Editing the Music Video

We have started to edit our music video as we now feel we have enough footage to do so. This clip shows what we have done so far.

From this, we have been able to see that part of the narrative thread is not going to work as we had hoped and therefore we will remove it. This is the part with the school as we don't feel that the concept will work with the rest of the footage, therefore, we will change the general narrative concept while keeping to the fact that the girl is hiding something. 

      By producing this we have also seen the need to re-film some of the performance element, in particular the studio sections as the artist is not animated enough and therefore does not show the passion we want as a part of our star image. 

Starting to Edit

When we started to edit, the first thing we did was look through the footage we had. This allowed us to see what we had to work with. We then downloaded the song and began to edit.
      As we haven't yet been able to shoot in the studio, we decided that we would put another shot in and put a title in that says 'replace/studio' so that we would know what to replace it with. At first we thought this was a good idea, however, we discovered shortly after that this wasn't working as we couldn't just note that we would replace a shot once we got the filming done. We were also not happy with this as we couldn't actually see that the shots looked good if we didn't have the right ones yet.
     Another thing that we noticed when filming is that part of the narrative is lost as we don't have enough footage to connote that at school, the girl is friends with the popular, but nasty girls. We have since decided that we need to take more footage inside school to allow us to accurately show the narrative thread in our video.
     Following from this, we will be completing all of the shooting before we start to edit again.

Review of Filming 23/10/2015

When filming the scenes at my house, I feel as though we were very successful,as we were able to overcome any problems we had by finding suitable solutions.
     One problem that we had when setting up the equipment was working out where to put the camera. This was a problem because of the furniture in the room. We were able to move somethings out, however, not everything. This was particularly a problem when we wanted to take shots of the girl looking in the mirror but also show her reflection in it. Eventually, we were able to find a suitable place to put it and were able to film the shots successfully.
     Another problem that we had was the fact that we couldn't turn the lights on in the room or the hallway as their reflection would show in the windows. Instead, we decided to use the outdoor lighting kit to help give the room a bit of light as without it, it looked too dark.
     When we were filming, we had to sit on the bed to be able to take certain shots. Because the mattress moved when people sat on it, we decided that only the person taking that shot would be allowed to sit on the bed. This was done to avoid any camera movement when someone moved.
     We were able to work very efficiently in with the time we had, spending a total of 3 hours filming in the room. We split the time so that we could take a range of shots in the room. We took shots of 4 different activities in the room, some of which were in the story board, some which we decided to take on the day, and we split the time so that we spent about 40 minutes taking shots from different angles for each activity. I think that this worked really well as it allowed us to ensure that we had a range of footage that we could use.
     A second success is that the girl we had cast was able to take our directions well and followed what we asked her to do. This was important because it meant that we could work well and efficiently while getting the shots we needed. The girl was able to accurately portray her character which is important for the narrative element.
     Overall, I believe that we were successful in filming and think that we have enough footage to use when we begin to edit.

What Tribe Does Our Artist Belong To?

Lighting the Studio

As we will be using the studio during the filming of our music video, we wanted to test out the lighting to make sure we were able to have it the way we planned. In this part of the video, we wanted to artist to be lit against a completely black backdrop. This has allowed us to get a better understanding of the ways in which we should light the studio when we film in school.

Organising Our Shoot Day

We found that the easiest way to communicate as a group would be to use Facebook as this enabled us to send direct messages to a group of people as well as see who has read the message. This proved very useful when it came to organising our group for the film day and making sure we had permission to film in certain locations and sharing links and ideas. I think this was a successful method of keeping everyone up to date with what was going on and making sure we were all on the same page.

     We also used Facebook chat to talk to our cast members and keep them informed about when they would be needed to film. This was very important as we did not have everyone's mobile numbers but did have them all on Facebook. We sent out group messages about what to wear, sending example pictures as well as telling them the basic details of where to be and when to get there. This was very successful as on the days that we filmed, our cast showed up in outfits very similar to the ones we had asked them to bring, this was particularly important for the artist as we needed specific clothing to connote that he was an indie artist. We found that although we gave our artist the lyrics in person, it was very helpful to remind him of where to find them and emphasise the importance of learning them by messaging him as if he did not know them, then we would have to organise to film a different day and the performance element may not have been very convincing.  

.

Making the Props

As we are using a photo album as one of the props, we needed to decorate the cover to make it more interesting as well as take photos to put inside it. We decided that while we can't put the photos in yet as these will be taken on the first day of filming outside of school and we need to have the photos developed, Sam would start to decorate the front so that we would have less to do later.

Review of Filming 18/10/2015

Filming on location had both positives and negatives which meant that not everything we wanted to do went to plan. 

     The first problem we had was the fact that despite asking the cast to turn up at 1:30 so that we could leave at 2, one of the cast wasn't able to get to the meeting point until 2. This did put us behind schedule, however, when we were waiting, we decided that it would be an efficient use of time to get everything into the car ready to leave when the cast member arrived. 

     At the first location, the forest, we set the equipment up very quickly, making sure the spirit level on the camera was correct as we wanted the shots to be level. We managed to take a lot of shots here, including most of the ones we had on the list that we produced to help us. We had planned to spend 1 hour on this part of the filming to make sure that we had enough time to get everything else we wanted done, but, we stayed in this location for about 30 minutes longer than planned which would impact the schedule for the rest of the day. 

    We then moved to another part of the forest to do the lip sync element and while we set up the equipment properly, the artist changed costume. We had previously asked the artist to learn the lyrics, he had not learnt them as well as we had hoped. This was a problem as it meant that not all the shots we took are good enough to use. We did manage to get a few shots which we really liked as well as some interesting tracking shots of the artist moving around the forest. For this particular shot, we directed the artist to mimic what Tom Odell does when in the forest performing in the video 'I Know'. Luckily, we will also be filming in the school studio at a later date, therefore, there is still time for him to learn the lyrics and we can use this footage as well. 

     We had also bought theatrical smoke bombs to use for this section as we had seen similar effects in other indie music videos. The first problem we had with this was that they were very difficult to light, but once we got one lit, we were able to see what would happen. Unfortunately, this did not work as well as we wanted because the smoke did not spread in the way we thought it would, this could've been because we did not light enough of them at once, causing the smoke to be concentrated in one area. A second problem with this was that the smoke disappeared quite quickly as a result of the wind. Despite this, we did manage to take a couple of shots with the smoke in the background which could look effective when we come to edit the video. 

     After this, we then packed up and moved to our next location which was the lake. When we arrived, we were already behind schedule, however, it turned out that this was beneficial as we realised that it would not be dark enough for the final location at the time we had planned. Additionally, once we had parked the car at this location, it started to rain, so, we waited in the car for a bit until the rain stopped. When the rain stopped, Sam, Bianca and I got all the equipment out and started to set up while the cast changed costume. When we started to film, it was clear to us that the cast were not acting in the way we wanted as they were sitting too far apart to connote that they were a couple. We therefore asked the cast to sit closer and act like they were in love. This took a few shots but they then got into what we asked them to do. While we were filming, it did start to rain which gave us an idea of a different shot which we could take. We asked the cast to put the picnic mat over their heads and walk off like that to avoid the rain. 

      Our final location for the day was the view point. Again, when we arrived, it was raining so we had to wait until it stopped to film, fortunately, the rain did not last long. The cast changed costumes for a final time while we set up, taking with us the lantern and the sparklers. We took a few shots of just the couple standing looking out as well as some with the lantern which looked very effective as it started to get dark quickly after out arrival. We really liked how you could see the lights in the distance becoming brighter as it got darker. We then took out the sparklers which were very difficult to light as the lighter did not have much gas in and the matches didn't want to work. Finally, we got the matches to work and the sparklers were lit. We were very happy with the shots that we took of the couple playing around with the sparklers. As well as this, we took a few shots of the artist lighting some sparklers which we put in the ground. This looked nice as an over the shoulder shot with the girl watching. Another shot which we decided to take here that we thought may be good to end the video with was a bunch of sparklers being thrown up into the air and landing on the ground. 

     Once we had finished at this location. we then went back to Bianca's house and finished the day. Overall, I think that the shooting was fairly successful as although there were several problems we encountered, we were able to overcome them and take some good shots. 

Perfect Audience Member

I looked at some of my friends on Facebook's profiles to try to find someone who I believe fits into our target audience. To do this, I looked at their tastes in music and some of the other information on their pages in order to see if their interests fit those that our target audience would have.
    I chose that would fit into our target audience was Ben Kershaw. From looking at his profile, it is clear that he listens to indie music by artists like Tom Odell, George Ezra and Hozier, all of which we have used as inspiration when constructing Jay's star image. I therefore believe that he would like our artist as he is similar to the ones Ben has already stated that he likes.
    I then looked at some of his photos and from this I could see that Ben dresses in a similar way to how we wanted to dress out artist, wearing simple, casual clothing. Additionally, from these photos, I can see that Ben spends a lot of time outside and therefore, could share the idea of being in touch with nature with our artist, Jay, and so would connect with him in this way.

Why Use the Forest?

Interesting Shots We Could Use

Review of Filming 14/10/2015

Filming in school was more challenging than we initially thought. There are a number of reasons for this including the short amount of time available, other students walking past and the limited space we had around us.
     The first problem that we had was the fact that we only had about 40 minutes to film. This was because we had to set up and dismantle the equipment which took about 10 minutes in total, wait for the cast to arrive after lessons, get them in costume and tell them what they needed to do. This meant that we had to ensure we were being efficient with  the time that we had left and film the shots that we needed smoothly.
     Another issue that occurred when filming was the fact that other students were walking past when we were trying to film. Despite a member of the group who wasn't filming at that point attempting to tell others that we were filming, students still walked in front of the camera. This could cause continuity errors if we were to use these shots as different people would be in the background, therefore, we will try not to use these shots.
     The third problem that arose when filming was the limited space we had to take the shots. This was due to obstructions such as doors, lockers and balconies which meant that there were only certain places we could film and get everything we wanted in the shot. Despite this, we were able to take the shots we wanted by placing the camera very carefully in specific locations and moving it to several different angles.
     Moreover, one of the girls who was meant to be playing a friend was unable to turn up and while at first we were a bit thrown by this, we decided that actually it didn't matter and would not effect the audience interpretation of the narrative thread.
     In spite of these difficulties, I feel that we were successful in filming because we took a range of shots from many different angles as well as the fact that we were able to take a number of shots and will have lots to choose from when it comes to editing the video.
     Another success of our filming at school was the fact that the members of cast worked really well together, taking directions from us and accurately representing what we wanted them to do. As a result of this, some of the shots we took would be really effective in helping to illustrate our narrative in the video.
     Overall, I think that our filming was a success and that although we had a few problems, we were still able to get everything done that we needed to do.

Updated Timeline

Street Photography

Our Casting Choices

THE GIRLFRIEND
Zoe will play the girlfriend in our music video. We chose her because she is a young girl who is around the same age as the character is. She has taken drama and so we know that she will be able to act well and give a convincing performance. Zoe is friendly with the boy who will portraying her boyfriend which is helpful because it means that she will be comfortable to pretend to be his girlfriend and be very useful for when she is on the dates with the boyfriend and needs to act more relaxed.

THE BOYFRIEND/ARTIST
We have cast Justin as the boyfriend/artist. This is because as well as taking drama, he plays the guitar. This was a very important element for us in the casting process because to help connote that our artist is organic we wanted to feature the guitar to help show authenticity and other talents. The ability to play the guitar is also important because the instrument can be heard on the track.
Another reason we chose to cast Justin is that he is the right age to play the boyfriend and act as our artist because we want to create a young indie artist. Justin is friends with the girl who will be playing the girlfriend which makes the performance as a couple more convincing.

THE FRIENDS
Liat, Vic and Naomi will be playing the roles of the friends. All three are able to act and therefore will be able to fulfil the role well. The girls are all friends which therefore helps because this relationship can be used effectively, avoiding the problem of having to make people who aren't friends act as though they are.

Filming in School

As we want to film in school, for example in the studio, we can only do this at lunch. This means that we will only have at most 1 hour to film each shoot day.
     On the 14/10/2015 we will film by the lockers. Lunch will begin 12:10 and we will allow 15 minutes for the cast to get into costume and get ready while we set-up. We will then very quickly brief the cast, starting to film at 12:30. We will film until 1:15 to allow everyone to get lunch before lessons start.
     On the 15/10/2015 we will film by the lockers. Lunch will begin 12:35 and we will allow 5 minutes for the cast to get into costume and get ready while we set-up. We will then very quickly brief the cast, starting to film at 12:45. We will film until 1:20 to allow everyone to get lunch before lessons start.

Day Plan - 25/10/2015

This will be our second filming day where we focus on the girlfriend only. We have created a day plan for this to help us organise our time alongside the call lists.

10:00 - Arrival at Miriam's house
10:10 - Briefing - talk about what we want to do
10:20 - Set-up and cast into costume
10:30 - Start filming - see call list/ timeline
11:30 - Break
11:50 - Costume change and drive to lake
12:10 - Set up
12:20 - Start filming the lake
1:20 - Pack up and drive to Bianca's house
1:30 - Depart

Day Plan - 18/10/2015

In order for our filming day to run smoothly, we have produced a day plan to help us alongside the call lists.

1:30 - Arrival - Bianca's house
1:35 - Briefing - talk to cast about what we want to do
1:45 - Costume and make-up - most will be prior to arrival - touch ups
1:50 - Go to location 1 - forest
2:00 - Set-up
2:10 - Start filming section 1 - see call list/timeline
3:00 - Start filming section 2 - see call list/timeline
3:50 - Pack up and go to location 2 - lake
4:00 - Set-up and cast change costume
4:10 - Start filming section 3 - see call list/timeline
5:00 - Pack up and go back to Bianca's house
5:10 - Break - eat, rest and check footage
6:00 - Costume change - touch up make-up
6:15 - Go to location 3 - view point
6:25 - Set up
6:35 - Start filming section 4 - see call list/timeline
7:40 - Pack up and go back to Bianca's house
7:45 - Depart

Star Image of Our Artist - The Performance Element

Call Lists

Star Image of Our Artist - The Look

Review of the Run Through

After filming the run through, we saw that there were a few things we need to change to make our artist give a better performance. This included this look, acting element and the lip sync itself.
     The boy is wearing glasses in the run through which is not something we wanted to include in our star image and we feel do not effectively connote an indie artist. We will ask they boy not to wear these on the day so that he looks better in the role.
     The other problem with his look is that he isn't wearing clothes that are typical indie clothing. The boy normally wears trainers, however, these are not something that feature in the look we are aiming for. Instead, we will ask him to wear a pair of brogues as these are more appropriate. Additionally, the top he is wearing is far to casual, so instead, he will wear a casual light denim shirt or a flannel shirt.
     The next problem we recognised was that in the run through, the boy was messing around a little and was not giving a convincing performance. This means that on the day, we need to be more firm with the directions we give him and make sure that he is more serious as this will help connote that the artist is a serious, authentic indie artist.
     In the run through, the lip syncing is not done very well. This is due to the fact that he doesn't know the lyrics and so when we have asked him to learn them as well as some chords for the guitar. This is vital for the performance element of the video as without it, he will not appear as a serious, organic artist who is passionate about the music. Without knowing the lyrics, he will not be able to give a convincing performance.
     From looking at this run through, it is clear what elements of the star image we need to work on.

More Locations

We will also be filming the my bedroom to show what the girl is like at home when she is getting ready to go out with her friends or with her boyfriend as well as when she is thinking about what she should do.
      We also want to use the school cafeteria as this is something that will highlight the social hierarchy of the school and show what her friends are like to others. The problem with this is we can't film at lunch time as there will be lots of other students in the cafeteria, making it very difficult to find space to film. This means that we may have to film here during free periods or after school, when the area is less busy.
     We will also film in the school hallways and by the lockers as planned. This will be used to highlight the nature of the friends and the hierarchy of the school. Both this location and the cafeteria are similar locations to films which have similar plots to that of this video and therefore they will help demonstrate our idea effectively.

Additional Props

Since our initial ideas about props, we have decided that we will use theatrical smoke. This will be used in the performance element as we have also decided to film this in the forest as well as the studio. We will use the smoke as this has been done in other indie music videos. In order to know how to use these, we will read the instructions as well as watching YouTube videos as this will make sure we know exactly what to do.

To light this we need to use matches. Matches are also needed to light the sparklers therefore we will bring some with us when filming the video.

     As we are dealing with props that involve fire, we will take a bucket of water with to put out the sparklers and any fires that could occur.

Further Feedback on Our Idea

Analysing the results of our survey from SamMullerMedia

Testing Our Colour Changing on the Run Through

After doing the run through, we thought that we may need to alter the colour of our footage to make it darker. In the original footage, despite us turning the main lights off, using the film lights, it came out too bright and you could see the creases in the curtain. As a result, we decided that we would test a colour change and see what happened.
     The advantages of making the colour darker include the fact that the audience wont be able to see the creases in the curtain as well as the loops at the top. Another reason we may do this with the actual footage is that we wanted the light to only show the artist, with a completely black background, which we can achieve by making the footage darker.

Review of the Animatic

When filming the animatic, we put the images on the storyboard to the music in order to see if it would work. While the majority is alright, there are some aspects which need improving.
     The first thing I noticed was that some of the shots are far too long and lose the effect they would have if they were shorter. The problem this causes is that the audience will get bored and therefore we need to add shots to prevent this from happening. In this animatic, it is clear that we could have more cuts per line than we do as we shouldn't cut to the line but rather to the beat in order to represent Goodwin's theory of the relationship between the music and the visuals.
     The next problem is that while some of the shots are cut to the beat, others aren't. This therefore doesn't make the video look professional as well as making it disorientating for the audience to watch. To solve this, we can take more shots as well as cut them in different places so that they match the beat of the music.
     From watching this, I also noticed that while some shots in the studio of the performance element are good and different, there are a lot of the same shots too, making this element very repetitive. This is fairly boring they are all front facing and in the studio. This is something that we had already considered being a problem, therefore, we will also film this in the forest to add interest. I also think that we can film around the artist from different angles. This is something I was inspired to do by Paolo Nutini's album cover for 'These Streets' which have images of Nutini at different angles. This could be effective in our video in showing our artist from different angles to make the audience see that he is organic and authentic in every way and has nothing to hide about who he is and his music.
     It also seems very cliché to have the girl in her room looking at scrapbooks so I thought it may be more effective to have her sitting by the lake on her own doing this and almost reliving her dates with the boy. Another  thing is that the school is a very over used location which therefore means the video will be less interesting for the audience. Instead, I thought we could have the boyfriend come to the girl's house while her friends are over and the friends could laugh at him when he tries to serenade her from her window.
     Overall, this was a very useful thing to do because it allowed us to see where there may be problems with our music video, allowing us to find alternatives to these before filming and then realising there is a problem.

Run Through of the Performance Element

In order to ensure that we had chosen the right person as our artist and to ensure that the performance space we wanted to use was suitable, we had a practice performance. This allowed us to see what we would need to do for the real thing, such as the directions we would need to give, how we should set up the studio as well as checking the lighting.

Video Feedback on Our Idea

To make sure that our idea appealed to our target audience, we asked some people some questions. This allowed us to evaluate our idea and make necessary changes.

This feedback showed that our target audience did like the idea which has assured us that the music video will appeal to them.

Animatic Storyboard

After drawing out the storyboard, we took pictures of it and edited them to the music. This was done to help us check that we not only had enough shots but that our shots were long enough and that the cuts we wanted to use were to the beat. It also helped us to visualize our video better.

Risk Assessment

It was very important that we consturcted a full risk assessment for all our locations based on how high the risk of each place was because this would help to avoid or at least minimise and danger or injuries. It also allowed us to construct a plan as to what to do if the danger occurred.

Poalo Nutini's Star Image

Tom Odell's Star Image

Audience Profiling