Russell Brand on the Government and an 'Underclass'

Very recently (23/10/13), Russell Brand came forward to discuss the issues that he feels are causing the destruction of the society in the UK. Brand debates, or even argues, with Jeremy Paxman about how Britain's government has created a 'disenfranchised, disillusioned underclass' that it fails to serve. The issues raised in the interview show that the themes in the 'Mr. President' music video are still current issues that are very much real and happen to people all over the country. Brand covers several of the topics that I and the other member of my group hope to show in the music video, in particular, the lies and deceit of the political class that has a directly negative effect on the lower echelons of society. Additionally, the discussion about UK politics links in with the consumerism and social inequality that can be heard on the sample for 'Mr. President', as Brand suggested that politicians only service the needs of corporations whilst ignoring those who are on the outskirts of society.

Choice of Actor

When thinking of our concept for the music video, myself and the other member of the group decided that we needed to try and keep it simple in terms of actors, because having more than one or two actors would provide complications, especially due to having to film two sets of footage. Upon further conceptualising we had decided to use only one actor for both sides of the split screen to show that different choices or circumstances in life can lead a person down two disparate paths, and their decisions on each of these paths can influence the other.

We chose Robbie for several reasons, some were to do with organisation and others to do with appearance. Robbie is in the same media class as myself, so it was much easier to discuss our ideas and planning with him in order for him to understand the plot and what would be required of him. In previous productions we have contacted drama groups, such as City College and The Garage, however we found it harder to work with individuals from these groups due to time constraints leading to organisational problems. Robbie had similar a timetable and so we found we would be free at similar times, proving to be simpler to plan shooting dates. One of our shooting sessions was to take place in London, meaning that we would have to spend a the day with our actor as well as pay for their expenses; seeing as we already knew Robbie this was not a problem, which also made it easier to direct him during shooting. If we had chosen to use more than one actor we wouldn't have been able to afford to take the trip to London. We chose Robbie as our actor due to the fact that he looks old enough to be a young businessman/entrepreneur who is hungry to work up through the ranks of a large corporate business, as well as being able to change his appearance to look like a student interested in protesting against the dominant ideologies. It is becoming more and more common for entrepreneurs to be younger, coming straight out of college, so this factor makes sense with the age of our actor. The fact that our actor has facial hair also added to his older looking appearance, making it more believable that he would be in a higher up corporate position.

We also chose Robbie because we felt that he would be ideal for the album cover/print production; our idea is to continue the split screen theme and have one side with the businessman and one side with the protestor, each with their relevant '1%' and '99%'. Using Robbie for this is ideal because he has quite symmetrical features, meaning it is easier to line up the two sides of the face on Photoshop. An important reason for why we chose Robbie as the actor for both characters is his appearance/background. The stereotypical image of a businessman is a white male with a smart appearance, Robbie fits into this stereotype well for our music video. This worked in favour of our video because the white male symbolises the wealth associated with the often unquestioned privilege of white western middle class males. An example of this 'superiority' can be seen in governments, particularly in America, as all of the Presidents have been male and, until recently, white.

Robbie in costume for the businessman character 

Intertextual Links and Influential Music Videos/Films

Band/Artist: Radiohead
Track: All I Need
Genre: Electronic, Alternative Rock, Experimental Rock
Release Date: Self released on the 10th of October 2007 and the 1st of January in North America
Directed and Filmed by: Steve Rogers and John Seale

This particular music video was filmed for the MTV campaign 'EXIT' (End Exploitation and Trafficking). MTV EXIT is a campaign aiming to end human trafficking and the exploitation of minority groups by raising awareness through promoting positive behaviour change and social action. This to be achieved by harnessing the power of the MTV brand. The music video itself has been influential to our own initial ideas for several reasons; one being the use of split screen. As seen in "All I Need", split screen can be an effective visual device in creating a strong, and obvious, sense of opposition. "All I Need" also explores the theory of Claude Levi-Strauss by having a narrative that is continuously being driven by conflict, not only in the characters but in the contrasting miss en scene.

In this case, binary opposition has been created by the contrasting ways in which the two young boys live out their day to day lives and what is deemed 'normal' by them, heightening this by placing the two different films side by side. An explicit example of the binary opposition between the two characters is at the very end of the video in which the audience see the boy in the sweat shop finish a complete shoe, and at the same time the boy on the left takes off the very same shoe, indicating that his shoe was made by the other boy (or any other child forced to work in child labour). This scene gave my group the idea that the event that we show in our music video should effect both characters in different ways, in a sense bringing them together in the ways that it has affected them. The boy working in the sweatshop acts as a metaphor for a bigger picture, representing the whole issue of child labour, highlighting its impact amongst society. To further emphasise the opposition between the two sides of the split screen, the mise en scene is vastly different on either side. For example, the child on the left is surrounded by a warm home environment with luxury furnishings, as well as having an education, whereas the child on the right is shown living in grim environment with several other children and no indication of a good home life; instead of having an education, the child on the right is being worked in a sweatshop during the day. Reinforcing this sense of contrast even further is the use of colour grades for both characters and their environments: the left side is warmly lit with a variety of vibrant colours, suggesting lightheartedness and the idea that children in first world countries have very little to worry about. In opposition to this, the right side is dimly lit with a lot of muted colours and a green hue permanently present. The green tint could be a way of showing how grim the world really is for those in third world countries and for those forced into slavery.

Secondly, the themes of "All I Need" sparked ideas for themes of our chosen track and the accompanying music video. The issues depicted in "All I Need" show the opposition and conflict between two different types of people who are extremely unequal amongst society. The idea of social inequality is an issue that we wanted to cover with our music video, but instead of focusing in human trafficking and child labour we wanted to focus on an issue that is more accessible to us; the idea of the 1% and the 99%. My group and I hope to explore the differences and opposition between the lives of the extremely wealthy/politicians and the rest of society, with facts in mind like '1% have more wealth than the entire bottom 90%'. By using split screen, we also hope to explore the ramifications of decisions made by the upper echelons of society on those who are not so fortunate, as it often the lower classes that suffer at the hands of the government, the government rarely feeling the effects of their policies. Fold, the band that produced the track "Mr. President" also have links to social equality, donating a percentage of their profits to The Equality Trust so we felt it was important to include this aspect into the music video. To do this, we have planned to have a businessman type character on one side of the split screen, representing the 1%, and a protester type character on the other side of the split screen, representing the 99%. We have also chosen to use the same actor for both sides of the split screen to show that different decisions in life can lead a person down two opposing paths, and their decisions on each of these paths can influence the other. Using this device also allows us to link in Goodwin's theory of music videos by creating a narrative structure that amplifies the lyrics of track. The sample used in "Mr. President" discusses the idea of consumerism, thus "All I Need" is a fitting reference because it shows what consumerism is doing to the world.



Artist: Eminem
Track: Mosh
Genre: Hip Hop, Rap Rock, Political Hip Hop
Release Date: October 26 2004
Producer/Director: Ian Inaba
Art Director: Anson Voght
Designer/Animator: Anson Voght/Steve Ogden
Illustrator: Haik Hoisington

I chose this music video for "Mosh" by Eminem as an intertextual reference because of the political themes explored in the lyrics that are then amplified by the music video, making use of Goodwin's theory. The time that this track and music video was released was around the time of the 2004 Presidential elections in America, which is why Gunther Kress' theory of genre is also applicable to "Mosh". The track/music video explores a repeated social occasion, that being the collective refusal to accept George Bush's politics and lies, thus Eminem plays off of this by amplifying the noise with a controversial music video. This sort of controversy has begun to become expected from Eminem, who's tracks often target celebrities in the public eye and ridicule them in order to gain media attention himself as well as send a message to the rest of society.

The music video also explores the corruption of governments, particularly in America and the conspiracies surrounding George Bush. The music video for "Mosh" is an important link to our ideas because of the way that the lower classes within society are portrayed as the ones who face the consequences of those in power. For example, at several points in the video, Eminem is seen in front of a wall of newspaper clippings with headlines surrounding Bush, and in particular, his democratic decisions about tax cuts and the Iraq War. In the screenshot it quotes "BUSH TAX CUTS HELP RICH" which is explicitly applicable to the themes that we are trying to show in our own music video, the idea that the tax cuts have a negative effect on those who are on the outskirts of society and have a beneficial effect on those who are already extremely wealthy. This is again explored through the characters seen in the video, who have all been disadvantaged by the government in one way or another, however, they all have on thing in common, they are the 99%. The scenes containing the soldiers is explicit in connoting the way that the figures in power use society as pawns for their own benefit; Eminem also points out that race plays no part in this, as both black and white are effected by Bush and the government and that to make a difference the 99% have to group together. This links to our music video as the protester is attempting gather people to fight a worthy cause against the 1%, whilst battling against capitalism and consumerism. The music video points out that the government are often the main causes of the problems in society, referencing our idea of demonstrating the fact that the majority of society suffer the consequences of the rich. Finally, going against Eminem's 'reputation', the music video depicts the group of people matching into the voting booth. This is is a call for non-violence and political action as a means of change.



Band/Artist: UNKLE ft. Nick Cave
Track: Money And Run
Genre: Trip Hop, Downtempo, Electronica, Trip Rock, Alternative Rock
Release Date: May 29 2011
Director: Tom Haines
Peak Chart Position: 42

Bullingdon Club members - David Cameron and Boris Johnson
are both previous members

"Money and Run", by UNKLE, gives the audience an insight into what it might be like for the 1%, especially those who are more corrupt, who have too much money and too much free time on their hands. The video uses exaggeration as a device to draw attention to the issues that are present within our society, as well as a strong representation of corruption and abuse towards those who are not equal to them. The video shows a lot of conflict and opposition between the 1% and 99%, particularly evident in the scenes with the women being seriously degraded and the youth being tortured. Interestingly, the director of the video has also created an unusual contrast, debunking the idea that the wealthy citizens in society are at all upper class or sophisticated, and in doing so the idea of being rich is de-glamorised and undesirable, much like the men themselves. The appearance of the men and their behaviour directly contradict the image that the public are fed, they have little manners and seem brutish, indicating that they inherited their worth rather than working for it. This links in with the idea of politics and the government, that you have to know the right people, have the right name or have a private education to become someone important in parliament (Boris Johnson, David Cameron etc.) The scenes depicted in the video could also be referencing the Bullingdon Club - an exclusive society at Oxford University with a reputation for lavish banquets and trashing public spaces, such as restaurants and college rooms. The members of the clue had to be wealthy to afford membership, with tailor made uniform and a reputation for paying for damage on the spot. The ostentatious display of wealth has attracted a lot of controversy, as many members have ended up in powerful positions within the government. Andrew Gimson, biographer of Boris Johnson, revealed about the club in the 1980's "I don't think an evening would have ended without a restaurant being trashed and being paid for in full, very often in cash". The Bullingdon Club links to the male characters in the video because they all exhibit the rash and careless behaviour, trashing their surroundings without care. Furthermore, the only rich or powerful characters shown in the music video are male, there are no wealthy female characters; this references the Bullingdon Club again because only men were allowed to join, being known as 'Buller men'. This also creates a lot of binary opposition between the characters; not only are the women degraded but they are also represented as being worth less, much like the 99% in comparison to the 1% as we would like to explore in our music video. The narrative seems to be almost completely conflict driven, following closesly to Levi-Strauss' theory of opposition driven narrative, in this case the men create opposition against anyone who isn't in their 'social club'.

The video is a great example of Goodwin's theory of music videos, this is due to the way that the events depicted illustrate and amplify the lyrics. For example, "I took the money and I ran" is illustrated in the video by the lavish behaviour only possible with money and the fact that the wealthy characters can simply run away from their problems by using their money. There are other issues raised in the music video, most importantly the degrading treatment of the women during the final scenes. Stereotypical misogynist representations of women are reinforced throughout the video, with the women serving the men at dinner, suggesting that they 'belong in the kitchen' and are not of equal status to the male characters. In the penultimate scenes, the male characters are seen terrorising the female characters and sexually abusing them, creating further conflict to drive the narrative by making the audience feel uncomfortable. This is relatable to our music video because it is showing the corruption and shady activities that are present within the upper classes of society and the various ways in which they can abuse their power without facing the consequences themselves. "Money and Run" also attracts attention to the division of society between youth subcultures and the way they are portrayed by the upper classes. The video again reinforces stereotypes of youths hanging around estates causing trouble, however, the tables are turned and the wealthy characters dominate over the youths. The scenes showing the torture of the youth reinforce the binary opposition issues that the video aims to explore. Furhtermore, the division between the youths and the rest of the society links in to the division in classes that we aim to represent with our music video. During the ending of the video, one of the characters dons a mask of the Queen and a Union Jack jock strap. This seems to connote irony as the wealthy characters have aquired their money of the back of Britain, and could even have links to people in positions of power, yet they are degrading their own nationality and giving nothing back to the country that made them. 

Author: Margaret Atwood
Novel/Book: The Handmaid's Tale
Genre: Dystopia, science fiction, speculative fiction
Publishing Date: 1985
Awards: Governor General's Award (1985), Arthur C. Clarke Award (1987)

The Handmaid's Tale is a book set in the near future about a theocratic military dictatorship formed within the borders of what used to be the United States of America. The dictatorship is formed by a Christian nativist-derived, racist, homophobic cult's military coup as an ideologically driven response to the degradation of society. I felt that this novel was a note worthy intertextual reference to my music video because of the separation of society through class, religion and ethnicity/nationality; this relates to the separation of society that is happening today, in Britain particularly class. Additionally, the book also briefly looks at the world before the hostile take over, and why it had to happen; the downfall of society through lack of equality and mass commercialisation. The society described in the novel is the reason as to why I chose it as an intertextual reference, because it foreshadows the class divide of modern day society even though it was published in 1985. In the book, women and men are divided into a hierarchy based upon their social class and their ethnicity. The different levels are symbolised by different coloured uniforms, so that the characters are immediately recognisable by their 'social status'. This applies to the themes in the music video because it explores the idea of a division in class (1% and 99%) and the lower classes suffer at the hands of the upper class. 'The Handmaid's Tale' shows the upper classes of society as having complete control over the rest of society which links to the current issue of corruption and capitalism in the government, who appear to be more concerned with money than the people of Britain.

'The Handmaid's Tale' is set in a dystopian world, similar to the atmosphere that myself and the other member of my group hope to create in the music video. This is the idea of an unwelcoming and undesirable place, which would add to the negative overtones of the dominant 1%, further connoting the undesirable nature of society in Britain due to the politicians and government.

Author: George Orwell
Novel/Book: 1984
Genre: Dystopian, political fiction, social science fiction
Publishing Date: 8th of June 1949
Awards: Number 6 on the Modern Library 100 Best Novels, number 8 on the BBC's Big Read

Like 'The Handmaid's Tale', '1984' is based around a dystopian society in which the citizens of the Oceanian province of Airstrip One are completely controlled by a powerful organisation called 'Big Brother'. Due to Big Brother's control, there is an omnipresent government surveillance (much like the waves of CCTV in modern Britain) and public mind control, dictated by an inner party. I thought that this was another important intertextual reference for the music video because of the themes explored about the control of a society and its citizens by one dominant group i.e. the government and politics. In particular, the idea of a 'Big Brother' seems like an intriguing concept because it can be interpreted as connoting the government that the United Kingdom has at the moment, with control over the citizens and a large amount of wealth to control corporations. In '1984' the social class system is, again, similar to the system currently in use: the upper-class 'Inner Party', the elite ruling minority, make up 2% of the population; the middle-class 'Outer Party', who make up 13% of the population and the lower-class 'Proles' who make up 85% of the population and represent the uneducated working class. This class system is familiar to the class system in Britain, even though there is an attempt to hide it, and in particular to the 1% and 99% that the music video is aiming to represent.

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Shooting Schedule

Tuesday the 1st of October 2013 - 11:30 - 12:45

We decided to film on this day for a very specific reason; the teachers were going on strike outside of The Forum. One side of the split screen in our music video is based around protesting against the 1%, so having footage of the strike would be beneficial because we could directly respond to our themes. Filming the strike was important because it gave us some footage of an actual protest with a large group of people, something that we would not have been able to put together between myself and the other member of my group. Our plan is to cut together footage from the strike with footage of the protester organising the strike. We had arranged to meet at The Forum half an hour prior to the event in order to have enough time to set up the equipment and scout the location. During this time, I also took some still photographs to use for the location planning part of the music video.

Equipment: Canon 550D DSLR (18-55mm lens and 28-125mm lens), Tripod
Crew: Myself and the other member of the group took turns on camera operation.

Tuesday the 8th of October 2013 - 10:00am - 8:00pm

Myself and the other member of my group had several ideas for shots and the locations that would work with the shots, especially for the businessman character. Unfortunately, Norwich didn't have the opportunities for these kinds of locations and so we had to think further abroad. We spoke to our teacher and came to the conclusion that London would be the ideal location due to the various different political/government buildings and the selection of bankers buildings and office towers. We wanted to do the majority of the businessman characters filming around these locations.
We got the train at 10:00am but due to signal failure in Cheltenham, we were behind schedule upon arriving in London at around 12:30pm. We had decided to visit the American Embassy first, before going to the docklands and Canary Wharf. At the American Embassy, we also took the opportunity to take still shots for out print production/CD cover. During filming, we were stopped by the police because the embassy security were not happy with what we were doing. We were searched, however, the police had no problem with out filming and so we managed to get the footage that we had hoped for at that location, for both sides of the split screen. We then moved on to the docklands/Canary Wharf location to do the bulk of the businessman filming. At this point we decided to use the dolly in order to shoot some tracking shots, as all of our previous shots were static. During our time at the docklands, we were stopped on four separate occasions for filming in a public place. Fortunately, one member of the group had his lanyard and so we were allowed to continue filming. We managed the shots of the businessman character as well as several pick up shots and a timelapse before the time was up for that location. We had planned to film a timelapse for each character in separate underground stations; Canary Wharf station was perfect for the businessman and we had timed it perfectly so that people were leaving work, resulting in a rush of people in suits. Fortunately, we had just finished the timelapse before being told to leave due to the tripod. On the journey back to Liverpool Street Station, we had to find a contrasting station for the protester before our train left. We stopped at St Pauls and filmed the last shot before getting back on to the train for Norwich.

Equipment: Canon 550D DSLR (18-55mm lens, 28-125mm lens, 75-300mm lens), Canon EOS 5 35mm SLR, tripod, dolly and cardboard sign.
Crew: Myself and the other member of the group rotated on camera operation and the setting up of the equipment
Cast: We had brought Robbie to play the characters on both sides of the split screen to present more of a binary opposition between the two.

Tuesday the 29th of October 2013

Myself and the other member of my group made use of a bit of spare time by filming a shot that was out of the way in comparison to the rest of our locations/shot list. The shot was a timelapse of an abandoned building that would be used to show direct opposition to the office block that we shot in London. We decided to meet and cycle to the location, taking our equipment in our bags. This was also a good use of time because our actor wasn't available on the day, thus we decided to film the pick up shots with the time we had available. The shot was relatively easy to capture as the location was easily accessible and we had contact details of the landlord if any problems arose.

Equipment: Canon 550D DSLR (18-55mm lens), tripod
Crew: Myself and the other member of my group set up the tripod and camera
Cast: The actor wasn't required to take part in this filming session

Saturday the 5th of November

We used this day to film the opening of the music video, as the light had faded outside, showing the morning routine of both characters on opposing sides of the split screen. This gave use the opportunity to show the way in which the characters live and how this reflects their places within society. We started filming at my house for the businessman character, using my bedroom as to show that the character has a comfortable lifestyle. We also used my kitchen as it has quite a modern appearance, fitting in with the story of the businessman. For the protester, we chose to use Robbie's (our actor) house in order to provide a sense of opposition. Instead of the protester waking up in a bed, like the businessman, he wakes up on the sofa with a blanket. We also made use of Robbie's kitchen in order to contrast that of the businessman. We chose to use mostly close up shots in this shoot so that we could edit them together quickly and keep the interest of the audience within the opening few seconds.

Equipment: Canon 550D DLSR (18-55mm lens, 28-125mm lens), tripod
Crew: Myself and Adam took turns for camera operation and composition of the mise en scene
Cast: Our actor, Robbie, played both characters in the opposing roles

Monday the 11th of November

We had managed to find 2 free hours and decided to make use of it by shooting some of the scenes in the city centre. The scenes that we shot are an essential part to the music video as this is where much of the binary opposition and contrast is created between the personalities and lifestyles of both characters. We started by filming at Starbucks, showing the businessman alone. We chose Starbucks due to its connotations of consumerism and the link to the character of the businessman. We also filmed the protester at the same location, however this time myself and Adam acted as the protester's friends, showing that the character is happier/has a better social life without the wealth and power of the businessman. We also shot a scene at Moss (the suit shop) in which the businessman is seen going in and coming out, showing again his wealth and style. The light began to run out quickly and so we decided that we would finish the last couple of shots at a later date.

Equipment: Canon 550D DLSR (18-55mm lens), tripod
Crew: Myself and Adam shared the camera operation
Cast: Robbie was available to play both characters

Shot List

Shot list for businessman side of split screen:

• Title fade in: 1% 
• Long/mid shot of American flag in the wind (possibly with eagle in shot too)
• Birds eye/panning mid shot of waking up on the bed
• Close up of tie being done up
• Close up of kettle boiling
• POV shot of black coffee
• POV/birds eye shot of Daily Mail newspaper
• Mid shot of businessman reading the Daily Mail 
• Worms eye view of businessman standing underneath the flag/eagle looking away
• Over the shoulder/ close up of checking watch
• Close up panning shot of businessman from feet to head
• Close up of briefcase with stock in the background
• Mid shot tracking backwards on dolly of businessman walking with stock in the background
• Close up of smart leather shoes walking by
• Low angle mid shot of businessman on phone, focus pull to stock in the background and focus pull back to businessman
• Worms eye view time lapse of skyscraper and clouds passing
• Time lapse mid/long shot of businessman standing in the underground station
• Mid shot of throwing away coffee cup
• Close up of coffee cup on the floor
• Mid shot of homeless man sitting on the pavement
• Enter businessman, same mid shot so only legs/feet visible
• Businessman hesitates, before walking away
• Long shot of businessman entering moss
• Long shot of businessman leaving moss

Shot list for protester side of split screen:

• Title fade in: 99%
• Birds eye/panning mid shot of waking up on the sofa
• Close up shoe laces being tied
• Close up of dripping tap
• POV of water in dirty glass
• Mid shot of protester reading the Social Worker
• POV/birds eye shot of the Social Worker newspaper
• Close up Gove out sign waving
• Worms eye view of protester standing underneath the flag/eagle looking away (opposite to businessman)
• Time lapse mid shot of protester standing in the underground station with a sign ('We're in Trouble')
• Various shots of strike/protest
• Mid shot of protester walking up to coffee cup
• Close up of coffee cup being picked up
• Close up of coffee cup being put in to bin
• Mid shot of homeless man sitting in the pavement
• Enter protester, same mid shot so only legs/feet visible
• Close up of homeless man's hat with change in, money drops in
• Various shots of derelict building (whitlingham) Time lapse?
• Tracking backwards with dolly, low angle jenny lind shop front 
• Long shot of protester entering charity shop
• Long shot of protestor leaving charity shop

The Pitch