Forth day shooting, back at my yard

In the courtyard
This was a short session as we allowed a few hours in a night to shoot the beginning of the video. We had planned to interpret the opening lyric in a certain way - shooting our protagonist with the illusion of him laying down with a nose bleed which we would reverse up his nose - 'As the blood dries in my veins, and my heart feels no more pain'
We will have to over crank this piece of film for it to be able to run across many shots we will be cutting between during the stretch of the acoustic introduction. In our risk assessment here we have stated the risk of putting food colouring up our actors nose, we decided the best way to do this was to plug his nose with cotton wool previous, then drip the blood into the plug. Pressing on his nostril and throwing his head forward the blood slowly dripped down his nose. Subtly and slow which is the image we were looking for.
The brick work again creates the urban atmosphere, and the opening close up captures his vacant and lifeless emotion, his hooded costume instantly portraying the urban mode of address, thus this is a powerful opening image.

Mopping up the excess!

Here are four images which show the progression of the dripping blood and its clever effect. The shot framing and positioning is exactly the same to maintain continuity.

We had some time following this so i mentioned it might be an idea to go down outside Greenhithe station as i know that walking down the hill at peak time are many business people. A shot we has previously thought would have been filmed in a busy London street with crammed framing turned into the shot below. It is more simple but we are happy with the colouring and the way our protagonist seems to stand out amongst the people.

The shot drawn by the animatic compared the shot after filming. Static and alone our males fierce glare make him appear unsociable and ostracized - people walking past oblivious.

Third Day shooting

Location: A Kebab shop, Dartford.

So we asked the owner if he wouldn't mind us shooting some footage in his shop, to his he oblidged untill we relentlessly opened and closed the door, to this he, well moved us along..

We chose a kebab shop as it is a relatable place, many males would be able to relate to and have memories in a kebab shop, most likely after a night out! However it seemed perfect to relate to our urban mise en scene and the lighting was bright and crisp through the lens of the camera. We used the kebab shop to host flash backs of the couple, yet it will eventually be the protagonist alone. This scene will give weight to our narrative so it was important to film thinking about continuity editing. Most of the shots were therefore long shots, to establish the flashback the camera had to be positioned exactly the same with both actors in place and then will on his own. The tripod obviously helped here.

Drawing from the animatic

The scene with all the aggression!

A point of view shot from the other males POV was used to capture his defensive and aggressive behavior, as will invades the camera the audience would feel disturbed and uncomfortable. The long shot captures the action involving all three actors against a urban simple setting. This night was so cold I cried on the way home in the car because my limbs wouldn't warm up, thus I also could not work the camera any more.

With the footage we gathered over two days we started to play with ideas, piecing together certain components and putting them to music, however without shooting the beginning its extremely hard to begin to editing, and is more than likely to be changed at a later date

Second day filming

In my garage - Using lighting from head lights and red tinted bulbs

The second day shooting was a success in parts, we got some clear close up and the lighting turned out brilliantly, we got a little distracted, but never the less achieved some good footage. We attempted to shoot breaking glass but due to the distance away from the camera, as we were fearful of the lens, it looked pretty shoddy. The intensity of red was due to a red light bulb and break lights, we loved this effect but in parts to was too much. At the time of day with the head light lighting, it threw perfect shadows onto Will's face and elements of the setting which was the exact effect we were trying to capture. Although this did produce a problem with the placing of the tripod, as it sometimes obscured the shot. The lighting enforces the idea of regret and isolation, the Mise en scene suggests how ostracized he has become and the direness of his situation. We have employed such dramatic lighting to fit to conventions of music videos, yet been creative and innovative with how we have created this. We set up this chair Mise en scene from scratch, digging out this old arm chair i had, and throwing old clothes over the back, along with a pillow which creates a desolate, yet 'homely' setting. The clutter was left to enhance the idea that he has moved away, boxes possessions again creating this lonely persona which surrounds our protagonist.

Screen shots from the footage

Screen shots with use of the red lighting, long shots to establish setting and a shot from a slightly higher angle using a step ladder. Many distance shots will be used to jump between the range of close ups in our editing. Ironically the red lighting, normally connoting intensity and passion, has captured him alone.

Utilizing the chair as the protagonists place he retires to, differing positions convey a passing of time but when edited it will be condensed, we can play with these positioning with fast cuts and high pace movement.

Knowing the importance of close ups in music videos to express emotion, and establish the artist we made sure we included some in his isolated location. Close ups are used to portray the cold emotion and vacancy within the males mind, the smoke an emotional barrier between the audience and himself.

I absolutely love this, there is something sinister about the shadow his hand has transferred onto his face, almost as if the shadow is not his own.

A full beam headlights was used for these shots, and they flickered according to the music which will be edited correctly, the light means he is more exposed and throws a deep shadow onto the chair behind him, the only company he has thus emphasises his aloofness.

First day shooting

Leake street, a success! to Hackney Rd, a success! from Richmand Park, a fail, missing out on Vauxhall and Greenwich, also a fail.

We had an almost fatal disaster when we hit our first location of Richmand Park, the video camera was ruining the tapes and glitching instantly. The majority of deer had moved toward the centre of the park which was even more of a walk so we decided to focus on two sitting more or less near the entrance. Statues in front of us the deer remained content, however a unleashed dog decided to intrude, perfect as we wanted to capture running/prancing deer but the camera decided it wouldn't like to give us a break. The brainiac i am, i remembered video on my camera was equal quaility to the camera itself, so we decided, after discussing the predicament of 'what if the file doesn't import into final cut' to use my Cannon Powershot G9 to shoot our footage. Saved.
The shots of Battersea power station we decided to cut, we had not incorporated them into our Animatic and the shots would of been distant and limited, derelict alleys near Greenwich may still be a possibility, but its more of a convenient spot to shoot and time permitted us from this.

The footage we got was exactly what we envisaged, we found locations we had not planned which was inevitable and exciting. Mainly shooting in Leake st and Hackney road we found suitable lighting in the locations themselves. Another key change was the use of Hannah's camera fish eye lens, working by setting my camera to macro to focus onto the lens and holding it in front of the camera, tricky but worth it as the effect created echos the tone of the video and adds an unique dimension to our shots.

We had planned to shot the 'kebab scene' as we call it in Hackney Rd, along with the shots of 'girl' drunk outside the strip club being cared for by another male, the ignition of jealously and regret. However neither of these shots were done as the other male, was not available, and again down to time restrictions. The plan is now to shot this in Dartford town centre, thus our new plan B location.

Here are photographs on location, not screen shots

Just behind Hackney rd. The streetlamp softly highlighting Will's face, a megar glow contrasting to thick dark shadows.

Leake st, perfect Mise en Scene. Using the fish eye lens, this photograph has been edited appropriate to how the film will be, hightened contrast. The fish eye works beautifully within the confounds of a tunnel, enclosing the shot, the beautiful colour were a given and depict the gritty location of the video. Emotion captured depicts ultimate frustration. Lookin' fierceee


Just behind Hackney Rd. Finding the word erase purely an accident, looks a little cheesy, but the lighting was perfect and the metal shutter adds to the Mise en scene. Light from an above street lamp throws the directional shadow onto the backdrop, similar to the 'Everybody's fool' video, the shadow acts as his only companion.

Leake St again, the colours and textured wall almost encompass the protagonist, as he begins to rely on his surroundings.
A low angle shot with the stairs behind, an illusion of superiority and dominance which corresponds to the determined expression portrayed across Will's face.

Hannah's location photography, Leake st

And then, we called it a day.