Test shots: Lighting and tints.

As we are filming in tunnels and at night time we found that the use of the light was necessary. We have also considered using tints on some of our performance shots as this will help us create the effect that we are looking for. There are 3 different coloured tints available, including blue, red and orange. 

I think that the orange and red tints do not create the atmosphere that we are looking for because it creates a warming, mellow mood and this is not conventional in drum and bass music. However it does contrast well with the blue tint which portrays a cold and unorthodox atmosphere. I feel like the blue tint would be good to use when filming in the bypass and in the car park today, it will be dark so the light should be more effective than the previous times that we have used it during the day.

ADD PICTURES/ VIDEOS

Feedback on the shots.

We found that the smoking shots didn't go to plan, a big factor was that we planned to film the smoking part in the dark but all our shooting times ended up being during the day. I have found this clip from a music video called: "R.A.K "Brividi" Prod ARNE BEATS OFFICIAL VIDEO" The smoking looks good, i think its a good idea to have the smoke in slow motion but part of it being at a normal speed so, similar to this video as it shows the contrast. Also, i like how half of the screen is cut off with a black background and the details of the song are written in white on top of the black writing Whilst the smoke is still showing in the other half of the frame.

 


There was an additional moment in this music video where there is a an overlay of the artist walking, this is placed over a shot of the location. This looks as if it is filmed on a fig rig. It would be a good idea to get some footage when we go out today that we can play around with to try to get the same effect. As i feel like this would fit in well with our music video. We are filming today after 6th form in Raynes Park bypass and in a abandoned car park in new malden, this is where we could film the shots similar to the shots in the two clips that i have embedded.

Draft one.

This is the first draft of our music video for our media assignment. From watching and putting together this first draft we can identify certain things we need to amend and alter, we have even decided to go and film more footage as we were not happy with.

The first point is that we decided our song (Primal instinct by Mefjus and Bowsar featuring Mc Makism) is far too long at a full length of 5 minutes 26 seconds, and so thought it was necessary to cut a long part of the middle of the song as all it consists of a boring repetive drum beat and some neuro funk/drum and bass synths. There are no lyrics, so it is not a problem to cut it out. By doing this we allow ourselves more time to focus on the remaining length of the music video.

Next, various shots are not framed accurately and the top of the artists head is cut off, so to rectify these mistakes, we will re shoot those specific shots making sure that each shot is framed to the highest of our ability. It is important to focus on the backgrounding of the shots as well as the artist.

As well as this, we have decided we need to cut our shots more frequently and a lot faster, to match the high tempo of the track, at the moment the editing is relatively slow, and although cut to the beat in areas, needs to be cut fast paced so it look like it matches when  it is being viewed whilst listening to the song to as a finished product. This is conventional to drum and bass tracks and so we need to stick to it. 

Test shots on the GoPro

The video above shows some footage that we took using the GoPro, this was done within our school grounds. We initially had the idea to use the GoPro to shoot some shots in our music video, however we didn't think it was necessary as we thought that the DSLR was to a high enough quality and anything that we wanted to film on the GoPro, we could do through editing for example: slow motion and time lapse. Another problem that we had with using the GoPro is that in order to use it we needed to download an app in to run it on but neither of us in the group was able to download the app which restricted us.

I feel like the quality of the picture is that of a lower standard to the quality if the DSLR. As you can see in the footage of above, it is not at a high quality. We filmed the walk from the outside playground where we were filming back to the class room.

Reviewing our progress

Our first trip out didn't go to plan, we had planned to film for the majority of the day in Leake Street tunnel. However, when we got to our destination and set up the camera we found that the battery was only on one bar of battery which meant that we had to rush the shots that we managed to get in the short time span that we had. We then come back to 6th form to get a newly charged battery and headed out to New Malden bypass in which we managed to get some more shots. We also looked at a location in which we originally planned to film but we found that the bridge was closed as works are being done until the end of December. In which we took action and found an alternative location.

Our second trip out was much more of a successful trip, we managed to get more organised and well framed shots. We Also looked for additional locations in London. We filmed on a few bridges near south bank and got some establishing shots of our surroundings.          

Our next trip was also successful, we went back to our second location in Raynes Park and we reframed the previous shots that were out of focus or out of frame when we previously filmed in the location. We also got additional shots to fill in some of the space in our music video as in our first draft there are a few gaps in between performance shots.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

FeedBack Video

Inspiration for our music video.

I found a editing technique which looks like it would fit in well with our music video, its an overlay of shots with a fade on it. It would be a good idea to play about with similar idea's and to try out some test shots. This could be used as a chance to potentially show flash backs etc. Almost as if the artist is looking back on the past.



Additionally, we planned on our storyboard that we will have some close ups and extreme close ups of the artist smoking. I have found a few shots that look aesthetically pleasing, the use of black and white and the angles in which they use make the shots effective. The use of smoking would be a good thing to include in our music video as in links in with the themes of youth culture and rebellion.



The next video shows the use of the fish eye effect, this would look good when on bridges and in leak street tunnel. We can do this on the go pro, before we film however we will need to do some test shots and these will later be uploaded to the blog. Another thing that would be a good idea to include would be aspects of the city, we could cut between the different types of lifestyle, this would help portray the theme of city life.



Split screen, i think that the use of split screen could be effective if used in the right way. This would give the video an eery effect and that is what we are looking for as it links in with our genre of drum and bass. The use of the split screen could potentially show the difference in the artists personality/ the different lifestyles that he has expereienced.



Drum and bass music is generally upbeat and fast, this means that we need to ensure that we cut quickly. However, it would be effective if we cut quicker than we should to give the effect that is seen in the clip below, we would need to cut exactly on the beat to make it work.



The use of a stencil when doing graffiti down in leak street tunnel. We will be making a stencil, similar to that of the one shown in the clip below. However, ours will say "Primal instinct" which is the name of our song. The use of graffiti in our music video will fit in well with our genre and themes as expressionism is important when thinking about youth culture.

Idea's for our music video:

I have come up with multiple idea's that would link in well with our genre of drum and bass. Firstly I thought that the use of masks and costumes to create an abstract atmosphere which links into the fast cuts that are conventional in relation to the drum and bass genre. I thought that we could link it in with words originally from the song that could relate to the action the artist is performing. The use of masks/ costumes could represent the current generation of youths and the necessity to hide their identities from others. This would overall have strong visuals and will help the audience relate to and interpret the artist in their own way. 

Additionally, i thought that we could make a flip book in which the artist could be seen in the music video flipping through the pages progressively seeing the changes around him. This would link in well with the genre and would make it more interesting, however in terms of making the flip book to a high quality (which would be needed) would take a long time and finding spare time to do this around both me and max's subjects and work outside of school would have been very difficult.

We thought that we could incorporate some well thought through graphics to give the music video more edge and to make it more creative. This is conventional to the drum and bass genre as we see cool graphics in most drum and bass music video's. 

Filming in the dark with lights would probably create the best effect as it will allow the scenery to be portrayed as quite grotty and unorthodox. This is a good thing because drum and bass music originates in the urban area's, relating most to middle class to lower class youths who grew up on the streets. This helps the audience relate to the artist. Filming in the dark also gives a sense of rebellion and the theme of not caring about the dangers surrounding the darkness. Which helps to convey the themes of youth culture. Furthermore, the use of the black and whet filter throughout the song incorporating some colour into parts that need to stand out. This was an initial idea of ours, we thought that putting a black and white filter on the music video would have a positive outcome as it could suggest that people who cannot relate to the genre may see it in black and white. 

Construction Post

During our first filming session on Friday the 7th of November, we encountered several issues, as well as this, we came across some things we were also very pleased with.

 First of all, we need to ensure that all of our shots are framed so that the top of the head of the person being filmed isn't cut off. As seen in the image, left, it makes the shot look messy and effects the composition. By moving the camera backwards slightly, we would have solved this problem. This is something to think about during our next filming session. We may have to re-shoot some of the shots to rectify these mistakes.






 The same thing happened in this shot, but the top of the head was even more cut off, almost half of the top of the cap is cut off. Similarly in the other shot, by moving the camera backwards or zooming out of the shot would have solved this issue. This shot would look much improved after a re-shoot taking into account the framing as more of the background will be in the image which will add more colour and form to the shot.

To film this shot, I had to climb a wall and stand above the camera. It was filmed on a fig rig, this is why the shot is not as straight and steady as we would've liked, practising use of the fig rig will improve this shot and make it look more professional. Despite this, we liked this shot as it is more creative than some others and therefore we are keen to keep it but re-shot to solve the problem of unsteadiness.



Noticeably, this shot is out of focus, this means we need to ensure that before recording the shot that the camera is in perfect focus so the shots are clear and professional. Although this shot is out of focus, I believe when it is re-shot, it will be successful as it is from a different angle to the rest of the shots we have and so, may be viewed as more interesting to the audience. I believe we need more interesting shots like this.

The main issue we came across was that after reaching our filming destination in London, Waterloo, we discovered that our camera only had one bar of battery left. This was detrimental to our filming as we had travelled very far just to film there, and we only got about 10 minutes footage before we had to leave due to the camera dying. Next time we have to make sure that we have been given a battery pack that's fully charged so we don't have to waste a trip again.





Shooting schedule

After reviewing mine and Lucy's availability, we have made a decision on when we can shoot and what shots to shoot on the specific day. Here is our shooting session schedule:

Timetable.

I put together a timetable which shows the availability of both me and max, this is so we can establish  when we are both free so we can make it easier to find appropriate times and dates to add in extra filming.