Coursework: Statement of Intent

My original artist: Billie Eilish

Song used: Happier Than Ever. 

Narrative: My video will include a married couple where a woman is going through domestic abuse and violence and when she faints, she remembers their happy memories and, by the end of it, she runs away from the house. The purpose of my video is to shed light on domestic abuse.

My music video will include:

• An over the shoulder shot of the man slapping the women to faint, followed by memories of the married couple. This will tell the audience how happy they were and how good it was at the beginning contrasting to the bad moments.

• A long shot of her escape which will symbolise to the audience that she is now free and has left the man to symbolise her independence. 

• A close-up shot of the man's face to highlight his aggressiveness, emphasising to the audience how he’s controlling and toxic.

I will have 5 locations, which are the living room, the kitchen, bedroom, outside and the car. I chose these locations to make the audience feel a sense of familiarity. The woman will have bruises around her face to symbolise to the public the violence she suffered. The women will also be wearing red in the majority of the video to symbolise her anger towards her husband and to show that she’s having courage to leave the war he has created because of the abuse. When the flashbacks arrive, the woman will wear a white top to symbolise the purity and innocence at the start to communicate to the audience how good the relationship was , but then after the flashbacks she will wear red again to show the relationship has become violent and dangerous to symbolise the contrast in the happy moments and bad. The lighting for the memories will be black and white so it’s clear to the audience that they’re memories,  but for the rest, there will be normal lighting ,from light to dark. I will use slo-mo throughout the video to make it more realistic and add emotional intensity to display violence. I have used a certain font for the name Emily Hazel and the song Happier Than Ever at the start of the video because it fits the theme of dark/electro pop perfectly and people like Billie Eilish and Melanie Martinez would use this type of font for their music video.

Media representation:

These two characters generally reinforce sexist stereotypes, as women are perceived as the damsel in distress who's more fragile, mistreated and more emotional than men. This can be seen when the woman has bruises around her face whereas the man looks more dominant and powerful in comparison , which reinforces gender stereotypes. However, this may also subvert stereotypes as the woman gained freedom and showed independence which women in the media aren’t seen to have as they are meant to rely on their husbands. Flashbacks make the villain (husband) seem very loveable and appealing to the eyes of the audience, so when the parts of the videos appear where he’s abusive and controlling, there can be seen a drastic change in character of the villain, and the audience will be able to see that difference much more clearly.

Target audience:

My target audience will be people between the ages of 15 and 35 who love dark and electronic pop. They’re likely to listen to artists like Lorde, Melanie Martinez and Lana Del Rey. 

Audience pleasures will be showcased throughout the video, including:

-Relationships: They will form a sympathetic and emotional connection with the woman as they may relate to her pain, which will help build a strong connection with the character.

Personal Identity: The audience will feel familiar with their own lives, as they may have the same problem. This will form a personal connection as they will know that there are others like them in their situation and they’re not alone.

I have used a certain font for the name Emily Hazel and the song Happier Than Ever at the start of the video because it fits the theme of dark/electro pop perfectly and people like Billie Eilish and Melanie Martinez would use this type of font for their music video.