Edited Footage (Erith Pier 1)

We shot our second segment of filming at Erith Pier. Due to our model change, this footage now featured Katie as our model. We found this location to be beneficial as it is really empty and open spaced which will also allow us to film the dance sequence here. We also found that the natural lighting, especially the use of the sun during the golden hour which created a romantic feel we wanted in our music video. The sun created a soft, gentle look on film and highlighted the model's face, particularly during the close up shots. 

We particularly liked the use of the Golden Hour filming with the sun fading into the background which highlighted the model's face. The miming scenes were not as succinct as we would have liked due to angle of which the model was at which made it hard to tell she was miming. As it was our first time shooting with Katie she was understandably nervous and this was conveyed in the video as she also repeatedly swayed, meaning the camera had to move slightly in order to capture the full frame. We are aware that miming is extremely difficult to achieve professionally but feel that this needs re shooting at a better angle so it is clear that the model is actually miming. 
The profile shots of the model, in our view, were a success, however due to issues with the tripod the camera angle is positioned below the model which we did not particularly like. We would re shoot these types of shots at a higher angle.The close up of the model's face miming is something we wish to re shoot as we liked the close up angle yet the hair over the model's face was not something we wanted as we felt it distracted from her eyes- her main feature which we wished to emphasise. 
The walking shots were successful in terms of the sun in the background which is what we had set out to achieve along with the 'industrial' setting we aimed for as this provides the impression the model could be anywhere. Nonetheless, the actual angles were not high enough meaning when the model walked past, shown in the panning shot, the top of her head was out of the frame. Additionally, when the model walked toward the camera she was centered in the middle of the shot, which did not mean she was framed successfully. We wish to re shoot this scene with use of the 'rule of thirds', meaning the model will instead be slightly to the right, with the pole to the left, creating symmetry without being too two dimensional which does not create an interesting look. 
The panning shots of the scenery here with the sun are successful, although possibly jumpy in certain areas. We wish to use this take in our final copy so would editing the beginning slightly to remove the initial shakes. 

One of the major issues we faced, on reflection, was the model's outfit as this was too heavy due to the thick woolen black coat. The texture of the coat did not fit with the cotton white dress which the model was wearing and the silk scarf. The texture was too heavy compared to the lighter textures of the dress and scarf. We also did not care for the clumpy boots and have instead decided to use ballet pumps as this creates a delicate look which we are aiming for considering the use of nature within our video. 
We have decided to remove the coat  yet keep the dress and the scarf. We are aware that when shooting the video our model will have to be outside and will therefore be extremely cold so will be taking extreme measures to try and keep her warm in between takes. This is to ensure we are controlling our setting of the video. 


In Attendance: Katie (Model), Danielle and Hannah 
Video by Rosie  

Proof of Filming (Erith Pier 1)

Initial Edited Filming (Hall Place 1)

The filming we shot in Hall Place was varied in the sense of usability for our music video. Rosie, as our editor, arranged the footage in sections to make it easier to analyse. 

Section A: Animal Life 
As a rule we decided to use nature in our opening scene of the music video. Due to the environment of which we shot these scenes, the main wildlife was primarily geese. The shots of these animals are shaky due to the lack of a tripod which was have realised is essential for a professional, steady shot. They still have potential to be used in the opening of our video if slowed down although we are reluctant to do this, mainly due to the use of water birds not being in our initial concept for the video. We were testing shots really here due to our absence of a model which proved problematic. 

While Rosie was editing the footage, she suggested that a clean cut from clip to clip was rather harsh, not fluid enough for the type of video we are making which is basically a soft ballad. Instead, a fade was used as a transition from one clip to another. We do not plan on using this in our final piece as we hope there will be more flow from clip to clip instead of jumping as this does. 

As a group we quickly established that our most successful shot in this section was the birds flying although it was noted that the unwanted object of a lamp post is in the shot. This has made us more aware of our surroundings when filming as we do not want any extra anomalies in the final cut of the video.

Section B: Leaves 
This was purely a testing shot, determining how we can film from different angles and then assembly these in a video. We filmed the dropping of a leaf many times from numerous angles. Although meant ideally for testing purposes, we could use this footage as this conforms to our concept, more so than the use of the previous section, and would be particularly effective towards the end of the video, where the model walks through the nature. 

Section C: Interaction (Hugging)
Similar to the previous section, this footage is the same action shot from numerous angles, edited in such a way which the camera appears to be rotating around the people and then moving away. Rosie also incorporated a fade transition to show that time had progressed before the previous clip as a way of explaining why the shot had moved from a still shot of the bench to the two people walking. This kind of clip would be used the the first section of our music video if we chose to use it.

Section D: Every Day People 
This section was rather challenging to shoot particularly as we were trying to participate in covert filming in order to achieve the 'day to day' clips. We took inspiration from the initial Birdy video as that music video uses this type of footage. We tried to film actions that were not necessarily noticeable in day to day life, such as a man closing down his shop. These shots are extremely shaky, primarily due to the lack of a tripod and also due to the camera being used on a moving bus- which is not the smoothest of rides. We soon discovered this is not necessarily going to be achievable in our music video to the degree we wanted to include. 


Practically, we encountered some issues when filming. Our main issue was the model and her accessibility. We soon decided as a group that it would be more beneficial for us, and the model due to her own commitments and transport issues, if we changed our initial model. We have decided to now use one of our group members as the main model as we can count on her accessibility. This was a way of overcoming a problem we were concerned about. 

In attendance: Rosie, Hannah and Katie
Edited by Rosie

Vlog: Our First Filming Session

We created a vlog of our first day filming in Hall Place. We had planned on shooting our final scenes of the music video with our model but we had numerous issues which prevented this. We decided to go ahead and film anyway, but without a model which proved troublesome. The vlog follows us around and shows the differing examples of shots we had taken. This is not the footage we shot to be used in the music video. 

Present on the day of filming: Katie, Hannah and Rosie 
Video created by Rosie

Walking/Tracking Shot: Stanley Kubrick

Director Stanley Kubrick was the first director to use the ‘Steadicam’, a brand of camera stabilizing mount which isolates the shot from the operator’s movements, preventing the camera from shaking. This allows for a smooth shot, even when the camera operator is moving on an uneven surface. 

Before the ‘Steadicam’, the only form of tracking shots was to use a camera dolly, a wheeled mount that rolls on tracks or leveled boards. This was unpractical and a time consuming set up. The other option was for the camera operator to hold the camera manually. 

  

Having tried the manual way of filming, we came to the conclusion that the shake from the operator’s hands was too much for our film, making it look rather amateur, not the smooth shot we feel our video needs considering it is a music video which is supposed to work as a technique to sell something, in this case a song.  The ‘Steadicam’ combines stability, which means steady footage, with the fluid and flexibility of a hand held camera. 

This was used in Kubrick’s film, “The Shining”; most notably the scene where the young boy, Danny, is being tracked as he pedals at high speed through corridor after corridor on his blue plastic big wheel tricycle.

Kubrick used a wheelchair, to film the tracking shots, pushing this around to gain a smooth shot. The wheelchair also worked well as shot was then shown to be at about 18 inches- which was roughly the height of the small child meaning the shot would look like a child’s perspective as intended. The wheelchair had rubber wheels which absorbed the shock which also ensured there was no sound of the wheelchair which could impact the filming.

To achieve this shot a wheelchair can be used and we shall have to partake in some testing shots to try out this technique, seeing if it is viable for our film.

(Research by Hannah) 

Golden Hour Photography Research

The Golden Hour, also known as the Magic Hour, is the first and last hour of sunlight in the day which allows a specific photography technique to be achieved due to the low level quality of light. The light is typically softer and in warmer hues. 

The shadows are normally reduced as the sun is below the horizon. When the sun is near or below the horizon, the sunlight travels through more of an atmosphere which reduces the intensity of the direct light so the illumination comes from the indirect light from the sky which reduces the lighting ratio.

 The blue light is scattered so when the sun is present the light appears redder; additionally the sun’s small angle with the horizon produces longer shadows, creating a moody, darker look. This is especially effective when shooting a ‘romantic’ looking shot. The sun is low and no harsh shadows are created. This prevents any details to be lost because of extreme shadows or blown-out highlights. This technique is particularly useful when shooting landscape or nature related shots although works well when used with a model.

The only limitation with this form of shooting is the lack of time space to shoot in. There is a relatively small window of available to take advantage of in order to achieve the perfect glow. Planning is essential with an idea of the sunset/rise times to ensure the light is used to the maximum effect.

A wide aperture must be used to allow more light to be used in the shot. The lighting, however, changes rapidly meaning the lighting during the first 5 minutes will be distinctively different in another 20 minutes. Shooting for the whole hour is the best way to overcome this so many different variations can be captured. An adjustable white balance is also needed as auto white balance will try to change the light to neutral.

The 1978 film ‘Days of Heaven’ directed by Terrence Malick clearly shows the effects of shooting in the Golden Hour. The film is shot primarily in the early morning, just as the sun rises, and then in the evening, as the sun sets. This creates a warm, romantic glow. 

We plan to use this technique during our own music video. Although out video is mostly in black and white, we plan on using this when shooting in colour to create the romantic look which the light creates. We plan to use this during our pier scenes when shooting the dancers, providing a glow behind them which will be effective with the contemporary dance. We are also looking into using this when shooting on the field as the lead is walking as this will ensure the sun is behind her, giving her a sort of angelic glow after she has ‘helped the people’.  

(Research by Hannah) 

Location shots: Erith Pier

We took a trip to Erith Pier to take some location shots for our music video. We are planning on using the pier along with hall place and the high street. We will base the beginning of our video on the pier along with the dancing segment. 

One of the perks of using the pier is that the location is prominently empty and spans a long distance so will be ideal for wide walking shots. We are also going to use the location when the model looks out to sea as the backdrop is rather industrial which we want to make the video seem real. The concept of the video should be that the location could be anywhere, not specifically London. 

Research into Types of Shot

(Research by Katie) 

Contemporary Dancer Research

We decided to research into the different camera angles, transitions and the effect of this to inform our own choices when shooting our dance scene. We looked particularly closely at the way the camera moved and decided that after researching, we shall film the dancers to appear as though they are moving towards the camera, as used frequently in the research. Additionally, after a moments close up, the camera tended to move into a wide shot so the camera is not intruding into the dance. We will use this when shooting our own sequence. 

(Research by Rosie) 

Outside lighting Research

We researched into lighting our shoot outside. We tried to find alternative solutions for lighting as setting up a three point lighting system would be not only troublesome as shooting outside but would also be expensive. As shooting outside, we decided that we would use natural light and reflectors instead. We have also decided to use side lighting and experiment with lighting angles and elevations in our testing to see how these shots turned out on location. 

(Research and Prezi by Hannah) 

Permission for Hall Place House and Gardens

We received this email from Hall Place House and Gardens granting us permission to use their facilities on any given chosen day providing we notified them in advance. This is now definitely a location for part of our shoot. 

Permission for Hall Place House and Gardens

Rosie emailed Hall Place House and Gardens to ask permission to use their facilities as they are part of the Bexley Heritage Trust and although in a public domain are used for corporate events. We plan only to shoot in the fields and gardens and have explained that in the email. We have also mentioned our intentions and the purpose behind the shoot. We are now waiting for a reply in order to go ahead and shoot.

Testing: Pan shots and use of the Sun

We decided to test some basic filming using two cameras and a tripod to see the effect which this had. We selected a camera used primarily for still shots but has a recording feature along with a video recorder. We anticipated the video recorder would provide a clearer, more professional shot but decided to test this anyway. We used a tripod to try and keep the camera still and provide a fluid motion however this was not particularly successful. The video recorder worked better as we suspected and we could therefore use this when shooting our video, however, the overall effect was not as smooth as we had anticipated and would therefore need to conduct some research in how to make this more effective.
We also shot a small section with the sun forming through the trees as this is an effect we would like to use for the opening section of our video. We did not use the tripod here as felt the slight bumpy movements worked well. We particularly liked the glare on the camera due to the sun and would try to recreate this during the scenery shots when no model is involved. 
We plan to shoot in our chosen location, as we have not done this yet and re try these shoots. 

(Filming by Hannah and Rosie; Video by Rosie) 

Research into Depth of Field

We created a prezi as a group to present our research when looking into the depth of field. We then also placed our own findings in this presentation to show a comparison of the research and our own take on this. We found this research and testing useful, however, this was initially more difficult to achieve than we first anticipated on the Canon camera. We still plan to shoot using shallow focus as we feel this was the easiest to not only achieve but additionally looked the most effective but use this technique less than we had originally planned. 

(Research by Katie; Prezi by Rosie) 

Makeup Testing

Using our initial ideas for make up we decided to have a test for the dancers and lead make up. We decided to go for a dark smoky grey eye and bright red lips for the dancers to correspond with the white dresses of the dancers. This make up will be in colour as the dancers are going to be dancing after the change from black/white to colour so the red will be vibrant. Additionally, red is the colour we are using to connect all the scenarios together so this will play an important role. We decided to go for a blue/silver eye with neutral lips for the lead, this will be shown as shadowing in the black/white part of the video but then show the colour of the make up in the color part of the video. We chose the blue as this is a soft colour, conveying sadness- in this case we want sympathy for those around her to be in fitting with the song. We plan on keeping the lips neutral to make the eye makeup more of an impact and we feel that a block colour would be too harsh. Our testing went well, however, we would plan on tweaking the dancer makeup slightly, adding more shine to the lips which will make them look more noticeable on camera. We also plan on having a larger flick on the eyelid. 

(Pictures by Hannah; Make up by Danielle; Model by Katie; Video by Rosie) 

Mise en scene (Clothing and Make up) Initial Ideas

(Slide Pub by Danielle)

Preparation of Shots

After we decided on the various shots which we would use, we decided to take some initial still shots. We were not using the decided model or in the chosen location but we wished to display the types of shots we hoped to re-create. 

 

We took some over the shoulder shots as we hope to do in our actual video. We angled the first shot so the model was only in a portion of the shot, changing the depth of field to a shallow focus which blurred the model's head, meaning the primary focus was on the scenery. We hope to use this when the model is looking out from the pier philosophically. We also took another shot of the model but this time did not change the depth of field and ensured the model was in a greater portion of this shot as this will be used when the model is walking along the pier. 

We then also took some side shots of the model which would be used when on the pier which shall be used along with the over the shoulder shots. We also hope to use more close ups here as well. You can see the scenery is slightly blurred, something we want to initiate in our video. 

We plan to have some close ups of nature in the opening scene of our music video so took some small shots of flowers, once again changing the depth of field to a shallow focus to blur the background. We also plan to have some close up shots of the model being at one with nature, touching the flowers and wandering through a rose garden towards the end of the video. 



We plan on having a homeless person sitting stationary on the ground while people rush past, much like the Ed Sheeran 'A Team' video. We tried to shoot as an experiment with someone on the floor and people walking past. Obviously this is extremely difficult to achieve when using still shots yet we wanted to gain some insight into the camera angles. We decided to chose to shoot at eyeline level of the 'homeless person' and will use this angle when shooting our actual video as we think this allows the viewer to see the action on their level, rather than the people who are walking perspective. This will also provide a nice, fluid cut when we show a POV shot from the homeless person's perspective rather than a jump from a higher angle to a face on, lower angle. 

Our video idea involves a large amount of walking and we decided to shoot a tracking shot but with still shots to create a basis of what we would actually try and achieve when recording. We plan on having the model walk down the pier, cutting from a front shot of the model as well as a shot of her walking behind. We also want the model to be shown walking through the highstreet, with the camera actually facing the model. We also plan on having a side shot of the model walking down the pavement towards the rose field. We also shot a few images of someone walking past the nature, which in our video we plan on having them slightly brush past. This was not done face on but instead at a slight angle to show the movement of the model.

We took a selection of shots to show our sequence of the model walking off the pavement, through the gate and towards the rose garden. We plan on using a combination of close ups, side shots, face on shots and shots with the camera being behind the model. This will be before the model walks to the field.  

On the final 3 chords of the song we plan on having the camera moving further away from the model, in time with the music. We plan on this being face on shots of the model before fading out to black. We took some still shots of what would be recorded on each beat. We would hope to recreate this in the recording whilst having the model obviously in the chosen location, clothing and acting.  


(Filming by Hannah and Rosie; Modeling by Katie) 

Initial Story Board

We constructed a clip, which plays along to our chosen song, with our ideas for the storyboard, focusing on the change from black and white to colour, the various close up, side, and point of view shots along with some of the settings and interpretations of characters such as the homeless or those in need of help which we hope to re-create. Although these pictures are not completely representative of what we wish to achieve in our own music video, we will be using them as basis and inspiration. 

(Video created by Rosie) 

Designating Roles within a Team

To ensure we all work well within a team we have allocated specific roles to each team member based on their skills and what they can bring to the team.

Roles
Rosie- Director/Editor (Team Leader)
Hannah- Producer/Filmer
Danielle- Mise-en-scene (clothing, make up, colour, textures)
Katie- Researcher/Lighting

As a whole:
Planning
Casting
Timeline
Storyboard
Location

We will support each other within our roles, offering any important suggestions to help the team as a whole. We beleive these are the best roles suited to our own strengths.

Initial Time Line

Using our initial ideas and inspiration from previous music videos, we constructed a time line to fit our chosen song, Birdy- 'People Help the People'. The song lasts for approximately 4:11 and we plan on shooting a video to fit this length. We have incorporated the dancing which was suggested in the brain storm, along with the walking and the slow motion which we picked from the original music video. We have also constructed a story board to match this timeline with visual aids to suggest the poses, camera angles, scenery and so forth in our video. 

Specific Research: Birdy- 'People Help the People' Continued

We have decided to use many original ideas for our music video such as the contemporary dancing and the fade from black and white to colour. However, we have gained inspiration from the A team video, specifically the section where the young homeless person, in this case a woman, is sitting down, shown to be in slow motion while the rest of the world rushes by. We plan on shooting this differently but using the same editing feature, speeding up the surroundings whilst keeping the main character still. 

We plan on using the same form of establishing shot in our video as the original music video, although ours will be of a field, which will be where the video starts and finishes- playing with ellipsis of time. The original Birdy video uses an establishing shot of london, showing the scenery of the city, making a slow succession of cuts. We plan on mirroring this, however, we plan on using the more natural scenery of a field, the flowers, the sun shining through the trees etc to ensure the video beginning is not too similar although the concept is closely linked as we feel this is a strong way to introduce the video. 

Additionally, we have decided to take our lead on a 'journey', to enforce the narrative that where ever you go there are always people in help. We especially liked the shots in the original video of the lead walking and hope to recreate this in our own video with the girl walking off the pier and through the high street.

Using these concepts, along with our own original ideas, we have created a storyboard and time line for our music video although this may need to be tweaked slightly in the final cut. 

This is the original music video for our chosen song. We have focused primarily on the journey aspect, incorporating the use of scenery such as every day people, cars driving past and close up shots of the artist herself etc.  

We then also looked into more music videos which focus on the journey, particularly with multiple walking shots. The Verve- Bitter Sweet Symphony, showcases exactly this, with the lead singer miming to the song whilst walking down a busy street. The music video location is particularly urban, shown by the shutters of the shops, the road sign and multiple people walking. We will use this urban mis en scene in our music video, as both the Birdy video and the verve video incorporate this. We will use the high street as our 'urban setting'. 

The location shots in Sinead O'Connor- Nothing Compares 2 U are also something we would like to use as inspiration, particularly the use of the water which is reflective and matches the theme of our song. The video also shows images of the lead walking through the park which we will try to recreate. 

As we plan to change our video from black and white to colour, we researched into music videos which were mainly in black and white. There were many videos which used this feature yet limited ones which changed to colour. We found the scripts- If you could see me now as this used both colour and black and white in the final cut. The black and white is inter-changed throughout the video, rather than the black and white changing to colour as we are interested in trying to achieve. We do, however, we do like the fact that the colour is used symbolically, during times of happiness which we also want to use.  

As we were interested in initially incorporating dance into our music video. We struggled to find a dance video which used a soft ballad rather than a full dance to a club song. We settled for Pink- Try as this used the contemporary dance which we liked. The music video uses a vary of angles when shooting, which makes the overal look dynamic. The music video also has other features other than dancing, meaning we can also add a narrative which seems to be a usual choice for most music videos. We will have to look further into the dance filming as the sequence will have to be choreographed around the camera to ensure fluidity.  


Research: Hannah 

Music Video: Ideas for Location

We plan on shooting our video outside in public areas so therefore need to ensure that we can shoot in these places. We plan on shooting on a pier, which is owned by Erith county council and Erith High street which are both public areas. We will not need to gain permission to shoot in these places, yet, if any inconvenience is caused we will explain our aim- that we are A2 media students shooting a music video. The pier is renowned for being deserted, something which attracted us to the location in the first place. 

We also plan on shooting in a field and a rose garden during the opening and ending scenes in our music video, which although open to the public- Hall Place House and Gardens, will be needed to be contacted in order for us to shoot on their land as recently it has been upgraded to part of the National Trust. I plan on contacting Hall Place personally and asking for permission. 

Specific Research: Birdy - 'People Help the People'

There are two official videos for the song that we want to use, the British one, shot in 2011, an d a French one, shot in 2012. Both videos use the black and white theme we want to use in our own video yet have very different concepts. We have mainly focused on the British video for our inspiration but like certain aspects of the French one, such as walking down the street miming along. The French video also incorporates colour into the video, something we plan on using ourselves. 

We plan on using a dance sequence, as suggested in our initial brainstorming as blogged previously. We plan on using the contemporary dancers as shown in the video below as they are trained members of a dance/performing arts school. We have contacted them via text and they have agreed to also allow us use of their original choreography as shown in the video. They have also agreed to perform the dance for us. The video shows choreography for the whole song, however, we plan on only having a section of the music video in dance, picking and choosing the best parts in the final editing process to use. 

Song Permission: Birdy- 'People Help the People'

In order to use the song, 'People Help the People', performed by Birdy, we had to gain permission from the record label. The song originally had many record labels, mainly French due to the performer being of French decedent, yet we focused on the British label. We sent an email to the record label, Warner Brothers UK and then 14th Floor Records who were their sister company asking permission for the use of the song. We left a contact address for them to reply to our request.  

 

Introduction: General Research- Music Video

After initially working as an individual we came together as a team to discuss ideas and concepts for our video. It became apparent that the majority vote was for a slower, more meaningful song than say that of a dance/club video. This was due to personal taste and the ability to shoot as for accessibility it would be easier to use a few people in the video, instead of a mass mob of 30 plus people which would be hard to constantly rearrange and shoot. We also decided that a narrative would be easier to achieve with a slower song. 

We had numerous song choices, mainly from female artists such as Emeli Sande and Birdy who both have similar tone and style. Katie wanted to go in the more 'pop' area, looking into artists such as Taylor Swift although was undecided on how this would be achieved. Both myself and Danielle were much more lenient when it came to ideas due to our varied music taste although I was unsure about the practicality of shooting a huge music video due to resources so was less enthusiastic about a party themed video. My individual thoughts were generated more to a slower song anyway, 'Clown' performed by Emeli Sande so I was happy to continue on with this theme. Rosie was very passionate about moving forward with a song like this too. 

We decided to choose the song 'People, Help the People' performed by Birdy as our song choice for the video which features in the indie genre. We believed this had potential for a strong narrative but would also be able to incorporate other peoples ideas into the video. This was revolved strongly around Rosie's idea but tweaked slightly to incorporate other's ideas. Originally, Rosie wanted to use a girl who had been in a break down of a relationship and at the end they re-find each other. However, when discussing in a group this idea was compromised slightly as the 'break up scenes' could be rather cliche. After a discussion we also decided that this didnt really fit completely with the lyrics of the song, which are more noticeable due to the tone and slow nature of the song. Instead we collectively put in the idea of following the narrative which was to help people. As Danielle was rather interested in a dance idea, we decided that we could use contemporary dancers into the instrumental section of the song instead of the break up scene idea which can be hard to pull off due to the lack of professional actors. This would be easier to shoot as we would not need as much footage of someone miming which can be difficult due to timing issues.  

We discussed a few ideas such as:

• fading from black and white into colour 
• slow motion 
• dance section- shot in a dance studio
• manipulating the narrative/playing with time (starting at the end and finishing in the same position) 
• female lead (easily accessible)
• walking through streets (outside shooting)
• handing help (money to people) 
• miming (only a small portion of the video as this is rather hard to pull off)

These were just a few ideas and we will discuss these further and look into the editing process more to see if these were achievable. As the song is rather long at 4:11 it may be hard to shoot for the whole time so this also needs to be checked due to the amount of material needed. As long as the video is over 3 minutes then the song can be cut. We still need to refine some ideas although are certain that this is the direction we want to move forward in. Our backup option would still be in this genre/tone.