Our Main Characters

The Yuppies

Played by: Liam Mackel, Ryan Kearney, Darren Campbell, Connor McGowan, Eoin Carberry

Yuppie (short for "young urban professional" or "young upwardly mobile professional") is a term that refers to a member of the upper middle class or upper class in their 20s or 30s. It first came into use in the early-1980s and largely faded from American popular culture in the late-1980s, due to the 1987 stock market crash and the early 1990s recession. Yuppies are made fun of for their conspicuous personal consumption and obsession over social status among their peers, which is seen as vain and materialistic.

The Homeless 

Played by: Luke Clarke, Damien Earle, Ciaran Chambers

An individual who lacks housing, including one whose primary residence during the night is a supervised public or private facility that provides temporary living accommodations; an individual who is a resident in transitional housing; or an individual who has as a primary residence a public or private place not designed for, or ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.

Luke Clarke and Ryan Kearney

Focus Group Results

1. Overall Rating - Average rating 8/10 
2. Is it too dark - 5/6 No, 1/6 Yes.
 Those who said it wasn't too dark said:
 It isn't too dark, it is as dark as is needed to have impact.
 Isn't too dark but could be risky if mistakes are made.
 Those who said maybe said: Music videos should be uplifting, this isn't.
3. Can it be realistically done - 7/8 Yes 1/8 Maybe.
 Those who said yes said:
 Yes, as long as the group has total commitment.
 Yes, Shots aren't overly complex.
 Yes, as long as props and casting can be done well.
  Those who said maybe said: 
 The high angled shot  requires one take and if a mistake is made the       
 film will lose effect.
4. Do you agree with our decision to have no script - 7/7 Yes
 Those who said yes said: 
Actions speak for themselves.
Visual impact is so strong, no dialogue is needed.
I am confident your group will be able to portray the story without one.
Simply enhances the mystery of the main characters secret life.
5. Do you agree with our use of drugs - 5/5 Yes
 Those who said yes said:
It is relevant. There is no reason to not, it will only reduce impact.
As long as it is not glamorised.
As long as it is subtle, not explicit.
Fits with the main characters delusion.
6. What is your favourite/ least favourite thing about it:
Upbeat song, haven't tried to please a mass audience, don't go with the norm.
Office scene, fast shots unconventional but interesting.
Storyline, storyboard could have been better, six wheels?
The match of the audio with video fits del.
Exciting storyboard + idea, directs your group and is all you need a storyboard for.
No lyrics in song is bad, song choice could have been better.
7. How do you think video matches the audio: 5/6 Good, 1/6 Bad
  Those who said Good said: 
Dark theme, Dark song.
Alternative song fits alternative events.
 Song builds up as events in story do.
Both Dark.
  Those who said Bad said: 
Too upbeat of a song for dark events.
8. What will be our greatest obstacles: 
Getting subtle drug use and violence x4
None                                                     x2
The shot variety                                   x2
9. Does it have potential to gain high marks - 5/5 Yes
   Those who said yes said: 
Your group is creative and committed                  x2
As long as is taken seriously                                   x2
As long as it does 'Justice' justice
Your group is good with shots, unconventional, good at editing, A* material.     
10. Does it interest you as an audience member - 7/7 Yes
 Those who said Yes said:
 Looking foreword to it.
Interesting collaboration of audio + events, very interested to see results.
Drug abuse and violence are always interesting in media.
Love its originality.


On reflection our group feel we have established an idea which may break the normal conventions of modern music videos, but at the same time produce great interest, show great creativity and have the potential to make a high achieving music video. 
Our biggest worries after doing this survey are our violence and drug use. We will not take it out completely as it is vital for our character development, plot and imagery. However we are now working to adapt our story and use more subtle drug/violence use. 


Ryan Kearney

Animatic

Darren Campbell

Focus Group Feedback Form

After presenting our idea and showing our animatic, we will ask these questions.

Overall View:  /10
Do you think it is too dark? Explain
What are our weakest points?
What are our strongest points?
Do you think the use of drugs is acceptable?
Do you see potential?
What obstacles do you think will hinder our progress the most?
Do you thinks are plans are realistic?
How well do you think the music will match the video?

Ryan Kearney

Project Schedule

Schedule

Our Schedule consists of the :

Design and Planning process: This is where we come up for the initial idea of the project, all required assets needed are planned out and we also budget the project. Actors, locations and lighting are pre-planned and sketches are made of the scenes we have imagined. The script and dialogue are also developed leaving a detailed basis for us to follow.

Shooting Process: This is where we take on the practical part of the project, actors and props are used along with lighting and mise en scene.
Post Production: This is the process of editing and putting all our footage together. Adjustments will be made the most in this process as we are using a multitude of different shots.
Physical Production: This is where we will develop the digipack and the dvd used for our project.

Based on the weather forecast we are going to have to change some of our filming dates as it will be simply unsuitable to film whilst for example it is snowing heavily.

Darren Campbell

Animatics Examples

Ryan Kearney

Actors, Locations, Budget, Props, Lighting and Make-up

Actors:
Main character (Liam Mackel)
Yuppies including boss x4 (Connor McGowan, Ryan Kearney, Darren Campbell, Eion Carbery)
Secretary (Lauren McGarry)
Drug addicts, Homeless Character x4 (Luke Clarke, Ciaran Chambers)


Locations:
Office
Car Park
Car
Street
Abandoned house
House
City Centre

Budget:
Aprox. £0

Props:
Flipstick
Poloroid Camera
Pills
Car
Headphones

Lighting:
Bright, artificial (almost sitcom yellow) light while in the office to reflect the artificially happy mask the character hides behind. Lighting will change drastically as soon as the car door shuts to mirror the main characters drastic shift in personality.

Make-up
Some make-up will be needed to scruff up the drug addicts and homeless side characters

Luke Clarke

Storyboard

Ryan Kearney

Risk Assessment

Identify the hazards-

• There are potential hazards in the filming of our project. While shooting the scene where our main character kicks the hand of a homeless character, there is a possibility that the actor playing the homeless character can get injured. 
• We plan to use a high angle and ceiling shots which will entail the camera operator standing on a table or chair which could cause them to fall and injure themselves. 
• While filming some of the scenes out doors there is the danger that passers by could misconstrue the acts of violence for reality and try to intervene, putting them and our actors at risk of getting injured.

Who might be harmed?-

• The actors are in danger of being harmed either by each other or the public whilst filming as some and the camera man/director may be harmed whilst performing certain shots.
• The location of some of our scenes are out doors most probably in Belfast town, late at night which carries certain dangers which the whole crew are open to. 

Precautions-

• To avoid these dangers, precautions will have to be taken. These include, filming as soon as it gets dark rather than waiting until late at night, using the suggestion of violence to avoid having to film real violence which could escalate and cause harm and using something stable to stand on whilst filming the high-angle and ceiling shots. 

Luke Clarke