In preparation for the shoot, we had to ensure we were organised, and therefore could swiftly capture everything we intended. As it was a very simple shoot there was not much to prepare. Our most important concern was our performers. We rehearsed our band once again the day before, which left us feeling confident as they knew the words, the beat and gave a solid performance. I spoke to the lighting designer and set design to ensure the set and lighting would match with the footage we had already filmed. They ensured me that it would be easily matched in the colour grade. We finally went through all of our desired shots. We planned to capture the basic shots first including wides, mediums and close ups, following the creative shots such as tracking. Max agreed to buy some talcum powder for our drum effect, we then had everything planned and were very prepared for the shoot.
Before we began shooting we set up the mic and drums in the positions we wanted for the first shot. I then spoke to the lighting designer to work out some timing with what lightbulbs could turn on when. Whilst I did this Ksenia worked on the makeup of both performers, and ensured they were dressed correctly and looked the part.
Our set was a 3 wall box with the lightbulbs randomly arranged. It was a very simple look, therefore we knew we had to be creative with our shots to make it look more exciting and match the excitement of the dance section. To add ambience to the room, and give the shots a more stylised look I requested to fill the set with a slight mist. This enhanced beams of light and gave the video a mysterious feel.
I mainly worked as the cameraman for the day, however I ensured the actors performed in the way we wanted and decided on what shots to do, therefore I additionally took on a directorial role. Towards the end of the day I worked as a grip to make sure the track was as smooth as it could be.
Personally I feel the creative choices I made on the day will benefit the video. For example, I decided to capture specific moments using an out/in track. This is a powerful and dramatic shot which should prove beneficial to me when cutting the video. I also ensured the lighting was timed to the music. I wanted the lights to flash brighter on each big beat of the song. This was made possible by the lighting designer, and looked effective on the monitor.
We faced very few problems on this shoot. Although overall, we worked fairly slowly and thus were not able to get every shot we intended. I tried to capture as many shots as possible, and continued to repeat shots to ensure it was perfect in terms of camera work and performance. This repetition left little time for the creative shots that we captured at the end of the day. I feel that if we had speed up the changeover in between shooting we would have had more time for creative experimenting with the camera work.
The most succesful part of this shoot was the fact that we had already filmed half of the video. By allowing two shoot days we were granted much more time to work on this section of the music video. We had the time to capture almost all lot of the shots we wanted, and make it look as best as it could.
Rehearsing the talent 4 times before shooting meant they were very prepared for the day, and did not slow down the shoot in any way due to forgetting the words/beat. They performed confidently and matched the track very well almost every time. In order to make sure they did not tire during the shoot whilst they were not being used we kept them entertained by talking to them, asking them for their input, and offering refreshments.
The part of the shoot which I enjoyed the most was filming the drum shots. The talcum powder provided a brilliant effect, and really enhanced the visual look of the film on each beat of the song. I went for some interesting angles on this such and managed to capture my intended outward track. This is also the bit I am most looking forward to seeing in the edit.
My group worked effectively as a team, we each had our own input to the production, which benefited the video in different ways. Max came up with some great ideas for shots and gave very good direction to the actors, whilst Ksenia worked brilliantly on art direction, making our video and the actors in it look as good as possible.
After the shoot I now understand how on future shoots I need to work more swiftly in between shots. This will speed up the process and leave more time for creativity. The more footage captured the better the video is likely to be.
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