Planning
Centre Number: ID 136
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Picking Tasks and Assigning Roles
21 July 2023 - Before starting anything, we had the choice to either work in groups or individually and to either make a music video or short film. After weighing the benefits and drawbacks, I decided to work in a group of 4 to create a music video. I believed that making our own music video, digipak and social media would be too much work for one person and having someone else to help out allows us to come up with more ideas quickly and come up with the media products to the best of our abilities since we each have different skills that contribute to the making of these media texts. I also enjoy music and listen to it on a daily basis since there are vast amounts of genres and songs that can suit one's mood. As this is something I'm more comfortable in, I thought it was best we do a music video.
Just like AS level, the roles we had to choose were between director, editor and cameraman. Since I was previously the director during AS, I decided to try and take on a different role so I became the editor. Prior to finalizing my choice, I had a few experience doing many edits to recap the year so I think I can do a good job in my role as editor.
Here are the roles we assigned to ourselves
Director (creating story & directing the other crews) – Charlize Halim
Creative Director (helping the director & costume & set design) - Nixon Budilaksmono
Technical (setting up equipment & cameraman) – Jeanie Benita Khoe
Editor (editing the film opening) – Kimberly Andrea Tumbelaka
Potential song options
22 July 2023 - After we picked our music genre which was Pop, we tried to look for songs we could use for our coursework. Since our choice of actors are girls, we wanted to do a song sung by a female artist. Based on the research we did about Pop music video themes, they all usually follow the same trope which is about relationships. Below are the likely song choices
We are never getting back together - Taylor Swift (breakup)
we wanted to do this song as we thought it was easy but the plans we came up with for the MV was already done by taylor
2002 - Anne Marie (recall old memories)
this song was almost the one we decided to do since prior to this song we watched a few MVs with similar conventions however finding multiple different actors especially those who are different ages and have similar facial features was difficult
The one that got away - Katy Perry (reminiscing the early days of the relationship)
this song has an easy theme but we found the beat too slow and didn’t think there much we could do so our MV would be boring
Deciding the Song
24 July 2023 - The song our group decided to choose is “good 4 u” by Olivia Rodrigo because we immediately thought of ideas for the music video when we heard the music. The social group we are representing in this music video is a relationship and the social issue is grief from a breakup. We chose this song since it is relatable to our life as teenagers as this song is about Olivia’s heartbreak as she sees her ex move on quickly. In our MV we plan to showcase a teenager experiencing heartache through the stages of grief including anger and sadness especially from remembering her old, happy memories in the relationship.
The social issue we want to represent is heartbreak. In a life of an average teenager, the social aspect is very important and this is the age where teenagers start to date. One of the issues that isn't highlighted enough is the hardships they may face once a relationship is over, especially when that significant other has moved on before us.
Song Moodboard Research
31 July 2023 - After finalizing our choice of song which is "good 4 u", we listened to this song a few times and searched on Pinterest for images we thought that gave similar vibes to the song. We think that anger and sadness were the key emotions expressed through the music for which we immediately think of fire (in relations to burning objects) as well as crying (most likely somewhere in a bathroom)
Create Set Design, Costume Design and Props Plan
7 August 2023 - Today we started to plan on the costume design for each set.
We wanted to begin our first set in the bedroom so we decided for Caylee to wear a comfy outfit. We also chose for her to have a no makeup-makeup look and tie her hair in a messy bun to show that she just woke up and was just lounging in her room. For the set design, it will just be a stereotypical teenager’s room which includes a bed stacked with pillows and dolls, a vanity area, a closet full of clothes and a wall filled with polaroid pictures. Here Caylee will be holding a phone as her prop to show her scrolling through social media pages which again follows the typical morning of a teenage girl.
Our second set is in the car/park as we plan for Caylee to drive to the mall so we want her to wear a casual outfit such as long jeans with an outer shirt and her hair in a ponytail or half tied. For these scenes, we want for her to use waterline makeup which is slightly bold to show her dressing up a bit to go out. In this case since Caylee will be in the car driving around the park, she will just have her phone as the prop again as she is looking out the car window.
The third set is located in the carpark where we wanted to show Caylee full of rage as she tries to get over her ex-boyfriend so we decide for her to either wear a long red dress or red/black two piece outfit with a long blazer over it (scarlet witch/harley quinn inspired outfit) Since this scene focuses on Caylee’s anger, we want her to have a very bold makeup style with dark eyeshadow and long winged eyeliner, as well as red lips and for her hair to be messy to showcase her fierceness. In this set the props we are thinking of using are a lighter/match, burn bin and polaroid pictures since we wanted to show her anger through letting go of the past by burning old pictures.
The fourth and last set is the bathroom where Caylee will mainly be in a bathtub filled with colored water as well as alcohol, antidepressants and a knife around the tub sides to show that she is in the depression stage. We also plan for the tub to be filled with rose petals just to make the area less empty and to symbolize her life slowly drifting away through the representation of wilted flowers floating around the tub. Since the scenes in this set are for Caylee to grief at, we want her to wear a plain white dress with her hair down and wet and with a drippy mascara makeup look to show that she has been crying.
Character Profile & Cast Selection
14 August 2023 - Since our music video is about a heartbroken teenage girl seeing her ex-boyfriend moving on from their past toxic relationship, we had to find 3 people to become our actors.
Character profile for main lead
Age: 16-18
Place of living: Surabaya, Indonesia
Gender: female
Height: 155cm - 165cm
Skills: can show various emotions
Background: the character just broke up with her boyfriend and found out he already has a new girlfriend. Here she goes through the stages of grief after getting her heart broken for the first time.
As we were scouting for an actor, one of our friend, Caylee who previously acted in the film opening for AS caught my attention since she is very expressive and confident and is very profound in doing make up. In addition to meeting our criteria, she has already graduated and is waiting to go for university the next year hence her flexible schedule makes it easy for us to find filming dates so ultimately we chose Caylee to play as Olivia Rodrigo.
Character profile for ex-boyfriend
Age: 16-18
Place of living: Surabaya, Indonesia
Gender: male
Height: 160cm - 175cm
Background: the character quickly found a new girlfriend after just ending a relationship with the main lead
The person we wanted to play this character had to be charismatic and tall to show our audience that he is able to find a new love interest with ease, however, finding a male actor was quite difficult for us since most of the guys we know are not fond of the idea of acting let alone with a girl. Thankfully, Charlize's friend Angelo, who also knew Caylee, was up for the role. Since he fit the description and is Caylee's friends, the scenes and pictures we plan to take will look more natural with both actors feeling comfortable which is why we chose Angelo to be our male lead.
Character profile for new girlfriend
Age: 16-18
Place of living: Surabaya, Indonesia
Gender: female
Height: 155cm - 165cm
Background: the new love interest of the male character (ex-boyfriend of the female lead)
This was, I would argue, the easiest actor to find since most of my friends are willing to act in our music video. Since this is also a minor role in which they would only be shown for a few seconds with the male lead, we were quick to find an actor to fill this position. I chose to ask my close friend, Allyson, to play this role since her schedule is generally free and with her house being close to Caylee's, we could quickly find a time to film with them both.
Location Scouting
21 August 2023 - With the song being about heartbreak of a teenager, we wanted it to be relatable with the audience so we decided to film in more common/stereotypical areas.
The first location we all collectively decided on was the park in Pakuwon. 'Taman Pakuwon' has a pond with many greenery and pathways which we found to be very cute for a date with our female lead's ex-boyfriend and his new girl. It is also out in the open so our main character can easily spot them both.
For the bedroom scene, we thought of filming in one of our houses for which we decided to do so in Caylee's room so that it would be much convenient for her to change outfits and do her makeup. Her house is located in the same complex the park is at which makes it very easy to film at both locations in just a day.
As for the parking lot scene, we wanted to film in either Pakuwon Mall, Supermall or Pakuwon Trade Centre, all of which are nearby Caylee's house and the park which again makes it very convenient for us to film.
Lastly was the bathtub scene which was difficult for us to search for as none of us had bathtubs in our houses and the hotels we knew that had good bathtubs were very expensive. After days of finding for a hotel, we came across a cheap hotel called "Country Heritage Hotel" that had a bathtub which looked very promising and what we wanted so we quickly booked the hotel.
Rough plan for the music video
29 August 2023 - As a group, we all gathered to listen to the song together and searched for the lyrics online. We then used Charlize's Ipad to highlight the lyrics and wrote some notes on the ideas we had. We thought it was better to blurt out all our initial ideas after listening and paying attention to the lyrics and vibes of the song even though our thoughts were still all over the place and not in detailed yet.
Making the storyboard and script
1 September 2023 - Charlize and I then continued to make the storyboard and script. Since she was better and drawing and visuals, she created the storyboard and since I had ideas for transitions or shots in mind for the final music video, I made the script. In the script, I wrote down the shots and angles we had to take the videos or pictures from, Caylee's movements in each part and extra notes to remind myself on how I wanted the videos to be edited together. We also color coordinated each scene to the different sets so that it will be easier for us to differentiate what scenes we had to do in each location.
Red - bathroom
Green - park
Blue - bedroom
Grey - carpark/streets
Purple - extra scenes for instrumental parts
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 fuck 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 carpark/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
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
Or maybe you never cared at all
same as top but caylee in orange water
Your apathy is like a wound in salt
repeat again but caylee in red water
SCENE 12
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
We did the first roughwork of just highlighting the lyrics based on the location with some ideas on what to do then went on to do the storyboard to quickly put our visions in drawings so we would not forget our ideas. After Charlize created the storyboard, I went on and correlated each scene in detail and made the script since we had the general idea in mind already, making things easier for me to do the script.
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