Photos from Shooting Day Outside

Performance Element of our Music Video

Account of Shoot Day 4

Regroup: After we regrouped in preparation for the final stretch after the previous day being so successful we had even more desire to smash the last day. After, we approached skilled drummer 'Sam Pins' at 'Battle of the Bands' and offered him a contract we were crossing our fingers hoping he would sign. And he did!!!! This means we will have a top class drummer who knows the song and when and which drum part needs to be hit, this will be amazing for our music video. We watched the footage we got from day 3 and were very pleased with it but of course will still reshoot particular shots which need to be fixed slightly. Onto day 4 we go!!!!

10:05am: Group go to media classroom and download the footage from yesterday and begin reviewing it in order to see what shots need to be reshot on the last day.

11:20am: Group set a plan for the final day so everything is organised and can be filmed as efficiently as possible so we get all our shots in.

12:00pm: Lunch time. Prepare all instruments so when 'Sam' the drummer arrives everything is ready to start immediately with the band shots.

12:40pm: Last lesson of the day.

13:30pm: End of the day. Group meet at the studio and await for the arrival of 'Sam' as well.

13:40pm: All the band shots with 'Ethan,' 'Dylan' and 'Sam' begins using all five backgrounds.

15:00pm: Now we repeated shots of 'Dylan' in the straight jacket as the patient as well as him being the rockstar with his guitar.

16:00pm: Final shots completed of close ups which will be added into the music video.

17:00pm: Tidy up and return all props to where we got them from and load up the car will all the props we brought in.

17:30pm: Day over. Leave the studio and leave the site.

Evaluation: Great last day of filming. We were able to finish all the shots that were on our animatic plus many more which will provide us with a diverse group of shots to create and edit our music video extremely well and portray our idea to the best of our ability with the shots we have gotten.

Account of Shoot Day 3

Regroup: After we regrouped and watched the footage from day 2 in our free period and lunch we learnt a lot. We learnt from the footage of the band shots that we needed the drummer 'Jared' to show more passion and engagement with the rest of the band when he was playing, therefore he will connect better with the audience. Additionally, we also understood that main actor 'Dylan' was struggling consistently with the second verse of the song which meant the lip syncing wasn't as in sync as we would've liked. This problem has led us to add dedicated time with Dylan to help him learn the words better as we know the lip syncing part of the music video is essential. Apart from the problems we have addressed we were delighted with the rest of the footage and the things that we all learnt and we will therefore re film certain aspects. To day 3 we go!!!!

10:10am: The group have a free period so go to the media suite to download all the footage and watch it in order to gain valuable information about day 2 and learn from it going into day 3.

12:30pm: Lunch Time. The group will reassemble at 13:35pm in the studio.

13:35pm: Group meet at the studio to begin filming.

13:45pm: We begin with filming new shoots. We move the glass box and put the brain inside it and chains around it to film the shots of the main actor as a patient (costumer = straight jacket) looking and taking the brain out of the box looking extremely confused and lost. We film these shots in 5 different background colours, being, white, blue, green, red and pink.

14:55pm: Break for five minutes after an intense start using some very bright lights.

15:00pm: We carry on with the glass box brain/chain shots with the 5 colours, but this time the main actor is in his rockstar clothes. We are doing this as we are trying to create the vision we have for editing which will be his patient self looking at his rockstar self across from one another in the same shot (opposite sides of the glass box, looking at the brain). This took a fraction of the time as we only needed to capture one certain shot of the main actor as his rockstar self.

15:20pm: Main actor 'Dylan' is practicing the words to improve the lip syncing when we are filming the band shots and rockstar shots.

15:40pm: Repeat solo rockstar shots of main actor as the rockstar. Whole song with white (default) background. Wide shots, close ups, medium shots (the variety will allow us to edit in the best parts)

16:10pm: New shots of the main character as the rockstar with his guitar were being taken such as low angle close ups with the main actor in new and more unique positions to make the editing of the shots more exciting. Also birds-eye view shots were taken which we really liked and think will fit in really well in a particular section of the song.

16:50pm: Shots of the main actor being the rockstar throwing the brain at the wall and smashing the brain with a wooden baseball bat. Also shots of him smashing up an old VCR machine on the white chair with the chains around it, smashing it with the wooden baseball bat showing his immense anger.

17:30pm: Day 3 finished. Group leave site. Group will regroup tomorrow for day 4.

Evaluation: Another successful day shooting, repeating some shots from the previous day (solo shots of rockstar) as well as new shots with the glass box with the brain and chains with the main actor as his rockstar self and patient self in the straight jacket. All the glass box shots were done in the five different background colours that we have been consistently been using. However, some shots that we aimed to re shoot, such as all the scenes with the band (the whole song for each shot) in all the different background colours couldn't be done today because of the school annual competition of 'Battle of the Bands,' thus meaning we cant use the instruments we need. This means a fourth day in the studio is a certainty and will be done tomorrow. Additionally, in the group recap we learned that 'Jared' wasn't our number one option to be the drummer in the band which has led us to approach a drummer who is participating in the battle of the bands and will fit the role really well. The drummer called 'Sam Pins' has told us he would participate in day 4 which will be a very useful addition, hopefully he commits and keeps his word. Lastly, one of the bigger problems was the main actor 'Dylan' struggling with the lip syncing as he would forget words occasionally and struggled with verse two. Cleverly we allocated 20 minutes of todays shoot to Dylan being able to study and rehearse the song consistently for that period of time which led to the solo shots of him being the rockstar to be significantly better which was a huge positive for the music video. Onwards and upwards to day 4!!!!

Account of Shoot Day 2

Regroup: After we regrouped after Day 1 we discussed the acting situation and whether or not 'Noah' should keep the part as the main actor of the 'patient' and the 'rockstar.' In conclusion, we decided to release 'Noah' as the main actor. This is because, we plan to have at least a total of 2 shooting days in the studio, each of 5 hours filming therefore we converged with 'Noah' and he was unable to commit to consecutive days of filming. This resulted in a group decision to make us the actors! 'Dylan' will be the main actor, 'Jack' will be the role of the nurse, 'Ethan' and 'Jared' will be members of the band with 'Dylan' as well who is a rockstar in the band. We decided this would be the best course of action to give this group the best chance of success. We are all passionate about our idea, we know the idea inside and out and motivated to get the absolute best grade. Lastly, we know what each character needs to do and how they must act, therefore as group members participating as actors we will all have consistent contributions to the music video and express all the feelings and characteristics that we want our actors to portray in order to related to the audience as best as possible.

13:45pm: The group had a free period so we instantly began filming and repeating all the shots done yesterday as 'Dylan' was the new main actor therefore all shots we did with 'Noah' were repeated such as the shots in the straight jacket in the chair with the chains around him, the shot with the nurse giving the main actor the pill and also the shots of the main actor in their rockstar clothes playing the guitar. All the shots we did had wide shots, medium shots, close ups and some shots had over the shoulder shots.

14:40pm: Free period ends. Group disperse to their last lesson of the day.

15:45pm: Last lesson finished. Group immediately meet in the studio.

16:00pm: Little details that have fallen apart such as the tape against the wall had to be mended slightly. A new detail was added to the studio which was a 'High Voltage Danger' sign which covers the black plug box.

16:15pm: The shot of the main actor standing up in his rockstar clothes with the guitar around him and looking at where the white chair would. This is because we plan to edit the two shots together of when the main actor is his rockstar self looking down at him being a patient in a mental institution to really emphasise the different lives and capture the contrast.

16:45pm: Close up of the main actor in his rockstar clothes with his guitar singing the whole song so we can edit in the clips we like.

17:30pm: Moved onto the band shots. Group went to the music department to get the entire drum set and a base guitar which meant we had all three instruments, one for each rockstar of the band. Set up actors and instruments in the correct positions in order to begin with the band shots.

17:45pm: Band shots begin. Wide shot of band so all actors and instruments can be seen. We shot in the white background as well as adding four different colour filters (red, green, blue, pink) and filmed the whole song for each colour with some retakes as well. This was the toughest part of the filming as we needed to get all three actors in sync with the way they were moving and the way they were playing their instruments to go with the sounds in the song. We will definitely review the footage to make sure we are happy, and if not, we will re film until we're happy.

19:30pm: The band shots have finally finished. Take instruments back to the music department.

19:45pm: Day 2 is finished. Leave the site.

SUMMARY: It would be hard to say that Day 2 wasn't a huge day in terms of progression for our music video. We were finally happy with our actors as we had access to them at all times (as they were us) which meant we would all be able to re watch the footage and learn from errors then re film for hours the next day to acquire the perfect footage. Second of all, key features such as when the band played in the different colour filters really came to life and gave the group a buzz as we knew this would make our music video unique from the rest of the pack, despite further unique shots that were completed on the same day (such as Main actor as rockstar looking down at himself as a mental patient). Therefore this day was extremely positive on the surface. This means that tomorrow in our free period and lunch we will evaluate the footage we captured and take notes of what we will re film with what needs to improve. Therefore once the filming stage is over we will have the absolute best possible footage to achieve our A* we are all aiming for.

Account of Shoot Day 1

8:00am: Jared sets out and picks up Ethan, Dylan and Jack who all put props such as white sheets, straight jacket, glass box, clothes for patient and the band and more into Jared's car.

8:20am: Begin driving to destination which is JFS School where the studio is based.

8:45am: Arrive at school. Drive on site.

9:00am: Deliver all the props and equipment from the car to the filming studio.

9:30am: The group go to the science department, seeking to find a 'model brain' which will be placed inside the 'glass box' which will be used in particular shots of the music video.

9:50am: Found a 'model brain.' Put the 'model brain' in the studio.

10:00am: The group go to the Art department seeking to find more 'white sheets,' and other equipment that could be used to improvised with.

10:30am: The group succeed in their mission to the art department. They acquire the 'white sheets' as well as a very authentic 'white chair' which will look great with our asylum theme instead of the original 'wooden chair' that we were going to use.

10:45am: We arrive we the equipment and place it in the studio.

10:50am: The group begin tidying up the studio, in order for it to be ready for the decoration stage.

11:15am: Break time

11:30am: Decoration of the studio begins. We lay the white sheets on the floor to cover the blue carpet, put the white chair in the middle and set camera up.

12:05pm: Go to Mr. Swoby (Gadget) and ask for his help to set up the lighting for our music video. (The lights for the ceiling - move into correct positions and the bright standing light which will be used to put the colour filters on).

12:35pm: Lunch Time

13:35pm: The group begin the final touches to make the studio perfect for filming. This includes getting White wall tape to attach the white sheets to the wall to cover the side skirts of the wall, laying out the costumes for the main actor 'Noah,' 'The Band,' and the 'Nurse' and also putting the props in the correct positions where the filming will start so we don't waste any time.

14:40pm: The group all have lessons so they resume to period 6.

15:50pm: The group all meet in the studio.

16:20pm: Parents evening begins at school which will make filming difficult to start as the groups timings are uneven therefore inevitably will cause a delayed start.

18:10pm: The group and the main actors parents evening finally finishes. In the interim available group members were making additional touches to the studio and Jared went out and got fluids for the long night ahead.

18:20pm: Jack realised we didn't have an SD card in the camera (something we didn't account for, which should have been accounted for) therefore we wasted the better part of 10 minutes trying to find Mr. Swoby in order to acquire a very precious SD card which would allow us to begin filming.

18:30pm: First shots of 'Noah' sitting in the white chair, dressed in his straight jacket with chains around his feet. Many different shots were taken such as Wide shots, over the shoulder shots, low angle shots and close ups were used.

19:00pm: Next shots were taken. 'Noah' remained the same, however this time we had an actor (team member Jared) where the white lab coat and deliver the 'pill' to the patient 'Noah' and force it in his mouth. Again, wide shots, over the shoulder shots and close ups were used.

19:20pm: The next shots were of 'Noah' singing the song, using medium shots and close ups. (Noah changed costumes into his rockstar outfit and had the prop of the 'guitar' which was used in almost all of the singing shots).

19:50pm: Security guard came into the studio and told us we must leave the site as no one can stay in the building beyond 20:00pm.

20:00pm: Leave the studio. Leave school. Day 1 complete.

SUMMARY: Overall, the first day of shooting was a successful one. This is because although we didn't film too much we learnt a lot about our music video idea as well as the characters that have their shots taken such as the patient 'Noah.' Due to the hard work of setting up the studio with props and decorations as a group we were able to visualise our idea to the fullest with new ideas popping up every other minute which we will definitely include in the following shooting days. Furthermore, upon reevaluation via our 'Media Whatsapp Group' we debated the pros and cons of the filming which we had done so far and ultimately decided that the main actor 'Noah' who is the patient and the rockstar was not the best actor for the role. However we already have a plan B with our acting situation which will be put into place on day 2 and will hopefully all go to plan very smoothly. Nonetheless, a lot learnt from Day 1 which will make us more equipped as a group, to have better and better shooting days for the rest of filming in order for us to achieve the highest grade possible as that is our united goal!

Risk Assessment

Filming in the street in a central location filled with fast cars and large buses.	Low risk as we will not be filming in the middle of the street. We will be cautious regardless of the low risk as camera equipment could fall into the road and as we are borrowing the property we have a legal responsibility of looking after it. In order to counteract the risk, we will be so cautious every time we film or go near to the road.
Equipment being stolen	High risk as we will be in the vibrant busy London city, constantly on the go and moving. We acknowledge that we may encounter people on the streets who may ‘approach us’ however, we will always be looking about our equipment and leave it in our car when we are not using it.  We will counteract the risk by labelling our equipment if it were to be ‘misplaced’ so people can contact us if need be.
Car crashing on the way to filming	Medium risk. We will only drive with those who have their driving licence which certainly minimizes the risk as they know how to drive safely as they would have recently passed their car theory test and know the rules of the road to avoid any accidents.  We will counteract the risk by driving with labels on our car informing drivers that there are fragile items in the car to avoid any cars zooming past us dangerously.
If actors can’t make it on the day due to illness. Or if they become ill during filming	Low risk as we will ensure our actors are fit and ready to film by texting them prior to filming (the day before). We will also avoid any unforeseen illness's by making sure all actors are 100% fit and healthy to film the night before. We will also let them have a good night sleep the night before. If the actors become ill during filming, we will carry a pack of ibuprofen and calpol to ensure a speedy recovery so they can get back up and finish filming
Tripping over equipment.	Low risk as our equipment is wireless without cables required. We will keep all of our equipment close together regardless so our group and anyone around us around can visibly see where the equipment is situated within our filming area.
Equipment getting water damaged	Living in a wet environment, there is a possibility that it'll rain on the day we film. To ensure safety upon our filming equipment, we will keep it covered at all times and when we are exposed, we will either use an umbrella to cover rain from going on it or film in a sheltered area.

Call List - Outside Shoot

Call List - Studio

Preparation for the First Shooting Day

This is the lighting that we will use when filming our media

 This is the camera we will be using to film our music video

 Mr Swoby and valuable group member Ethan helping to set up the camera

More of the lights that we will use to help light our music video

The prop of the 'model brain' inside a 'glass box' will be featuring in some shots in our music video

 The 'lab coat' is another prop that will feature in the shot where the nurse hands the patient his pills 

 This is the lone 'chair' that will be used to sit on by the patient inside the mental institution

The 'wooden bat' will be used by the patient when he smashes up random objects expressing his anger

These 'metal chains' will feature occasionally in shots of the patient in the white chair as his legs will be changed up

The 'barbed wire' may potentially be used to show that the patient cannot escape from this prison like asylum

Another valuable team member Jack is viewing the camera angle that we will be using for some shots

Changes to Music Video after Animatic

1. We didn't include the shot at the start with the doctor peering into the room with the mental patient visible sitting in the centre through the window, the shot we had in mind would mean using a green screen and extensive editing which we hadn't know when imagining the shot, we looked up examples of the same edited shot and decided it wasn't right for the video
2. We didn't include close-ups of the band members as we thought this would put more focus on the other band members, whereas we wanted all the focus to be on the differences between the mental patient and lead singer to stress the two different characters in the narrative
3. One thing we increased was the number of close-ups of the drummer, this was because these shots were really effective at creating dramatic emphasis at points of action in the video, when linked to the percussion in the song.
4. We didn't include the shot with the lead singer and the mental patient combining into one person, this was because we overestimated the space we would have in the studio we shot in, which meant it was hard to do this to a perfected effected, in other terms the room was too small for us to get the positioning perfect for the actor to stand in the same position playing as both characters to combine them later in editing
5. We didn't include the shots with the band playing in front of three different backgrounds with the mental patient beside them, this is simply because the room was too small to fit the band, the mental patient, the green screen, and enough room to edit them seamlessly together
6. We didn't include the shot with all the copies of the mental patient acting out the symptoms of paranoid schizophrenia, this was probably the biggest upset in terms of lost shots but once again it was due to the size of the room meaning we couldn't fit/position five copies of the actor
7. We didn't include the bridge shots, this is because we found a better location being a subway which had graffiti which we thought better suited our star image and music video
8. Lastly we slightly altered our idea of having the mental patient run past himself singing, this was changed to the singer running and as he swipes past the centre the mental patient appears from behind him

Rehearsals with Lead Artists

This was the rehearsals with the lead singer. Here he is practising and learning the lyrics to Lithium by Nirvana to perfect his lip syncing, the way he is going to stand and sing with a guitar and trying to break free from the chair.

It was important that he learnt the lyrics, as to sell his star image he needed to perform with passion in the music video and if he was constantly thinking about the words he was saying he would not be able to give the performance that we needed him to give.





This is more active and he is practising sining the lyrics while standing and playing the 'guitar'. Again this is practising the performance element of the video, he needs to sell that he is a rockstar and be able to sing the lyrics on time while accurately playing the guitar.

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This is Dylan the lead singer practising his second role in the music video as the mental patient. Part of this role is when he is stuck and chained in a chair and has to have a real look of anger and frustration on his face to sell the narrative. How much he looks in distress is how believable the narrative will be and how strong the message we are trying yo send to ur target audience will be. If the mental patient in the narrative can go from trapped and distressed to freedom this will inspire the disaffected youth who may be suffering similar problems to do try and fight it.

Cast List

1. Patient/Main singer/Electric guitarist: played by Dylan Lief
- Dylan is a one of a kind human. He is passionate about grunge rock, its his life, he loves to sing in his spare time and therefore we instantly knew he would put in the work to get the lip syncing perfect. Additionally, he was apart of the group so we had access to him at all times which was needed as a total of 20 hours was spent working in the studio filming and learning. Furthermore, Dylan had studied all about what type of band we were inspired from, such as Biffy Clyro and Nirvana and therefore absorbed their rock like tendencies to become the perfect singer and electric guitarist for the job.
Originally we chose a friend called Noah to play this role, however after one day of filming we decided that his acting skills weren't sufficient as he showed little passion. We realised that are decision in the first place was biased for we only chose him as he had similar music tastes to the genre our band were in. Therefore we switched actors to Dylan who immediately showed more passion for the role and expression in his lyrics.

Noah

Dylan

2. Base guitarist: played by Ethan Rand
- Ethan was an easy decision to accept for the role of the base guitarist, it was a simple job where only passion and the art of moving two fingers on guitar strings was needed. He understood the small role or the supporting artist he would play. He fulfilled our vision to perfection by showing less passion and being somewhat quieter than Dylan which was needed to help identify the main artist clearly by watching. Nonetheless, Ethan practiced flawlessly as he is apart of our group and he knew what type of person he had to adopt to make this role the most effective.

3. Drummer: played by Sam Pins
- Initially another group member Jared was the designated drummer in which he was being filmed on the first day of shooting. We soon learned that Jared was an unnatural fit for the role, especially due to the fact drumming consisted of the most co-ordination and natural ability, which one either had, or didn't. Therefore we stayed late after school and watched the prestigious music students of JFS perform in hope we could snatch one to be our holy grail drummer. Head of recruiting, Jared Rand had set his eyes on Sam Pins, a one of kind drumming talent, the schools best. We approached him with a firm contract and he happily accepted. Drummer Pins didn't need much practice, he hit the drums to the beat a coupe of times and was solemnly in rhythm with the rest of the band and the music. We began filming after the roles had finally been occupied and we knew we were going to smash it.

Set Design

This was the set of our main location where we filmed most of our music video. This is at the school media suite which we turned into what we best felt looked like a white asylum or mental institution to fit our narrative. In this photo it is clear to see the studio and the overhead lighting used to increase the brightness of the setting. We also had the camera in that position for most of our shots including the ones of the main artist and the band. To the left of the camera is an extra strong light which we put colour paper in front of to change the lighting of the room in certain shots. Furthermore, to complete the set we put down a huge white sheet to cover the entirety of the floor which we stuck to the bottom of the floor using white tape. This was needed to complete the white asylum look and have a complete white room. The setting was crucial to the narrative of the film and we feel we accomplished this to the best of our ability.

This photo is of two of our group members setting up the camera and placing it in the perfect spot. Again in this photo the white cloth that we used to cover the floor of the set can be seen and how big it really was.

Here is another angle of the set, one of the overhead lights is on which was facing the singers throughout and was used to enhance the colours of the video. On the left hand wall and the back wall of the video is a box coming out of the wall which has plug sockets in and is usually black. However, to fit in with our setting we used white tape to cover the box and then printed a warning danger sign in black and white and put it in a dirty old slip in sheet to give it extra effect and further sell the image of the mental institution.

Shooting Schedule