First Edit

Saturday (Second Shoot) Filming Review

On Saturday I took the camera borrowed from college to St Mary's Church having booked some time there in the morning, prior to a wedding in the afternoon.
I managed to film a fair amount of what I wanted and planned in my storyboard as well as some extra material as I always though that improvising according to the surroundings would be a key aspect of the production process for me. I have not had chance to review my footage yet as I did not want to put the SD card in a computer and risk virus trouble and the camera only had 1 minute of battery life left when we finished filming. I do intend to set up my project on an edit suite and beginning editing immediately however, giving me a good chance to inspect the quality of my footage.

Filming Tomorrow

I plan to film the majority of my music video tomorrow in St Mary's Church, Beverley. I booked a camera earlier in the week and will collect that today to avoid any further issues with unusual formats.

Yet More Issues

Having filmed some outside footage on Saturday I hoped today to import the footage onto the edit suites to begin editing the project. When we imported the files however we discovered that they are in an unusual format that is incompatible with our edit suites (or will mean filtering through the hundreds of different format settings) and, subsequently, I will have to re-shoot.
Also, because of the strange format, this would mean that I had to shoot the entirety of my video using the same camera which, as I discovered on Saturday, has a very short battery life when video recording in HD.

First Day of Filming

Today me and Phil went to East Park for the first day of filming. Though some of the material I got is okay, there were many issues that we encountered, chief among which was the weather. Though the sky was clear and bright which was good it was very very cold and also very windy making filming extremely difficult and particularly unpleasant for Phil. I also have realised that some of the shots I have planned, especially the penultimate shot were Phil in white at one side and black in the other touching hands in going to be very difficult to pull off as it is difficult to match Phil's hand height.
Below is the footage I managed to film today:

Ancillary Text Research

Filming Arrangements

I have now contacted a number of people from St Mary's Church and eventually got in contact with the Head Warden. My original plan was to film in the church this weekend as this makes up the bulk of the music video however as the warden is away this weekend I cannot get to film in the church until next Saturday. This is not a huge issue however as I still need to shoot the outside parts of my video which, weather permitting, will now be done this weekend.

Storyboard

A Brief History of Music Videos and Their Origin

Filming Issues

Throughout this week I have finalised my storyboard and also completed an animatic as can be seen below.
As I had these stages of the planning process finished I was looking to begin filming as soon as possible and possibly shoot the outdoor scenes this weekend. The weather forecast also is good for this weekend, sunny and mild, meaning it would be a perfect day for filming. Having contacted my main performer - Phil - to arrange and schedule some shooting he informed me that because of a recent close bereavement he has not been able to focus on learning the song. This would subsequently either mean that I have to put off shooting, giving me less editing time, or getting another performer at short notice. As another friend of mine, Kane, plays the guitar and is a Biffy Clyro fan he may be a suitable replacement although this will prove more awkward as we do not live near each other and nor does he live near my outdoor location.
This could prove to be an issue and I will try and arrange a resolution as best as possible.

Animatic

God and Satan Lyric Timings and Scripting

0.17 - I talk to god as much as I talk to satan
0.21 - 'Cause I want to hear both sides
0.24 - Does that make me cynical,
0.26 - There are no miracles and
0.29 - This is no miraculous life

0.33 - I savour hate as much as I crave love because
0.37 - I'm just a twisted guy
0.40 - Is this the pinnacle, Is this the pinnacle
0.44 - The pinnacle of being alive?
0.49 - Now I see the light

0.54 - Well I look up to god but I see trouble
0.58 - 'Cause this ain't a miracle
1.02 - I just want to take my chance to
1.06 - Live through a miracle

1.19 - I know for certain that
1.21 - Someone is watching but is it from up or down?
1.27 - I make you miserable you stick with me although
1.30 - You know I'm gonna ruin your life

1.35 - I talk to god as much as I talk to satan

KEY Grey: White costume singing. Black: Black costume singing. Green: Both singing simultaneously. Unhighlighted: Neither singing.

1.38 - 'Cause I wanna hear both sides
1.42 - Does that make me cynical,
1.44 - There are no miracles and
1.47 - This is no miraculous life
1.50 - We walk into the tide

1.56 - Well I look up to god but I see trouble
2.00 - 'Cause this ain't a miracle
2.05 - I just want to take my chance
2.08 - To live through a miracle

2.12 - When the see-saw snaps and splinters your hand
2.16 - Don't come crying to me
2.19 - I'll only see your good side
2.23 - And believe it's a miracle
2.27 - A miracle

2.29 - I slap the water and watch
2.32 - The fish dance to the ripples of us
2.36 - We're just dull blue duds
2.39 - Blinking eyes encased in rust
2.43 - This ain't a miracle
2.46 - This ain't a miracle
2.50 - This ain't a miracle
2.53 - This ain't a miracle
2.56 – Ooohhh
3.00 - Ooohhh

Risk Assessment

Hazards	Who is at risk?	Controls	Severity of Injury	Chance of Injury	Risk	Control Measures
Tripping hazards on steps in church and outside.	Performer and myself.	Avoid shooting moving scenes involving the steps.	Minor.	Low.	Low.	Do not use camera near steps.
Contact with stinging plants in park.	Performer and myself.	Be watchful filming in grassy areas.	Minor.	Moderate.	Low.	Avoid filming near grassy areas.
Falling into water in park.	Performer and myself.	Film from as greater distance possible – retaining focus and quality.	Moderate.	Low.	Low.	Not go too deep into water, avoid shooting too close to water where possible.
Tripping hazards with camera tripod.	Performer and myself.	Walk safely and carefully around camera area.	Minor to none.	Low.	Very Low.	Walk safely and carefully around camera area.

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My Audience

Make-Up and Costume

As explained in my 'Initial Ideas' post I intend to use two different costumes, one all black and one all white, to represent the conflicting attitudes that the lead character is torn between. I want to keep the costumes as minimal and plain as possible both to keep the focus on the performer and to emphasise the binary opposite ideology as much as possible. Below is an image (minus the hat) of what I imagine the costume will roughly look like, and the same but in black for the other costume.

After looking online I have found a few ways to recreate the look of a stubble beard using make-up and other materials and before shooting I will test these techniques to see how convincing they look. I will also have Phil's hair styled differently for each outfit; for the white I intend to have his hair combed and smart looking whereas in the black costume his hair will be messy and unkempt - further reinforcing the opposite ideologies within the song. (As shown above)

Initial Ideas

My initial plan to is have only one actor - Phil my male lead - and to have him in a conflict within himself as this portrays the values held in the lyrics ('I talk to God as much as I talk to Satan'). Originally I planned to have him in only one costume which was ragged and destroyed though I had not given much serious thought to the costume and other mise-en-scene in my video. I have since had the idea of representing the idea of self-conflict through costume having Phil wearing an all white outfit (good/God) in some shot and all black (bad/Satan) in others; I would also like to have a number of shots using a split-screen technique including Phil in both different outfits. This uses Claude Levi Strauss' idea of Binary Opposites however offers a slight twist as the opposites are within the same character.
If possible in the editing stage I think a good effect, particularly in close-up shot to recolour Phil's eyes, enhancing the blue of them in the white outfit and making them red in the black outfit. One other mise-en-scene aspect I would like to utilize would be to have Phil clean shaven in the white outfit but not so in the black however I have not yet worked out a way of achieving this. I would also like to achieve a shot of Phil looking into some water (as suggested by the lyrics 'I slap the water and watch') and his reflection changing from one, good or bad, to the other - although again I am not sure how I will create this effect.
Below are some images representing some of my ideas for shots:

Split-Screen/Eye Recolouring
This is one possible technique I may use however I would prefer to have shots with only one figure but with two different sides/costumes as seen in the cartoon image. The image of David Bowie highlights his different eye colours; a technique I would like to artificially recreate.

Prop List

My music video is very minimalist in terms of props and subsequently I have not worried too much about compiling my props.

The main (and probably only) prop that my music video will feature is the guitar which my performer - Phil - will be playing. As Phil and I both play guitar and own several acoustics I need to decide which I prefer. (See below.)

The only other prop I may opt to use would be a bible as this will reinforce the religeous meanings and connotations of the lyrics.

Fairclough Mountain - My Guitar 

I think this is the guitar that I am most likely to use as it is mine and therefore Phil does not have to worry about bringing his. Also the body style (jumbo) is one that is used a lot by rock artists and therefore fits into the genre of 'God and Satan'. Another think I like about this guitar is that it is very simplistic is design, such as using using small fretboard markers, which keeps the focus fully on the performer and their performance and not the instrument itself.

Tanglewood Dreadnought - Phil's Guitar

This is very similar to the guitar that Phil owns. This guitar is much more expensive that the one above and thus it has a lot more 'bells and whistles' features. I don't think I will use this guitar as it looks too fancy to suit the song and the rock genre. If Phil says that he would much prefer to play this as he is more used to it then I will reconsider my decision.

Other Guitars/Idea

 

Phil also owns a black-painted fender guitar which gave me the possible idea of having two different guitars - one white and one black - for each costume. As neither me or Phil own a white guitar however this would mean either buying another, which would be expensive. I do however own an old and unused Yamaha guitar in the same shape as Phil's black one. I may therefore re-paint my old guitar white and then use the two for individual costumes - though this may be tricky I think it would enhance the different costumes and the idea of separation.

 

 



Cast & Locations

Cast

As I have chosen to have only one main character in my music video, choosing my casting was quite easy. I may also decide to include a female extra for some shots however I have not decided yet.

Phil Jennings (Male Lead)
Phil has been playing guitar for around 8 years now and has been having singing lessons for around 2 years. It is very helpful that Phil is a musician to add to the verisimilitude when performing in my video. He also fits the genre and age group of the target audience of this genre of music; making him the ideal candidate for my lead performer.

Locations

Saint Mary's Church Beverley

I have chosen to shoot the vast majority of my video outside and inside St Mary's Church in Beverley. I have chosen this loaction as it features very stereotypical church imagery - reflecting the religeous values in the song's lyrics. Also the symmetrical nature of the inside of the building will alow me to produce some good shots using internal framing.

East Park - Holderness Road

I will shoot the outdoor shots, particularly the reflection in the water shots in East Park as it features conventional rural imagery and also as me and Phil both live nearby it will make filming very convenient.

Evaluation of Deconstruction and Reconstruction of Middle of the Bed

As a practice for our advanced portfolio we were set the task of recreating 30 seconds of an existing music video. Whilst this task also helped with our pre-production, planning, editing and post-production skills the main focus was our shot composition and recreating the shots in the original video. For this task our group – myself, Mark, Harriet, Charlotte and Kate – chose the video for Middle of the Bed by Lucy Rose.

Our first job was to assign ourselves clear roles within the group. I was elected director with Mark taking the role of producer, Harriet was camera operator, Kate was editor and Charlotte was the performer in the video. The reasons we chose Charlotte to be our performer was that, as she was in our group, we could be sure that she would be able to film in our designated lesson times. The main reason however was that Charlotte fitted the characteristics for the main character and the style of the music genre. Following deciding upon our roles we had to storyboard the video (from 30 seconds to 1 minute), make a list of our locations and design a shoot schedule. Whilst we did construct a shoot schedule we did not really stick to it as we just filmed which ever shot(s) would be appropriate on that given day. Harriet constructed the storyboard while Mark and I worked out our locations list. As you can see from the shot composition comparison out locations were similar to the original. One shot that we could not recreate safely however was the shot which show Lucy Rose as a passenger in a car, so instead of this we chose to include a shot of Charlotte walking forwards with the camera tracking backwards.

The first problem we encountered was that Charlotte, understandably, was shy when lip syncing. In our first few takes Charlotte began laughing and subsequently the rest of us had to turn around for the still-camera shots. This was not the only issue we had when filming however as there were two shot which required a tracking camera, the walking shot and the bike shot. Because we couldn't use a vehicle to track with Harriet and Mark (who shot the bike scene) had to shoot those scenes by holding the tripod and walking backwards these shots were shakey. Although this did not detriment the overall video too much it would have been much improved had they been smoother. Another issue we encountered within the post-production stage was – as the song is very repetitive in nature – Charlotte often sang the right lyrics however at different stages in the song Lucy Rose sings the lyrics with a different rhythm. We did not realise at the time of filming however when it came to editing this made the lip syncing to the track very difficult, meaning we had to use different shots that didn’t correspond to the original. As my chosen song also features repetitive sections, this will be something I will ensure I take care over when shooting my video.

One minor problem which occurred was in the shot where Charlotte is position high up with trees level with her in the background. From our original locations list we knew of a good place to shoot this however we found that we could go out onto a balcony on the outside of the building, giving us a much more natural look than out of a window and also allowed us to have the effect of Charlotte’s hair blowing in the wind. The first problem we encountered with this shot was that when we were filming some droplets of rain landed on the lens which we did not notice at the time. As seen in the image:

Another problem we had was that in our only take of this section Charlotte laughed at the end. Though at first we decided not to include this part we did not film another scene with the same words being sung and therefore we had to include it. Upon reflection I actually think this provides a good natural effect though it is not in the original and when shooting my own video I will ensure I retain excess footage in case there is something useful and effective.

This task was an excellent way to understand the methods I will need to follow in the creation of my own video and the problems that I can now avoid. Though working individually on my own video will allow me to have sole control I enjoyed working in our group and believe that our combined efforts produced good results.

Shot Composition Comparison

Final Edit of Practice Video

30 Second Practice Music Video - First Draft

Lucy Rose Storyboard

Lucy Rose - Middle of the Bed (Original Video)

Deconstruction & Reconstruction of a Media Text

Group Names: David Robertson, Mark Reeves, Kate Hannah, Harriet Harrison and Charlotte Hartley

Song: Lucy Rose - Middle of the Bed

Roles:  Director: David
            Producer: Mark
            Editor: Kate
            Camera Operator: Harriet
            Cast: Charlotte

Locations: Wyke College

• Pond outside Wilson Building
• Car Park outside Oak
• Window second floor of Ash Building
• Fence and bush and bike shot on Grammar School Road entrance
• Tim's room window
• Car shot, Bricknell Area

                 

Audience Feedback Interview One

Influential Media Texts

I have chosen the following media texts to gather psychographic data regarding their opinions and expectations, particularly listening to my chosen song without a video.
What do you envisage as a video hearing this song?
What are your favourite aspects of the following videos considering mise-en-scene, lighting, sound, location and overall concept/effect? 
Listening to the song and gathering influence from the earlier videos are there any images that spring to mind particularly regarding costume?

Which of the following locations do you think is best fitting to my chosen song?




 Religious









Urban







Rural









Biffy Clyro - God and Satan Lyrics
I talk to god as much
As I talk to satan
'Cause I wanna hear both sides
Does that make me cynical,
There are no miracles and
This is no miraculous life
I savour hate as much as
I crave love
Because I'm just a twisted guy
Is this the pinnacle, Is this the pinnacle
The pinnacle of being alive?
Now I see the light.

Well I look up to god
But I see trouble
'Cause this ain't a miracle
I just want to take my chance
To live through a miracle

I know for certain that
Someone is watching but
Is it from up or down?
I make you miserable
You stick with me
Although you know I'm gonna
Ruin your life.

I talk to god as much
As I talk to satan
'Cause I wanna hear both sides
Does that make me cynical,
There are no miracles and
This is no miraculous life
We walk into the tide.

Well I look up to god,
But I see trouble,
'Cause this ain't a miracle.
I just want to take my chance
To live through a miracle
When the see-saw snaps and splinters your hand
Don't come crying to me
I'll only see your good side
And believe it's a miracle, a miracle

I slap the water and watch
The fish dance to the ripples of us
We're just dull blue duds
Blinking eyes encased in rust
This ain't a miracle, this ain't a miracle,
This ain't a miracle, this ain't a miracle,
Ooohhh.

Audience Key Terms

Qualitative Data:  This is information based upon a values, beliefs and opinions - this does not produce hard data. Qualitative data determines whether the audience will like or dislike something.

Quantitative Data:  This is information based on hard facts about the audience, produces very definitive answers. Quantitative data however does not necessarily contribute to likes and dislikes.

Demographic Data:  A demographic creates categories of people to market a product towards, common aspects include; gender, age and social class.

Psychographic Data: Psychographic data focuses on interests, lifestyles, beliefs and values and gains a more personal account of a target audience.

Summer Summary

Over the summer I put a lot of thought into my choice of song and mind mapping ideas for the video. I also spent time watching existing music videos (two of which I posted) that fall within the genre of rock as that is the genre of Biffy Clyro - my chosen artist. As evidence of my analysis of existing videos I produced a storyboard of the first minute of 30 Seconds to Mars' song 'Kings and Queens', though it turned out to not have many edits within the first minute. As well as creating my storyboard I researched the conventional shots found within rock videos and created a Prezi presentation briefly outlining the most common. I also researched into the history and successes of the band in order to gain knowledge of their background and status within the music industry, particularly in the UK.

Storyboard of first minute of Kings and Queens - 30 Seconds To Mars

Shot Type: Title Shot
Shot Length: 10 seconds
Shot Description: Black background with capitalised, centred white text reading 'Thirty Seconds to Mars Presents'. Beneath is an extreme long shot of a city. Slow fade in from black and out to black.
Sound: Fade in of wind effect

Shot Type: Same as above
Shot Length: 6 seconds
Shot Description: Same as above however text reads 'A Bartholomew Cubbins Film and extreme long shot shows moving clouds. Transition same as above.
Sound: Wind

Shot Type: Same as above
Shot Length: 7 seconds
Shot Description: Same as above however text reads 'Inspired By The Song' with the first letter of each words larger and 'Kings + Queens'. Extreme long shot city skyline underneath text, transition remains the same.
Sound: Wind

Shot Type: As above
Shot Length: 10 seconds
Shot Description: As before however larger font reads '- The Ride -' and extreme long shot shows skyline of a building dome. Transition remains same.
Sound: Wind

Shot Type: Establishing Shot
Shot Length: 5 seconds
Shot Description: Straight cut to establishing shot of a city skyline at dusk.
Sound: Reverberant eagle cry

Shot Type: Long Shot
Shot Length: 8 seconds
Shot Description: Straight cut to slow motion group of cyclists emerge from over a hill in front of a setting sun.
Sound: Gradual build of note and atmospheric sounds.

Shot Type: Close Up
Shot Length: 6 seconds
Shot Description: Silhouetted singer moves towards microphone in slowed speed.
Sound: First chord plays out with delay.

Shot Type: Establishing Shot
Shot Length: 2 seconds
Shot Description: Shot of the band from behind on the lower half, with the drummer centred, the top half just sky.
Sound: Second chord plays.

Shot Type: Long Shot
Shot Length: 2 seconds
Shot Description: Same as shot 6, cyclists further over hill.
Sound: Rattle sound over second chord ringing on.

Shot Type: Mid Shot
Shot Length: 4 seconds
Shot Description: Mid shot of drummer to the right of the shot with bassist in the background just to the left of centre.
Sound: Third chord (same as first) plays with insect-like sound effect.

Shot Type: Long Shot
Shot Length: 6 seconds
Shot Description: Same as shots 6 and 9, frontmost cyclists emerge reach top of the hill.
Sound: Fourth chord (same as second) plays, strings and choir build up.

Conventions of Rock Music Videos