Filming

This weekend, my group all met up in Hextable where the actress for our music video, Ellie, lives. We each had roles which we planned during media lessons at school but decided we would take turns in these: Charlotte would direct the film, Sarah would film it and Zoe and I would prepare the settings, include ensuring lighting is correct. However, we shared these roles, each offering our own ideas and opinions.

Step 1: Photographs

We photographed Ellie in the different settings, styled as she will be in these places.

Step 2: Preparation

We next prepared Ellie, who is starring in our film by making her hair and make up untidy so it would look as if she had just woken up. We also prepared the settings, which invovled putting empty alcohol bottles in her bedroom to meet the storyline and putting any irrelevant things away.

Step 3: Filming

The first part of filming, in Hextable, took place in various parts of Ellie's house as well as outside. We took some pictures doing filming in these different locations showing how we set up the lights, directed Ellie and the different ways we shot the film, using a variety of angles and movements. In the different settings we did encounter some problems but managed to overcome these.

In the bedroom, one window meant the light cast a shadow on half of Ellie's face but by positioning the lights correctly,we managed to prevent this. In addition, there is only a small space at the end of Ellie's bed which meant it took a few takes to get positioning and angles correct but by trial and error we acheived the shots we wanted.

In the hallway was a window which the sun faced, causing a bright patch of sunlight on the wall because it does not have any curtains or blinds. However, holding a white sheet against the window blocked the bright rays, meaning the light throughout the hallway was consistent.

Some scenes in the bathroom were shot from beside the toilet but this is only a small space, meaning when Ellie stood in front of the sink, it was hard not to cut her head out. However, we tried this shot from various angles and despite the space issues we managed to shoot it in the end. Furthermore, the mirror inside the bathroom meant that one of us or the lights could often be seen making the filming tricky.

Leaving the house took a few takes as when Ellie opened the front door, the light or one of the media group could be seen through the gap meaning we had to move things around.

Outside involved filming Ellie from across the road but we had not expected as many cars to be parked outside as there were. However, by choosing a different angle, we managed to avoid any vehicles blocking our view.