Filming Journal ( including reflection ) - Day 2

On our second day of filming we began filming in the bedroom location which is Phoebes bedroom in her house. We kept to our storyboard for the majority of filming however we did change our storyboard by including new shots such as a pan of Phoebe's bedroom, picking up her car keys,walking down her stairs to go to her car and another car shot of when she is driving to town. We thought it was important to make these changes to our storyboard and shot list as it kind of made sense having a pan of her bedroom to show who's bedroom it is and what it actually looks like and having the car keys shot to show that she is leaving her bedroom/ house as well as walking down the stairs to show leaving her house. We thought all of these were important to include in our music video to show a sense of continuity and real life aspects to the people who will be watching our music video.

We faced some difficulties when filming the mirror shot and the time lapse as we had to find the correct angle in which to film Phoebe in the mirror without the camera being visible. However we overcame these difficulties by finding a correct way to film Phoebe and so that it looked professional and effective. We took many takes of this shot just to make sure that it was what we wanted the shot to look like for our music video and when it came to editing so that we wouldn't have to film this part again. 

Another difficulty which we faced while filming the mirror shots was that we had to get enough footage for the time-lapse to be effective and work. We had to film at least a minute/or two of Phoebe doing her makeup in the mirror from a normal angle rather than in the mirror. We had to do this to ensure we had enough footage when it came to editing our music video together as this was part of the time lapse which we wanted to include in the music video.

The next thing which we filmed was walking up towards the top of a car park and the rooftop car park.  We used a trip-pod for both of these shots as we had to make sure that as Phoebe is walking up the stairs to the car park that the shot is smooth and not shaky. Again we took multiple of these shots while filming to make sure we had the correct shot which we want to use in our music video when it comes to editing. We did not experience any difficulties while filming this part of the music video. We then filmed the top of the car park. This was a very simple and impressive part of filming as the time in which we started to film on the car park the sunset was happening and the sky was nice and colourful as well as dark. We took some test shots to make sure that the shot wouldn't look too dark but it was very successful and looked very professional with the lighting. This was exactly the effect which we wanted to have in our music video. therefore we did not experience any difficulties while filming this part of the music video. Below is an example of filming at the car park and with the tripod.

Once we had finished filming at the carpark we drove to our next location. Our next location 

was the underpass near Waitrose with the mirrors all around the underpass. We did face some difficulties here as the time which we were filming was a very busy time around rush hour ( 17:30 and the underpass was used by many commuters. Therefore sometimes we had to ask people to wait 2 or 3 minutes until we were done filming that shot. We then had to make sure that the camera was not visible in the mirrors around the underpass, so we took many takes of this to make sure that it looked good and professional. We went against our storyboard and included a different shot in the underpass of the mirror which were on the top of the tunnel. We thought that this looked effective as we would then cut from the normal shot of Phoebe walking down the underpass to then cut to a shot of Phoebe walking passed the other mirror on the side of the tunnel to then cut to the mirrors at the top. We came up with this idea on the day and thought that by including this it would be very effective to use in our music video with a meaning behind it too. We thought that by using the mirrors it could create a sense that someone is watching Phoebe and that she is unaware of this.


Reflection :
Overall filming was good on the second day.We completed everything which we had planned in these locations. Although we did make some minor changes to our storyboard this was only for the better as it improved our music video a lot.

Filming Journal ( including reflection)- Day 1

Filming Journal- a daily record of news and events of a personal nature; a diary.

We began filming during Half-Term. On the first day of filming we began with more test shots of each location which we were intending to film at. Alongside this we used our 'Shot list' and 'Storyboard' which enabled us to be consistent while filming and we knew where we were filming as well as what shot to use. This was very helpful as it made filming more productive and efficient. However as we began filming and taking test shots as a group we began to slowly see that our original storyboard with shots which we had planned didn't quite form what we wanted our music video to look like. Therefore we did use our storyboard but ended up changing it ever so slightly to fit what we actually wanted. For example after filming our opening of the music video we decided to use   a close up of phoebe's shoes as she walks along the bridge. We thought this was more effective. Below is an image of the test shot of the white bridge which we are filming at. 

We then began to film our music video. We began filming our establishing shot of Phoebe walking across the white bridge. Initially ( according to our storyboard and initial ideas) this was not supposed to be the establishing shot, however we thought it was more of an effective opening to a music video. We did not experience any issues while filming this first shot. By using a trip-pod in order that the camera was not shaky. We therefore took multiple shots of the establishing shots and when Phoebe walks across the bridge in order to choose the best one which we thought when it comes to editing our music video together.

We then moved onto filming more shots on the white bridge ( Phoebe walking across the bridge).

We again went against our storyboard and changed the shots which we wanted to do. One reason which we did this was to enable us to have enough footage when it comes to putting our music video together when editing. We took different shots of Phoebe looking out to the other bridge ( Maidenhead Bridge) and close up shots to show her emotions. We did not face any difficulties in doing this. Again we made sure we took multiple shots of Phoebe so that we did not face any problems when it came to editing our music video together.

Once we had finished filming Phoebe on the bridge we then moved onto the woods location( which was just across the bridge in the middle of the river so an island). We began taking test shots of the woods location. We did this to see whether we like the lighting and whether we like where we will be filming. Below is a picture of a test shot of the woods location.

We began filming in the woods. We followed our storyboard and shot list here. We did not change anything on our storyboard for these shots. We filmed Phoebe walking towards us while lip syncing and again closer to phoebe as she walks towards us. We thought this was very effective, however we still made sure that we had done multiple takes just in case when we came to evident and viewing our footage and cutting it that it was satisfactory and was what we wanted our music video to have in it.

Once we had finished filming the woods part we then filmed the bench shot of Phoebe sitting on the bench and looking out towards Maidenhead Bridge. This was filmed on Guards Park Islands. We made sure that it matched the angle which we wanted the shot to be so that Maidenhead Bridge was visible and so was Phoebe. We took multiple takes in case any of them weren't as satisfactory as we wanted them to be. Below is a photo of the bench shot looking out towards Maidenhead Bridge.

 

 After filming in the woods location we filmed a small part of the Maidenhead bridge. We did not face any difficulties in doing this as this was the easiest part of filming for our music video. We took two takes and then this was completed. Again this was not included in the storyboard this was included while we were filming as we came up with the idea that this would look really good and effective.Below is a photo of Maidenhead Bridge.

Reflection:
Overall filming was good on this day. We completed everything which we had planned in these locations. Although we did make some minor changes to our storyboard this was only for the better as it improved our music video a lot.

Filming plan ( timings)

Filming Plan-  A shooting schedule is a project plan of each day's shooting for a film production. It is normally created and managed by the assistant director, who reports to the production manager managing the production schedule

Below is our Filming Plan and timings for when we film. We will use the filming plan/timings for when we film to know what and where we will be filming. This will enable us to be as efficient as possible when we are filming so that we get everything done as effective and efficiently as possible.

Risk Assessment

As a group we had to carry out a risk assessment. We had to do this in order to assess the risks and hazards which could occur at the locations where we intend to film. It is important to carry out a risk assessment to make sure that any risks or hazards are identified before we go and film in our desired location. Therefore by completing this we can be sure that each location is a safe environment to film in and that everyone is aware of the risks which are involved at each specific location.

            The Woods 

       Bedroom 

Props list

Prop list-  A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or on screen by actors during a performance or screen production.

Below is an example of what props we shall be using throughout our music video It is important to have a prop list before and filming to know what props will be used while filming a particular part of the music video.

Shotlist

Shot list- A shot list is a document that lists and describes the shots to be filmed during principal photography/filming.

Below is a shot list for our music video. We will utilise this shot list when we begin filming for our music video. The shot list will be very useful to use alongside filming to know what shot needs to be filmed at what time.

Shotlist

Shot list- A shot list is a document that lists and describes the shots to be filmed during principal photography/filming.

Below is a shot list for our music video. We will utilise this shot list when we begin filming for our music video. The shot list will be very useful to use alongside filming to know what shot needs to be filmed at what time.

Audience pitch to class feedback

Feedback:

Simran

'Sufficient detail throughout, backed up points with images etc. I thought the digipak drawings were very detailed with everything explained well. Main idea is explained very well and can't wait to see what the end/final product looks like.'

Megan

'Sufficient detail throughout and liked the costume idea and digipak drawings. Explanation of locations are very clear and can see that there is a journey taking place throughout the music video through the locations.'

Mr Kerrigan

'I really like your song choice; I agree with you that there are lots of possibilities for this song. 

 The fact that EDM music videos do not tend to feature the artist(s), and that they often employ narratives that are unrelated to the lyrics, could be an advantage. I, personally, prefer it when the narrative of a music video is related to the lyrics; looking at your animatic, this shouldn’t be a problem'


'I like the idea for your music video; given your comparatively limited means, I think it strikes the balance of being both interesting and achievable. As you have correctly noted, EDM videos often involve some sort of connection to a club; I think that the idea of tracking your actress in the run up to a night out is a great idea. Make sure that you make your links between the content of the music video and the lyrics obvious to your audience'

' Your ideas for your actress’s clothing make sense'

' Your locations are well researched'


' Your animatic was easy to follow; I feel have a good idea of what you are attempting to achieve. I’m looking forward to see how you execute it'

Receiving feedback from our focus group and Mr Kerrigan about our audience pitch was important and we received many positive things said about our audience pitch.  Almost everyone who gave us feedback said that every aspect which we did such as the storyboard and animatic all made sense and they all cant wait to see how we execute it to the final product of our music video.

Audience pitch to class

Audience Pitch for A2 media studies from Bonnie Bidgood

Animatic storyboard ( including feedback and redrafts)

New York City Animatic - KGB  ( link for Youtube- Animatic)

Animatic-  A animatic storyboard is a graphic organiser in the form of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion picture, animation, motion graphic or interactive media sequence. 



Feedback for Animatic Storyboard from Focus group:

Phoebe: "I'm even more excited to be starring in this music video now that I've been able to see the animatic. I can really envision the story line. It's a cool concept."

James: “I think the group has done really well in making the animatic and I think the shots they have chosen fit really well.”

Alex: “The theme of romance really comes through and I feel like the music video is slowly coming alive what with now having an animatic version of it. I’m so excited to see the final thing.

Scarlett: “I finally see what the group is intending to achieve now that I've seen the animatic. I look forward to seeing the real thing.”

Ben: “I think the animatic does represent a simplified version of what The Chainsmokers achieve in their own music videos. However, they don’t have the same level of production so it is clear its being done on an amateur scale.”

Storyboard ( feedback and redrafts )

Storyboard - a sequence of drawings, typically with some directions and dialogue, representing the shots planned for a film or television production.


Below is our storyboard for our music video; this includes every shot we intend to be taken in order to create our music video. By doing a  storyboard it is giving us a snapshot of what our music video will hopefully look like as a final product.The storyboard will also enable us to see what we will actually be filming when we begin the filming process.

Feedback:

Phoebe: "I'm really excited to star in this music video. When listening to the song and looking at the story board I can really envision the story line and its a cool concept."

James: "I'm not the biggest fan of the song, I wouldn't say EDM is my favourite genre, however I think the group has done really well in finding a story to go with the song."

Alex: "It follows the romance theme of the EDM genre but doesn't include a club or dancing scene with mostly happens in the videos of that genre, however I'm interested to see the final product."

Scarlett: "It's cool, however until I see it to music I won't know if it really works. It will be cool to see though and its a good idea."

Ben: "I love The Chainsmokers so I'm really excited to see how they're represented in these guy's music video to one of their songs."

Props research

Prop - a portable object other than furniture or costumes used on the set of a play or film.


Below is a link to a Prezi to the Props research. (Please click).

Props Research Link - Prezi 

Below are also screenshots from the Prezi.

Costume and make-up research

Costume research 

When it came to deciding upon the costume of our actor we decided to have her wearing dark/casual clothes to be representative of her emotion/mood throughout the music video. As she will only be walking around different places and not going out to a party we thought that keeping it casual with black ripped jeans, a hoodie/jumper and trainers was the best option.

Below is images of what we want our actor to be wearing when we are filming our music video.

 By having Phoebe wear black ripped jeans we thought this would help to portray the representation we are trying to create throughout our music video. The colour black typically has negative connotations associate with mystery, as well as being associated with fear and the unknown.  By Phoebe wearing jeans that are ripped we think that this typically conveys a 'rebellious' look.

We would want Phoebe to be wearing a oversized jumper or a hoodie, as we are portraying a very casual look pf our character. I think that oversized jumpers or a hoodie shows clearly a casual look and could also represent her emotion well too. As the season when we will be filming will be Autumn/Winter we as a group also think that a warm casual look will work well.

We want Phoebe to wear a necklace from her ex-boyfriend. We want to show this necklace as a significance which was given to her from her ex-boyfriend. We will film Phoebe holding and playing around with her necklace when the lyrics are 'bad habits' when we are showing Phoebe with alcohol bottles, the necklace is significant of her bad habit which was her ex-boyfriend. We want this to be obvious to the audience when they are watching the music video, therefore we will make sure that the necklace is shown clearly when we are filming. The necklace is representative of her 'bad habit' which was her boyfriend.

Make-up research

As a group we have decided that Phoebe should have quite a lot of make-up on while filming for our music video.  We decided that if she is wearing a lot of make-up such as; dark mascara to reinforce her emotion after breaking up with her boyfriend. Eyeshadow above her eyes and highlighter too.

Casting Research ( Including test shots)

Casting Research was the most difficult for us as a group to decide on. We thought very carefully about what sort of actor we will want to have as the main character which we follow on their journey throughout the whole of the music video narrative. We needed the perfect actor which would be the face of our whole music video. We needed her to be able to lip-sync at times, portray a very dull emotion and to act well.

Therefore as a group after thinking long and hard about choosing the correct actor we decided upon 'Phoebe Train' one of our friends from school to be our chosen actor for our music video. As Phoebe has previously done GCSE Drama and is currently doing A-level Drama we thought that she would be the ideal actor for our music video. By having  great previous acting skills we thought that she would be ideal to use in our music video as the main protagonist.

Below is an image that Phoebe has allowed us to use and represent her as our main protagonist within our music video. She has given us her full permission in order to participate and act in our music video. As well as giving up most of her spare/free time whenever we will need her when we begin to film for our video

.

Location Research ( including recce shots)

Maidenhead High Street ( Town Centre)

As a group we have decided to include some of our filming of our music video in Maidenhead Town Centre as part of the girls journey in the music video. We want to use Maidenhead town as a smaller version of 'New York City'. At night we thought that filming in this location will work well for our music video and will be effective.

Guards park - White bridge and brown bridge  behind it

As a group we have decided to use Guards park bridge as part of our music video. Our reasons being that we thought by filming Phoebe walking across and looking at the bridge would be very reflective of the way she is feeling. The bridge is almost acting as a bridge in 'New York City' e.g 'Brooklyn Bridge'. Therefore as we cannot film in the City of New York we thought this would be a good location to include in our music video. At night we thought this would be a good time to film as we are having our whole music video set in the night time rather than the day time as we thought again that filming in the evening is much more effective for the song and the lyrics of the song.

Maidenhead Car Park

 As a group we decided to use the top of a Car Park  in Maidenhead as we wanted to get a full perspective of Maidenhead town centre. We decided to show the whole 360 view of Maidenhead town centre as if it was New York City.

We thought filming in this location would be effective to the audience to see a town illuminated at night, as if it was New York City. As we are not able to film in New York City we thought by using Maidenhead as a town even though it is not a city would be very effective to the audience as well as the lyrics being in conjunction with the visuals.

Guards Park ( Island)

We decided to use Guards park, the island in the middle of the water facing Maidenhead Bridge. We as a group thought this would be very effective as the girl is sitting on the bench looking out to Maidenhead Bridge as she is reflecting on her emotions.

 We also want to use the bench which is in the middle of the island  and film a specific carving on the bench of the girl and her boyfriend. This will be good in terms of our music video as it will show how the journey which the girl is going on is reflecting upon her emotions as well as the lyrics linking well with the visuals in the music video. We also want to give the audience a constant reminder that the girl is in a  city but not in New York City. Therefore by choosing this location we thought it could be representative of a bridge/ or place in New York City.

Again,  we want the light to be dark, to reflect the girls mood/emotion throughout the music video and at this point in the music video. As we film in the evening the lights from different surrounding locations such as ' The Blue River Cafe' and 'The Rowing club' will illuminate. We thought this effect when filming at night would be effective for our music video and the theme which we are portraying throughout our music video.

This is the middle of Guards park island where there is a forest in the middle of the island looking out towards Maidenhead Bridge. We decided upon this location as we thought that it would be effective if Phoebe was walking towards the camera during the forest as is she was reflecting upon her feelings of breaking up with her boyfriend and him getting into a relationship with another girl. We thought that this was a effective location to use and would be representative of Phoebe's thoughts and feelings as she is walking through the forest.

Bedroom 

As a group we  decided to use Phoebe's bedroom in our music video as we thought this would fit well with what we are trying to portray throughout our music video. The bedroom will be used when Phoebe is getting ready to go out on her journey to the different locations above and when she is looking at her ex-boyfriends Facebook page on her laptop. The bedroom has significance of a typical teenagers bedroom too. The bedroom will have links to 'New York City' around the bedroom, to reinforce the theme throughout the music video.

Finalised idea for Magazine advertisement

Below is our finalised idea for the Magazine advertisement. After creating many initial ideas which we wanted as our advertisement we decided as a group that this one was the most effective and similar to the Digipak. We wanted to have continuity from our music video to the Digipak and to the magazine advertisement

. As we wanted to create an interlink across all three products we thought that our finalised idea for the magazine advertisement would have a similar image as the digipak would have so that people would be able to recognise all three of our products ( music video, digipak and the promotional magazine poster).

Finalised Idea for Album Digipak

Below is our finalised idea for our Album Digipak. We decided as a group after some initial ideas that this was the one which we think is the most influential and coincides well with our theme which we want to re-create. We also decided on this to be our final idea for the Album Digipak as we thought it describes the music video well.

Even though it was difficult to decide on a final idea. As a group we eventually decided on the one below as we thought it would create the sense which we want to portray across from our music video to promote both the  digipak and the magazine poster.

Finalised Idea for Music video

 After coming up with several initial ideas as a group we finally decided on our finalised idea for our music video.

Our favourite idea was that the style of the music to be a day in the life of our character. Our main character is to be a girl, around the age of 18+. We want her outfits to reflect her mood and by this I mean as the song is quite down beat we do not want her to be wearing bright colours as this will not reflect on her mood well. 

We want to show a journey, such as the main character getting ready for the night, we will show her make-up as well as her in different locations such as the woods and the top of a building. We want to show the town we are filming in because it goes with the theme of the song We are using our local town 'Maidenhead' as 'New York City' in the song. We plan on making links with the lyrics and the visuals on certain lines such as "Losing my lover to the arms of another" and "New York City please go easy".

As we will not actually be filming in New York City we want to find a way to incorporate American culture in to our video as well.

Initial Ideas for music video, album digipak and magazine advertisement

Below is our initial ideas of our music video.

 Below is initial ideas of our album digipak.

Below is initial ideas of our magazine advertisement poster

Analysis of Chosen Song- 'New York City' by 'The Chainsmokers'- deconstruction of lyrics and exploration of synaethsthesia

Analysis of 'New York City' by 'The Chainsmokers'

We as a group decided on this song for our music video as we all have very different tastes in music, we thought this song incorporates almost every genre in music and everyone in our group decided it was a good song choice. I thought this song was also a good choice as it has many ways to manipulate the lyrics to the visuals. Therefore i put forward this idea to my group and we all decided that would be a good idea. I also think that by choosing this song gives our group the ability to manipulate with the lyrics and the visuals well. In my opinion, and why i like our song choice is that as we will be filming around the Winter season i think we can explore the lyrics well with the visuals and create a interesting and creative music video.




Deconstruction of lyrics

Above is an image of our chosen song lyrics being  deconstructed. 

Audience Research (with reference to audience theory and overview of focus group)

Audience Research

To ensure our promotional materials appeal to our target audience, we decided to create a focus group that would help us with feedback as we progress from our research and planning to the final product - the music video. Documenting feedback from our focus group will enable us to develop and progress from research/planning to final product.

So far we have documented feedback from our focus group on what they considered to be the strengths and weaknesses of our research and planning.

When putting together our focus group, our objective was to come up with a representative sample of our target audience. In order to do this, we began by pinpointing our target audience and creating a profile of a typical member.

Audience profile

Age: 15-24

Gender: Mixed, but primarily female.

Registrar General's Social Scale: B  / C1/  E.

Selby's Psychographic Cluster: 'Innovators: who wish to make their mark.'

·      The Registrar General’s Social Scale is the way the British Government defines the populace through their occupation:

Group	Occupations
A	Professional Workers (lawyers, doctors etc.), Scientists, Managers of large-scale organisations.
B	Shopkeepers, Farmers, Teachers, White-collar workers.
C1	Skilled Manual (i.e. hand) workers – e.g. high grade, e.g. master builders, carpenters, shop assistants, nurses.
C2	Skilled Manual – low grade, e.g. electricians, plumbers.
D	Semi-skilled Manual, e.g. bus drivers, lorry drivers, fitters.
E	Unskilled Manual, e.g. general labourers, barmen, porters.

Description

A typical member of our target audience would be a female; however, the various promotions will be targeted for both males and females. When researching The Chainsmokers' original productions and who typically goes to see them live, we personally felt that they catered more for women than men. They would also be in their late teens or early twenties - perhaps a sixth-form/university student. They would be someone who wishes to strive in the world they are present in and make their mark and could possibly see themselves as rebellious - someone who wishes to remake their world in their own image. We also think that the members of our target audience would most defiantly enjoy going to gigs and festivals, much like those of Nass and Boomtown, where dance/EDM music is sort after. 

In terms of Elihu Katz's 'Uses and Gratifications', they would be someone who gains a sense of their own identity from the music they listen to and someone who uses music as a form of escapism from the stresses of everyday life drama. The 'Uses and Gratifications' model suggests that audiences use the media rather than being used by the media. 

Focus Group:

Using this audience profile (above) as a base, we compiled a group of five people who are within the same friendship group so to an extent share similarities and are similar ages/genders with our target audience. We will continue to use the exact same members of the focus group throughout the development of our coursework and evaluations. 

Phoebe: Studies Drama, English Literature, and Philosophy and Ethics at A-Level. Her hobbies consist of playing guitar (very musical person and enjoys going to gigs and festivals), blogging and reading.

James: Studies Mathematics, Economics and Geography. His hobbies are football, going to the gym and socialising.

Alex: Studies History, Geography and Business Studies. Hobbies consist of horse riding and socialising with friends from school and work.

Scarlett: Studies Geography, Business Studies and Drama. Her hobbies include dancing, athletics and socialising with friends.

Ben: Studies Psychology, Biology and Chemistry. Ben's hobbies include playing cricket and attending gigs.

Focus Group
By using this audience profile as our basis, we complied a group of five people who to greater and lesser extents share similarities with out 'typical' target audience member. We will as a group use the exact same focus group throughout our coursework and evaluations.