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.

Clothing

Here is a collection of images of Rihanna and Kesha; two singers we have based our own character on. I have gathered a selection of different images to show their styles and therefore to see how we should dress our own actress.

From this research into clothing I have come to the conclusion the ideal outfit would be as follows:

Denim Shorts (probably worn with tights due to the cold weather)

Basic T-Shirt, loose fitting

A jacket (as it will be cold when filming) however, there are a range of possibilites so something casual.

SHOES
The collage above does not closely show the shoes being worn and so I have looked further into shoes.

These pictures clearly show boots are the main shoe worn by Kesha. However, the style of boot must also been considered and as a group we believe Doc Martens will be the best option as they are big and bulky so will suit her style. We also have them available and therefore are easy to use:

 

Camera Angles

Two of the settings we are using are featured in a large part of the film and so we want to use a variety of camera angles to make these scenes fast paced and snappy. I have therefore drawn a picture of these settings up so we can consider possible angles to film from in each.

The Hallway

In the images, the circle represents the camera.

Ellie's Bedroom

Considering Camera Angles

Who We Will Use

Protagonist Female
Ellie

For the main girl in the music video, I had previously decided they should have a similar personality and style to someone like Kesha so they fit well with the storyline. However, they must also be confident in front of the camera and also be reliable to use.

We decided to use my friend Ellie who is happy to be filmed for the music video and lives close to all of the group, meaning she will be easy to film. I used her in AS media for my music magazine model and so know she is reliable and suitable to use. In addition, I believe she has the right look to fit our character.

We have taken some pictures of Ellie in different locations of our film, so her style and surroundings can be easily seen:

These above pictures show Ellie outside of her house where some filming will take place. She looks quite annoyed but carefree which links to the style of the song. Her clothing is quite indie with timbaland boots and a blue material headband which portrays her as casual.

This picture shows Ellie in her home, where more filming will take place. The decoration is quite neutral meaning it doesn't take over the girl, while the stripy carpet includes similar colours to those she is wearing, meaning the colours link well. In addition the house is naturally quite light but taking this pictures showed us where we should put artificial light to avoid darkness or shadows.

This is the third setting we will use with our filming. The plain white wall and sign are effective as it is very basic meaning all attention is on the wall. It also represents how her life is quite empty, only showing herself and a vodka bottle on the floor.

Protagonist Male

Harry

The main boy stars in the flashback scenes and therefore not as much as Ellie, who is the overall main character. He is roughly the same height as Ellie which makes filming easy as they are at the same height in shots and so we can film at their eye level.

Harry's outfit for the filming will be quite casual; with one top being a striped white shirt and the other being purple. These colours will makes him look nice and cheerful, matching the style of Ellie in the flashback scenes. In addition, he needs to look friendly to contrast with Ellie's angry, rebellious character.

The 'Other Girl'
Sarah

We originally planned on using Charlotte as this character as she was happy to be involved in the film, however, as she could not make it we decided to use Sarah as the 'other' girl. I believe she is appropriate for this part as she has a very different look to Ellie and therefore the audience will easily tell the difference between them, unlike Charlotte who, like Ellie, has long blonde hair. Sarah was happy to play this part and as she knows both characters well felt comfortable in her part.
The outfit she will wear for her part is a black top and skirt. This is quite basic and so does not make her stand out as an important character. The black also suggests she has a dark side, reflecting the protagonist characters opinion of her.

Locations

Lighting

I have already carried out research into lighting in music videos; my group therefore will try and develop this in our own music video.

To ensure the characters and props can be seen clearly, we want the scenes to be bright and clear and will therefore need artificial lights for the inside scenes, particularly in the bedroom scenes at the start as this room is naturally quite dark and so would not show the actress well. We will borrow the school lights and use 2, positioning them at different angles to light up the actress well without causing shadows across her face.

I have labelled the window at the side but the lighting is very limited from here and so will not increase the light from this angle.

Something I noticed from music video lighting research was that the music videos both tried managed to create the same lighting and brightness in each of the clips, whether these were inside, only changing the lighting if it was a night, rather than day, scene. Therefore we too will aim to get a similar level of lighting throughout by controlling the two lights we will borrow and aiming to film on days with similar weather e.g. avoid one day it being very sunny and another cloudy. However, this is difficult to anticipate and plan.