Checklist

Production Schedule

Moodboard - Styling

Pre-production Planning - Organisation of Locations and Props

Location recce/ search

Location 1 + 2 - Colegate, Norwich NR3











                                                     






These 2 locations in Colegate in Norwich are local and easy to get to for all my actors, but are also away from busy public areas meaning we can get all the shots we need without any interruptions.  The benefit of it being in a public area also means that I don't need to ask anyone's permission to be there.


Location 3 - The Alley, Norwich NR2

The Alley would be a good location to shoot in either the outside space, the inside space or the art gallery space.
It's local and easy to get to for all my actors including the owner of The Alley who has full access to every room.
Sometimes it's fairly quiet for times when I want emotional shots, but also when it gets busier I may want shots with lots of people in.
There's dim lighting in the inside space, natural lighting or street lighting outside and harsh lighting in the gallery space.






Location 4 - Norwich underpass, Norwich NR1

All of these locations are in public places meaning I don't need to ask permission to use them which takes time (something I don't have a lot of)  This makes filming here a lot easier and more viable and because they are public, they're open 24/7 so I can film at any time of the day, however, filming at night time isn't as easy because there's no natural light, something I intend on using.

All of the places apart from London are easy to get to because they're local which means I don't need to pay for transport for any of my actors.  When I shoot in London I will be going alone and filming everyone who's already there so I only need to pay for my own transport.

All the locations are fairly safe, London is the only risk as it's a protest but it's supposed to be a peaceful protest and I've only got myself to look after instead of a group of actors.

There will be background noise in all of these locations but the sound will not be used in the music video and will be edited out in post-production.

Moodboard

Please click on the moodboard below to open it fully in another tab

Storyboard

Please click on the photo below to see a larger version of the storyboard

 Or click on the arrows below to see the storyboard in a powerpoint presentation.

Storyboard powerpoint from h1hadaway

Casting

I posted a listing on an agency website called StarNow to recruit some professional actors to feature in the music video as I want a professional looking music video and I feel as though I'm taking a professional approach.  7 people applied for the ad but most didn't live near Norwich and wanted me to pay for their travel despite me explaining that I was unable to.  I arranged to meet one of the actors who lived near Norwich but he cancelled on me last minute which led me to believe that he wasn't as serious about my project as I am.

I confided in some friends who are incredibly passionate about music and know how important my projects are to me, out of the 5 of them, only 1 fitted the character I had wanted of someone of colour who has predominant features relating to his ethnicity, and after auditioning him he said he was more than happy to help. I found some other extras through mutual friends who were also of an African/ Caribbean decent who applied to be in the video.

Reasons for casting:

Main Actor:

At first I was going to cast the role to someone between the ages of 17-40 to represent a sister or a mother affected by police brutality, but because my music video is aimed at a fairly young audience, I  then decided to represent the main actor as a young woman to make it more relatable and to show that any one of us young people could experience this when we grow up if we don't do something to stop it.
I decided to cast myself to be the main actor.  This role requires professionalism, and raw emotion.  Every time I listen to this song, I feel so much emotion and struggle to not cry.  The Black Lives Matter movement means the world to me and so does this music video.
I'm able to direct myself to do everything I want, I can retake the shots as many times as I need to without relying on anyone else, and I can give that emotive performance easily.  I also know the song very well and know all the lyrics off by heart which makes editing in post-production much easier if the correct words are sung/rapped in time.

Foreground Extra 1:
Natasha is very organised and reliable and also incredibly professional.  I can rely on her to show up on time and put in her 110%.  As I am close friends with her she knows how important this is to me and is much more likely to try her hardest.  This is much better than using someone from an add agency who isn't very committed as I experienced before with StarNow.

Foreground Extra 2:
Stephen has very predominantly black features which is perfect for the music video as it's all about racism against black people.  Stephen is very loyal and I can depend on him to perform well. He also raps so he is able to lip synch to the song if needed.

Foreground Extra 3:
Harry is very trustworthy, and also owns The Alley where I'm intending to film.  He fits the role perfectly where he'll be standing next to Stephen holding the sign.

Foreground Extra 4:
Will Sims lives quite close to my house meaning I can film with him easily.  He has dreadlocks which is stereotypically associated with black ethnicity which works well with my music video theme.

My Final Song Choice

I have decided on a song called 'PohLease' by KAMAU.  It's a very emotive song about police brutality in America

Below is the official music video for the song, and below that is a live performance in which I think the true emotion in the song is fully captured.

Asking Artists Permission

I contacted KAMAU on both Facebook and Instagram to ask for his permission to use his song for my music video to avoid copyright and just out of courtesy to which he agreed.

Possible Song Choices

Growing up as a mixed race girl, music has been an incredibly important part of my life.  My dad knows first hand how hard it is to deal with racism and wanted to make sure from a young age that I knew my worth and didn't take much notice of people who thought otherwise.  He did this through music with positive representations of black people and black culture.  I want to connect with my black side with this music video and also show other people their worth with my music video by doing a music video based around racism and black people.

I have looked at various songs after doing some research

http://www.ocweekly.com/music/10-best-black-empowerment-songs-6605281



This song is all about being proud to be yourself with the lyrics "I'm black and i'm proud"

This song has no copyright that I'm aware of (it has been uploaded by someone other than the official Jaheim account and has been up on YouTube for 7 years so I can assume it's okay, but if I pick this song I'll run my own tests to make sure it doesn't get taken down)  It's all about being fabulous as you are with lyrics such as

"Was just us and mom, single family home, She did the best she could, did it all alone, Met a man but he won't raise a child thats not his own, Oh, no, oh, no, no"  

Prepaid CELLIES for local calls                                                                  
little dons and divas up at the mall
rockin cornrow twists, thats how we BALL                        

But don't hate on us, were fabulous                                                                  

We're all that we've got
and no matter whatever together we'll weather the storm

IT AIN'T A LOT, we all we got, it might get rough, but
it's alright

Cause U-N-I-T-Y is all we need
To get our R-E-S-P-E-C-T
And never G-I-V-E U-P
And keep your H-E-A-D U-P
And never G-I-V-E U-P
And keep your H-E-A-D U-P
And never G-I-V-E U-P
And keep your H-E-A-D U-P
And never G-I-V-E U-P
And keep your H-E-A-D U-P
And never G-I-V-E U-P
And keep your H-E-A-D U-P
And never G-I-V-E U-P
And keep your H-E-A-D U-P

This song talks about black women usually ending up as single parents raising a family on her own and how incredible they are for doing that.
Cornrow twists are a type of hairstyle black girls tend to wear but this song is saying "don't hate on us, we're fabulous" "we're all we've got but we'll get through this all together"  This is the first song I remember thinking "yes, I am fabulous being me"

Another possible song choice is PohLease by KAMAU, this music video is completely about police brutality and focusses more on those events than empowering black people, but the way KAMAU words things such as "Killing cubs just because, Colour is a credible cause To make that bird caw, Incredible cost to a mother to To get that cursed call" shows the struggle people are going through just because of the colour of their skin, so if I pick this song I will record an empowering music video.

This song is a tribute from 2Pac to his mum who raised her on his own



This is another song about strong black single women raising children on their own.