Props Research

Props Research:

For our Music Video, we require a limited amount of props. This, therefore, reduces the hazards that props can pose on-set and reduces the number of items we will have to transport between locations.

1) Polaroid: 

The entire concept of the music video is based around a polaroid that has been taken by the protagonist of the girl, and how the polaroid acts as a 'clue' to determine the girl's whereabouts. The Polaroid is captured live during the music video, therefore it is vital on our call sheet that this shot is recorded first, to ensure we have the polaroid for the entirety of the rest of the shoot. Similarly, we want to use an old Polaroid camera to resonate with the modern fascination that young people have with vintage items, as this would be highly relatable to our target audience, and would facilitate the vintage feel that indie music videos often have.

The Polaroid to the left is an example of what we are aiming to achieve in this prop. The text at the bottom will be handwritten to appear as if the girl was in a rush, but will include a kiss to allude that she is still interested in him.

2) The Polaroid Camera:


The Polaroid camera is used in the music video to take the initial polaroid used as a clue. It is a very vintage concept and one that is often associated with the indie genre due to it's ability to quickly capture reckless memories. 
The Polaroid camera to the right is an example of the type of camera we would like to use.
Despite this being a vintage item, it is highly accessible to our production, as I already own a replica vintage polaroid camera that I bought from a vintage store.

3) Leather Jacket

The leather jacket will act as a piece of the male protagonist's costume as well as a prop within the music video. The jacket will be strewn on the bed and displayed through a static close up shot of the pocket, which contains the polaroid; a phone will be laying nearby and light up after receiving a notification, which wills the male protagonist to turn around and discover the polaroid, string the jacket around his neck and go off on his adventure. It is also highly conventional of costume within the indie genre.



4) Post-It Notes:

Post it notes are used twice during our music video and are a visual representation of the clues that the female protagonist has left for the male on his quest to find her. In order to improve our editing and camerawork skills, I have decided to incorporate 3 self-made transitions, two of which include the post-it notes as a framed shot in which to transition to another location with. Below, is a diagram I created to display how the transition will work between each shot. We will use yellow post-it notes, as these reflect the colour scheme we have utilised throughout our ancillary task and will juxtapose the dark night background of the funfair.




TEST TRANSITION:



I animated a test of this transition using Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2017, a Post-It Note I designed on Photoshop and a transparent image of a hand which I superimposed onto footage I had already taken. I then exported the video and converted it into GIF form.

Instruments:

Within our music video, we have decided to incorporate performance aspects due to our genre. Therefore, it was imperative that we included prop instruments within our videos for our band members to mime to. Our band consists of three members, including a drummer, a bassist, and a lead singer. 

1) Drumkit: 

The drumkit we have chosen is black, which adheres to the monochromatic colour scheme of our music video. The kick drum (bass drum), in indie music videos conventionally feature the band's typographic logo on its drum-face, however, as the band we have chosen are a smaller less established band and do not have their own logo, therefore we have chosen not to include this on the drum we are using. The drumkit shows visible signs of distress and 'wear and tear' emphasising the passion the drummer possesses for his music. Within the mise-en-scene of our video, the warm-toned high-key lighting we plan to use will reflect beams of light off of the reflective casing/surface of parts of the drumkit.

2) Bass Guitar:




It is evident that there is a bass guitar within the track we have chosen and similarly, most indie bands feature a bassist; as exhibited in Catfish and the Bottlemen and Sundara Karma. The bright red of the bass guitar juxtaposes the monochromatic colour scheme, thus highlighting the consistency of the bass throughout the beat.






3) Microphone Stand:

In order for our lead singer to successfully lip-sync a microphone stand is imperative for the actor to use, as it allows him to become immersed in the role through interaction with the microphone.