Music Promo - Evaluation of Shoot Day

On the day before our shoot day we went into the studio and began setting up some of the sets for the next day. We moved around lights, props and pieces of set, so that the studio was clear for our set builds. We set up the wheel, which was the first element we were going to shoot. Additonally, because of its size and weight we needed to film it first, then destroy it and build the next set. 

We tested out the lighting behind the wheel. We wanted to use the 'Pixelline 1044', because it can change to different colours and it can create complicated patterns and effects. The ‘Pixelline 1044’  compromises of long bars made of small LED lights, when put together they can form a pixel effect and can change colour and design. This makes it possible to have a light show made of LED lights. We selected the lighting effects we wanted, such as the turquoise blue, pink and blue/pink colour blend. 

 'Pixelline 1044'

However, we did run into some problems, the two main dancers who had spent several weeks perfecting the choreography, were sent home because they were ill; the night before the shoot. Due to the unforeseen cicumstances, we desperately looked for 2 dancers who could learn the choreography. We notified Charlotte Mcghee and Alice Marriott, who were in dance company.

 
Lottie (head of dance company) was incredibly helpful in taking time out of dance company rehersals to teach the choreography to the dancers. Nonetheless, the new dancers had only spent 20 minutes the night before the shoot learning the dance, they still needed to practice on the morning on the shoot, so that they could be in-sync.

I woke up the morning of our shoot feeling extremely stressed and anxious. There were a lot of last minute changes and problems that arose the night before and there were a lot of things to do before the shoot started. When I got to school, I made sure that I spoke to the rapper to inform him of what time we needed him. We also needed to find an armchair for one of the set builds. Saskia and I went up to the main school building and borrowed an armchair from the principals office. 

Lastly, the dancers and lead singer also had to get into hair and make-up; and the dancers needed to rehearse the choreography for the shoot.

When we got into the studio the wheel was set up, and the tall black curtains had been drawn over the wheel structure of the wheel; to block out the light from the back. We set up the camera and tested the lights behind the wheel another time. We found that the inside of the wheel, reflected the light very well, and created a soft light box effect on anything that was inside. We decided to also film the actors inside the wheel. This is because it lit them perfectly and created interesting shadows, which fit with mysterious concept of out music video.  In addition the wheel and silhouettes it created of the dancers, was exactly what we imagined in our concept.

 Before the shoot day even began we decided in our groups the roles we would do. Saskia would be in charge of art direction/playback, Ella would be in charge of camera and I would take the role of director. We were consistent and followed the roles we assigned ourselves on the shoot day. Additonally, we helped each other out in the roles; sometimes Ella would direct a moment; I would help Saskia with deciding on make-up choices and Saskia would help out with the camera. As the director, my role was to make sure everything was running smoothly. I also helped the dancers/actors, and gave them advice on how we wanted them to act. I stood behind the camera, giving dirctons to the actors and helping Ella. In total, we divided the roles evenly and everyone was able to try different roles throughout the day. 

 Saskia working on playback

Ella working on camera

I felt that I personally worked well with the actors and gave good direction on how we wanted them to act and behave infront of the camera. When the dancers were in the wheel I was behind the camera, doing dance moves and different poses for the dancers to copy. I also think that I had a good control on different aspects of the shoots, such as assiting the make-up artist with what type of make-up we wanted; and helping the artist and dancers with the acting. I also feel that I was helpful in choosing the shot type and style for the different parts that we filmed. In addition, after filming the shots we wanted I worked with Ella to experiment with the camera angle and movement to film more different and dynamic shots.

 Directing performers

 

Ella and I discussing during the shoot 

After getting the armchair from the headmasters office, we needed to alter the armchair to suit the video. The style of the chair did not match with our colour scheme and genre; I needed to find a way to cover it up. I managed to find some fur coats from students at the school, and used them to cover up the chair. This solved our problem and overall looked good on camera when we shot it. 

                     Before                                              After

One of the most successful part of the shoot was the wheel in my opinion. From the start of the project we encountered many problems with the design and construction of the wheel. We were extremely worried on how it would look in the end. However, I believe that the footage in the wheel was stunning. The long shot silhouettes and the close up body shots looked beautiful. Furthermore, the wheel is such a captiviating structure that added a much more interesting element to the video. The wheel, was also a piece of set that allowed the dancers and artist to play around with and try different moves and positions.

Dancer dancing in the wheel

There were a few things that I wish could have gone better. For the neon ‘maze’ set we wanted to shoot it in two ways, one way without a fan and the other with a fan, blowing on the artist. Because of time constraints we didn’t have enough time to shoot the fan blowing on the artist. I wish that we had gotten these shots because they would have added an interesting twist to the shot. Another part thar I wish could have been better would be structure of the wheel. Due to the weight of the wheel, it slightly caved in at the top. This made the wheel look slightly deformed at the top, because it is not a perfect circle. I wish that it could have been perfectly circular, so that it looked more professional on camera. Although this was not ideal, we figured out that we could re-shape and fix the errors of the structure, in post-production.

I cannot wait to see the footage of the wheel and of the dancers dancing infront of the screens. These were some of my favourite shots and I think that they will look amazing . I also can’t wait to begin editing the footage altogether in my group.  

Overall, I think that we worked extremely well as a group. We had clearly outlined the scheduale of the shoot and were always on the same page. The labour was divided evenly amongst us all and I feel that we all contributed equally to the shoot. Furthermore, we all put our different strengths together and helped each other out, which I think led us to film some great footage. One of our strengths throughout the whole production was that we were extremely organized. Even though there were last minute changes and problems, we worked efficiently through them.  

Perhaps, the biggest lesson I was reminded of was continuity. In the shots in the wheel the dancer and artist kept wearing their hair ands and jewellery around their wrist. We forgot to tell them to take jewellery and bands off and didn’t notice them until we had taken the footage. This is one issue that I will definetly consider in the future; to be more attentive to the small details and to remember continuity. 

When we come to design our album artwork and website, I don’t think we need to make any major changes. For our album artwork, we might incorporate the element of the fan blowing her skirt, that we didn’t manage to film for the video. We also might include the snake motif around the website and album. This links in with the snake jewellery used in the music video. We want there to be a link between the album, website and music video, to create a cohesive campaign. On the other hand, we don’t want all three products to be the same, because we want to show a different side to the artist. 

Furthermore, the website and digi-pack represent the entire album of the artist, not just the music video that we shot. 

In conclusion, I feel that it was a successful shoot day and that it was a learning and growing experience for our knowledge in media. It also gave us an opportunity to work in a group and work with a crew of people, which is a good skill to learn and have.