Storyboard and Plot

Following on from my idea sketches, I have collated my drawings together to make a full storyboard alongside the song audio. This was done using Serif MoviePlus as it was easy to add in the drawings and move them to where I wanted in relation to the music. This gives me a way better visual representation of what the finished product will look like, and has allowed me to make necessary changes to the music video before I start the filming.


What have I learned?

• I have learned some basic video editing skills such as cutting + timing to the music.
• I've also given myself a better idea of the plot and how it fits with the song. 
• It takes a while to edit even just using stills!

What will I do better in the actual video?

• I will try to make the shots fit in time to the beat of the music
• I will have a much greater variety of shot types as well as moving pans or swinging shots

Changes I will make for the final video

My plot will be slightly changed to make it a bit longer. This is to keep the audience engaged throughout the video as I found that during the storyboard the plot got a bit samey during the second verse and chorus. It will now act roughly as follows:

Verse 1 - Introducing the school, class and teacher. Everyone is messing around until Mr. A walks in and writes his name on the board, which causes the class to fall silent to the surprise of the band. Starting some hard maths stuff on the whiteboard. Bored band. 

Chorus 1 - Mr. A picks on the lead singer who gets a question wrong 'you had all the answers but no human touch'. The band start to feel like demotivated in class. 

Verse 2 - Results of a class test passed out - cue montage of close up of the paper being slapped onto the desks of each bandmate, with a reaction from each. Mr. A carries on being difficult before finally pointing onto the board - a class exam is next week. 

Chorus 2 - Possibly a shot of the band walking home. Time lapse/montage of the lead singer revising mixed with either shots of the numbers swirling or perhaps Mr. A shouting playing on the singer's mind. A slow, mo shot of all the revision notes and paper flying in the air.

Bridge - Long, wide shot of the exam hall. Mr. A stood at the front menacingly with the clock. There will then be a variety of shots of the students, Mr. A and performance shots that increase in frequency with the pace of the music. 

Final chorus - Exam ends to the happiness of the band. Final performance shots, perhaps in the exam hall itself when it is empty. Shots of Mr.A.

Ending - Back in the classroom where a glummer looking Mr. A hands out the exam papers. Similarly to earlier there will be the shots of the band receiving their papers, except now they will be B+s, and the lead will get an A! This will then be graphic matched onto the board writing of Mr. A, which will then be rubbed off as the camera fades. 

Props and Equipment List

Here is a list of props and costumes that I think I will need for the music video;

Instruments
Microphone and stand
Electric guitar
Bass guitar
Drum kit

These can be borrowed from music or from friends

General Props
Pencil case, pens and pencils
Whiteboard pen
Paper
Past exam papers
Exam desks (will need to ask exam office to borrow)

Costumes 
Shirt and tie
Beard/wig
Glasses

School blazer/tie?

Next, I have compiled a list of the equipment I will need to film and edit my music video;

Filming 
Sony HDV 1000 Camera - For filming
Tripod - To steady and move the camera when filming

Editing
Apple Mac computer
Final Cut Pro editing software

Goodbye Mr. A Lyrics

Here is a popplet showing the lyrics of my chosen track, Goodbye Mr. A, alongside some quick analysis of the words (in red) and some ideas I have come up with to use in the video alongside certain lyrics (in blue).

Pitch and Feedback

After my original brainstorming, the next step was to pitch my idea to my teacher and get feedback on what I can do to improve. I then used the feedback to create a plan of what I am going to do next.

Following the pitch, I have come up with a list of a few things to do next:

• Do a focus group or similar to gather more ideas for the music video.
• Take a look at the song's lyrics and analyse them. 
• Make a storyboard to come up with the plot
• Watch some more videos that use a lot of lip-syncing and editing to learn about how they do it. 

Planning - Initial Ideas

In this section I have thought of my first ideas for the music video, complete with sketches of some camera shot ideas for the video. I like this idea as it is simple, quite easy to film and fits in with the conventions of both the genre and the music theorists. I pitched this idea to my teacher and gained some feedback on what is good and what could be done differently, as well as suggestions for different settings and shots. 

The band consists of;

Lead vocals/main guitar

Bass/backing vocals

Drums

Music video settings

Narrative

School classroom with a whiteboard and desk (start of video when we see Mr. A)

Exam hall (final section of the song)

Desk at home (a few shots of some revision before exam)

Performance

Band all together with plain background

Band in the exam hall/classroom (help link with narrative)

Maybe some specific shots of the singer

Some can be combined similarly to ‘What I Go to School For’

Idea for narrative

The video would start in a classroom with a close up of Mr. A writing his name on the board as if he is a new teacher, before the camera switches to a bored classroom with the band sat at the front. Mr A would be dressed with a big stomach, beard and glasses and would have to act like the classic stereotypical nightmare maths teacher.

During the first part of the video the primary setting would be the classroom with some lip syncing from the singer during some of the shots. Some ideas for this section would be a montage of F and E graded papers being handed to the band (camera being high angled pointing down onto the desk as the paper is put down), to their dismay, Mr. A doing horrible questions on the board or the rest of the class messing about while the band sit at the front getting told off. This would be mixed in with performance shots.

The next part of the video, after the second chorus, would be a quick montage of the lead singer revising in his room – shots of him snapping a pencil, throwing paper etc (could all be shot from the same place to show a passage of time) as the song speeds up, then as it slows down a high angle shot of the exam hall comes in, so we can see that the final exam is taking place. There could be another time lapse kind of section showing things such as the band struggling in the exam or Mr. A sat with his feet up at the front of the hall.

To end the video such as in the final chorus and quite high tempo instrumental after, the band can be dancing in the performance section and throwing their papers up triumphantly in the air after finishing the exam.

Finally, a shot of Mr. A handing the papers out back in the classroom. A repeat of the paper handing out shot earlier could be used, except this time there is an A on the front. This can then be graphic matched to the original ‘Mr. A’ on the whiteboard, before the writing is rubbed out and the camera fades to black.

Illustrated sketches of ideas for some camera shots were drawn on some A4 paper.