Shot list

In order to fully comprehend whether my music video idea will work and portray the right emotion that I wish to get across to the audience, I have created a shot list in the form of an animatic. In doing so, I can easily see my video in the formation of hand-draw images; the length of shots and whether my initial idea is workable.

By creating my shot list in this format, it would seem that my idea for the music video is workable being a simple concept presented through varying shots of both people and objects. I feel that if I am able to recreate this animatic successful in the form of moving images, then my video will fully convey the emotion behind the song whilst also presenting the artist of Alice in the correct light.

I have followed Andrew Goodwin's music video theory and so the shot list (and eventually the video itself) contains elements of the link between lyric and music to visual, a substantial amount of close-ups as well as the presence of a star persona, a sense of the voyeuristic element, an indication to the genre of the song as well as a sense of intertextual references. All of these elements mean that my overall video will have followed the codes and conventions of a music video of this genre and so making it more successful as coursework.

Copyright issues.

As the song I wish to use is held by Warner Bros Records (as this was the label they were with when the record was released), I need to ask permission from them to use the song in order to avoid having any future problems due to copyright. The only way to contact this major record label is to write them a letter which I have print screened below:






This will then be sent to the following address:

75 Rockefeller Plaza
New York,
NY 10019

Contact Sheet of potential images for album cover/ advert

To create my album cover and advert, I need to have a selection of original photography that is relevant to my artist's music and personality. I have taken images and put them into a contact sheet.

'Songbird' music video pitch board

In order to consolidate my ideas on my music video, I have created a pitch board of ideas for location, costuming and other aspects of mise-en-scene.

Above is the spider-diagram I created on the ideas for my music video and below is my ideas put into images.

Director's Pitch Activity

1. Ideas for the video- concept:

The video is meant to portray the emotion of the lyrics by having a couple walking in the countryside/ field. As my artist is considered as a down-to-earth artist, by having her and her 'boyfriend' walking in the country reinforces this idea whilst also following the same concept of the 'Your Song' video- my biggest influence. The whole video is meant to follow a home video feel, enhancing the sense of voyeurism within the video.


2. Intertextual references:

Meant to remind the audience of a home video. Will also remind the audience of other music videos of this style such as 'Your Song'..


3. Locations/ special features needed:

The video is set in the countryside/ field. In order to create the home video feel, special effects need to be added in the editing stage, such as special filters.

Lyric deconstruction

In order to start to consolidate my ideas for my video, I have deconstructed the lyrics of the song in such a way that certain images and ideas are sparked from either a word or a sentence of the song.

For you, there'll be no more crying,

For you, the sun will be shining,

And I feel that when I'm with you,

it's alright, I know it's right

To you, I'll give the world

to you, I'll never be cold

'Cause I feel that when I'm with you,

It's alright, I know it's right.

And the songbirds are singing,

Like they know the score,

And I love you, I love you, I love you,

Like never before.

And I wish you all the love in the world,

But most of all, I wish it from myself.

And the songbirds keep singing,

Like they know the score,

And I love you, I love you,I love you,

Like never before, like never before.

Above are the lyrics for the song 'Songbird' which although looks reasonably short in comparison to other songs, provides much in terms of what can be described as imagery, especially when the tone of the song is also taken into consideration. As my idea for this video is following the same tone and idea as Ellie Goulding's video 'Your Song' (see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9AFMVMl9qE for a reminder) there is going to be a very natural feel to the video, with a couple walking in the countryside being my overall narrative- something which automatically emphasises the lyrics and tone of the video.

Part of Goodwin's theory in relation to the link between the lyrics and the visuals is that the visuals can either mention, enhance or contradict the lyric being sung. In regards to my idea formed around these lyrics, the lyric is either commented on or enhanced through the visual that I have decided upon. When you consider the tone and meaning of the song, it therefore makes sense to avoid contradicting the lyric with the visual as it will take away from the emotion that I want to portray throughout this video, whilst also possibly leading to confusion for the audience.

Below is my annotated copy of 'Songbird' lyrics, suggesting possible shots and ideas in relation to the words being sung. This deconstruction of the lyrics will be made in a more visual way in my animation of a shot list.

Mock- up of advert

Like with the album cover, in order to gain a full understanding of the codes and conventions of an advert, as well as practising the elements learnt from the previous analysis, it is advised to create a mock advert using found images.

This is the first stage of creating my mock advert. As noticed through the analysis, I have chosen to use the same image that was used on my album cover, however I have found a version that is more of a close-up of the artist and so fills the space better than the original image from my album cover. I have added the artist name and title of the album (as that is what I am advertising) in the same fonts and colours that I used in on the album cover, providing the person looking at it with an automatic link between the merchandise being advertised, the artist and the advert itself.

This is the next stage in my advert. I have added the star ratings that are present in most adverts of this variety to provide evidence as to why the fan should buy the album.

In this stage I have played around with the colours, especially in regards to the critics marks in order to make them stand out against the background.





This is my completed mock advert. I have added a quote at the bottom- another convention of adverts. The dominant image, fonts and colours reflect the album that this advert is promoting whilst the presence of quotes and critics ratings emphasise its adverting quality. I feel that with this mock-up, I have successfully conveyed the predominant codes and conventions of adverts, whilst also making it look aesthetically pleasing.

Reflective analysis on adverts

From analysing the adverts for both Ellie Goulding and Fleetwood Mac, it has to be concluded that it is essential that it contains certain aspects that allow the audience to make automatic connections between the advert and other merchandise from the artist. As adverts are usually for the promotion of either an album/ single or a tour, it therefore makes sense that these visual links are in the form of the dominant image, font or colour scheme from the artists merchandise as the person viewing the advert is already familiar with these aspects. With this in mind, when it comes to creating my own advert, it makes sense to include these aspects to make it look more professional.

In regards to the text that is present on an advert, it is very dependent on what the advert is promoting. If advertising an album, the advert is likely to contain information on the critical reception and the ratings that it received. However, this information is likely to be slightly biased as it has to enable the selling of the album, and so the ratings and critics comments have to positive as seen on the Ellie Goulding adverts. Yet if promoting a tour, such as the Fleetwood Mac adverts were, the information focuses more on the name of the tour and the date/ place/ time and other essential details regarding the tour itself.

With these ideas as a basis, it is therefore easier to create my own advert with the aim of making it look as professional as possible.

Ellie Goulding advert analysis

As another of my inspirations behind my artist is Ellie Goulding, I decided to analyse a couple of her adverts in order to draw comparisons from the Fleetwood Mac adverts as well as gaining ideas for my own.

The advert above is slightly different from the conventional adverts that are created as it seems to be more about promoting the artist herself rather than an album or a tour. However, the same sort of codes and conventions still apply regardless of its purpose. The font used is the same as that which is used on any other Ellie Goulding merchandise, allowing the person looking at this advert to make an automatic connection with the advert and the artist. By using the same sort of font on everything to do with Ellie means that the audience is always aware of her merchandise as she has made it her signature font. The image, like that on the Fleetwood Mac adverts, is one that has been used on album/ single covers, again allowing the audience to make that automatic connection between the advert and the artist. By having white text on the dimmer and darker background allows this text to stand out whilst also complementing the mood of the advert. In addition to this, some of the text and the borders around some of the critics reports have that glowing tone to them, like that on the 'Lights' album cover and so again providing an automatic link between the artist and the advert. Yet, unlike most adverts, the advert contains a large chunk of text at the top, introducing the artist to the person looking at the advert.

The advert above is advertising Ellie Goulding's album 'Lights' and so is more of a traditional advert compared to the other advert analysed. Like all the other adverts analysed, the dominant image is that from the album itself and so there is that automatic link between the album being advertised and the advert itself. The fonts and colours are also from the album cover. Yet in addition to this, the advert contains the ratings and the critical reception that the album received

providing the audience with some guidance as to the success of the album. However, these critical comments are biased as they would want to make the album look as good as possible, and so the viewer needs to be wary of them. Yet overall, this advert is essentially just taking the album cover and transferring it to an advert with added information.

Fleetwood Mac advert analysis

As part of the media coursework requirements, an advert is meant to be created as part of the promotion of the single being used. In order to gain the sufficient knowledge in order to create a successful advert, it is advisable to analyse adverts that relate to our artist. I have found a couple of adverts that are for the band Fleetwood Mac: one for part of the Rumours tour in 1977 and another for their 2009 tour.

This advert above is the one from 1977, advertising the Oakland Stadium leg of their Rumours tour. It has a very vibrant 70s feel to it, with the colour scheme, the font used and the image running along the border. The dominant image is in fact one of the images that was used in the Rumours album itself and so provides the audience with a automatic link with the album and the tour. The colours complement each other, with the darker colours firstly allowing the brighter colours to stand out, but also connotating the slightly more emotional side of the album itself. Even the image of the heart grenade connotates the ideas behind the album, with the idea that their love and relationship was about to explode.

In complete contrast is the advert from the 2009 tour as shown above. Being made in a far later date, it is therefore unsurprising that due to advancements in technology as well as the changes to the band itself, that is advert is significantly different to the 1977 one. The colour scheme connotates the older age of the band, with the bronze suggesting a more sophisticated level to the band. Even the fonts indicate a more sophisticated band compared to that presented in the 1977 advert. Again the image is the image that is featured on the accompanying album and so the audience have a direct link between the tour and the album.