Filming taster day in Brigg- Glee's Don't Stop Believing.

On the 12th of July 2016 our media class ventured into Brigg near the River Ancholme for a practice of filming a music video. On the day we gathered in out classroom at 1:15 and then went out into Brigg. Each group had a camera with a tripod and a storyboard we have prepared in the previous lesson. After arriving at the location each group set up their camera and decided what angle that wanted their first shot to be and we filming commenced. During the session we all got chance to have a go at singing into camera and actually filming somebody else.

On our practice filming day in Brigg we used a range of shots and group sizes in the shots. This adds variety into the video and makes it more interesting. Also we learnt thing so to do during filming for example zooming in and out whilst filming as it reduces the quality of the clip.

During our video of Glee's cover of 'Don't Stop Believing' we tried to create an accurate representation of teenagers due to that being the target audience for the song. We closely chose our locations for certain lines of the song. For example the image on the right is for the line 'hiding somewhere in the night' due to the shot showing two people under the bridge. We also chose this location to the pattern of the triangles in the background due to showing texture and making the shot more interesting.

The song starts by a male singing 'Just a small town girl living in lonely world, she took the midnight train going anywhere'. So for the lines we chose to stand our male model again the railing so you can see the river behind him. If i were to create this shot again i would of had the model looking into camera due to this being a convention of a music video.

The song then changes to the first female singing 'Just a city boy, born and raised in South Detroit, he took the midnight train going anywhere'. So the shot then changes to the female model singing, but to change the shot the female is sat down against the river to change the scene to keep it interesting. Here again I would change the direction given to the model and get them to look into camera whilst singing to abide by conventions. On our filming day for our video we need to make sure our directions are as clear as they can be due to the models we are using may be nervous which may effect how they preform.

We decided to use some larger group shots to make variation of the shots. By doing this it is creating a more interesting range of shots that will keep the audience more entertained. Also for the purpose of our practice filming day it made sure that everyone had a chance at filming, directing and taking part which is useful that everyone has had this experience so we have more advice that we can give to our artists when we create our video.

We then used a range of different shots to complete the music video. These shots were all taken from the other end of the river to where the first shots were taken. Changing location makes the backgrounds of the scenes more interesting. And also due to using different groups of people the change in location makes in make much more sense then using the same location for every group.Overall I feel that the overall experience of the day was a useful and will help massively for the planning and production of our music video's.

From the day I have gained an understanding of the amount of time it could take for us to actually shoot one line of a song. From this I have learnt that on our filming day we need to be as organised as possible to make sure everything we need filming gets filmed in the time we have provided as it will be easy for us to get behind task. Another important aspect I learnt from the filming day is that actually being filmed in the music video is a nerve-racking experience so we need to try and make it as easy for our artist as possible. Before we decide on our filming day I feel we should arrange a meeting with everyone who is featuring in our video and telling them of everything we expect on the day and just to inform them of what to expect and how to prepare themselves. I also feel that organisation is a key aspect that is going to lead our video to success. Planning for our filming day is needed so that we make sure no part of the video is missed out.

Other aspects to check is that the sound system we decide to use actually works. On our practice filming day the sound system was very temperamental which effected the smoothness of the filming experience. This could be avoided by checking prior to filming that all our equiptment is working and have a back up plan incase our first piece goes wrong. Also making sure that the actor knows the words perfectly and can sing in time to the song due to this making the editing process easier for us later on. But overall I thoroughly enjoyed our practice filming session and found it very useful. I also look forward to starting to create our music video after the summer.