Production Meeting

Yesterday, Imogen and I met up to discuss the schedule for filming and to talk over any other ideas for the music video. We came up with a rough target for the actual filming of the video, and the dates of the screen tests I plan to carry out around the start of November. We also discussed more on costume and happenings that I want to include in the video.



Schedule/brainstorming



Slight change of plan

Deepest Shame vs. Michelle 

'Deepest Shame' was first composed as a freestyle rap entitled "Michelle". The track was first used in Plan B's 2008 short film Michelle, and this version features beat boxer Faith SFX. The version of "Michelle" that was used in ill Manors has some elements similar to "Deepest Shame", however for the album release, the song was re-written as more of a soul number, although "Michelle" is included on the deluxe edition bonus disc. "Michelle" was originally a freestyle rap, featuring an extended rap verse and no "Deepest Shame" chorus. 

'Michelle' is very similar to 'Deepest Shame', but is just a bit shorter and grittier. I want to use 'Michelle' rather than 'Deepest Shame' as it seems a little less pop/hip hop and more of a soul/grime/tribal song which fits better with my planned filming. 

To listen to 'Michelle', click below!

If you want to listen to 'Deepest Shame', click here.  

Now that I have completely decided that 'Michelle' is the right song for my video, I will not change my mind again and I do not feel it will set me back in any way or create any problems. It is the same song, just slightly different with the instruments that have been used which actually work better for what I am trying to portray so I am happy that I have found it!

Planning for filming

In order to try and get some inspiration for the types of scenes I want to include for this video, I listened to the song many times paying particular attention to the lyrics.

'This life has taught her she must pay...'

'I guess she only has herself to blame...'

'I've been walking alone this dirty road...'

'There's no way back from here...'

Obviously this is a very emotional song so I want to keep the shots deep but minimalistic. I think it would be important for this genre to not give too much away and go over the top. 

I recently watched Ed Sheeran's new music video for 'Give me Love' and found that it gave me a lot of inspiration for my project. The shots and angles from some of the scenes worked really well with the genre and I feel that I can gain ideas from it. I also love the actresses's costume. Have a look for yourself:

Camera Shot Ideas

Brainstorm of camera shots

Above is an image of some brainstorming I completed regarding camera shots for my music video. After looking, researching and analysing similar genre music videos, I came up with a few ideas. I know for certain that when the first beat of the song drops, I want an extreme close up of her eyes opening to look directly into the camera. Prior to this shot, I am only going to have subtle shots of the girl, with none showing her face as I want to add mystery and suspense.  I hope this will add some drama to the very opening of the video and set the scene of what is to be expected. But I will experiment on preliminary shoots and decide whta shot is most effective. I also know that I want a close up shot of her feet walking towards the camera and shots of her silhouette against the lighter background. Within the video, I was thinking of doing a long shot of the character standing with her back towards the camera, looking out to the view in front of her (look below for what I am thinking of).

Back to camera shot- opening

Prop List

Prop List for filming

As I am now preparing to start filming some scenes for my video, I am having to do some planning about content and what props I want to include. To fit with my genre and story, some props I definitely want are:

• Cigarettes
• Alcohol bottle
• Blanket
• Mobile phone
• Bag

As I was doing some research on YouTube I came across Plan B's music video to 'Playing with Fire', featuring Labrinth. I would love to have some fire in my music video but it is quite hard to do considering the safety hazards- will definitely look into it though! It would add to the atmosphere of my video and fits perfectly with the genre.

Colour Vs. Black and White

Which will be better? 

After watching various music videos, including Ed Sheeran's 'A- Team' which is edited in black and white and other videos which are in colour, I have decided that black and white will be more suitable for my video and story line as it will portray (I hope) vulnerability and deterioration. I hope it will also emphasise the character's colourless, dependent world that she has got herself into.

From watching the A Team video, it is clear to see that by editing the film in black and white, it adds sadness and emphasis to the character's bad state. This is exactly what I am looking to portray in my video so I think it would suit well. It also automatically adds darkness because of the lack of colour which connotates decay.

From watching this video, which is 'Time' by Chase and Status, it is of the same sort of genre as mine, but is edited in colour. I definitely think it works for this video, but for me, I do think black and white would have given it a more sinister and darker depth. This has helped me to fully decide that for my video I will edit it in black and white.

Time Management/ Health and Safety Power Point

In order to ensure I film and edit my footage within the timescale I have been given, I decided to make a power point with my planned dates to complete each job. It also made me think about the health and safety precautions I will have to take. It also benefited me as I thought about all of the shots I would like to complete, as well as the preliminary filming.

Time Management by alirosella