Skills Developed While Editing

Skills Learnt During Filming

Editing - Music video changes

FINSHEEEDD!!

We've ticked our music video after we edited!! 

5th day of Filming!

Filming day 5, so things are getting intense now and evryones getting stressed as were coming close to the deadline.

On this day we wanted to get as much filming as possible, we had to wait ill it got dark in order to film our night scenes. in this session we tons of filming done of myself and Umars scenes.

We went two different locations we filmed at waterloo staion, in front of the london eye and also at milennium bridge to shoot our ending scene

we made sure we shot as many shot ypes we could in each location.

we first started with Umar of him in coming our of the train station then we shot sceneces of him walking around southbank, shots of he feet the side of his, from the back this was in order to make sure we keep the suspense gowing till the end the of the music video were we finally reveal who he is.

Here are some images of where we filmed umar.

Then we started to film my scenes and these scenes were in front of the london eye, in between trees which had blue lights over, we had to have a lot of light to make sure shots came out bright therefore we took a dedo light. We filmes many shot types, wide shots, medium long shots and close ups
It went really i became much more comfortable and perfomed a lot better i knew all the lyrics really well which made it so much easier, even thugh there was a lot of people i didnt let it bother me.
We also filmed some more scenes under the milenium bridge of me singing so we would have enough footage to edit, the water and St Pauls cathedral in the backroung made the scene look really nice.
Here are some mre images of my scenes.

 

Lastly at the end we filmed the ending scene with me and Umar, this was the part werre we would finally reveal the face of our 'myster character' and show where his journey is ending and if hes found his love that his been searching for. however we decded to end the video with a cliffhanger as when we reveal his face he looks back it finishes therefore from the audienece perpective we dont know whether she sees him and if they find eachother.

 



Filming day 3

Day four of our filming process i personally thing went really, we came back with loads of great footage in a geat location, which was At the Barbican we chose this location after problems with our previous location with not beieng able to film at Krings cross station, Howevere it was a good thing as this location turen out to be much better

In the session we filmed various shot types of me the performer. we filmes media shots, close ups wide shots, established shots to show our audience our location.
we also made sure we incooprated different angles in our shots such as high and low angles.
Even though it was raining we made sure it was aproductive filming session, and the rain landing on the canal in the backrougnr looked really nice and added effect.

We also shot some more shots of umar our 'mystery man' to show how he was looking for me in the same location but in different place we kept this idea through out ur music video.
Even though it was raining it wasnt dull therfore the lighting of shots came our great and was clear, My performance also improved alot more from the previous days we filmed, as i was becoming more comfortable.

Filming day 4

On the 3rd day of filming we had problem with travel unfortunatley, the bus termenating, missing the bus caused a lot of delays for our filming session.
our intial plan was to film at Waterloo, howerver on our way we decided to change and film some more scenes at Barbican.
We filmed mutiple different shots of Umar and also lights of our lacation and cars as the isea of lights is a part of synergy for our music videos
Overall i think that it was still a very productive we came back with numerous footage that we know we will use for our video.
Here are some visual images on what went on in todays filming session
Many of these shots of the cars and people, we uses this for our speed adujustment by speeding these shots up it gave an effect to music video.

Feedback From Dan

Here is our feedback we received from Dan, we got very good comments about our video, he also gave me (Farha) positive comments on  performance which was a good thing, it felt nice to know that my performance was noticed as i had problems with it in the beginning trying to become comfortable with it. I think being a member of my group I'm glad we had each other as we worked well in every situation a produced a great music video!

Weather reports..

Through out the whole process the weather was seen to be a problem for most of the days, the weather was something we added to our risk assessment by checking that wherever we film it was safe to film.

On the first day of filming the weather was really obviously we are moving into winter, during this day the sun was out therefore easy for us to film especially the lighting was good too.
 On the other hand as we stated to progress our film the weather just became worse by the time we came to our last few sessions the weather became horrible, we had many technical issues and the weather started to become another problem.
 On our forth day of filming we had a rainy day however we used it to and advantage as the raindrops falling canal at Barbican looked really good. and tried to film as much as possible without getting to wet.
 The worst day of filming was on the 6th day where we filmed my scenes on the millennium bridge and at south bank, during this filming session the weather was horrible it was absolutely freezing especially because we were on top of a bridge surrounded with water, however we didn't let this get in the way of our filming as were committed to make sure we get it done.
In our last session we made sure we were prepared to take on the cold weather as we realized it wont get any more warmer, therefore we took many umbrellas, wrapped up much warmer i even took a blanket for myself which kept me very warm!

Our roles

Final costumes

Outfit 1: 

Red cardigan, white t-shirt, black jeans and boots.

Outfit 2: 

Black and white blazer, white top, grey jeans and flats. 

We kept the outfits very casual and used clothing that could be bought from the high street. We didn't want our artist to be wearing anything too dramatic or look too dressed up. We wanted her to look like an average teenager because we wanted our target audience to be able to relate to her and share the same style. Even though we was keeping her clothing basic we still wanted her to be up to date with the latest trend. Outfit one was inspired by the autumn winter collection that has recently hit the stores. The loose red blazer cardigan is very autumnal and is currently in fashion with the over sized style jackets that are button-less. Outfit two is following the monochrome trend as she has paired the black and white blazer with a light top and dark trousers. Makeup and hair was also kept quite minimal because she is a young artist who is seen as being on the same level as her fans rather that being a glamorous idol that fans inspire to. 

Music video inspiration

Pixie Lott - All about tonight:

We wanted to use the same effect that was used at the beginning of Pixie Lott music video where we see a clip of her and the city lights faded into each other. We used the same effect at the end of our music video where the mystery person is finally revealed and then we get a fade of the city lights near Millennium bridge. 

Alesha Dixon - To love again: 

While researching previous video of Alesha Dixon's singles we came across this song and in the video one of the base tracks was set in a forest/park where she is seen singing in between a row of trees. We decided to find a similar location so that we could film a similar base track. 

Ellie Goulding - Burn:

We was inspired the most by this video. In her music video she is seen starting off during the day and it eventually goes into night, we also used this idea by having the first 3 verses in the day and the rest of the song was shot at night. Also in her video we see close up shots of unknown people and they are not revealed until the end where there is a big party scene in what appears to be a park. We took this idea and instead of a party we chose to create a story line where we had a man on a journey and at the end it is revealed that he is in-fact searching for our artist. 

skills learnt over the filming period

During the process of filming, I, aswell as the group, have learnt many skills along the way, much more compared to the filming that was done in AS.

In AS, the crime thriller that we created was very easy considering that there were four boys in the group, which made it easy for us to interact and understand each other. In this project of creating the music video, i am the only boy in the group working with three girls on a song that is aimed at the target audience of females. This meant that I had to adapt to interacting with the group and understanding the things that would make a successful video. One skill that i learnt in AS but extended on was my ability to work as a group. Without team work, our video and process of filming the video would not have turned out well.

Filming felt  much different compared to the thriller that was produced in AS too. For example, whilst filming the thriller, we used the tripod a lot. For the music video, we were informed from the start that good music video would usually be filmed with the camera being held and moving, rather than it being still. Learning to film whilst the performer moves and filming whilst moving the camera did sound easy at first. However, once we started to film, we had to learn how to make sure that we did original camera work properly, such as shot angles and shot types.

Also, learning how to use different equipment were skills that  i built on. For example, using dedo lights, setting up the lights, controlling the camera, using top lights, lighting stands and much more, were things that were new to me, but were easy to learn how to use.

Overall, there were many skills that i learnt along the process of filming, but also with the help of the members of the group, As a group we all developed our skills and put our skills and ability together to successfully film and complete our filming. Along the way of filming, updating the blogs was a main skill that i had to keep up with, as there were many processes and research for this filming project and it all had to be updated on the blog, which i managed to keep up with.

Editing - Planning

Lyrics sheets - slideshows

Before I started editing I watched our footage again and printed out lyrics sheets for each location. I annotated a sheet while watch the video through, so that I knew which bits of the footage I could use when editing. Some of our footage we couldn't use because our artist did not sing the words, the camera was too shaky or the shot was out of the light and therefore we couldn't see our artist. I noted which part of the footage had these problems so that when it came to editing I was able to refer back to these sheets so I knew which base track I should use for a specific section of the song. This saved me time when it came to editing because I didn't have to keep watching each base track to see which part was best suited for the line in the song and deleting the ones that we didn't want to use. By placing the lyrics sheet in a line I was able to look for the exact lyrics to see which clip I marked as good and which I marked as unusable.

After I finished editing the base tracks I then began to edit in the footage of Umar and the extra shots we had of the city and our location. I made sure that I left 4 unused sequences at the top of the editing bar so that I was able to place the extra clips above the base track instead of trying to edit it into a gap between a base track. I made sure that I adjusted the speed of any clips that we wanted to modify before I placed it into the correct position of our music video. This is to ensure that I didn't waste time syncing up the clip and them having to do it again after I change the speed of the clip, also I was informed by my teacher that changing the speed while the clip is in the sequence because it will shift the rest of our footage. 

Review of my role/character in the video production

My role as the mystery person was the first role I've played since year 9 drama in secondary school. My role was not that hard, as i did not have to really act. All i needed to do was walk about and walk in positions that would make good shot uses for the video. My costume did not need to change so getting prepared for my days of filming was not that hard. As we filmed my bit, i started to gradually feel the role i was playing, adapting to the idea of my role and extending ideas to help film more shots of me. 

Filming my parts in different weather conditions did not really phase me much, as my aim was to get the best out of the days of filming we had. My punctuality and attitude towards filming my parts were very good, but all credits to farha who managed to do the hardest bits of performing facing the camera. As a mystery person, i did not need to face the camera until the very end, which meant that i could execute my shots easily without distractions or any sort of tension.

My role in the video would not have turned out well if it wasn't for the team and my girlfriend Asiya, who volunteered to help direct my shots to make them look good on the screen. I had a lot of helpfor the direction i needed for the video, such as the way i walk, the speed, the movements of my body etc. 

Overall, filming my part for the video was easier compared to the effort and time consumed whilst filming Farhas base tracks. It was more fun than it was difficult and hopefully all the shots of me will look good in the video!

Editing - The ending

In the ending of the music video we wanted to slow down the part where he notices our artist. We did this by cutting the clip in two (using the razor tool) and slowed down the second half of the clip. We then added a cross dissolve at the end of the clip and placed a shot of the city lights just before the cross dissolve so that the footage would overlap each other and look as if they were in the same shot. 

Overview of the 7 days of filming

When the project started and we first got into our groups, our research and preparation was very unorganized and it seemed impossible to find a song, let alone film a video and edit it. As we started to get to know eachother more, the interaction and organisation within the group became stronger, which helped us with not only getting work and filming done, but also to motivate eachother and work as a group.

During the half term when we first started to film, we were very unfortunate as we were not able to take out any sorts of lighting or even a fig rig! This did not stop us from filming, even during the night. For the filming that we needed to do in the night, we improvised with flash lights on our phones, which showed the motivation within the team to get something done. Our story board originally revolved around kings cross, but we did not film a base track there at all. The mistakes and unfortunate events we ran into helped us to work well as a group and helped us to carry on bringing in ideas without giving up!

The filming schedule was slyly jumpy, as Farha had work and Shrepsa had work which came in the way of our schedule. This did not make us lack in any way, as we managed to all find and create time to film, even if it meant that Farha and Shrepsa would take days of work which they did!

The filming process was fun and although we may have complained in the rain and cold, we did have a good time and the entertainment that was created whilst filming helped us to film without getting bored or agitated. The days went quick, and now that our filming has finished, our process of completing the video through our edits are still yet to come.

ALL CREDITS TO THE TEAM!

Editing - Speed adjustment

Above is a clip that I created while editing. I was playing around with the speed adjustment on our clips and I embedded the ones that I wanted to use for our final music video. In the above clip I speed up the cars that we filmed in South bank and then slowed it down when the ambulance and I also slowed down parts of the tube when it travelled closer to the camera. In the end I did not adjust the speed on the clips of the tube but I did speed up the footage of the cars and and slowed down a couple of clips of our artists.

Filming - Day 7

What we didn't realise when re-filming at Millennium bridge was that our Dedo light was very dim which resulted in us having to film one last time to make sure that our footage was visible. Unfortunately we did not have the Figrig with us but we tried our best to keep the camera stable but still moving around our artist at the same time so that it does not appear shaky when we edit it into the music video. We also decided to re-film our other base tracks that was located near Millennium bridge. Below is a clip showing our footage from day 6 and what we re-shot.

- What went well: We kept the camera moving so that the clip wasn't static and we made sure the light was                                bright enough that you would be able to see our artist.  

Filming - Day 6

When review out footage from the previous days of filming we were informed that our recordings were too stable and that we needed to move around our artist more. So we arranged to meet up again in South bank to re-shoot all our base tracks that were located there. Upon arrival of our first location near Waterloo we were told that it was private property and that we had to seek permission to film there. The security guards gave us a business card to call but due to the late hours we came to the decision that we would be unable to obtain filming rights in time and therefore made a last minute change to film at another location. On our way to Millennium Bridge we passed a little area that was similar to the trees in front of the London eye. We shot there and on the Bridge. We also filmed on the walk way which shows the bridge in the background.

Embed in Blog - collage

- What went well: We manage to find another location that we was able to film at which had lights from the                               ground so it ties in with our synergy.

- Improvements: Check the lighting because our clips ended up being too dark. 

Last day of Filming

Today was the last day of filming!
Our aim for today was rather simple. Complete the shots that did not turn out well with the lighting next to the trees, and re-shoot the very ending of the video once again to perfect it. Shrepsa could not make it and Farha finished work at 8, so Jenny, Farha and myself met up at Millennium bridge at 9:00pm.

Weather conditions
today was much less colder compared to day 6, which was a motivation to the group to make sure that we made the most of this last filming session. It was dry with a soft breeze.

Filming on the bridge again...
On the Millennium bridge, we only had to get a wide shot of the base track, then conclude with the narrative ending. We managed to get this done in two tries, which was good and kept our motivation up! there weren't any risks or distractions this time, so we were able to film on the bridge swiftly.

Moving on...
After filming on the bridge, we moved to the lighted trees (new location from southbank) to film the base track there once again with the lighting in full working order. We knew what to do and also managed to finish filming this base track quickly with ease.



Problems on the day
The only problem that occurred was missing equipment. the wire that connect the light to the battery was missing, so we had to improvise and hold the battery rather than placing it on the floor, which the missing wire would allow us to do if we had it. Other than that, everything went well!

Filming - Day 5

Today we started off at Waterloo station and began straight away filming Umar’s scenes of him walking out of the station and wondering around South bank. Once it got dark we set up the equipment and stated filming another base track which was set in front of the London eye in between the trees with blue lights wrapped around them.  We didn't realise that the battery doesn't last for long and the light ended up getting dimmer during filming. We decided to save the second battery for Millennium Bridge. It took us a while to actually find the bridge but when we did we started filming straight away because we knew the light wasn't going to last us very long.

- Waterloo station:
We shot an establishing shot of the station, wide shot of Umar walking out the station and a tracking shot from behind.

- South bank: 
Following Umar from the station we filmed another worms eye view shot of his feet going up some steps and walking towards the london eye.
We also filmed a wide shot of Farha singing in front of the London eye and a close up of her in the same location.



- What went well: Filmed 2 more base track and some more scenes of Umar

- Improvement: Bring more batteries so that we can film in the same location multiple times. 

Production - Day 6

After strong thoughts, ideas and preparation after our rough cut review, the main criticisms were revolving around the lighting of the shots in Southbank, Millennium bridge and the lack of variety of shots at Millennium bridge. Also from our review, we found that most our shots were very still, with less movement which needed to be changed. Therefore, our plan was to meet up at Waterloo station, film at Southbank then head to Millennium bridge to re shoot and add to our filming shots.

Weather conditions
Today was by far the coldest day of the winter,  let alone the coldest day during the filming process. Every member of the group had numb hands, feet and did not come as suitably dressed for such a cold day. Filming today was the hardest day due to these circumstances although we knew what we had to do, so we tried to complete this filming session as soon as possible!

Problems at Southbank
When we reached southbank, we set up the equipment and got into position, ready to film. As soon as we was going to start, two security guards had told us that the area from the road to the London eye is private and must ask for permission to film. We were unaware of this, as we had filmed at Southbank in the very same spot more than twice for roughly 2-3 hours all together. This was really unfortunate for us due to the fact that we were firstly unaware that we needed permission considering we filmed there before without hassle, but also because we had come back to southbank to improve our shots that we had filmed before. This meant we had to find another location to film a base track in a last minute instance.
This last minute change was very stressful especially knowing that the deadline was getting very close. We had to think as a group as to where we would film the base track.

Moving on from Southbank
We could not waste any time waiting about at Southbank thinking what to do as we had so much ahead of us. We moved on to Millennium bridge were we were going to re-shoot the other base track after criticisms from the rough cut review. on the way, we thought as a group as to where we could possibly film. When we got of the bus and walked towards the bridge, we searched for locations that would be suitable for the base track. Our luck came when we arrived at Millennium bridge,as directly next to it there were trees similar to those at Southbank, but with circle lights on the floor rather than blue lights on the branches as they were in Southbank. It was very cold and we needed to make the most of the time we had, so we set up the equipment on the bridge.

Risks/Setting up the equipment on London bridge
All of us had been affected by the cold, especially because we were standing over water, which made it more cold. We had to be careful whilst setting up the equipment for a number of reasons.

• Setting up on a bridge was dangerous, as the wind could blow the equipment away. Aware of this, we gathered together and set up together, rather than setting up equipment individually like we would usually do.
• The cold had affected our ability to set up. Stiff hands prevented us from setting up easily, as safety locks on the lighting stands and fig rig were really hard to turn with cold hands.
• It was packed and because it was cold, people were rushing. Realising this, we set up on the side of the bridge instead of blocking the way of people in the center.

How did the filming go on the bridge?

Because it was so cold, we tried to complete the filming as quick as possible. We came prepared with spare batteries so that we would have enough light to film with. Due to the wind, whilst Farha performed, I had to hold on to the light stand so it didn't drop whilst Jenny filmed and Shrepsa held and umbrella to prevent the equipment from getting wet. we managed to film quickly without Farha getting nervous or distracted, which helped us to finish quicker. We also did a re-shoot of the ending with the light we had.

Filming in the newly discovered base track location next to the bridge.

After a long difficult filming session on the bridge, we moved to the trees were we planned to film the base track of farha. However, although we came equipped with spare batteries for the light, we were down to the last battery which was slowly running out. We had to act fast and film quickly as it was dark and the shots would not come out clearly if the light ran out. We knew that we would have to come back and film again because the light was getting dimmer, so after a few performances from Farha, we packed up and left to go home.

Today was the most difficult and stressful day, but credit to the whole team for managing to get through it without giving up, especially to farha who had to perform in clothes that were not suitable for this type of weather. Because of the very cold weather, we were not able to take pictures to upload as everything was getting very difficult!

Filming - Day 4

We wanted to take the number 4 bus from college to Waterloo to film more base tracks and shots of Umar's journey. But there was traffic and problems with the bus and it ended up terminating in Barbican. As this took quite a lot of time our performer had to go to work so we planned to meet up another day to film in Waterloo. Instead we went up to the Barbican estate and took some clips of the traffic at night so that we could include it in our music video where there is no singing and just the music.We had to wait about half an hour for it to get dark enough so that the lights on the cars would be bright enough to show up in our footage.

- What went well: We shot the lights from the cars and we decided to speed it up when editing.

- Improvement: Manage our time better and organise ourselves around peoples work schedule so that we can get as much done as possible in a day. 

Filming - Day 3

We went back to Barbican to film two base tracks which went relatively well but it was raining that day so it made it difficult for us. We did not take out the college umbrella and therefore had to use our own to cover the camera. We filmed a base track of our artist singing around these trees and a shot of her in front of a fountain. When reviewing the footage from that day we realise that the rain droplets on the river added a nice effect in the background. While we was walking back to the station we noticed a cylinder in the middle of the room that lead to downstairs, we decided to film a high angle shot of Umar walking and looking around for our artist.


- What went well: We manage to film two base tracks

- Improvements: Try to move the camera more so that the clip is not too static. 

Filming - Day 2

We went back to kings cross to film Umar’s scenes of him travelling on the tube. Here is a list of the shots we filmed that day:

- Establishing shot of Kings cross - We wanted this shot that would appear at the beginning of our video. The song has a long instrumental solo before the artist starts singing and we planned to fill this bit with shots of location and some shots of our artist.

- Tracking shot of Umar walking into the station - We needed to make it clear that he was on a journey so we filmed him walking into a station rather than having him start on the tube.

- Worms eye view of his feet - Filming his feet provides emphasis on the fact that he is on a journey and this is another way for us to use different shot types.

- Him tapping into the tube station - This shot was tricky to film because we had to get the camera angle and timing right but we managed to film it in one shot which meant we was able to continue our journey quickly to get more shots done.

- Tracking shot on the escalators 

- Close up of his feet stepping off the escalators

- Close up of his hand - We shot multiple takes of Umar stepping off the escalators so that we had a variety of different clips to choose from and we could edit between them to shot different angles of the same action.

- The tube - we shot the tube because we planned to slow the clip down as one of our forms of editing. 

- Stepping onto and off the tube

Filming went well this day as we got the majority of his shots done early so we went to Waterloo to explore the area. We attempted to shoot some more shots of Umar's journey, unfortunately we did not have lighting that day  therefore the lips were too dark for us to use. We decided to explore the area to see where we should film when we came back another day to film a couple more base tracks.

- What went well: We manage to shoot the majority of Umar's scenes and we visited our other location.

- Improvements: We should have visited Millennium bridge and take some shots of the location. 

Footage Review after rough cut review

After receiving feedback from our rough cut which was largely positive but also criticised, we sat down as a group in Dans lesson to go through the clips we had to see what went right and what went wrong. As a group we discussed what we will shoot next, including reshoots and new shots to add to the music video. We all gathered that the shots at Southbank did not work out as well as we thought it did although we had the lighting equipment, because the batteries ran out quick and we were not really prepared before hand by not bringing spare batteries. Also, we figured that the shots at millennium bridge also did not work out well for two reasons.

•Firstly, the lighting on Farha during her base track did not work out well because during her performance, she moved in and out the lighting direction, causing some parts of the shots to be darker than other parts.

•Secondly, the very ending were I, (mystery person) walk past Farha did not come out as clear as we wanted it to be, as the shot would not be clear enough to the audience in a sense of the narrative.

•Lastly, we did not take a variety of shots to film for the base track. We were limited to close ups and mid-shots, but were in need of wide shots and other angled shots that we did not use. 

Due to this, we took action and prepared for the next filming session, were we would be prepared with batteries and equipment, with a good idea of what types of shots to do and how to do them.

However, positive feedback encouraged us and gave us motivation to continue our filming. some feedback that were positive were

• Good shots at the Barbican with the birds and rain dripping in the background
• Narrative presented clearly
• good ideas, just need re-shooting to make the ideas we have come out clearly in the video. 

Production - Day 5 continued

Day 5 has been the longest day of filming so far. After the long travel to Southbank and long time filming there in wet and drowsy conditions, we then moved on to our next planned location, Millennium bridge.

Getting to Millennium bridge from Southbank
As we packed up the equipment and headed of towards Millennium bridge, the rain picked up. From our research, we thought that Millenium  bridge was very close to Southbank. We were wrong! After walking in circles and circles, we asked directions from passers by and even most people that we asked did not kno the directions. Luckily, a helpful man told us which bus went towards Millennium bridge, the RV1. we got on the bus and found our way from there.

Filming at Millennium bridge
We had reached Millenium bridge and toured the area incase of any other places in the area that we could film by, such as the river bank. We went onto the bridge as planned and set up the equipment as originally planned and started to film. However, the lighting was very dim and the excellence provided within the shots were limited. we carried  on filming to get a brief idea of what to do, but we did not film as much as we could have, limiting the vary of shots that we could have used. It was cold and wet and filming was very hard in these circumstances, especially for Farha who had to perform in these cold conditions.

Problems whilst filming
When we were filming Farha, she was a bit nervous when people walked past her as Millennium bridge is used by a lot of people. Couple shots were taken were Farha would laugh half way through and we'd have to start over. Eventually after blocking out the view of passers by with our umbrellas, we managed to get a full base track filmed without her laughing or feeling nervous, but by then the lighting had dimmed dramatically.

Filming the ending of the video
The ending of the music video is one of the main parts of the narrative, which has to be very clear for the audience to understand. This is when I (mystery person) walks directly past the lost love that i am looking for (Farha). However, this needed to be done as a wide shot. we managed to film it, but as the light got dimmer, the distance light travelled did not make it clear enough as to what was happening and made the shot unsatisfactory.

Beneath are some of the pictures taken at Millenium bridge




Today was by Far the longest and hardest day of filming, from travelling to actual practical work. However, adapting to the ways in which we prepare and film are becoming easier and we are ready for the next filming day!

Finished Editing

Filming - Behind the scene

HEY GUYS! This is us setting up the lighting for our night shots in Southbank, as you can see in the video above it is really dark, this is because we were in the process of setting up the lighting but you can still hear us explain what we are doing clearly.

Production - Day 5

After a few cancellations and problems within the production schedule and equipment that we were able to posses, we managed to find the right time to go back to Waterloo/Southbank with the lighting equipment and fig rig, to re-shoot the footage we did on day 2. The reason we decided to re-shoot the footage again was because the previous filming in Southbank did not have a good result due to the lack of light. Now that we had the light, we were able to perfect the shots with a strong idea of what we were doing.

Filming in Southbank

Once again, the area was compact with people, including locals and tourists, The first shot we decided to do was of me coming out of the station, as the previous shot did not turn out well. We then headed of to the blue lit up trees next to the London eye were we filmed Farha again with the correct lighting. We filmed near the London eye between the trees during the evening/night as the lights looked best then, with a reference to the lyrics of the song. 

Types of shots taken at Southbank 

•Close up , mid shot and wide shot of   Farha performing for the base track. 

•Reshooting my shots of travelling through Southbank, near the London eye. This included an over the shoulder shot of me looking towards the Big Ben whilst it was lit up. 

Problems that occurred during filming 

When we took out the lighting equipment, we were unaware of the time it would take for a light battery to run out. Only taking out two batteries, we run out of light very quickly and had to improvise with our phone flash lights to complete the little amount of shots we had left. 

Weather conditions 

Once again, the weather was wet and drowsy, having a normal start to the winter. It did not rain whilst filming which allowed us to film without umbrellas or with any hassle. 

Risks 

The risk was exactly the same as the last time we filmed at Southbank, being cautious of the people around us. The only difference was that we had to take care of the lighting equipment whilst using them, making sure that one of the group members handles the lighting without the wind blowing it away. 

Pictures taken at Southbank, during filming and out of filming.


Day 5 continued...

Production - Day 4

The fourth day of filming took place during a one and a half hour lesson after half term. Our original plan on the filming schedule was to go to Southbank and film the second base track there whilst also trying to capture shots of myself along the way to add to my journey in the video. However, Farha had work and in the tight amount of time we had, we never considered the time that would be consumed during the journey from college to Southbank and back. Due to this, we had to cancel the original plan once again.

Coincidentally, the number 4 bus terminated at barbican, which we had planned to go to film the traffic from a high angle, on a bridge connecting to the Barbican station. We had to get some sort of filming done in the little time we had so we though this would be the best idea, considering the distance from angel in the time we had. 

Before filming

Before filming, the group decided to eat at a Subway which was located two minutes away from the bridge we were going to film on. After filling ourselves with food, we set off to film. 

Shots taken at Barbican

The shots taken was simply a high angle/birds eye view shot of the traffic that was building up at the four way traffic lights. Choosing to film at 4:30-5 was the best time because firstly it started to get a bit dark early and secondly, the traffic started to build up as it was a time of rush hour. We filmed the traffic for a long time with an idea of speeding up or slowing it down in the editing.

Here are some pictures that we took during this filming process:

As shown, we are filming on top of the bridge showing the traffic flow. Jenny volunteered to film this, using the fig rig without any lighting or other equipment.

Risks 

The one and only risk we had was the safety of the camera. This is because the camera was to be held over a bridge, with a risk of the camera dropping. On the upside, we were able to use the fig rig, which enabled us to film with stability. 

Weather conditions

The weather was rather clear without any rain. It was not that cold which allowed us to film easily and swiftly.

Production - Day 3

After two days of filming, one of which did not go according to plan, the schedule was back on track. Farha had learnt her lines  and was ready to reshoot her footage at the barbican. with her costume ready and the team ready for filming, we set off to film at the barbican after meeting up at angel.

Weather conditions on the day
The day before filming the reshoot at the barbican, the weather forecast suggested that clouds and rain was expected throughout the day. Umbrellas were needed as part of our equipment as well as the camera and other equipment. Filming in the rain was not a problem because we had filmed in the same location in rain on day 1, which was not as hard as we thought.

Filming at the barbican
As we reached the barbican, the rain had started to pick up. In the Barbican gardens, there were shelter were we were able to put down out bags and unneeded equipment without having to carry them under umbrellas whilst filming. As this was the first proper shooting of the base track, we had to experiment with different shot types, angles and blocking considering mis-en-scene. Farha managed to work well with the team whilst filming, following directions and performing well. We managed to film rather quick as the team were familiar with the location and able to film with a good understanding of what to do.
As we headed back from the Barbican gardens towards home, we walked through the Barbican centre which is big and spacious. I had an idea that could help extend to my role in the music video. This was a shot of me walking from a birds eye view, as a shot of me was able to taken from one floor above me through a large hole that allows one to see the floor beneath. This idea worked really well as the group managed to understand my idea without much explanation and managed to execute it good.

Problems filming on the day
Firstly, when we picked up the equipment from the college during the half term, the team were unfortunate when it came to equipment, unable to access lighting or a fig rig, this limited the shots we could take, having to improvise on the different techniques we could use whilst filming.
Also, the costume that Farha wore on the previous filming at the Barbican was different to the costume she wore on this day. This meant that the limited amount of shots that were taken on day 1 could not be used because there wouldn't be a match between the two shoots. Therefore, we had to erase the shots taken on day 1 and stick to the shots taken on this day.

Risks

The only risk that concerned us was filming around the water. we had to be aware of the water and the stability of filming with the camera, avoiding tripping over things and filming in the safest places.  

Production - Day 2

On the second day of the filming production during the half term, a last minutes change was made to the filming schedule as we were looking to reshoot Farha's base track in the Barbican. Farha had to attend work so the plan changed to filming my role in the video, a journey to find my lost love. Due to this, i had to be prepared in my costume and ready to perform according to our story board.

Beginning the filming of my journey
Whilst we planned out my journey in the storyboard, the best place to start was a tube station. All tube stations did not allow us to film unless we payed and asked for permission in advance. Our luck came when the staff at Kings Cross station allowed us to film for a short amount of time without filming. Although we did not wish to film the base track in kings cross, the start of my journey looked good at kings cross journey because it is a well known place were there are a lot of people that travel using the public transport. Also, the establishing shot of kings cross looked great as the busy area allowed the shot to look like a realistic start to a journey.

Types of shots taken at Kings Cross station

• As the whole idea of my role was to be mysterious until the very end of the video, the first shot was taken from behind me, giving a mis-en-scene of me looking at train times. this was taken as a mid shot.
• The second shot was taken in the exact same position were i was standing, showing a closeup of my watch ticking, relating to the idea of time running out.
• We then took a tracking shot of me walking from behind towards the entrance of the station, swerving through and around people. The swerving worked really good as it created more movement rather than walking in a straight line.
• The next shot was of my feet taking steps towards the station, which took a bit of time to execute as the walking distance from the camera and walking speed had to be precise. eventually we managed to get it right and move on through the station.
• Whilst walking through the station, normal actions that would occur in a tube station were filmed, such as walking towards the barriers, tapping my oyster, going on and off the escalators, waiting for the train which then lead me onto the train to begin the actual start of my journey.

Risks at Kings Cross Station

First of all, the main risk outside the station was the safety of the equipment. As it is a busy area, colliding with other people and accidents due to the rush around us were things that we concentrated on avoiding, preventing injury and damage to the equipment. Furthermore the shots of my feet walking had precautions as we had to avoid people treading on the camera and equipment.

Whilst filming in the station, we had to prepare properly because filming on the escalators and near the escalators could cause and accident due to collision, we managed to avoid this by finding suitable positions to film in.

Lastly, waiting for the train and walking onto the train needed care whilst equipped with the camera so we wouldn't allow any of it to fall onto the train tracks. We also didn't want passengers to feel uneasy around the camera, so we found the emptiest carriage to walk onto.

Carrying on my journey

The train that i walked onto lead us to waterloo station, near Southbank. The idea of 'lights' referring to the lyrics were best suited in the city, which is a lit up area. Waterloo station and Southbank are much more spacious which allowed us to film freely without safety precautions. 

Types of shots at Waterloo/Southbank

• Firstly, we filmed me getting of the train, continuing from the journey set off at kings cross station. This was done a mid-shot.
• Whilst exiting the station, we did an establishing shot of the area and the traffic flowing in the area. It started to get dark early, which made the establishing shots look better because the lights flickered around us, from cars, shops and other lighting around us.
• We then filmed me near the London eye, mainly around me focusing on the lights and people around me. My role is to appear lonely, and the shots around the London eye worked well as it showed me as a single person walking through a crowd of people.

The date was November 1st, a day after halloween. The halloween decorations and vibe was still present. this helped to create a crowded atmosphere with more lights and decorations surrounding.

Filming Day 6..

How Editing Is Going So Far...

In this screen shot we are speeding up one of the shots of the traffic, we will add this after have gone one minute into our music video. We are also being very cautious when chosing which base tracks to put together because we don't want to cut between day and night, as this will confuse our audience.

In this screen shot we are seeing which two base tracks work well together so we know which ones to put in our music video. 

Improvements on indvidual performance

Last week we filmed on the 20th and 22nd of November,
We filmed on these two days after our feedback from our rough cut, therefore we took on board all the positive and negative comments and made sure we didn't make the same mistakes twice.
During these filming sessions i think that i improved on my performance, by having more support and direction from the group.

After our feedback we realized that in the shots you could tell that i was quite shy, therefore as group we decided in order to help me overcome this they have to be more directing and tell me what to do and how do it as it would help me feel more confident.

I think when we filmed on these days we accomplished this as my group supported me and told me what to do, this made me feel much more comfortable whilst performing. I enjoyed it a lot more and filmed the shots more swiftly as i wasn't feeling as shy as before.

This shows that as individual i was able to take the feedback and improve on it, and the members of group also who helped me, these two days were a lot more successful, despite the weather being horrible we made sure we stayed positive completed all our filming

Filming day 2

So today was the second day of filming, the weather wasn't great as it was quite cold and rainy however still tried to make as productive as possible and not let the rain ruin it.

In today's filming session we decided that we film the shots of out 'mystery man' who is Umar.

We have a number of locations for these shots our fist location was at Kings Cross, in this location we shot various types of shots, such as establishing shots of our location which we would use for the beginning of our video to show the audience where the setting is. 

We then filmed shots of Umar, such as close up shot of his hands tapping his oyster to go into the station, this is an important shot as it shows where the 'mystery mans' journey starts.

We also had various shots of him such as wide shots of him walking but from the back as we don't want to reveal his whole identity and keeping up the idea of a mystery person and then having closer shots of his feet walking up and down stairs and escalators.

However we had a problem with some of our shots, because during the first few filming sessions we didn't have all he equipment such as lights as it wasn't available for us when we watched the footage back some of them we could not use because the it was too dull and the reason being we had no lighting.

This means we have to re shoot some of these scenes. 

On a positive not not all our footage was bad we came back with some really good, and for next time we now now what we need to make the footage look good.
We shot scences like these images.

 

How did filming day 7 go..

On Friday 22nd of November, we went out to re-shoot because of problems we had with the other footage such as lighting and camera movement. this time we took on board the comments we received by our teacher and members of the audience and made sure we improved these issues whilst re-filming.

We made sure we took enough battery's to stay bright when filming as last time we had a problem of not having enough battery on the lights therefore the lights went dim and in shots came out too dark. we also made sure we took a top light as we didn't use it last time this helped with our close up shots, by using the top lights the close up shots came out bright and clear. 

We also took on board the comments about not having enough different shots therefore this time we made sure we took a lot more various shots such as different wide shots in different angles, this is essential as it ill help us when editing to have enough shots to use. in addition we had to make sure the shots that were filmed where not stable like last time, therefore jenny who was filming made she moved around a lot more when filming. 

we realized by acknowledging these issues with our old footage and by improving on them when we filmed again, our shots came out so much better than last time, the lighting's the angles of the shot. Listening to the audiences feedback is essential as it tells us what they would like to see and what we could do better therefore i think that as a group we able take on the criticisms in a positive way. 

Production - Day 1

The original picture planned which changed due to
building works.

On the wednesday of the half term, we met in the morning at 10am and started our filming in our originally planned location. However, when we reached the first location (kings cross) were the first base track was planed to be, we were not able to film there as there were building works and scaffoldings directly outside the station. This prevented us from getting a good picture behind the performer, so we decided to think as a group for another location to film in.

This is the picture we took, with a slight glimps
of the building works underneath

Directly opposite the station, there is a large hotel (st.pancaras hotel) that we thought we may be able to film in. We set up our tripods and equipment. As soon as it was set up, the security told us we needed permission from the office in advance to film and asked us to leave, so we were confused as to where we were going to film, as kings cross was the location that we favoured most.

St.Pancaras hotel
ideal for our production but not planned out.

Weather conditions

In the morning when we met at kings cross, the sky was clear and the sun was out. However, it was rather cold. Throughout the day, the weather started to become a bit more glum, as the clouds started to build up so we had to pick up speed in filming before it started to rain. By the time we reached our new location, it started ranging but not heavily, which allowed us to film without much hassle. 

Planning the new location

we planned the new location as soon as we found out that we were not able to film at kings cross. we went to eat at McDonalds, were we sat down and thought of possible locations that would suit the idea of a slow emotional song. after roughly an hour, we all agreed that the gardens in the barbican were best suited for our video, so we got all our equipment and set off to see the location.

Filming in the Barbican

Once we reached the barbican, We gathered that the base track that we could film there would be rather better than the base track we originally planned at kings cross. This is due to the scenery that were available, such as trees, water flowing, a waterfall, birds flying etc. We started our filming and took various shots of our artist (farha) to begin our first day of filming. However, during the filming, Farha struggled to remember the words to the song due to a tight amount of time to learn them, which made the shots look out of sync. We tried our best to get as much shots as we could as we were told by our teacher Dan that the more shots taken, the bigger chance of getting a good looking shot. Therefore, we filmed farha performing and filmed the lines that she knew during the time we had. After getting the shots we could, we called it a day and set off home with a plan to reshoot in this same location.

the fountains and water flow were we decided to film
with the view in the background

the area surrounding the Barbican garden

Day 7 Filming

Friday 22nd November 2013
THE LAST DAY OF FILMING

We used this filming day to make sure all the shots were good, and if we needed any improvements we would make sure they were all filmed today, the first thing we did was went to Millenium Bridge and filmed the ending of our music video, we filmed both Umar and Farha, this was a very important part of our music video because, of course we releaved Umar's identity as the "mystery man" looking for his lover (our artist - Farha) this went well because we made sure the lights were bright enough to see them both clearly. We had no fig rig so this was harder than our other filming day, however we managed to get good shots after filming a couple times.

When we reviewed day 6 filming day the lighting again wasn't as bright as we hoped on some of our base tracks so we decided it would be better if while we were in Southbank we would at the end spend some time re-filming some of Farha's base tracks. We re-filmed her on the walk way under the Millenium Bridge, because this was one of the darkest shots we had, and we also re-filmed her on the Millenium Bridge, as this was one of our most important shots because the background lights needed to be seen clearly.

Overall it was a positive day because we now have extra base tracks to choose from when it comes down to editing, we took into account that the more footage we have the better!

Day 6 Filming

Wednesday 20th November 2013
RE FILMING
Filming on this day was so unbelieveably freezing cold which made film really hard, one of the reasons was because we were on the Millenium Bridge, and another was because it was pretty late. Regardless we still managed to film, we did come across some problems, when we went to our first re shooting location at Waterloo infront of the London Eye, the security officers told us we weren't allowed to film there anymore, and he gave us a card and said to ring the number and ask for permission, as this area was private property, however because it was late hours we thought this would be pointless and would take up a lot of our filming night.

So we decided to not waste any time filming here, as we headed to Millenium Bridge to re film one of our base tracks located there, we came across a lovely looking area that looked very similar to the area in Waterloo that we weren't allowed to film at, it was under the Millenium Bridge surronded by trees and little lights on the floor, we filmed a base track here of our artist singing, throughout the filming we kept in mind the reason why we were re filming in the first place, which was because our recordings were too stable, so we made sure the camera was moving around Farha a lot. We used various shots, and filmed this base track about 3 times, the first was close up shots of Farha from one angle, the second was a medium shot of Farha singing and the third was a long shot, the reason why we decided to do 3 different shots during one base track was because we wanted to have a variety of shots we could pick from when it came down to editing, this would make our editing easier, and if one of the shots didn't look so well we could pick from one of the others. Better to be safe then sorry!

Our second base track was filmed on the walk way just under the Millenium Bridge in Southbank, we thought this would be a nice idea because the whole city was seen in the background including the Millenium Bridge and St. Pauls Catheral, and because we were filming during the night all the lights were lit up which links with our synergy of lights, as well as to the song lyrics.

Our third base track was filmed on the Millenium Bridge, we filmed close up shots of Farha's face while singing, and medium shots, again so we could have a variety of shots to use in our music video, her performance was amazing considering the circumstances we were under with the cold weather, where from time to time it would start raining. We also made sure to not keep the camera very stable here, and we made sure to get extra batteries in case they ran out during our filmed, we didn't want our shots looking dim again. We also got some speakers from college to make sure Farha could hear the music and sing to the lyircs clearly.