Props

Props

When deciding what sort of props we wanted to use in our music video, we decided that we wanted fake tattoos, contact lenses and a baseball bat. However, after a closer analysis of the contact lenses, we decided that we did not want to incorporate this. This was because we began to realise that it would look unprofessional and would create more of a sci-fi theme for the music video which was not what we were aiming for. It also wouldn't match with our causal mise-en-scene choices and grungy theme that the lyrics create and wasn't in our budget. Another problem with this was that Mikah wears glasses, meaning it would impair her vision and would interfere with the professional standard of our music video.

Another prop we wanted to use was fake tattoos. Although this would link to our theme, we also decided that it wouldn't look realistic and wouldn't fit in with our small budget which we were already going to spend on transportation to our various locations to film such as London, Rainham, Gillingham and Chatam. We also decided that it would be time-consuming to put on and may rub off very easily which would interfere with our filming time. However, it would have been good to use because it would give our actress/artist the edgy 'gangsta' look, which was the theme we were aiming for.

The last prop we wanted to use was a baseball bat. We decided we wanted to keep this within our music video as it gave Mikah (our actress) confidence because it gave her something to work with rather than just standing on the spot. We also found that it encouraged her to move around in the camera shot. The 'gangsta' by Kehlani comes from the movie 'Suicide Squad' ,in which the main character 'Harley Quinn', owns a baseball bat. We decided we wanted to replicate this as we enjoyed the look it gave her and what reaction it gave the people in her surroundings when she held it, as she looked destructive and deviant. With the use of camera shots and mise-en-scene, we came to a consensus that this would compliment the theme of the music video well. A bat would also give Mikah, our artist, a trademark- something that she will become known for. Andrew Goodwin said within his five key elements of a successful music video, this is important as it makes your artist memorable to the audience. Lastly, this made our artist look like a dominant female, we wanted to challenge this convention of the R&B genre as it was important to us to be a positive role model to our young female audience, and give an accurate reflection of how women are treated in our modern-day society. Therefore, making our R&B song unique and helps it to stand out, which is good for marketing and promoting our artist.