Planning: Casting

The Artist (Hazel)

I chose my friend Hazel as the narrator because she has a very distinctive style and appearance, and its good for an artist to have a visual style. Her hair always stands out

Sofia

I chose my friend Abi to be the singers’ love interest, that the song is about

The Narrator 

Ayaah, mimes the lyrics and tells the story of the two girls

Planning: Props

Planning: Location

Pitch (draft) for Music Video

Narrative/meaning

I want to create a music video for the song "Sofia" by Clairo, in order to address ongoing issues of homophobia and the negative effects of it on members of the LGBT community. The narrative would follow a young girl called Hazel (the artist) who has romantic feelings for this girl named Sofia, however they are unable to be together due to fear of judgement from others around them, like family, friends etc. This is highlighted through the lyrics that being together 'shouldn't feel like a crime'. 

The video should act to highlight how lgbt teens should be able to express themselves freely. This video will target a 16-25 year old mass audience, from any class, as younger generations are usually more open to these ideas surrounding sexuality and social change. 

The song is more upbeat and I am planning on the video to be more light and summery, whilst also portraying the issues. Planning on using projectors, ring lights, multiple locations. location ideas - cutaway scenes with character 'Sofia' in - natural summer setting leigh beach, parks etc. Summer adventures. Bright, breezy, dreamlike. Warm colour grading, saturated colour. 

Performance scenes - projector/colourful lights in the dark. Narrator playing guitar and miming the lyrics.

I would like the intertextual reference to be recognisable to the audience, potentially a reference from an iconic teen movie (mean girls??)

Website

The accompanying website will feature elements of the music video and also encourage interactivity and participation from the audience, with social media links, easter eggs etc, whilst also acting as promotion for the artist. 

Generic Research Summation

For generic research, I looked into codes and conventions of music videos and the artist's websites. I would like for there to be a clear logo, colour scheme, font used across all the media products I aim to create. 

I will take a lot of shot inspiration from Olivia Rodrigo's Deja Vu music video because I love the use of mirrors and TV screens. The video is colourful and summery

Generic Research Green Day

Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends [Official Music Video] - YouTube

WHY I'VE PICKED THIS MUSIC VIDEO

Reflects a troubled relationship after the boyfriend joins the military. It depicts happy moments in bright floral fields where the couple are happy and enjoying eachother's company, until the boyfriend has to leave. 

 

The intro is really pretty, with the introduction text overlay and the couple portrayed happily amongst the flowers.

From mid to end of the music video, there are performance aspects shown with the members of Green Day singing/playing instruments. This demonstrates the genre characteristics of rock and record label also demands for close ups of the artists. 

Generic Research Billie Eilish

   

 

WHY I'VE PICKED EILISH

She has a similar target audience to the product I intend to make.

Her target demographic skews 65% female and 35% male, furthermore, about 75% of listeners are most likely under the age of 35.

She has a strong sense of brand identity & synergy across her products. Her merch and website have a general colour scheme of neon green, black and white. the branding is instantly recognisable to most teens, and i would like to recreate a similar sense of branding across the media products I produce.

Billie Eilish - bad guy - YouTube

The Bad Guy music video stood out to me because of the use of colourful and vibrant backdrops and quirky editing, which is unexpected of a pop artist. She has an image that makes her identifiable & stand out from other artists. 

Generic Research Olivia Rodrigo

Olivia Rodrigo - deja vu (Official Video) - YouTube

I like the Intro and Outro text overlay

TV screens - notion of looking

Planning: Shots & Lyrics

https://youtu.be/L9l8zCOwEII - Sofia by Clairo

• Hazel (H) is the artist
• Sofia (S) is the girl the song and video is about
• Ayaah (A) is the narrator

I think we could do it if we tried
If only to say you're mine
Sofia, know that you and I
Shouldn't feel like a crime

I think we could do it if we tried
If only to say you're mine
Sofia, know that you and I
Shouldn't feel like a crime

You know I'll do anything you ask me to
But oh my God, I think I'm in love with you
Standin' here alone now, think that we can drive around
I just wanna say how I love you with your hair down
Baby, you don't gotta fight, I'll be here 'til the end of time
Wishin' that you were mine, pull you in, it's alright

I think we could do it if we tried
If only to say you're mine
Sofia, know that you and I
Shouldn't feel like a crime

Honey, I don't want it to fade
There's things that I know could get in the way
I don't want to say goodbye
And I think that we could do it if we tried

I think we could do it if we tried
If only to say you're mine
Sofia, know that you and I
Shouldn't feel like a crime

I think we could do it (I think we could, I think we could do it, if, if, if)
If we tried (we could, we could, you're mine)
I think we could do it (Sofia, know that you, you, you and I)
If we tried (shouldn't feel like a crime)
Sofia, know that you and I (I think we could, I think we could do it, we could, we could)
Shouldn't feel like a crime (do it, do it, you're mine) (get in the way)
Sofia, know that you and I (Sofia, know that you, you, you and I shouldn't feel)
Oh, oh (like a crime) (do it if we tried)

Practice Photoshoot

I decided to try putting a pair of nude tights over the camera lens in attempt to create a dreamy and faded look