Filming Part 3

Today we filmed the parts of the narrative which are set in the present. This includes the army officer looking through secret documents as well as the secret agent catching him. The agents costume consisted of a suite and sunglasses as planned:





We also managed to obtain some more stills of the secret documents which we will be able to use of the digipack and band website. We made these by adding some of the previous stills we had of the army officer and helicopters to a document in "Army" style font:



We also filmed the opening sequence of the video which includes a man scattering petrol and then setting light to it to reveal the bands initials "BFMV". We managed to get a very good high angle shot by filming from on top of a grain silo.

Filming part 2

We have now filmed the majority of the indoor band shots required for our production, we decided to film inside the grain bin because this provided the most clear and flexible location.





For the lighting we used a series of portable flood lights which lit the location very effectively. we were also able to move them around for the purpose of capturing specific shots, such as the close-ups during the guitar solo.



One issue that arose was the lack of space, this ment that we didn't manage to capture any of the long shots we wanted however we feel that by using mainly mid-shots and close-ups in the first section we will be able to create a strong contrast with the long shots used in the second location. Since the second location is outside space should not be to much of a problem.



While we were filming we also captured a series of images on a HD camera, we will be able to use some of these for our digipack and website. We also began to take some promo pics of the band for the website and digipack however we are planning to do the bulk of these at another location.

Filming Part 1

Earlier today we began work on the production of the music video. We have begun by filming the scenes with the army officer killing the refugee in the past, this was shot in our outside location. We shot most of this in some woods close to our other locations. Below are some shots of the costumes we used:



For the officer's gun we managed to find a realistic looking Airsoft rifle. The refugee played by myself we used an old looking coat and hat:



Below is a shot of me preparing to film one of the tracking shots in the forest. For this part of the narrative we shared the filming duties since I was an actor for some of this scene.



Additionally we have taken some still shots which we will be able to put on the secret documents needed in the present section of the narrative. These will allow us to create some interesting transitions between the past and present by for example zooming into a picture which will then come into motion.



We were also very lucky to have an Apache helicopter fly over us while we were filming. We managed to capture some footage of it in flight which we will be able to use for part of the video. The stills we have of this will also be useful for the top secret documents.

Costume Ideas

To make our narrative and video appear authentic we will need to pay as much attention to the mise-en-scene as possible. One element which will affect the overall look of the video is the clothing which is worn by our characters. For each of the characters we have considered what they are representing and will attempt to acquire the most relevant clothing.

Army Officer

The officer is the main character is the main character so we will need to pay a lot of attention to his costume. For the present day scenes we were thinking of having him wearing what looks like casual military clothing, for example dark trousers and a green jumper. For the scenes of him in the past we have acquired an actual olive coloured military uniform, complete with hat and jacket:



Second Soldier

The costume for the first soldier will have to be similar to that of the officer but perhaps not as formal.

Hostage

Having him wear similar trousers to those of the soldier's will help imply that he is a captured soldier from the other side. A fairly worn out or tattered shirt will show that he has been held in poor conditions.

Refugee

This is probably the most difficult one to decide on however, fairly dark/ drown tattered clothes should give the right impression.

Agent

He will be wearing a fairly formal suite with sunglasses. This is highly stereotypical however this will make it easy for the audience to identify the characters role.

Band Members

The song is of the metal genre so the band will probably need to wear mainly black, possibly similar clothing to that of the actual band. However we will not make things to specific at this point.

Location Research

We have decided that all of the indoor locations should have either a militaristic or industrial feel to them. We have chosen this theme since it should suite the military based narrative well. The closest to this we have found for the performance that we can film in is a series of old farm buildings and grain silos, these should be able to provide sufficient space for the performance.




For the narrative we are planning to use somewhere with space for the necessary props such as the desk as well as somewhere with a relatively dull mise-en-scene. We have decided it will have to be quite run down looking because a modern looking office would detract from the central themes of our video. The mise-en-scene for the interrogation room will be similar to that of the “Office” however it will need to have a fair amount of space. The attention will be centred on the chair in the middle where the prisoner will sit. We have found some locations that may work with our narrative in a barn.



For the film we would clear the desk and include some kind of shelf or cabinet where the documents are filed.



We have decided that the outside location for the band should be somewhere in the open, this will mean that the band will be the centre of attention as well as making the for a more dramatic mise-en-scene than a practice room or garage. The best place we have found for this is an old airfield which is close to our other locations.




We have also considered filming in an open space such as a field, since I live on a farm it will be easy to get permission for locations such as this:




For the scenes where the soldier finds and kills the refugee we have will probably film in some nearby woods. I have one location close by location with a trail through the woods which will be useful for filming.



I will add more pictures when we have them.

Self Evaluation

We have looked back at the work done our blog so far and decided to evaluate our progress towards achieving the goals set out by the specification. We have given ourselves a level for each point in the planning and research area.

• Research into similar products and target audience-Level 3
• Organisation of actors, locations and props-Level 2
• Shot lists, layouts, drafting scripting or storyboarding-Level 4
• Time Management-Level 4
• Presentation of research and planning-Level 4
• use of digital technology or ICT in the presentation-Level 3
• Communication-Level 4

The average of these levels comes out at about 3.4, so we have decided that we are working at around a high level 3 or low level 4.

I think that the main thing we have fallen down on so far is the organisation of actors, locations and props. We do have plans for most of these areas; however we haven't specified them or done a great amount of detailed research.

Another area we need to work on is linking the research about past media products to the ideas we have come up with. This research will also need to linked to our target auidience and their needs. We will make an effort to improve our current posts so that we have catered for the whole of the specification.