Prop & costume ideas

We envisaged the addition, of a variety of (subtle) contextual props in the background of each shot. These will help to aid each time change and set the scene historically as well as creating an interesting atmosphere and forging links back to the popular culture in the period. I looked into different events / popular bands / popular figures in the mainstream EG: fashion, royalty, hollywood etc for different stages in the 20th century. Mostly I tried to do research in particular into figures / events to which a majority of people would be able to understand and receive additional pleasure from. As well as filling the background with historic trinkets we of course will need to pick out costumes which can authentically match the era's we are planning to shoot in. I have done extensive research into the evolution of fashion trends from the 1920's to present day & here have enclosed some photographs of some items i have managed to source which actually come from the eras we are featuring. Of course not every costume will be able to be completely genuine as with our budget and resources this would not be plausible, however we aim to predominately dress of key protagonists and band members in vintage items to help intensify the visual effects. 

 

 

    

    

  

                         

   

 (1970's)   

  

  

     

Inspirational Music Videos

This particular video really inspired me when thinking about the setting / prop use we would incorporate in our own. We always knew that creating something authentic and interesting enough to hold a viewers attention would be a challenge (with the limited resources that were available to us). This video however made me realise that even with a style of overtly obvious scene / back drop changing that these unrealistic wallpapers still looked visually effective & elevated the message of the lyrics in a more stylistic manor. Additionally the concentration of props / small details in order to capture the themes of the vocals is something I have embedded into my plans - the shots are so chaotic and almost overworking with mis en scene, but this is the intended effect & it works perfectly - creating the manic party atmosphere which makes the video have an insidious madness about it (representative of love & the matching emotional strings). The additional objects animate the live performances & this is something we will really draw on when dressing our 'fake band' & creating their video performance to aid their acting abilities & make the eras jump out at the audience & be overly evident so that the majority of viewers recognise and understand the intertextual references. Furthermore, though we have discussed many ideas of effective editing techniques, we hadn't previously really had a chance to think about physical additions we could incorporate whilst actually filming & this particular video embodies the use of strobe lighting for extended disorientation - something which we could possibly play around with in terms of shifts of lighting to subtly alter the mood / era in correlation with one another. 

                                

Planning for MV #1

* We have finally casted our two leading romantic roles, we picked a pair who : 
-Knew each other & thus felt comfortable acting around one another and could deliver a perceivable, watchable performance.  
-Had experience of acting / a musical ear - we needed the leads to naturally work with rhythm in mind & could relate impulsively to a theatrical world & the requirements needed to pull off a confident performance. Our lead male (a close friend of one of our group members) Connor Bingham, is a A level Drama & music student, as well as playing in a band. Accordingly we knew that he would not only be dauntless in their acting ability, but would enjoy working with us, and we could give clear directorial constructive criticisms to without feeling awkward or brash. 
*We knew that without the opportunity for a big audition style casting / a widespread of diverse actors & high budget additions like : props / specifically made costume, to play around with that flexible & convincible acting was going to be critical. We also wanted to secure people that we knew would be punctual and have coherent attendance, we needed this reliability because these leads would be holding the entire piece together. Furthermore this is specifically why we selected one of our GEAR girls to play the lead female, as we knew that being part of the filming, editing and producing package they would clearly be present & available 100% of the time & thus extremely easy to work with & use for reshoots or additional scenes. 

Costume Designs

Because our costumes need to be visually authentic representations of 20th century decades, I have been researching into exhibitions or events in which we could go and view some ideas for costume selection. The Victoria & Albert museum in London includes a 'Fashion' section which I visited to get a linear & visual example of the subtle changes in style through the eras. Furthermore I went to a 'BALLGOWNS' British Glamour Since 1950 exhibition which disclosed a colourful array of outfits which really helped me envisage the trends we wanted to include in our video (as it's mainly based around party scenes in different eras). The V&A are also holding a contemporary exhibition which is exploring Hollywood Movie costumes from the last 100 years, "It explores the most beloved characters in Hollywood history and gives insight on the role of the costume designer and their vital contribution to cinema storytelling. The exhibition includes costumes from many of the greatest films of all time including The Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, Singin’ in the Rain, Vertigo, Taxi Driver, Star Wars and Raiders of the Lost Ark", so I feel it will be extremely interesting & inspiring to be able to have a look at representations of the past used within the media / filming industry (as our piece will include an intercut of both performance & narrative sequences).