Storyboard

http://Pixton.com/ic:3xoe96ly

This is the link to our art of peer pressure story board

Props

Stash box - A hiding place for weapons in the form of an old cardboard box
this will mostly be used in the car scenes












Several hand guns - There is a section in our music video where handguns will be used. for obvious reasons we will be using unloaded bb guns for our music video.











Bandannas - The song is based on Kendrick Lamar's life story and one essential factor to this was his inclusion to his cousins gang the pirus this gang is also known as the Bloods. this why they choose the color red to identify themselves with. The red balaclava plays a frequent role in our music video.






 Alcohol bottles & Cannabis - As the music video starts it shows the gang having fun with alcohol and drugs. for obvious legal reasons we are filling bottles full of water and fake cigarettes are going to be used

       

Actors profiles`

The Driver
 Callum's role in the music video is to be the driver in the 'gang'. He doesn't do any major acting however his character profile is the efficient driver that regularly contributes to the banter in the gang.



The Hot Head
 Sean's His role in the music video is the Hot Head who carries the gun. He is also the character who badly influences the main character into doing illegal activity. Through out the video there will be obvious gestures and actions to show his relationship with the main character (as the one who grooms him). In addition, this character will behave in an aggressive manor and he'll carry him self in an 'Boss'-like way.



 Malcolm. He has the leading role in the music video. This involves looking enthusiastic 80% of the time (because he enjoys hanging around with his cousin's friends). However there will be glimpses of anxiety, fear and excitement. This character also handles a gun. The main focus of the music video will be based around his feelings as the mood of the song develops. 

Locations

 Firstly, this the location I intend on using to film the beginning stages of my music video. In this location, there is a cornered brick wall where I will shoot selected group of characters taking part in boarder-line criminal activity and generally having a good time smoking drugs and gambling. I chose this location in particularly be because it depicts a semi-ghetto atmosphere (lack of sophistication, relatively old building structure lack of cleanliness). In addition this location is suitable for my music video in terms of car accessibility (the car park in front and the road next to it) because the video will involve the transportation of a car.

This location is meters from the location above. This is because I will use this perspective when the car is arrives and departs from the scene. In addition, I will make an effort to limit the  irrelevant mis-en-scene, and I aim to purposely include the tower block in the distant background for the sake of illustrating a working class environment.




This is a secluded car park I aim to shoot multiple parts of the music video, of the main character by himself. This location is necessary because the main character needs to be shown in an isolated setting to best fit the isolated mood of that part of the song. However I may decide to use this setting in a different way as I go through the process of filming incase I think of a more creative idea.




This is the roof top of the previous isolated location. I intend on positioning the main character on top of the building for another solo shot of the camera. This shot will raise the intensity of the video because the true personality of the can be shown, along with all of the connotation a raised platform can bring (and experimenting with high and low angle shots).





This is another road I going to film on, together with the car and acting shot. The 'hilly' characteristics of the road would work in my advantage when the actors are commuting (whether running or walking). In addition, the road is right next to the house where a house robbery is to be acted out, therefore, it gives the music video more flow as opposed to filming in far apart settings




The two, pictures above getaway routes the car will use after the house robbery. They are both down hill. The advantage of this is that the fast motion of the car would be more aesthetically pleasing and there are sharp corners for the car to turn into to best suit a a getaway (In the song the artist says "made a right, then made a left, then made a right then another right").

           

Obsevations

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jT_PhF3HOXo
( This link is to the menace II society - Car scene)

This video is a very good example of what my music video will attempt to replicate. This clip was taken from the movie Menace II Society and it depicts an the depth of the gang culture in Los Angeles during the 90s after the Watts riots. The characters carry themselves with a fearless attitude towards gun crimes and revenge as are a product of their environment. This links in well with my music video because the story being told in the song is about the artist's personal experience whilst being exposed to a similar situation.

The things we will use for this video

•  Fascial expressions (Confusion, anger, laughter and impatience)
•  Any addition to my existing costume set out
•  Guns
•  Variation of shots within interior
•  Behaviour
•  The culture
•  Language
•  Body language
•  Amount of people in car 

Costume

Description - The main character must follow the stereotypical description of a young black male who comes from the West Coast (Los Angeles). This heavy influence of this costume is gangster culture. This consists of usually black hoodies, fitted baseball caps, cargo shorts, long white socks and basketball sneakers, however, these items can vary depending on the character. One important piece of clothing to include in the costume of the gang members is a bandana. This is important because it connotes the gang they're in (depending on the colour) and it can be used to conceal their faces in order for them to remain unidentified when they'.re causing trouble. Another key thing to remember is the fact that people in gangs wear clothes that are the same colour as the gang they represent (e.g. Bloods wear red and Crips wear blue)

However, in my music video, I plan to have a more universal dress code incorporated with America's bandana culture.

letter to kendrick lamars record label

Top Dog entertainment
Carson
california
TopDawg@ind.com

Joe Whitbread
Churchfield
London
N16 JRF

Top Dog entertainment, we are writing to you requesting the use of the song of one of
your artists Kendrick Lamar, we would like to use the art of peer pressure in are media lip syncing video.

We hope that you will consider to let us use your music in our video.



Thank you

Song choice

As we have shown in my brainstorm, we have considered a variety of songs and concepts and ideas.

The choice of are song has been whittled down to three
- The Art of peer pressure
- Her
- Weekend

These three song have very different themes and atmosphere and are all from genres affiliated with
Hip hop.

Tyler, The Creator - Her

The artist: Tyler The Creator is an artist unlike any others. His persona revolves around the idea of being a 'walking circus' meaning that nothing he does is taken serious because almost everything that he does  is a joke. He has a an extremely childish personality . This is because he does whatever
he likes. His music is mainly alternative rap and he is viewed as 'the joker' in the hip-hop world. He associates himself a lot with skateboarding therefore his dress code is predominantly skateboarding clothes (cap, shorts, vans shoes and completely random t-shirts) Which is extremely similar to fashion in the 90s era. Tyler's fan base consists of mainly white teenagers aged 14-19 and these people are attracted to his free spirit and his unorthodox rapping.

The song:  'Her' is a song is a song about a fictional character who is a stereotypical 'looser' teenager who has fantasies about his friend (a girl). Throughout the song there is an extremely sinister atmosphere as the fictional character gives a disturbing and in-depth description of his affection for his friend and this mood only gets creepier as the song continues.

Advantages:  The advantages of using a song like this for my music video would be: how easy it is to manipulate the dark using a variety of camera techniques and tricks to best portray the dark and boarder line predatory theme though out the song.

Disadvantages:  Unlike the first song choice, this song doesn't have a particular story line. It has more of a series of events therefore it would be more difficult to make the video flow and stay exciting to the audience

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuuwl-6Ikvk

Kendrick Lamar - The art of peer pressure

The artist: Kendrick Lamar is an example of a classic hip-hop who is on the rise towards success. However, the character he portrays and maintains is a very humble, modest and popular one, unlike a lot of rappers. The typical rapper would have more of a boastful and flashy personality but not him. Kendrick Lamar is a unique character because he is the type of person who would let his words do the talking for him rather than portray a false image of himself. He has a down-to-earth aspect about him, therefore, his fans are more likely to be 'Hip-Hop heads' [see audience profile post] because his image is based on authenticity.

The song: 'The art of peer pressure' is a song is orientated around the artist's childhood, growing up in an impoverished and ghetto area. The entire idea of the song is contradiction because the lyrics are a short story on how the artist is usually a good person, but when he is around his cousins and his friends he turns completely ruthless. This involves scenes of him in a car looking to cause trouble with his 'homies' and and in his journey he comes across different situations. At the end of the journey him and his 'homies' commit a house robbery.

Advantages:  Its a song with a fairly straightforward story line I could use as a template for my music video. Advantages of the song's story are that I have a car I could use as a prop for my music video and willing participants to represent his 'homies'. Furthermore, the car I can use is a Toyota. This is good because in the song a Toyota is mentioned as the car the main character is riding in. In addition, I have in mind a variety of locations which I could use to film this music video to make it as ghetto as possible (e.g. buildings and flats that are run down, car parks, staircases, a house (for the robbery) and an underpass). I think I would be competent enough to portray the oxymoron mood of this song by incorporating suitable costumes and applying witty camera angles.

Disadvantages: The disadvantages of trying to make a music video for this song would mostly be trying to force such a ghetto image in the suburban town I live in (Harlow). Also, trying to direct the main character to behave in such a vigorous manor would be a bit tricky.
on mood of this song by incorporating suitable costumes and applying witty camera angles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rxlRn_nub0

Weekend - Thursday

The artist: Weekend is yet another artist who doesn't come into any stereotypes. He is an artist who is more of a lady's man. This is  virtually because all of his songs are love songs. The genre that Weeknd represents isn't 
actually hip-hop, its more RnB, however he is widely recognised by the hip-hop culture . He comes across as a person who is extremely  down-to-earth than the typical man and his music is jam packed with feelings and emotion. His image is slightly scruffy because of his messy hair but, other than that, he usually wears
regular urban clothes.


The song: The song is very intimate and slow. Noticeable, the there are aquatic and marine sound effects which give the song a dreamy and surreal mood to it. Its about how the character in the song has a girl for every day of the week, however the girl for Thursday fell in love with him. The entire song is just sexual reference telling the girl to be ready for Thursday.


The advantages: The advantages of making a music video for this song would be the fact that we can intergrate special effects to compliment the surreal sound of the song and we could also experiment with a few camera filters and editing techniques In addition I could use some slow motion effects to capture the intimacy between the characters.

The disadvantages: The disadvantages of making a music video to this song would be the difficulty of finding willing participants to play the role of the main characters (boy and girl) and setting up a sexually romantic theme.

Conclusion

In conclusion, after weighing up the options we have decided to make a video for Kendrick Lamar - The Art Of Peer Pressure because we think it would be a more practical project in terms of locations, costume and acting. And above all, we think we would be able to incorparate all of the essential aspects of a well thought out music video and lastly, I would enjoy it because I know the culture like the back of my hand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Suprl56Owg

BrainStorm