Coursework: Preliminary exercise 2025

 1) State the song you have chosen for your preliminary exercise.

 On my mama - Victoria Monet

2) Choose at least three music videos similar to your concept and watch a clip or more from each. Make bullet-point notes on everything you watch, commenting on camerawork, editing and mise-en-scene.

Dilemma by Nelly ft. Kelly Rowland 

mise-en-scene

• classic 90s hip-hop aesthetic
• comically baggy jeans and t-shirts
• tight tank tops, pixie cute, everyday makeup and heels 

camera work

• wide shots showing surroundings, narrative music video 
• low angle 
• seamless cuts, not extravagant as to not distract from the story 

90 Proof - Smino, J Cole 

camera work 

• close-up
• tracking shot
• pans
• constantly moving 

mise-en-scene

• all outfits value individuality 
• woman with blue finger waves, blue wig and blue sparkly cropped puffer jacket
• Cole- smart but baggy dress
• Smino - jean vest over white t, afro
• Hoochy mama aesthetic - long stiletto red nails, chunky jade bracelets, large gold earrings and other gold jewellery ie. rings, necklace and nose ring 

Dreamville - Down Bad  

editing 

• typography is moving, highlighted and graphic 
• use of mixed media and graphic design 
• use of different cameras, one clear(insinuating newer model) and the other older(giving a more grainy effect) 
• fast paced editing in alignment with the rapping style of each artist 

camera work

• camera constantly moving
• drone shot
• close ups 
• wide shots 
• tracking shot 
• match-on-action shots in transition with artists 

mise-en-scene

• props -blunt, marijuana, car, jet, 
• Young Nudy - white t-shirt, golden crown, chunky sliver chain, blunt, skinny jeans, dreads and trainers; all in alignment with genre conventions of rappers 
• J.I.D - white t-shirt, stack of colourful bracelets, chunky gold chain and rings; blue ripped skinny jeans, trainers and dreads. He is somewhat different from the rest of his peers as he doesn't fall into the same iconography of hip hop as them, conveying nuance in the genre. 
• Bas - baggy red Hawaiian shirt, afro with front taper and fade on the sides, gold sunglasses glasses, blue baggy jeans and chain tucked inside shirt 
• J.Cole - freeform locs, baggy dark blue button-up, light grey baggy jeans, trainers and high white socks
• EarthGang - trainers, shirtless, silver pants, chunky silver chain, quirky round sunglasses, colourful headwrap(belief in Black American community to "protect your crown", significant with crown in the music video). All this conveys his difference from the generic rap style 

3) Write a short music video treatment for your extract (this is basically a script for your TikTok music video). You can find an example of a treatment here. If you are making your real coursework then feel free to use the treatment from your summer project.

Three locational shots:

1)  kitchen, next to mother; Janice

2) Raagni outside house

3) Antonia in car

4) All of us in front of car

4) Write a shot list containing EVERY shot you plan to film AND additional shots to create flexibility when editing (in a music video you will find you need FAR more shots than you think, particularly close-ups). These additional shots can be close-ups, alternative angles or something more creative. I advise using a simple table on Microsoft Word/Google Docs to set out your shot list - you can find an example here (this is from narrative filmmaking but the same format can be used for any video project). 

shot list 

5) Plan your mise-en-scene: what iconography are you including to ensure your audience understands the genre and style of your artist? Plan your settings, costume, make-up, props and lighting. 

Janice - white t-shirt, makeup, dark trousers, orange rimmed trainers, brown jersey 

Raagni - dark baggy trousers, jersey 

Antonia - Jersey t-shirt, baggy trousers, makeup 

Settings - kitchen, car(prop), outside house 

6) Plan a shooting schedule that will ensure everything is filmed by the deadline. Include when, where, who is required, planned equipment and any other aspects you need to arrange. 

Filming - 27/09/25

Participants - Janice(me), Antonia and Raagni 

Equipment - iPhone