Filming Journal Day #3

Filming Journal Day #2

Filming Journal Day #1

Filming Plan

31/10/17

We will be filming the performance cutaways on this day. We will be filming in the school drama studio, and we have the wooden cabin as a backup location as we are unsure how long we'll be able to film in the drama studio. These cutaways require the musical instruments and the band members. We will also have an adult present in case of emergencies, as we are using electrical equipment.
We have created a call sheet for this day of filming, and also a separate one for our backup location in case it is needed:

5/11/17

We will be filming in two locations on this day; Twyford train station and Windsor High Street. These will be narrative scenes of the video. We will need the polaroid camera for one of these scenes, and the polaroid picture will be taken during filming. The scenes in Windsor require all of our actors, and the train station uses just the male and female protagonists.

This is the call sheet for this day's filming:

14/11/17

We will be filming one scene on this day; the bedroom. This scene only requires the male protagonist, and the polaroid prop. This scene has to be filmed after we film in Windsor, because we don't have the polaroid picture until after filming that scene.

This is the call sheet for filming that day:

Props and Equipment List

Props

Drum Kit

This is the drum kit our band will be using. The school's music department kindly lent us an unused drum kit and allowed us to move it to any location to film. It is slightly broken, but this doesn't show onscreen. It doesn't sound quite right due to the broken parts, but as our drummer is syncing to a track and not recording sound live, this won't matter. The monotonous colour scheme matches the clothing of the band members and helps to focus on the music.

Lead Guitar

This is the model of guitar we will be using. The guitar belongs to the actor playing it, and we feel this is suitable because any possible damage that could be done to the instrument would be with its owner and we wouldn't have to face any repercussions. The colour scheme matches the drum kit and also helps to focus on the music.

Bass Guitar

This is the bass guitar we will be using, again kindly lent to us by the school. It contrasts the other instruments by being in a brighter colour, which adds interest to the shots. We wanted to subvert the stereotypes in this type of band, where the bass player is often in the background or forgotten about. Therefore we decided having a brighter coloured bass guitar would highlight the bass player and show that they are just as important to the band as the other instruments.

Polaroid 

The polaroid picture is an important prop in our music video, as it is used throughout. The picture is taken in the first scene of the video by a character, so it is important that the photo is taken correctly with minimal takes as to not use up polaroid film. We will have the actor practice taking the photo first to ensure it all goes well on camera.








Notes



There are two 'notes' in the video, which contain clues as to where the girl is. The first of these is seen in the fairground shots, and the second is at the train station. These notes will be handwritten and matching to show they are from the same person. 

Polaroid Camera

This is the type of polaroid camera we will be using. We initially wanted to use an old-fashioned polaroid camera but we have found these too difficult to source and so are using a modern one. These cameras are easy to use, and we will train the character taking the photo on one before we film, to ensure it goes well. It has a maximum of 10 photos so we want to ensure there aren't any mistakes with filming that could waste a photo.

Equipment

Camera

We will be using my Canon 700d to film, with an 18-55mm zoom lens. This is the camera I use for all my filming work and so I am very confident using it and I will be able to capture the best possible footage using it.
These are the settings I will 
have it on: 





It is always important to have the camera on the lowest possible ISO, as to not have noise or a grain to the footage. Due to the lighting of our locations, we need to add some light through the camera so I will have the ISO on 400. We want to have a relatively shallow depth of field, to get an out of focus background, so I am keeping the f-number to 4.0. I am then using the shutter speed to balance the other two out to get the correct lighting, so I am keeping this fairly low, at 30.

Tripod

 We are using a tripod for some of our shots to ensure that we get a steady shot and can have the same camera position for shots. We will have the camera set up on the tripod, a few metres from the band to capture all of them performing.










Rig

These are the two camera rigs we will be using to film. They are owned by me and my partner and we are both confident in using them so we will be able to get good quality footage with them. We want to use rigs to ensure the footage is steady and doesn't have an amateurish handheld effect.

Shot List

Risk Assessment

Animatic Storyboard - Draft #2

Following our audience feedback, my partner Rhiannon created a second draft taking improvements into account. This includes more transitions, and some footage that had already been filmed as the drawings of this scene were unclear to our audience.

Animatic Storyboard

Storyboard

Pitch - Audience Feedback

After pitching our music promo to our peers, we received some feedback. My partner Rhiannon created this video to document it.

Pitch

Location Permission

My partner Rhiannon contacted Norden Farm, which we want to use for the performance cutaways in our video. Here is the email to the administrators;

This is the response we received from Norden Farm. We were granted permission to use the location, however we would have to pay a large amount of money to use it.

Due to the issue with having to pay for the location, we have therefore decided not to use this location. We now need to find a new location for the performance cutaways.

We have found two possible alternative locations that could be used:

School Drama Studio

This would be an easy location to film in as it is part of our school. We would be able to film with an all-black background and use the studio lights which would provide an interesting effect to the video.
We have gained permission to use this location from the school drama department, however they are unsure what time we will have to leave as the school caretaker locks up at 5:45.

Wood Cabin

One of our actors owns a wood cabin, and he has offered us to film there. Here we would have an interesting wood background and warm toned lighting.
We will have this as a backup location if anything goes wrong in the drama studio. 

Costume and Make-Up Research

In our music video we have 2 main characters and a group of 'extras'. This is the male protagonist, the girl he is pursuing, and the band.


Male Protagonist:
The boy is the main character of the video. He is focused on finding the girl and sees her as something to 'worship', his 'new religion'. He wears monochromatic clothes to seem less important than her.
- Dark, monochromatic clothing.
- Black distressed jeans and white t-shirt.
- Messy hair.

Girl:
The girl is a carefree and rebellious character, and is seen as a mystery throughout the video. She is the only person who wears bright colours, adding to the mysterious vibe she gives off. She wears all yellow and glitter, with connotations of being treasure and a 'prize' for the boy to pursue. 
- Yellow dress.
- Sparkly eye makeup, yellow lipstick.
- Messy natural hair.




Band
The band members are seen at the start of the video, standing around on the street. They wear dark clothes to blend in to the background. They also feature in the lip syncing/performance cutaways.
- Casual dark coloured clothing.
- Blend in with the background as not main focus.

 

Props Research

These are the props we are planning to use in the music video. We don't have many props, as we want to focus on the acting and the narrative of the video. The props used are only those that contribute to the storyline.

Polaroid Camera

The storyline of the music video follows a polaroid picture. Therefore the polaroid picture has to be taken, so we need a polaroid camera. We initially wanted to use an original polaroid camera, used mainly in the 1970s-1990s. However, these are hard to find nowadays and expensive to buy. 

Therefore, we will most likely be using a modern polaroid camera, which still takes the same photos so would be suitable.

Polaroid Picture

The polaroid picture is the main part of our video. It is taken in the opening scenes, and used throughout the video. The theme of polaroids is also common across the rest of our promotional package. We will take our own original photograph for the polaroid, but it will look like this picture, and feature the same writing on it.

Post-it Note

These are used to give messages throughout the video and are important to progress the storyline. They will be handwritten, in the same style as the note on the polaroid. 

Instruments

For the performance cutaways we will need instruments for the band to play. This includes a guitar, a bass guitar, and a drum kit. We have got permission from our school's music department to use their instruments; a drum kit and two guitars that we will be able to borrow for a couple of hours to film.
These aren't the exact models we will be using, but these are the type of instrument.

 

Casting Research

To choose our actors for the band, we are going to conduct auditions. We will ask them the following questions;

Full name:

Age:

What previous acting experience do you have?

Do you have any experience performing either in front of a camera or performing in front of an audience?

Do you play any instruments?

How will you channel this musical knowledge in your performance?

How will you, as an actor, convincingly perform/lip-sync to the song, in order to make the performance seem believable?

Following these auditions, we have cast the following actors in our music video;

Will Palmer, 18

Ben Cox, 17

Sean Franks, 17

Zoe Whyte, 17

Amy Green, 17

Location Research

When finding our locations, we need to ensure the following things;

• We get permission from the owners of the locations to film there.
• We choose a relatively empty location so we don't get members of the public in the background of the video.
• We don't have any brands or copyrighted material in the background of the video.

For the music video, we need 5 different locations:

Location 1 - Street.

The video opens on an empty street at night. So that we don't have to use too much artificial light, we will film these parts at dusk so there is some light but it doesn't feel like daytime. We can also colour correct to make it seem like the night. 

Location Requirements:

• Street that will be empty when we film there.
• We are allowed to film there.
• A long street that will fit with our concept for the video.
• Matches the aesthetic of our video.
• Straight road, to give a leading lines effect.

Possible Locations: 

Windsor 

This is a street in Windsor that we are considering for a location in our video. It is small and relatively empty so would be easy to film there. 

Location 2 - Bedroom.

The protagonist's bedroom is seen in the start of the video, as he wakes up after a night out and finds the polaroid. The bedroom should be simple, and not have any posters or copyrighted material that could be in the background of the video. 

Location Requirements:

• Simplistic bedroom.
• We have permission to film there from the owner of the room.
• No posters or copyrighted material.

Possible Locations: 

Location 3 - Somewhere the band will be lip syncing to the song.

Throughout the video, there are cutaways to the band lip syncing the song. We want these shots to be completely about the singing, and so a simple location that highlights the performance is important.

Location Requirements:

• A performance venue that highlights the performer.
• Simple as to not draw attention away from the singing.
• We have permission to film there.

Possible Locations:

Norden Farm Centre for the Arts, Maidenhead 

Norden Farm has a large stage with a variety of different lighting options that would be useful for our video. Filming here would give us a versatile space that would allow us to highlight the performance and the lyrics of the song.

Location 4 - Train platform.

The video ends on a train platform, after the actor has spent the video looking for the girl. He gets to the train station, and sees her on the other platform for a second before a train passes in between them.

Location Requirements:

• Train station with multiple platforms.
• We have permission to film there.
• Relatively small station so the platforms aren't busy.
• We time our filming so that we have a train come past in the shot.

Possible Locations:

Twyford Train Station

This is a small, local train station which has two platforms. This would allow us to film the shot across the railway. The station is small and rarely busy, meaning we would be able to film there without getting people in the shot. They have published train times so we would be able to get there at the right time to have a train come past in the shot.

Location 5 - Multiple locations the actor will be running through.

The main body of the video is the protagonist looking for the girl. This will feature him running through and searching through multiple locations. These locations will only be seen for a couple of seconds each and we will need lots.

Location Requirements:

• We have permission to film there.
• The locations don't feature any copyrighted materials.

Possible Locations:

Carter's Steam Fair

This is an old fashioned fairground with bright lights and busy crowds. This would fit the mood of this part of the video as it provides a panicked atmosphere and the lights would give an interesting effect that matches the aesthetic of the video.