Evaluation of Shoot Day

Before the shoot day we firstly made the dress for the female actress to wear. As we wanted her to fit in exactly with the set so she would seem as if she was submerged within it, we needed to use the same fabric that we were using for the set build. We used one of the satin like material for the base of the dress as it was opaque and we didn’t want her to wear anything that didn’t fit with the set. We cut a small part from the fabric then measured it around her body. We then marked how short we wanted it to be. Rosie then sewed the dress so it looked neater giving it a hem and a string around the top to tighten it. We then took some of the mesh like fabric that we were also using for the set and created a wrap to go around her that was long enough to tie into the set so it looked like she was more a part of it. 

We then took the remainders of the fabric and cut them into strips length ways so that they would be long enough to hang from the bars at the top of the studio and reach the ground.

 We then used Zell to act as if she was the actress and see how the pieces of fabric would work with in the set interacting with the actress, we could then make adjustments to the positioning of the fabrics so that when it came to the shoot day we wouldn’t waste time figuring out how to wrap her in the set. We then tested out the different lighting setting we would need to use for the shoot so that they were ready and we could see what they looked like against the sheets.

I was confident that we were well prepared as we had got all of the set designing finished by the end of the day before. However, it was due to rain on the day of filming which worried me as we could have no control over it and it would eliminate a whole element that we had prepared, but I was trying to plan what we could do instead of the woods scene, and if we would shoot that scene on a different day.

We had to make a decision about if we were going to film in the woods of not, and we decided that we would shoot it on a different day and utilize our full day of time in the studio to create more interesting shots and experiment more with what we had there. We then had to take Esme, our actress to the makeup artist. We all had a very clear image in mind of the different makeup looks we needed as we had discussed them in great detail prior to the shoot day. We all overlooked her makeup being done as we couldn’t do anything with the set until she was ready as all that was left to do was to tie the fabrics to her dress. It allowed us to point out anything that we thought didn’t look great so we all had an opinion towards the makeup. We then had to place Esme in the set and make minor adjustments to her dress by safety pinning it so it was properly fitted. We also realized that it looked quite messy the way we had put in on her so we had to use different pieces of fabric to cover up the messy parts. We then tied her overlaid mesh dress into the set and make sure that she could move around easily. We then did a run through of the choreographing that we wanted her to do even though we had done rehearsals with her already but we needed to use the fabrics and tell her how to interact with them. We did a run though with the track and lighting but this allowed us to get in the set and show her he movements we wanted her to do and how she should move between the sheets.

Esme getting her makeup done.

I think that the studio looked pretty much exactly how we expected it to be and how we sketched the fabrics in our planning. However, the fabrics took up less space within the set than I thought they were going to, but when we looked at the set through the lens of the camera it looked fuller. When we turned on the lighting, it was a lot brighter that I expected even though we had tested it before, but I think that how it was in my head wouldn’t have worked as well with the themes. The lighting made our thoughts on the idea change slightly, as initially we had a pure based theme, however when we were actually on set, it took more of a supernatural look, and an enhanced water feel.

Above is a video of our set before we began filming.

On the day of the shoot, my main role was to be the camera operator as I had had more experience than the other members of my group in that role, as that was my role when filming my thriller for my AS shoot. Zell was the director as she has her enthusiasm, we thought would keep the actress up beat and stop her from losing energy, Zell is also good at communicating ideas into a visual performance. Rosie was the art director as she is good at spotting continuity errors and she has good artistic skills so we trusted her to keep track of things we needed to change or adjust throughout the day. Over the course of the day our roles varied slightly because as the shoot went on we all had more idea with what could look good and new suggestions for different shots and change of choreography. Once I had been the camera operator foe the whole morning, I had a good idea of what worked  through the lens of the camera so it was easy for me to direct Esme to do things that would work especially well behind the camera. I think our teamwork within our production roles made the filming process smooth and we all work very well as we have a variety of strengths and weaknesses that play off each other. The energy between us was hight even towards the end of the shoot, which I think made it easier to think of new creative ideas that came to us on the day, and this high energy stopped the actress from getting tired so she looked like she wasn’t lacking in charisma towards the end.

The main problem we had on the day of the shoot was the weather issue. We initially though to overcome this problem, we would reschedule to shoot the woods scene on another day when the weather conditions were suitable. However, as the day went on, we realized that the lighting on the day of the shoot was different to how we initially thought it would look, the look it began to shape was more of a futuristic and sci-fi. We then thought that the lighting that we had would clash with the lighting in the woods and it just wouldn’t go well together, we thought that it would just look out of place and confuse the direction of the narrative that our shoot was taking. We also thought that we had loads to work with and the set that we created allowed us to explore with so many more shot compositions than we planned. By having the whole afternoon to use the studio which we did not plan to, it gave us so much time to think of new ideas that would fit with the look, so overall this problem actually turned into a benefitting factor for out music video as it changed our idea for the better and made it stronger. By the end of the day we realized we had enough footage to make a good music video combining our original element idea with new ideas that us as a team created, therefore we cancelled the rescheduled shoot for the woods as we thought it would be unnecessary.

I think the most successful part of the shoot was how the actress interacted well with the camera and the way we could move through the fabric on some specific shots. Especially the tracking shots, they allowed us to move around the set so it gave a great dynamic to the set, it made it more mysterious and we all agreed that they turned out a lot better than expected. We also decided to do a scene with changing the lighting to an extreme purple tone to go with the makeup of the second theme, which contrasted from the deep blues. We only thought of filming this scene when we got there and were testing out different lighting techniques. We put Esme under the organza material that was on the floor, to create a different take on the materials and to make the video more personal with the actress, so it made her look like she was the artist more, rather than just an actress.

Below is a video of how we shot the pink lit shots under the organza.

As we changed our idea on the day as we decided not to film in the woods, the male characters role became less obvious to us what we wanted to use him for. We improvised however with different reflective material and him performing but I don’t think those shots fit with our original concept that much even though it fitted with our new theme. The fact that we were improvising to an extent, meant that our planning and original ideas couldn’t really be done. When it came to filming the actor, his dancing was very stiff and looked quite forced, rather than a natural flowy dance, which is what we tried to get him to do. Towards the end of the shoot, he loosened up but this gave us little time to film and experiment with shots. This could have gone better if we got him to practice more behind the camera and we planned a variety of sequences to film with him to get more of a variety of shots to use.

As we had two actors, it wasn’t hard to keep them managed. We asked them and reminded them several times before the shoot to memorise the lyrics which they did, and they were both prompt to set when they were needed. As we were all working together on the set, it allowed us different points to choreograph them as they went to make slight readjustments if we thought it was necessary.

I really enjoyed creating the slow motion tracking shots, as each of them gave such a good effect that fitted with our original idea. The slow motion worked so well with the fabrics being blown by the fans as it created the water sort of theme we were going for. It also gave such a good effect which we will be able to use in the interlude sections of the song, where we wanted to create a slow moving effect that was really flowy. By using the track, it allowed a completely different and dynamic perspective of the set and allowed us to connect well with the actress as she could follow it with her bod and eyes rather than just being static in front of a still camera.

Below is a video of how the track worked and how it moved around the set.

Im really looking forward to how these slow motion shots looked in the edit as we have so much material of these slow motion shots which will look so good with the different sections of the song. I am also excited to cut the different slow motion takes together as I think it will create a really similar effect to what the music sounds like.

Below is a video of one of the slow motion shots being recorded then buffered.

I think that we would have benefitted by brainstorming right at the beginning of the shoot all the possible new ideas we could have come up with by actually seeing the set having been built rather than just in our minds. This would have allowed us to have sufficient shots to work with in the edit even if we didn’t use them, it would be useful to have the possibility. So for a future shoot, I think it would be beneficial to see the conditions of the day and not rely on planning as you cannot predict some events that can completely change your idea, so instead of dwelling on what we wouldn’t be able to do, which we did for a while, we should move straight on the think of it as a positive and create different ideas due to the conditions of the shoot.


Below is a video to show how we shot the beauty shots and the lighting. It also show how the lighting has an effect on her face.