For our music video we decided to construct the video almost from the artists point of view, we are choosing to challenge gender stereotypes by a woman having full status and telling a story. There is a clear narrative structure and Todorovs' theory of narrative can be applied. The video will be from the artists point of view and she will be watching how the couple interact. We have created meaning through moving image language by using several cross cuts between the female and male to establish them as a couple with cross cuts to the artist in altogether very different situations, we can clearly apply Todorovs' narrative theory to our video and this will be extremely appropriate with connoting the narrative to the audience.
At various intervals the artist will be lip singing the song at the male, only her lips will be shown. She will also sing the 'CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE' lines, this will make this line stand out and show the build up to the ending of the music video. The artist will also always be singing the verse, this will make a clear difference between the artist and the couple and also link to the music videos that we analysed as it has the few performance scenes in it.
The cross cuts between the male and the female will ensure that it is established for the audience that they are a couple, this will be clear from the onset, as we are using lots of intercuts we can easily make this connection establishing them as a collective identity.
The setting for our video will be in the house, outside on the street and in various settings for the male character such as a pub or out with his friends, this means that we can use various settings and vary the shots in the video to make sure that we keep the audience engaged and interested and also keeps the editing very quick which links to the conventions of our genre and the music videos that we have previously analysed.
For the beginning of our storyboard we decided to start off with a mid shot of the artist with a direct mode of address, with the artist central to the frame, this will establish the artist and engage the audience.
The next shot we decided on was a mid shot of the male going out of the door, this is followed by a mid shot of the woman sat on a bed, while another mid shot shows the male out in his social surroundings having a good time, the audience will link these two characters together and see both sides of the male going out while the female is in the house.
The long shot of the couple entering the shop is just a general social situation, where there is a mid shot of the female looking at the magazine, a mid shot shows the females facial expression and shows that she is unhappy, the next mid close up shot displays why, as the female is oppressing the male by putting his arms around her. A close up on the magazine cover shows the woman putting the magazine back down followed by a mid shot of the male holding the females waist. This is followed by a long tracking shot of the female walking out of the shot away from the male. A sudden intercut shows the artist, hands over her face singing 'CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE' as she lowers to the ground, this displays the feelings that the female is feeling.
There is then a close up of the female, who is covering her eyes, this does link to the lyrics 'cover my eyes so I can't see you', this is followed by a mid shot which zooms in to a close up showing a bottle being put into a bin, this connotes the males ongoing social life, this is also followed by a mid shot of the male with friends which reinforces this.
The several close up medium shots help the audience to identify with the characters and the artist herself which is reinforced by the use of direct mode of address, by the artist looking at the audience she is engaging them.
A high angle shot of the female in bed shows the female, she is tossing and turning in bed and can't sleep, dissolving images of the male keep coming into her head stopping her from sleeping. These are still images dissolving in and out showing that she cannot get the male off of her mind. A high angle shot of the female putting her pillow over her head shows that she is trying to block these images out, they are inconvenient as is the male to her. We then see a mid close up on the female as she is finally able to sleep.
We then have a close up, in the style of 'PINK, SO WHAT' of the artist, with clenched fists, this is accompanied by the line 'CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE' which is followed by an extreme close up on the artists lips intercut with images of the couple, especially the male. By using several close ups of the artist singing this line, the audience can identify with the artist, creating a link between them, they can escape into a world of fantasy, engaging with the text.
The audience is then drawn to the female by a mid shot, she is stood at the door and is happy, this is shown by a close up onto her facial expression. The audience soon finds out why this is, as close ups of her putting the males things into bags or suitcases are show, this then is followed by a mid shot of the artist singing 'CAN'T TAKE THE PRESSURE' as the storyline builds up for the couple.
There is then a mid shot of the female shutting the door on the male, she's getting her life back, this is then followed by a long shot to a very long shot of the male walking away followed by a fade out of the male as the music fades out. This last shot of the male walking away shows the status the female has, as the image fades out the music does too. By this fade away at the end we are showing this emotional male who has had to walk away, his world has crumbled apart and there's a strong sense of a male in crisis, he is suffering and has lost his 'mojo'.A proppian analysis would highlight the artist as the hero and the male as the villain, a strong role reversal.Were almost giving a message or a guide to young women on how to be empowered and how to get out of these sort of relationships, saying that you don't need this male figure.
CD covers:
The female on our CD cover is represented as a strong, independent woman through a direct mode of address, and strong poise and is at the forefront of the frame. The direct mode of address especially links to the uses and gratifications theory and the audiences need to relate. We chose for the artist to dominate the frame purely to reinforce this challenge of gender stereotypes.
The capital lettering copy ensures that this strong, affirmative attitude is reinforced, it gives more of a harsh, determined tone and shows the audience that her music isn't just 'girly', it's got an edgy feel to it, she's different and unique. This would attract our target demographic, our artist would almost play a role model to our target age range.
We have encoded our CD cover to say to these women that they can be this strong female figure, we are living in a post feminist age and can be anything that we want to be. We are challenging ideas about gender and getting away from these ideologies of women only being good for having kids, staying in the home and that we are too emotional and irrational to be an independent woman. We are emancipating all of these women from their relationships, subverting to narrative structure with a woman in control.
This woman on the front cover has fallen out of this domestic sphere that women are placed in, we are conforming to the codes and conventions of our CD covers that we analysed as the women challenge gender stereotypes, they seem out of control, they aren't these timid, subservient characters we expect them to be as women.
We have especially engaged our target demographic through the attitude that our CD cover gives across, it shows a strong independent character who is unique and doesn't need to depend on others. We have also engaged our target demographic through costume, the red and black colour scheme on the clothing suggests a rebellious side to the artist, the red especially connoting a dangerous edge. The central framing ensures that all attention is focused on the artist.
The copy used is minimalistic, it gives all that the audience needs to know, the artist name and the song name. The capital lettering and bright copy makes it stand out from the background.
We have communicated the genre of Pop Rock through our image and copy, both are edgy and the black and red colour scheme particularly on the costume reinforces this, we are challenging dominant ideologies of a woman.
The selfridges building gives a futuristic and edgy look for our CD cover, this fits in with the codes and conventions of the CD covers for Pop Rock that we have analysed.
The copy of the artists name 'SYD MARIE' would engage the audience, firstly the copy is in capitals, it has quite a harsh tone to it, it's a name with male connotations however has a feminine edge to it, it almost doesn't fit the connotations of the artist name, 'Syd' immediately connotes a male persona whereas the name 'Marie' feminises it.
The audience are active consumers of the media and can see themselves and place themselves within this text, identifying with the artist.
Our print advert will be extremely similar to our CD cover, it will feature the same style of image and same style of copy, yet say 'OUT NOW' as an added text.
