First shoot 6/11/14

On our first shoot, we shot the 'white scenes' - the opening narrative scenes of our video. We decided to shoot these because we felt that these scenes were the most likely to need a re-shoot, and also the easiest to re-shoot, so planning them early on in our schedule was sensible.

Mari and Ellie filming a close up

Ellie and I had free periods before so we got there early to set up the lights and the table so that we would be ready to start as soon as Georgie arrived. When she and the other group members arrived, we made sure we were happy with her costume, hair and make-up, which she had done herself to save time. Then we went through the shoot schedule to make sure everyone, particularly Georgie, was clear on which shots we were taking and what they would consist of. Before we filmed each shot, we gave Georgie a chance to practice without the camera rolling, partly for her to feel more confident, and partly for us to be able to give feedback and direction.

Ellie, Mari and Georgie

Considering it was our first shoot, I feel that it went smoothly. We worked efficiently and managed to get all the shots we planned in the time we were allocated. However, we hadn't realised how long it would take to set up the lights in the right positions. Fortunately on this shoot we had allowed ourselves more time than we thought was needed, but for our next shoots we will need to start setting up earlier than we previously planned. Overall, I think the shoot was a success.

Performance rehearsals

Before the shoot for our music video began, we got Georgie to practice lip-syncing to our song. This was partly to get an idea of how she would perform for the actual shoot, and partly to help her learn the lyrics and feel more confident for the first real shoot. We were happy with how she performed, and are sure that we made the right choice in casting her as she is confident in the role we have given her.

The video of Georgie's performance rehearsal:

Shoot-board

Before deciding which shots to film in which allocated slot of studio time, we first made a list of all the shots we need from each set-up, and which costumes, props and people are needed for each one. To do this, we used a shoot-board. Below are examples of our shoot-boards for a range of shots in the white scenes (click to enlarge).

Using the shoot-board, it was easier to allocate each scene to a slot we'd been given as we had a rough idea of how much time each scene will take and which actors we need to be available.

Call Sheets

Example: call sheet for our first shoot

We made a call sheet for each shoot, which details the start/end times and location for the shoot,  the role of each person in our group, times actors are needed for make up and on set, and what set/props are needed.

We worked out the time each person is needed by figuring out how long we need to set up, how long the cast need to get into costume and apply make-up, and how long each shot will take (which we estimated on our shoot schedule).

The call sheet helps the shoot run smoothly as it is clear where and when actors and crew are needed, and what needs to be ready at what time. 

Schedule of Studio and Location Shoots

Each group has allocated times when the Seward Studio is available to them. In these tables, the times when my group (group 4) has the studio is shown in red.

Using this and the shoot board, we made more specific shoot schedules which detail when we are shooting each scene, when to start setting up, how much time to spend on each shot and which actors we will be using.

Here is the shoot schedule for our first shoot:

Final Kit List

This is a list of the equipment available to us in the studio:

We will also be using  a GoPro for some of the balloon scene and forest scenes, for point of view and slow motion shots.

In the studio, for some performance shots we will use a GlideCam to increase the range of shots in our performance beds.

Production meeting 07/11/14

After realising that planning to film a powder paint fight in a forest in the winter was pretty unrealistic, we decided to do a location recce on the recreational ground behind the school to see if it would be suitable back up location. We took a Legria HFG30 camera with us to test what it would look like on film. 

Filming test footage

This is a video of some of our footage:



The trees can be framed to cut out the fence in the background, so that it looks like it could be part of a real forest. It would be much easier to shoot here as it we won't have to rely so heavily on having good weather and it will be easier to organise enough extras.

We decided that it is a more suitable location than an actual forest so we are now planning to film there instead.