January Feedback

This is the feedback me and Liam received when we had done the footage with Kameron, Aaron and our first studio shots. People gave us good criticism about our studio performance and how well our actors are in front of the camera. The only criticism we got from our shots is because it's not done and still has a fair few blank spaces for the narrative of the music video. Another thing which was suggested to develop was that Chris' shot was too long which I agreed with. People really liked the focus pull on the phone in the morning to introduce the boyfriend into the narrative, I was happy with this compliment as I was pleased with how that turned out before we shared the work to other students and teachers.

Overall I feel like me and Liam received fair comments and i'm happy with the way people think the music video has potential to be good when it's finished. I'm feeling confident with the final product as most of the things that needed developing is that it needs be become more clearer which it will be when the narrative is done.

Rough Cut / Draft 1 of Brianstorm

This is our first draft of our music video. This draft contains 3 different shoots that we have done:

• Aaron's side to narrative
• Kameron's side to narrative
• Studio performance

When looking at this put together the things that work are the performance bit, I especially like the shot of Sam playing the bass as it looks in sync to the instrumental. I also think the contrasting shots of Aaron and Kameron in the woods work well together and that once we film with them together it will look very effective.

The things that will be improved are the shots which me and Aaron are in at my house, I feel like the shots are too dark when they are supposed to be set in the daytime. The shots of Aaron running downstairs could potentially be more visually interesting and may also work better when we film with Aaron and Kameron later on.  

Using the head extension for Go-Pro (Brianstorm)

While filming I took a short video on my phone on Aaron using go pro to get the shots of Brian running. From the video you can see how me and Liam got Aaron not just run around on flat ground but we also got him to jump over things to try and get a shake filmed on the go pro to create suspense and to make it seem like Brian is running from the boyfriend in fear. The problem with the go pro extention was that me and Liam wanted Aaron's arms to be in the shots but it was quite awkward to do due to the positioning of the camera and because of the ground being damp and Aaron was worried about slipping or falling which was a possibility. Overall, buying the extension was a good idea and I feel like it adds a unique twist to our music video and it contributes an idea of panic to the video.

Oxleas and My House 1 (Brianstorm)

In our first shoot we was able to complete quite a few shots from the storyboard. The day included going to Oxleas Woods, our new chosen place to shoot and then to my house to film the scene of the night before / morning of the chase. Aaron played the role of Brian well, he was mature and was able to show fear when running in the clips we shot.

To film these specific shots we took a DSLR and a Go-Pro camera with us. The Go-pro was to film Aaron's face when running through the woods. The Go-pro allowed us to reveal facial expression during the chase and gives the music video some suspense by seeing the facial expressions of Brian and also the boyfriend when we have filmed with him as well.

Oxleas Woods

Before filming, me and Liam decided to look around at the location of Oxleas Wood and to tweak our storyboard so the location fits with it. We found a specific spot which would be ideal for what we need for the chase scene. We found a central part in the woods which was quite isolated from the rest of the woods so our filming would not be interrupted by local residents. This central part had other paths coming off of it which would work well for the chase scenes and would be easy to film. I feel like this location will work well and I am excited to film this specific part of the music video.

Change of location

Due to the distance of Tile Kilns Wood, we have decided it would be more practical to shoot in a location based closer to us due to the most likely need to reshoot. The commute to Tile Kilns Wood would be a struggle to do ongoing times. The new places we are taking into consideration are one bus away or a 5/10 car journey away for when we need to travel with equipment.

The first place we are considering is Oxleas Wood, this is our most local woods and it is easy to get to. This is a huge amount of land so we are going to have a look and reconsider our shots from the storyboard here first due to the amount of different locations there are here. There is also a car park in the middle of the woods. I think this place may give us the space we need that Kilns Wood has. Despite our storyboard being based on the locations there, I think it is possible that we can fit our storyboard to this location as well.

The other place we are considering is Abbey Ruins / Woods. This would be awkward for us to go due to it being slightly away from where we live and there is a tourist location part in there due the ancient monument there. There is also a nature reserve so filming may be slightly inappropriate for this location, depending on where we decide to film there.

CD design

For my first CD cover I decided to create it as a drum skin and overlay the drum skin with the band signatures, I found default copyright free ones online and then edited them on photoshop so they look more printed onto the drum skin and not just dragged onto the drum.

I have decided to place this over James' face on the digipak, this is because in the band James is the drummer and it makes the most sense for it to go on top of him. I found a template online to demonstrate how that part of the digipak would look once the CD has been took out. I am questioning having the drum skin slightly transparent so the ongoing theme of the band's studio images on the digipak is still clear.

Drama Studio 1 (Brainstorm)

 We shot in one of our three locations. We followed our storyboard to create these clips, by the end of the night we got footage of:

• Close up bass
• Drums shot
• Wide shot of the whole band playing
• Lead singer: "Your rendezvous rate means that you'll never be frightened to make them wait for a while"

With the lighting we used in the studio, I feel like these shots worked really well and are effectively accurate to the ideas we drew up in our storyboard. When placing these clips into final cut pro, the lip sync works really well and looks realistic and professional. 

Costume

Due to my band's genre being Indie Rock and to make it easy to cast people me and Liam decided that we want our band members to dress casual and in clothes which can be found in high street shots. We had an idea for the main vocalist to wear a checked shirt as when doing my research of current indie rock bands that seems to be a convention in them all. Underneath the checked shirt I want to have a basic tee as that also seems to be a recent fashion which would grab an audience to the young males that watch the videos. I want all the band members to wear tight skinny jeans and preferably dark colours although that would depend on the types of shirts that my actor would have.

For shoes I wouldn't want my actors to wear trainers as they are contrasting to the more formal and dark coloured clothing. Ideally I would like to ask the group of boys which we ask to be in it to wear desert boots and perhaps loafers as it suggests a more indie culture whereas white trainers to me connote more of a pop image. I feel like I am not being too fussy about the appearance of the band member as when researching into the indie rock band member's clothes there doesn't seem to be a strict style other than usually checked shirts and dark clothing which is high street today.