Research and Planning

Completing P3, M3 & D3 - notice that it is not just planning!
Be able to originate and plan a music video production for a specific music track


Step 1: Choose your track
The song that you choose should be no shorter than two minutes and no longer that four minutes. You do not have to pick a song that you know well, but you must be able to get hold of the track in a format that is high quality and compatible with Premiere Pro.

Step 2: Analysing your music track
As we have seen already, songs usually have a point; either a message or some meaning. It is important that you can demonstrate you have studied the song in order to uncover that meaning. To do this, simply print off the lyrics and annotate them, highlighting key phrases and explaining what they mean. Also, if you are lucky, you may be able to find an artists CD, DVD, website or Wikipedia page that details the meaning of the chosen track. Again, print this off and annotate if necessary.

 When analysing your track you are looking for:

· Meaning / concept / content
· Imagery
· Narrative
· Genre / style
· Pace
· Duration

Step 3: Researching the artist- image and representation
In order to demonstrate that you are aware of genre and representation in the music industry, you will need to demonstrate that you understand the band or artist. We need to know that you are going to deliver a video to that band (hypothetically) that conforms to their existing image and way they are presented. To do this, demonstrate your understanding of their style and ideologies by producing research e.g., print screens of the band / artist’s:

· Clothing / costumes
· Make-up
· Tone of existing videos
· Locations in existing videos
· Concepts / narratives

Step 4: Planning your video
You will be completing the usual paperwork for this unit.

You need to complete (and I recommend this order):

· Synopsis
· Recces
· Releases (talent and location)
· Storyboards and Timeline
· Budgeting
· Risk assessment
· Prop/costume list
· Production schedule