Filming Tomorrow!

The weather was very nice today, and is due to be similar tomorrow, which means that filming should be going ahead, i have now arranged final props and  costume with my artist, Ellena, and have allocated the time it will take to film the video, I am confident that filming in one day is a realistic goal, and think that this will be successful if everything goes to plan.

Filming Timetable.

I have arranged with Ellena to film this Friday Afternoon. We have allocated 5 hours to complete the filming process, and I believe that as long as we get straight into filming and have no technical issues, that this can be achieved. I plan to film the performance aspect of the video first, then the narrative aspect. I think I will need to film the performance aspect approximately 5 times, of the entirety of the song to ensure a wide range of usable footage when I come to edit the video. The narrative aspect can be filmed almost shot by shot as physical distance will have to be travelled, which can be matched to the footage. I think this will take approximately 3 hours to film, as I plan to film the same footage from various angles to ensure a diverse range of takes when editing. I am confident that weather-permitting, in this time frame, we can begin to create an effective final piece. 

Equipment List.

Equipment Needed for Filming. on Prezi

This is a Prezi Presentation listing all of the equipment that I will require whilst filming my music video.

Prop List.

These are the props I need to arrange ready for filming:

Narrative Aspect:

- Various Bags.

- Rayban Sunglasses.

- A Guitar Case.

- A Mobile Phone.

Peformance Aspect:

- An Acoustic Guitar. 

This bag is designed by Cath Kidston who is a popular Interior and Accessories designer. Her bags have reached huge popularity in recent years and feature endless amounts of vintage inspired patterns and florals. I think that bags by this designer and ones similar to this would be a good choice to use in my video as they are widely recognisable and will help to establish the creative and vintage inspired convention into my video. 

Rayban sunglasses are hugely popular and one of the most expected things for Indie artists to wear. I think that using these in my video will help to establish my artists firmly in the Indie genre. The fact that they are reasonably expensive, and will be one of the items my artist 'leaves behind' in the narrative aspect of my video will also help to confirm her strong minded nature, as it will make her appear like she makes decisions and sticks with them, and is careless to her feelings for the man she is singing about. 

I have previously blogged about the use of acoustic instruments in videos of this genre, and think that the use of it will make my artist appear creative and talented. Ellena, who is playing the artist in my video plays the acoustic guitar, so hers will be the one used in the video, which eliminates me having to source one. 

Dress Code for Video.

For the dress code, I have collected some garments together with Ellena, to use in the video. I have decided to adhere to the convention of the Indie genre of having a classic and vintage inspired look and I believe this is well reflected in the clothing choices I have made. For example, in the narrative aspect of the video, I have selected a vintage "Blondie" tshirt for Ellena to wear, as audience members will understand the relation to the classic music personality, and respect the musical knowledge that the artist in my video appears to have. The colour scheme of the clothing will be limited to neutral tones, with not too much detail, just well accessorized and stylish. 

Narrative Storyline.

I have decided to use a narrative in my video, as the videos I have previously looked at, I felt were particularly strong, including One Night Only- 'Say You Don't Want It'. I loved the movement in this video, and felt that the use of narrative which matched to the lyrics was extremely effective. For my narrative, I think that the artist needs to appear strong, and as if she is moving on from a relationship with the man she refers to as not being able to 'handle his excuses'. I think that this could be difficult without her coming across as bitter, so to make her appear as if she is leaving things behind and moving on, she will literally leave things behind throughout the narrative, for example dropping bags, and removing items of clothing as she is walking, to add movement. Here, I can include items that appear often in Indie videos, or are associated with Indie artists, such as Rayban sunglasses which I have previously blogged about. I think that this will portray a strong image that will make her seem like she is in control, appealing to the female members of the audience as she is dominant and knows what she wants, and appeals to the male audience members because she knows her mind, and the fact she is proving that she does not need a man in her life, making her a challenge to them.

Location Scouting.

I have been looking around the local area for potential places to film parts of my music video. I have found different locations that have a 'timeless' look to them, which is a convention of the indie genre. These include a courtyard with classic english flowers and benches, along with an archway leading to a long road, which goes underneath an old house, and has a classic english feel to it. By using locations such as this that do not look too 'set up', I will be sticking to the 'low budget look' convention of the indie genre. 

Potential Artists.

Here are 5 people who I am considering using as the artist in my video.

Hannah. 

I think that Hannah would be good, as she has long, natural hair, which makes her appear casual and relaxed, a convention that I am keen to stick to within my video. However, I feel that because she is fairly shy, it may be hard to portray her as a strong and independent woman. I think she would come across well on camera and has a natural look that I believe, members of my target audience would want to emulate. 

Nikki. 

I think that Nikki would come across well on camera as she has an extremely photogenic face, and also has a strong personality that I believe would shine through. Her natural eclectic style could be taken advantage of, with the addition of some of the key features I have picked up on in Indie dress codes. 

Hollie. 

I like Hollie's natural, long hair, and think that she would come across on camera as something to be desired. She is a very good actress and I think she would be good at playing he strong female role, however she is fairly young, and think that this could come across differently and make her seem quite vulnerable.

Ellena.

Ellena is petite, which is something that I had not picked up on when looking at female Indie artists. She is a good actress, and has a naturally strong personality, so I think that on camera she would come across very well. I think her features are very photogenic and that fact she has long, bleached hair could be useful to me, as her look is naturally inspired by existing female artists such as Blondie and Madonna. This could work in my favour and combined with some of the conventions that I have studied, I think that she could come across of having the vintage inspired look very well. She also plays acoustic guitar, so would be able to make it appear as if she is playing the song throughout the video, which would add a huge deal of authenticity. 

Mollie. 

Mollie has a very approachable feel, which I think could work very well in my video, as Indie artists often appear as having an achievable look. I think her features and stature would come across well when paired with a vintage inspired look, however I believe that she may come across as vulnerable on camera and not as strong and independent as the song suggests. 

I am going to use Ellena in my final video as I believe that I could create a strong image for her to have through the use of dress codes. The fact that she plays acoustic guitar will help to add authenticity to my video, as this is such a huge convention of the genres I am exploring I think that is important that this comes across as well as possible on camera. I am happy with this choice and I believe she will make for a very effective final video and digipack. 

Planning for Video.

I am now going to begin the planning stage for my final video. In this stage I need to:

- choose an 'artist', someone who is comfortable in front of the camera, as can act a strong, independent female image on screen, I am going to find several people that I think would be appropriate and then decide who I am gong to use.

- choose locations to film my video at, these need to fit with the vintage 'timeless' conventions of the Indie genre and be places where filming is allowed to take place.

- do a health and safety risk assessment to ensure my filming runs smoothly and effectively.

- construct an image for the artist through the use of mise-en-scene and dress code. I have studied dress code in depth, so am confident that I can construct an authentic looking artist to suit the style of the song.

- arrange filming dates with my artist, and prepare all costume, props and equipment needed.

- complete a storyboard with ideas of shots for the entirety of the video, taking the lyrics into account as I do so. One thing that I learnt from my original coursework, is that sticking exactly to the planned storyboard is not always possible, as it isn't until you have the raw footage that you can exactly select the shots you are going to use, as sometimes the lip syncing, camera angle/movement, facial expression,  or lighting isn't as you imagined/high enough quality or does not fit the overall look you are going for.

- using the lyrics as a basis, construct a story or plot to run through my video in the narrative aspect.