contract when in reality it is her acceptance to university, etc. Or another idea for this could be she dreams (expects) that she would be playing concerts and gigs by now, when in reality she is busking outside a coffee shop.
I want to do this by adding in a split screen, one titled expectations and one reality, showing the characters reaction in both situations as they happen.
I will ground the video by regularly panning back to the character singing, as the band I have chosen have split up and so I wont be able to film them performing. I think she should be in a large field to show the freedom she now feels after coming to terms with her reality, with it being a sunny day to represent her new found positive outlook on life, however as we are approaching winter this may be difficult. The song has quite a serious tone, and I think one interpretation could be her looking back over these past events and how they have shaped her into who she is now.
However, as it may not be possible to use split screen I can't decide between that and the song Innocent. Heartbreak Beautiful is a more liberal song, and could be interpreted in many different ways, whereas Innocent has a set meaning.
The lyrics for Innocent are very straight forward and depict the story of a girl who finds out her boyfriend is cheating on her. In the song she decides to leave him and discovers that she doesn’t need a man to make her happy.
My idea for this video is to focus on the character moving on from her boyfriend cheating on her. Again, I wanted to regularly cut back to the character singing, but in this video I thought that this could be depicted in two different ways: she could be in a different place every time it pans back: like journey. For instance, it could start with her sitting on her bed with a text from her boyfriend saying he‘s sorry, then cut to a flashback of how their relationship was and how she found out he was cheating, continuing with interchanges throughout the video of scenes where she is hanging out with her friends and having fun whilst getting over her relationship, meeting new people and possibly seeing her ex with a new girl. When the camera pans back to her, she is walking down the street etc.
Each time we cut back to this scene, it could show her at a different stage of the journey she is making and eventually end with her knocking on a door, or arriving at her destination, meeting her friends and looking happy to show that she doesn’t need a man. The journey that she takes from her bedroom to meeting her friends could represent the journey she has taken from being in an unhappy relationship to finally being happy single.
Another, simpler idea could be to just have her staying in her room reminiscing for the parts where she is lip syncing, and interchange this with shots of her going out with friends, having fun whilst they help her get over her ex, etc.
In this video I would also use many references to the notion of looking, as when the character is lip syncing she could be looking into the camera directly using direct address in order to connect with the audience. I may also use computer screens, as I am thinking of including a scene where the girl flashes back to when she found comments from another girl on her boyfriends Facebook. I will also be using a close up of her phone screen at the beginning of the song with a text from her boyfriend apologising to her.
I think both of these ideas would be good however I feel like I could do a lot more with Heartbreak beautiful as the lyrics don’t tell as much of a story so the video will be more original and I could use split screens as my niche. This is also an original idea that I haven't seen many artists do recently, and certainly not with the idea that I have. However with Innocent the song tells more of a story and I would be able to amplify the lyrics more, using more of Goodwin's theories.
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The general consensus of my feedback was that my audience preferred the idea for Heartbreak Beautiful, because of it's originality.
What my audience thinks would work well in Heartbreak Beautiful:- The different situations will give variety and will keep people watching.
- The creative shots will catch peoples eye and set it apart from other videos.
- The split screen would be good as it is not typically seen in most music videos and could also be used as a good star image motif.
- How the video would tie in with the lyrics without making it too narrative and monotonous.
- The use of intertextuality
What my audience thinks could be improved in Heartbreak Beautiful:- Lighting could be difficult in the outside shots, especially if I want it to be a sunny day when filming. Artificial lighting may need to be used.
- The creative shots I have thought of using may be hard to do considering my limited resources.
- Colourisation could be used to make the flashbacks more obvious, allowing the audience to understand the message, such as black and white or sepia.
What my audience thinks would work well in Innocent:- The story is something most people can relate to, as many people have had a break up at one point or another in their life.
- It has a good message to the audience about moving on after a break up.
- Is upbeat and would go well with the song.
- The use of lyrics and visuals.
What my audience thinks could be improved in Innocent:- The cutting back to the character on a journey after the flashbacks could be confusing and would have to be made clear through editing effects.
- It is very narrative and may seem more like a short film rather than a music video.
- The shots and angles could be more creative.
- A niche would need to be created in some way.
It seems that my audience preferred the idea for Heartbreak Beautiful due to it's originality, however preferred how the story was portrayed in Innocent. Again, this makes it difficult for me to decide, however I am still leaning towards Heartbreak Beautiful. I will keep all these suggestions in mind whilst continuing to plan my music video.
