Our location/ storyboards

We took some pictures of Myatts field park which we are going to use for our music video. We took pictures of a long pathway which we could use for our characters to walk through, maybe on an autumn day with the leaves on the floor or a winter day with the snow on the floor. It could work either way because the cold weather will represent the characters' moods and mental state.

Here are some rough storyboads. They might change later, however:

update 2

So far, we have finished our track. Today we had to finish the male voice parts, which we have now completed . We then just had to tweak a few things to put the finishing touches. Now we have to get our storyboards and ideas together for our music video.

Song making process/lyrics and final song!

We finished making our track a few weeks ago, and as of now we've finished most of the lyrics. We now recorded one verse and we now all we have to do is record the rest of the song, maybe change the tone, pitch and add some effects and then we'll be finished. Here are some screen shots of the process of making the track :

Here is the song!

Here are some printscreens of process of making our track:

Here are our lyrics:

(chorus)

Even though I'm on my own 

I'm not alone 

I still have the seat to my throne

The first time I layed my eyes on you

i didn't know what to expect 

but you became the remedy

to make pain less

i thought you were cool

but then I heard you weren't the best

so then I took myself out

not hearing the rest

I searched, I found now look at me

I'm a mess

you turned me into a wreck

I love what you do, the way you make me feel

that perfect hit on the deck

Yet I'm digging deeper

Looking for better

Feeling weaker

In search for that feeling again

I should have listen to the rest

they were warning me about you 

saying you will cheat 

and will destroy me

(chorus)

Even though I'm on my own 

I'm not alone 

I still have the seat to my throne

Baby we keep trying and trying 

But nothing seems to stop me crying

Every day and night I'm living in an illusion

I give myself false hopes that your still my baby

Even though you say I'm all yours 

i can see through those deceiving eyes

don't you dare come back to me 

I know what I'm worth

I don't need your comfort

(Baby i love you)

You say three words with such emotions 

yes i heard you say i love you a billion times

our love it used to flow like an ocean

your heart pounding like the heart of a chime

(I was always there by your side

holding your hand with such pride)

I've heard it all before, don't even try it

its been week and you're still crying

what we had wasn't love

I'm sorry to break it but i have to say it

I was just a rebound

Lies, lies, how many lies 

we try and we try

wait, I try and i try

i don't have to spy with an eye

you cut one already

now you disgust me

get off me

Go to the bedroom

It's all good though

I'm a big girl

Imma go solo

they day not until you lose

it you won't know

It's too late to backtrack now

I'm moving forward

cus' it's all about me now

(chorus 7x)

Even though I'm on my own 

I'm not alone 

I still have the seat to my throne

The lyrics relate to our video ideas because we plan to do a conceptual narrative video where the lyrics relate to what we see on screen. In our lyrics the chorus says " Even though I'm on my own....I still have the seat to my throne". This means that now matter how much people are troubled/depressed, they can still get back up and move on with their lives. The first verse is about a person going through drug addiction and regretting not listening to friends' warnings. So, the video adaptation is going to be very literal. We will have a girl taking drugs and we will see her mental state go downhill. The second verse is about a girl who has just broken up with her boyfriend, and he wants her back. The video might show them doing seperate things and then talking to each other on the phone. The third verse is about a couple having an argument. The song ends with the chorus, which is an optimistic/positive ending.

Music Video ideas and research

 Our track/video's genre is urban/pop. This particular genre appeals to the widest audience e.g Rihanna, Lady Gaga, Justin Beiber, The Wanted, Drake etc.

Since our track is about love and drug addiction, each verse is about a different person and we want our video to be the same and have different actors portray the characters. For our chorus, we plan on doing something similar to Kanye West's ' All of the lights' ( Which is actually a homage to the opening sequence of the film ' Enter the Void') where we see the lyrics on the screen in various different fonts, sizes and colours. I loved this idea ever since i first saw the video and i think it would be a great way to try something new without having to film and rely on actors. Ne-yo's ' Closer' also uses this effect:

 

 Another idea we had for our music video is a split screen effect where we see two or more different characters going about their everyday lives. I thought it would be cool to use two characters who are binary opposites so that we can clearly see the contrast even though they are going through similar issues. Examples of this split-screen effect include Destiny's Child's ' Emotions' and Micheal Jackson's ' Billie Jean'. 

Locations - When it comes to locations, we thought about using London city shots where the main character is standing over a bridge or something at nighttime. I personally would rather shoot at nighttime than daytime because the lighting looks better at night. However, i am unsure if we will have the right equipment to get the lighting perfect. Examples of these locations include N-Dubs  ' Playin with fire' and also Katy Perry's ' Firework'. We also want to do some dramatic studio shots where we see shadowy silhouettes of the characters talking to each other on the phone. We also want to shoot some part scenes where the character is walking, looking depressed. For research, we took some pictures of the local park for our music video. We took pictures of a long pathway which we could use for our characters to walk through, maybe on an autumn day with the leaves on the floor or a winter day with the snow everywhere.

Style of music video - The type of music video I want for our video to be is conceptual narrative because our lyrics have a narrative so i think it would be more fulfilling to have a music video with a narrative, i also i think it would be appropriate to continue that for the video. When it comes to conceptual non-narrative music videos, i think sometimes they are artistic and visually pleasing but i don't think it's right for the type of song we're doing. As for a performance style video, i don't think it would give us an opportunity to be creative with the plot of the video/song.

Lighting - When it comes to the lighting, i think it would be nice if certain shots to be shadowy - to give a sillouette effect to the character. For example, when someone is singing and you can't actually see their features, just their figure.

Costumes - I don't want a specific theme with the costumes since our characters are just regular teenagers. However, the characters could wear normal clothes which go with the surroundings and that particular scene. For example, if there's a scene where i want a character to be walking in the snow, i would want them to be wearing winter clothes and a coat instead of a dress and heels.

Props - We will need (fake) drugs, a phone and a laptop.

Song ideas/research

When we were first thinking about ideas for our track, we thought that Adele's ' Someone like you', particularly the piano intro, would be a good inspiration for our intro. When it comes to writing our lyrics, we were inspired by ' Runaway Love' by Ludacris and Mary.J.Blige. In this song, each of the three verses tells us an individual's story:


Now little Lisa's only nine years old
She's tryin' to figure out why the world is so cold
Why she's all alone and they never met her family
Momma's always gone and she never met her daddy

Part of her is missin' and nobody'll listen
Momma's on drugs, gettin' *** up in the kitchen
Bringin' home men at different hours of the night
Startin' with some laughs, usually endin' in a fight

Sneakin' in her room when her momma's knocked out
Tryin' to have his way and little Lisa says ouch
She tries to resist but then all he does is beat her
Tries to tell her mom but her momma don't believe her

Lisa's stuck up in a world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothin' else to do but get some clothes and pack
She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back

(chorus)


Little Nicole is only ten years old
She's steady tryin' to figure why the world is so cold
Why she's not pretty and nobody seems to like her
Alcoholic step-dad always wanna strike her

Yells and abuses, leaves her with some bruises
Teachers ask questions, she's makin' up excuses
Bleedin' on the inside, cryin' on the out
It's only one girl really knows what she's about

Her name is little Stacy and they become friends
Promise that they'll always be tight 'til the end
Until one day, lil' Stacy gets shot
A drive-by bullet went stray up on her block

Now Nicole's stuck up in a world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothin' else to do but get her clothes and pack
She says she's 'bout to run away and never come back

(chorus)
Little Erica is eleven years old
She's steady tryin' to figure why the world is so cold
So she pops *** to get rid of all the pain
Plus she's havin' sex with her boy who's sixteen

Emotions run deep as she thinks she's in love
So there's no protection, he's usin' no glove
Never thinkin' 'bout the consequences of her actions
Livin' for today and not tomorrow's satisfaction

The days go by and her belly gets big
The father bails out, he ain't ready for a kid
Knowin' her momma would blow it all out of proportion
Plus she lives poor, so no money for abortion

Erica is stuck up in a world on her own
Forced to think that Hell is a place called home
Nothin' else to do but get her clothes and pack
She says she 'bout to run away and never come back



Also, we want some of the verses to be spoken in a rhythmic way, so the singer isn't actually singing, instead they're sort of rapping. An example of this is Cassie's ' Long Way 2 Go': 








Here are some potential lyrics to our song (it's only a rough draft so it might change later) 


She loved him no matter what
Even though he would always cheat
but she knew that from her gut
and he was always acting sweet
till one day, she realised she had enough
and showed him the way to the door
life after was tough
but she'd get through it, she swore


Here is another passage:

I promise i'll change, baby - man's voice

I've heard it all before,

don't even try it

It's been weeks now you're still crying

and anyway, what we had wasn't love

I'm sorry to break it to you but you were

just a rebound that went on forever.

Im sorry - man's voice