Once again, myself and Monica provided a call sheet for our artist, Olly and for Charlotte, who plays Olly's partner in the music video. We also included a costume and prop list.
Sophiya's House (Narrative/Performance)
We met at 10.30am to film the 'Raining Scene' in my garden. The reason for this choice of location was because we were able to use the garden hose to create a realistic rainfall, as unfortunately, it was not raining on the day. Another advantage of this location was that we could plug my iPod speakers into a socket in my garage so that Olly could hear the music properly and sing along in-sync (rather than relying on the poor sound quality of a mobile phone speaker). We had gained Olly's consent to 'shower' him with the hose to create the effect of a heavy rainfall whilst he sang the opening lines; 'rain on me, I want to feel every drop on my skin'. This connects the visuals with the lyrics since the rain acts as nature's cleanser, which has the power to wash away Olly's past sins that caused his relationship with his girlfriend to fall apart. Furthermore, we plan to open our music video with a mid-shot (side angle) of the artist in the rain with his eyes closed, signifying he is in a spiritual and fragile, emotional state. Subsequently, we tracked into an extreme close-up of his lips quivering in the cold rain, highlighting the fact he is about to sing something heart-breaking and we follow this with a close-up (front view) of Olly singing the above-metioned lyric.
Charlotte's House(Performance)
At 12.00pm we went to Charlotte's house to film the 'Piano Scene'; all of the instrumental performance footage. Considering that we are creating a music video, instrumental performance is key as it showcases the artist's talent, thus we aimed to film as much footage as possible whilst constantly varying shot types and angles to ensure diversity. The piano was placed up against a wall; the wall mounted with a huge mirror, so we gained permission to move it forward because this meant we could place the tripod and camera behind the piano and film Olly's face whilst he was playing and singing. In addition, we filmed close-ups of his hands playing a sequence from the song on the keys; mid-shots (side angle) of his body (showcasing his arm movement); close-ups (side angle) of his face singing into the mirror, symbolic of his reflective state and a tilted (the audience get a glimpse into his 'shaken' world) mid-shot of the artist from behind whilst he plays the piano and the audience can see this reflected in the mirror.
The music video to Katy Perry's 'The One That Got Away' has directly influenced our own work, as it focuses on the relationship between a couple and uses flashbacks to alternate between the present day and the past to highlight the passing of time and the disjunctive narrative, reflecting the couple's fragmented, broken relationship.
The mid-shot of Katy Perry as an elderly woman stirring her coffee cuts to a close-up to show her physical reaction and the audience understands that she is reminiscing about her past, immediately connecting the lyrics with the visuals; 'summer after high-school when we first met.' Subsequently, an extreme close-up is shown of what initially appears to look like coffee being stirred, however, the camera tilts upwards to reveal that in fact a paint brush is being immersed into watercolour paint. This technique promotes an effective, smooth transition to represent a change of time and the viewer instantly recognises that the narrative has shifted from the present day to the past. We aim to emulate this in our music video as we will essentially be creating our own type of transition shot to signify a flashback and shift in narrative but in a more creative way, rather than using a generic fade or dissolve transition.
Furthermore, a long shot is displayed of a young Katy Perry positioned in the centre of the frame, identifying her as the 'star' and even though the person closest to the camera is her partner in the video, he is positioned to just about appear in the last third of the frame, emphasising Perry's dominant status and star image. Other key features that distinguish the present from the past is the noticeable difference in mise-en-scene and lighting. At the beginning of the video, the camera is placed at a high-angle and slowly pans to show a vast, modern house (representative of isolation and loneliness) which juxtaposes with the small, cosy apartment that is portrayed in the first flashback and the lighting presented in the close-up of the elderly Katy Perry has a slight blue tint representing a futuristic quality, compared to the dull, dusky light in the long-shot of the couple, which seems quite faded, perhaps like Perry's memories of her past life.
There is a clear connection between the lyrics of the song and the visuals, for example: a close-up is shown of the couple kissing whilst Perry sings: 'never planned that one day, I'd be losing you.' This connection is ironic since the visuals depict a happy couple that only seem concerned with indulging in the present moment, whereas the artist is singing about loss and the future. In addition, when Perry commences with the chorus line: 'in another life...', the narrative shifts from the past back to the present, highlighting the star's 'other life' and the visuals show a long-shot of an elderly Katy Perry sitting on a bed amidst a dark lit bedroom, almost engulfed by the the amount of empty space in the frame and the blank white surroundings, representative of how her solitude and loneliness is her burden and this bleak imagery contrasts dramatically with the previous, tightly-packed close-up shot of the couple kissing and intimately embracing each other.
The performance element of the music video involves the young Katy Perry singing whilst roaming around the elder woman's house, similar to a ghostly figure, which represents how the regret and remorse of her past constantly haunts her mind. However, there is a role-reversal when the elder woman begins to sing the bridge line: 'all this money can't buy me a time machine'; she alludes to the worthless value of her present lifestyle in comparison to what she once had in the past. A close-up shot depicts both past and present versions of the star, emphasising the fact that although they may appear physically different, they are emotionally identical since they both perform the lyrics and express how they both 'pay the price' and this line is sang by the two characters in perfect synchronicity to heighten this.
The series of arguments create tension between the couple and help build up to the dramatic climax of the narrative where Perry's partner dies in a car accident. As an extreme long-shot captures the Mustang plummeting off a cliff in slow-motion, the video cross-cuts to a mid-shot of Katy Perry collapsing to her knees in slow-motion, which emulates how they both endured the effects of this tragedy. Furthermore, the fact that 'The One That Got Away' is still playing whilst the car falls, introduces the concept of contrapuntal sound and this only adds to the intense, emotional impact of the music video since the slow-paced, moving love song juxtaposes dramatically with the horrific and tragic event.
Intertextual Reference
At the end of the music video', Johnny Cash's rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine' is heard as the elder Katy Perry reminisces of her lost partner. This links back to the lyric in 'The One That Got Away': 'I was June and you were my Johnny Cash.'Perry compares the love that Cash and his second-wife June Carter shared to be similar to what she previously had with her partner in the music video.
Unsigned artists are faced with an abundance of challenges regarding music promotion, including: poor income from gigs, a few dedicated fans, lack of money to record and promote records, unfamiliarity with how the industry works and a lack of effective music management skills. However, as digital technology has rapidly progressed and the technological convergence of equipment enables almost anyone to transform into prosumers, the media industry have become affected since we too hold the power to produce and distribute media texts potentially worldwide.
For aspiring musicians such as JR Aquino, self-marketing is essential in order to build a stable worldwide fanbase, increase brand-identity/star-image and to appeal attractive to record labels. JR has achieved the above-mentioned through self-marketing via the Internet and has taken full advantage of all media platforms available; he is proof that that the web can bring unsigned artists into the limelight and gain them a worldwide audience, simultaneously challenging the 'Big Media's' monopoly. Essentially, JR Aquino has managed to find his niche and harness it.
Following his short-lived debut on American Idol (Season 4), JR Aquino has gained worldwide exposure by posting original material as well as covers on YouTube and currently has over 451,067 loyal subscribers. Although media theorists argue that such user-generated content doesn't construct a new media language and fails to meet professional standards (e.g. JR often performs with his living room/bedroom as his backdrop, although viewers can find this to be endearing), the sheer fact that unsigned JR is using the Internet as a multi-media portal to showcase his talent and increase his brand, seems only logical. A key benefit of JR's YouTube channel is that it enables him to connect with a global audience and effectively sell his personality as well as his music. For instance, he self-markets himself as a down-to-earth 'guy-next-door' through his humorous update videos and vlogs which help to build a close relationship with viewers.
JRA shows his appreciation to his fans via a personal 'thank you' video.
By adopting a critical perspective on self-marketing, I began to think that JR's covers may simply act as a novelty to gain him viewing hits and recognition, since it is through his covers that most people discover his original material. Selecting YouTube as a marketing technique allows him to market his original material and establish himself as an independent singer-songwriter who actually writes his own lyrics and composes his own melodies - an attribute that his viewers certainly respect him for. What's more, YouTube provides easily accessible links to JR's iTunes page (http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/exposure/id351883062) where fans can purchase his debut album 'Exposure' - a fitting title considering that is exactly what Youtube has gained him...
Social-networking
'There was a time, six or seven years ago, when a musician could have a MySpace page and be done with it.' - BBC Introducing
With nearly 600 million users worldwide, Facebook is the biggest online community. JR Aquino has a musician page on Facebook and currently holds over 67,535 'likes', highlighting that it is easier than ever for unsigned artists to maintain a presence. JR regularly updates his Facebook, listing his musical interests and 'sharing' his latest YouTube videos of original/cover material with his fans, which undoubedtly makes them feel as if they are part of his 'social-network' and that they know him on a more intimate level. In addition, JR's actual Facebook profile indicates that he has over 4,328 'friends', some of which are obviously his dedicated fans and by allowing his fans to enter his personal, social world, he exudes the instant impression that he truly values his fans and is a caring, warm-hearted character - all contributing to his approachable 'guy-next-door' star-image. http://www.facebook.com/jraquinomusic
Twitter is the online microblogging service which enables people condense their 'daylong brainstorming' into text-based posts known as 'tweets'. JR Aquino has over 79,915 followers who are, again, free to enter his social world and interact. As well as promoting his latest YouTube videos and upcoming shows, JR finds the time to tweet about daily occurrences which identify him as a personable character and through this type of self-marketing, he is ultimately representing himself as a normal, relatable guy which appeals to his demographic of young Filipino, American and British teenagers. http://twitter.com/#!/jraquino
Star-Image
JR Aquino describes himself as a combination of R&B, Pop and Soul - an 'urban' star. However, his appearance reflects a simple representation of normality, in the sense that he avoids conforming to the typified flashy/egotistical image demonstrated by urban-archetype, Usher. (see post on Star Persona Influences here) Instead, JR often sports a 'softer' urban image by incorporating casual, earthy/woollen clothing into his look to exude a relaxed and easy-going persona.
JR Aquino is an unsigned Filipino-American singer/songwriter, born on May 31st, 1988 and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. He has been passionate about singing since he was 'knee-high' and writes his own lyrics and melodies. He notably plays acoustic guitar, piano and keyboard and describes his own genre as a mix of Pop/R&B/Soul. In 2005, he signed up for American Idol (Season 4) where he made it to the final cut down; he was in the top 44. Subsequently, he continued to concentrate on his music by posting original material as well as covers on YouTube which has gained him mass exposure with over 451,067 subscribers. In addition to performing at small, local venues around his hometown, the solo artist embarked on a 2010-2011 tour in the UK (London & Birmingham), Australia, Canada and all over the USA, promoting his debut album 'Exposure', produced by On G.P. Music and released on iTunes in 2010. Recently, JR has moved to Las Vegas, Nevada in order to continue to pursue a career in the music industry.
His musical influences include: Stevie Wonder, Donny Hathaway, Eddie Kendricks, Van Hunt, Steve Perry, The Eagles, Trey Songz, Maxwell, Bob Marley, Michael Jackson, Prince, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, Amos Lee, The Temptations, Az Yet, All 4 One, The Four Tops, Lionel Richie, Ne-Yo, Usher, Keith Urban, Elton John, Musiq Soulchild, Anthony Hamilton, John Mayer, Boyz II Men, George Michael, Babyface, John Legend, Johnny Gill, New Edition, Vince Gill, Rascal Flatts, Marc Anthony, Josh Groban, Big Mitch and his Dad.
Promo poster advertising a 'Freshers' event with special guest JR Aquino. JRA's urban star image and acoustic-pop music primarily appeals to a youthful teenage demographic; hence his booking for a Birmingham University 'Freshers' event at the popular student nightclub, Oceana.
Friday 14th Oct 2011 - a date from JRA's UK Tour
Saturday 17th December 2011
