Filming in London

In the October half-term on the 20th we had organised to do our London filming trip, this covered a major part of our video as we had visited 7 of our locations on this date. Although we had planned to meet at 9-9:30am we ended up getting to Rainham Station around 10am and got the earliest train to St Pancras for just gone 11am. Each of us brought several different outfits for the day we also brought the tripod and 2 cameras.  Even though we were a little late to start in . the morning we made the most of the tubes and our schedule tio make sure we got as much filming as possible done.

The place we had visited was Camden as it was the first on the list and the closest on the tube from St Pancras. As Camden is such a diverse area we managed to get a variety of shots in a range of areas of Camden and walked around to make sure we didn't miss anything that would work in our music video. One of our first shots was Jasmines lip-synching as she walks in front of the graffiti wall, we used a tracking shot so that camera moved with her and we could get the whole picture on the wall as it was a stunning piece of art. 

We used the tripod quite a lot in Camden compared to some of our other locations because we found that a lot of places don't liken the tripod, which i can understand as it is rather big and can be in the way. So for the majority of our locations we didn't use the tripod.For some our shots we had to retake them multiple time as we found either the camera wasn't in the right place or something went wrong.

We then went to Namco in Westminster, on the way there we did some filming on the tubes as it was a bit of a longer journey, and we took a shot of the tube station from outside before we went in. In the tube station we filmed my lip-synching, which we had found more difficult that we thought it would be as where the tubes are so close together we had to film the shot really quickly so we weren't in people's way and we could grab our bags.

When we go to Namco we did our first outfit change as went from casual to more of dressed up look. We weren't able to get as many shots as we had planned to in this location because we found that this was one of the main places that didn't like the tripod, which again is understandable.We got a few shots of some of the arcade games and were able to play some of them whilst filming them. In this location I had filmed jasmine on the coin machine which was a close/mid shot and panned the camera to follow the coin rolling through the game 

One of my favourite places that we went to was China Town as we got to see the culture of the area as it was very different to the other places that we went to. It was a great location to film at as there was so much to see and we managed to get a lot of footage and we are planning to use it as a large section of our video. 

Production schedule - 20th October

On the 20th October, we will be filming in London to complete one of the main sections of our filming as we will be visiting 7 locations and various tube stations in between. We will be meeting at Rainham Station at 9:30am as there is a train that leaves at 9:52am to St Pancras, this is to make sure that we have enough time as it will be a very long day as we are visiting so many locations.

The locations we will be visiting are -
 - Camden
 - Piccadilly Square
 - Oxford Street
 - Leicester Square
 - Namco (Westminster)
 - Soho
 - Covent Garden

The characters that will be present for these scenes are all 3 of the girls.

Props and Costume -
2 Cameras
Tripod
Multiple outfit changes (shoes and coats included)
Makeup
Bags
Phones

Other props we will pick up when in London -
Food
Drinks
Other props that are available on the day or if we buy something

13th October - Filming - Riverside

On the 13^th of October, we completed our first day of filming at Riverside, whilst being there we filmed a variety of different shots and took lots of short transition clips to make going from one location to another smoother. We found that the tripod we had used although was very useful was also rather heavy and awkward to position when taking some of the shots like the mid shot of Jasmine and I as we sitting on rocky terrain. At first when we were filming at Riverside it was very cloudy and quite windy which although wasn’t a problem, did mean that we would have to edit the colouring of the shots to brighten them to fit the rest of our video. In the shot of the three of us walking down the pathway at some point the clouds cleared enough for the sun to show which meant that some of the clip was different to the rest so we will have to edit the clip to level out to a consistent colour without it looking unnatural. 

As a group we liked the idea of one of us filming whilst moving out of an enclosed area, this was rather hard to film as we initially tried to do this with me taking the point of view shot but found that it was easier for Jasmine as I wasn't able to move far enough into the trees. Although, Riverside was initially supposed to be a rather small part of our video we found that there was a lot we were able to film there as you have different angels and sceneries depending on where you are standing and where the light from the sun is hitting. This was one of the easier and quicker locations to film as we didn't have to move from one to the other like we will when we get to London on our next filming day. We were able to take our time in Riverside and did to have to rush any of our shots which I think will really help us when we edit our shots.

Production schedule

We found that making a production schedule has been useful for us because it as given us a guide and a clear idea of what we need for props and what times the tide comes in as we don't want to get caught and get to Riverside at the wrong time of the day as we may not able to film is the tide is too high.
As our characters do not have specific roles we decided we wouldn't be too strict on what each of us do while filming. Which will help us when are filming as each of us will then have the opportunity to use the camera and be in the clips, this could help us as we may need to swap around if one of us is unable to take a shot where another is.

Costume and prop research

We have quite a lot of costume changes throughout our video as we wanted to make sure that in each location we were wearing something different that is appropriate for that locations. Whether it supposed to be a rare cold or warm place and time of year. Our clothing is a big part of our mis-en-scene as we will be using our clothes to also emphasis the passing of time and the fact that we are changing from one place to another.

Riverside - 
For riverside we wanted to go rather casual and be fairly dressed down as we thought that as it is an outdoors area and is a rural area we wouldn't need to dress up. I will be wearing some leggings and a top with a hoodie, to show that its not overly warm but not too cold. A lot of our target audience are teenagers to young adults so this will also appeal to them as it will be everyday clothing that is relatable and may be something they would wear to that specific location.
For riverside we don't plan to use any props as they are unnecessary for this scene although we may use our earphones and a phone for when one character meets with the other two.

Camden - 
For Camden we have changed what we are wearing but again gone for casual as Camden isn't really somewhere you would be dressed up to go to as you mainly have the markets and the shops so your unlikely to visit anywhere that requires a more formal or dressed up outfit. We made sure that we are not wearing anything that we will at Riverside to make that clear difference between the two places.
For props we will again not be using many but we will be carrying a bag each and may have food or drink in the scene depending on if we buy anything whist we are there.

The Tubes -
In the tubes we will be wearing the outfits we use for the location we are next going to. We will also be using the filming in the tubes for a montage to show the passing of time. We won't be wearing different outfits for the tubes as they will already be difficult to film in and we will have a lot of items with us already so will be hard to transport everything on our day filming in London.
We will showing and using our tickets in the tubes for props and we may use our phones when or if we film on the tube.

Namco - 
For Namco we plan to go more smart casual as although it an arcade it is also a bar, so we wanted to go a little more formal and maybe put a little makeup on to emphasis the outfit as we will be slightly more dressed up. Whilst at Namco we will be using drinks that we bought from the bar and the arcade machines as props, this will show the characters interacting together and having fun. I think Namco will appeal to our audience as its fun and colourful and shows the pop theme in the song.

Piccadilly Square - 
We will changing our outfits when we get to Piccadilly but will we be smart casual like in Namco. People tend to dress smarter in this location and the last and we wanted to make sure our clothing was appropriate for the area. We will most likely not be using props in this scene as we are more wondering as a group rather than doing things such as we will at the arcades.

Chinatown - 
For this scene we are going back to casual clothing but will be dressed a bit warmer and we plan to go their in late afternoon close to evening so it will be getting colder over the course of the day. We will probably wear coats in this scene if not at least a light jacket.
We may eat in a restaurant and will use props whilst we are their such as food and drink and utensils. But we are not positive yet because places to eat are rather expensive in Chinatown.

Oxford street - 
We will not be changing our outfits between Chinatown and Oxford street as they are is close together, which will also work for our music video as if you go to Chinatown are very likely to visit Oxford street on the same day.

Covent Garden - 
Here will be dressing up and wearing more formal attire, as it is quite a formal area, it will also be our last location on our London trip therefore it will be dark and it makes sense to wear more formal clothes in the evening rather than the day unless your are going somewhere specific. Also, for this location we may wear jewellery as when dressing up people tend to wear jewellery.
Like Chinatown we may eat while we are in Covent Garden so we will be using our meals and utensils as props also we may have our phones on the tables with a purse or small bag.

Winter Wonderland - 
For Winter Wonderland we will be in much warmer clothing as it will most likely be very cold and with the scene it will have a wintery feel to it as it will be close to Christmas. We are planning on buying something from the markets and buying a hot chocolate which we will use as props and we are very likely going to be carrying bags with us while we are there.

Leaving - 
We will be back in practical and causal clothes as we will be "moving" for the last part of our music video and will need to wear something you people would typically wear when they are moving house or doing a physical job. So we are most likely going to wear a hoodie and some jeans or jogging bottoms for our final scene. And we will be using our suitcases and the items we place in them as our props for this. Such as: clothes, electrical's, toiletries etc

Target audience research

Foe our survey we sat down as a group and decided on what questions we wanted to ask our audience so that we could get the information we were looking for. We evenly contributed and gave ideas for our survey and managed to get 57 results from completed surveys. To help we had posted on our social media accounts to get as many people as possible to do the survey for us. 

Our first question was the rather cliche "How old are you?" as this gave us an idea of age group we are looking at and if their perspective or interests changed. This was also so we could see who our main target audience is. 

 Our next question we had asked the respondents for their gender to see how many males against females were responding to the survey. The majority of the respondents were female which is something we had anticipated as although we are not specifically aiming our music video at women from our surveys description we thought more women than men would have been interested.

We then asked the respondents if they liked pop music as that is what the survey is based on. We found that 50% said yes however, their were over 40% of respondents that said that it was okay. 

The majority of our respondents that in some way like pop music although there was still some that did not. 

Although the majority of our results stated that at some point the majority watch music videos there were a few that do not watch music videos at all. We asked this to see how many of our audience are interested in watching our music video.

We were interested to whether people liked to have a happy ending or not at the end of the narrative in a music video. Most said that it depends on the song as some songs wouldn't have a happy ending because of the type of song whether it be sad or about something that doesn't necessarily contain emotional; content.

This was an important piece of information we needed as we wanted to know what type of music videos our audience like to watch and whether they prefer narrative to performance or they like both. Although, most said they liked both a few respondents had said that they prefer narrative  over performance. We had decided against applying both narrative and performance to our music video and just went for narrative as it is the next most popular, as doing both would be very difficult and we wouldn't have enough time. 

 For the next two questions we allowed respondents to put in their own responses instead of using multiple choice. We first asked them what their favourite music videos were. Quite a few of our respondents had skipped this question for most likely various reasons, but we still had a variety of answers as seen below. As a group we are going to look at some of the music videos that were suggested to get some ideas and take into consideration our target audience, and see what they liked about them and linking them to their other answers.

Our final question was asking them what they expect to see in a music video, we found that the majority of people expected to see some sort of dancing and bright colour, different locations and shots. This has given us some more ideas of what we can do for our music video as a group as we can make sure incorporate the locations, colours and shots into our video however we will not be able to have dancing.

Making a survey for us have been very beneficial as we now have more of an idea at what our target audience is looking for when they look at a music video and what they expect to see. We plan to do some more research and apply some our respondents interests into our video. 

Location Research

Dockside - 

The reason we chose Dockside as one of our locations was because it is very convenient to us as a group as it is quite close by and we all are able to travel there, which means that we can go after school as we may not be able to go on weekends due to peoples work. Also, we chose Dockside as the theme there goes with our video and other locations as we want to have a variety of locations and with the range of attractions at Dockside we will be able to get a lot of different shots of the area.

Riverside - 

We wanted to use riverside as one of or first locations to film at as it is easily accessible and open, but also as it is close to all of us. We wanted to have an outdoors location that wasn't industrial as a lot of our other locations we have chosen are and this would give us a starting point. This will be the only location that is a natural location and will be easy to film at as we are less likely to have interruptions from our surroundings. We don't plan to do a lot of filming here but we still wanted to incorporate it as we believe that it will appeal to our target audience and will fit with the rest of the video as it adds a contrast to some of the other places.

Camden - 

Camden is one our locations as it is a rather vibrant and lively location which will be great for our video as it will give another location that very different from a few of the others, also i know the area well so although it is quite a long way away we'll know our way around the area. Camden has a lot of varied locations so this will give us a lot shots that we could use as its not just one built up area.

School Green Screen - 

We decided that we wanted to use the school green screen as we then have the option to choose from a range of backgrounds and lighting. We may use this to show the characters from our video going to even more places that we wouldn't be physically able to visit.

We were also considering using powder paint for the chorus of the song and the green screen would allow us to use any background we chose.

Soho -

We are going to use soho as one of our last locations in our video so we will be travelling their at late evening. We found that soho is prettier at night and is more alive so this would be the best time to film there.  Also from our research of the area we found that it would appeal to our target audience as it has a pop genre feel to it and is quite brightly coloured which will also fit with the consistent theme of our music video.

Chinatown - 

Throughout our locations we have chosen very colourful places that fit our pop genre and that will appeal to our target audience. From the other places we are going to in London Chinatown will be easy to travel to, as one of the main reason we chose it was out of convenience and because it adds another area that is different and has a different culture to it contrasting with our locations. Also because of the close distance we will spend less time travelling and more time filming in each location. 

Winter Wonderland - 

Our last location is Winter Wonderland as night it is absolutely stunning and will continue our theme of brightly coloured locations we feel as a group this is one of the main places that will give us a lot of filming opportunities as there is a lot to see. This is a place one would typically go with friends and family and will give us a chance to get shots of all of us at this location and we are planning for one or two of us to go onto the Ferris Wheel so that we can film from the top and get an over view of the whole of Hyde Park. 

Travel - Train and tube

We will be using trains and tubes for the majority of our traveling as it is the easiest and the cheapest form of travel as none of us drive, and we all have easy access to a train station so is one of the easiest places to meet before traveling to each of our locations. 

Symphony Storyboards

For our story board, as a group we all contributed our ideas to complete it, although at times we didn't agree on some of the shots so we decided to put both shots in our storyboard so that when we film we can see which one fits our music video better or if both would fit well but just in different places in the video. 

Shot 2 after the establishing shot we thought that it would be good to have a long shot tracking as way make our way down the path to look out at the river. This will immediately give us two very different shots to start off with and will be a quick change in-between them. Here the music will still only be instrumental. 

Between shot 4 and 5 you have a two person shot that goes to a three person shot this will give us an opportunity to link the two shots as this will make the shots flow together with the third person walking into the shot. It will also go well with our storyline of 3 friends together.
From Shot 10 to 14 we will be in a restaurant where we have used a variety of different shots so that we can show our menu, food and then it will pan down to one of the characters feet to then pan back up again where they will be in a different location to help transition the characters from one place to another.
This next location is Camden where their will be a range of shots and areas that are located in Camden as it is quite a large location and will show different areas and cultures throughout. Also in shot 18 it is a wide shot of the Tube sign showing where we are and that we will be moving to a different location. We decided that we will do a montage of different tube stages to show the different locations and the passing of time as the characters travel from one place to another.
From here we will move to Riverside as our next scene where we will be showing the three characters looking out towards the river to give a content feel to the scene and then them walking down the paths as a group.
We chose to do three short clips of each one of use throwing and getting covered in powder paint as we thought that it work really well with the chorus and is will bring something different to the video and we will be able to show our filming and editing skills as a group.
We move on to another location where you have a close up of the characters and then have a close of their food to dhow that they are in a sushi bar. As this will only be a short scene we decided to cut back to another montage of tube stations showing the signs from a long shot that also gives our audience a view of the tube station.
As we change locations through our story board we have made a big theme of colour as each place is very colourful and alive. This will appeal to our target audience and work with the pop genre. We have also tried to incorporate a large range of shots and locations to show the passing fo time and the 3 friends going out from different angles and to show the areas they are visiting.

Auditions for our music video

Symphony - Clean Bandit ft. Lara Larsson

Advertising auditions

My group and I created this advert for our music video to attract the actresses we were looking for as it says in our description and to inform them of what they were signing up to and what they would be doing. We put the sheet up at school so that we would be able to contact the people interested in the roles to arrange auditions and times. This was beneficial to us as a group and for our music video as it gave us the opportunity to get a range of actresses and meant we were able to get some experience in advertising. We also advertised this in our school newsletter to help inform more people if the auditions. Also by putting an advert up around the school and putting in the News letter that is also online this would give us a larger range of people that may be interested in auditioning for the positions.

Initial ideas

As a group we discussed what we would like to change our song to and came down to a choice selection of songs that run a long the same sort of lines and would be interesting to use. These are the songs we looked into:

• Bad love by Hasley
• What about us by Pink
• Symphony by Clean Bandit ft Zara Larsson
• New Rules by Dua Lipa

We sat down as a group for about half an hour on Youtube to have a look at lots of different of songs by different artists to see what kind of song we were looking at to do and to get some ideas of how we could change what we were going to do originally. We mainly looked at female artists as we found that it would be a little strange if we were lip-syncing to a song by a man with all female actresses, as it could be perceived as unprofessional, as if we hadn't looked into how other will people will see the video. Once we narrowed the songs down to the choice few we then looked into the lyrics of all of the songs and looked how they would fit into our video and what we would be able to do with each song. This list of song then came down to two songs which were: What about us by Pink and Symphony by Clean Bandit ft Zara Larsson.

After we had chosen these two out of the songs that we were looking at we then talked as a group to which one we preferred overall and which we thought would be best. This lead us to our final decision which was Symphony, as we found that although the lyrics of both songs were very similar however Symphony was more upbeat and was a little faster as it doesn't stay at one speed continuously throughout the song which we found was the case with What about us.