In the first week of school, my class and I were introduced to the media studies syllabus and the tasks we were assigned to do before the end of the school year. We had the option of 4 packages, music promotion, film promotion, documentary extract, and short film. We all chose to do music video as we felt most passionate about the topic. All of us also had the option to do the coursework alone or in teams. We had the option to work solo or team up. I decided to team up with three others to spread out the workload and bounce ideas off each other. 

The roles available were the same as A-level: director, co-director, creative, and technical. In the AS-level, I was in charge of the creative aspects. I absolutely loved this role, however I wanted to take a more hands-on approach this year in managing how the media text turned out, hence why I chose to be director. Despite being director, I also decided to help out with many of the creative aspects as I am deeply intrested in the topic, hence why I chose to do the digipak. As the director I am in charge of creating the storyline and directing the team. 

My teams roles goes as follows:

• Director: Charlize Halim

• Co-Director (assisting director): Nixon Budilaksmono

• Technical (cameraworks): Jeanie Benita Khoe

• Editor (editing the music video) : Kimberly Andrea Tumbelaka

I wanted the genre of our music video to be pop as it is the more popular genre. We also wanted for the song to include elements of heartbreak, love, and relationships to follow the conventions of typical pop songs. 

By doing this, we hoped to connect with a wide audience who can relate to these emotions. 

After careful consideration, we settled on "Good 4 U" by Olivia Rodrigo because it encompasses all the hallmarks of a pop song, with its themes of heartbreak and betrayal. 

Released in 2021, "Good 4 U" falls under the teen pop, singer-songwriter, and pop-punk/pop-rock genres. This song draws partial inspiration from Paramore's "Misery Business," which causes it to blend elements of the early 2000s with contemporary sounds. We found this fusion interesting, as it brings a fresh take that could appeal to an older Gen-Z crowd while still being attractive to the younger members of Gen-Z.

Considering our target demographic is young people, these genres were a perfect fit. We aimed to capture the attention of this demographic by selecting a song that reflects their tastes and preferences.

Instead of following the actual music video of "Good 4 U', we decided to go in a different direction. 

We wanted to break some conventions while following some others.

For example, we wanted to follow the convention of love and heartbreak, however we wanted to break conventions by spreading awareness of how people in vulnerable positions (after a breakup) could lead to to them spiraling (declining their mental health). 

Hence we wanted to create an alternative-pop & pop inspired album, as we wanted to show some darker themes while also appealing to the mass market. 

The Independent stated that alternative-pop is "a home-made, personalised imitation of the mainstream that speaks far closer to actual teenage experience". Alternative pop usually uses themes of depression, insecurity, and anxiety.

For the alt-pop themes, I was inspired by artists such as Lana Del Rey, Halsey, Mitski, Melanie Martinez and Billie Eilish.

31 July --  Kimberly and I decided to create a mood board to better establish the ambiance and atmosphere we envisioned for the music video. This proved invaluable in clarifying our visual direction and determining the overall aesthetic we aimed to achieve. After careful consideration, we concluded that the video should exude a manic, dark, and chaotic atmosphere, predominantly using shades of red and black. 

For this music video we decided that we needed 3 actors: the main character, the cheating boyfriend, and the 'other' girlfriend

Character profile of the main character:

• Gender: Female

• Age: 16-25

• Skills : Preferably confident in front of a camera, able to make various facial expressions, and having previous experience acting

• Background: The character slowly loses her sanity after discovering that her longtime boyfriend has been cheating on her.

For this character, I chose Caylee Pan, the same actress I had chosen for my AS level coursework. The reason for this is that she has shown that she is capable of showing a variety of emotions and never shies away from the camera. She is also considering a film major in university so I thought she would be more passionate than other actresses we could have gotten. 

Character profile of the supporting character (cheating boyfriend):

• Gender: Male

• Age: 16-19 

• Appearance: 

• Skills : Preferably fashionable

• Background: The character cheats on his girlfriend with another girl

For this character, I decided to ask one of my acquaintances, Angelo Jansen, to play this part. The reason for this is that, he is known to be fashionable and many people have said he fits the conventional beauty standard, as well as has an overall "playboy" look, which perfectly suited the character. 

Character profile of the supporting character (the other girlfriend):

• Gender: Female

• Age: 16-19

• Appearance: 

• Skills : Preferably confident in front of a camera, able to make various facial expressions, and having previous experience acting

• Background: The girlfriend of a cheating man

For this character, we decided to go with Allyson Teng, as she has an innocent and pure appearance which suited this character.

Instead of using a screenshotted image like the rough draft, we chose to create the script in the app "Google Docs" as it is easily accessible to everyone in our cast and crew as it is available on portable devices such as phones and tablets. 

The Script:

INSTRUMENTAL INTRO

• Pan from the wall and tilt + dolly in towards Caylee’s face

• Editor note: add title card (song title and artist name)

SCENE 1

“Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily”

• Long shot - caylee getting out of bed (lipsync)

SCENE 2

“You found a new girl”

• Medium shot from inside the closet - caylee taking out her clothes (to show she is getting ready to go out)

“and it only took a couple weeks

Remember when you said that you wanted to give me the world? Ah-ah-ah-ah”

• Medium shot again + film from the side + truck (follow caylee sitting down)

• Caylee walking towards her chair, picks up her clothes then sits down whilst looking at the camera (while lip syncing)

SCENE 3

“And good for you, I guess that you've been workin' on yourself

I guess that therapist I found for you, she really helped

Now you can be a better man for your brand-new”

• Medium shot - caylee driving around the park (lipsync)

• Camera a bit shaky to show she is in the car

SCENE 4

“girl”

• Close up shot seeing reflection from rear view mirror - caylee looks shocked seeing her ex boyfriend with a new girl

• Editor note: At “girl”, cut from the medium shot to close up rear view mirror

SCENE 5

“Well, good for you, you look happy and healthy

Not me, if you ever cared to ask”

• Reverse tracking - caylee storms in her room after going to the park then throws her jacket at cam (showing she is angry)

“Good for you, you're doin' great out there without me, baby

God, I wish that I could do that”

• Editor note: transition from black screen (of jacket thrown) to angelo and allyson in the park + slow mo this scene to show how focus and disbelief caylee is in seeing her first love move on

SCENE 6

“I've lost my mind, I've spent the night

Cryin' on the floor of my bathroom”

• Long shot pictures - caylee looking sad and given up with her staying in different parts of the bed (to show she’s thought about the moment seeing the new couple for a long time)

• Editor note: cut each photo following the beat “i” “lost” “my” “mind”

• Closeup shot with high angle - show’s the little power caylee has (as if her energy was drained) + caylee just lip syncs

“But you're so unaffected, I really don't get it”

• Medium shot - caylee playing with her hair to show her frustration

• Film in a corner represents her feeling small

“But I guess good for you”

• Medium shot - caylee lip sync in closet and having her memory book filled with love notes from angelo (ex boyfriend) to show her remembering the past

• Caylee looks straight at camera and points when it says “good for you”

INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGE

• Editor note: cross cut using the same few pictures of caylee and angelo when they were in a relationship (represents caylee reminiscing the past) - beats go faster = speed of cross cut photos become faster

SCENE 7

“Well, good for you, I guess you're gettin' everything you want (Ah)

You bought a new car and your career's really takin' off (Ah)

It's like we never even happened

Baby, what the f*ck is up with that? (Ah)”

• Medium shot looking at caylee’s reflection in mirror + lip sync (film from behind caylee)

• Shoot one in normal lighting with lights on, shoot again with red lighting and lights off

• Editor note: cross cut each line from white light to red light back and forth (shows caylee having conflicting emotions - sadness and anger)

SCENE 8

“And good for you, it's like you never even met me

Remember when you swore to”

• Tracking + medium shot (film from side then behind caylee) - caylee takes out a bag then walks to the couch

“God I was the only

Person who ever got you? Well, screw that, and screw you”

• Medium shot + panning - caylee puts teddy bear + love note book in bag then pans to her ripping the polaroids of caylee and her ex boyfriend off the wall

SCENE 9

You will never have to hurt the way you know that I do

• Camera film from inside the bag then dolly out + close up shot and pan - caylee picks up her bag filled with tangible memories of her ex and exits her room

SCENE 10

“Well, good for you

You look happy and healthy, not me

If you ever cared to ask”

• Medium shot + reverse tracking - caylee dancing around the streets + lip sync

“But you're so unaffected, I really don't get it”

• Close up shot - flame from lighter

• Doll out to medium shot - caylee about to burn a polaroid photo of her and ex boyfriend

“But I guess good for you”

• Medium shot + pan - caylee “hits” the camera (pan) to a side quickly then transition to polaroid pictures on caylee’s wall

INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGE

• Cross cutting between bedroom and street scenes

SCENE 11 

Maybe I'm too emotional

But your apathy's like a wound in salt

• Long shot - caylee in bathtub (clear water + light orange roses for a bit of contrast)

• Editor note - add inserts of pictures for next scene (act as preview) following the cymbal beats

Maybe I'm too emotional

Or maybe you never cared at all

• same as top but caylee in orange water

Maybe I'm too emotional

Your apathy is like a wound in salt

• repeat again but caylee in red water

SCENE 12

Maybe I'm too emotional

Or maybe you never cared at all

• Long shot with caylee centered frame and moving around the water looking desperate

SCENE 13

“Well, good for you

You look happy and healthy, not me

If you ever cared to ask

Good for you

You're doin' great out there without me, baby”

• Long shot - caylee playing around with the knife 

INSTRUMENTAL BRIDGE

• Editor note: cross cut using the same few pictures of caylee in the bathtub - beats go faster = speed of cross cut photos become faster

SCENE 14

“Well, good for you, I guess you moved on really easily”

• Long shot - caylee taking the knife intending to kill herself by slicing her neck

• Cut to close up shot - caylee dying (semi submerged in water)

• Editor note: fade to black then give credits

Editor note: lyrics parts that’s not in the script use extra footage and cross cut through different sets

At first, I made a very rough draft of what I wanted the scenes to look like. However after establishing the final script, I decided that I wanted to scrap this idea. Here are some pages of this draft:

I felt that the rough draft was quite unintelligible as I have very poor handwriting on my Ipad (as I am writing with my fingers), hence I decided to type out the text instead. Also, I wanted to make the drawings clearer to ensure that all the cast and crew understood the storyboard. I also decided to write which scene the storyboard image was apart of instead of writing it directly on the storyboard as it looks much cleaner and less confusing.

In order to create a smoother filming process and ensure a clearer understanding of the shooting plan for the cast and crew, I chose to develop a storyboard. 

This visual tool would provide us with a roadmap during filming, helping to minimize any potential hiccups or misunderstandings. Additionally, since I planned to book the hotel for only one night to minimize costs, having a well-prepared storyboard would be especially crucial in maximizing our efficiency during the limited time available for shooting. 

Much like the script, I used the colors to better illustrate where the scenes would be located. Blue for the bedroom, green for the park, grey for the parking lot, and red for the bathroom.

My goal was to depict the gradual decline of the artist's sanity throughout the music video, which I tried to convey through the change of her costume design. I wanted to show a transition from innocence to darkness, symbolized by a shift towards predominantly black attire to signify her impending death.

So the colors of the outfits changed in this order: 

Pink & white (bedroom) --> black & white (park)  --> black & red (parking lot) --> full black (bathtub)

Firstly, we started with pink and white in the bedroom scene to evoke a sense of purity and innocence, transitioning to black and white in the park setting to hint at the start of turmoil. As the MV continued, the color palette intensified, with costumes shifting to black and red in the parking lot scene, representing danger. Finally, ending in a full black attire in the bathtub scene, symbolizing the ultimate descent into darkness and despair. This progression was done as we aimed to visually mirror the deteriorating mental state of the protagonist as the storyline unfolded.

For the main character:

For the ex-boyfriend and the 'other' girlfriend:

I wanted the actors to wear neutral colors for their date at the park. The reason for this is that this color palette is completely detached from the color palette of CayV's outfits, showing how they are spending their time in their own little world, not knowing how their actions may affect CayV. I also made sure that they had matching color palettes to further emphasize that they are a couple. 

I knew we needed fake blood in the bathroom scene, however I was concerned about achieving a convincing effect. To tackle this, I decided to buy two types of fake blood—one thicker and one more liquid—in order to be more versatile on filming day. I ensured that the products I bought had a solid reputation, I also chose products with a high number of purchases (at least 1000) and I also made sure to confirm the composition with the supplier to ensure the quality of the fake blood.  

After asking a few of my friends, I discovered that Kayoon Road was the best spot for sourcing flowers for our music video. To keep the roses fresh, I planned to buy them a few hours before the shoot. 

Since we lacked an instant camera, we decided to commission someone to print photos in a polaroid style for the music video. During the shooting of the polaroid pictures, we ensured that we took as many pictures as possible as most (if not all) places that offer this type of commissions have a minimum 20 pictures policy. Most polaroids range from 6 x 9 cm to 7 x 10 cm. 

To enhance the atmosphere around the bathtub, we thought it would be atmospheric to include red candles. Luckily, I already had these candles at home, so there was no extra cost involved.

We decided to use Caylee's bedroom for this shoot. The reason for this is that it has a coquette-ish appearance, full of white and pink colors. This would be perfect for the beginning of the MV as it shows how Caylee is still innocent, not knowing what her boyfriend is doing behind her back. We also chose her house instead of anyone else's as Caylee has a strict curfew time and thus filming at Caylee's house would allow us to film at any time of the day, leading to a more flexible schedule. 

For the park, we wanted a beautiful landscape to show that Caylee's boyfriend is happy with his new girlfriend, the beautiful background will encapsulate how happy the boyfriend is without Caylee.

We had several choices for the filming location.

For the location, it was very difficult to find a place to shoot the bathtub scene. The reason is that none of our cast and crew have bathtubs in our homes. It was also very difficult to find affordable hotels with bathtubs in our city.