When we first arrived we started running through the song with the band to let them re-familiarise them selves with it. Then once we were happy with the band playing in time and the actual arrangement of how they were set out, we began to start the actual filming process. We filmed the performance side to begin with . We started with wide shots then mid , close ups , extreme and then a few experimental shots we hadn’t planned but agreed would work well. The next thing we filmed was the photo shoot of the band ,then the groupies. We started by filming them pretending to do a photo shoot with various band members. When we were satisfied with all the work in the studio we packed up and started to make our way towards London in a school minibus. The Idea here was to re-create the idea of a band on tour aboard their tour bus. We set up a camera on a tripod and tried to film the band as they listend to music , slept , gazed dreamingly out of the window. When we got closer to main London we filmed traffic and the bus passing by lit up shop windows. We finally got to Shepards bush and walked over the road and filmed the small crowd gathering outside with the bands name and venue atop . This was to simulate the idea that it was ‘our’ band that the audience were planning to see. Not fully appreciative of the shots we had we made our way to Hammersmith , we filmed the Apollo and various band members walking past it and even pretending to go into it.
The roles we gave each other in our groups were assigned by what we thought each other was the main specialist at . I decided my colleague was best suited for that of a Director since he had the experience of being an actor so he knew how to command people efficiently , another factor was that it was his idea so he would be mentally best equipped to sort out how he wanted everything to look and play out on the shoot. I was given the role of being the camera man since I had been filming projects for school for the year I’ve been at school . We also decided that I should take charge of editing as I had come to grips with the basic use of final cut and was starting to truly understand how to edit videos. I was a musician aswell which enabled me to have a good sense of rhythm which was important for post editing to enable you to follow the theory of Negus , cutting to the beat.
The actual set was based on an urban backdrop against an old factory boarded up with corrugated iron . We wanted to give as realistic as possible feel of an abandoned street , extensively littered and give it a grimy feel . The band were seen to be quite an edgy rock band and the song is based on the idea of taking drugs so we decided this would work well . We made the set as basic and as simple as possible to emulate realism .
In the video we used a JCV500 Camera. This is HD so we can film as high resolution as possible. The new format of it being on an card and not a tape means everytime you start and stop recording it creates a new clip which makes it easier to work witrh in post production . Another new feature to these HD cameras are that they have a slow-motion mode which make it really easy to create perfectly timed and good looking shots.
Our first major problem we encountered as a group was losing a key member of our group he was by far the finest cameraman and editor out of the three of us . But unfortunately he left the school due to unforeseen circumstances. This really affected us since when we started the group we assigned each other to deal with issues of the day and other key things needed for the day . One of Ross’s jobs was to order 50 posters to paste behind the band to highlight the fact they were playing on the street and not a studio. Much to our happiness we found that it didn’t look as bad as we imagined it to be .
Another problem we faced was many people we cast dropped out the week before after much worry and anxiousness we sorted out a new cast but it wasn’t to a few days before the shoot day the drummer found that he had other commitments. Shocked we decided the best idea would to have me replace him , yet this would only leave Ben in charge on the day and even though he shined as a director he unfortunatly didn’t as a camera man . I asked as many drummers as I could . After many negative responses I asked a close friend and he agreed to step in a day before the shoot . I coached and pushed him as well as I could that evening and I think the results payed off as he put his best effort into it on the day and it really showed in post editing when I was able to pluck out a clip of a drum fill performed perfectly.
As we were travelling up to London we encountered many problems while filming. We had to try and set up a tripod in a space between the seats so we could get a clear view of each band member yet still retain a still as possible clip without it seeming to shaky. As I moved futher down the bus I had to mount the camera atop my shoulder to try and film people acting natural . Many shot I filmed were people really sleeping so this looked very real. As we approached our destination we parked right next to the venue ’02 Empire Shepherds Bush’ .A sign said right next to it , NO PARKING . We needed to be as close as possible to simulate the band getting off the bus and going back stage to their show. It was heavily raining which meant it was hard to get a clear shot of the venue.
Most of the clips we filmed in London , while being on bus and off it all worked really well . Our main intention was to give the pop video a documentary element. This was the band in what is seen to be a tour bus , travelling from gig to gig . In a sense ’Life on the Road’. The composition of actual shot mainly showed one band member at a time either sleeping , listening to music , and some completely bored. We thought these shots might not work since they might look too natural and just look like someone filming everyday bands . But with the music playing a nice montage of these are used to great effect.
One shot that really worked the best was the close up of the singer .This was mainly because he looked the most convincing person in the band through attitude , he knew the song the most and looks. Lip synching was easy since our singer knew most , nesrly all of the words . He also had the most charisma.
The shots that we filmed mainly did work but of course we had some shots that really did not . one particular one that didn’t was the scene of our band having an after party.This was based around on the idea of the groupies actually looking quite slutty and messed up . We wanted the party to seem wild yet realistic something I felt we did not achieve , the shots look to over acted . To me it looks as if a group of teenagers messing around in the back of a studio with fake alcohol ,and pretending to be really drunk by ‘trying ‘ to really wild . Unfortunaltley I had to use a shot but if you only see it as a very short clip then it doesn’t look as bad as it potentially could.
I think that the shoot turned out a lot better than I initially expected. When I first saw the set I didn’t like it but once we setup the band and had the music playing and cameras rolling I became reassured that it might work. The band looked quite realistic , this was my main worry as we had just replaced them and even the recent change of drummer worked . Not perfectly but again better than I though he would. The London scenes turned out exactly as I expected which was great to see . Overall I believe that despite all the problems we encountered as a group on the day we managed to work around and the video was done to the best of our abilitys.
