Evaluation Of Filming (#1)

Yesterday we had our first filming session, the crew turned up on time, I had a bit of help setting up lights, I gave the actor a couple of minutes to prepare and then we started filming. My other team member took control of the camera while I was in charge of playing the song so that it is easier for the actor to lip-synch correctly. However when I showed the footage to the teacher this morning we realized that none of it could be used as the camera kept moving and zooming in and out, she told me that it must be re-done from scratch, preferably all the way through three times - close-up, medium and long shots so that later we have enough footage to choose from in editing. I will try to organise something this week but if not then it will have to all be done at ultra-speed after half-term.

Pre-Production Evaluation

This is a presentation I have made reflecting on the text based work done so far. I have talked about each stage separately and reflected on them.
I have chosen this software because I found that it enables me to make a PowerPoint style presentation completely online and it has some very interesting features to adjust the appearance of the presentation.

Production Team Meeting

We have met-up today and discussed our progress so far. We have decided that I will be taking on the female role of the video. we will have our first filming session in the outside location where I will be involved. we have aggreed that i need to wear a casual dress or a skirt, heals and a dress-shirt.
We have enlisted help with a hair and make-up person who will help us prepare for tomorrow.

Filming #1

Today we have filmed the chorus part of our music video in the TV studio. I have enlisted help of one technician on light and camera setup. We have run through the whole recording a few times to make sure we are happy with the result. We have mostly filmed in close-up to emphasise the emotions on character's face. The footage will be repeated in the video when the lyrics repeat.

Planning The Filming #2

Today I have met with my main actor to discus when we can film the chorus part of the song for the video. We have agreed to film tomorrow, I have also booked the TV studio and asked technician to help me with light setup.
We have planned to have a black-back-drop with 1 actor lip-synching to create a contrast from the main narrative idea which is going to have more actors involved and will be filmed in different locations.

Crew Meeting

Today we have organised a full crew meeting with all the actors. However, even know all of them knew the date and time of the meeting, and the fact that it is important to attend it because we were planning to talk through our plans, filming schedule, get them to sign a talent release forms and give out the lyrics, but none of the actors turned up. We now have to find new people, especially male actors as we have reserved the TV studio for tomorrow to film the chorus part of our video.

Camera Workshop

Today we had our first hands-on camera workshop. We were taught how to use many different camera settings as many of us including me have very little or no experience of working with a camera before. We were showed how to adjust brightness, how to use manual focus, depth of field and were generally given some useful tips on how to use the camera efficiently and get the best results. We were then given time to practice some of the techniques ourselves. We were split into groups and given an HD camera to practice on. It was a lot like the one in the picture below.

I have found this workshop extremely useful and enjoyable as it will make filming our music video much easier as I wont be facing as many technical issues as I believe I would have encountered without this workshop.

Recce (TV studio)

This is the reconnaissance for the TV studio in Leyton Sixth Form College. There are numerous electrical power sources available as well as enough space for camera placed on a tripod and a couple of artificial lights. There is a black wall which we plan to use as our background to create the right mood. It is useful for us to film in a studio as our first session in order to gain more confidence with the camera before filming in other locations where there won't be anyone on hand to help us out. We have asked a technician to help us to set-up lights and position the camera correctly on the day.
I have booked the studio in advance to make sure we have enough time to film and that it is available when we need it.

Location Release Form (Flat)

Risk Assessment (cafe)

 

Risk Assessment (Flat)

 

There are not a lot of risks involved because it is a safe, residential area. However I have identified 1 risk.

 

 

Recce (flat)

 

This is the corridor that will be used for filming the characters getting out of the flat and walking towards the lift. It is quite narrow but there is sufficient amount of space for two people to walk together and position the camera and the tripod comfortably as well. The camera will have to be fully charged as there are no power sockets available in the corridor.

This is the lift that we will use for the two characters (couple to get down-stairs). There is quite a lot of space near the lift to position the camera and capture a few shot reverse-shots of them. The lift itself is quite adequate size and the two characters will be filmed comfortably. There will have to be a camera operator in the lift with characters so it is vital to be careful while filming as there is a mirror on one side of the lift, therefore we will have to make sure that only the characters are in shot.

 

These are the stairs that will be used by the main male character to get downstairs when he decides to follow the other two characters. This will have to be filmed in stages as we will need to show him walking down the stairs but in order to not make it too long we will use editing to progress the story. There is more than enough space to position the camera and the actor. camera will be moved a couple of times to capture the actor in different stages.

 

 

All three characters will end up downstairs. The couple will be filmed getting out of the lift, and the main character will be captured lying of the floor. Then there will mainly be close-ups of the girl and the boy shot-reverse-shot to show the changing emotions. There are power-sockets available for the camera, but it will still mostly work on the battery charged before-hand.

 

 

 

 

Story-Board #4

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At the beggining after the close-up of hands we will have a shot reverse shot of the 2 characters.

 

After the two-shot of friends show them both individually in close-up, cut to the main boy a couple of time to emphesize the importance of his reaction.

 

At the start show a two-shot of the couple at the table, then cut to the close-up of the guy watching them. Shot reverse shot of he guy and the girl to show the contrast of their reaction.

 

at the end shot reverse  shot of the guy on the floor and the girl crying.

 

 

 

Pre - Production Documents

This was the last week to give in all the pre-production documents. We have completed all the work, except for the actors talent release forms, we have arranged a full crew meeting tomorrow at lunch time when we will get the actors to sign the forms as well as talk to them about what we expect from them. We will also give out the lyrics of the song so that they have time to learn them before we start filming on Friday.

Planning The Filming #1

Today, we have discussed all the actors that have auditioned for us on Friday. We have decided who we want to appear in our music video and wrote them an email saying what we want them to do next and what our plans are.

We have also realized that for our video to look professional we have to consider ethnic groups that will be represented in it. We came to a conclusion that in order to make the video conventional and consistent, if we to use a white male actor as a main character then we have to maintain the theme and use a female actor that belongs to the same or similar ethnic group.

As there was no one that would fall under that description out of the people that auditioned we have decided that I should be the one who does it.

We have agreed that I would think about it until Wednesday and do it if we are not able to find anyone until Friday.

Editing Workshop

Over the past week, we have spent two lessons learning to work with Final cut Pro - a piece of software for editing videos.
We were given a series of rough cut videos and were asked to edit them together, as well as add music, special effects and transitions.

I found it interesting as I was able to see how the video comes together, furthermore, these skills will be very useful when we have to edit our own video, this exercise also gave me a little more practice of working on a MAC computer as it quite a bit different from Windows and takes some getting use to. It is good because when we will be editing our own video there will not be a lot of time to waste.

Auditions #2

Today, we have organised another audition session to make sure we have enough people, and to be able to choose the right people for the roles. We will make the final decitions on Monday and contact the actors. We also need to agree as a group on days and times that we are all available to film the video, and to make sure the locations are acailable as well.

Story-Board #3

Today we have continued work on the storyboard, and have almost finished.
We have also agreed that it would be easier to understand and make sense of our narrative if our characters would have names.

Story-Board #2

On Thursday we have continued working on the storyboard and have made a lot of progress. I have noticed also that with a storyboard it is easier to visualise the action. We will mainly focus on the facial expressions, using it to create an atmosphere for the video. The mood will be quite sad, which will be supported by lighting, gestures, camera angles and acting. With our potential actors in mind I was able to think more chronologically correctly about the camera shots required to achieve what we set out to which is to illustrate the fantastic and imaginative lyrics of the song.

Auditions #1

Yesturday, we held auditions to get actors for our music video. Not many people turned up, but the ones that did were asked to show us different facial expressions as it is the focus point of our narrative idea. After we explained what the song is and what the narrative idea is going to be, the ones that were interested signed up, by leaving their names and contact details. As there is still time, we decided that we will do another audition next week so that we have enough actors for our narrative and also to enable us to have a choice and pick the right people for the roles.

Pre - Production

Today, we have made a poster to announce the auditions for our music video. We have decided that this is the best way to find enough actors for our video. We plan to complete all the auditions in one day and have a complete set of actors chosen by the end of the week, so that we can start working on the next stage, like preparing release and risk assessment forms.

 

We have also started work on our storyboard today. We have planned the first 20seconds of our music video.