I felt anxious but excited to finally film our music video after working very hard on post production and organising everything that we needed for the day. I was worried that the weather was going to change and it would rain, therefore our whole idea would have been changed because we would not have been able to have the generator feeding the projectors onto the tents.
3. How well prepared were you when you arrived for the shoot, what did you have to do before you could start shooting?
I think we felt prepared before the shoot day, however when the shoot day came, I became very panicked and worried that we would not be able to accomplish all that we wanted to accomplish in one day. We had to give all the band members and the fairy a costume, as well as do their makeup. Although this took some time out of our shooting time, it was necessary to be done on that day because we did not know how the clothes would look or if they would fit. Before we started shooting we needed to make sure the studio was cleared, that we had all the instruments in place and ready for the band to play, and I needed to make sure the camera was charged, with memory and bubbled.4. Describe what the studio looked like when you started to shoot, how well do you feel you managed to create the look of your concept?When we started filming in the morning we just had a black studio, with black curtains behind it. This was exactly how we wanted the first element to be, because it was simple enough to contrast with the other elements of the woods and the projections. It also drew out the instruments and the band members faces so that could be more visible on the projections on the tents. The second studio element worked beautifully in my opinion, the city landscapes worked better because there was more on the projections to look at, however the projections of the girl were also useful because we created a relationship between her and the lead singer.
5. How did you divide the roles on your shoot day, what role(s) did you play?Prior to the shoot day we decided what we could focus on, on the shoot day. We decided that Fran would be the art director because she has a very good eye for visually appealing things, therefore she would be able to have a say if something did not look aesthetically pleasing. Phoebe wanted to be director which meant she could direct and tell me, the camera man how she wanted things to look. I was in charge of making sure the camera was in focus and the shot was well composed. Sasha was the producer and made sure that everything was kept on schedule.
6. What do you think that you personally did particularly well?I personally took charge of the camera and made sure that we did not waste time. I knew that if we wanted our music video to work out the way we wanted it to we would need enough footage to play with and create. I loved focusing on the shot composition and seeing how I can keep the footage interesting but also by holding the shot and making sure we had enough footage of each individual section. i.e a close up of the finger picking and the guitarists fingers on the fret board.
7. What problems did you have on the shoot day, how did you solve them?We definitely had trouble with scheduling our time, we had a feeling this would be a problem so we created a shooting schedule however, we were unable to keep to it because the footage we needed to get from the studio was vital in case anything went wrong in the woods. We worked on this by splitting up after lunch, we knew we would need a lot of time to set up the camp in the woods, however by the time we got there, set it up and filmed it, it would be dark. Sasha went with our set designer and they set up the woods while Phoebe and I stayed back and filmed the rest of the studio footage. Fran was making sure we had everything for the woods so that we would be ready to go when we finished shooting the studio bits.
8. Which part of the shoot do you think was most successful and why?I think artistically the studio projections looked the best, because they are very interesting to look at and really went with the idea of lost boys. It was probably the best part because everything worked out at that point. Everyone was happy with what we were filming and watching the performance and the projections working so well, gave us all more will to work harder for the rest of the day.
9. Which part of the shoot do you wish had gone better and why?
The woods section unfortunately was quite difficult because it can be seen that we are loosing light which means we can only use the footage in the same sequence of filming, because it can be seen that it is getting darker. Some of the footage is also quite unsteady and unfocused, mainly because we did not have a tripod, we were using a canon 5D and it was very rushed because we were aware of the sun going down, and the loss of light in our shot.
10. How well do you think you managed your talent (actors)?Although I think we managed them well, they themselves were very easy to work with because they enjoyed the shoot and had fun the whole day. We also chose them specifically because we knew that they would be very energetic, and although they were not best friends, they knew each other well enough to get along and have a nice day. They were also very cooperative, whenever we asked them to do something specific at a certain time they did it and with energy. I think what we could have done better through managing them was for them to all listen to the song a couple times so that they knew certain cue lines such as the first two rounds of Ooo Oooo, this was important because we wanted them all to say it at the same time in the shot. In the end we managed however, in the first few shots it looks very out of time.
11. What was the part of the shoot you enjoyed the most?The part I enjoyed the most was before the sun went down in the woods. Although it was stressful because we were desperate for time it was fun to be able to get footage of the boys actually having real fun. This will make our music video seem much more realistic and engaging to watch. There are a lot of shots where the boys are genuinely laughing and towards the end they were doing things that they came up with themselves. It was great that we didn't have to direct them because then they had more liberty with what they wanted to do as well as our footage being more varied.
12. What are you looking forward to seeing the most in the edit?Im looking forward to seeing how the projections turned out, and if they came out clearly through the camera. This was a very crucial part of the music video idea and I hope that it can be seen properly. I worry that there may be colour issues or that the band can’t be seen over the projections., However if it turns out mainly how we watched while it was filming it should look very impressive and different. We want to make sure that we create the perfect video to connect the bands image and engage the audience for the to stay interested in their music.
13. How well do you feel that your production group worked as a team?I think we did very well, and kept to all of our jobs all day. Throughout the whole process we were all very on the ball and excited to carry out the film day. On the day we were all prepared to work and were excited to shoot our music video. Throughout the day we were constantly working together in effort to make the best music video, however we had a very long and stressful day which meant tensions ran high at the end of the day and we had a bit of an argument towards the end however we realised that the only reason why we were arguing was because we were tired. It worked out towards the end and we were very happy and proud of our shoot day.
14. Are their any lessons you learned today that could help you make your next shoot even more successful?I think time management is definitely a must, as well as having a shot list printed out and handy. Although i think shot lists can cut down on creativity, it is important to have the minimum requirements of footage. I worry that we may not have enough footage to make our music video interesting. This is definitely something I want to be very aware of if i shoot another music video one day. Another thing I would do is make sure that my footage is all in focus and everything is in shot, therefore there is not footage wasted.
15. Are there any changes you might need to make to your website and artwork, in order for them to fit in with the video that you have shot?
I don’t think there is anything quite so different from what we planned, other than the woods part being less of an aspect because we did not get enough footage in the woods. The website will probably have more of a projections aspect to it and the album artwork will have a more woods like aspect. This will establish a balance for the band.
Excellent detail, very reflective throughout. You identify not only what could have gone better, but how it would have been improved. You could focus slightly more on the elements that did go well, along with your ole within the studio. But very detailed. Consider further pictures and videos within the post to make it more visual.
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