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Friday 22 December 2017

Construction Post 2: Week 2 Production

The second week of production was the main shoot for our group which consisted of filming the bulk of our video in the studio at school plus a one day location shoot.

At the end of the previous week we had ensured that we had a detailed schedule for this week, detailing who was going to be in the studio for each session and exactly what shots we would be filming. This was then checked against a list of all the shots we had said we wanted during research and planning to make sure that we had't missed anything out. In addition this made it easy for us to create a call sheet for each of our actors and keep on schedule.

Below is a copy of our group schedule:



Monday

Below is a copy of the detailed schedule for Monday's shoot in the studio:

As seen in the schedule we planned to spend the first period perfecting the 'standard' ipsync lighting which from our test shoot we had identified as being too 'flat' and boring. However, things didn't go to plan as we spent the morning trying to create the infinity curve so that the join between the floor and cyclorama couldn't be seen. We had done this during the prelim and really liked how it looked but unfortunately as our lighting was a lot more low-key, it was very obvious that paper had been placed over the join.

Monitor showing the attempted infinity curve
Attempt at creating the infinity curve

After trying both A4 and A3 paper to create the curve, we decided as a group that it just wasn't working and that we would scrap the idea.

By this point it was scheduled in for us to film the boys dancing but we decided to actually just have them rehearse with Meera, whilst Laith and I tightened the cyclorama to get as polished as look as possible. Although putting us a bit further behind schedule, it was actually really helpful having this rehearsal time as it let the guys get used to dancing in the studio with the lights and really perform. Getting back to what was planned, after school we did film the guys group dancing and it went a lot smoother than I originally thought it would and, as Laith was in the shots, Meera and I took turns dircting and filming from various different angles so that we would have plenty of choice when it came to the edit. 


Me filming the guys group dance

Tuesday

Below is a copy of our schedule for Tuesday


Tuesday was a very important day for us as it was one of the two longer days where we had till 8:30 in the evening, giving us plenty of time to try and catch up on the missed morning Monday. 

Set ups for Tuesday
We started the day filming the lipsyncs with the 'flicker' lghting as that needed all three of us - Laith performing, Meera filming and directing and myself using the reflector to get the lighting effect.

Filming the flicker shots
Once the standing light was in the right place, these shots were relatively easy to film and we managed a lot of good takes in that first session. 

Following the schedule, Meera and Laith then filmed some hand held lipsyncs whilst I was in lessons, before we all came back together with Adam, one of our extra actors, to do the shadow screen shots, an example of which can be seen below.


This was actually quite complicated to set up as the standing lights had to be in very specific places for the shadows to appear as the right size and colour, without creating an awkward line of light down the middle where the two met. I was actually acting in these shots as one of the shadows and I'm really pleased with how they came out. We got through a lot of takes, which we all looked through after and really liked, putting us back on schedule for this as we didn't need to use our back up session for this type of shot. In addition to this, we got really good audience feedback on this shot, with everyone saying that they thought it looked really cool and the concept of it worked very well.

We then revised the schedule to include more hand held lipsyncs and pushed back the talking at shots till after school as we believed that since we had lost time the day before it was important that we got a good range of lipsyncs done to a high standard as soon as possible. 

Me filming a hand held lipsync

It was actually good to do the hand held shots then as having all three of us there meant that Meera could cable bash whilst I filmed so that I didn't trip over anything.

After school we focused on getting the talking at shots done where Laith spoke at me, whilst I looked indifferent. We filmed from both sides so that we could edit it together in sequences where Laith changed side part way through lines to give a more discontinuous feel to the edit. This was inspired by the video for Skylar Grey's 'Back From the Dead'. A side by side of the shots can be seen below.


We actually finished these shots ahead of schedule and in order to try and catch up to where we should be, we ended up filming some more flicker lipsyncs in both LS and MS.

Wednesday


On Wednesday we were faced with another problem in that when we were setting up in the morning the camera wouldn't read the SD card and it turned out that one of the prongs in the camera was broken. Fortunately, our teachers did manage to find a repair shop which would have the camera ready by Thursday morning for us to use, but this did put us a day behind. 

We were given a replacement camera, the Canon Legria HFG30, which we use for location shoots, but for the studio the difference in camera quality to the Canon 5D MK 11, was huge and actually meant that our lighting looked completely different to before and how we wanted it to, and in the case of the backlit shots, just didn't work. 
Laith practising his dancing


Instead of carrying on filming on the HFG30 we decided to use the time rehearsing the dancing shots for all three of us. Although not what we had planned and we didn't get to film anything we could use on Wednesday, the rehearsal time was helpful as it meant we could get used to really selling the performance and making sure it looked authentic.






Thursday


The camera was fixed by Thursday morning so we could resume filming. We decided to continue with what was planned for Laith's dancing and just added in the optional sessions for me and Meera to film our dancing.

Despite the stress of being a day behind, we all just knuckled down and worked really hard to get back on schedule and keep each other motivated when everything started to get on top of us. 

Below are some examples of the dance shots we took.






After school we filmed more lipsyncs with the flicker lighting and some hand held, as well as the reverse talking at shots where I am pleading for forgiveness. Again this went better than I expected and we got through the shots quicker than we thought we would. We even managed to do the walking in shot for the first line where Laith starts out of focus. This was really fun to film because we were using a different lens with a very small depth of field, which allowed us to be a bit more creative and I think looks really good in the final edit.

shot at end of first line

Friday


Example page of my notes on rushes
By this point we were on our second or third session for each type of shot, with the exception of the dance shots with me and Laith which we got done fairly quickly. In the schedule there were several optional sessions blocked in for me and Meera where we sat down and looked through the rushes and made notes on anything that needed to be redone or didn't quite work.

In addition to this, as me and Meera had filmed all of our dancing with the blue lighting, we filmed us with the white backlit doing the choreography for the dance break so that we could make the edit choppier and switch between us and the guys.



Saturday


On Saturday we carried on re-filming anything that we didn't think we'd executed quite right earlier in the week, including Laith's solo dancing and lipsyncs.

As we didn't need to use the scheduled in time for the screen shadown shots, we took the time to take more hand held lipsync with tighter framer, for example more ECUs which can be seen below.


That afternoon was the last studio session and it consisted of us filming the remainder of the dance break and some small dance sections for throughout the rest of the video, for example the lean up in the first verse.




Sunday

The plan for Sunday was too film all of the narrative shots as we had already done the location lipsyncs the previous weekend. Below is a sample from our narrative shootboard. 


So that our extra actor, Adam, didn't have to wait around when he wasn't needed we decided to film everything with him first and then move on to the shots with me and Laith in the afternoon. These consisted of a series of shots in Meera's neighbour's house and the park which Meera and Laith took turns filming and directing. 

Example shot from Sunday
Whilst in the park Meera also took some promo shots for the website, examples of which can be seen below. 












For the afternoon we filmed the narrative shots of me and Laith against the wall first,before moving inside to film the sofa shots and argument sequence.

Argument and sofa shots from narrative

Overall, despite being a bit stressful with quite a few problems, our main shoot week was a lot of fun and in the end went alright, with the whole group being proud of our work. By the end of the week we had managed to completely catch up and get everything filmed that we needed and I was confident using both the sound and lighting desk as well as the 5D camera and monitor. I particularly enjoyed filming the hand held shots and using the reflector for the flicker lighting because I think those shots came out really well. On the whole we worked so well together as a group and think that if we keep that up we can create a music video, digipak and website that we can all be really proud of.


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