Mise-en-Scene Consideration

Mise-en-scene Consideration

 

Lighting

In our music video, we decided as the narrative is predominately outside it would be best to depend on natural lighting and so we made sure to position the protagonist, Christina in various different positions. This includes her facial as well her body positioning towards the sun so the camera does not capture any unwanted lights around her or unwanted dark areas.

Location

For location we have decided to use a variety of choices from various outside locations to indoor. The outdoor locations used such as the street shots in Blenheim Garden, Oxford Street and the garden shots in Knightsbridge are demonstrated to portray isolation between the protagonist and the rest of the population, separating herself from reality and tell her feelings directly to him through the camera. Moreover, we do plan on using certain locations for the non-linear narrative which will show their ‘then’ loving relationship which will contrast with the present and how isolated she now feels. The next location, Delights Desserts will be used film additional shots between the protagonist and the boy, however the boy will be shown with his arms around another girl, his girlfriend. Immediately we will show Christina accepting his decision in the end and having an emerging confidence to which will show her to be competition with his main girlfriend. This connotes that she is not ready to give up on her relationship and therefore is prepared to be at competition with the boy’s other girlfriend in order to get his attention.

Camera Angles

The camera angles we have considered on using is predominately close ups as well as mid shots, this is to capture the protagonist facial expressions as we believe that she should be able to tell her side of the story therefore we decided to rely on her facial expressions and her body language. Doing this will allow the audience to connote how the protagonist feels and create enigma, what they think she is going to do next.

The use of close-ups of the protagonist face are significant because it allows the audience to listen to the emotion in the music which follows the conventions of the RnB genre because it is based on emotions and looking at previous RnB music videos such as Mary J Blige’s ‘Be Without You’. Within Mary J Blige’s music videos, particularly ‘Be without you’ Blige displays an emotional connection throughout, her use of direct address when sing gives emotion not only to the song but to the audience allowing the audience to sympathise and relate the lyrics being said. This is the same effect we wish to portray within our music video and give our target audience the same direct address allowing them to understand the song more and how they relate to it. Also, the use of conveying the protagonist emotionally through these close ups portrays Andrew Goodwin’s ‘Star’ theory, focusing on the artist through the use of close ups and direct address will allow there to be a build-up, developing them to be a ‘superstar’ and superior as well easily recognise by the audience.  Throughout the music video there will be continuous shots that are close ups however we will include other shots that contribute to the storyline that will be added within the music video, such as over the shoulder shots and long shots. In addition, the main focus of the video is to capture the audience’s attention which we believe will be achieved by including close ups.

Styles

The style we predominately focused on was an RnB style so that it follows the conventions of the RnB genre, allowing the audience to easily recognise the genre. First we thought to dress the protagonist in old fashioned ‘90s RnB, looking at artists such as Aaliyah and Lil Kim however as we started exploring the artist SZA more we realised that the artist herself has her own unique style that does share the conventions of RnB. Moreover, we decided that it would be best to reflect our music video in the present rather than the past because we live in a different generation and therefore we need to find a way to connect with today’s target audience which means dressing how they would, and going to known / local places. Overall, we have styled the protagonist in clothing that would still follow the conventions of RnB but we also wanted to make what she was wearing a current trend so it attracts the attention of a younger audience who would wear the same thing.

Examples from music videos

One example of an RnB music video that conveys direct address as well as Goodwin’s ‘star’ theory is ‘Rock the Boat’ by Aaliyah, within her video there are several close up shots that shows her fiving direct address to her audience especially in the beginning as she is about sing. What is significant about this video in particular is that it displays a remembrance of Aaliyah before the narrative begins and when it does the first scene is a long shot of Aaliyah walking along the beach and she slowly walks towards the camera, which acts as her audience, and sits in front of it. This indicates that she was not only giving direct address but one last look into her life and work before her final hours which is inspiring. Moreover, throughout the music video there are many scenes that separates Aaliyah from the narrative which is a mid-shot of her still sitting in front of the camera giving direct address to the audience. This reflects on the ‘star’ theory and not only does it give her a spotlight but a way that to express herself emotionally with the audience so that there is a deep connection.

 

Another example would be Alicia Key’s ‘No One’ music video, this video is it presents various match cuts as well as close ups throughout the song. Although, the video appears to have no exact narrative as it is just the artist lip syncing throughout the entire song and giving direct address each time. Although the video is predominately direct, there are more than one interpretations to suggest why the director has decided to do this for example, the artist could have actually ben singing to her love interest directly through the camera all that time or another interpretation is that she is singing to the audience in hopes they sympathise.

 

Character positions

In the music video we have positioned the protagonist to be extremely confident with her use of hand movement in correlation with the song. Throughout, the protagonist has displayed confidence in the way she walks, hand gestures and her body positioning which contributes to portraying a direct address towards the audience. Additionally, you will see that in the music video the protagonist is not seen in the background but constantly seen centre within the foreground. This demonstrates Goodwin’s ‘Star’ theory, allowing the protagonist to feel the centre of the attention and being the ‘star’. You could argue that by her giving direct address she means to come across as fierce and a ‘superstar’ because she knows people are watching her.