Music Video Update

Based on some early audience feedback we have decided to change our original idea for the narrative of our Music Video.

The original narrative we had in place was seriously disliked by a considerable amount of our target audience after we asked them to comment on our current progress.

Instead we will now create a narrative around the idea of a "behind the scenes" story or journey as seen in a number of Rock music videos, most notably Bon Jovi Livin' On A Prayer, Def Leppard Pour Some Sugar On Me and Guns N' Roses Paradise City. This shouldn't be too much of a problem as we have a large amount of stock footage from MTV that we feel will easily work within our new narrative.

As a group we believe that by making this decision we will be able to create a video that will appeal to our audience far greater than our original idea and gain much more positive feedback.

Filming Update

Today we filmed our Music Video for Secret Sin with Raided By Waves at the MTV studios in London.

As a group we felt this went really well and we captured all the footage we needed. We only had three hours to film in the end but feel this was still enough for us to get everything sorted to a high standard that we are all happy with. We will now take our footage into school tomorrow to begin editing. 

Music Video Equipment

In order to make our video as authentic and professional as possible, whilst sticking to our Rock conventions we want to be able to use the best equipment available.

As a result of being able to film at the MTV studios in London we will also gain access to their equipment. We will be using their HD professional cameras which will help us to create a more high quality video as the cameras should be easy to operate and give us the best chance of capturing the footage we need , their lighting set up which we will be able to use to create our own lighting design for the video to help set the mood and tone, the dolly's for each individual camera which will enable us to capture a variety of shots as well as a vision mixer which means we will be able to line up different shots and practically edit on the go. We also plan to use the school iMacs to edit our finished video, we used these devices last year and are all comfortable with using them. Finally we also plan on taking a HDD with us to store our footage on and having a PA system set up in the studio so that we can play the song into the studio for the band to play along to when filming the video. We hope that as a result of all this we will be able to create the correct type of video for our genre as well as professional and realistic product.

Travel

Here is our planned route of travel during our filming day.

Address: 17-29 Hawley Crescent, London, Greater London NW1 8TT

Train Travel:

Overground train service from Bishops Stortford to London Liverpool Street (estimated around 40 minutes)

Circle line underground train service from London Liverpool Street (estimated around 3 minutes)

Northern line underground train service from Moorgate to Camden Town (estimated around 7-9 minutes)

Here are some images of the routes paths we will be taking:

It is important to know how we are going to get to MTV as to ensure we are not late and do not disrupt our schedule or shorten our filming process by not showing up on time.

Meeting 2

Today we once again met up with the band, Raided By Waves with the addition of Lucy just to go over the finalised details and plans for the set up day and the filming day at MTV next week. We were able to discuss shot lists and finalised concept for the video, confirm costume and arrange travel. As a group we felt this short meeting was extremely useful as it now means that everyone is aware of what is going to be taking place when it comes to filming, James has also be able to contact a make-up artist who will be helping out on the day of filming. This is useful as it betters our chances of creating an even more professional video.

Music Video Risk Assessment

Just like in our Preliminary Task, I decided to write a Risk Assessment for the filming of our Music Video.

Location - Travelling to and across London to MTV

Risk - Could get lost or get attacked, hit when crossing roads

What we can do to reduce the risk - Always have someone on standby with a mobile phone in case of emergency and ensure we take a map with us so incase we get lost we can easily recalculate our route accordingly. Watch out for traffic when crossing roads.

Location - MTV Studios

Risk - Fire

What we can do to reduce the risk - Make sure that we know where all the fire exits are and are briefed about the companies fire drill policy. Always have someone on standby with a mobile phone in case of emergency.

Location - MTV Studios

Risk - Tripping over something, or falling over.

What we can do to reduce the risk - Remove anything within the studio that might cause a trip hazard such as lose cable. Always have someone on standby with a mobile phone in case of emergency.

Location - MTV Studios

Risk - Possible electrocution from equipment

What we can do to reduce the risk - Make sure all equipment as being fully tested and is in full working order. Always have someone on standby with a mobile phone in case of emergency.

It is important to wary of any risks involved when we go to film at MTV. I believe this Risk Assessment will certainly help us to remain safe whilst on our way to MTV and whilst filming.

Music Video Weather Report

Fortunately we will be inside for the duration of our filming. This means that we do not need to worry about the weather and as a result of this a weather report will not be needed. However, if this situation does change and we do decided to do some filming outside I will post a weather report accordingly.

Music Video Props

There are a number of props we plan to include within our Music Video, these are;

Instruments such as Guitar, Bass and Drums for the band to play during the video for the performance of Secret Sin.

Microphone with stand for James to sing the lyrics of the song into when performing.

Amplifiers for the band to plug their instruments into as well as helping the video look more authentic and Rock as a result. 

Headset and clipboard for Lucy to make her more realistic in her role as a sound/runner girl.

All of these props will be important in creating a professional and realistic video as each of them are either vital parts of the performance or narrative.

Music Video Actors

The actors we will be using for our video will be the band Raided By Waves themselves (James Bennett, Charlie Caine and Navid Asghari as well as Lucy Maylin who will be playing the role of our sound/runner girl.

James Bennett - Lead Singer

Reasons for choosing the band are simple; they wrote the song and are natural performers who have previous experience of shooting a music video so know what to expect and how to conduct themselves. They will also be important in the creation of a authentic and professional video.

We chose Lucy because she fits the criteria we are looking for in the sense that could be considered as a typical "Rock chick", she is also model who has experience of being in front of the camera which will be useful when shooting the video, not only this but she also has a variety of tattoos which helps stick to stereotypical imagery associated with women within the Rock genre. Again we hope that Lucy will help us to create a more realistic and professional video as a result.

Music Video Costume

In order for our artist/actors to present themselves authentically the Mise en Scene and type of clothing that each member of the video wears is very important. We plan to dress our band members in mostly black, this fits into the title of the song "Secret Sin" insinuating there is something to hide and to compliment the overall dark theme we are going for within the video. Not only this but modern Rock bands such as Green Day, Foo Fighters, Lost Prophets and Nickleback are often seen sporting black coloured attire during music videos and live performances such as t-shirts, ripped jeans and vests. We also plan to dress Lucy in a black with addition of black boots and a sleeveless top to show off her tattoos as we feel this an effective way of portraying her as the "Rock chick" runner girl we are trying to create.

As the video is indoors the band will be seen black t-shirts, perhaps with some form of logo or insignia on as this is popular within Rock, dark skinny jeans as well as black shoes such as vans, converse or boots as these items of clothing are all extremely popular among modern Rock bands not only this but the bands fans and audience members will be able to relate to these choices of costume especially items such as skinny jeans and vans as a lot of them will often wear the same thing. We also plan to dress one of the band members in a scarf as this is something that represents "classic" or "old school" Rock and can be seen being worn by the frontman of the video for Bon Jovi Livin' On A Prayer.

Music Video Script

The script for our music video is lyrics of the song, Secret Sin;

Let's not make an announcement

Can we make this thing brief?

Let's take things just a step at a time

and see where it might lead

I'll run and close all the curtains 

Ensure no lights let in

Hide away from the spies of the day

And live our secret sin

I'll stop the clocks from ticking 

Freeze the earth in it's place

Chase away the night from the day

So I can longer see your face

We'll watch others every move

Bathe in every breathe

I'll fall asleep to the sound of your voice

In love we will remain

Chrous

I'll fight your corner when you've been beaten 

Take all the weight when life gets to heavy

Do whatever it takes just to make you smile

I won't let life defeat you

And sometimes the road is rough

Just remember one thing on those cloudy nights

You will always have my love

Love has refracted a tear in my eye 

And now the world around me is gold

Thoughts of you have taken over my mind

I think of how you grow old

we'd live off our laughter and smiles

Build a life within a wall of happiness

and never once see a cloud

Chorus x2

Music Video Shotlists

Here is a sample of the shot lists we plan to take with us on October 23rd when we plan to film our video at MTV. We have created a master shot list which contains every shot we plan to capture as well as timings and a small description about what the shot consists of. We also created a separate shot list for each band member and the different shot type as we felt this was an effective way of staying organised and in control of what shots we needed on the day and how we wanted them executed.

Master Shot-list

Music Video Lighting And Camera Positions

We drew up where we thought best to position the cameras on the day of filming to capture the best shots as well how many lights we want to use and where to focus them. Here is a copy of what we drew up;

This will very useful when going to MTV to film as we will have an idea about the sort of lighting we want, we will be organised in relation to where we want the cameras and should help to make us efficient on the day in capturing all the footage we need and capturing it to a good quality standard.

Music Video Storyboard

Here is a storyboard for Secret Sin. We drew up all of the shots we want to include within the video and organised them in order of how we want them to appear within the video. This took several hours, but as a group we believe that this was a vital part of planning for our video. 

We also created our shot list in video format as we felt this was a useful way of piecing together what our video would look like;

As a result of this we believe that this storyboard will help us keep track of the shots we have and still need when filming. It will also help us with the concept of the video and the planning of certain shots. Overall I believe this will help us to create a more professional video and help keep us on track on the day of filming. 

Filming Schedule

The scheduled filming day for our music video is October 23rd which was agreed during our meeting with MTV last month. We are being given several hours to film in the hope that we can get all we need in one day. I have decided to draw a mini schedule for the plans and arrangements for day:

12:00 - Arrive at MTV studios with band

12:15 - Sort out costume and make up, make sure cameras are working and lighting is all sorted

1:00 - Start filming

2:30 - Break

3:00 - Continue filming

4:30 - Break

5:00 - Finish up filming

5:20 - Pack up equipment

6:00 - Leave 

I hope that by creating this schedule It will help to give us a better idea of timings and what we're meant to be doing and when. This will be useful when trying to sustain good time management on the day as it could get very busy. I also hope this will help us to remain professional and give us the best chance of capturing all the footage we need.

Meeting 1

Today wet up with James and Charlie from Raided By Waves to talk to them and in form them of our current ideas relating to the music video for Secret. This was also a good opportunity to introduce each other to one another so that when it comes to filming we aren't complete strangers and will be able to work effectively together as a result. As a group we feel the meeting went well and and we look forward to continuing our research and planning for the video and will arrange to meet up with the band again once our decisions for the video have been finalised.

Music Video Location

The location for our Music Video is the MTV Studios in London. Here is there address:

17-29 Hawley Crescent
Camden
London
NW1 8TT

We will be using their studio on the 22nd and 23rd October to set up and film our video. This choice of venue will help us to create the video that we are aiming to produce as well as the ability produce a more accurate and professional video as a result.

Meeting With MTV

After contacting Phil Goulden, Josh's cousin through Facebook we were able to set up a meeting with him and MTV to pitch our music video proposal to them in the hope that we could potentially use their studio as our location and their equipment to film our video. Here is a copy of our proposal:

We travelled down to London Liverpool Street on the train and then made our way to Camden Town station via the tube arriving around 1:30pm with our meeting at 2. We then had a small tour and were shown the studio where we were able to take some photo's for planning purposes. I also took my iPad with me as I had a copy of all our notes and questions to ask. This was also useful when writing down information given to us by MTV themselves. 

 

Our meeting was a successful one and as a result we have now gained permission to use MTV's studio in Camden. We will be filming on October 23rd and have also been given permission to set up the day before. We now plan to contact the band letting them know the situation and plan accordingly. We are extremely pleased with this outcome as we believe it will give us a greater chance of creating a more professional video.

Music Video Initial Plan

I decided to create a post about the initial plan for our Music Video. The plan contains our current narrative and performance choices as well as the shot types we wish include within the video. Here is what we have come up with so far;

We plan to build on this in the very near future and once complete we will create a full shot list and storyboard and begin taking into consideration a variety of other important factors such as costume, lighting, equipment and props as well as much more. This again will be useful in the evaluation stages of the course.

Music Video And Digipack Ideas

Recently as we are in the process of coming up with a list of thoughts and ideas for our music video I have made a list of what we could include or use during both the performance and narrative aspects of our Rock music video, here is what I have come with so far;

I have also done the same for our Digipack; 

This will be useful to look at for inspiration and when deciding on our final ideas for the Music Video and Digipack. This will also be helpful during the evaluation stages of our coursework.