Research for ShootsBy George Ring

Hair and Makeup When looking at hair and makeup in my artists

music videos, I found a recurring theme. Many of the actors used in the videos are shown to have long hair. This also relates to my singers - Jack Garratt’s common hairstyle.

As most of the people in his music videos are men, makeup is not commonly used. However some subtle makeup may be used among the actors to hide away blemishes.

Hair and Makeup After looking at my artists common themes for hair and makeup. I then

decided to look at pop music videos and see what the trends were in hair and makeup. When looking at this, I decided to look at whether makeup was exaggerated and also the impact in which it had on the feel of the music videos.

Female pop stars tend to use makeup in their music videos to conform to the theme of the song. One of the most notable example of this is by Lady Gaga, in the music video for ‘Telephone’. This video has a very artsy feel to it, Gaga is seen having slightly enhanced makeup with bright red lips. This attracts the viewer to her lips and enhances the idea that she is singing the song. She also has her hair in rollers, however these are not just normal rollers. They are made from cans of Coke. This stands out to the viewer who is able to show the creativeness of the artist and give her a unique character in the industry. Throughout Lady Gaga’s videos, she is shown to be creating different styles.

Male pop stars seem to use hair and makeup differently. Instead of creating a character, they often seem to use their own style and keep it consistent throughout their music videos. This allows the audience to associate a style of music with the artists singing it. Males also tend to be shown in music videos without them being the artist, for example, female singers use men to convey their emotions too. The audience is able to link the lyrics of the song to those who are in it. They also tend to be sexualised, either by being topless or partially naked.

Hair and MakeupInfluential Photographs In my music video, I wish to have an urban theme and I

will get my actors to have a slick style of hair. By this, I will try to use an actor with hair which can be changed to suit different scenes in the music video. I will use makeup to cover blemishes and mask spots, however I will not use it in a way in which it can be used to exaggerate certain features. The makeup will be subtle and consist of purely concealer.

Costumes Years and Years have their own

style, and in there music videos we can see them maintaining this style as a band. On the right, we can see three different screenshots of each member of the band in their music videos. In this we can see that they wear clothing which is similar to that worn in society by men of the same age. It also suits their indie approach to music, by using baggy clothing and soft colours.

Costumes Costumes are a big part in popular music videos. It

is a way of creating a style and enhancing all aspects of music videos. This includes a location, a dull location can be enhanced by the colour and vibrance of costumes used in music videos. Females often use costumes in more artistic ways and see them as iconic to a song and a music video. For example, Britney Spears used costume in her music video ‘Toxic’ and it is still remembered to this day. In this instance, I do not feel as though I will use the same costumes in which artists such as Britney Spears and Katy Perry use in there’s as it is not relevant to my song. The song in which I am using is much more slowed down and does not have the same tempo as others I have studies, which is enhanced by the use of costume. The costume I will be using is the day to day clothing of a young male.

CostumesInfluential Photographs

Props Props is not such a big thing in my music video, however they are

useful in normal music videos in giving the character a direction and enhancing a narrative. One of the most common I can think of is the use of the mobile phone. As they have become the biggest technological gadget, I feel like they are used for several different ways. As a source of communication, they are also used to take pictures and for browsing the internet.

Props commonly used in music videos include money, weapons (depending on the genre of music) and also other props which are specific to a location of a music video. For example, for Katy Perry’s ‘Roar’ music video, she is sat on a throne in the jungle. Connoting that she is the ‘Queen of the Jungle’. This is also genre specific as it would not be as effective in a Rock music video where the lyrics and tone do not relate to the style of the location and therefore the props used. In my music video, I am tempted to use a mic stand instead of the artist just singing into the camera.

Props Adele is one of the biggest female artists of the century,

and in her most recent video ‘Hello’, she is seen using an old mobile phone to talk to her ex partner. This stands out as she decided not to use a modern phone, instead she has used an older mobile phone. This connotes that she is showing the audience the timeframe in which the music video was filmed. We are also unable to see what she is doing on the phone, which suggests it is personal to her life and she is explaining what is happening by the lyrics and tone of the music video.

Props Influential Photographs

Locations In my music video, I wish to use the city of

London and capture the hustle and bustle of the city. I am also torn between shooting in them morning at sunrise, and also filming in the evening. If I was to film in the morning I would be able to capture the beauty of the sunrise and also how the atmosphere is affected by the use of people and how it changes through the movements. If I was to film sunset, I would alternatively be able to capture the idea of people being tired after a long day at work, and how they change from there work lifestyle to a social one.

Locations In pop music videos, locations are often created to suit the

tone of the song. They also use different locations from around the world, as they know it will reach out to audiences in those countries who have seen the places they live shown in videos. Urban music videos film in the city often show people messing around, young people on bikes and generally show it in a negative light. I want to show mine in a positive light, and look at it as a community rather than a city.

I also want to use a stage for one part of my shoot, where I will film an actor either singing with a microphone stand as though they were performing to people. However, I do not actually want there to be anyone in the audience. This will make the stage feel raw and also as though it is more personal than using an actual audience.

LocationsInfluential Photographs