Filming for our music video has definitely been an experience. After I completed my section of the storyboard (over 100 frames or so) we were faced with the daunting prospect of how we were going to tackle this mammoth task. We first started with the basics, organisation.
Using my contacts at a local theatre I was able to gain access to their consume store and was permitted to borrow a selection of items, including a tail coat and top hat for the villain, and briefcases for each of the henchmen. In addition Ben was able to attain three bowler hats and some chalk. The next task was to gather all the equipment available to us, both Ben and Alec were in possession of HD digital camcorders, tripods and a monopod. On top of this we also had access to an advanced editing software. The decision to use our own equipment has given us more flexibility for how and when we can shoot and edit. The main reason for doing this was because we wanted to create the best music video we could, and we believed that the flexibility of using our own equipment and the high quality of the software would enable us to do so.
We were originally planning to shoot in Kings Lynn but after discussions with regards to transport we decided on Downham Market instead which proved to be just as good, if not better and decided to shoot all day on the Tuesday and Friday of our half term. The only thing that remained to sort out was the cast. Initially the cast needed to consist of 7 members; The Villain, three Henchmen and three Youths. However due to the fact that we were filming on two whole days of the half term holidays, we struggled to get people to volunteer for the whole two day shoot, so we had to compromise and use what we had available to us. So we decided that Jack and Alec would be in the video and double up as bout a Youth and a Henchman. I then managed to get my friend Matthew in to play the role of the villain, as he was a drama student and was more than happy to do so. Another friend of ours was lined up to play the third Henchmen but backed out at the last minute, but we did manage to get our friend Brendon to take his place as a youth and then Ben would have to play the third Henchmen.
Using my contacts at a local theatre I was able to gain access to their consume store and was permitted to borrow a selection of items, including a tail coat and top hat for the villain, and briefcases for each of the henchmen. In addition Ben was able to attain three bowler hats and some chalk. The next task was to gather all the equipment available to us, both Ben and Alec were in possession of HD digital camcorders, tripods and a monopod. On top of this we also had access to an advanced editing software. The decision to use our own equipment has given us more flexibility for how and when we can shoot and edit. The main reason for doing this was because we wanted to create the best music video we could, and we believed that the flexibility of using our own equipment and the high quality of the software would enable us to do so.
We were originally planning to shoot in Kings Lynn but after discussions with regards to transport we decided on Downham Market instead which proved to be just as good, if not better and decided to shoot all day on the Tuesday and Friday of our half term. The only thing that remained to sort out was the cast. Initially the cast needed to consist of 7 members; The Villain, three Henchmen and three Youths. However due to the fact that we were filming on two whole days of the half term holidays, we struggled to get people to volunteer for the whole two day shoot, so we had to compromise and use what we had available to us. So we decided that Jack and Alec would be in the video and double up as bout a Youth and a Henchman. I then managed to get my friend Matthew in to play the role of the villain, as he was a drama student and was more than happy to do so. Another friend of ours was lined up to play the third Henchmen but backed out at the last minute, but we did manage to get our friend Brendon to take his place as a youth and then Ben would have to play the third Henchmen.
We filmed on both the planned days and shot a fair amount of what we needed, though not as much as we'd have liked. Due to this we decided to spend another day filming on the following Tuesday.
This is a short clip of what we filmed on the first Tuesday and Friday:
The following Tuesday didn't quite go according to plan, on Tuesday morning Alec got a phone call from Jack saying that he couldn't make it as he was very ill, also our friend playing the third youth could not be with us for the whole day. After hearing this Ben, Alec and I all got together to discuss our next move, none of us wanted to waste the day as we had everything ready and prepared for our shoot. Therefore Alec suggested that we continue to shoot but just simply what we were trying to do, and just focus on the main theme of Alec's script. This, though changing the script slightly, still displayed the same initial intention of our video and still allowed us to explore the idea of the controlling mainline or mainstream and to do so through the use of postmodern techniques. The main changes that were made were instead of three Henchmen and three Youths, we would just have a single Henchman and just one Youth. Therefore the Villain (still played by Matthew) would chase the Youth (played by Alec) in order to put him back under his control. When failing to do so he calls for the aid of his Henchman (Ben) to help trap the Youth.
This idea, though at the time seeming a little radical, was ultimately a good decision. My previous storyboards became a springboard for us to work from and we managed to tackle the shooting with double the energy and enthusiasm than we had previously (plus it was no where near as cold as it was the previous week!). This process really got our minds working quickly and allowed to also improvise and bounce of each other's creative ideas, turning out some good results.
We shot our opening scene at college and then moved on to shoot the rest around Downham. Shooting around a town like Downham was a lot of fun and became very interesting to see the public's reaction and interest in what we were doing. Before shooting however we made sure we knew the specific regulations with regards to shooting in public, and were told by the authorities that it was fine as long as we didn't zoom in or focus on any member of the public without their written permission. We managed to achieve a lot in that single day taking back with us more footage than the first two days combined, including a highly choreographed and planned out car chase which we were all very proud of.
We shot our opening scene at college and then moved on to shoot the rest around Downham. Shooting around a town like Downham was a lot of fun and became very interesting to see the public's reaction and interest in what we were doing. Before shooting however we made sure we knew the specific regulations with regards to shooting in public, and were told by the authorities that it was fine as long as we didn't zoom in or focus on any member of the public without their written permission. We managed to achieve a lot in that single day taking back with us more footage than the first two days combined, including a highly choreographed and planned out car chase which we were all very proud of.
1 comment:
Your explanation clarifies thje organsiation of your shoots.
Mrs M
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