Props are one of the smallest yet most important details of any production - they are what makes the environment feel realistic or the things that provide great symbolic or narrative meaning for the audience. Because of this, each of the decisions we make about our key props will effect how the audience percieves our video, given the short ammount of time we have to present our ideas.
Red String
We have decided that we would have some red string in the video that our actress would follow which would slowly lead her to what she thinks is the true beauty. We thought that we should have everything connected by the the red string would be really effective and would help our ideas and locations to link more smoothly. we thought that we could have a shot where it shows all of us in the group even if it's just a snippet of us or just our lips or something, which would work well with our red string idea to show that they are all connected and the beauty is in all of them no matter how different they are, there is beauty in everyone.
Red Heart
We had this idea that the red string would lead to a red heart echoing the Heartwood album and also the 'Heartwood tree' which is where our protagonist would end up in the end. another idea that we had was that the protagonist could be following this red string which leads to the Heartwood tree and she then finds out that the heart is attached to her but she could not see it all this time, linking to the fact she is in fact the true beauty, and she has been searching for the true meaning of beauty and she had found that is is in herself hence the heart.
Photos
We thought that having photos attached to the tree showing what the media thinks is true beauty, so bits from magazines and air-brushed models tied to a brown string because it will look quite natural. This idea was influenced by Taylor Swifts music video 'Mine' where she is in the forest with photos hanging all around her. We thought that we would have a shot of our protagonist ripping the photos off the tree to show that she is angry and doesn't want to believe that this is the true beauty that she is searching for.
“Forever inspired by the mysteries of the universe, and forever propelled by the laws of Quantum Mechanics, Amanda is on an endless path of creativity so you can always expect to find her up to something new and unusual.”
Amanda Rogers is an American singer/songwriter who writes and records primarily in Vermont, Virginia. Having produced 3 EP's and two full studio albums, Amanda has been recording for a considerable amount of time, yet hasn't enjoyed much wide acclaim. Despite this, those who do know her music find it to be exploratory and poetic, deep it its interpretation of the subject matters she challenges.
Roger's genre is hard to precisely define - you could go as far as saying her music is an interesting mix of pop, folk, blues and country music, with certain songs reflecting more of a certain style. For example, This Beauty, the track we're are using for our music video, is mainly pop with a few acoustic elements thrown in. However, she tends to place a strong emphasis on lyrical meaning and instrumental tones, which often make her songs feel personal and emotionally charged. Every artist has their own image that is gradually built up over time and marketing and Amanda is no different. Her natural appearance and promotion of things such as animal rights, environmental issues and vegan beliefs all make her appear very naturalistic and stripped back. You could even go as far as saying she evokes a hippy style, with her long hair and flowing outfits.
For her album "Heartwood", from which the song This Beauty originates, she has a fairly distinct style and we looked into this through the promotional photos found on her website at the time of the albums release. All the images feature Amanda in a natural setting, showing her to be at one with nature, blending into her surroundings. In some photos, she almost looks as if she could be part of the the landscape herself. Colouring is an aspect that will play a huge role in our video as it does in nature photography and Amada's appearance in many of these images. There is also a strong sense of connection between artist and audience created through the use of direct eye contact in many photos, something we also need to be aware of. The only time when this does not feature is when the artist is looking at other aspects of the landscape around her, perhaps showing that she finds only nature to be as important as her fans. The whole effect is very personal and unique to each person that sees Amanda - the viewer takes from the image what they want to see or what is more important to them, a strong image that could be used in our video.
Previous Video Examples
The only music video that Amanda has released is the video for the song The Best Things in Life Aren't Things to a Fugitive and because of this, we've looked at it a great deal whilst trying to develop our own ideas for this beauty. The video shows her picking up debris from the ground and how the time speeds up. She wears a long dress and it is filmed in black and white - these are two aspects that we need to take into account when we are making our music video for her music, our 'Amanda' will need to wear similar long, flowing dresses and will have a focus on colouring. Whether or not this focus will be on lack of colour or abundance of it, we have yet to decide.
Seeing this music video really helped us to get a feel for how we could create a music video. For the majority of the music video, Amanda Rogers is standing in front of a microphone, singing and recording her song, this shows very large part of her representation is in front of a microphone, showing that it is just her performing.
We had this idea that the red string would lead to a red heart echoing the Heartwood album and also the 'Heartwood tree' which is where our protagonist would end up in the end. another idea that we had was that the protagonist could be following this red string which leads to the Heartwood tree and she then finds out that the heart is attached to her but she could not see it all this time, linking to the fact she is in fact the true beauty, and she has been searching for the true meaning of beauty and she had found that is is in herself hence the heart.
We thought that having photos attached to the tree showing what the media thinks is true beauty, so bits from magazines and air-brushed models tied to a brown string because it will look quite natural. This idea was influenced by Taylor Swifts music video 'Mine' where she is in the forest with photos hanging all around her. We thought that we would have a shot of our protagonist ripping the photos off the tree to show that she is angry and doesn't want to believe that this is the true beauty that she is searching for. 
