Shoot Day Reflection

 The day before my group and I’s shoot, we had to prepare the studio for the cast and crews' arrival the next day. On the 10th of November (day before) at 3pm my group and I headed into the studio in order to assemble the sets for our shoot day the next day. 

We started by stapling black fabric to wooden frames, these would be used throughout our shoot, as we could move them around the studio in order to play with space. We prepared six black covered wooden frames to be used to create corridors and small rooms for example.  

 

This was very tricky as we had to deal with the rapidly decreasing weather conditions. The sheet also had to be tight so that there were no wrinkles, and it would look like a solid corridor. We had some minor issues with the staples as some of them were not strong enough and fell out, we then had to re-do these ones. We also then went around the sides with scissors and cut off the excess fabric around the boarders of the frame as these would stick out and when we tried to staple the excess, the fabric was too thick for the stapes to penetrate so we had to resort to trimming this part. 

 

 

We then cleared the previous groups stuff and prepared our white floors. The other group also used white floors but we wanted it a little bigger so we rolled out another sheet and cleaned it up so that it would look smooth. Once the floors where completed we placed the finished black frames in the studio so they were easily accessible on the shoot day. We then moved in the musical equipment such as the drums and amps onto the floor so that it was ready for the next day. The final set up was to then pull the black curtain around to finish the set. 

 

On the morning of the shoot day the 11th of November, I woke up early and begum printing out documents such as the shot list, shooting schedule and step by step along with other documents that where needed on the day. This would allow us to make maximum use of time on set. The crew and I headed to the studio at 8:30 am in order to set up and gather everything we needed. The cast arrived at 8:40 am and got changed into their costumes that we already had ready for them after gathering them previously. 

We begum setting band up at around 9:00 am, with this we begum setting up the lighting cues as we finalised as a group what kind of lights we want. This took time as there was a problem with the lighting equipment that meant that the software was not remembering our inputs, so we had to re-input all the lighting ques around four times, attaching them to certain time in the song. This took us to about 10:20 am but thankfully all other aspects of the shoot where in order such as getting a skateboard for the tunnel scene and getting a microphone and stand in advance. We were also very pleased that all of the band members were familiar and confident with the song and there were no issues in those areas. 

 

 

When we got the set, all set up for the first part of the video. This being the main open performance room as seen above. I was very happy with the way the band looked and how the set looked as it was very minimalistic and interesting with the lights. 

I had the role of the director but ended up doing more than that role entails. I still took the role of the director by announcing the cuts and actions as well as making sure that the creative aspects of the set, shot and cast where in line with our concept. I also took an interest in the lighting board as early on I assisted the lighting designer in setting up the ques as we had slight problems early on. I then continued to do some of the lighting as well as the director roles. I made sure all the actors looked good in their costumes and that they were all around when we needed them. 

Neave was the main camera operator as the took control of the camera movements and shots with my assistance behind the monitor. Florance was the producer, she was also in charge of the playback making sure that the music was lined up to the shot and that we had time marks on the shots in order to sync the shots up later. Anna was the art director, she made sure that the set looked how we wanted it and every aspect of the shoot day was in line with the concept. 

 

I think that personally, I was very good on set at keeping us going on track. Before the shoot day I went over all aspects of the timeline, shot list and shooting schedule. When we had the delays in the morning, I knew what we had to do and kept track of it so that we did not run over as we had to go to Guildford at around 3:30 pm to shoot the single frame shots. An example of where I improvised to a problem is when the setup of the corridor was taking a long time and it looked as though we would not have time to set-up and shoot the confined room scenes. I then decided to scrap it and use the corridor that was already built to still create the concept of confined space. This saved us time and still allowed us to conform to the concept. 

Apart from the small problems mentioned before, other problems include our lead singers jacket going missing, this was a misunderstanding between me and Doug (lead singer) he was supposed to bring the jacket in on the day but thought that I had it so therefore none of us had it. This ended up being better as I would say he looked better without it, and the studio got very hot very quickly, therefore he would just look hot and sweaty if he were to wear it. 

 

  

 

I think that the most successful part of the shoot was the non-lip-sync single frame shots in Guildford. We took two portable titan tube lights that allowed us to light up the cast and get some very nice shots that fit into the urban feel of our project. We were able to get some nice shots of the band for the social media element of the campaign, in this sense it was multipurpose. 

I wish that the beginning of the shoot had run a little bit more smoothly as this would have allowed us more time to do shots we may have not originally thought of as well as the shots we didn't get time to shoot such as the confined room with low ceilings as ultimately this was what we planned for. In addition, if we had got going earlier then we would not have had to do the tunnel shots the following Monday as a part of our pick-up shots as can be seen below. 

 

I feel that that we managed the actors very well, we didn't waste their time sitting around if they were not needed, there was a small area outside they could hang out in or do work ETC. We didn’t hassle them we let them lead how they performed to an extent; I feel this added to the natural feel of the performances. 

I enjoyed the lighting and the performance of the cast the most on set. The way we set up the lights I really liked as we had free will almost like a black canvas of what we could create, and the different variations and endless sequences was fascinating to me. Secondly the performance of the cast was amazing, they looked like a real band I that sense and I feel that we got the casting spot on as they were all musicians anyway. This is what I am most excited to see in the edit. The way that the band look on camera will be amazing just from seeing their performance. 

 

I feel that the group worked well to an extent, some people where way less involved than I would have hoped as shooting a music video is a very hands-on thing. Also, the group was not very vocal so some members would just let things happen even if they didn't like it, this is unproductive as we all need to know each other's opinions in order to bounce ideas off each other. Ultimately, I found myself doing more than what I expected for the role as other members where not quick to participate. 

 

I think in terms of lessons learned for next time, the most important thing is organisation, especially as a group. Not only independently do you need to have a mental idea of how it will all look, but you also need to have that same idea as a group, as this can cause delays on set when time is limited.