Planning schedule -

From the previous task we realised that planning was an essential aspect in order to produce a production which is up to standard. It can be said that last year our production was not up to standard due to poor planning techniques that led us to rushing some shots or, not filming them adequately enough. However this year as a team we designed a filming schedule that incorporated many elements we missed out on last year, this year we felt as a team that our predesigned schedule will ensure us to feel more on task and, waste less time when it comes to filming and editing for or production.

As you can see from the images above this is the filming schedule for our production. We clearly separated the tasks that needed to be done over the time period we had for filming, we spread the task over a attainable and efficient time frame. Under each date it is clearly stated what is to be done on each day, so there is no confusion or wasted time between each team member when trying to complete the task.This planning schedule was also available on our WhatsApp group, where by everyone was able to look at the date and bring the necessary props according to what filming we would be doing that day. 

I am the individual who wrote down the planning schedule and I also found it very necessary and essential, the write down timings that us as a group had agreed upon so that each day we were expected to arrive to the location at the designated time, this allowed us to be more effective and efficient as we were able to start filming as soon as we met and were able to do the needed shots on the assigned days. I also ensured that brief notes were made underneath each shot, for those shots that we still undecided or needed to be clarified. For example on the 30th we were still undecided on which location we were going to use for the additional shots so I made sure I wrote down all the ideas we had discussed on the planning schedule before hand so all team member were able to see them, reflect on which location that would be most appropriate to use. This then allowed all the team members to think and then feedback to the group on the group chat on which location we thought was best to do the shot.

Here again is a small planning sheet , explaining the details of the filming we intend to do for the oxford street filming.Within the planning document it  states the time in which we intended to do our filming , this allowed us to allocate specific time within the day to get all the necessary filming done. I also wrote down descriptions of the shots that we intended to shoot, this allowed for us to have a outline, of what to as soon as we reached the location.

SWOT analysis of our production

When planning our production we decided that there are various potential strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats that we may face along the way. We identified that for every strength we had we had a weakness that could potentially trouble us, however through careful planning and co-ordination as a team we will be able to limit the potential weaknesses and threats we could face whilst filming and editing.

STRENGTHS

+ Unique and challenging genre choice
As a group we had decided to go for a more challenging genre compared to our peers. Even though many of us don't usually listen songs in that genre, we decided to take upon more research into the genre to enable to us produce a video which reflects and challenges some of the normal conventions of folk/acoustic music videos. We thought that if we did this it would reflect our teams attitudes of being ambitious and not going for a music genre that we feel extremely comfortable with.



+ Ability to go to different locations via Car

We were lucky enough to have a member of our team who is able to legally drive. Driving to locations which were far away was not a big an obstacle if we were to use, public transport eg. trains and buses which may have proven difficult due to rush hour in London. For example shooting in oxford street would of been difficult to do at night if we had taken the train due to rush hour in London at that time, we may have been delayed more because of it. Also there were other locations which public transport had limited access to, for example in Fairlop waters there was no local station to come by to the waters the only access was by car.

+ Have the relevant instruments ( guitar)

We were also lucky enough to have a member in our group who had a acoustic guitar at home. This saved us the hassle of looking and continuously asking for permission to use an instrument, which resulted in us wasting less time when gathering props as we were always assured on who and where it would be if needed quickly.


+ More than one camera available

The access of two cameras, helped us greatly technical wise as whenever we had run out battery or memory on one camera we could easily switch to the other when needed. This allowed us to maximise the amount of filming we needed to do, within one day we were luckily not to be restricted technically.

+ Acting skills quite reliable

From our previous task as a group we were able to pick out those individuals acting skills which were quite reliable and effective. Those individuals who did not shy away from the camera, and were confident and able to act appropriate to the role that was needed to be played were there ones who were chosen in the beginning of the process. Myself (Ravneet) and Tayyab had decided to take upon the part of playing as the couple, by deciding this from the beginning we were able to save time on who will play what part and were able to start the process of the filming and blog processing quicker with less uncertainty on who would play what role. The reliable acting skills also allowed us to develop out ideas further and not be limited by our acting ability, for example we were able to more 'loved' up shots with less hassle as both main actors were comfortable and  confident enough to do so.




WEAKNESSES

- Lip singing

However one weakness that we faced during the process, was successfully doing the lip singing of the song. As the team member playing the artist had never done such a task before, it was difficult to understand how to do it and making sure that the team member knew all the lyrics before the filming.

- Technical - ( eg. split screens)

There were certain technical elements that we wished to incorporate for example the split screen, which not many of our team members were familiar with. We intend to use teachers guidance and external sources  eg. video tutorials to be able to use different editing techniques, however we do not want to waste to much time trying to understand or perfect on editing style, so we must be effective and efficient when editing to ensure we are able to edit all of our footage on time in order to meet the deadline.

- Dressing the room - making it realistic that the two are a couple

Another potential problem we may face is making sure that the room used for where the couple is staying must be dressed appropriately. To ensure that it looks realistic and believable that a couple would actually stay there . It was essential to personalise the room to make sure that the audience was able to easily pick up the fact that this is where the couple stays, due to their personal belongings. We intend to use pictures placed on the wall of the couple, on there various dates .

- Use of particular locations that need permission and extra assistance eg. the stage with lighting

Asking for permission for using the YouTube building was necessary as we would of been unable to do so if we did not seek permission we would of been unable to shoot within it and would of have to find, another music related builing to do the shooting in which would haven proven difficult to do as it would of wasted more time and resulted in us going over schedule.


-  Continuity editing.




OPPORTUNITIES

- exploring different locations
- trying new editing styles
- Lighting ( using new choices of lighting to make the production look more professional)

Filming Day 3 - Fairlop and Valentines Park

28/10/2016 - Friday




Today we went to Valentines park for about 2 hours. Over here we took 'romantic' shots of the couple, that are featured within the music video. We used a bench to show shots of the couple sitting down. Whilst we were walking within the park we wanted to make the shots look natural, for this reason the couple walked and acted naturally, whilst the camera man were behind them, recording trying to capture some moments that would deem hard to complete even if we tried to stage it.




We needed a shot to end our music video so we found this area within Valentines Park called Valentines Gardens. Over here we found an area that was surrounded by nice bushes and a fountain. We placed the camera on the fountain, which made a perfect tripod and we recorded our shot which was used to end the music video.




After this we travelled to Fairlop Water which is an area which has been renovated in the last year for the locals. We did the same thing we did in Valentines Park and tried to get 'natural shots'. There was one shot in particular where the couple where standing inches away from the lake and the male didn't know the camera was recording and as a joke he instantly pushed and grabbed the female to scare her as if he were to push in the lake, be he didn't. This shot was a perfect example of 'natural' moments.




Fairlop Waters also had some areas for activities for kids, we used there apparatus and collected some shots from there.

Filming Day 2 - House Shots

27/10/2016 - Thursday





Today we decided to go to my house. We wanted to use a room where we could decorate it to make it look slightly messy but also homely. We also wanted to avoid making it look like the shots were taking in a house, instead we wanted to make it look like the couple have rented an apartment. This is because we were trying to portray an image where the couple aren't exactly well off with money due to the female working and the male trying to find a job, but at the same time pursue his musical career.





In the end we decided to use my loft. This room was originally used for storage, as well as this it also had a mattress which was on the floor. We then took a whole hour to clean the room so there is enough space shooting.





Altogether, we took 2 hours to shoot all of our shots. These shots included fighting scenes, the waking up scene, arguing scene, bathroom scene and the romantic scene.

Filming Day 1 - Central London

26/10/2016 - Wednesday



On this day we decided to head to central London which was our prioritised location. When heading to central London we needed a specific location so we chose St Pancreas Station which also known as Kings Cross Station. On our way there we can across a very nice park which was called St Pancreas Gardens.

Over here we decided to record some lip-sync and behind the shoulder shots. We thought these would be really effective as the sun was in a very nice place, facing towards the singer. We used a bench to record the lip sync as well as a path to record me walking to my singing destination.

After this we headed to towards the actual station to take our main shots.

When we arrived here we were genuinely stunned of the view that stumbled across us. We really wanted to use the building in the picture above however there were some problems such as too many vehicles and people that were getting in the way of our shots. This day of filming was mainly for the starting minute of our production where we wanted to include shots of me holding a cigarette and my guitar and travelling through central London.

  

At around 4 pm we decided to stop filming because it had gotten darker, as well as this, we had a few more days left to film the rest of our shots.

Lyrics analysis

Questionnaire

We carried out further research on the target audience of our music video as it would help us later on in the filming as well as the editing. By carrying out research on the specific target audience we were able to film and edit in a specific way as it would appeal more to the target audience and help the video gain more views. We questioned 10 people within the age of 16-21 on different aspects of acoustic folk music videos which can be applied to our production while filming and editing. We asked a range of questions to cover all aspect of the production to allow us to gain a greater understanding of what exactly needs to be included in our production.

This question helped us gain a basic understanding of what the target audience wants and what the basic storyline should include. By asking this question we were able to establish that the main basic idea of the music video should be, a heartbreak. This also allowed us to develop our ideas of a couple being very close but as time progresses life gets in the way of their happiness meaning the couple can no longer be together. This question, as well as the results, are very helpful as we will be able to incorporate codes and conventions of Acoustic Folk within the music video. By adding a deeper meaning to the lyrics and allowing the artist emotions to be shown through to the audience to allow them to relate to how the artist is feeling.   

This question is very useful to us as it has set the main basic structure of the music video. Due to these results we now know that the music video must include a narrative and some performance scenes.  This also allows us to stick to the codes and conventions of Acoustic folk music videos as it allows us to add a narrative to emphasise the meaning of the lyrics and also allows us to add shots where the artist is performing to show the expression and emotions on his face, this again will give a very clear meaning to the lyrics and will allow us to manipulate what the audience are feelings. We are planning to incorporate this into our music video by having the main theme of our music video be a love story of two people but as the music video goes on we realise that they are no longer together instead, the guy is remembering a relationship that he's lost but wished he still had.

This question was very important to ask as we chose a slow song, we now know that the target audience prefers a mixture of both when it comes to editing a slow song. This again is very helpful as it allows us to vary the editing depending on the music. This will be done by having slower shots when the music is slow but as the beat speeds up the editing does too. This is another convention of music videos which we will be able to follow. Bu adapting the editing to the speed and pace of the music the music video will flow smoother.

 By asking this question we were able to establish that in order to make the song more popular the music video must be very effective as it will help the song itself gain popularity. We are planning on making this music video effecting by following the codes and convention of acoustic folk music videos such as add a narrative to the music video and have the mise en scene link very well to what is going on in the video.

This question helped us when planning and filming the music video. We now know the majority target audience prefer it when the artist appears in the music video. These results of this question may force us to go against the codes and conventions of acoustic folk music videos as it usually has the artist performing and actors playing out a certain narrative which relates back to the lyrics. Due to these answers, we are planning on having the artist act the narrative himself and also include shots where he is performing the song.

Initial Ideas

We carried out a pitch on out original ideas and the information that we found out while we were researching to our classmates in order to gain some feedback and see how we can improve our idea.