RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Final Proposal

Title of Production:

Party Tattoos by Dodie Clark (Unofficial Music Video)

Channel for Broadcast:

If my music video was to be uploaded onto Youtube, it most likely would be uploaded onto Dodie Clark's Vevo channel. Vevo was created by Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Abu Dhabi Media. The video hosting platform claims that it is 'your personalised music video and entertainment platform'. A lot of artists who want to upload a music video onto Youtube will often have a Vevo channel as it is the second largest music video in the world, due to this artist's may make more money from using a Vevo channel rather than Youtube. However, the music video could also be uploaded onto Dodie Clark's own Youtube channel as she has a following of nearly 1.5 million subscribers. If my music video was played on a TV music channel, I think that it would most likely be MTV. My reasoning for this is because MTV often play pop music videos and I believe that my music video would come under the 'Indie Pop' genre, so it would be acceptable to be played on MTV.

Target Audience:

I have clarified that my music video target audience will most likely be young women of between the ages of 13-21. I believe that this will be the case as this is the main target of Dodie Clark's Youtube audience. I think that this would be my target audience as it is the main group that stands out in Clark's demographics. Another reason I am led to believe this is due to my research in other Indie Pop artists. The Indie Pop artists that I researched included Florence And the Machine, Birdy and Lorde. I decided to research three artists I though that it would give me a more specific answer.

As you can see from the YouGov screenshots, all of the target audiences are in the category of female, aged 18-24. This is also fitting with my target audience. 

Genre/Type of Music Video:

My genre of music video fits under the Indie Pop genre. I think that my music video follows the narrative and performance based types of music video as there is elements of both types of video throughout my own video. I would regard most of Dodie Clark's videos as Narrative/Performance based.

Style of Music Video:

I have explained in my pitch previously, that I want to keep the music video quite cosy as I believe this mirrors Clark's music and Youtube videos. I think I am going to try to do this by maybe having some sort of fairy lights or record players within the video. I also want to conform to Indie Pop music video conventions by having a woodland setting within this video so that the audience can clearly identify that it is of the Indie Pop genre. 

Along with this, I want to portray the 'literal' tattoos, so I think I want to use a projector to try and project some tattoos onto my actress' skin. Due to the music video being performance based, I plan to have my actress miming to the camera and possibly playing the ukulele or the guitar. 

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Risk Assessment

Above is my risk assessment, focusing on the filming aspects of the music video. It shows who will be directly impacted by the risk, how severe the risk would be if it were to happen, how likely the risk is whilst filming and the risk rating. After this, it shows how I will control the risk whilst filming and what I could do to prevent the risk. It then shows the risk rating and the likelihood of the risk after I have controlled it.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Casting My Lead

The music video will only require one or two people to be cast. However for now, I have cast my main lead as Millie McIntosh. Millie will be acting as the artist, Dodie Clark. Millie does not have much acting experience, but I think that the plot underlines quite clear emotions which I believe she can carry out in the video. Millie also studies Media, so she will understand the brief that I am expected to complete and will act accordingly to my directing and ideas. She will be required to wear quite casual, yet indie clothing. Ideas for this could include dungarees, Dr Martens, ETC. The lyrics are quite literal and I am trying to mirror this by creating quite literal visuals. One of the lyrics is about a coat, so Millie will most likely need to wear a coat in some of the shots, but I can provide this. I don't think that Millie is required to bring any props of her own. Any props that are needed throughout the filming process will most likely be provided by myself.

I am nearing to the end of my filming process now and I believe that I have successfully matched my casting brief, with the image of my lead below.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Age Rating - Analysis Of Other Age Rated Videos ADD PHOTO

In October 2014, a decision was made to add an age rating to online music videos. The main reason for deciding to age rate each music video that is put on online platforms such as YouTube and Vevo is due to parents wanting more of a guidance as to what their children should be watching. The age ratings are 12, 15 or 18. The age rating is based on how much unsuitable/upsetting content a music video contains. In mid 2015, research was carried out to explore if these age ratings were useful to parents within the UK. 78% of parents agreed that having an age rating was useful. A major issue with the age rating scheme is that it only applies to music videos that are produced in the UK. Therefore, music videos that are produced outside of the UK will be widely accessible to younger audiences and will not have an age rating.


Music videos such as Sia's Elastic Heart created some stir upon social media as a young girl and an older man were depicted to having an 'animalistic dance-fight mash-up in a cage'. This created a lot of noise on social media, which led to Sia tweeting this:




Personally, I think that this age rating pilot does have a effect on young children and parents. However, I don't think that the effect is enough as it needs to be introduced more widely for it to have a large impact. It has been proved by the American Physiological Association that extreme themes in media products has caused effects such as depression and eating disorders. If age ratings were widely introduced, this could reduce the impacts on young people.


In my opinion, I do not think that my music video includes any particular heavy themes. There is a brief visual of alcohol and the only unsuitable theme it includes is partying. Due to this, I think I would personally give my music video a 12 age rating. Some parents of younger people do not want their children to be exposed to themes such as drinking alcohol and partying.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Copyright - Email For Permission to use Dodie Clark's Music

Contact details for Dodie Clark. She is not signed to a record label, so I thought the best way to contact her would be directly to her email, as seen above - info@dodieclark.com

Below, I have attached the written email to Dodie Clark, requesting permission for the use of her song, Party Tattoos.

Subject: Copyright Permission

Email Contents:

Dear Miss Dodie Clark,

For my current A Level Media Studies coursework, I am required to create a music video, digipak and magazine advert for a song of my choice. I am requesting to use the song ‘Party Tattoos’ by Dodie Clark for this task. The music will be used in an non profitable, educational way. Once I have completed making my music video, it shall only be displayed on a minor Youtube channel and my advanced portfolio blog for the purposes of examination. I fully understand the consequences of copyright infringement, therefore I decided to email you to request the permission of the song. I really hope you consider my request as I am truly a big fan of your music.

Thank you in advance,

Georgette Fischer

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Story Board - Final

Directly above, you can see the storyboard that I have digitally made with colour. I completed this storyboard with a website called 'Storyboard That'. The website was easy to use, however it did have some limitations. For example, I could not go into detail with some of the aspects of my visuals as the website did not have the facilities to allow me to do so. This storyboard follows the structure of my original storyboard, which can be seen on the 'storyboard drafts post'. However, I did have to change some scenes such as the end scene. For this particular storyboard I set the last image as a split screen with the younger and older version of the girl/lady looking at one another. My original storyboard shows the projections of tattoos on different teenagers of different race/gender and I think that I will go ahead with this idea, but perhaps insert the split screen idea else where in the video.

I also recognised that colour is important within the video. At the start, I have taken mise en scene into consideration and will be using a blue overlay. The colour blue connotes sadness, which is an emotion the character will be feeling as she is arguing with her mother and when she is generally feeling down about not fitting in (boxes two and three). However, when she is at the party the overlay colour will change to pink to reflect her feelings.

There may be a missing part of the narrative as one of the latter boxes shows a elderly woman burning a picture of her 'friend' that she made at the party. This is a gap in the narrative as the audience wonders what happened to her friend. I felt like this added a sympathetic tone to the narrative. The audience will be enlightened though as in the previous box the lady is shown to be writing a letter to her mother, showing that their broken relationship has now been mended. 

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Story Board Draft (sketches) - Party Tattoos

The following are some examples of some brief sketches that I am planning to recreate within my music video. Each box shows the type of shot that I am planning to use. In the first box, there is a shot of a clock. This will be a stop motion shot of the handles turning to incorporated artistic shots. It represents how quickly time goes and the first lyrics 'took a look at the clock only so long ago'.

Shot number 2 is the visual for 'scrubbing smooth young skin', I am planning to use a coffee scrub for this. The lyrics represent a young person almost trying to remove the shame and guilt.

Shot number 3 depicts a teenager getting ready for a party. She grabs her bottle of alcohol and her backpack before heading out the door

there is an image of the sky, I am planning to use a time lapse of the sky or a busy road with the cars speeding past as I believe it would make an interesting shot for the viewer to see and it matches up with the lyrics 'you'll see it in the morning after your kicks'. So, I could maybe shoot a time lapse of the daytime sky and then blend it in with a shot of the night time sky.

The next shot is of a clock on a rocking chair, which is a visual to match with they lyrics 'rocking good time'. This adds a bit of humour to the video as the 'time is actually rocking'. I thought that this would make an interesting concept. Again, humour is added with the next frame as it is simply a post it note with the word 'yes' on someone's head, representing the lyrics 'there's a yes, in your head'.

The next shot is of a young person dropping a bottle of alcohol, fitting in with the lyrics 'you'll lose it in the morning but ignore that'. This depicts a party sort of scene, fitting in with one of the themes. Carrying on with this aspect, the next frame is glitter, paint powder and confetti all thrown at an acrylic pane in front of the camera. I thought that this would be an interesting concept to visually see.

'Black lipstick will never be a sin' literally has the visual of black lipstick in the shape of a cross on a mirror. I felt like this had connotations of conflict between religion and partying. The character in the video will be wearing black lipstick throughout.

The video then takes a slight loop as we see a repeat of the frame of the person dropping the alcohol bottle. However, it is clearly visible that the character has now aged. It makes the audience question whether they have changed or not. This fits in with the lyrics 'we'll regret it when we're old with wrinkled up skin'.

Again, to make the lyrics literal, I decided to have a person wearing a coat walking out the door to fit in with the lyrics, 'my mummy said to always wear a coat'. Due to the shot walking out of the door, the audience will hopefully question if there is maybe some slight conflict with the teenager and the parent. To depict this further, I could film a mid shot of the teenager taking the coat of once they are out of the door. This then leads to a shot of the character shivering, portraying that she should have listened to her mum.

Then, a shot of an older version of the character is reintroduced. She is shown writing a postcard to fit in with the lyrics 'write a postcard to you at 84'. The audience could infer that she is perhaps writing to her mother, leading them to question if the conflict has now been resolved.

An interesting shot of a photo being set alight can then be seen, highlighting that the character has finally listened to her mother. To end the video, I am going to project various tattoos onto people, perhaps highlighting that words scar like permanent tattoos, portraying the conflict between the mother and daughter. Maybe the main character should have a tattoo on her wrist throughout the video, almost representing her youth.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Music Video Pitch - Party Tattoos

Prezi
This is the pitch for my music video 'Party Tattoos'.

I was given the task of presenting my ideas for the music video to my peers. To beign with, I showed them a small snippet of the music video, giving them a small insight of what the artist's music is like and the general vibe for the video. Based off of the small snippet I showed them, I asked them to stereotype and mould a 'typical' viewer for my music video. They guessed correctly, saying that it would most likeloy be a young female student. I then confirmed this by showing them the YouGov results - a reliable source for generating a typical audience profile. I explained that I had to use a similar artist as the artist I am doing ym music video for, Dodie Clark, is not on there.

After this, I gave them the chance to look through the first verse of the lyrics. I then explained my initial ideas for each part of the lyrics. I said that I wanted the visuals to be quite symplistic to fit in with the general vibe of the song. I highlighted that the video will most likely consist of artistic shots, including time lapses, stop motion and photo montages. It was important that the party scene was highlighted. Also, I thought that the video would need some sort of narrative to move the shots along.

Also, I wanted there to be flashforwards/flashbacks of the girl in the video as an adult, looking back on her youth and debating regret of not spending more time with her family. I described in my pitch that I will be holding up an acrylic pain in front of the camera and throwing powdered paint, glitter and confetti at it to follow the party theme. At the end of the video, I want to project tattoos onto different teenages of different race/gender/etc. This could show that these could be the underlying problems of any teenager. I inferred from the lyrics that the 'tattoo' is almost like a stamp of regret from the person's youth.

In the pitch, I explained my reasons why I chose to make a music video for Party Tattoos. One of the main reasons is because it currently does not have a proper music video. The music video for it currently is just the singer singing to the camera. Therefore, I though that it would be interesting to explore how the lyrics could be displayed through a visual narrative. I also thought that there was quite a lot of themes to cover, such as relationship issues and growing up within the modern day.

I designed a clear moodboard for my pitch. I showed the audience that I wanted the colours within the music video to primarily be pastel colours as I feel like this would represent the artist well. Due to the video being filmed around Winter, I wanted it to have quite a cosy and warm feel to it. So, I will be including bokeh imagery.

I presented some basic types of shots that I am planning to use as well. I am planning to use extreme close ups of facial features such as they eyes and mouth. This will espcially becomje significant when the lyric 'black lipstick will never be a sin' is said. I will also be using a stop motion of the clock's hands at the start of the video.

The pitch was my first chance to gain audience feedback. I primarily ganed this feedback through a questionnaire that I deisgned and handed out to my peers. This helped me to develop my ideas even further. It helped me to sort out which direction I wanted my music video to go. One of the suggestions I had was to use people with actual tattoos to help depict more of a storyline. I will thoroughly consider using this idea. More feedback can be seen on the questionnaire audience feedback blogpost.


The pitch includes:

•  The potential target audience
•  Why I chose the song
•  What our cinematography plans are for the lyrics
• A questionnaire 
• A mini mood board for the video 

https://prezi.com/p/-dvdu1ktvg6n/#present

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Music Video Questionnaire - Audience Feedback

I conducted the following questionnaire to try and research what sort of music videos a young student (which is my target audience) would like. I handed this questionnaire out to several people:

Questionnaire

Are you:

• Male
• Female

How old are you?

Please state your favourite artist/song:

What sort of music videos are you interested in?

• Live footage of artist/band
• A storyline
• Clips linking to lyrics

How often do you watch music channels?

• Every week
• Every month
• Every once in awhile
• Never

What platform do you use to listen to music?

• Youtube
• Streaming from apps (Spotify, Deezer, Apple Music)
• Music channels on the TV
• CDs

If you do stream your music from apps, do you pay for premium services?

• Yes
• No

In conclusion, I found that generally a young student of around the age of 17/18 likes music videos that have a story line to it as it interests them more. I asked which gender and age the person was filling out the questionnaire so that I could have more knowledge about the target audience I was aiming for.

I asked about the type of music videos that people liked to gather what sort of music video I could possibly create for the song that I am doing. I found that clips linking to the lyrics were also popular as it helps people understand what the lyrics are trying to depict more. This fits in with the type of music video that I would like to create as the lyrics are quite literal, therefore I would like to create similar visuals to keep the audience engaged.  I have decided that I am going to use a mixture of all three types of music video. The music video will have some artistic shots which relate to the music video, representing the visuals. It will also have some sort of narrative to it as there is underlying conflict between the mother and daughter in the video. Then, there will also be some brief performance clips, similar to those featured in Sam Smiths, 'Not The Only One' music video. This will hopefully keep the audience engaged throughout.

Within the modern day, music channels are not as popular as they are before as the answer 'every once in awhile' was mostly chosen when asked 'how often do you watch music channels?'. The younger generation are more likely to stream their music from apps, such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Deezer now. This could be due to the accessibility of having millions of songs by various different artists in one place. This gave me an insight of where my music video could be published, therefore directing my music video to a particular audience.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Music Video Target Audience

Dodie Clark currently has a Youtube audience of about 1.2 million and has approximately 151 million views on her videos that she posts. It is estimated that 76% of her viewers are actually female. This would mean that the viewers for the music video that I create is most likely going to be viewed by a primarily female audience.  A lot of her statistics also show that the optimum video time is approximately five minutes. This is ideal as the audio is approximately five minutes long.

Due to Dodie Clark not being on the You Gov profiles, I searched artists similar to her to see if I could gain further information about what type of audience I need to target. The You Gov website presents live data from real people. It is great for market research and presents the importance of researching target audiences. To gather similar information to Dodie Clark's audience, I chose Birdy to be one of the artists to study and Troye Sivan as the other. I thought that Birdy would be a good artists as her music sounds quite similar to Dodie Clark's. The You Gov data showed me that Birdy's audience is primarily female at the age of 18-24. This was taken from a large sample of 960 people, therefore it shows that the data is pretty accurate. Judging from the 'monthly spare £' section, I gathered that this audience is likely to be young as they have little to spare per month. The entertainment section also proved that the audience is most likely to be a young teenager as they had interests of stereotypical young products such as Rihanna, Sia and Bad Neighbours 2. From this data, I can apply these demographics to Dodie Clark's audience.

Interestingly, Troye Sivan's demographics showed up a little differently. Troye Sivan is another popular Youtuber, who has approximately 4.4 million subscribers. This is four times the amount that Dodie Clark has, but I figured that they roughly have the same job - creating music and sharing it online, therefore could perhaps have a similar audience. The You Gov data showed that Troye Sivan's audience is largely male. However, this data was taken from a much smaller sample group of 140 perople in comparison with Birdy at 960. The data depicts that the same age group of 18-24 listens to Troye Sivan's music. Again, this implies that the target audience are most likely to be students. The entertainment section showed similar 'young' and 'fresh' interests, like Birdy's audience. It shows other artists and films that perhaps target young audiences such as Shawn Mendes, Major Lazer and Captain America. 

I also conducted a questionnaire and found out that the most suited audience for my music video would be a young female of about 18 years of age on average.

In conclusion, I found that my target audience for the music video is most likely to be female. However, I also found out that I should not completely rule out the male gender as they still make up quite a large proportion of the Youtube Community. The research that I have conducted also proved that my main target audience is the younger generation and primarily students. From this, I gathered that I should include quite modern and fresh ideas for the video. The research also helped me gather some thoughts about the album cover as well. 

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Production Plan

Production Plan

Basic idea - The idea is to portray quite a ‘cosy’ themed video. It is ideally to be set in Winter/Autumn to depict this theme. A party theme will also be introduced through the use of paint powder, glitter and confetti.

Casting - Young girl (teenage years), relates to audience

Costume - Coat needed, relatively normal teenage clothing? Could also add scarf, gloves and wellington boots to add to the theme

Props - Confetti, glitter, paint powder, dark coloured lipstick, mirror, projector, ETC.

Equipment -

Filmed on a DSLR camera with various lenses. Ring light might be needed, could also have different coloured filters?
Lenses - a 50mm, a 55-250mm and a 18-55mm

Roles:

Director(s) - Georgette Fischer & Millie McIntosh

Cameraperson(s) - Georgette Fischer & Millie McIntosh

Editor - Georgette Fischer

Music - Dodie Clark - Party Tattoos

Week 1	Filming on October 13th	Run through lyrics and film appropriate clips
Week 2	Filming	^
Week 3	Filming	^
Week 4	Filming	^
Week 5	Editing	Select clips to use
Week 6	Editing	Edit clips together
Week 7	Editing	Add finishing touches
Week 8	Evaluation	Answer questions for blog

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Mind Map of Ideas

This mind map includes the very basic foundation ideas of the music video. It includes some key props and settings that I could possibly include. The mind map also displays my initial thoughts and about the song. I really want to make this music video quite a feel good song as I would describe it as quite delicate and light. When I think of a cosy theme, I primarily think of fairy lights, hot chocolate Winter. From this, I start to think about clothing such as scarves, gloves and wellington boots. I think that the music video will have quite a 'British Winter' feel to it.

I also want to include some interesting types of cinematography such as stop motions and time lapses. I would like to include these as I think it would add to the cosy theme I am trying to portray and it would also keep the audience engaged as it might not be something that they expect. Due to the lyrics being quite literal, they need a creative flair to them to keep the video beguiling.

I also wanted to include a party theme as that is what the song is mainly about. For this, I decided it that the shots don't necessarily have to be a group of teenagers jumping around and screaming. It could be about a person who does not really fit in with the 'party vibe', but still feels as if she has to go to as it has become the 'norm'. To portray this, I would like to include props such as powdered paint, glitter and confetti.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: CD Cover Analysis - Print Research

The cover album for Illuminate is a deep green colour. At the top of the album is the artist’s name with the album’s name. It is written in a blocked font, so it is easy for a potential customer to read. The image is of Shawn Mendes with a guitar. He is positioned so he is in the foreground and the chair is more in the background. The colour palette is muted and processed, however it all blends in well together. Shawn Mendes is also holding a guitar, highlighting the type of music he produces. The back of the album displays all the songs, but instead of using a block type font, he uses a handwritten font. This creates a more authentic look and a personal connection for the fans. The end of the guitar is also featured on the back, which hints that most of the songs are written by him.

‘Continued Silence’ by Imagine Dragons has quite a unique album cover. A man floating in mid air depicts isolation, but also follows all of the other covers that Imagine Dragons have done. Each album has a person standing in isolation, all relating to the album title. The person floating is the main subject of the image, therefore the viewer’s eye looks at it first. In the background, the viewer can see fog in the distance as well as trees. This might indicate a feeling of loneliness and could represent the journey that Imagine Dragons have to take/have already taken. The image is very cool toned, adding to the eeriness of the image - possibly hinting at the type of music that is on the album. On the back of the album, the mysterious woodland environment is continued. The font displaying the names of the tracks really stands out, highlighting the importance of them.

The McBusted CD is quite simplistic. They didn’t have to work on the composition of where the title and artist name went as the title and artist name is the same. The band name/title is quite big and in a bold red colour, making it stand out and easily visible. It is also quite slanted, hinting that this album cover could be quite quirky. The image is quite humorous as the six of them can be seen suspiciously creeping around whilst a security camera is above them. A bold, bright colour palette is used on this album colour as it fits in with the genre of music. The reverse side to the CD also remains quite humorous as the viewer is able to see what the group is up to. They all remain quite mischievous and both the front and back of the album - portraying their attitudes as a band.

Jason Derulo’s album. ‘Everything Is 4’ has quite a literal meaning. The number four has been brought right to the front of the foreground, representing that this is his fourth album. The viewer can infer that this is a super proud achievement of his.It really stands out to a potential customer as it is bold and clear. There isn’t a lot of bright colours within this album, indicating that it could possibly be a much more serious album than before. Also, half of the image on the front and back is in black and white. It highlights that maybe his music has taken a slight change and he is leaving some of his old styled music in the past. The artist’s name is in a block font, again standing out to people. The image on the front is of the artist starring straight at the camera, giving the viewer a personal connection. On the back is another picture of the artist, almost looking down at the tracks which are written on the bottom of the CD cover. The white font of the text juxtaposes the background colour, making it easier for viewers to read.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Lyric Analysis - My Music Video

These are some basic lyric analysis. Analysing the lyrics helped me to start storyboarding for how I wanted the music video to look. They also helped me to understand the concept and narrative more.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Narrative

    In the film industry, a set narrative for more or less all films has been created. The films have similar structures as they have become very formulaic and the audience knows what to expect to some extent. This could then be altered with plot twists to give the audience an element of surprise. Some popular narratives include Harry Potter, Alice in Wonderland, Star Wars and Lord of the Rings. These films are popular within Hollywood due to their successful narratives.

    Aristotle, a Greek theorist, highlights how most films have a three stage act structure. This consists of a beginning, middle and end. Typically, the film has a causal chain of events, with one situation leading to another. Films will have a thesis, which is like the equilibrium. The thesis is usually depicted at the start of the narrative. Soon, the antithesis (the villain) will start acting out against the thesis. By the end, of the narrative, a synthesis is introduced. The synthesis shows how things have changed forever now that the protagonist has accomplished his/hers mission and restored the equilibrium. Many people such as Syd Field, supported this. However, some people criticised as a lot of films were being made very similar to one another.

Todorov explains how there can sometimes be five stages to a film. He discusses how each stage of the narrative impacts the story as a whole. To begin with, an equilibrium is set. This introduces characters and the environment that the film is set in. The second act depicts the enigma (hook). The enigma is a puzzle for the protagonist and a problem is created, therefore the equilibrium is broken. Then, the protagonist is set on a ‘quest’ to restore the equilibrium. This section is also accompanied by twists within the narrative.

Narrative has developed for a Hollywood style of movie. This is a typical narrative produced in more or less every major film that the film industry in Hollywood run out. This is a three act structure and typically includes a protagonist, a desire/goal, an antagonist, conflict and a climax/resolution. A popular genre to relate this popular three act structure to would be the superhero genre. It is clear to the audience who within the films are the protagonist and antagonist. There also is usually an action or a fight scene, in which the conflict takes place. Some popular superhero films include: Spiderman, Batman and The Avengers.

However, this Hollywood three act structure can also be applied to non-superhero films. Some popular films are: Indiana Jones, Jaws, ET and Thelma and Louise. In Thelma and Louise, the audience follows two women who are oppressed by men throughout the film. The pair decide to take a road trip to escape their lives and work towards freedom. Even though they do commit several crimes along their journey, the audience begins to sympathise with Thelma and Louise as all they want to do is live their lives to the fullest.    

The different ways that the audience receives the ending is interesting as it varies so much. At the end of the film, the pair are surrounded by the police and the Grand Canyon. They eventually decide to drive off of the Grand Canyon. The negotiated reading a viewer can have is understanding why the pair drove off, but they think that there were other options. The preferred reading (the reading that the director wants the audience to have) is how them jumping of represents their independence and sums up how they gained power throughout the whole film. The opposite reading is a reading that the director wouldn’t want the audience to have and this is that the pair are dead and they have been defeated. It is not a very uplifting ending at all. Then, there is the aberrant reading which debates whether the pair are actually dead or not.

People then began exploring what exactly made a film more interesting. John Yorke identified what sort of aspects films should have to make it engaging, these included: a surprise, a hook, an enigma, a cliffhanger, a struggle, a crisis and inciting incidents. Roland Barthes began exploring ‘codes’. This started with the Hermeneutic code which are a series of methods to uphold the narrative which include red herrings, puzzles and traps. The Proairetic code is a series of crisis points, including: tension, cliffhangers and enigmas. The symbolic codes are visual texts which have symbols and have deep symbolic meaning. There are also cultural codes which are read correctly due to shared or dominant backgrounds.

A man called Christopher Booker explains how there are seven basic plots within film. These include: overcoming the monster, rags to riches, the quest, comedy, tragedy, re-birth and the voyage and return. A lot of these plots can be most commonly seen in Disney films.

Within films, hooks are constantly needed to keep the audience watching. This is why the need for concepts such as inciting incidents are so important. A ‘desire’ is set early on within the film. This desire is usually to restore the equilibrium. So, the inciting incident then becomes a catalyst for the protagonist’s desire and usually sets them off on their mission and introduces the action. The journey begins and the audience becomes intrigued to where this journey will take the protagonist. A long the journey, the protagonist might face a crisis. This is where someone close to them might pass away or something might test the character. This shakes up the plot a bit and again, keeps the audience engaged. The plot will then eventually reach the climax, which is where the action kicks in and there is usually confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist. Typically, there is usually a battle or some sort of fight between the two. The plot finally reaches a resolution. Depending on the genre, there is either a marriage, reward or punishment. Either way, plot twists are resolved and any love ends are tied up. There could even be a cliffhanger right at the end for a potential sequel/prequel.

RESEARCH AND PLANNING: Music Video Analysis - I'm Not The Only One by Sam Smith

At the start of the video, the audience is presented with a stereotypical American house, which the camera slowly zooms in on. It is clear that the camera is handheld, creating a feeling of uneasiness, accompanying the mood in the house. The cinematography is partnered with the sound of birdsong, this is symbolic of peace which highly contrasts the dynamics between the couple. There is also a voice over at the start, but the cinematography later accompanies the audio. It sets in a sense of equilibrium for the audience. The lighting is also bright around the house, but the house itself seems to be covered by the shadows of the trees, suggesting something is not quite right. The actual house is white in colour, but the doors are black. These colours remind the audience of the 'good' and 'evil' that is traditionally seen in films.

After this, the audience is finally introduced to the couple that live inside the house. The atmosphere seems uneasy. Mise en scene is powerful within this scene as the man bares a blank facial expression whilst looking into the mirror. This depicts that he doesn't see his wrongdoings or fazed by them. He is wearing a suit, perhaps displaying his wealth or giving the audience an insight to what his job is. Proxemics can be seen here as the pair are quite close together, falsely suggesting that they are in quite a close relationship.

The camera then cuts to a tracking shot of the female walking out to say goodbye to her partner. The audience can see from her facial expressions that she seems relatively happy. Interestingly, the colour palette changes to quite a dark one and lighting is minimal. This continues until she reaches the door way and the natural daylight hit her. This is powerful cinematography as it represents her being in the dark as her partners cheated on her. However, when she finally comes into the light, it is showing the audience that she now knows what he has done. Facial expressions are yet again used here as her smile completely fades into almost a disappointed look. This really creates dramatic irony as her partner does not know that she has realised he has been seeing someone else.

Then, the music kicks in and the birdsong instantly stops, highlighting the change of mood. The video footage constantly cuts between footage of the female and male in separate locations. The environment that the female is in is lit up well, whilst the man is surrounding by darkness, creating a clear binary opposition. Costume is very important in this snippet as the female is wearing a white dress. It looks as if it is similar to a wedding dress at one point - which is symbolic of purity and almost innocence. On the other hand, the video footage of the man has a lot of camera noise surrounding him, making the audience feel as if he is more suspicious. Again, he has a completely blank expression, highlighting that he does not feel guilty.

 Next, the audience is presented with an audiovisual as the lyrics 'For better or for worse' can be heard on the screen. At this point, the female takes her lady off, strongly depicting that she feels that the marriage has now come to an end. Both makeup and body language are also very important here. The lady can be seen crying due to the makeup streaming down her face. She can also be seen clutching her chest, highlighting that she has been both, physically and mentally hurt.

After this very emotional scene, the camera cuts to the woman the the husband is having a affair with. It makes the audience compare the females. His wife seems more well off than the woman that the husband is having an affair with due to the costumes that they are both wearing. For the first time since the video started, the audience can see the husband finally smile. This strongly indicates that he is happier to be with the woman he is having an affair with rather than his wife. It adds an even more sympathetic view for the wife due to the audience seeing her crying her eyes out, compared to this other woman who is happy. Proxemics are used again in this snippet as the man touches the woman, confirming to the audience that he is having an affair. Again due to the contrasts between the two female characters, it creates a binary opposition.

The audience is then introduced to a short snippet of the artist. It looks like he is performing at the same bar that the male is at due to the dark colour palette and harsh spotlight. He may have been briefly included within the music video as it shows it's a very personal song to him and that he could relate to some of the lyrics. This changes the audio from non diegetic to diegetic as the characters are able to hear it. 

The female can then be seen purchasing gasoline and alcohol whilst the male can be seen continuing his affair. It depicts how desperate the wife is to get away from her problems as she resorts to drinking. She can be seen with an aggressive look on her face as a tracking shot follows her to the counter.

Whilst driving home, the audience is reintroduced to the light and dark situation with the wife again. This time, the shadows barely even cover her. It depicts how as the video continues, she is accepting the truth even more. A blurred close up of her hands is also shown, highlighting that they are shaking as she holds the wheel. This presents that she is almost unsure of what she is about to do. The camera cuts to footage of the husband having the affair, displaying that it is constantly on her mind. There is still a lot of camera noise within the footage to depict that he is not trustworthy at all.

The camera then cuts back to the housewife as she burns, what are presumably, the husband's clothes. She bares a smug look on her face as she is doing this and the fire glow can be seen on her face and in the reflection of the windows. She continues to watch the fire as it is almost like her burning away the memories that they had together.

Towards the end of the video, the husband can be seen walking back to the house. It makes the audience question where the car is that he was first seen driving off in. The blank facial expression that he had at the start of the video has now returned. The audience can also see the wife waiting for him at the door way, but in different clothing. It would suggest perhaps a different attitude too and prepares the audience for the conflict that it yet to come. However, the audience is mislead as the wife greets him with open arms. She even smiles towards the end of the video. This leads the audience to a cliffhanger as they do not know if she is smiling because of all of the destruction she has caused, knowing that the husband is about to walk in on it, or the whole video could have been a fantasy of what she wish she would do, but feels too trapped in the relationship. Therefore, she acts as if she does not know that the husband has been cheating and acts as if everything is normal. It turns into an enigma for the audience due to them not knowing whether she ended their relationship or not.