4.5 Planning - Preparation

After finishing all our storyboards both animatic and photo animatic we had to plan even more before we could start filming.
Our first decision we had to make was who would be our protagonist.

Actors/Actresses

Above is the selection of girls we had to become our main character in our final piece, after looking at all 4 girls we decided to use Catherine, we decided on Catherine because she was fair skinned and fair haired and thats exactly what we wanted as we thought it would allow us more to work with. We wanted to be able to make our protagonist to look washed out and tired and thought dark make-up would look more effective on paler skin.

Location

Due to our film being a horror movie we decided we should have a few different locations rather than just sticking to one. By doing this shows variety which matches our protagonists mental state. The locations we chose to film at

1.The Beach

2.Conaught Park

3.Kearsney Abbey

4.A bedroom

All the locations we have chosen to film at all give an eary feel, but not only is the location important but the time in which we film at. Time for our filming is crucial, we needed to film at certain times to create the feel we wanted, because we're in Winter we knew we would have to film around 3 and 4pm, this is as the dark is setting but it isn't too dark so that we can't see anything when filming. We wanted to film in locations that had trees so that we could try and create an atmosphere ourselves with the natural light and the surroundings we were already in.

Although there were a few other locations we thought about using we decided on our final 4. The other possible locations we looked at included a grave yard. We thought about using the grave yard because it added a bit of worry to the trailer along with the typical atmosphere found in a grave yard, however we decided against it because we thought it was a typical horror movie location and we wanted to avoid that.

Clothing/Make-up

In order for our protagonist to meet the criteria of a horror movie character, clothing and make-up was vital. We wanted our character to look as if they had just got out of bed, therefore Pyjamas was obvious, but the type of Pyjamas was what we had to decide on. Although the clothing was decided the characters hair and make-up had to be agreed on, hair was expected to be natural but also a bit messy because they had just woken up, along with very little make up because they had been sleeping however we wanted to try and make our character look a little scary and stressed so we decided on some dark make-up below the eyes to make her look a little deranged.

4.4 Planning - Script

Key
* SD = Stage Directions
* VO = Voice Over
*S = Speech

'The Forgotten' - Script

SD - Girl laying on bed, with eyes wide open, laying still.
VO - It's been happening since she was young, she just doesn't remember.
(Change clip to girl @ beach)
SD- Girl walking along beach, wearing same outfit, looks lost.
VO - Where she is.
(Change clip to girl at park)
SD - Girl walking through park, looking lost
(Blank screen with the words '*****', 'The Sun'
VO - Who she is, nobody can ever figure out,
(Clip changes to close up of girl)
VO - what happened to her.
(Montage of series of clips of girl in different locations)
SD - Clip of girl running
SD - Clip of girl crying
VO - To the world she is one person
SD - Clip of girl sitting on bench
SD - Clip of girl screaming
(Blank screen with the words 'AMAZING', 'The Daily Express' written on it)
VO - But to one person she means the world.
SD - Clip of girl walking down a road
VO - But the rest of the world have forgotten about her.
SD - Clip of lit up road, girl walks down it away from audience.
VO - But she's also forgotten about them.
(Blank screen with the title 'The Forgotten' on it)
(Blank screen with the company logo)
(Blank screen with the words 'Coming to a cinema near you in March 2010')
S - Loud cry/scream

Above is the outline script of our teaser trailer, we decided to write up a script to help us focus on the task we had, along with the script and our storyboard we believe we can get all the shots necessary for our trailer to be complete. You can clearly see from looking at our script there is very little speech in our teaser trailer, however what we do have is a voice over, along with the voice over we are using inserts to help portray our idea.

The majority of the shots we are going to be using are long shots, we decided on long shots because it would allow us to see our protagonist along with the surroundings and in a horror movie surrounding are vital, we want our audience to see the settings so it can set the scene. However in the bedroom we have decided to use a lot of close ups, focusing on the face. By focusing on the face the audience will see the make-up used but also our characters facial expressions.

Although we have written a script as well as drawing our storyboard we are almost certain a few changes will be made before everything is complete.

4.3 Planning - Photo Animatic

The photo animatic is an animatic of all the photos that should be taken using our storyboard, this allows us to see exactly how our final piece will look, without the movement. The photo animatic allows us to see our locations, see how well our character fits in to our genre and to see the movement of our storyboard. This is one of the final processes we take before we start our initial filming.
The animatic also allows us to put our credits and inserts into the process so we can see what we like and what we don't like before we started the editing process.

However because we started filming far to early we didn't take any photos, our plan was to do it at the end using our storyboard, however because we didn't even use our storyboard when we started filming because of the problems we encountered, creating a photo animatic was impossible. Therefore we haven't created one as it wouldn't of fitted with our final piece.

4.2 Planning - Animatic

After drawing our storyboard we had to make it into an animatic, by doing this it allowed us to see the sequence of shots our storyboard had led to. There were very little changes from our drawn storyboard to our animatic, however we are sure there will be many other changes further along the process.

The animatic is another process that helps us to plan our work before we even start filming it, it allows us to make our mistakes before it's important.

4.1 Planning - Storyboard

After choosing our brief, we had to pick our genre that our teaser trailer was going to be based on. After deciding on genre we had to think of an idea to base the trailer on, after throwing some ideas between the group we decided to start drawing out some ideas. Below shows the storyboard that was drawn between the group to put the initial ideas on to paper, the storyboard shows the huge amount of focus on our one character and how important the locations are in this teaser trailer. More than likely a few changes will be made before we produce our final piece.

3.2 Pitch - Presentation

We were asked to prepare and give a presentation to our class outlining any ideas and plans we had for our teaser trailer. Our aim of the presentation was to try and allow people an insight into our ideas for the teaser trailer. Within the presentation we wanted to make people aware of the

• genre
• locations
• characters
• general twist of the trailer

We wanted to take people through the process we had gone through for making the decisions we had made to get to where we are now with all our final decisions made. With every decision made we wanted to give a reason why we made it and how we thought it would benefit our teaser trailer.

3.1 Pitch - Initial Ideas

The brief I have chosen is as follows:
A promotion package for a new film, to include a teaser trailer, together with two of the following three options:

• a website homepage for the film
• a film magazine front cover, featuring the film
• a poster for the film

That specific brief was picked as I thought it would allow me to develop the skills I had acquired in the previous year, not only this but I also thought it would allow me to learn new things and branch into a new genre that I hadn't looked into before. A teaser trailer was something I hadn't heard of before and after having it explained to me thought it would be something different to do and liked the idea of having a challenge.

There are going to be quite a few planning stages that I am going to need to undertake before being able to produce my teaser trailer. Before producing the teaser trailer this biggest planning I am going to have to undertake is coming up with an idea that the trailer can be based on. To do this I am going to have decide on a genre, after deciding on the genre, I am going to have to think of a brief beginning, middle and end to allow me to try and produce a successful trailer. After deciding on the sypnosis of the teaser trailer, writing a script will help me to ensure everything is pieced together in the right order.

Deciding on the genre is going to be crucial as this is probably the biggest thing the teaser trailer is going to be based on, being a teaser trailer means it gives very little away, however the one thing it should give clues towards is the genre, therefore I need to ensure I cover all areas of the specific genre I intend to choose. The genre I have decided to choose is Horror. Horror is a genre that I have had very little to do with so I thought it would be something different to do and would allow me to look deeper into a genre that I would say would be my least favorite. Although it may seem silly doing a genre I haven't dealt with much, I thought it would be a challenge and something different to do. This means my trailer needs to follow as many horror conventions found in a teaser trailer as possible, these conventions include

• darkness
• suspense
• confusion
• a sense of lost
• eary voices
• isolated locations

A teaser trailer is a little different to a normal film trailer, a teaser trailer is very short usually lasting around two minutes, the biggest difference between a teaser trailer and a normal film trailer is that the teaser trailer never ever gives anything away, usually it only gives enough away to allow people to learn about the genre of the film compared to a film trailer that has clips from the film and sometimes allow people to grasp quite a lot. A teaser trailer is very basic, therefore in order to fit the brief I am going to have to give very little away of what it's about but ensuring that I allow people to learn of the genre.

2.2 Production Company Logo Design

In order to get noticed an eye catching logo is needed. Having an eye catching logo will allow people to see our work and associate our work with this logo. In order to have an eye catching logo there are a few things that are key, our production company name was a must in the logo along with keeping any pictures that are used to be simple, this is because logos are usually small and over complicating things can lead to confusion.
It was decided that the name for our production company would be "Eclipse Entertainment" because of the simplicity of the name and the alliteration. The alliteration made the company name easy to remember and the simplicity meant it would be hard for an audience to forget it.

As the company name was "Eclipse Entertainment" we found it neccessary to use a solar eclipse in our logo. We also decided to stick to a black and white theme which fitted in with our horror genre for our trailer. Also by using black and white makes it easier for people to concentrate on our logo rather than our audience becoming complicated due to the large amount of colour.

Below is an example of our final logo design

2.1 Production Company Background

Every production company wants to be noticed almost immediately, having a logo allows them to do so. The significance of a logo is to help the reader identify the production company in a way that words alone could not convey. Many logos help explain the branding and sometimes even the audience the production company is aiming at, through the use of the pictures, colors and writing used in there chosen company logo. Although every company needs there logo to help stand out they also need to keep up with the development of there company and the audience that they are aiming at, that is why many logos change over time.

"Walt Disney Pictures" is an example of this. Established in 1923 as "Walt Disney Productions" by brothers "Walt Disney" and "Roy Disney" as the "Disney Brothers Cartoon Studios" the company was reincorporated as "Walt Disney Productions" becoming a leader in the American Animation industry before diversifying into TV, live-action film and travel which later became known as "Walt Disney Pictures" in 1983.

Whatever the name, "Walt Disney Pictures" or "Walt Disney Productions" the company as a whole is responsible of a huge amount of success, Disney films, Disney TV, Disney media products, Disney theme parks, they are all the obvious assets of Disney, however there are also a large amount people may not associate with Disney that are actually owned by them, these include ESPN, and Marvel, all of which are world famous. Films such as Cinderella, Lady and the Tramp, Sleeping Beauty and Robin Hood are just a tiny percentage of the films that Disney have produced.

At the start of the launch of "Walt Disney Productions" a logo hadn't really been established, instead at the start of a film the words "Walt Disney Presents" this was shown at the start of every film which started to build up an audience that associated the films with that in credit text.

December 21st 1937 - April 29th 1983

This in credit text was kept for nearly 50 years before any changes were made, however in 1983 changes were made to the "Walt Disney Productions" in credit text, although the changes weren't huge the company started to modernise there logo. Again the in credit text was used but depending on the film depended on the style of the text used.

Both of these logos were released on April 29th 1983 - July 24th 1985

After using in credit text for around 80 years, "Walt Disney Pictures" made huge changes, they entered into a new world with a real logo. On a blue background, a light descends from the top of the screen with a castle which could be related to either "Cinderella" or "Sleeping Beauty" castle. Along with the logo sound was added with a rendition of "When you wish upon a star" as well as the sound of pixie dust are heard during the formation of the "Walt Disney Pictures" text.

The logo bought out seemed to fit in very well with many of the Disney films at the time, the logo gave off a fairy tale feel matching many of its fairy tale films such as "Cinderella.

July 24th 1985 - November 17th 1995

10 years later the logo was updated even more although it was very similar to the previous logo a few changes were made. On the same blue background a 3D CGI castle is used with flags out of the top that actually move in this new updated logo, along with the "Walt Disney Pictures" is in more than 3-D. The sound changes to meet the new modern logo to a fan fare of which the flags move in time with the fan fare.

November 17th 1995 - July 7th 2006

From 1937 " Walt Disney Pictures" have seen many changes from there basic logo to the new up to date more sophisticated logo which uses technology to give it an even more professional look. It has changed 5 times to get it to what it is at this present time, the background has changed to a night background with clouds floating, again the castle is in CGI the same as it was in the 1995 logo, however it has changed even more. Fireworks are used as the castle appears on the screen, the "Walt Disney Pictures" is in the same famous font, however this time it fades in and out of the logo. Like the 3rd logo a rendition of "Wish upon a star" is used however it is completely different to the one used in the third logo, along with the sound of firecrackers going of when the fireworks appear.

July 7th 2006 - Present Day

Another production company that has seen changes in there logo is "Pixar." "Pixar American Studios" is an American CGI production company started in 1979 as the Graphics Group before it was bought by Apple co-founder "Steve Jobs" 1986, then later bought by "The Walt Disney Company" in 1996. Making films such as "Toy Story" "A Bug's Life" and "Monsters Inc"all of which are animated.

Simiarly to "Disneys" first logo "Pixars" is also very basic, the logo is very boring and not very modern.

1986 - 1995

Then in 1995 we see some change to the "Pixar" logo, color has been introduced as well as bit of animation. A lamp hops onto the screen, sees the word "Pixar" and the letter I and squishes the I until it disappears, it then takes the place of the I in the word. The light slowly dims as the lamp is still on then all of a sudden the lamp turns off too so the logo is completely black.

1995 - Present Day

1.5 Research - Primary Research

Before producing our movie trailer, it was important as a group we agreed on who our target audience were going to be. By picking a target audience meant it would allow us to directly target a specific audience, trying to fill our trailer with things that would interest that audience.
We agreed to target 16-24 year olds, who are interested in the horror genre. We aimed for an age range around ours as it would be easier for us to relate to them.

So after agreeing on everything we had to do some primary research, I decided for my primary research to use a questionnaire. I chose a questionnaire because I have worked with questionnaires in the past and believe it is the easiest way to collect and analyse peoples opinions.

I decided to hand out a questionnaire to 25 people from my school, family members and friends outside of school, this allowed me to get a large variety of peoples opinions to what could be included in our final piece.

Questionnaire

"Do you regularly watch films?"

Yes - 22
No - 3

"What is you preferred genre?"

Horror - 6
Romantic Comedy - 4
Comedy - 8
Thriller - 5
Science Fiction - 2

"How do you usually watch the films?"

Cinema - 17
Home - 6
Other - 2

"When you do visit the cinema, do you pay attention to the trailers?"

Yes - 20
No - 5

"Do you think trailers are a good way of allowing people to get a feel for a film that hasn't been released?"

Yes - 11
No - 14

"Have you ever used the internet to research a film, or even view it?"

Yes - 17
No - 8

After looking at my results I feel the majority of people are more interested in just watching the actual film rather than the trailers, however this may have something to do with their age, this will only drive me to try and produce a trailer that people are interested in rather than just ignore it. I also think people don't realise how much they can actually get from the interent concearning films in their own home from using their internet.

1.4 Research - Exhibition

During, after and even before producing a film of any form, production companies look into the ways in which they will exhibit the film to its audience. Due to the growth in society, and an even bigger growth in technology, production companies are being with more choices in the mode of exhibition they are going to choose for the film.


Apart from the obvious of using the cinema to advertise and show there film, companies can do so so much more to advertise there film, sometimes before it is even finished. This is because of the growth in the internet. The internet is seen as an everyday tool in life today, therefore many production comapanies are starting to advertise their films using trailers on many different internet sites, one of the biggest being "youtube". Instead of just having the final product online, trailers and short trailers are being published online to try and create a bigger fan base before the film is released.



Along with watching the film or trailer online they can also research a specific film as the internet is seen as key mode of research. Sites such as "IMDB" which provides information on characters, the plot and other film facts is a good way to research a film, or the typical search engines such as "google" is another way in which people can research the film.


The obvious way to exhibit a film is the cinema, thousands of people visit the cinema regularly, and production companies take advantage of this, however having a film screened at a cinema costs and therefore can't always be a way of exhibiting a film for everyone and this is where film festivals come in.


Film festivals are an organised extended presentation of films that allow smaller budget films to be shown, although there is usually an entry fee for bigger film festivals such as "Cannes" not all require an entry film. This allows people who have created a film to still have it shown to people without having to pay a huge sum of money, as well as showing the films at the film festivals, awards are awarded for certain categories.


The cinema not only allows prodution companies to show there movies but it also allows them to advertise there upcoming movies with trailers or even short trailers, this then allows the audience to witness a range of films that are going to be released soon which they may be interested in. Not only does it allow an audience to start to progress before the films are even released it allows people to get a feel for the film as there at a cinema watching a trailer on a large screen with good sound, rather than watching it on a small computer screen at home.

Another way to get peoples attention for an upcoming film is through use of ancillary tasks. Although its not directly a mode of exhibition it can be seen as a helping hand. Production companies use posters and other advertising agents to advertise the film before it has been released in the hope of creating a large audience. Posters, advertisements on film magazine covers, flyers and other ways to advertise a product/service are all ways in which production companies would use to create a bigger fan base.
Below is an example of a magazine cover used to advertise a "Harry Potter" movie.

1.5 - Research of Michael Jacksons "Scream"

At $7,000,000 Scream is the most expensive music video ever made. The song was released in the May of 1995 after allegations were made of child sexual abuse against Michael Jackson 2 years previous. The song was seen as an aggressive song and Michaels way of hitting back at his critics from 1993.

Michael isn't the only music genius to appear in this nearly 5 minute video, he performs along with his sister Janet. The whole of the video is filmed in a spaceship, this seems to be an odd concept for a music video however usually spaceships are related to being isolated in space away from everyone else which may represent how Michael was feeling due to all the events that had occurred two years before.

The costume that both artists are wearing tells us a lot about them and aids with the understanding of the video. One of the biggest representations that is shown through the costumes regards gender. Both Michael and his sister are wearing very similar if not the same costume in many of the scenes shown in this video, black leather trousers, a black jumper with very odd spikes and black boots, by both superstars wearing the same could show the equality of the sexes and how both are equal to each other, however it could also represent a few other things, i believe the outfits are rather feminine for a man to be wearing therefore people may take the representation of Michaels outfit as that he is comfortable with his sexuality, so much so he believes he can wear womens clothes and feel comfortable and confident doing so. However i believe by Michael wearing the same clothes as his sister shows a more feminine side of Michael which is what many people have believed for years.

However the similarity in costume changes through the video as Janet is pictured in a gold bikini top, Michael isn't pictured in the same outfit however he is shown in a the same material but just a long sleeved top, again the material is very feminine as the top is tight. This video may have been a way for Michael to show the real him after all the allegations made in 1993 and decided he will show that he is in touch with his feminine side and that he is comfortable.

Like i have already said the location of the video which is on a spaceship may be showing that Michael wants to be alone due to all of the events that have taken place, it is beleived that the different sets on the spaceship were trying to show the different sides of Michael and his sister. Throughout the video we see a huge comparison of black and white put together, the majority of the spaceship is white, the walls, the floor and the ceiling, this is then compared to the dark clothing and make-up that Michael and Janet Jackson both have on. White represents calm and peace however this is a huge contradiction to the emotions both the Jackson siblings are portraying throughout the video, aswell as the lyrics of the song.

The make-up throughout the video is very obvious however it isn't seen as the usual make-up for a music video, Janets make-up is very dark around the eyes maybe representing her anger shown throughout the video which has been said isn't usually her in her own music videos. Michaels face is very pure and plain, the dark make-up obviously ties in with her gender as it is women who wear make-up with a few exceptions however it is unusual that Michael hasn't got any make-up on even though at the early stages of the video he is wearing womens clothes. In the individual head shots of Michael he could be mistake for the woman as he is the one with the long curly hair compared to Janet who has short hair which could be seen as yet another exception when it comes to gender as usually men are those with short hair.

The lyrics of the song could be linked to the allegations of the child sex abuse with the constant repeating of "Stop pressuring me" and with having his sister perform with him may show weakness in Michael as part of the male race as he needs support from his sister as usually it's men who support women however it could also be represented that his sister is supporting him because she believes he is innocent. The lyrics throughout the song suggest how Michael is going to come back strong and prove the allegations are just allegations and that they aren't true.

1.3 Research - The Growth of Music Videos

1941 - The Panoram Soundie hits the clubs and bars in the USA allowing people to watch short video clips whilst the music is playing.
1956 - Hollywood discovers the genre of music-centered films, Rock Around The Clock, Shake Rattle and Rock were some of the rock and roll videos that were made.
1960 - The Scopitone a reinvention of The Soundie was made in France which gained limited success.
1961 - Ricky Nelsons Travelin Man video was shown on television.
1962 - Top of the pops, Ready! Steady! Go! were two music shows invented in England which became huge hits.
1965 - Bob Dylan filmed Subterranean Homesick Blues with two alternative takes.
1966 - The first conceptual promos are aired for The Beatles, Paperback writer and Rain.
1967 - The Beatles ground-breaking promotional films for Penny Lane and Strawberry Fields Forever.
are released.
1969 - Easy Rider features one of the first uses of rock music to accompany sequences in a dramatic film.
1970 - The record industry discovers these TV-Shows as a great opportunity to promote their artists. They focus on producing short Promos, early music videos which started to replace the live performance of the artist on the TV-stage.
1973 - The first of forty-six different Schoolhouse Rock music videos begin airing during Saturday morning cartoons on ABC.
1974 - Swedish group ABBA pioneer the use of "Promos" with their clips, directed by Lasse Hallström. These contain innovative effects, camera angles, and a less static look than is the norm at the time. The band continue using such videos throughout the 1970s.
1975 - Bohemian Rhapsody, a groundbreaking video released by Queen, marks the beginning of the video era and sets the language for the modern music video. The video is considered one of the first to use advanced video effects.
1979 - Devo releases The Day My Baby Gave Me a Surprise, which is the first music video to include computer animation, as well as traditional animation.
- Another 1979 video with computer animation is Computer Games, by New Zealand band MiSex.
1980 - Ashes to Ashes, considered a groundbreaking video, is released by David Bowie.
1981 - MTV, the first 24-hour satellite music channel, launches in August. Initially few cable TV operators carry it, but it rapidly becomes a major hit and cultural icon.
1982 - Pink Floyd The Wall is released in theatres.
1983 - Night Tracks debuts on SuperStation WTBS (later known as TBS) with up to 14 hours of music videos each weekend
- This allows nearly all U.S. households with Cable TV to view music videos regularly, as MTV still isn't widely available at this point in time compared to WTBS.
- Friday Night Videos debuts on the NBC television network, allowing nearly all U.S. households to view music videos regularly. Michael Jackson's Billie Jean video is released on TV, and for the first time a black artist's video is featured in heavy rotation on MTV with the video for his Beat It hit single.
1984 - Laura Branigan's video for her hit song Self Control is refused airplay by MTV, who demand certain cuts be made to remove content they find objectionable.
- Prince releases the movie Purple Rain, and its soundtrack is nominated for an Oscar. The soundtrack album sells 15 million copies
- Michael Jackson's short film Thriller is released, changing the concept of music videos forever. The Making of Thriller home video is also released in 1984. It is the first ever video about the making of a music video and it becomes the best selling VHS to date.
- MTV presents its first Video Music Awards, hosted by Dan Aykroyd and Bette Midler.
- The Grammys award Best Short Form Music Video, as well as Best Long Form Music Video.
1985 - a-ha find instant stardom with their hit song Take On Me, significantly due to heavy rotation play of the song's video, which features a combination of live action and rotoscoping animation. The groundbreaking video wins several awards and is consistently rated as one of the best for decades to come.
- Madonna's video for her hit single Material Girl is released. It is largely based on Marilyn Monroe's performance of Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend in the film Gentlemen Prefer Blondes A huge storm of interest explodes for the video. The video is considered one of the most memorable and always comes up in The Best Videos lists.
1986 - Sledgehammer, the groundbreaking video from Peter Gabriel, furthers the revival of animation in music video, utilizing stop-motion photography and winning several awards.
1989 - MTV renames its Video Vanguard Award the Michael Jackson Vanguard Award" in honor of the pop star's contributions to the art of music video.
- Madonna's controversial video for "Like a Prayer" is released.
1990 - MTV bans Madonna's Justify My Love video. It is released as a video single, the first of its kind.
- First 3D music video is produced: Love Can Build A Bridge starring country music superstars The Judds.
1991 - Nirvana release the Smells Like Teen Spirit video, catapulting Kurt Cobain and the grunge genre into the American and Worldwide mainstream.
- First use of the now-familiar morphing special effect in a music video, with Michael Jackson's Black or White.
- Garth Brooks' award-winning The Thunder Rolls is banned by CMT and TNN. Popular demand and critical acclaim force its return to the airwaves.
1992 - MTV begins to credit music video directors.
1995 - Release of the most expensive music video ever Scream, from Michael Jackson's History album, a duet with his sister Janet.
- TLC's video for their hit song Waterfalls becomes a groundbreaking video for Girl groups and received massive airplay on MTV.
1996 - Pop-up Video is first aired on VH1.
- M2 is launched as a 24-hour music video channel, as MTV has largely replaced videos with other content.
1999 - M2 is renamed to MTV2.
- Making the Video, a series chronicling the production of a music video, premieres on MTV.
2001 - Björk releases the video for Pagan Poetry which was controversial for its depictions of sexual acts and body piercings.
2002 - MTV Hits is launched, as MTV2 is gradually showing fewer music videos.
2007 - Musicbox is launched by Sony BMG. This online portal signifies the first free streaming effort owned and operated by a major label.
2008 - D videos are made by Dave Meyers and Missy Elliott for her single Ching-a-Ling / Björk also makes one for Wanderlust.

1.2 Research - Genre Comparative Study

Although both The Pussycat Dolls and Girls Aloud seem very different they have produced some music that fits in the same genre, the genre being pop. This is why I have decided to focus on these two bands to do my genre comparative study, the songs I will be comparing are Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls and Love Machine for Girls Aloud.

Girls Aloud appear to be more of a traditional girl band following the pop genre, they seem to target there music towards girls in there teenage years, obviously because of there beauty boys and men are attracted to them and therefore watch there music videos. However in comparison to Girls Aloud, The Pussycat Dolls are maybe a little more raunchy, in all there videos they are seen with very revealing clothes on, they add that little bit extra to there music videos, therefore with the provocative dancing and very few clothes they may target themselves to teenage girls like Girls Aloud however they may also try and aim themselves at men on purpose unlike Girls Aloud.

The video Love Machine shows Girls Aloud entering a night club all dressed up ready for a night out, there appearance is the usual appearance for the band, immaculate hair and make-up with clothing that doesn't reveal much but allows them to look sexy. Similarly to many of the bands videos there was the narrative part of the video and then the performing of the song, the girls are sat in the famous “Eskimo Club” drinking champagne flirting with the male waiters. During the individual performance of each girl singing the backdrop is black with flashing lights, however none of the other girls are in the shot allowing the singer to be in great focus. This then continues throughout the song allowing every band member to get a solo shot. Unlike the narrative the dancing in the actual performing of the song is very slow and very still. Throughout the video there are many long shots of the group, but when the girls are shot individually they are in close-up focusing just on the girls faces, with the background out of focus.

Don't Cha by the Pussycat Dolls was one of the first videos released by the band where we got to see exactly what PCD were about. Immediately we meet all the dolls, through the use of individual shots and group shots of them, unlike Girls Aloud they obviously are wearing revealing clothes and dancing provocatively for the male audience, no matter what scene it is during the video there is always more shots on the lead singer Nicole Sherzinger, she is the one shoot with Busta Rhymes and the one driving the buggy, which gives her the look of more power and greater importance in the band. The constant dancing through the video allows the girls to show of there individual talents until they all have to group dance, the pace of the song is matched by the pace of the video with the dancing and actions of the girls.

One of the biggest differences between the two videos is the way each band is portrayed, Girls Aloud come across as vulnerable and needy compared to the feisty Pussycat Dolls, PCD come across as a very confident independent girls, which is shown through there dancing and whole attitude through out the music video. Although both songs are from the pop genre they are both very different, the Love Machine video is more of a traditional girl band video with the pretty dresses and usual girl band dancing compared to the feisty attitude that the Pussycat Dolls bring in there video with there cut up clothes, PCD bring a different vide to the industry of pop, there a lot raunchier with there lyrics, clothing and dancing. The lyrics of Don't Cha fit in perfectly with the video, with the provocative lyrics to match the dance moves, the lyrics are trying to lure men in relationships to want the girls and as soon as they show some interest the Dolls aren't interested, they want to show how every man wants there girlfriend to be like them.

1.1 Research - 6 Stage Analysis

The chosen video I decided to analyse was “The Promise” by Girls Aloud, before I began to analyse the video I had a think about the conventions I expected to see in the video, I could do this because certain conventions are used throughout all the videos they have produced. This allows people to link Girls Aloud with certain things, allowing Girls Aloud to create a motif.

So before watching the video I decided that I would expect all 5 of the girls to be very glamorous looking with lots of make-up, nice hair and a few costume changes. I thought this because in every video they are never shown with no make-up, but portrayed as very glamorous sexy women. I also expected all 5 of them to wear similar things just with small difference for each girl, this is done throughout all there videos when the only difference may be the colour of the dress.

After watching the video I realised that the conventions for the band had been continued to yet another song, there hair was big and they did have similar outfits to one another with lots of make-up on, however I also saw them go against one of there biggest conventions I associate with Girls Aloud. Usually I believe they are portrayed as vulnerable needy women in the majority of there videos however I believe in this 1960's themed video they go against this and become quite independent. Following the 60's theme and the typical girl band conventions they do have big hair and make-up but following the 60's theme.

The video itself at the outdoor cinema and the fair ground rides continues to follow the 1960's theme, then like most of there videos there is a performance, this performance is when we see Girls Aloud become The Supremes. The big hair and tight fitting gold dresses has been related to a performance The Supremes did in very similar outfits. At the start of the video we see the band perform the song up on stage whilst the girls then watch, up on stage there is the band in the background however there faces aren't seen giving more emphasis on the girls whilst there singing. The quick change between the performance to the narrative depends on who is singing, whilst Sarah Harding is performing the video then cuts to the narrative of what she is doing allowing the audience see each individual person of the band perform as well the there narrative character.

Throughout the performance the dresses are shimmering which allows the video to jump from the performance to the narrative emulating the films of that time era. Similarly to all girl bands there is a dance to go along with the performance this is done by all 5 girls when the group are singing together however when someone starts to sing alone they don't perform the dance, this allows the audience to focus on either the singer or the rest of the girls depending on what they wanted to do, to link into making the singer stand out the focus on the 4 girls who are dancing and not singing becomes less obvious and instead focuses on the singer, the outlines of the other 4 dresses can be seen but there faces can't.

This all changes when Sarah Harding starts to sing her part and it shows her narrative character getting up and walking in front of the screen and standing and singing like the band are, after listening to the words and watching the video, I decided that “the promise” they made had something to do with men, the men in the car next to them are constantly flirting and being friendly and as the song goes on they start to realise that maybe they aren't that bad as it “starts to fade.”

By doing a video like they have, Girls Aloud have proven that they can come out of there comfort zone and perform a song that maybe doesn't follow there pop genre which has a video the exact same, this therefore should show that they can be different and sometimes it does work for bands to be different.