images of shoot

these are some images of my first day of shooting. on the first day i shot my old primary school playground. most of the shots are meant to represent the feeling of isolation and loneliness. most of the shots are either of the actual playground or of the sky. on the day i played around with height. i made the shots either looking down or looking up, the camera therefore representing the child.

pitch 2

just in case my first idea doesn't work, i've come up with another idea. it's for the same band (p.o.d) but the song is called 'ridiculous'.

to me the song name gives it away really. the song is layered with different lyrics and sounds that people make. my idea was to have 4 heads on a table and each head sings a different part of the song. one head will sing the lyrics. one will say the word ridiculous and the other heads will say the various different sounds. the idea then that in time all the heads will be singing together. the idea of the heads is abstract and compliments the idea of the song.

it would be an easy thing to film because all id need to do would be to film 4 people singing the various parts of the song with out them moving. then id crop their bodies and place the heads on a table. it would be a simple video but it would look interesting and effective.

this is the demo version of the song, i can't find an example of the album version which is the one i'd be using

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shooting at the junction

the other day, i filmed the performance part of my video at the junction. it went really well. when i got there and walked into the stage area, i was a bit skeptical because i wasn't sure if the stage would be big enough. but i turned out great.

i spoke to the technician when i got there, simon, and asked him about what affects i could expect and he showed me the lighting that he rigged up. i emailed him earlier in the week and gave him a few ideas but i didn't expect it to be as good as it was. it was fantastic. there were red haze lights and a black background. he put the drum kit on the stage too.

after all my band members got there we got on the stage and i directed them and explained what i wanted.

first day of shooting

over the weekend i went to my old primary school and filmed in the playground. this footage will work as the narrative for my music video. i didn't get as much footage as i wanted but i was happy with the footage i got.

the scenes i really wanted to film were of shadows coming to life, for the choir part of the song. but during filming, the sun went in and i couldn't film any of that scene. i was a bit frustrated but i had to film the rest of my footage. i spent a while getting slow pan shots of various different angles of the playground. these shots came out really well i thought. they captured the feeling of isolation and loneliness.

i had enough time to get a time lapse as well of the sky. i figured, that while your young you look up a lot due to lack of height. not only that though, when your young you're afraid of the unknown. in a way, the sky is a metaphor for how children feel while growing up.

after filming i completely changed my mind on how my video would work. i don't want there to be that much narrative. the ghost effect things and the singer finding the notes just wasn't working. i scrapped that idea. instead, i want there to be mostly performance but with some narrative. the narrative will be of the playground and the sky. i might still use the photos morphing idea but I'm going to wait and see how much performance footage i get next week.

the process of making a music video

to former students from long road came in to talk to us about the film industry and explained the process of making music videos. through their career they've made many music videos including making a video for kaiser chiefs.

1. Video Commissioner at record company puts out track to potential directors/production companies

2. Directors 'pitch' for track with ideas/concepts, based upon brief from record company and the music they have listened to

3. Record company chooses the one they want and allocates budget; producer looks after budget and arrangements for the process- a percentage of the budget is allocated to this role

4. Director of Photography and art director(production designer) brought on board- art director oversees the planning of the look of video; scouting for locations, planning of shoot etc takes place (PRE-PRODUCTION)

5.Shoot takes place- usually one day

6. Off-line edit where an editor assembles all the footage over a period of a few days; record company and artist may want to see it and suggest changes.

7. online edit, adding special effects, getting final version ready

8. delivery of finished video to client and play it on tv, online etc

Steps 1-8 may take as little as 3-4 weeks these days as budgets have fallen and demands are greater.

target audience

i've been thinking about who the target audience for my music video is. not only the video though, i need to think about an audience that will buy the dvd and cd. i'm a big fan of P.O.D so when i think of what the audience would look like, i think of me. they would wear t-shirts and baggie trousers. they'd wear hoodies and skate trainers. hobbies would include adrenaline ridden sports such as surfing and skateboarding.

i think the audience is mostly male. at gigs, the fan base is definatly male. they would be mostly middle class. so they'd be well off but not wealthy. they'd hang out in the streets. spend most of there time outside. home would be used as a hotel. they'd spent time with there friends at the skatepark maybe.

my audience probably don't go out and buy cd's. most people i know download music. but if theres a band i really like, i'll buy the cd. my audience would buy p.o.d's cd. dedicated fans.

music video - internet banner

i designed an internet banner for my upcoming music video. i didn't any of my footage so i used non-copyright images from flickr. i combined imges to make my banner which compliments the theme of isolation.

model release form

i made a model release form to give to actors who are appearing in my music video. im shooting in 2 days time. i will need there permission if i want to upload in onto public broadcasting websites.

ed lovelace - industry talk

ed lovelace, a previous long road student, came in today to talk to us about his life in the media industry. it has only been 7 years since he left long road and he's already made his first feature film about the life of a traveling folk singer (documentry). he's made numourous music videos including working with the gallows.

after doing media studies at long road he went on to university at bourneworth. after university he went to work with a record label and started helping out with shoots and such. he then started making music videos.

he explained that in order to get work, you need to be 100% commited and you need to make things in your spare time to show people. it's a way of showing people your talent. during university he was incouraged to watch loads of films and anything good on television to get inspiration.

you need dedication and enthusiasm to get anywhere. ed stated that he was lucky to get work because most students who come out of university dont. there isn't alot of money in music video making anymore. ed made 2 of his videos with a budget of £100. others had a bigger budget of £40,000. some of his styles used in his videos are inspired by natural born killers. he really wants to make a music video refering to enternal sunshine of the spotless mind.

looking at his old college videos and then looking at his music videos today, you can tell he's come a long way. he made a video for the song 'sleeping swords'. he didn't have an idea while making the video at long road. he said that the most important thing is the idea. once you have an idea, you can make a video. the videos we're making at the moment are of a much higher standard than the ones ed made 7 years ago. maybe in 7 years time we'll be making videos.

ghost effect - practice footage

this is the effect i tend to use in my final music video. i'm going to film the singer in the playground. he's going to be a ghost, a passing memory. the way i did this was i filmed the background with a static camera, i then had my actor come in the shot. then i uploaded the footage into after effects and made the opacity about 50% for the actor. they had to be 2 seperate layers. it wasn't as difficult as i imagined. using this is my video shouldn't be a problem.

recreating the band

after thinking it over i've decided to film at the junction. therefore i need people to act as members oft he band. p.o.d have a cain look that i want to capture. some of them have dreadlocks for example so i want people who vaguely resemble the band. it wouldn't look right if they didn't have some features that the band have. it would look like any other student made music video. i want to have a go at making my video as good as it can be.

i've talked to some of my friends and they will act as the members of the band but they are also happy to learn the music. i was happy to just make it look like we were playing it but they are really enthusiastic. adam plays bass guitar anyway so he said that he's happy to learn the music. dan plays guitar and he's looked over the tabs and he's comfortable. i know the words after learning them. all i need to find is a drum player. next time i go to the junction i'm going to ask if they have a house drum kit.

junction

after visiting the junction, a local venue for bands and clubs, i've been thinking about filmin there. it's such a good oppitunity i would be silly not to take it. i've been thinking about my ideas and how i'd incorporate it into my video and i've come u with some ideas. i still want to film the narrative part of the vide in a playground but i'll have the band playing at the junction for cut ins. i might have a long tracking shot at the beginning of my music video and near the end make the camera go through the school wall, then cut so it would be the junction. it would seem as if the band were playing in the school. this would work well with my theme.