Planning the Third Shoot

Planning the Third Shoot

On 2nd January we will be shooting the third lot of footage for our music video. We will be filming the bonfire scene in Coral's Nan's garden and plan to shoot from about 15.00 until 19.00. Since we will be using fire, it is very important that we risk assess the shoot properly and make sure everyone is sensible and aware. Below is our shooting schedule and risk assessment for the day.

Shooting - Day 2

Shooting - Day 2

We shot the second lot of footage for our video on 21st December. We were shooting 2 key scenes in our video - the scene where Olivia-Mae finds the letter and the party/gathering scene where we see Ruth flirting with Jenny. Unfortunately Anica could not join us on the day, but we still managed to get everything done fairly smoothly.

The day was quite long, with us arriving at about 9AM and not leaving until about 4PM. For this reason we brought several snacks and drinks to keep us going throughout the day, taking breaks when we needed them. We were all exhausted when we first arrived due to the early hour (especially during the holidays) but quickly got into the process, setting up and preparing for the day. We filmed the scenes with just Coral and Crystal in the morning, stopping at midday for lunch. Our extras began to arrive around then and after a quick pizza lunch we were ready to shoot. One of our extras dropped out at the last minute, but fortunately the friend whose house we were borrowing was willing to be in the video. The extras all got along really well, both with us and each other, and the filming was remarkably smooth. The only problem we encountered was a broken guitar string which looked bad in the shot, but we just removed the string and carried on filming.

Overall, the day passed smoothly, with us shooting everything we needed to despite having to work with a larger group of people. The extras were all very helpful and listened to us well, which definitely contributed to the successful shoot we had. All in all, it was a very good and productive day.

Choosing Extras

Choosing Extras

On 21st December we will be needing extras for a party/gathering scene. We therefore need to choose a good group of people to be extras as the outcome of our shoot depends on them behaving well and not causing us too much strain. As there is no dialogue in our video and the acting is not particularly hard we do not need to look for amazing actors. Instead, we have focused on finding people with the right 'indie' aesthetic we are aiming for in our music video, choosing people who will concentrate, get along well and not be too camera shy. We will need 4 extras and have decided on 3 of our friends and Sam's younger brother. The friends we have chosen all have an indie aesthetic, are sensible and know each other so will get on quite well. Sam's brother is also quite friendly, so will hopefully get on well with everyone else, plus has an indie aesthetic for us to work with.

Planning the Second Shoot

Planning the Second Shoot

On 21st December we will be filming the second lot of film for our video. We will be shooting the letter scene in the morning and group scene in the afternoon at one of our friend's house. This will be an interesting day as we will be filming with other actors than ourselves, meaning that organisation will be key. We have chosen a good, reliable group of people, however, so we hope that the day will run smoothly. We will be filming from about 9.00 until 16.30, so it could be quite a tiring day. Below is our shooting schedule and risk assessment.

Shooting - Day 1

Shooting - Day 1

The 10th December was the first day of shooting our music video. We planned to shoot several sequences, including the opening with Olivia-Mae and Ruth walking together, the scenes of them walking through the woods, and the found footage scenes with the dog. Due to cynophobia (fear of dogs) Anica did not join us on the shoot, although my mum came along to act as the dog handler.

When we got to the location, we found the weather to be a little different than what we had hoped. We had initially pictured sunlit fields and light shining through the woods; we arrived to find the day overcast and foggy with a light rain. However, instead of returning home and rescheduling the shoot for another day, we decided to carry on filming, as the fog made the fields seem atmospheric and indie, creating a beautiful effect in the camera. So, we pulled on our raincoats and started shooting our video. Of course, there were some downsides to the weather. Firstly, we had to make sure that our cast and camera all stayed dry, which included getting a certain person (me) to hold an umbrella over the camera. We also found our time with the dog cut short, as he gets wet very quickly and we didn't want to keep him in the rain for too long. We made up for this by shooting shots with him at the very beginning and filming shots of just Olivia-Mae and Ruth later. We also decided not to have them climb trees, as this could be very dangerous and we didn't want to spoil the shoot with a trip to A&E. One advantage of the weather (other than it's beauty) was that our location was basically empty, so we got our pick of places to film without having to worry about other people ruining our shots. One later disadvantage of the weather, however, was that we didn't manage to catch golden hour as we had aimed to, as the clouds stopped the sunlight from getting through. At this point the fog had mostly cleared, removing that effect, but fortunately Sam had brought a canister of fake fog along with us so we could still make it look indie. We managed to finish our shoot just as the sky was beginning to get dark, reaching the car park just as night was beginning to fall.

In the end, we managed to film everything we needed to. Although the weather wasn't what we had initially hoped for we actually think that it might make our video look better and more indie as fog and rain is a convention of the genre, plus it reflects the mood of our piece. All in all, it was quite a successful day, if a very damp one.

Planning the First Shoot

Planning the First Shoot

On the 10th December (tomorrow), we will be shooting the first lot of footage for our piece. We will be filming the opening in the field, the close-ups of Olivia-Mae and Ruth walking, and the 'found footage' parts of our video. We plan to film in the fields and woods of Shotover (as seen in our locations post) and will be filming from 13.30 to about 16.00. Below is our shooting schedule and risk assessment for the day:

Biffy Clyro's Rearrange

Biffy Clyro's Rearrange

Biffy Clyro recently released a music video for 'Rearrange', the song we are using for our coursework, so I decided to watch it to see how they had interpreted the song and how their video differed from ours.

Biffy Clyro's video leans more towards the disjuncture end of the video narrative scale. Although both our idea and theirs are examples of amplification, with both focusing on the idea of losing a loved one, our idea is much more rooted in a real life narrative  than theirs, which is more focused on visuals and aesthetics. For example, in their video there are lots of shots of the lead singer behind some blurred glass, which are visually beautiful and evoke a feeling of sadness without presenting it in a narrative form. The only storytelling in their video comes near the end, when we see the singer with a woman. The only other evidence of her presence comes in shots of a pair of female hands stroking and manipulating his face. This makes us build our own story about what happened, creating a sense of mystery surrounding the events. This contrasts strongly with our idea for the video, where we clearly present a narrative to the audience.

It was interesting seeing the difference between the two interpretations of the song and the different ways that we are presenting somewhat similar messages. The aesthetics of their video are very beautiful and emotive, whereas ours conveys these feelings through narrative and story.

Ancillary Designs

Ancillary Designs

We started the designing process by thinking of some images/ideas that we thought could be used in our digipak and advert. We decided that there would be synergy between our digipak & advert and also that they would somewhat correspond with our video. We therefore began thinking of ideas relating to our storyboard. The words are listed below:

• Orangey colours
• Mysterious person looking at projection
• Projection of Cryss looking at Cryss
• Cryss with fire in her eyes
• Burning guitar - Cryss/person in background?
• Broken pocket watch
• Fire
• Projection room - rearranging
• Puzzle with image (from music video?)
• Burning trees
• Fields and trees

Using these words, we then started designing our digipak and advert, starting with the digipaks as the advert is trying to sell these. We came up with 3 designs for both tasks:

     Digipaks

Digipak 1

Digipak 2

Digipak 3

     Adverts

Advert 1

Advert 2

 

Advert 3

Advert 4

Locations

Locations

This music video has several locations which could be a challenge. We went location scouting in Shotover woods which is accessible but also offers a variety of locations.

Field 1:

Possible issues:

Getting there might be difficult. It requires a 20 minute walk through the woods which in itself isn't strenuous, but we might be carrying quite a lot of equipment with us.

The weather is also something to be taken into account. Because this field is wide and open and we will be standing still when filming this, we could get quite cold. This means we will need to wear warm clothing and prepare for wet weather. There is plenty of tree cover nearby if it does rain heavily, but we will need to be able to keep the equipment dry.

If we want to film at sunset or sunrise (golden hour) we will have a short window of time in which we can film because of the dramatically changing light qualities during golden hour. In addition to this, we will need to get home quickly after filming if we film in the evening because it gets dark quickly, and this location is a 20 minute walk from streetlamps.

If it rains heavily before we film, the ground will be very muddy. We will need to wear appropriate footwear.

Notes on location:

This field is the busiest of the three fields I looked at, so we may need to wait for people to walk out of frame if we are filming towards the path (not in the photo above). However, it shouldn't be hard to frame the path out, and so we shouldn't have to worry about that.

Field 2:

Possible issues:

Same as field 1 as it's right next to it

Notes on location:

This is our favourite of the fields because the grass is longer and unkempt. Sam has filmed here in the past and says the grass gives a really nice look on camera. The grass has always been long when he's been here in the past, so we doubt it will be cut between now and when we film, plus it's winter time. It's a quieter field, so we're unlikely to have to stop and wait for walkers.

Field 3:

Possible issues:

Same as field 1 and 2 - they're all adjacent fields

Notes on location:

The biggest field of the three. Shorter grass like the first field, but also has a path that goes through the field, so framing people out will be harder. It is busier than the second field, but not as busy as the first.

Forest path:

Possible issues:

All the generic issues outlined for field 1. This is slightly easier to access than the fields, but will also be busier as it is a path.

Notes on location:

This could be cool because it's very symmetrical. If the subject was standing in the middle, it would create a beautiful effect.

Forested area 1:

Possible issues:

In addition to already established issues when filming in the woods there is quite an abundance of thorns. However they should be surmountable.

Notes on location:

While it doesn't come out well in the photo this location could work really well because it is an accessible thicket of long grass and shrubbery. With a subject, movement and haze, this location will really show its depth.

Forested area 2:

Possible issues:

In addition to the already established issues when filming in the woods, it is also right next to a path.

Notes on location: Really good location if it doesn't bother the actors that it is right next to a path. The trees create a really desolate and lonely feel which would be good for parts of the video.

Campfire:

Possible issues: Transport, traffic noise, it will be shot and night, so everything will be very dark

Notes on location: This is in Coral's (who will play Ruth) grandparent's back garden. Easily accessible with a house nearby in case of emergency

Costumes

Costumes

I decided to research potential costumes for our characters in the video. The costumes the actors wear are very important in terms of showing both character and genre, with the clothes being part of the media language that form the video. Since the characters will have several outfits, as the video is set at different times, I decided to look into general costumes instead of specific ones. I did this by creating a moodboard of indie clothing, shown below. This can be used to give suggestions to our actors about what they could potentially wear to the shoots. General trends include woolen clothing, checkered shirts, denim, lace, flowers and a sense of comfort and style. There are also themes of vintage and distressed clothing.

The one costume that we thought about in more detail was the projector room outfit for Crystal. This outfit has to be mysterious and dark, so I thought she could possibly wear black leggings, black boots, a black top and a long, flowing black shirt over the top; below is an example of potential clothes she could wear.

Props

Props

In our music video there will be many props that we will need to get. In order to make sure we don't forget anything, we looked through our storyboard to see what we would need for our video.

What we will need:

• projector - to create the projected images necessary for our video
• pocket watch - we wanted to show the idea that Olivia-Mae was waiting for someone, but didn't want to use a phone as it was too modern; therefore, we decided to use a pocket watch to fit with the indie convention
• lighter - Olivia-Mae looks for the lighter but instead finds the letter - needed for plot purposes
• letter - a note from another character (Jenny) that shows Ruth's unfaithfulness
• guitar - for Ruth to play with Olivia-Mae in the garden, another indie convention
• broken guitar - to set on fire to show Olivia-Mae's rage

After deciding what props we would need, we set about sourcing the props. Below are ideas for who could provide the props, along with pictures of them where possible.

projector - Sam
pocket watch - Hannah's sister

lighter - Hannah or Crystal

letter - Coral (who will play Ruth)

guitar - Sam

broken guitar - Joseph (a friend)

Actors

Actors

We need three actors to play the characters in our video, plus a few extras to play friends in the get-together scene. Crystal will still be playing Olivia-Mae, the main character whose perspective the video is from, as she acted in our AS video and we know her abilities. We also need someone to play Ruth, the girlfriend who cheats, and another to play Jenny, the girl Ruth cheats with. We have decided that our friend Coral will play Ruth as she has acting experience and we know her quite well. We have also decided that I will play Jenny as I also have acting experience and know the group well. The fact that Jenny is a minor role also allows me to be involved in the actual filming most of the time, meaning that we shouldn't be short of hands. We will also need a few extras to play the friends. We will find these people according to availability, ensuring that they are helpful and focused people with an indie-esque look.

Storyboards

Storyboards

To prepare for the shoot we decided to make a storyboard of our idea. Storyboarding is helpful as it allows us to visualise our idea and prepare what we need to shoot and how. Last year we found storyboarding to be an incredibly useful part of our piece, knowing what we were going to do saved time and helped the shoot go quickly and smoothly. Although there will likely be some improvisation while on set, it is good to have a plan for how we want our shoot to go.

Rearrange Lyric Analysis

Rearrange Lyric Analysis

I decided to analyse the lyrics of 'Rearrange' to see how they could fit into our original music video idea. This song matches the tone of our last song well, so finding specific themes in the song will help us tailor our idea more and create a better overall music video. It will also help us match themes or ideas in our video with specific lyrics, helping us make a more finessed video.

I've got a lot of love and I've got a lot of ways to show it

But you should know by now that I'm broken and I need your help

I wrote a hundred songs to make sense of the meaningless

I'll un-write them all if you help me clear up this mess

Cause I would never break your heart

I would only re-arrange

All the other working parts will stay in place

Listen to me when I say, darling you're my everything

I didn't mean to hesitate, please stay with me

I've got a lot of rage and I'm struggling with ways to control it

When I wake in the morning I've forgotten what it is to cope

I scratch at my eyes and it renders me visionless

Even in the dark, what I want isn't what I need

Cause I would never break your heart

I would only rearrange

All the other working parts will stay in place

Listen to me when I say, darling you're my everything

I didn't mean to hesitate, please stay with me

Cause I would never break your heart

I would only rearrange

All the other working parts will stay in place

Listen to me when I say, darling you're my everything

I didn't mean to hesitate, please stay with me

This song seems to be about the idea of a break-up or the end of a romantic relationship. The writer seems to be struggling to cope with the idea that their partner is breaking up with them, seeming to be begging their partner to stay with them.

Lyrics begging their partner to stay with them - relates to the idea of Ruth walking out and Olivia-Mae's attempts to keep her, even though she can see the end coming

Lyrics involving the idea of changing or rearranging - relates to the manipulation of the natural world and it's events by the character in the projection room

Lyrics about how they feel - feelings of sadness and anger relate to the feelings of Olivia-Mae throughout the video

Lyrics about what they are willing to do - relates to Olivia-Mae's desire to stay with Ruth

Changing Song

Changing Song

After working very hard to try and get an original song recorded, we eventually felt that it wasn't working as well as we would like it to. None of us are particularly experienced in recording a song, so we were learning the process as we went on. Although it was a really valuable experience, helping us to learn new skills and letting us establish the tone we were going for, we just didn't think it was working particularly well and have decided to change song. Below are some of the versions we tried out:

After deciding not to use Missing You, we started looking for a new song. We quickly settled on Biffy Clyro's Rearrange because the tone matched the tone of our old song well. We were able to keep many aspects of our original idea for the video. However, we did have to change our ideas to shift the artist from Olivia-Mae/Crystal to the existing band Biffy Clyro.

Our Idea

Our Idea

We have decided that our video will center on Olivia-Mae and be based, like the song, on a cheating ex-girlfriend. We liked the idea of having a slightly confusing video, and decided to have 2 settings - the 'real world' and a mysterious projection room where an unknown figure (later revealed to be Olivia-Mae) manipulates footage of the 'real world'. The basic narrative of the video would follow the breakdown of their relationship, starting at a positive point, then showing the realisation that Olivia-Mae's partner (named Ruth in the video) is cheating on her (with a girl named Jenny), ending with Ruth walking out on her. In this way, our video will engage in Todorov's narrative theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium, equilibrium, as the video will start with them together (equilibrium), the Olivia-Mae realising that Ruth has cheated on her (disequilibrium), then the two breaking up (new equilibrium). Throughout this we would have the footage of the real world be manipulated and changed by Olivia-Mae in the projection room, for example by making Ruth fade and a guitar catch on fire. Our video would end with Olivia-Mae closing her eyes in the real world and opening them in the projection room, showing that the real world manipulation was her re-visiting her memories and changing them to express her anger.

We were slightly unsure whether to make it obvious that the song is based on a gay relationship. On one hand, the song is based on one, so showing this would defy societal hetero norms, making our video accepting and refreshing. On the other hand, however, this may scare some people away, which would not be good for a smaller artist, plus showing the negative side of a gay relationship may hurt the cause instead. However, we decided to go against the norm and make it clear that the relationship is homosexual as the LGBTQ+ community needs more representation in the music video genre.

Recording 'Missing You'

Recording 'Missing You'

Here is a behind the scenes video of us recording 'Missing You', the song we are planning to use for our A2 music video.

Indie Screenshot Analysis

Indie Screenshot Analysis

Here we analysed screenshots of indie music videos and annotated on top of a chosen shot. Within these shots we can see what they do visually well. We took a still and decided what made them indie and unique according to the typical conventions. Each shot has at least one person in the frame and they're all artistic in some way. All portray a sense of darkness whether in colour or through imagery use through some visual effects.