Representation and mis-en-scene in our music video
Representation in our music video:
Teenagers - We are using two teenage actors to play the part of A$AP Rocky and his friend. We have chosen to represent these two characters as very stereotypical teenage boys, messing around, causing trouble, and running around the streets all day. However, we are going to try to keep these antics very light-hearted to represent a positive side to these teenagers, with all of their messing around being very playful and jokey. An example of this is when they are going to run past the female by-stander and smack the portion of chips out of her hand. This could be seen by an onlooker as a fairly negative action, however, we intend to show the fun and comical side to the scene through the use of slow motion footage. This will almost put us in the shoes of the actors, seeing the funny side of the event. This will help the young target audience relate to the actors and their antics.
Adults – The representation of adults will be conveyed using the Pawn Shop owner who conforms to the stereotypes that adult are always trying to control the younger generations, stopping them from having fun and being free. The fact that they are going to evade this adult in the music video, will make us feel relieved for the characters instead of sorry for the shop owner. The young audience will be able to relate to the sense of achievement and joy that the two characters will get out of escaping the control of the older generation.
Class - Based on the location of our music video, our two characters represent a working-class demographic. The presence of a Pawn Shop is a common theme in a working-class area, backing up this idea. Again, we have represented this demographic in a positive light with the audience seeing the fun, light-hearted nature of the two character’s actions
Our three main characters will all be wearing casual urban clothing including jeans, puffer jackets, t-shirts, caps, hoodies and trainers. This should attract our target audience who will typically dress in a similar way. The more realistic and authentic we make the character’s outfits, the more they will appeal and relate to our target audience.
The props we are using in our music video include: takeaway chips, party poppers, leaflets, wine glasses, wine bottles, bread and bread baskets, table, table cloth and chairs. All these props are designed to add an entertainment element to our video and enhance the storyline. For example the takeaway chips will be hit out of the hands of one of our extras to illustrate the idea these children are misbehaving.
For our video we plan to use some lighting rigs to ensure the shots are well lit. We will also be relying on good natural lighting for all the exterior shots. We plan to use bright day light for the shots in the street at the beginning all the way to the church shots. However for the roof top shots we plan to film at golden hour. This is will give us a softer warmer light for the final scene which reflects the attitude of the characters in the final scene as they are calmer and in awe of their surroundings. Furthermore it makes clear that time has passed as the video is meant to be set over a whole day.
We plan to use several locations around Bristol including: a street, a church, a pawn shop and a roof top. We are trying to create an urban atmosphere to the music video which will hopefully attract out target audience. All the areas chosen will be slightly run down, for example graffiti on the walls etc. This will help communicate the narrative aspect of the song as the characters are meant to be form a working class background and perhaps bored with what they have they go on an adventure around the city. Again this helps communicate the genre of our song as urban settings is very common in the electronic genre.
