Fake Crying Research

Unless I can make Jessica actually cry, I have done some research into how to produce fake tears:

Fake Crying Tips

I was also able to find this, which is a great tip:

How do they cry on movies and television?

TV and film actors have the benefit of working with an entire crew of technicians and artists. Although some movie stars utilize some of the techniques mentioned above, many actors opt for an easier solution: menthol.
A menthol tear stick and menthol tear producers are tools of the film and theater trade. The stick version requires a sparse application under the eyes. The "tear producer" works as a spray. Both produce immediate results.

This is just some quick and easy research, allowing me to plan out parts of my music video and I will refer to this during a deeper planning exercise.

Casting

Bad Girl: Jessica Hay
Parent: Joanne Dowson
Camera Work: Kathryn Dowson and Leanne Owens
Editing: Kathryn Dowson

Clothing
Jessica Hay:
- Denim jeans (light)
- Baggy top (grey)
- Leather jacket/coat (weather dependent - if it is snowy/cold, I will have jess in a coat with a scarf on
- Vans trainers

Joanne Dowson:
- Jeans
- T-shirt

Makeup
Jessica Hay:
- Eye liner and mascara (eye makeup will have to run at one point when she cries)
- The camera will pan around her

Jessica Hay's Outfit:

 

 

 

This is how I picture Jess's outfit for the video - I really like the simplicity for the outfit, allowing the audience to capture more of Jess's emotions throughout the video. 

Detailed Plan of My Dreams Music Video

I have re-planned my music video with a different actress: Jessica Hay

I am planning to have a fade in to the music video as the song starts and then there will be an argument scene between Jessica and her Mother. This will last for around (0:06 seconds), so a brief argument will be shown and then Jess will race up the stairs to her room and frantically packs clothes and whisky into a rucksack. There will be occasional shots of her phone on the bed, so that the audience are aware that the phone is on the bed and there will also be close-up's of Jess's face to show her despair and upset of the argument. 

Jessica will then run down the street as she looks back at the house. She heads for the bus stop and gets on the bus to the nearest City and walks around the streets for a while, looking bewildered and lost and as she gets lost in her own thoughts. I have chosen to film Jess in the middle of a city, as I feel that as everyone rushes by her, continuing with their day-to-day life, Jess is totally insignificant and she is so small compared to the rest of the city. I just think capturing the busyness of the city will really allow the audience to see Jess kind of 'lost' in her own thoughts as she strolls the busy streets.

There will be cuts between Jessica and her bedroom as her phone rings on the bed and it is shown to be her Mum. I thought by having cuts between the narrative and Jess's phone, it would really emphasise the fact that she has in fact left her comfort zone and is now all alone in the outside world with no one to help her. This leads onto the fact that she ends up in the woods, which is portrayed as a 'scary' place as it is, never mind being alone in it as it starts to get dark. This will reinforce her helplessness and loneliness as she comes to terms with everything that has gone on and what she has done. Jessica will slump down at the bottom of a tree trunk and she pulls out a bottle of half fun whisky and swigs it to try and forget. The whisky will really allow the audience to become aware of Jess's rebellious side, but it will also allow them to realise how much of a mess everything is as she drinks to forget everything that has gone on during that day, but also all of her thoughts that she has been having, which links to the song - Reach Out. As Jess is represented as a young teenager, the audience are clearly aware that drinking is wrong and a person of that age shouldn't be reliant on alcohol to take problems away, which really does allow them to understand how bad everything is.  

The music video will end with Jessica returning home, and she will be stood in front of the house, wondering whether to go in or not.

The video can end with a shot of Jessica outside of the house and I will do a reverse shot of inside of the house where her Mum closes the curtains and Jessica is out of focus and as her Mum closes the curtains she isn't aware that Jessica is there. I have thought about this is kind of two ways, as it can be interpreted differently. The family could be having a laugh, however inside they may actually be really worried about Jess and are wondering where she is, as the audience don't see the families emotions when the curtain's are closed - it could all be an act for the neighbours. However, it could be that actually the family don't even realise that Jess is gone as she has never 'reached out' to them and spoken to them about her problems, which has drawn her and her family further apart, which means that they aren't too fussed that she isn't there and they have learnt to carry on their everyday life without her.

This is where Roland Barthes is brought into my narrative, as there is an enigma code which the audience are left unaware and puzzled as to how the family are feeling and to whether Jess returns home. 

Brainstormed Ideas

Here are my ideas for my music video, which I have brainstormed. I was picturing my bad girl having an argument with her parents and storming upstairs to pack her bags to leave home. I will film her packing and also leaving the house. She may then either get on a bus or treck up to the woods and set up camp there, however I think she needs to have a journey before she gets to the woods. I kind of pictured her walking through a nightclub scene with the drunk men crowding around and intimidating her, kind of telling her that she is out of her depth and she needs to reach out and give up and just go home to her family, however she will carry on and end up in the woods where she will be slumped down at the bottom of a tree trunk, feeling sorry for herself and feeling a sense of despair. There will also be cutaways shown of her phone ringing on her bed from her family, ringing to see where she is because they are clueless and she has left without any kind of warning.

Titanium Video

I like the overal tone of the Titanium video and I think it shows an example of how I would like my bad girl to pack her bags and then run away. I love the use of the camera work and how technical it is when he is walking out of the school and the camera follows him from the side and tracks him through doors etc, which would obviously be difficult to recreate, however it was really interesting and clever how they did it.

I loved the part when the boy was in the woods and the different shots that're used to capture his panic and need to escape:

Alot of the post-production work must have worked on the slow motion pace of the boy when he is moving to connote the suspense and the worry that he boy is feeling as he is escaping his home town and planning to run away.

The mise en scene has also been though carefully about as the boy is wearing a red hat, which is unusual as he is trying not to be found, yet the red hat stands out the most. I thought a lot about my mise en scene when filming my rough version, as I chose to use boots, a rock ACDC top and a denin jacket with dark eye liner, to create a raggered look and also to make my actor look 'rebelish'. For my final piece I will take inspiration from the Titanium video, as this is an influencial video for my project.

The moving images link well with the beat of the song because when the boy places his foot down on the twigs and a close up is shown, there is a beat/bang on the track, which works really well together.

When the boy comes out of the woods, it kind of looks like it jumps to a different location with the stone statues, however it works really well and this was one of the things that I was worried about as I was wondering how I would create a smooth transition between the different locations that I want to use.

My Pitch For My Dreams Album

My Dreams Pitch

Magazine Advert Research

Taylor Swift
I wasn't able to find a specific magazine article advertising Taylor's Fearless Album, however I have found some promotional material.

I found this poster for the Fearless Tour, which promotes her album well also. This image does feature in her digipak, so that means that the same variety of images are used to promote her as an artist, allowing me to use similar images to promote my album. 

 

I also found this magazine front cover which is promoting Taylor's album as the album cover image has been used for the cover of the magazine, which is a great way to promote effective material. 

KT Tunstall
I have managed to find a magazine article for KT's album, Invisible Empire/Cresent Moon, which is interesting and allows me to understand how to structure a magazine advertisement for my digipak/CD:

The article discuss's the themes and subjects within KT's new album and how she has developed as an artist with a "more mature sound". At the end of the article, there is a summary of the opinion of the writer, which is nice and summarises the article well.

I also found this website, which involves a scripted conversation between KT and one of the magazine workers, which is great as the audience will engage with this as they like to know about the artists personal life and get more involved in specific details:

http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/arts-and-culture/kt-tunstall

Colbie Caillat
I have found a piece of advertising for the album:
Colbie Adverts

This is a great summary and a great piece of advertising for Colbie's album, Coco, as it also includes some of her top tracks that have been recommended.

I have find a type of magazine advert for Colbie's newest album, "All Of You", which is all I can find because Coco is an old album and there won't be many articles left.

Sara Bareilles

The Blessed Unrest by Sara Bareilles

by Robert Laurella

After releasing her first full length studio album, Careful Confessions, in 2004, Sara Bareilles has toured around the world, released three other albums, and has had several chart-topping singles. After listening to any of her songs, it isn’t hard to see why.
If her first three studio albums were any indication of how talented she is, her latest album The Blessed Unrest, is her greatest accomplishment so far. The first single off the album, Brave, was released in April 2013, and packs a punch both lyrically and musically, for which the 33 year-old songstress is infamous. While other pop stars are releasing songs left and right about love, falling in love, breaking up, and/or partying (no complaints here – I love ke$ha as much as the rest of the world does), Bareilles has released a self-esteem boosting buoy of a song amidst a sea of cotton candy lyrics, bubblegum vocals and overly produced drum beats; a life vest to which we, the innocent public, can cling during a storm of awkward rap verses, dubstep interludes, and Pitbull collaborations.
Bareilles is known for her powerhouse vocals and aptitude at the piano. However, this has not stopped her from pushing her own boundaries, including songs that don’t rely heavily on her piano playing, as well as songs that take a step away from her usual slow ballads, and demonstrate a more upbeat, songs-to-get-ready-to in the morning side of her musical talent. Little Black Dress is my favourite of the upbeat songs on the album, and I’ve listened to it on several occasions while getting ready to go out – although, for obvious reasons, I’ve had to change little black dress to little black sweater/shirt/hat while singing into my canister of hairspray.
If the upbeat songs on the album are a jar of cookies, then her slow ballads are the whole damn Pillsbury factory. I’m not entirely convinced that Bareilles is not, in fact, a siren. Her voice is like a brilliantly glowing sunset; an endless infinity of constellations; a cascade of maple syrup atop a precarious tower of pancakes. Her slower songs convey a vulnerability that most pop princesses are much happier ignoring, as well as intelligence, understanding, sensibility, and strength. Manhattan is my favourite of the slow songs, as it is the most reminiscent of her early albums – just Bareilles and a piano. However, this is like picking a favourite flavour of ice cream – while I’ve decided on a song I like more than the rest, I won’t say no to a jar (or six or seven) of the rest.
Overall, The Blessed Unrest is a masterpiece of an album. Mixing energetic yet wise upbeat songs with golden, silky lullabies, Bareilles has once again earned her spot on VH1’s Top 100 Greatest Women in Music.
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
Sony Music Canada

Above is an magazine advertisement for The Blessed Unrest album. It has been given 5/5 star rating, which is an advertisement in itself.

Here is another article:

Sara Bareilles: The Blessed Unrest

08 July 2013 by MarySandra Do in Blog Culture Culture Music- No Comments

A gifted vocalist, songwriter, and musician; Sara Bareilles is about to unveil her latest piece of work. July 16th is marked as the release date for her latest: The Blessed Unrest. This is Sara’s first full-length album since 2010. The album is comprised of thirteen songs with “Brave” as the lead single (released on April 23rd). She recently finished her “Brave Enough” tour having covered 18 cities while promoting her single. “Brave” was received very well and was hailed as one her most “anthemic” songs to date. Hopefully The Blessed Unrest garners equally positive reviews.
For those who are unfamiliar with Ms. Bareilles, here are a few words. Considered a legend/icon by Pandora.com, Sara cites her earliest musical influences as Billy Joel, Elton John, and Fiona Apple (among others). During an interview, she once mentioned, “I’ve always gravitated towards storytellers…”. She clearly has her own voice as an artist, demonstrating unique songwriting skills and vocal ability-combining jazz, soul, and pop.
Bareilles first appeared on the music scene in 2007 with her debut hit single, “Love Song”, garnering tons of fans in the process. She followed up a few years later with a refined album titled Kaleidoscope Heart. Despite the slight gaps between releases, she has never failed to create beautiful music for her loyal fans to enjoy. Known for her smooth soulful voice and benevolent demeanor, Sara is sure to captivate even more fans on her upcoming tour with One Republic. She is scheduled to embark on the tour next month which ends in mid-September.

Gabrielle Aplin
I can mainly just find reviews of the albums, which I don't really want but that is advertising in itself. Here is an example: Magazine Review

So overall, I have gathered some research on some magazine articles, however there isn't many online, so I that has put me at a slight disadvantage.