5th Set of Filming - Fight with Mother Scene

Location of Scene
This scene was filmed at Jessie's house, which is approximately a 5 minute walk from school. This again means that it was easy to get to and we could film during school hours, which makes it easier for all of us as well as Alice as we do not have to ask her to take time out of her own schedule to be part of this video. Alice was also familiar with this location, as well as the rest of us, which meant she was much more comfortable to act, as well as us being alot more comfortable to film and move around the room, to capture the best shots and angles possible. Although before filming we thought that by decorating and changing the room we could adapt it to look like a run down, unkept living room, when looking back at filming we realised that this was not the case, and that in fact it looked like a well kept house with sentimental objects and pictures, which is not what we wanted to represent in our video.

Actresses make up and clothing
Alice's hair, make up and clothing was kept the same to keep continuity throughout the video. As we were using ashleigh to act as the mother, we needed to make her look a lot older than she is, and we decided to do this by the choice of clothing, and her make up and hair. We dressed her in pyjamas to show that it was late at night, and this would also solve the problem of finding clothes to represent the age of what a 40+ year old would wear. We decided to take all her make up off and just leave a slight bit of eye make up, as well as using a dark eyebrow to lightly press under her eyes to make her look tired and run down. We also decided to tie her hair back to make her look more dramatic, as we felt this gave a look which we wanted to show within the mother.

Filming
When filming we wanted to create the illusion that Ashleigh was a slightly "unfit" mother who did not have much care for her daughter. To do this we dressed her in pyjamas rather than day clothes as it looks as if she cannot be bothered and has little motivation. We also had her laying down on the settee whilst watching television with a can of beer and cigarettes to insinuate what she has been doing the whole time. This also helps to give the image that as a mother she has no care for her daughter ans is extremely lazy. We also placed Ashleigh in this position as it helps us to give a good panorama shot of the untidy and unkept room as well as keeping Ashleigh in the shot. Once Alice enters the room there is good interaction between the two characters and we were able to portray the weakness and innocence of Alice's character as well as the powerfulness of Ashleigh's character as Ashleigh stands up from her seat and towers over Alice, screaming and shouting in her face. We used all different shots of the argument by doing a birds eye view, 360 degree shot, an up shot, and some close up and extreme close up shots. These are shown in the video below:

This set of filming was probably the most time consuming of all the scenes we have filmed as we had to re arrange the room and make it extremely messy. We also had to do a lot of planning before the scene and direct each action and conversation to make it a lot more professional looking. This scene was extremely fun and interesting to film as we were able to improvise with the location we had and try a large range of different  shots and angles to film from.


Photo Evidence

Setting Up
As you can see here we have had to throw pieces of clothing, rubbish and other small objects on the floor to make the room look very messy. Again Alice is keeping her make up, hair, and clothing the same. From these photos we can see that with Ashleigh instead of putting more make up on her, we decided to take off her make up, tie her hair back and put her in a dressing gown and pyjamas to show her "sloppy" look. We also decided to write a rough and vague script which the two actresses could follow as this made it a bit easier for them to know what to do and when.

Shots and angles
From these photos you can see we have used a large range of different shots and angles to portray different parts of the argument and to capture the shots that we needed. We also took it in turn to film and take photos as we each was able to bring different skills and techniques which were all very valuable.

We used, over the shoulder shots, worm eye shots, 360 shots, long shots, mid shots, pan shots, track and follow shots, and extreme close up shots of both actresses faces

During Filming
Here you can see the interaction between Ashleigh and Alice and the movements and actions of both of them when they are having an argument. Here you can see clear shots of the room and the decoration and objects we used to make the room look unkept and messy.

4th Set of Filming - Memory Scene

Location of Scene

This scene was filmed and located within the common room of our school. As we wanted to base the memory scene around Alice and her friends having fun we thought a school setting would be good for this, and so chose to use the common room as it is somewhere where people can relate to as a place they would spend with their friends. Also as the common room is based in school it was easy to get to, and we also did not have to change much of the background or objects in the room as they helped to create a school setting. This was also a good location to use as all of the actresses that we had to use for this scene are familiar with the common room, and all spend their free periods in there.

Filming

For this scene we decided not to choose particular actresses and create a timetable for them to come to with filming, but instead went into the common room when we wanted to film and asked the people available if they were willing to be in our video. All accepted and this made it much easier for us to set up, and was also very comfortable filming as everyone who appears in this video is friendly with one another and therefore did not have to really act in this scene but rather just have conversations with one another. We did not need to dress any of the girls who appear in the video as they were already wearing school uniform as we filmed in school hours. When we started filming we asked them to just have a normal conversation that we would film, and then occasionally laugh and act as if they were telling jokes, to indicate in the video that they are all friends having a good time with one another. We filmed this scene from many different angles, as well as doing pan shots to show the emotions of all the characters and including there interaction with one another. 

 

We firstly took a birds eye shot of the whole group talking to each other so that we could include all of the group interacting with each other, focusing on Alice having fun with her friends whilst making it look natural. 

We then did some pan shots of the group as a whole again to make it seem extremely natural, and by doing this we could get reactions of everyone within the video and how they are reacting to one another.

We have used a slight over the shoulder shot here again, or a lower birds eye shot to again capture the conversations but from a different angle. We did it from different angles as we wanted to make sure that we could find the best place to film Alice, as essentially she is the main importance in the scene.

Overall, this filming was extremely easy and successful, as well as being quick to film. We asked Alice and the other girls who were in the video to just act naturally and carry on with their normal conversations whilst we filmed from different angles and points of views. There was not much directing that needed to happen apart from when we occasionally told them to look as if someone had told a joke or said something funny. The filming that we have will be used in our video, however we will be editing this scene quite a lot as it will be in black and white to portray a memory, rather than in colour like the rest of the film.

3rd Set of Filming - Storming out of class

Location of Scene

For this scene, as it involves Alice storming out of class, we decided to film within school, by a classroom which has easy access to an outside path. This location was beneficial as it meant we could film within school hours, as we did not have to travel to our destination. This location was also positive as it has a double set of doors which is what we needed as in the start of this shot Alice stormw out of the classroom, and slams the door as she walks out.

Alice's make up and clothing

Like all the other scenes we have filmed, we have kept her hair, make-up, and clothing the same. her image does not change throughout the video, and so therefore we did not need to change anything. Alice was again able to do her own hair and make up as she knew the image we were looking for from previous sets of filming. 

Filming

Filming this scene was fairly easy, as Alice just had to keep repeating her actions and what she was doing as we filmed from all different shots and angles. This made the filming process quicker for this scene, and Alice was able to portray well what we wanted her to as she became more familiar with the scene as we went along. We filmed from all different angles, as well as using follow shots, mid shots, long shots, and many others.

We firstly used a long shot of Alice and instead of us following her, Alice walks past us to end the shot.

We then used another long shot, however also making it a pan shot and slightly following Alice as she walks out the window.

For this shot we used a long shot, into a follow shot of Alice walking down the path into the distance. 

Here we have used the same shot but from a different angle, we went from behind to get Alice's facial expressions as she opens the door.

We then used a tracking shot from behind Alice as if to make the audience feel themselves that they are walking behind Alice.

We repeated this shot but from further away just so we could capture more in the video.

We then did a tracking shot but in front, which made the shot very fast paced as we had to walk at the same pace as Alice. 

This mid shot video was used to capture when Alice throws her badge down and walks away as this is what we wanted to focus on in this shot.

Overall this scene was very simple to film, and only took a short amount of time. We were able to get many bits of footage from all different angles and the acting in this scene was fairly simple, making it easier for alice. By repeating the shot over and over and filming from different points of view, this ensured that we would have enough and a good quality set of footage to use for evidence. Within these films is filming that we will use for our video. We had minimal difficulties with this scene and it proved a success.

Update on Filming

After filming particular scenes, we have encountered a few problems which we need to try and overcome. Firstly, we are finding the space of time that we have to film quite difficult for many reasons. Usually we will film in blocks of around an hour and forty minutes, as that is how long our study periods and media filming lessons are. In this time we have to get to the location, dress Alice, set up equipment, and most importantly film our scenes. What we did not realise is that the preparation for filming is taking longer than we thought and this has led to us not being able to fit as much actual filming in as we can, setting us behind on deadlines. We are also finding it hard to arrange dates to film in locations such as my house, for the first and last scene of the video, as this needs to either be done after school, or on a weekend. This is also proving difficult as all 3 of us, as well as our actresses, have prior commitments such as; work, hobbies, and school work, and we are finding it hard to set aside a time in which we are all free to time. We also need to make sure that we are able to make it as easy as possible for Alice to be filmed at particular times as she is has volunteered to be in this video, and distracting her from her other work would be unfair on her.
However we propose to overcome this by arranging far in advance when exactly we are going to film each scene, as well as preparing as much as possible for filming the night before. This will help us to overcome problems of not having enough time to film and fit in all we need to film at each location.

2nd Set of Filming - Lane Scene Part 2

Location and background of scene

For the second time we filmed, we had again the same location as the first time, the lane which is near jessie's house. However for this part of the film we went slightly further down the lane. This scene involves her walking down the hill, very upset, and looking at her phone to find an abusive text from her friends which makes her extremely angry. She then stroms down the lane whilst taking her jacket off and throwing it down in anger.

Alice's Make up and Clothing

For this scene, we dressed her in exactly the same as the set of filming before, as this interlinks with the other lane scene and therefore none of her look has changed. When preparing alice, we found it was much quicker this time round as she knew what she had to look like, so did her make up and hair the same, as well as quickly changing into the clothes, and we did not have to decide what she would wear again.

 Filming

We had three small seperate parts to this scene which we did many takes of each, there was a shot where she is walking down the lane, then gets out her phone to read a text from her friends. Then there is a shot of her slowly walking down the lane, looking upset and lonely, and finally there is a shot of her fast pacing walking down the lane once she has read the text and she takes her jacket off and throws it on the floor. Filming was a lot more successful this time as we knew how to work the camera, and the ways we could benefit from filming in an outdoor environment, with natural light. This was learnt in the first set of filming. We also were able to work with alice's strengths and what she was comfortable with to produce believable and successful footage. The first shot we filmed was the phone shot.







 Phone Shot

For this shot we filmed from many different angles, to try and capture Alice reading her text as well as the reaction. We used worm eye shots, over the shoulder shots, and birds eye shots.

 

This video shows that when we tried to film the actual text on the screen it proved unsuccessful as it firstly looked unprofessional trying to zoom in on it and secondly you could see the reflection of the camera and filmer in the screen of the phone.

Walking ShotFor this shot we mainly used follow shots as we felt this gave it a natural look, and when the audience are watching the video it would feel as if they are walking alongside alice.

This follow shot started well however without realising in parts we are not filming her face and just her body, and therefore cannot see the expression on her face and it looks unprofessional.

This follow shot was better however it is a long video, so when using this we will edit it to cut it shorter and show only the bits that we feel are necessary.

Jacket Shot For this shot we mainly used a mid shot, to capture all of the actions and for this scene we went over it again and again just to produce the best quality videos that we could.

Photo Evidence

Overall this set of filming proved positive as we produced some videos which were of a good enough standard to use in our video. As alice felt more comfortable and less embrassed when filming, she was able to produce better quality acting which improved the quality of our videos. The setting up of the scene was quicker which allowed us more time to actually film, meaning that we could go over shots if we felt they were not good enough. We were happy with the result of some of our videos. To overcome the problems we had with the phone shot we have decided that when she reads a text from the message itself will appear on screen in text that we edit on to the video, and the audience will not read the text from her phone, and we will just show alice getting out her phone and reading the text. We feel this will look better and be easier for people to read.



1st Set of Filming - Lane Scene

Location of Scene

This scene is filmed behind Jessie's house, which is very accessible as it is close to our school, which means we can film in our media lessons and free study periods, as well as it being close toJjessie's house, meaning all of our actors can get ready there as well as us being able to set up before going to film.

Alice's Make up and clothing

As you can see we have abided by the make up and clothing we decided to give Alice, with dark eye make up, pale foundation, and natural coloured lips. We have also dressed her in school clothing, by using a plain white blouse, a black bodycon skirt, a black blazer, and brown school bag. When preparing Alice, and preraring for our filming, we told her the requirements of what we wanted to wear, however we asked her to bring in her own clothing as we felt this would be easiest, and we know that she would fit properly into the clothes. She bought a range of different clothing with her and we decided which was most acceptable for the scene. Also when doing her make up we decided that we would tell her how to do it, and she would do it herself as we felt it would give the best outcome as well as making it easier for both us and Alice. We were all happy with the make up she did for herself, and looked very similar to how we described her to look in our planning. For her hair, I decided to use some hairspray and a brush to slightly backcomb her hair. We didn't want a messy look however we wanted her hair to stand out a little, and by doing this it gave an edge to her look which proved successful.

Alice before putting on make up

 Alice putting on her make up

 Alice with finished make up and clothing

Filming                                  

 

 

The first shot we did was a long shot of Alice front way on of her walking down the path, we made sure it was a tracking shot so we could follow her down the path and capture her whole body to portray the way she is walking slowly down the path

 

  

We then used a tracking shot again, howver this time filming Alice from behind. We followed her down the path to give a slightly rocky look to the film to make it more realistic as if we are looking from someones point of view who is following her, as well as using a long shot to get all of her body in.

For the phone shot we used a range of different shots. From the pictures and shots above you can see we have used an over the shoulder shot of Alice when she gets the phone out of her pocket and looks at the text on her phone. We have also used a birds eye view from Alice's perspective when looking at the phone.

Overall, our first filming session proved positive in many ways. Although much of the footage we will not use in our music video, we were able to get to grips with directing, filming, pacing, and how we work with our main actress. It also gave us clear direction of what we need to do on our second filming, and how we can improve to produce better quality videos that we can use in our final piece. By working on hands with Jess and Jessie we also realised what all of our strengths and weaknesses were, and to use them in the most positive way possible to allow work to be done better and quicker.  



Contingency Plan

What is essential for our project is that we have a Contingency Plan. Due to the fact we will be working over many months, a lot of things could go wrong. Therefore, we have picked out the three main problems we may come across and have decided what we are going to do to solve these problems when it comes to it.

 

1). What if we have problems with our actresses?

Many issues can arise with our actresses. Our main actress, Alice, will be needed often for filming and photographing. Possible problems that may occur are:

- She may be ill during times we want to film 

- She may not be able to make it to some of our filming as she is busy with her own work 

- She may decide she does not want to film for us anymore

- She may feel uncomfortable in front of the camera

Some of these issues, I do not believe are applicable. Alice has been a model for people previously and appears extremely keen to act for us. I do not believe that she will back out of the project. HOWEVER, to control this, during our first filming we will ensure that she feels comfortable and let her know which scenes she will be in. If she is not happy with this, we can find another actress. Me, Jess and Lauren would not mind playing the part ourselves. 

We know that at times, Alice will be busy with work. Being a good friend of hers, I will ensure to find times she is free and organize our filming around this. This will allow her to get her work done when needed. Having a regular day for filming will also allow her to organize her work around our filming. 

We want to film every Wednesday afternoon possible. Me, Jess, Lauren and Alice are free during this time as we all have school free's. Filming during school time will mean that Alice can still get her usual way home. This will not be an issue. 

 

2). What if our lighting is not good enough?

Due to us planning to film a lot of scenes outside, we fear that our lighting may not be good at times. We can never predict the weather. Due to us doing a lot of filming in winter, snow, rain and winds are very likely. This makes our filming sometimes different.

Things we could do to try and control this:

- For each time we film, we could decide which scene to film based on the weather. If it is a snowy day, we will concentrate on filming the Indoor scenes. 

- If the lighting is different each time we film outside, this will be hard to handle. However, we can do our best to fix this during the editing process. 

Indoors, we will try to use the same type of lighting each time. Again, a lot of the lighting will be from natural light (through windows etc), therefore, some of the above things could apply. We could also try to control blinds, curtains, and inner lighting. 

3). What if we really do not like our product after filming?

 We have discussed many ideas as a group and have decided on our final idea. However, it is always possible that we begin to dislike our idea. If this were to happen, we would need to have a group discussion.

Things we could do to if we do not like our product:

- We could re-think our story board and if we have time, re film our video

- If we do not have time, we could think of ways to use the videos we have in order to create a different story

- We may have no choice but to use the videos, we would have to ensure editing is sound

We will need to try and change ideas quickly in order to give us time to do create new story boards.

 

Initial Locations

School Location
We decided to use the outdoor classroom at our school to film this scene as it means that Alice can storm out the doors onto an outdoor location where she can storm down the road. We are also filming within the classroom as well.






  

 



House Location












Lane Scene Location
For the Lane scene, we wanted somewhere that was near to school but also perfect for our video. Luckily, we found this lane which passes a church in Wilmington. Our group decided that the lane shown below was perfect for our video. Being long in length, meant we would be able to film a lot of Alice. It also will give us opportunities to try shots such as Follow Shots due to us being able to walk a long way down. Since being such a long lane, we had a variety of different places on the lane in which we could film meaning our group had many options to decide which part of the lane was best.

 

 

These scenes may change if we think they do not fit the story properly 

Schedule

Our Schedule :

Research and Planning stages:

September and October will be our main planning and research months

September:

-        initial discussion with group

-        Deciding on our resources

-         Research and specific research into music videos

-        Research into sound/decide our song choice

-        Creation of our first story board/time line

October:

-        Deciding on our resources

-        Contingency Plans

-        Create a group discussion (Maybe a popplet)

November:

-        Filming takes place

-        Every Wednesday afternoon to film

-        Try to film every Thursday morning (providing Alice is free)

December:

-        Filming continues

-        Editing begins taking process

January:

-        Editing should be fully underway

-        Research into ancillary task begins

-        Any re-filming

February

-        First draft of edited video should be done

-        Photographs taken for our ancillary tasks

-        Any re-filming

March

-        Editing should be done for video (finished)

-        Ancillary task being edited

-        Extra photos taken if needed

-        Start of Evaluation

April

-        All should be finished.

-        Evaluation stages should be completed