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Filming Construction

Bowling Alley Scenes- 29th December 2014

On this day Annabelle, Lucy and Kathryn filmed the required frames at the bowling alley; this was the first official day of filming that we had done and took part on the 29th December 2014 during the Christmas holidays in which everyone other than myself was available to film which can be viewed on our filming schedule. I was unavailable on this day due to work commitments but I ensured my team was knowledgable as to what frames needed to be shot and that they should remain focused. Despite being unavailable to go myself I felt I took an active role still in the organisation of this day. The frames to be shot on this day included Ryan and Ruby our actors at a happier time during their relationship on what our target demographic may perceive to be a 'typical' date location; however, it's at this location that further within the video we see them argue as Ryan (Christian) finds out about his girlfriend talking to a new guy. Therefore, in regards to the storyline this location holds various emotions to the actors; we asked Ryan and Ruby to feature in our video during the planning processes of our video in which they both agreed and during this time we were sure to keep them updated with what was going on within our group and asked them when they would be available to film and ensured they were happy and confident in terms of what they had to do and wear. Originally I felt the video would be more effective to have Christian himself star in it but due to distance issues and our concept of the video felt it would be more suitable to cast actors in the role of both Christian and his girlfriend and the new boyfriend. My contribution to organising and ensuring the main focus was collecting the shots can be seen in our group facebook chat below.

As previously mentioned I was unable to attend the bowling but was regularly updated by contacting both Annabelle and Ruby on the progress of work. By using our filming schedule we were able to know specifically what frames needed to be filmed, what props and equipment were needed and what costumes both Ruby and Ryan needed to wear. This allowed the functioning of the filming to be efficient as those who attended knew that they needed to get shots for frames 4,5,6,27,29,30,34,35 and 36. By using our filming schedule we also knew that we would be using the supplied bowling equipment which included shoes and the balls and the alley and that we would also need a camera and tripod and also a phone for Ruby to text on and for Christian to drop as he storms out dramatically. We knew that the lighting at the bowling alley is typically low key which we kep to create versimiltude and we stated for Ruby to wear black leggings, a green long blouse, converse with natural make-up and straight hair and for Ryan to wear blue denim jeans, a long sleeve top (baseball top in black and white) and blue canvas plimsolls which are featured throughout. Before breaking up for the Christmas holidays I had ensured that my fellow team members took two cameras with them as we've found them to be temperamental in terms of battery life so we wanted to ensure that when we were at any of our locations we could ensure a whole day of filming was carried out confident in knowing that if the camera ran out we could rely on the other.

 

One of the frames that needed to be shot was a shot of Ryan throwing the bowling ball down the lane but I was informed this was difficult to shoot as when they filmed the impact the ball had on the lane meant that the camera shook and jolted the shot; they tried to overcome this by holding the camera firmly but this is still apparent during this clip however, believe now it makes it look more believable. Despite not being there I was informed that Annabelle and Kathryn took a lead role when it came to filming in terms of shooting the actual frames we needed and directing the actors in terms of their positioning, what they had to do and how they needed to act etc; Lucy mainly helped in the directing process during this day I was informed. During the shooting of the frames, although we wanted low key lighting at times it was difficult to get a good shot due to the darkness and shadows that the lighting created which they tried to overcome the best they could and if not we believed we could resolve during the editing process. By editing these it will enable clarity and for the footage to be much clearer which is necessary in terms of allowing the audience to keep up to date with what it occurring in our storyline. I was told by Ryan and Ruby who acted within this that the team was good in that they welcomed their input and ideas for ways to improve a shot which we particularly valued from Ruby who is knowledgable when it comes to the acting and drama elements. After the initial waiting of everyone getting to the location and sorting out a lane for them to use and the setting up of the equipment and bowling game, filming went relatively well this day getting everything needed completed in the time limit as Ruby was required at work and the majority of the shots gathered which I reviewed during another day of filming seemed good quality. I also informed my team that once the completion of the stated frames were done to get extra footage in case it is required for filler shots which they were also able to complete. I was told that the difficulty of this filming was much easier than anticipated as we were concerned being a holiday that it would be busy and noisy but nonethless, the bowling alley was apparently quite empty so my team were able to have a lot more space than they thought they would be able to have and being less busy meant they didn't have to worry about noise elements to a great extent or the public walking in front of the camera etc. I also told my team to ensure that when they went to the desk at the beginning of the game to ensure they asked if filming was okay to do and the staff working at Strikes located in King's Lynn informed them that because it's for educational purposes they were happy for them to do so aslong as they ensured faces of members of the public were not in any shots which my team understood and ensured didn't happen. The costumes stated to be worn for this day were worn by those acting in it although, the shoes stated weren't seen due to us forgetting about the fact that for continuity and versimility reasons they would be required to wear bowling shoes. Furthermore, Ryan didn't wear the specific top stated by us but did ensure he wore one very similar.

 

Pictures of our actors in their costume attire at the bowling location on the day can be seen below. 

 

I was informed that overall once the focus of the team was gained that filming overall went well in that they got all the shots required in terms of the storyboard which they also took with them and reviewed and also got extra shots on my request in case filler shots were required during the editing process. However, although we wanted low key lighting to make it more realistic I was told that this did make shots difficult to shoot and made the quality of footage worse which is why if we were to go here again that we may require some of the media lighting equipment in order to obtain the right lighting and contrast.

Beach Scenes- 4th January 2015

On this day myself and Kathryn alongside our actors Ruby and Ryan filmed a lot of the flashback scenes at Hunstanton beach and the arcade. Again I took a lead role in the organisation of this day which can be seen via our group chat and was under the impression at least three of us were available to film as we believed that if not everyone should film there should still be about three of us there. Looking at the filming schedule Annabelle should have been available to film alongside myself and Kathryn but due to last minute changes with her rota both Annabelle and Lucy were unable to attend due to work commitments. On the day we also faced an issue in that Kathryn was unable to get to the location however, I was taking Ruby to the location anyway so ended up taking Kathryn as well as not only did she have all the equipment required to film but I definitely needed one other team member to assist me in the filming of the beach and arcade scenes. I supplied and brought the guitar which would be required for these shots and Kathryn brought the storyboard, tripod and cameras so that we would be able to film and knew what frames needed shooting. 

 

Since myself and Kathryn filmed the arcade and beach scenes this meant that we had a lot of frames to film which included frame 8,9,11,12,14,15,16,20,21,22,23,26,31,32,33,40,42,45,47,48,49 and 50; in addition to this we also wanted to capture additional shots in case some of the frames shot weren't as good as we hoped and needed replacing. Whilst on our way to the location Kathryn devised a love letter which we would require Ryan to throw in to the sea. All of the beah and arcade scenes featured Ryan and Ruby at a happy time in their relationship although there are shots in which we see Ryan (Christian) on his own at the beach in the current day. During our video you see Ryan (Christian) attend the majority of the locations that are featured in the flashbacks on his own which represents his single life in the current day.Being in January it was an extremely cold and windy day and when we got to the location the tide was out so through the wet as it had been raining heavily previously we walked all the way down to the sea. We had some problems at the sea front as the tripod and ourselves kept sinking in to the sand which meant we had to keep moving and trying to find a better location. Kathryn filmed the majorty of the shots at the waters edge whilst I directed the actors although at one point we did swap roles and I shot some shots at the waters edge. We found it extremely difficult when it came to the love letter as the wind was very strong which meant when Ryan tried to throw it in, it often didn't go very far and blew back; I informed Annabelle and Lucy of this afterwards on our group chat. Once this was completed we went to the rocks in which in our storyboard we had Ryan sitting on the rocks singing but because Ryan didn't know the lyrics confidently and we couldn't get signal on our phone these shots didn't go as well as we anticipated. At this point Kathryn was beginning to lose focus so i filmed all the shots of Ryan on the rocks singing and myself and Ruby sung the lyrics to him to repeat. It was also extremely difficult to get Ryan to pretend to play the guitar as it was extremely cold and with members of the public walking by resulted in the guitar playing not looking particualrly realistic. I also filmed various shots of Ryan on his own walking away with guitar in hand which would be used later on within the video after we see Ruby with her new guy Martin and myself and Kathryn also got a shot of Ryan walking up the stairs which is featured in our storyboard. Myself and Kathryn felt it was important to get extra shots as we may need them so while walking to the arcade Kathryn filmed some nice shots that incorporated the sun and Kathryn also went on to film the majority of all the arcade shots whilst I directed and provided money for the games. We also had to go to another arcade to film them on a dance mat and in front of a specific game in which Kathryn again took a lead role but I did also shoot various frames.

 

Overall, filming did go really well on this day despite problems we faced with the weather and we did get all the shots required and a lot more in terms of fillers some of which we are considering using in our final cut. On refelction it was also a good idea to bring two cameras as despite both being fully charged we did end up requring to use the second camera due to the limited battery life. The costumes for our actors to wear on this day were for the beach Ryan in a grey button up shirt, black jeans, hoodie and dark trainers and Ruby in a floral dress, flat shoes and denim jacket and overall they did stick to this although Ruby wore boots to accomodate for the beach and weather and Ryan didn't wear a hoodie. The arcade scenes stated for them to wear: Ruby in light blue jeans, floral peplum top and trainers and Ryan in red chinos/jeans, blue canvas plimsolls and striped navy and orange t-shirt and cardigan. Again they stuck to this mainly but instead Ruby wore leggings and no burgundy jacket but a denim jacket and Ryan wore a shirt with a blue jumper and red jeans but not the t-shirt or cardigan. Images of the actors in their costumes can also be seen below alongside my organisation of the day via the group chat and my feedback to the rest of the group on the group chat as I was sure to inform them about the events of filming on this day in terms of how it went and also how although we wanted the rock scenes to display lip syching that we may need to re-shoot these as they may not be up to the standard we wanted but perhaps in a different location and have more lip synching throughout the entire video to fullfil the performance element.

Please click the arrows to view the chat in which we organised the beach scenes; I felt I took a lead role in the organisation of this in terms of who was coming, if not why not, what we needed, what costumes needed to be worn etc.

These images show the costumes of our actors on the day of filming both at the beach and arcade and also serve as evidence to our filming.

Below you can view my feedback after the filming to the rest of the team; please click the arrows to navigate through the conversation.

On this day Kathryn and Lucy went to Lucy's nan's house situated on a farm to film the footage nearing the end of the video in which we will see Chrisitan burning the memories that him and Ruby had together and getting them out of his life for good. Lucy's dad made us a burner to use and for safety reasons we had this filmed outside. Myself and Annabelle couldn't attend this filming due to being able to travel arrangements but trusted that Lucy and Kathryn along with Ryan would be able to film the few frames that we needed. Initially we also wanted Lucy and Kathryn to film the house scenes during this time but due to lack of time were unable to do this which meant making another time for this to be done. By looking at our filming schedule, frames 24,25,37,44,51,52,53 and 54 needed to be filmed in the garden/field. These shots included Ryan (Christian) setting a light a picture of them together as well as reflecting on gifts and memories before throwing them in to the fire and watching them burn. We wanted low key lighting for these frames to give the impression of night so that the flames would be clearly visible and have a dramtic contrast which is why Lucy and Kathryn filmed just before it got really dark as we knew that using editing we would be able to make the clips darker if necessary. We required a few props during this which included camera, tripod as well as an incinerator, lighter and gifts and memories such as photos, tickets, letters and a teddy. According to the filming schedule Ryan was to wear grey jogging bottoms a blue t-shirt and hoodie and trainers and a coat however, due to a change of costumes in which he is featured in grey jogging bottoms for the stage and the fact this was filmed after school one day Ryan is instead wearing jeans, a jumper, a gilet and a scarf. A picture of a frame shot and Ryan's outfit can be viewed below.

Myself and Annabelle were informed that filming went well and was fun to do but very smoky after they had completed it but were also told that the house scenes weren't done. Overall when reviewing the clips after I felt Kathryn and Lucy did a good job when filming this part of the video as the frames they shot were done well and the overall image of the shots and the lighting in contrast to the fire ensured that the shots fitted in well with the storyline of the video and made a good ending to the story as the last shot features Ryan (Christian) walking away from the bin of burning items and later as it's darker the bin as it smokes after being put out. Please review pictures of the filming and our group chat below. Click the pictures to enlarge.

Outdoor Burning Scenes- 2nd February 2015

On the 9th February I was concerned that our filming was completed especially since I had put the suggestion forward of having more lip synching in the video throughout and a performance element by using the stage and we also needed to re-shoot the town shots as during the time between the burning scenes and now we filmed some town shots but then found because we didn't finish all the shots we needed we needed to refilm then to avoid continuity errors. Again I can be seen in the group conversation on the 9th February trying to organise a time for filming to occur which was then done on the 10th February during and after school.

Stage (Lip Synching) and Town Scenes- 10th February 2015

 

 

 

On this day we decided we would film a lot of lip synching footage to use throughout the entire song and in order to do this we would be using the school stage to enhance the performance element but have no crowd which provokes empathy via his isolation and lonliness which links directly to the song. These shots aren't listed on the shooting schedule as initially we were going to have a few lip syching shots on the beach but in terms of being realisitc at this time Ryan's lip synching and guitar playing wasn't to a believable standard which meant we needed shots to replace this however, I felt we needed more lip synching throughout the video rather than just narrative so that we could meet the typical conventions of our genre of having an artist showcasing their pure talent in a simple way. Because this wasn't organised Ryan came in wearing an outfit of his choice which ended up being grey jogging bottoms and a baseball top and although we all felt this wasn't particualrly approrpriate clothing on this occasion in which we wanted to present him in a smart and professional manner we carried on with filming regardless of this factor knowing that we were on a time frame in regards to getting filming completed.

 

We found that we were all free to film during 5th lesson and all agreed to stay after school. Before filming 5th lesson I reviewed the clips we had already and saw where each gap was and wrote down all the lyrics said during these gaps and extra so that Ryan could look at all the lyrics we needed him to know and so that we knew specifically what lip synching parts we needed when it came to filming later on. All of us were present during this filming although it was only myself and Annabelle that actually filmed and directed all of the lip synching clips. Myself and Annabelle set up the camera and tripod in position and also got Ryan in to position so that he was slightly off centre. I filmed all the lip synching footage which ended up being a lot whilst Annabelle directed and found the correct part in the song so Ryan could sing along; myself and Annabelle tried to help Ryan remember the words by miming the lyrics to help him keep on track. We used the same mid-shot throughout to maintain continuity but also tried close-ups afterwards. It took some time to get this footage as we found it difficult because Ryan didn't know the song very well and couldn't realistically play guitar but ended up getting some overall good footage that would enhance and showcase the performance elements of our video. Myself and Annabelle made an effort to help Ryan by going over lyrics with him and practicing before each filmed shot and if given more help from team members could have been better in terms of accuracy and Ryan feeling more comfortable.

I felt this could have gone better despite filming for about an hour and a half if Ryan had of made a greater effort to learn the song and if all team members were involved rather than just myself and Annabelle however, with what we had to deal with I felt overall it went well in terms of Ryan singing and playing guitar and realistically trying to be Christian Smith.

 

After myself and Annabelle finished all the lip synching which would be featured regularly throughout the video as a whole group we then went to town to reshoot some shots we had already done as well as capture extra shots. We had filmed the town shot of Ruby and Ross (Martin) walking hand in hand at an earlier time as we did this quickly during a free lesson and didn't take much time at all. We deliberately incorporated the brickwork in this shot of Ruby and Ross (Martin) as the brickwork is associated with Christian Smith's video, digipak and magazine advert.  The town shots featured a shot very similar to George Ezra which included a floor shot that slowly moved up to show Ryan (Christian) walking forward as the camera then slowly moved round to the front to show his face. Kathryn, Myself and Annabelle and even Ruby had a go at filming this beginning shot which would be featured near the beginning of the video. It was a relatively dififcult shot to get as it involved walking abnormally slow but by three of us having a go it meant we had a choice of shot and footage to choose from at different paces etc although via editing we could slow or speed down the clip if we needed to; furthermore, this shot was handheld due to the angle so walking slow was good to an extent in that it meant we reduced the chance of the shot being shaky and made an intertextual reference to a famous artist within the same genre- George Ezra by doing so. Other town shots included Ryan (Christian) walking down a brickwork alley which we will use for the first frame of our video and this was shot by Kathryn although I also had a go and positioned the camera. We didn't have much to film in the town shots but the footage we did get was to a quality standard and by using what our target demographic considers as 'normal' locations throughout it allows our artist to connect to our audience and for them to feel like they can identify. With the town shots being in the same day as the lip synching this meant Ryan (Christian) was wearing the same outfit however, it's only identifiable that he's wearing the same grey jogging bottoms as the top is covered by the fact he's wearing a hoodie, gilet and scarf which enhances the fact he's outside and gives the impression it's a different outfit. Like mentioned previously though if we were to film the lip-synching and town shots again we would ensure that Ryan is wearing an outfit that presents him in a smart and professional manner that is more genre appropriate so that our video and artist look more believable and professional rather than amateur. I felt overall we all worked well together when it came to the town shots often providing ideas and ways to improve the shot as well as having a go to increase our choice of footage. A picture of footage filmed in the town and showing what Ryan wore can be seen below as well as a picture of him lip-synching on stage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On this day Lucy and Kathryn went to film the final scenes which involved the 'house' scenes which initially were to be shot at the same time as the burning scenes but couldn't due to the time limit they had. During the gap between filming we started and were nearly finished with our digipak and magazine advert for our artist before realising these shots still needed to be done. However,due to the time and accessibility it meant that filming these frames had to be done somewhere within the sixth form rather than at someones house so the director of sixth form allowed us to use the staff room which is comfortable and cosy filled with soft chairs etc and although we wanted this done in a house we found this wasn't actually necessary as the shots needed were all close-ups that meant the surrounding background wasn't important as it wasn't within the shot. According to our filming schedule the house scene involved getting frames 3,7,10,13,17,18,19,24,25,28,38,39,41. These shots were shots such as a close-up of Ryan's hand writing screw you over a picture of Ruby which we aim to match up with the same lyrics in the song and a mid shot/close-up as Ryan walks by and slams a photo of them down on a table as well as the shots that included the cork board and Ryan as he wrips the photos down etc. Myself and Annabelle didn't attend this final piece of filming as we knew it wouldn't take very long to do and didn't require all four of us to film a few frames so myself and Annabelle stayed in the classroom and created, carried out and gained the results from our audience feedback on our digipak and magazine advert. However, before Lucy and Kathryn went off to film I showed a list of the shots that still needed to be done to Kathryn as I had written them down in my book and as they were filming we communicated with them to ask how it was going and when they would be finished. It took longer than we thought for them to get the shots but were happy that the final parts of filming were finally completed and the shots they gathered which I believe to have been mainly shot by Kathryn were to a good quality and to the specifications that we laid out as a team which I reinforced to them before they left. Now that we had collected the final bits of footage we could focus on completing our rough cut and obtaining feedback although ever since our first filming session we had made an effort to start and keep up with the editing so that we didn't have a great amount to do once we had finished collecting all the footage we needed. We reviewed we had all the footage which was made easier by the fact we had already started editing so it was a matter of ensuring we had enough footage to fill the gaps and using our animatic to look at timings etc so that we could create the rough cut for our music video- Bruises. Please view footage evidence from the 'house' scenes below as well as me ensuring Lucy and Kathryn would be able to film by reminding them to bring what we needed in the day before.

'House' Scenes- 4th March 2015

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