For this project, I took on the role of the director, because I felt like it would be an exciting opportunity for me. I have never directed before so it meant I could tackle new aspects of projects whilst improving my leadership and communication skills. Prior to choosing a song, I knew that my main priority for this music video was to make it cinematic and visually exciting, whilst following in interesting narrative that correlates with the lyrics of the song.
I found the most difficult part of this project to be the initial decision on an artist and song. I wanted to use a song that had meaningful lyrics with an upbeat melody to make it more appealing to the audience. I don’t have any musical friends, so it involved me finding a contact outside of university. It was important to me to find an artist who wasn’t well-known so that I could offer them the opportunity to have a music video along with one of their songs to gain more traction to them as an artist. I found an artist called Freddie Keith, who is based in Brighton and covers and writes songs as a hobby instead of a music based degree. With the help of the artist, we decided the best song choice was his cover of ‘The 1’ by Taylor Swift as it gave us the ability to tell a story as well as making it cinematically beautiful. Taylor Swift’s music videos have also always been an inspiration to me as I feel the interesting narratives and visual styles are what makes them so popular with a widespread audience.
The narrative follows a young couple who have had a breakdown in their relationship and are both reminiscent of their time together, wondering if they should reach out, but neither want to admit to the mistakes they made. It was important to me to use Freddie as the male protagonist, both so that he is the main feature in his own music video but also because he is not an actor, I thought it was offer more realistic representation of relationships. I then found the female actress through mutual friends and realised the two protagonists instantly had chemistry. I spent a long time doing a lyric breakdown to make the best narrative possible, I went back-and-forth on ideas quite regularly, but decided to stick with the meaning of the original lyrics and follow the storyline about a couple regretting their decision to part ways. I feel that the simplicity of the narrative makes it more effective, the couple performing the same tasks, on the same day whilst both remembering their memories together and wondering what could’ve been, therefore mirroring the lyrics overlaid, ‘if my wishes came true it would’ve been you’.
It was important to me to make this music video look cinematic and beautifully constructed, which is why I decided to include lots of aerial videos, I shot these myself on a DJI Mavic Mini Drone. I wanted to include the famous Brighton Pier location so performed a flyover shot and slowed it down in post-production to draw the audience’s attention more. I also wanted to make the ‘fight scene’ look especially cinematic and dramatic so I filmed with two cameras simultaneously, the first show both actors in the same shot and the second capturing a close-up reaction shot of Frankie’s face. Using a straight cut between the two shots builds intensity, allowing the audience to feel emotional over the couple separating.
Colour grading was also a very important aspect of the video, I wanted to include the bright colours and vibrance of Brighton as a city so I could contrast it with the dull and miserable washed out colours used during the flashback scenes. The first shot depicts a happy and upbeat female protagonist, in a street of colourful house, in the second picture it is followed by a colourful garage but a dark grey wall, showing that she is now thinking back to their relationships and having regrets. In the third picture, the scene is a flashback, so I have washed most of the colour out to display the sadness and realisation that both characters feel.
The first issue I encountered on this shoot was weather difficulties, where I had originally aimed to shoot more scenes on the beach, it became difficult to do so due to wind. This made some of the shots look slightly shaky, as well as the actors’ clothes and hair excessively blowing around, although it does not ruin the shot entirely, it wasn’t the desired outcome I had in mind. The weather also became a challenge because we were unable to film in the rain as it would damage the equipment, therefore meaning that postponing shoot days and finding joint availability for cast and crew members was extremely difficult. The main struggle on this project was that I sprained my ankle a week before we started shooting, which meant I was unable to make it to in-person meetings with my cast and crew. It also became increasingly difficult to direct two shoots as I was on crutches and couldn’t walk very far, so I had to change the locations to film Freddie’s wine scene in my own home. I was also becoming increasingly aware of the negative impact that my absence from one shoot was having on an already small crew, as they had to organise, and camera operate whilst I attempted to direct via FaceTime.
Although there were downfalls to this music video, including the shaky camera movement, I feel that this video was an overall success. I think the way the that it has been edited, cutting between current life and happy flashbacks perfectly demonstrates the heartbreak of break-up. I am also very pleased with how the drone footage turned out as these shots give more context to the location and consequently to the narrative. If I were to do this project again, I would allow myself more time to complete all aspects of the shoot, so I am not as stuck if conditions like the weather get in the way. I would also add an effect and wash the colour out of the flashback scenes even more to make it clearer that it was a past memory. Ultimately, I am happiest with the storyline aspect of this music video as I feel like it perfectly mirrors the lyrics of the song, I also feel like it embodies elements of Taylor Swift’s own music videos which was my original intention at the start of the process.
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