back up cast

Georgia having to isolate has shown us just how easily people might not be available on our shoot day and with short notice. So incase of emergency, we have chosen a back up cast. 

Joey - lead singer 

Leonie - guitarist 

Max - guitarist 

Neave  - drummer 

Some of them are being used in other videos but if we have to they have all been screen tested so we know what they're like. We can also have one guitarist if need be. 

risk assessment

As part of our pre production we have to fill out a risk assessment form.

Gite did this for our group.

request for copyright

Ben sent out an email to the company who distributed the record to request permission for the use of the song in our video. 

Here is the email:

final master doc

This week has been our final week of pre production so we have had a lot to sort out. Georgia was out of isolation so the whole group were together again but three of us had to miss a day each because of other subjects. 

We started by re-making our Master Doc with the updated set list so that we could send it to the set builder and make sure we all know what we need to bring for the shoot day. I also added to this the cast costume pictures so that we could make note of the costumes everyone needs to bring and what each one looks like.  

Another thing I added to the document was some ideas for makeup. An artist I thought does his makeup in a cool way was Declan Mckenna, Its a nice mix between masculine and feminine and I think has the perfect vibe for our video. 

master doc link

discussion with lighting designer

Today we met with the lighting designer (Chris) who will be helping us with our music video. 

we explained to him our video and what the vibe was so that he could picture the video. We then explained our sets and where we were shooting the video to see what was possible and to figure out what lightning we needed. 

The background set for our kitchen won't be particularly glamorous or massively realistic so we thought it would be best if it wasn't well lit. From this came the idea that perhaps it's like he is in the fridge for a midnight snack. So, all the light would come from the fridge as a fridge light would and would quickly fall off behind him so the kitchen wouldn't be massively seen. 

For our performance sequence we decided it needed to seem like night too but we don't want it to be too dark so, Georgia is bringing in a tapestry for the back wall which will cover the window at the back of the room and is a nice backdrop for the video. For this we will probably either have basic titans to give some extra light. 

Our lighting will be quite simple which is useful as we will have less to set up. 

Shoot date and band room booking

This week we were given our shoot day... November 16th !!! which is a Tuesday. 

We had to confirm this date with our group To make sure no one had any clashes or big events on that day and they are free and available which is perfect. 

This also meant we could book the band room so Georgia emailed the head of music Dave to request use of the room for our shoot day and the day before so that we could set up. 

Editing Workshop

Today we had an editing workshop with Matt for our music videos.  

performance cut first 

narrative cut 

effects work 

colouring 

time code onto song helps with syncing 

don't want sound *drag video only* match time codes and video is in sync - picture syncing 

rename it on timeline not in rushes 

to sound sync when no iPad, use the drums in the clip

sync every video first

3 rules to cut music video, 

1 - listen to the music and illustrate what you hear, first line of song need full face of singer 

hand on space bar press when feel like it cuts then use curser to go back and forth 

2 - group shots together, multiple shots of one thing before cut, gives context and avoids confusion 

3 - follow movement, camera follows body movement to help flow 

NO ROUGH CUT

do videos in 10 seconds 

dress rehearsal

Today we managed to do a rehearsal with the whole band and with them in costumes after we had done a costume fitting. 

Georgia is still in isolation so Gite filmed, I directed and Ben Also took some videos. 

I think it went well. The band were tired so there wasn't as much energy as we wanted but I tried to encourage them by jumping around behind the camera and giving them some of my energy. George is getting into it a lot more than in the first rehearsal and they are gelling as a group which is great. 

costumes and band shoot

Today Gite, Ben and I tried on costumes with the band. I bought in lots of clothes and so did Luke. Some things Georgia has so she wasn't able to bring them in. Bashy and Molly both wore their jeans.

Here are some of the outfits we put together.

bashy

George 

We then decided our favourites out of the ones we chose and took them out in the sunshine for a little photo shoot.

Here are some of my favourite photos that I took:

reflecting on prototype and chat with set builder

Over the weekend Georgia tested positive for COVID - 19 so she is currently isolating at home and talking to us online. At the start of the week we had a chat with Phil and Matt about our sets. Looking at what we had drawn, Matt said we'd be looking at around 27 flats which is a lot and would take a lot of our filming time to set up. We had some disagreements on the video and felt slightly disheartened by the feedback but decided we just need to re-think the sets and the narrative shots.

Our prototype proved very useful in helping us solve our set issue. We decided to totally cut the set with the sofa as it just didn't add much to the scene and was unnecessary. 

We really liked the letters crawling in stop motion up the fridge but we agreed we needed to make more of it and add more to the shots where he opens the fridge so that we can add them in at other points such as him reaching in to get a can on peaches. We will show Matt the prototype tomorrow and hopefully figure out where we want to go with our video. 

set designs and master document

Throughout the week me and my group have been putting together a master document for our music video. This document contains all of our set ideas plus sketches. It also is a list of every item that we will need on our shoot day including props, costume, set and anything else. We will keep adding to this as we go along but for now we have separated the list under our names so that we all know what we need to get for the video.

This will be extremely helpful for when we talk to the set builders and will help us not to miss anything vital.

I have drawn a sketch for each set to help give a rough idea of what each set will looks like.

Here is an example of some of the list under my name. 

This is a link to the Master document - MASTER DOCUMENT

storyboarding

This week I have been drafting a rough story board to help us get a better idea of the video. This has also proved useful for our prototype video filming as we have had a bit more direction to follow. Here are some pictures of the story board. I drew 42 shots in total which is a good rough start for our video.

  

our prototype video

We were set the task this week of creating a prototype. We have all been very busy so weren't present at all of the filming.

Ben and I spent an hour with the band in the band room and filmed lots of performance shots. We got wide, mid and close shots and then filmed with each band member individually to get extra close ups. 

The day before I went to the dance studio with Luke and tried to get some of the more visual shots, I borrowed my friends fish eye lense to put on my phone and see how it would potentially look. I printed off a picture of a magnifying glass and cut it out as a prop for the video.

 

Later on at dinner, I got some shots of Luke eating ice cream and we found an actor to be the female figure in our group. Naty is a good choice for us as she doesn't have many commitments and is a great actress and looks right for the vibe.

Since then I have filmed some shots at home using items I have at home such as a blender but have had to use myself in the video. I also shot some extra shots with a sofa with Gite and Ben in the lesson. 

  

This is our finished prototype that Georgia edited while she's at home currently in isolation because of COVID-19. 

second band rehearsal

Today we had a second rehearsal with the band. It went well and I think they are starting to feel more comfortable with each other and infant of the band. It was just me and Ben today and we didn't have a speaker so I had to sing over the song so Luke could hear the lyrics. 

We also took this opportunity to try out the fish eye lense and film it so we could potentially use it in our prototype. 

DigiPack analysis

Today we have a look a digipaks and the conventions they follow. 

they have;

140mm width 

125mm height 

spine 5-10mm

so that they all same to fit on the shelf size.

 

They have 3 dominant colours and the designs are about the music and artist. The images are coherent and all link.

they have to have certain legal information on them as well. A legal disclaimer on the back, very very small, a barcode on the back and some have 'parental advisory' stickers.

They have the trackless and company logos on back. 

There is a product code (bar code) on spine along with artist, album and record label. 

here is one I looked at.

research for details and shot ideas

Today we we specifically researched into shot ideas and things we could shoot through to make our video visual interesting.

Georgia and I made a list of potential transparent or reflective items we could use to film through: 

• discoball
• bubbles
• fish tank
• kaleidoscope glasses
• snow globe
• blender 
• lava lamp
• microscope 
• magnifying glass
• camera/polaroid 
• fish eye
• CDs
• light refractor
• phone

We then has a brainstorm about specific shots we could do with some of these items.

We liked the idea that at some point in the video like an instrumental moment, he could take a picture of the camera filming him with a polaroid and it would print off. Then at the end of the video when he says "and that was peach" he could put the picture on the floor or a surface and we could follow his hand down to the picture and that's where the video would finish. The picture would be us behind the camera which would break the fourth wall, but we liked this as his character is down to earth and 'real' with his fans etc. 

We also had an idea that I could make small plasticine versions of the band or just of Luke, our lead singer. We would use this for things such as there is a small plasticine person on a microscope lense and Luke looks down into the lease. We follow his gaze in the microscope and cut to a Birdseye shot of Luke lying on the floor looking up at the camera. so he is looking at himself. We also thought that with these we could tie these figures into the album art work and it could be part of the bands persona. 

We also tried to think about what we could have on the set of the performance space to fill it. 

Georgia and I made a list:

• flowers/plants
• glass ball
• hanging beads
• carpets 
• tapestries 
• vines 
• piñata 

I then had a look at visual effects you can make easily with a camera and without photoshop. 

I thought the one that looked the most achievable for our skill set and resources was a stop motion technique that makes it look like someone is flying. It is really fun and matches the vibe of our character. However, it would be very time consuming and would look rubbish if we got it wrong. 

first band rehearsal

Today I did the first rehearsal for our band. I asked someone to stand in for George on the drums as he was unavailable. The rehearsal went really well and we did two full takes of the whole song. Luke already knows most of the words to the song which is great and saves us lots of time. 

We also got the boys to wear outfits similar to the style we want. Luke is wearing pink dungarees and a white hoodie.  

Bashy was wearing jeans and I put him in my jumper to fit the vibe a bit more, they both really suit the style which is great.

The rehearsal went well and the atmosphere in the room was super fun and supportive! I'm looking forward to working with the whole band.