FMP - PITCH

MUSIC VIDEO

The Idea

What song? The Fray Run For Your Life

My interpretation To me this song is about losing a loved one and having to move on. The lyrics
talk about two sisters who had an amazing bond. Sadly one dies and the sister left behind doesnt
want to believe it. Its about the one that left, the survivor, who's wracked with guilt, like 'Why
me?' But she has someone to support her. He is behind her but she has to run and keep on going,
despite her hardships.

The writers of the song said It's basically this concept of: If your village burns down, go back to it
and pick through the ashes and find anything good and then take it with you and leave and never
look back. It's like an acknowledgment of tragedy and hardship, alongside celebration, almost,
and thankfulness for what you have. Kind of run as fast as you can from that black hole of guilt."

My idea I like this interpretation and feel I could be really powerful. For these reasons, Im not
going to focus on the sad side of the story, but on the good. Its going to be about the memories
the two sisters had and other one moving on.

Codes & Conventions

The Fray falls somewhere between pop and rock. This is generally classed as poprock. It also falls into the indie genre, which is very similar.

It is very common for the pop-rock genre to include live performance of the band
playing as it is a way to focus on the main artist.

It has become increasingly popular for them to have a narrative within the video,
which usually links to the lyrics of the song. This helps to tell a story which the
audience could relate to giving more meaning to the music video.

What will I take from this?

I think the narrative is important as it helps to make it more meaningful,

interesting and relatable.

Normally, the story is based on general issues and everyday life, like love,
relationships and problems. I feel that people who aren't necessarily a fan of the
artist may still enjoy the video if it has a good narrative.

As for the band playing alongside the narrative, Im not going to do this.
Although it may help to connect the audience with the band, I feel that it will
distract from the meaning of the video and is unnecessary for what I want to
achieve.

Codes & Conventions

Pop-rock is a nice half way point between rock and pop.

Unlike in rock videos where the colours are quite dull and dark, and pop where it
is all very colourful and bright, I feel that pop rock fits well between the two. They
tend to use lots of natural lighting and colours, to simply show their song to their
audience.

The clothing worn is usually quite. Usually the members are dressed quite casual
and laid back, in jeans and t-shirt, making it more about the music.

What will I take from this?

I will use the casual dress code that is usually found in pop-rock/indie videos as
I feel it will suit the tone of my idea. However I want to make it slightly more
mainstream.

I want to use the natural colours and lighting in certain parts of my video but
there are also points where I will use harsher, dark lighting to show her pain and
grief.

Codes & Conventions

They sometimes have some diegetic sounds to make the scene look and feel more realistic. They
are often much louder at the beginning before the vocals start and at the end when the vocals end.

Typical camera shots used are close up shots especially when introducing the characters. This helps
show their emotions. Crane shots are used when filming live performances as it allows different
angles. Long and wide shots are used as establishing shots to set the scene of the narrative in the
music video.

Editing is very important to make the music video interesting. Most pop-rock videos have special
effects to either make it run smoothly or to create an effect that makes the audience feel as if they
are in the music video.

Shots are usually cut either fast or slow to reflect the pace and beat of the music. Effects are
usually added over the top of the video to create a old and worn like video.

The black and white effect is also very popular as it makes the video very old fashioned giving it a
classical and sad feeling.

What will I take from this?

I dont feel the need to include any diegetic sounds in my music video as there are
no parts in the narrative where I think sound is really necessary.

I will defiantly be using a lot of close-ups, as I feel it is important to portray the

characters and their emotions. I will also use a variety of other shots, including
wide shots to set the scene.

As I am not including any band shots, I will not be using any of the conventional
crane shots.

I will a lot of the conventional editing techniques, such as fast and slow cuts to
reflect the pace of the song and possibly even a vintage effect to give that old
worn look, as I feel this could suit the style of the video.

Story

Run for your life is the empowering story of a young girl overcoming her adversities and moving on just taking the good bits.

Too often, music videos only seem to have half a story, or even worse a collection of shot that are put together to look cool.

The song has quite a clear narrative, although some may interpret it different ways.

The film will open with a girl looking sad, the reason at this point is unknown. The lighting will be quite dull to emphasize her
misery. It then cuts to a montage of shots that show her with a younger girl (her sister) laughing and having fun together. These
shots will be a lot brighter as its showing her when she was happy.

It will then cut and we see the reason why she was sad. She is with her little her little sister, when she gets ripped from her hands
and pulled into the light. (She dies.)

It will then cut to a series of shots where her sister is alive and they are having fun together. This is basically her memories.

When it reaches the chorus, we see a new character, possibly a boyfriend. He is there for her when she is grieving. It will then
quickly cut to one of her memories and then to her running.

The rest of the video will follow this same sort of format, constantly cutting between shots of her memories, her running and her
with her boyfriend.
http://

Execution

Although the story is in fact a very sad one, I want the look and feeling of the
video to be quite bright and super cinematic, as it is focusing on the good things
the two sisters had, rather than the negatives.

There will be some darker moments to acknowledge her hardships and suffering
but the main focus is on getting on with life.

There will be lots of long cinematic shots including close ups with interesting
lighting that puts the focus on the two main characters.

I will a lot of the conventional editing techniques, such as fast and slow cuts to
reflect the pace of the song and possibly even a vintage effect to give that old
worn look, as I feel this could suit the style of the video.

Target Audience

Target Audience
Female
17 &
younger

Yes

No

18 - 20

Yes
Yes
Yes

No

20 29

Yes

Male
Yes
Sometimes
Sometimes

Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes

Sometimes
No
No
No

Sometimes

Yes
Yes
Yes

30 39

Sometimes

40 49

No

50 -59

No

Yes
Sometimes

60 +

From the responses of my survey, I can see that the most yes answer to the question Do you listen to pop-rock/indie music?
are in the 18 20 and 20 -29 category.
Also, out of all 27 people asked, only 7 said they didn't like it at all.
From the results I collected, there is not much difference between the number of female and male pop-rock listeners. There is
only slightly more male listeners.

Target Audience

NME magazine is an indie-rock magazine for young people in the UK. It is published by
IPC Media, and I was able to find some information about its target audience on the IPC
website.

This supports my audience research

which found that 16-25 year olds are
the target audience for indie/pop-rock
music.

This is describing the gender differences in the

readership of this magazine. From this I can see that
the audience is dominated by males but there is still
quite a bit of female interest.

Target Audience

From all of my research I can see that the target audience for my music
video will be both male and female between ages of 18 29.

Although this my target audience for the genre, I feel that everyone can
relate to the actual song as it is addressing an issue everyone will go
through at some point in their life.

Audience Classification

For this type of music video, I don't feel that audience classification if very important.

Anyone who appreciates the music and the meaning behind it can enjoy watching the video,
no matter what their background.

However from the age group of my target audience, it is likely that they are students or on
quite a low income.

A report from Sky News shows that young people who start earning after the end of their
education should earn about 8,595, rising to 18,705 in their 20s.

http://news.sky.com/story/854409/teens-unrealistic-about-future-wages

Audience Responses

Preferred/Negotia
ted

Audience Responses

Oppositional

Audience Responses

Audience Responses

Preferred

This is when audiences respond to the videothe way media producers expect them to.

The preferred audience will mainly be my target audience. From my surveys I can see that these
people all like and tend to agree with the messages.

Negotiated

This is when an audience partly agrees with part of the product or message.

The negotiated audience will be those like the music but dont necessarily agree with the ideas put
across. They may still be in the target audience.

Oppositional

This is when the audience are in complete disagreement with the videos message.

The oppositional audience will be people who dont like the music at all and dont agree with any of the
messages.

Audience Responses

Market Fit

I feel that there is defiantly room in the market for my film, as it is really trying to
test the boundaries of the genres convention.

Typically, videos within this genre have a band playing. Also the clothes worn are
often quite hipster.

My film is bringing something slightly new to table as it isnt going to have a band
playing and I want the clothing to be slightly more mainstream.

I feel that by simply changing these two small things it could attract a wider
audience.

Inspiration

Social Issues

So many songs influence peoples daily life's by addressing important social issues.

Run for your life deals with a problem someone will go through every day. The loss of a
loved one.

Everyone deals with it in different ways but this song serves as an anthem for the people left
behind, telling them its possible to find the strength and carry on with their life.

Losing someone you love can be very painful and people experience all kinds of difficult
emotions. Sometimes it may feel like the pain and sadness will never go away. These are all
normal reactions.

This song is giving people a reason to going, by taking the good memories and using them as
fuel to keep on going.

In this song, shes facing what happened, dealing with it and then moving forward.

Representation & Social Issues

It is a well known fact that the way women are represented across the music industry is not reflective of women in real life.

There are threecommon stereotypes that are specifically geared towards women.

These three stereotypes are:

"Women are Weak"
"Women are the Housewife"
"Women are Sex Symbols"

Even sadder is the growing amount of children that being shown as sex symbols.
The media knows that sex sells but the impact it has on society is not a good one. So many girl are led to feel they have to look a
certain way because of what they see in magazines and music videos.
This is defiantly not something I want to portray in my music video.
Although the character may appear weak in the beginning, she is also shown as quite an inspirational character as she is able to
overcome her hardships and continue with her life.
It doesnt show the perfect woman with tons of makeup and the ideal body image. Instead, my character is seen as being very
down to earth with minimal makeup, showing her natural beauty.
It also promotes a healthy relationship, rather than one where the girl sexually exploits herself.
http://www.slideshare.net/filmbuff/representation-of-women-in-music-videos

Legal & ethical requirements.

Ethics are moral principles that ultimately define peoples actions.

Ethical issues in the media industry include Morality, Exploitation, Offensive material and
Representational issues.

When planning and producing a media production, you have to take all ethical issues into
consideration.

So as not to offend anyone, whenever possible you should try to use people from all ethical
backgrounds.

Don't promote drug or alcohol abuse. In the case of my video it could be seen as a way of
dealing with the loss, which is not something I want to put across.

Use of bad language is not necessary in this genre, along with violence and sexual content.

Legal & ethical requirements.

Must get talent release forms for all actors so that you have
the right to use the footage.

You cant pass the music off as your own, or claim the rights to
the song.

You dont need any permission if its only for a college project.

However, I cant submit any film I make to any film festivals

without permission from the copyright holders.

Also, you cant monetize with the copyrighters permission.

If you were going to make a music video to make a profit, you

would need permission to use the track and also a music
licence.

I went on a music licensing website and got a quote to find out

how much this would cost.

Using something that's copyrighted without

permission can result in a $25,000 fine and one year
in prison.

Film Festivals?
Encounters Festival
(Bristol)

Encounters Festival is the UKs

leading short film and animation
festival and annual meeting place
for new, emerging and established
filmmakers and industry
professionals.

Bath Film Festival

Bath Film Festival is a showcase for the
most creative, intelligent, and thought
provoking new films and film events in
the South West of England, providing
opportunities for new film makers and
reaching a diverse audience from the
local area

Submissions can be both fiction and

Submissions are open to short films factual shorts
from every genre.

Devizes Film Festival

The festival provides a platform for local
creativity, its main aims are to showcase,
promote and celebrate local film making
talent.
All films shall be the sole work of the named
entrants.
All films must be deemed suitable for public
screening.

Films must have been completed

after 1st January 2014.

Films must be no longer than 10

minutes and no shorted than 1.

All films must be under 15 minutes in

length, including titles and credits

Films must be no longer than 30

minutes including credits.

All films must be available in

35mm print, DCP or Pro-Res file for
screening at the festival.

It is the sole responsibility of the

Applicant to secure clearance from the
copyright holders of any copyrighted
materials included within the submitted
Film.

The film can be anything from a

documentary, music video, interactive,
comedy, drama, horror, thriller, fantasy,
action adventure.

Bath Film Festival will not be held

responsible for the unauthorised
inclusion of any copyrighted materials
within or relating to the submitted Film

You MUST obtain the copyrighters

permission of any music for use in your film

http://encounters-festival.org.uk
/
http://www.bathfilmfestival.org.uk/
http://www.devizesfilmfestival.co.uk/Devizes_Film_Festival/Information.ht