In verse number 1 of the song, we will have a panning shot around the house which shows the setting where the music video is shot. Then it will stop in a wide-angle displaying the upcoming scene of the character cloning. After this part is done, the video will cut in between narrative and performance.
In verse 2 of the song, audiences will be first introduced to one of the main characters, who is Lil Durk, this is when the other narrative scene takes place led by a tracking shot where the camera follows the protagonist around showing what he sees. Later, it will cut back to a wide angle showing the full scene, and afterwards it will switch to a close up of the artist performing.
In the final, 3rd verse of the song will include performance, which is used for representing the typical conventions of a rap music video as well as showing off their money, cars. Furthermore, it is also challenging them at the same time. Later on the second character comes in which is Lil Durk. In this final verse we see quick cuts of the artist rapping to the camera, but also shots of the two artists together, flexing with their expensive things. These will be a combo of low angle and close-up shots, to make the characters look more powerful.
Character breakdown:
The characters featured in my music video are men, aged between 20-25. They both perform for young adults from the ages between 15-25. Our characters are suggesting the fact that even though they are wealthy and famous for making music and participating in the music career, it can not buy loyal friends or love either, and moreover there are times when they are facing disappointment and betrayal. The idea of having two characters represents that there will always be someone in your life who will be on your side no matter what.
Visual elements:
Visual elements such as lighting will be used in my music video. The lighting will be very different depending on the scene. For instance, for the scenes with artists performing and rapping to the camera, it will be more colorful with the use of blue and red colours which helps give a more edgy vibe to the scene.
Editing: Many different editing techniques will be used throughout the music video and the shots will mostly go along with the lyrics of the song, moreover techniques like cloning and the 90’s vibe with a VHS filter will be used to make the video itself more postmodern .
Settings: mainly, the location of the video will be a house , which will be used for many scenes, however we might be using abandoned warehouses to film a few scenes such as performance and two main characters rapping
Camera movement : there will be a wide variation of close- up shots as well as wide- angle shots to get to show the whole scene and all the details
Props: the mail props will be conventional for a rap music video such as money, cars, jewelry, to represent the lifestyle and wealth.
Costumes: the costumes in this music video will be very similar to what rappers wear nowadays, showing off their sense of fashion and money.
Rationale: we have decided on this idea as it perfectly fits on the idea of betrayal, relationship and friendship issues as well as the concept is quite simple to carry out.
All types of audience will be able to find themselves in a music video as everyone has faced some types of betrayal, or relationship problems which link to the uses and gratifications theory.
Research: for the primary research we have conducted a questionnaire and emailed it to the potential primary audiences, both males and females, to see whether they like the idea and if they are interested in the song itself or not. The findings suggested that there are significantly more males who are interested in rap and particularly this song than females.
As for the secondary research, I was comparing different types of music videos and analysing them. I found out that most of them do not have a narrative and are mainly based on performance, however we tried the challenge conventions and combined both narrative and performance.
Locations: some of the locations that i have chosen are the art district located in Al Quoz, Dubai, which has a variety of cool art installations,however we might have some problems getting permission to use those locations, moreover Meadows and Emirates hills areas to film houses and cars.
Equipment and cast: we will be mainly using the camera Canon 5D as well as a tripod for steady shots and a shoulder mounts to create smooth transitions, a second battery and an SD card. As for the cast it will include Lewis Mercer being Lil Baby and Ali Nashwan as Lil Durk, however we will be having extras for some of the scenes.
Constraints and contingencies: The pandemic COVID-19 is one of the main problems that we might be facing while filming as we will have to wear masks and the whole world might go on lockdown at any time which will negatively influence the filming and editing process as well as some of the locations might be restricted. The video might get the copyright restrictions, however we will give all the credit to the artists and we do not intend to make any profit off the video.
Budget and Filming schedule: We do not have a specific budget for the music video because we will be using props and clothes that we already have which will help us save time looking for and buying costumes. We will start filming from the 17th of October to the 5th of November, which gives us time to edit and re-film some of the shots in case they do not look good.
