Pictures From The Shoot

Shoot Day

Out shoot was on monday the 8th of November and so we got chance to set up most of the first set on the friday afternoon before the shoot. This meant that on monday we got in the studio at 9 am and we didn't have to spend much time at all making sure that the set was perfect. That morning because I am the only day student in my house I was able to bring bags of my clothing and my brothers clothing for the band, the vines and flowers for the swing and my mother who used to be a make up artist to do the make-up. When we got in all spilt up into little groups and a few tended to the singer of the band making sure that the dress that she was going to wear was defiantly okay and seeing to my mother to make sure that she was okay doing the make-up on shoot. The other group the put up the vines and the flowers on the swing and made it as thematic, dramatic and beautiful as possible. After this was done we could then set up the camera on the tripod and got the track ready for playback. Again se spilt up into little groups one ensured that the singer Karris was okay in the bird cage and any tracking or dollying that may be needed were there. After checking that the camera was ready checking things such as battery, memory cards and colour baring was done then we could more on to the next phase. First of all we all took time out to playback the song with Karris to ensure that she knew what she was doing and we told her how to act in certain parts of the song and where to be standing. We all knew what we wanted her to be doing in out heads so it was no problem going through it together. We were also jumping and dancing around on the outside of the cage to help her feel really comfortable as possible. We also found that we had to turn up the music a bit because she may have felt a little uncomfortable sining it for real with everyone could hear her. We then spilt up for a little again. We first of all talked to the lighting guys about what lighting we wanted and faced a few problems about the shadows of the cage on her face and also the lights were at different colour temperature at the back of the cage compared to the colour at the front which caused a problem for white balancing. On the other hand it gave us a chance for our main actor to practice it a few more times and get into the role of her character. On top of this we found out that we didn't have any dry ice which we hoped for. we tried out doing a smoke machine but it looked really bad on screen. All of this in consideration we ended up filming at about half past 11 am. With only a few more hours until lunch and with the amount that we had to shoot we had to get a move on. We started with the statics of the close up, mid shots and long shots. Long shots also posed a problem, because we didn't have a dry ice the floor was not covered how we would have liked it to be and the floor gave it a studio like feel and it didn't look so effective so ended up getting a huge black sheet to cover the studio floor which looked so much better. After completing all of the statics when then moved on to tracking. We quickly put the tracks down a did a little practice shots before we shot some really nice shots. We then moved on to the track out shot which I don't thing was as effective as we first hoped because of the focus being problem. We then had the idea of shooting Karris on the cherry picker over the top of the bird cage. This we shot in slow motion and turned out to be a really beautiful shot. For this we also had to show her how to act for this because she wasn't singing. We were very lucky that our actress was so patient and co-operative. After this we felt that it was about time for a good lunch break for all of the team. When we returned we felt refreshed and ready to get back into action. The moral and energy was still very high thoughout the group. We when straight into shooting with the feathers. We got the cherry pickers, ladders and fans of the floor to throw the feathers from. When play back was played the entered team was on set throwing 2000 goose feather at Karris. It was loads of fun to shoot and the entire production team agreed. What wasn't so fun was picking up the 2000 goose feathers from the floor. Everyone including the whole team and AS and A2 photographers all had to help with picking them up which meant that even though it was annoying it was done much quicker. In this we experimented with a few slow-motion shots which looked absolutely beautiful. For this part of the video we could only do statics because there was the cherry picker and ladder that were too close to the set to be able to do any panning or tracking. This didn't matter though because we knew we were going to do some fast cutting to make it more exciting. The next part of the filming didn't go so swimmingly. We had to get the band in there costumes and get them ready. We set them up against a black background for the feathers because doing green screen like we originally planned, would have been a nightmare to edit. We only did the feather part of the song with the band and after a few minuets of filming we found out that even though we had done a good job on choosing our leading lady our band casting wasn't so good. The band didn't know how to play their instruments very well and because we were running out on time they didn't really get a chance to get into it properly. Possibly if w spent more time on it them it would have been really great but I just don't think that it worked at all. After shooting each band member together and the individually we decided not ot carry on with the band on the green screen. This was a disappointment but the cage shooting went so well I didn't mind to much and was still feeling positive bout it. We called it a wrap and started packing up.

In some productions it is important for each member of our group to have a role so everyone can get on with what they are doing and everything will be organised. On the other hand because there were so little of us we thought that we would all work together taking turn on each role during the so that it was fair. On the day we did have our set team, lighting team and camera ream helping us but we were completely in control of what each group was doing. I think as a team we worked really well together because we all has the same idea of what we wanted to do in our heads and because each one of us is able to step back for a bit and let someone else direct for a bit or be on the camera for a bit I couldn't see this causing any problems, and it didn't. We each had a go doing each job and a few others that weren't so obvious. All in all I think we three girls all had the same amount of authority and jobs to do and it worked really well and I am very glad that we decided to do it like that.

I myself did many things on set. first f all I help create, build and decorate the set before the shoot. On the day I went though the moves and the acting with our main girl Karris before the filming begun. When the shooting began I started off doing the play back. Even though I would like more to be completely involved I did enjoy dancing on the set helping the actor get into it and to help lively up the spirits of the crew who by the end of the song were joining in with the dancing themselves. Also if I saw the screen in which the video was being played back on I could give little tips to the camera man saying what I thought worked and didn't work so even though I was at the back doing my job I was still helping out anywhere that I could during the song. I then went on camera for a bit which was the part that I enjoyed the most. I really love being behind the camera and felt confident in what I was doing and trying to make beautiful scenes. I thought that I did quite a good job as camera man because I have had quite a bit of experience of being behind the camera. I then started doing little jobs around the set that needed to be done. For example I was cable basher for the panning shots which is one of my least favourite jobs because I found it quite dull but I still enjoyed watching the performer dancing in her cage. I then might take a little itme out so that I could get some photos for when we do the digital pack and make the front cover so I was also photographer for the day in-between al of this so I was always always kept busy. In the second half of the day I became director shouting orders and demanding quite! I found this really fun and I really love looking at the screen and deciding for myself what works and what doesn't and if it doesn't what not and who needs to be where ect. When you are playing director you very much feel like this is your creation and even though there may be other people filming or making the set or lighting look good you still fell like it is your creative art work that is being played back to you on screen. I loved this role and really delve in whole heartily.

The set was one of the things that I am most proud of in this music video. The set was a huge 12 foot golden bird cage with a swing in the middle. We connected the set with the title of the song beige 'Bird Song' although we had no intensions of dressing her as a bird. The character in song fells trapped and encaged with the guilt that she has committed a desperately embarrassing or/and sinful act. This guilt she cannot shake not matter how ouch she tries to talk her self out of it. So I thought that it would be really appropriate to have her in this huge cage. We tried to make it look really classic and classy so and as real as possible. to build this we had Dan help us build the set and then our group printed it in first white base coat then browse and the sprayed it gold. This took a long couple of days to get ready but I think the end product was amazing. We also wanted a garden like swing to but in the ache so that it made it visually a bit more exciting. We hung the rope down from the ceiling and made the swing quite wide to give it that old look we were looking for. Over the weekends I myself went out and brought the decoration for it which included the fake flowers form Notcutts which I think gave it a really fairy tale like pretty innocent touch to it. I then got two really long pretty vines which were from Santa Fur a shop which actually sells christmas decorations. When they were all put on the sing and light up they look absolutely stunning and it looked really atmospheric and thematic.


This year for filming we used the few and improved cameras from last year which are the Sony NX5 HD. This is a much higher quality picture because instead of using film like we did last year it is now digital and on a card format. This means that it is a lot faster and easier to transfer onto a computer. These cameras are really easy to use and can be used by anyone because it is easy to find where the white balance is and how to colour bar. I find these cameras so much better to use then the cameras last year. Also this camera gave us the real huge opportunity to shoot in slow-motion which was a real benefit with out video because she was full of energy and jumping around with the feathers falling it all looked so effective on camera. This was really exciting for us and I am so pleased about how some of these shots have worked out. We never used hand held camera because we didn't want that sense of realism that the hand held give it because of our fairy tale like atmosphere. So we put it on Nibten tripod which made sure that it was steady all the time and makes it easy to pan or tilt and zoom at the same time

Through out the video we had loads of different light everywhere but as a photography once said to me the more lights you have the more trouble your creating for yourself. I think this was defiantly the case in out case we had to have loads of different lights to make it look right but because there were so many different ones it caused a problem. We used the movers on the ceiling which where controlled by a panel on a desk below which are called movers. They allow spot light to be anywhere in the studio from above. We then also used red heads and blondes to fill in the shadows of the bars on her face. All the lights were really useful and it was really important for me to be able to see how all the different filters and light works to help create a mood because in photography I only really like to use one point lighting so using a lot of lights was sort of new to me. LAst year in the thriller I didn't really pay much attention to the lights as I did this year.

We wanted to get some tracking in our shots to create more of a sense of depth and excitement in the video. We did a 180 degree track around the front of the cage which looked really effecting and the big bars created some really good cutting points for when we come to editing the video. This also allowed the audience to get more up close and personal with the artist and connect to her. We also did a track out at the beginning of the song so that we can slowly revile the bird cage to create high impact in the beginning couple of seconds. We did this by taking off the tripod that the camera was on put it on a dolly which has 3 wheels like a shopping trolly so can move in all directions, however we wanted it to look more smooth and accurate and easier so we put it on tracks. This allows us just to walk with the camera without having to worry about what we are going to walk into.

Though out the course of the day we came across loads of difficult problems that we had to over come and some of them were more serious then others. Out first problem was the lighting on the set. At first we were just using the movers on the ceiling but as well started filming and told her to move around the stage we realised that this long wasn't good enough because there were shadows on her face from the bars of the bird cage. This didn't look good at all so we tried moving around the movers but that still didn't work because there would still be bars on her face. We then opted to use some red heads and blonde heads and put them just below eye level to council out the bars and this worked really well however it did pose noter problem. Because all the lights were different the colour balance was different at the back of the cage to the font of the cage. These means that we had to spend ages putting different types of blue jells on the blondes and reds and the movers. Eventually we got it right and could carry on filming.

The next problem we had was the floor. Unfortunately there was no dry ice liked we asked and so the floor was bare. This meant that there were loads of impurities on the floor and it didn't look good on camera. We tried using the smoke machine to give it a little atmosphere and coverage for the floor but it didn't work and just looked a bit silly. We had the idea of putting a huge sheet on the ground that we the same material os the one used for the backdrop. This made the floor look so much better and more professional.

The major problem that we had that was was the band. Even though out casting for the main girl was inspired and a very good choose because she was patient, friendly and co-operative the band was a different story. The band that we originally wanted were unable to do it because even though the students said they could do it the teachers told us otherwise so we had to get a back up band. It turned out that none of them can actually play their instruments and even though they were all really up for it they didn't have the stage presents like we wanted and it all looked really fake and uncomfortable. We did the first couple of shots and a few closes ups but we didn't get onto the second part of the song with them with the green screen because we thought that we probably wouldn't use them in out final cut which is a shame but I think it would have made the video look really bad.

In all the shoots that we took there were a few which I really really loved. Most of them were the slow-motion shots because with the feathers and her long hair moving around it looked really effective. One shot in particular that I liked was the very end shot. We got her in a close up against the bars with the feather floating by her face. this looked really good because the framing wasn't applying to the rule of thirds which made her look quite edgy and rebellious. Another shot treat I liked was another slow-motion where she turned and jump and it was so effective and she went from the right to the left so even though she had quite an aggressive face on she still looked like a good person. One more that got me excited was the one from above her turning around on the swing. It was so smooth and peaceful it look beautiful.

Shots that I thought didn't work were the long shots. I think that they don't have much atmosphere and don't offer much to the video. It stuck to the composition rules with the cage being put on the left of the frame but still didn't look quite right. I also thought that loads of the band shots just didn't work because of the actors not look very good and some of the camera work was quite awkward and it didn't look 'cool' like how we imagined it. The track out wasn't very good either because as you track out and she starts swing she gets of of focus and it looks really odd and not very professional in my opinion and I don't think we will use it in our final edit.

Over all I think that the shoot went half well and half bad I walked away knowing that we had loads of shots to work with and that will look really effective yet I was really disappointed about how the band shooting went. I thought that we worked really well together as a team and the moral of the team stayed high for the entire day. I really enjoyed myself and I love playing all the roles that I did and I think it was a really good experience and one that I could learn a lot from.

MUSIC INDUSTRY STRUCTURE - WHERE MY POP VIDEO FITS

For many years musical taste has been a controversial topic almost to the point of tribalism. Music is really important because it can define someone personality. Music can change the way that people dress, talk, speak and sometimes act. For example if some listens to punk music they are more likely to act rebelliously. However all commentators agree that music and its trends sit at the epicenter of popular culture. In creating the image and the attitude of the band our aim is to make an artist that will last for as long as possible. We want to establish a business for many years so that we can get as much money from it as possible. This will include selling tee-shirts, mugs, poster ect. to make as much income as we possibly can. The more income the better.

Some critics say that Music and Industry are incompatible because of three key tensions. One is 'dynamic tension' this is when a member of the band will think that they are able to make a career of their own and still succeed. I good example of this is Cheryl Cole. She was originally in and group called girls allowed but left to peruse a solo career. This tension exists between the artist and the commercial forces which underpins the success of this vast media business. Two, is the tension between organic and synthetic. Organic is when the artist wear their own cloths write their own songs and are in the music industry so that their music can be herd. Synthetic is when their manager will tell them how to act, what to wear and how to sing. Our band is organic even though it may not seem it because of what she wears and we used loads of props and makeup to make her look a certain way, however, she is organic because we did these things to exaggerate her own style and her own personality. Three, is one more thing that could be considered in the music industry which is 'synergetic connection' with other media forms. 'Synergetic connections' is if the company has connection to sell it in other areas of the media industry such as television, newspapers and the internet. The codependence with other media means that a 'mutual reliance' can be productive but also risky. An exempt of this is Rupert Merdoch. He owns Sky and loads of newspaper such as the Sunday Times. This means that if something is showing on the television he can publish an article in the newspaper say when it is on and how good it is so that the program will sell better. Our song is not owned by a big company with subsidiaries so we will have to find owe own way to market our band. We will make an advertising poster to go in magazine and newspapers.

Our pop video is only one strand of media of a often multi-media campaign. There are many different areas like newspapers, magazines, shopping malls and radio. However a music video is really important as a product with in the scheme. The pop video is a chance for the audience to view what the singer looks like so that they can form a connection with them. It also allows them to see what style they have and it gives you an idea of what their personality might be like. It is so important for the audience to be able to make connection with the band or singer because that is ultimately going to sell the artist. For this to work however you need to make sure that the artist can make that connection the music video so we shot a lot of close us and kept the lead singer in al most every single shot. This means the audience can really see what she looks like which is important especially for a first music video to make that connection.

The music industry is dominated by four trans-national corporations which are Universal, Sony/ BGM and EMI. These are massive international music companies other wise know as 'The Majors'. Each one will have access to loads of different subsidiary companies. This will allow them to reach different kind of audiences in different kind of genres and make it easier to sell their product. This companies are know as 'major-independents'. Finally there are loads of smaller companies with little or no finical relationships between majors. These companies usually concentrate on the artist that have specialised niche audience and will only be committed to a few bands. These are know as independents . This is the area that we are in other wise called as 'minis'. Our relationship with the major companies is weak so it is harder to get advertisement such as interviews, however, the independent companies get to keep up to 100% of their profits where as the larger companies you may only get to keep 3% but you make much more profit. On the other hand it is misleading to see the industry simply as a hierarchy which is omitted by the majors. A ether description is a 'web' of companies who connection allow smaller companies to gain access to bigger markets and bigger companies to gain access to new artists and movements in popular music. In turn, most record companies organise themselves internally into artists and repertoire, marketing/artist development, promotions, legal and finical. The industry as a whole has a very complex relationship with a number of different media purposes.

A music video serves a different number of functions. it promotes a specific single and, normally, an album, promotes a specific artist or band. It also creates, adapts or feeds into a 'star image', entertains as product in its own right. It reinforces , adapts or undermines the 'meanings' of a song. A music video often contains different elements. These are performance, native, thematic and symbolic. There are also a few things that a music video need to have for it to sell well. It need to be visually stylish. Having are 'artist' mise-en-scene means that the audience are more drawn to it. Our mise-en-scene are really creative with the giant bird cage and the vines and flowers that were on the swing looked really great. We greased her in an quite simple but pretty dress so your not drawn away from the set too much. It needs 'rhythmic; montage, fragmented style. This will help the music video to flow and makes it easier to watch. Experimental use of the camera will give it an edgy look and keep the audience on their toes. Fast pace keeps the audience interested in what is going on and makes it much more exciting. Conspicuous lighting and cinematography lighting will give it atmosphere and make it more intense and more 'artistic'. Braking the rules of continuity makes the band look 'cool' and rebellious and can be very inviting for a teenager.

there are some threats to the 'pop video' in the current market These are thing such as the internet. Downloading music is much more popular now and so the pop video starts to seem irrelevant. The vidvert or i video. This is adverting it in a shopping mall. Music television becoming more mainstream for example MTV. I have to think how I am going to advertise my music video. The best for us is properly putting is kids TV or early morning shows like The One Show and Gram Norton.

Call Sheet

Call sheet is a film makers bible. It has all the information that you will need for the day of your shoot and after. Without it the shoot will be unorganised and messy, we can ever to the call sheet whenever we have a problem on shoot and it will most likely help us. In a call sheet you have to include Production team, which in movies can be hundreds of people, and what jobs each one has, cast and what they are doing, schedule, any props, wardrobe, set design light design, the story board, the lyrics and most impotently the shot list. This is what shots you shoot from each angle the camera will be at. To make this as easy as possible you storyboard should be very accurate and straight forward. This is our call sheet. We added in the set design, lighting design and the storyboard from what have drawn.

Call Sheet

BIRD SONG

MONDAY 8^th NOVEMBER

GABBY MEECH

HEATHER SCHREUDER

SOPHIE EVANS

Contents

1. Production Team Page

2. Cast List Page

3. Equipment List

4. Studio Set Plan

5. Lighting

6.Props

7. Wardrobe

8. Schedule for the day

9. Storyboard

10. Song Lyrics

11. Shot List

Production Team

Heather Schreuder

-07745096963

Gabby Meech

-07866792821

Sophie Evans

-07500775738

Cast List

Karis Arghiros

Lead Singer

Tom Warhurst

Drums

Freddie Eastham

Guitar

Sophie Loughridge

Harp

Equipment List

Cameras: Sony PDI 50

JVC1500E

Tracking rails

Dolly

Smoke machine

Studio Set Plan

Human size bird cage

Swing inside the cage

Lighting

Bird cage set: Warm colours and simple three point lighting.

Band set: bars across them as though shadowed by the bird cage.

Props

What the school is providing:

Swing

Bird Cage

Guitar

Drums

Harp

What we are providing:

Vines & Flowers

Feathers

Old Microphone

Wardrobe

Pretty Dress for main girl

Shirt or tee shirts and jeans for other band members with accessories such as head bands necklaces and bracelets.

Lyrics

"Bird Song"

Well I didn't tell anyone, but a bird flew by.
Saw what I'd done. He set up a nest outside,
and he sang about what I'd become.
He sang so loud, sang so clear.
I was afraid all the neighbours would hear,
So I invited him in, just to reason with him.
I promised I wouldn't do it again.

But he sang louder and louder inside the house,
And no I couldn't get him out.
So I trapped him under a cardboard box.
stood on it to make him stop.
I picked up the bird and above the din I said
"That's the last song you'll ever sing".
Held him down, broke his neck,
Taught him a lesson he wouldn't forget.

But in my dreams began to creep
that old familiar tweet tweet tweet

I opened my mouth to scream and shout,
I waved my arms and flapped about.
But I couldn't scream and I couldn't shout,
couldn't scream and I couldn't shout.

I opened my mouth to scream and shout
waved my arms and flapped about
But I couldn't scream I couldn't shout,
The song was coming from my mouth.
From my mouth, X15

Schedule

Morning 9:00-11:00 : Karis in the bird cage

11:00- 11:15 - Break

11:15 - 1 :00 : Proceed shooting Karis

Afternoon 2:00 - 4:00: Shooting the band

4:00 - 4:15 - Break

4:15 - 6:00 : Proceed shooting the band

Shot List

Camera angle 1 (tracking shot outwards): shot 1

Camera angle 2 (front without bars): 2, 11, 17, 12, 26, 15

Camera angle 3 (harp) : 3, 8

Camera angle 4(guitar) : 6, 9, 37, 35

Camera angle 5(Drums) : 5, 10, 38, 40

Camera angle 4 (feathers on their own) : 16, 33

Camera angle 5 (face shots of people and lond shot of band moving around) : 18, 19, 20, 21 22, 23, 24, 25

Camera angle 6 (Front on with bars): 29, 32, 31, 34, 39, 41, 43, 47

Camera angle 7 (Side with bars): 27, 28, 30, 36, 45, 48

Camera angle 8 (cat) : 42, 44, 46, 48

Camera angle 9 (feather falling): 49