Changes to ideas

As we started the filming process, we changed and developed some of our original ideas. Kelsey is now going to be 'Lily Allen' as she felt more comfortable miming the lyrics and had the appropriate Lily Allen attitude that was needed. We decided to change the idea for the beginning of the video, we decided it would be quite hard to do the classroom scene, because we would need to film it during college hours and we would need a classroom full of students to make it realistic. When we were arranging the filming schedule for this scene, it proved to be hard due to finding enough students available and being able to wear the appropriate clothing for the scene. But we still like the idea of zooming in to the eye to the start the story, as through filming practices it looked very effective. But we changed the idea from the classroom, to the idea of waking from a dream. At the start of the song, there is an instrumental that is very fast and upbeat, we decided to create a montage of brief snippets of the video in a random order in a fast cut edit, it would then cut in to Lucy's eye and zoom in before the first verse starts.

For the lyrics to...


'I don't know much, But I know this for certain,

That is the sun, Poking its head round the curtain.

Now please can we leave, I'd like to go to bed now.

It's not just the sun, That is hurting my head now.

I'm not trying to say, That I'm smelling of roses,

But when will we tire, Of putting shit up our noses. '

A close up of Kelsey shows her asleep in bed and then she awakes, and mimes to the lyrics whilst sitting up and using some movement and hand gestures in response to the lyrics, the camera movement switches between mid shots and close ups to switch emphasis between facial expressions and body movements. A long shot is then used to show Kelsey get up from out of bed and walk towards the camera. For this scene in the bedroom, we used Lucy's bedroom, it is a modern styled bedroom and we made it slightly messy for effect, Kelsey is wearing pyjama style clothing.

Then for the lyrics...



"I don't like staying up,

Staying up past the sunlight.

It's meant to be fun,

And this just doesn't feel right."

Kelsey opens the bedroom door which leads out to the hall way, on the floor is me lying down asleep in a drunken state with a vodka bottle in my hand and make up smudged on my face. A long shot is used from the other side of the door to show Kelsey opening it then, the camera then pans down to show me lying on the floor and Kelsey tip toeing over me, the camera then pans up to a close up of Kelsey's facial expression showing her reaction to seeing me like that on the floor, she then exits to her left in to the bathroom.



Then for the start to the chorus, for the lyrics...



"Why can't we all,

All just be honest,

Admit to ourselves,

That everyone's on it. "



A mid shot shows Kelsey opening the bathroom door in a change of clothing and perfected hair and make up, looking directly at the camera miming to the lyrics. We have kept the outfit and make up style that we were going to use originally. The aim of this shot is to show the transformation in to a party/clubbing style look.


For the remaining part of the chorus, to the lyrics:

"From grown politicians,

To young adolescents,

Prescribing themselves, Anti-depressants.

How can we start to tackle the problem,

If you don't put your hands up,

And admit that you're on them.

The kids are in danger,

They're all getting habits,

Because from what I can see, Everyone's at it.

Everyone's at it.

Everyone's at it.

Everyone's at it."



A low angled long shot is set up from the bottom of the stairs leading down form the hall way. Kelsey is at the top of the stairs, she slowly walks down and continues to mime the lyrics. On the 5th step is a pair of black patent high heels, she sits down and puts them on. It transfers between mid shots, close ups and the long shot whilst she is sitting. Then she stands up again and for the end of the chorus when the 'Everyone's at it' bit starts, it is very slow, so Kelsey slowly walks down a step at a time walking towards the camera at the bottom of the stairs.



For the second verse, the scene takes place in the kitchen. Kelsey is sat on the kitchen surface between the cooker and the sink. There are props in the shot such as; a kettle, toaster, fruit bowl, kitchen cupboards etc. To give an atmosphere of a homely spotless kitchen. Lucy is playing a mother in the scene, she has her hair tied back a dressing gown and no make up on, in a stereotyped manner, Lucy is cleaning the surface around Kelsey and folding a tea towel to put over the oven handle, completely oblivious to Kelsey being there, who is looking at the camera miming the lyrics. For the part of the lyrics:



"You go to the doctor,

You need pills to sleep in.

Well if you can convince him,

Then I guess that's not cheating.

So your daughter's depressed,

We'll get her straight on the prozac."



I enter the shot looking dismal and rubbing my eyes, Lucy feels my temperature and gives me a cuddle, then reaches up in to the cupboard to give me some pills. A long shot is used to capture all three of us in the scene. But we will also film a close up of Kelsey singing the second verse so we can cut between the two shot types. An extreme close up of Kelsey is used at the end of the verse for the line "But little do you know, She already takes crack. " Kelsey looks directly in to the camera in a very attitudinal manner.


For the second chorus, we have continued the walking along the street idea, but we have changed the location from Lewes to Newhaven. This is because, Lucy's house is in Newhaven, and we found some streets in Newhaven that are far more grottier which is more appropriate for the theme. Different shots of Kelsey walking, such as long shots, mid shots, close ups and extreme close ups of detail such as; her feet walking and objects on the ground. These shots will be cut between Kelsey singing against a brick wall.

The photo above is an example of a shot that we are going to cut to whilst Kelsey is walking through the alleyway. Charlotte is lighting up a cigarette crouched down on the floor, the pavement of the alleyway looks filthy and has lots of cracks in it, there is also a housing estate in the background giving the effect of an urban grotty environment, the look we were going for.

This is where we filmed the brick wall shots in Newhaven town, the camera is on a tripod for smooth filming, particularly for zooming in to different shots of Kelsey.

Above is a photograph of an example of what a close up shot of Kelsey would like against the brick wall.

This is a long shot of Kelsey before we do the alley way shots.

Story Board and Animatic

After discussing and further developing our ideas, we decided to create a storyboard, to plan out the key points of our music video in correct order with the lyrics. Each group member made valid contributions to put forward and took part in drawing and designing the story boards.



This is the first page of our story board, the first drawing summarises our idea of the class room scene, showing the staging we've considered. The second drawing is a close up of Lucy sitting at the desk, looking bored and uninterested in response to the teacher. The third drawing is of Lucy's eye, representing the idea of the camera zooming in to her eye and changing in to the next scene, out of the classroom. The fourth drawing is of Lucy walking down an alleyway, with a confident attitude miming the lyrics to the song. The fifth drawing is a shot of Lucy singing against a brick wall which will be used frequently in the video, for example cut in to parts of the chorus. The sixth drawing is an idea we had that Lucy could spin off from the wall before it cuts in to a different scene.





This is the second part of the story board. The first drawing shows some teenagers crouching together in the streets of the night and it is assumed that they are taking drugs. The second drawing represents a long shot showing Lucy walk across passed the teenagers taking drugs. The third drawing is of a teenager on the pavement floor passed out from a heavy night with a bottle of vodka in their hand. The fourth drawing is of Lucy walking down the alley way again but this time people are seen walking by in a drunken and disorderly manner. The fifth drawing shows a couple under the street light having a kiss, both dressed as if they have been to a party/clubbing with alcohol in their hands. The sixth drawing is of a man who shows behaviour and looks like he is on drugs, he tries to grab Lucy but she pushes him away.




This is the third page of our story board, the first drawing represents an extreme close up shot of a doctors hand giving over a prescription. This fits with the lyrics 'you go to the doctors you need pills for sleeping'. The second drawing represents a scene in the kitchen, it shows a long shot of a mum in the kitchen doing house work/cooking tasks. The third drawing is still in the kitchen and is a medium close up of Lucy sitting on the kitchen surface, her legs dangling and singing to the lyrics watching the mum. The fourth drawing is of the daughter coming through the kitchen door, looking unhealthy and as if shes come home the next day from a heavy night out. The kitchen scene matches the lyrics 'you're daughters depressed get her straight on the Prozac, but little do you know, she already takes crack.' The fifth drawing is an extreme close up shot that can be used at various parts of the chorus during the video, of Lucy's lips miming the lyrics. The sixth drawing is of two grown men in suits in an important meeting which matches the lines 'from grown politicians'.




This is the fourth and final page of our story board, the first drawing is off a group of people at a drug counselling session, getting help for their addiction. Lucy circles the group with a feeling of positivity as they have gone to get help. The second drawing is of Lucy walking down a street at night there is no one on the streets this time and she appears happy and less fearful. The third drawing is of the classroom scene again, Lucy returns from her imagination back to reality towards the end of the anti drug lecture. The fourth drawing is of a close up of Lucy sitting at her desk miming the final lyrics on the song. The fifth drawing is a long shot showing the kids all relieved and dashing out of the classroom apart from Lucy. The sixth drawing is of Lucy left alone in the classroom at her desk deep in thought, the final shot of the video.


After making our story board, we made an animatic, featuring the images from our story board. This helped allow us to get sense of the order of shots and also to get idea of where shots can be cut and by doing this task we also gained experience of using 'Final Cut Pro' on the Apple Mac laptops.

The pitch

As a group, we had to present a 'pitch' to the class, as if we were promoting out music video ideas to the record label. We created a powerpoint presentation to summarise our main ideas and to show images to portray examples. Below is the link to our powerpoint presentation...



https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0BwJOqYzWJmrZY2M1ZTk3MzEtNmY3My00Nzk1LWFmODAtNjUwNjVlOGMwODNm&hl=en



We also had our pitch filmed, including our teachers feedback at the end. Below is the link to the video...

Digi pack designs

Before creating my own digipack design, I decided to look at Lily Allen's previous cover work to seek inspiration. Just like Lily's style, the cover art has changed from the older album to her newest. Her older cover work includes busy backgrounds, bright colours, cartoon style fonts and Lily posing in a fun way. Lily's newer cover art is alot more sophisticated, with plain backgrounds, more subtle use of colour, a more mature font style and Lily posing in a more adult manner- fronting her new image. Because the single 'everyones at it' is taken from her new album, I am going to stick to this style when designing my digi pack.

1)

This is my first flat plan for the digi pack showing each dimension on the outside and inside of it. For the front cover, I decided to use a brick wall background, this is to continue the urban theme form the music video. Brick walls are associated with alleyways and streets, which is a stereotypical place for drug use and dealing. In the music video we frequently cut to Kelsey singing against the brick wall as we think it's an effective and memorable shot. I wanted this product to link to the music video and thought the brick wall is a way of representing it. An image of Kelsey would be using, wearing the same costume as she is in the music video, this establishes the artists image as well as the video and digi pack promoting one another. She is looking directly at the camera, the use of eye contact connects to the audience which makes a good selling point. She is holding a spray can in her hand and above her written on the wall is the title of the single 'Everyone's at it' in a graffiti font. This font compliments the brick wall as it emphasises the urban theme of the music video. The font colour is white which stands out against the brick wall background so the audience can clearly read the song title. The artists name 'Lily Allen' is in a similar font to her recent cover work, which i think looks simple but memorable so it can establish itself as a brand logo, so the audience can associate it with the artist.

The back cover uses the same image as the front cover- the brick wall. This looks professional and many artists use this technique on their cover work, I was influenced by the Kanye West cover that I analysed previously. The song titles are written in the same graffiti font, again in white, so it is the same as the front cover making it look more realistic. I have included details such as a bar code and information at the bottom such as; producer and recorder name, record label and Lily Allen's website in a smaller font. As all back covers of CDs have this information provided.

The left inner panel has an image of the brick wall again and I had the idea to put the chorus of 'Everyone's at it' sprayed in graffiti on it. This looks original and still reflects the theme of the song and the rest of the digi pack.

The right inner panel has an image of Kelsey crouching down on the pavement with a hooded top on and a garage door behind her. The hooded top on gives her a sense of rebellion which relates to the graffiti that she's pictured doing on the front cover. It is also a replica of one of the last shots from the music video, so a strong link between both these products has been created and fans will associate the image with the music video.

I like this flat plan design as the theme is consistent through out and I think it will attract the target audience - teenagers/young adults. My concern is that it does not really portray Lily Allen's recent cover work, also the right inner panel is where the disk goes, so the image will lack visibility due to the plastic where the CD slots.

2)

This is my second flat plan for the digi pack. I wanted to make it more in the style of Lily Allen, so it reflects a wider audience not just teenagers. For the front cover I was inspired by Lily Allen's recent cover work, (two examples were at the top of this blog entry). So I decided upon a pale green coloured background- as she has had pale coloured backgrounds. The same font in my previous flat plan, similar to Lily Allen's brand logo and a medium close up shot of Kelsey. This design is really simple, but most of the time the simplest things can be the most eye catching and look better visually.

The back cover is in the same colour as the front cover, I have included the artists name at the top again, this looks realistic as many covers repeat the brand logo on the back. The song titles are in a black, sophisticated and feminine looking font and there is a montage of images of Kelsey underneath from different shots of the music video.

The left inner panel is the same as on the previous flat plan, as I thought the idea of using the lyrics is really unique. Also, it adds a bit of sense of the music video to the digi pack.

The right inner panel is very simple, it is the same pale green colour as on the front and back cover maintaining a consistency. In the middle is the artists name, in the same font, to establish it as a brand logo. When I was looking through CDs I noticed quite a few had the artist name on this panel, which influenced this idea. Like I mentioned on the evaluation of the previous flat plan, visibility is impaired, therefore this idea is more appropriate than a detailed photograph of Kelsey.

I like this idea too as I needed to portray more of Lily Allen's style. But I asked for feedback as both my designs are very different. The favoured design was rather mixed, some people liked the consistent theme of the first design and it's link to the music video, where as some people liked the simplicity of the second design and think it would attract a larger audience. Therefore with my third design I need to combine these factors together.

3)

This is the third and final design for the digi pack. The front cover features both aspects of the front cover on the two previous designs. In the middle is a medium close up of Kelsey, to the left side of her is the pale green back ground and Lily Allen logo in black as featured on the first design and on her right side is the brick wall with the song title in a white graffiti styled font. Now a sense of Lily Allen is conveyed as well as the urban theme that relates to the song and the music video.

On the back cover, the left side continues the image of the brick wall, on the right side is the pale green colour with the artists name and another image of Kelsey, this back cover is visually more interesting that the previous two. I also included extra detail such as the song length in a smaller font next to the track titles making it look more professional. As well as the bar code and standard information which was on my first design.

On the inner left panel, I liked the continuing theme of the brick wall, but thought an image of Kelsey against the brick wall would be more interesting. I have kept the idea of the lyrics and have placed them underneath her.

On the right inner panel, I thought the design in the previous plan was a little dull and wanted to have a more creative design. I looked at CDs for inspiration and on a 5ive album I saw lots of small repeated images on the inner right panel and thought it looked really good. So this influenced my design idea, I chose to use the same image of Kelsey a son the first flat plan. The repeated effect will not be affected by the lack of visibility either.

I received alot of positive feedback from this design so this is definitely the one I am going to create.

Target audience

I need to discover Lily Allen's target audience. In marketing and advertising, a target audience, or target group is the primary group of people that something, usually an advertising campaign, is aimed at appealing to.

Firstly, I will be doing this by looking at what types of fans she has on social networking websites such as; Facebook and My Space. On Lily Allen's facebook page; her fans are a mixture of both males and females, of mixed cultures, but mostly the younger generation- teenagers. With quite individual styles and taste which makes them look different from the mainstream crowd. Which is what Lily likes to do, so they obviously appreciate her originality and that's something we must consider.

Lily Allen is definitely considered an icon, she has appeared in many style magazines...

Therefore it is important that in the video, we keep Lily fashionable up to date style when considering costume choices. As the first three magazines ate fashion magazines aimed at young women. However, Q is a music magazine, specialising in the indie genre, statistics from the national readership website show that its mostly males that read this magazine. The way that Lily has been styled on the front cover could also suggest that she is considered a 'sex symbol'. So as well as Lily's fans being mostly of the teenage generation, she also appeals to adults of both genders but for different reasons. Her unique image, different style of sound and controversial lyrics make her an artist that appeals to a wide audience. However, we are going to make the target audience for our music video: teenagers/young adults as it's this audience that are most likely to buy her music, but with a mature edge so that it can apply to older ages too. The younger generation e.g; school children are perhaps to young to understand and appreciate her style of music and controversial lyrics.