Introduction

Welcome to my A2 media Blog, I'm Josh Stevenson (0796) and I'm in Group 2 with Harry Kettenis (0390), Matthew Romo (1660) and Ysabel Hudson-Searle (0331). Use the labels on the right to navigate through my blog, with the A2 labels relevant to my current course. You can access the main music video blog aswell using the link.

Here is the live link to Group 2's Facebook Page.

Thanks.

Music Video

Our Music Video

Digipak



Our Digipak
Top Left: Back Cover, Top Right: Front Cover
Bottom Left: Inside Back, Bottom Right: Inside Front

Our Website




Our Website (Click to Enter)

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Shoot Day 29/10/14

Our second location shoot, this time using Harry’s house as the setting. We aimed to capture all of our remaining narrative shots, as well as the fire poi shots we intend to use as a concept shot.

The first shots we set up were the kitchen scenes with Matt and I setting up, while Harry and Yssy got into costume and make-up. We wanted this shot to add to the realism of Roza’s relationship showing the two in a home environment, doing something expected of a couple such as cooking together.

Production image from kitchen scene
Yssy and Harry required very little direction in this shot, because the situation was pretty much self-explanatory. Due to this, we were able to get straight on with the shots, with Matt on clapperboard and lighting and myself on camera. We manage to get some really nice moments in their relationship, that warm audiences to the couple, only making their relationship seem even more genuine; these being Harry getting fed a mushroom and Yssy being handed a cup of tea. The way the two acted our these moments came across as quite sweet and at times, made me forget that their relationship was in fact staged.
Moment in Narrative
Once we were all happy with the footage collected we began setting up for the two bedroom arguments. Again Yssy and Harry going off to change costumes, whilst Matt and I set up. Both of the arguments required the same set so once we were all happy with the set’s look on camera, we started thinking about how our camera movement would work in these shots.

Harry checking how the shot looked
Harry had no issue with costume and make-up, Yssy on the other hand had a henna tattoo on her arm which was very visible in the chosen costume. However, she wasn’t able to cover it herself with make-up without risk of it getting on her clothing; so I had to try my hand at applying make-up to the tattoo to cover it up. Luckily, I managed to make it so that it wasn’t visible on camera.

The two arguments are both quite different in nature; the first being about the boyfriend messaging other woman and the second being the boyfriend’s controlling nature. As such, they required different levels of intensity and emotion; which is something I believe was conveyed very well in our footage, especially with the aggression seen as Yssy attempts to leave the bedroom and she is prevented from doing so by Harry.


Two Argument scene comparison

The final narrative shot we decide to capture is the most explosive, in which the two are arguing furiously and Harry walks out of the house, putting an end to their relationship an ending the narrative there. Thinking ahead to what we planned on filming afterwards; while Harry and Yssy again changed costumes in preparation for the scene, Matt went to pick up Olivia, who we needed for our fire poi and I began setting up the camera and lighting required. In the final narrative shot, there are a lot of big and exaggerative movements; the key here was finding a good balance between their acting being emotional and being caricature. Just looking at the un-edited versions of the footage, I can already tell that the mix was perfect and effectively brings the narrative to a close.


In between the final narrative and fire poi shots, Harry and I set about to capture our timelapse sequence. Setting up the GoPro while the others were preparing for the fire poi. We managed to get a good sense of the progression of time in the timelapse shot, which quite stark changed in light.


Fire poi was a late addition to our storyboard, having to add these shots in because of the practicalities of using naked flames within the studio environment. As such, there was no time for rehearsing this shot until the camera was rolling. Olivia, who we had asked to be in the shot was fine with getting straight on with everything and choreographed all of her movements there and then as she heard the music.


 Fire poi clips

For this shot our group took on four main roles:
1- Operating the camera (For the static shots I was camera op and for the movement shots Yssy took charge)

2- Playback (Since we were filming outside and headphones wouldn't be the safest option, someone had to hold a portable speaker within hearing distance of Olivia. This was Harry throughout the shots)

3- Umbrella (While we were shooting the fire poi it was raining, so to prevent the cameras from getting wet, Matt stood with an umbrella above whoever was camera op at the time)

4- Fire watch (Olivia was handling naked flames while doing her fire poi, creating a major risk of setting fire to herself. To control this, we had someone stood to the side ready and waiting with a water hose to douse any flames. This was Yssy in the static shots and myself in the movement shots)

When we had a chance to review the footage, we noticed that there was quite a lot of grain. We weren't too deterred by this and tested out some grading to see what could be done. Once we'd gone and graded the footage, we were very happy with how it had turned out.


Graded (left), Ungraded (right)

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Shoot Day 28/10/14

The shoot on this day required us to travel to Central London in order to shoot in locations with a lot of British iconography. Both costume and make-up were done by Yssy before leaving for the location, because we had agreed the look prior to the day and it made most logistical sense.

Map showing all of our central London locations

When planning out the scenes in central London, we planned out roughly where we would be shooting and at what times of the day we wanted to get to each location. However, due to the unpredictable nature of London's weather, Matt arrived in central London an hour prior to the planned meet up time to see whether or not the locations were the way we hoped they were going to be. While checking out the locations, he looked for alternatives to each location if any issues arose.

Some of the location images sent near Oxford St (Left) and Soho Sq. (Right)
He would send us images of various locations using the Whatsapp group, therefore allowing us all to talk about whether we were happy with the location and discuss any changes that were needed.

One thing that we did find quite difficult to deal with is the unwillingness of the public to be mindful of the camera; we were forever having to shield the camera from being "accidently" knocked, or needing to re-adjust the framing because someone insisted on looking straight down the lens. On more than one occasion, people walked directly in between the camera and Yssy, even when there was less than a meter between the two.

Public looking into camera

Obviously that is one of the hazards of filming in a very public area, which was to be expected. It just added extra stress to the day, leading to a number of extra takes.

Central London Performance


Central London Narrative


Central London Time lapse 


Thursday 23 October 2014

Meetings Summary: Research & Planning 2

This stage of the project was all about pinning down the details and logistics relating to shooting the video; things such as shoot schedules, organising props and planning out lighting. In our meetings we opted to delegate all of the tasks amongst ourselves.

Click bullet points to see results of delegation

Myself taking responsibility for:


Harry was responsible for:


Yssy was responsible for:




Tuesday 21 October 2014

Call sheets & Shootboards

We used adapted versions of the conventional storyboard and shoot schedule and combined them to make shootboards. These give us both on the spot visual representations of the shots and the scheduled timings for each of these shots for the duration of that day. Our call sheets are essentially the same for all of our shoots, only ever really changing call times, set and, in two cases, cast. The call sheets give a basic outline of the whole day, noting down all emergency procedure and informing cast and crew of the times they are needed. These documents essentially work as guidelines for us to stick to when we are on set.

28th-29th October 

Our first shoot has been scheduled for the 28th and 29th, in which we have decided to get the vast majority of our location shots completed. We decided to prioritise the location shots because we felt that these shots posed the biggest risk of having retakes because there are so many factors taken out of our control by being on location.


 On the shoot board there are so few timings, because we just can't be sure of how long our shots will take. There are too many uncertainties for us to be able to schedule anything, one thing we are confident in is that the shots will not take any longer than two full days.


We have spread out the shots according to the various locations, with the shots in Central London on Tuesday and the rest in North London on the Wednesday because the locations are within a fee miles of each other.








We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because it would be near enough impossible to stick to the timings due to the amount left out of our control because we are shooting in central London, as well as the fact that we would be unable to even make a basic  one, because we wouldn't be able to input the majority of required information. Furthermore, considering that it is only my group required on this day and we are all aware of the plan, it would be an unnecessary document on this occasion.

3rd November 

This was our very first shoot in the studio, so we opted for an ambitious approach to this shoot; hoping to get through all our main three performance shots and some of the smaller conceptual shots.

Shootboard for 3rd November
Call Sheet for 3rd November

10th November
Shootboard for 10th November

We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because the cast and crew consisted of solely our group and after creating our first call sheet, we were all aware of the health and safety procedures; as well as using our shootboard for scheduling references.


11th November

This is planned to be by far our most challenging shoot bringing in people from outside our group, media and even the school to be in our shots. The plan is to get all of the shots which require other people out of the way as early as possible, so that if any retakes are needed, then we have the time to let them know or get other people if required.

Shoorboard for 11th November


Call Sheet for 11th November




19th November 

The main focus on this shoot was promo shots, however since we still had outstanding shots, it made most sense to get them out of the way first since they were very straightforward.
Shootboard for 19th November
We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because the cast and crew consisted of solely our group and after creating our first call sheet, we were all aware of the health and safety procedures; as well as using our shootboard for scheduling references.

22nd November
Shootboard for 22nd November

We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because the cast and crew consisted of solely our group and after creating our first call sheet, we were all aware of the health and safety procedures; as well as using our shootboard for scheduling references

24th November

Shootboard for 24th November

This was our last shoot, so we left making a shootboard or call sheet until we had decided whether or not any retakes were needed. After concluding that a new shot was needed, this was the main priority for this shoot, with the remaining time used for promo shots to go on the ancillary texts.



Shootboard for 24th November


Shoot Schedule

Receiving our scheduled bookings in the studio made it possible for us to start thinking about when we would get each shot and then from there, start creating our shootboards. All of the slots in yellow were our allocated times.

Shoot schedule for production in November


Monday 20 October 2014

Props List

Once we had planned out each of our shots, it was then our task to source all of the props required for them. We started out by listing all of the individual props we needed, listing whether anyone in our team had the specific prop or whether it would need to be made or purchased.


When it came to the logistics of organising the props I got stuck straight in, ensuring any props we didn't have collectively could be sourced for a reasonable price.


Now that our props list had been finished and a suitable source had been found for any that we didn't have, all that was left to do was get any purchases approved and the props ordered in good time for our shoots.

Costume and Make-Up

Make-up and costumes are an essential part of our artist's image, presenting Roza to the public in a specific way and putting across a specific message. The look for our artist was discussed an decided in our pre-production meetings as being urban yet sophisticated; showing that Roza can be sexy without being sexualised and putting across that Roza isn't afraid of her femininity.

Make-up was talked through with a professional make-up artist, discussing what look would best compliment our artist's image and the costumes for each shot.

Make-up Montage




Look for Wet shots"
Beyonce's look in "If I were a Boy"

For our main performance shot, we opted for a 'wet' look, taking inspiration from the Beyonce video "If I Were a Boy". Costuming for this shot was simple, because this shot is a close-up at its widest. We chose to have no costuming for this shot so it shows her vulnerability, as well as allowing us to layer more vibrant, busy shots on top.
Look for Fire Projection Shots
Since we intended to project quite vibrant moving images on Yssy, the make-up for this shot needed top be quite bold, so as not to get lost in all of the colour. We opted for make-up that was quite bold and sharp, especially around the eyes, so that the audience are given a focal point the shot. These shots are much more, for lack of a better word, fiery than our other shots. It's Roza's chance to show off and embrace her femininity, that being the reason for our choice of costume being a tight fitting cream and black dress. The dress doubling up as a canvas to be projected on, while still giving some texture to the shot and bringing it back into the 3rd dimension.


Look for Silhouette Performance shots
Silhouette performance is our darkest shot, in terms of both lighting and mood.In keeping qith this dark theme, it was decided that Yssy's make-up wouldn't include any bright or vibrant colours; with the main feature being "smokey eyes". The costuming for this shot goes along the same lines as the colours, with grey and black coloured materials. So that the shot has some depth, we decided that Yssy's top should have some texture to it. Yssy will also be wearing a plain black mini skirt, which we feel works well with a crop top to put Roza across as being sexy, but not sexualised.


Look for Rose Performance shots
We want to go for more of an urban feel to the Rose performance shots, keeping the theme of sexy, but not sexualised in mind. We chose a plain black crop top with a navy blue jacket for the costume on this occasion, with Yssy's hair to one side and much sharper make-up. Putting across some of Roza's attitude and strength is the main purpose of this shot, which is why these decisions were made.
Look for Bridge Performance shots





Costuming for the Central London performance was in a way dictated by the weather. Warm clothing with a jacket was a must, so we opted for a nice and warm jacket with fur lapels. Make-up is slightly more generic than the other performance shots because it was a location shoot, with bold eyes and red lips.

The costumes used in our narrative shots jump between a range of looks. From extremely casual (kitchen shots) to fully dressed up with sharp looking make-up (Bedroom Argument). Harry's look follows the same trend, with minimal/no make-up.
Costumes and Make-up in Narrative


Performance Rehearsals

Our music video doesn't include a band as such, meaning that our only real rehearsals were for the narrative and lip-sync shots. Since the vast majority of our shots were of people in my group, rehearsals were done in a fairly informal way; with many of the performance rehearsals being undertaken when we were testing the lighting for our shots. The choreography for most of our performance shots are dependent on the set, not giving us much room for rehearsals.


The silhouette performance shots required a fair amount of practice with the silhouettes. Yssy and I needed to practise moving in sync and get used to interacting with each other when our views of one another are blocked by a blank sheet. This rehearsal session came down to use "perfecting" choreography and blocking, going wrong plenty of times, but eventually starting to think similarly about our positioning, making the interaction work well.


Choreographing and practice


Yssy getting used to performing in front of a projector


The fire performance shots had their own troubles when it came to rehearsing them. Since we were projecting straight onto Yssy's body, at times, she became blinded by the light from the projector. However, this is something Yssy had to learn to deal with and be able to handle so her performance isn't affected. Yssy acclimatised to performing this way pretty well, learning to look directly above the projector when performing and using her hands to shield her eyes in between takes.





The rehearsals for our narrative were done on location, because it gave us the opportunity to block and choreograph our shots in relation to the layout of the rooms being used. The cast for our narrative are members of our group, making rehearsals quick and simple, because all of the shots were planned as a group and all of us know the context of the different shots.


                         
                                 Rehearsing Kitchen Scene
Rehearsing the Bedroom argument

Kit List



Studio AND TECHNICAL KIT


Camera unit                                     Canon Legria HFG30
                                                               Canon 5D Mark 2
                                                             Go pro
HDMI CABLES + CONVERTER
1 X 64GB Memory card

Playback unit                                 50 inch monitor
                                                                15 inch mac book pro
                                                                Studio sound system
                                                                Stereo Jack to 2 x Xlr box
                                                                2 x Extension cables

lighting                                              Studio lighting rig
                                                                2 x floor lights
                                                                1 x turret light
                                                                Leapfrog lighting desk

STUDIO                                                 1 X White Cyclorama
                                                                1 x sheet stand
                                                                1 x sheet