First Draft, Mock Exam

I was really happy with my first draft however I know I have to film a lot more footage and edit it more (increase lumionsity etc). Although when I showed it to people the response was generally positive however they said they wanted more to see what the narrative was. Therefore I am going to start planning my next filming session so I can gather more footage.

Animatic

First Filming Shoot

My intention the first time I was filming was to film the first and second verse leading up to the chorus. I also wanted to get clips which are of the same scene later on but a development and outcome of that scene. However I filmed these last because I wanted to make sure I had the first and second verse completed because that was first on my list to edit.

The set up of makeup

1. The first step was contacting the two actors to arrange a day to film, we all decided that we was free on a Sunday so set the date. I aimed to get to the location for 10:30am because I wanted to have natural light in the film so there wasn't any grain on the footage due to dark lighting.

2. After arranging the time I sent both actresses a brief on what type of clothing I wanted them to bring and how to style their hair, I also told them about makeup and anything else they needed to bring.

- Phoebe:
Makeup: eyelashes, black eyeliner, mascara, foundation.
Outfit: Dark shorts and vest top.
Hair: Left down
- Nicole:
Makeup: No makeup
Outfit: White top, white shorts.
Hair: Left down

I also brought my own clothing in case what they brought wasn't quite what I wanted so I knew I'd outfits would not be a problem. This happened in Nicole's case where she couldn't find white shorts therefore she wore the navy ones I brought. Nicole also sent me multiple pictures on the night of possible white tops so I was confident we had the right one out of a selection of different tops.

3. Once we got to my grandmas I gave Phoebe the instructions on what I'd like her to do for makeup while I went and printed off the lyrics and timings. I also printed off the scenes from my story board which I was aiming to film. This was useful to structure my filming and know exactly what I needed to film, it also meant it was faster to check the mise-en-scene against the list in each shot and make sure all the actors were in the correct position. It helped with the lyrics and what the actor needed to lip-sync to and how long I needed to film for

This is the lyric timings and lyrics so I could give them to
the actresses to learn

.

4. I briefed both actors on what the overall story was and the structure of what the filming was going to be in the day. My aim was to get as much filming done before it got dark (around 4pm) but I didn't want to rush the filming so it was of a poor quality.


Here are the story board sheets which I printed out and the lyrics

This was what I used to play the song while I was filming, so myself and the actresses
had an idea of when to 'move' and it especially helped with lip syncing. As it was portable it was
easy to move in and out of the shot and the music could be played from anywhere so
I didn't have to run from the speaker to the camera.

Problems I ran into:

As you can see here the lighting is quite dark this was around 4pm
and so the lighting on the film was effected by this

My camera battery died after a few hours so when we stopped for lunch I re-charged it so it wasn't too much of an issue. This couldn't be avoided because I had charged the battery fully the night before however because the camera wasn't taking pictures and filming instead it used up more battery power at a quicker rate. I could of bought another battery but because previously I have only used my camera for mainly pictures the battery has never been a problem. In future films I will keep this in mind and remember to charge it at any breaks we have during filming.
The biggest issue I faced was the lighting throughout the day, the sun started to set from around 3.20ish and it did become a problem with the lighting on the camera where there was noticeable 'grain' on the footage. For this reason I may re-film some footage.

Another problem I ran into was one of the bulbs went on my fairy
lights, this caused half of them to be switched off, therefore at the end of the day, the lighting from outside
and the fairy lights caused the filming to be called off as the continuty would be effected if I had of
carried on filming.

Overall I was pleased with the footage I got, as a quick mock-up I used 'Windows Movie Maker' at home where I tried putting bits of the footage together to see if I needed to fill any 'gaps' and make sure that the footage all 'flowed'. However I think I will have to film some of the parts which were effected by the lighting again and change a part of my story board at the end because I didn't like the shot once it was filmed.

Cast List

I needed two female actors for my production. I picked my two best friends who're really reliable and would spend as much time as needed to film what I needed to film. They also get on really well therefore aren't 'shy' in front of each other.

1. Phoebe Hyam
Gender: Female
Age: 17
Height:
Build: Slim
 I chose Phoebe because she has dark long hair and pale skin. She was really enthusiastic about being in the video and I could work with her to lip-sync. As she is my friend it is advantageous because I feel comfortable in talking to them and discussing how I would like her to act. If I didn't know the actress very well it may result in the filming process being awkward or not fully getting the footage I want because it may be clear to see they're not comfortable with someone they don't know very well telling them what to do.

2. Nicole Moore
Gender: Female
Age: 18
Height: 5 ft 3
Build: Slim
One of my best friends who was ideal to act as the other girl. She doesn't wear makeup but this was the look I wanted this character to have, I didn't want her to be all dressed up and a face full of makeup.