Props and set design

50s:
Our 50s set will be comprised of a colourful cardboard cut-out jukebox and two cut-outs of 50s-era cars, a red one and a blue one (only the red one is shown below):

We chose these props because since they are only cut-outs they aren't too expensive, and they contribute to an intentionally home-made feel to the video, creating an innocence that fits well with indie pop and our band's image.

In addition they are easily recognisable features of the 1950s:

Collection of 1950s photographs with jukeboxes

Elvis Presley with a jukebox, 1957

Jukebox advert

Photographs of cars in the 1950s - our cut-outs look very similar to these

We are going to position the jukebox in the centre of our set, and some of the choreography will be centred around it. Each car will be on either side of the set in the background.

70s:
For our 70s set we are going to have a disco floor and a disco ball. The disco ball we bought online, but the disco floor we had to make using coloured sugar paper:

Making the disco floor

The 70s set was inspired by our main influence for this era in our video: 70s disco, in particular the film Saturday Night Fever:

Since disco is one of the most recognisable aspects of the 70s, it seemed like an obvious choice for our set, also because it is easily distinguishable from our other eras.

80s:
Our 80s set is quite minimal, because unlike for 50s and 70s there are no especially iconic set designs representing the era that we could have chosen. We based our set design instead on The Breakfast Club, using a bench like the one two characters famously shuffle across in the 80s film:

(the bench itself is not really visible here, but ours will be)

We are using a bench from the gym in the school. 

Another prop for this scene is a book that Juliette's character will be reading, when sitting on the edge of the bench.

90s:
For the 90s set we are going to have a sofa that the characters sit on. This is inspired by our main influence for this era, Friends, and the iconic Central Perk location:

We will also have a coffee table and a mug with the Central Perk logo on it, which Juliette already has and so is able to provide. The reason we are deciding on this is because Friends is a widely recognised part of 90s popular culture, so our audience will be more likely to understand what we are referencing and what era it therefore is. 

Since it will be difficult to bring in an actual sofa we will make one that looks like a real sofa using chairs, cloth and cushions.

To make sure that our set references the 90s as a whole rather than specifically Friends, we are also going to include a boom box, positioned next to the sofa (which will be in the centre of the set). 

Modern:
Our modern set will consist of a zebra crossing, and mobile phones will be used as props. We wanted to include technology in our modern scenes because that is arguably what is most distinguishable about this era, and there is the stereotype that people today (especially teenagers and young adults, our target demographic and the age of the performers) are obsessed with their phones and always using them. The era will therefore be obviously identifiable.

The phones will be literally thrown onto the floor by the performers in this scene, so we are going to use old broken phones that some of us have so it won't matter if they break

The zebra crossing allows for space to focus on the choreography and the performers. There are no specific sets that easily connote the modern era so with an everyday, simple set up like a zebra crossing that our audience will recognise from their everyday lives, they will then be able to identify with this scene. The zebra crossing will be made from black and white paper.

Band:
The set up for the band scenes will be simple: the drums in the back, the guitarist and bassist on either side (with their instruments), and the singer's microphone in the centre (but a little to the side of the drums so Brandon won't be obscured by Jacob).

We will also have an amp behind the guitarist and an amp behind the bassist. We don't want to use ones that are too small so as not to be easily seen or provide an effective background but we also don't want them to be too big to distract from the band members themselves and their instruments. 

The set up of the band is inspired by bands in other music videos, for example, San Cisco in "Awkward":

Here is the bass (left) and guitar (right) we decided on using:

We liked the black and white guitar because the neutral colours match with the white background and also match with the colours I'm wearing, providing a contrast between the black and white of the guitar and the pink colour of my outfit.

I offered this bass to be used as well:

The other bass (provided by Juliette) we decided was better. It is more interesting than the plain black bass, so our band looks more easily identifiable and unique as well. 

We are going to use a microphone like the one in San Cisco's music video for "Fred Astaire":

This gives our music video a more 'indie' look and also looks more original and interesting than a normal microphone, so it is likely to be more memorable.