Evaluation of filming Day 2:

For the second day of filming in Cornwall we filmed on a beach (the second location) as the vast, open space could be used to portray isolation, which would reinforce the lyrics of the song. I checked the weather the night before and it was suprisingly a lovely clear sunny day which enhanced the cheerful atmosphere of the shots. We only filmed a few shots today as we had a limited amount of space left on the SD card and we had already filmed the majority of the shots on the first day of filming. We started filming at about 10:00am and we were finished by 11:30am as the shots went smoothly because I had looked at my storyboard before hand and decided on all of the shots we needed to capture.

The beach was deserted, which was good as we could experiment with different shots without getting lots of people walking in the background, however there were quite a few dogs who almost made Alex's costume very wet and sandy! I decided that we needed mostly close up shots of Alex lip syncing today as I had captured a lot of long shots yesterday, my favourite shot that we filmed today was an over the shoulder shot of Alex sitting in the sand dunes, as the sun was shining and the wind was blowing through her hair, which gave the shot depth and authenticity while also reinforcing the care free atmosphere I want to portray in the music video. If I were to improve the production stage of this project I would definately check how much space I had left on the SD card and upload the footage on to my laptop if there wasn't enough memory, luckily we had filmed all of the shots we needed when the camera alerted us that the SD card was full.

Evaluation of filming Day 1:

Today was our first day of filming on location in Cornwall. I chose to film in Cornwall as I am familiar with the county, (we live in Oxfordshire but will be on holiday in Cornwall during the half term break which is when the filming has to take place) and I think the rugged landscape and picturesque beaches will make a perfect back drop to the music video. The rural imagery will amplify the lyrics which are focused around nature, and I want to portray the artist as an active, outdoor character who gets inspiration from the world around her.

The first day of filming was mainly done in a woodland area; I chose this location as the colours of the leaves are so vibrant at this time of year which will look beautiful in the background of the shots. I also chose the wood as it has a river running through it which I incorporated into various shots; thus portraying the tranquil, reflective atmosphere that I want in my music video.

I looked at the weather forecast the day before to check that the weather was going to be nice - unfortunately the British weather is very unpredictable (especially in the Autumn) so what I thought was going to be a clear, sunny day was actually a grey, cloudy day but no one can control the weather so I just got on with the filming. We started filming in the wood at around 2:00pm when the rain was just clearing so I managed to film a variety of shots (mainly with the artist lip syncing) within the trees and around the river when it was clear sky. My ultimate goal was to portray a picturesque, sunny location with rays of sunlight streaming through the trees, however I only managed to get a few seconds of sun so I am worried that some shots may be too dark. We left the wood at around 5:00pm (as it was starting to get dark) so I managed to record lots of footage.

Overall I thought it was a very productive day, as we managed to achieve a lot. I found the camera equipment easy to use, as I hadn't used them for a while so I had to familiarise myself with the camera and tripod. I was the only camerawoman, however my Dad took photos of the filming process and he also recorded the 'behind the scenes' footage on a small Flip camera which was helpful as I can use it to document the day. In terms of health and safety we all wore suitable clothing (coats and wellies!) as it was chilly and very muddy in the woods. This meant that Alex's initial costume had to be altered as we had originally planned for her to wear sandals and a dress, however this would have been a health risk due to the mud and tree roots which she could have caused her to trip, so instead she wore wellies, tights, a dress and a leather jacket. This outfit was practical and comfortable yet still attractive as we wanted her appearance to appeal to the target audience.

I was very impressed with Alex as she had learnt her lyrics off by heart, she never got distracted and she followed instructions which meant all of the takes went smoothly and we very rarely had to reshoot. To make sure she sang in time, she recorded her song on to her phone and then played it back while the phone was in her pocket which worked really well. I am really pleased with the shots we filmed today as Alex acted the part and got into the role of the artist, therefore the shots look really professional. We only have a few more shots to film of Alex lip syncing on the beach which we will film tomorrow as it is meant to be nice weather.

Here is a short video depicting behind the scenes footage of our first day filming (filmed by my Dad and edited by me)...

Sunrise animation test shot

This is a shot of the animated sunrise I would like to use at the beginning of my music video. I created it using iStopmotion software, which is basically like taking a photograph of the image and then moving it a millimetre for every frame. I originally wanted to use paint on glass to depict the rising sun, however I decided that this would be too complex and time consuming, so instead I used black card for the silhouetted trees and coloured card for the sun. I copied the image from my own footage of a sunrise, I then drew it on to the card and then cut the shapes out, however they weren't intirely accurate, so an improvement next time would be to increase the accuracy of the animation so it's almost identical to the real footage. In my final music video I would like the sunrise animation to dissolve into the real life footage of a sunrise.



I managed to get the animation done in an hour after a few practise shots, which was a real achievement as we filmed about 10 seconds of footage, which needed a lot of planning. I am really pleased with the outcome of both my animations (the shuffling letters and sunrise) and I think they will add a unique, creative, dynamic angle to my music video. I particularly like the way the clouds and birds move around in the sky to make the story more authentic. I think this sunrise animation will successfully introduce the light hearted, cheerful, optimistic atmosphere of the music video, while also introducing the dominant theme of nature; all of which follow the typical conventions of indie/acoustic music videos.

Letter animation test shot

This is a practise video of the letter animation I want to use for a section of my music video. It features a collection of letters (which I cut out from a magazine) in a group and gradually they move and spell out different words which illustrate the lyrics of the song (But only the end words of different lines of the song, e.g. 'Different', 'Wrong', 'Listen' and 'Song'). This is one of the first times I used stop motion animation and I found it extremely interesting and quite easy to utilize the software, as I simply had to move the letters a few centimeters and take a frame by pressing the number '3' button on the keyboard as I captured 3 frames per second.



I am really pleased with the final outcome of the test shot, as it evokes a quirky and creative style which reinforces the Indie conventions of my music video. However I'm not sure about the ending of the clip as it appears as if it cuts half way through - it isn't finished properly. Ideally I should of had all of the letters fall off of the white background, but I think I'll just cut the footage so it ends when the word 'Song' is on the screen.

 I am planning to film the sunrise animation next week, so I am preparing for this by cutting out different coloured card which I will use to depict silhouetted trees and a sun rising up behind the trees. I have decided to make the sunrise out of coloured orange, red and yellow card as I thought it would be more time efficient than using paint.

Sunrise test shots

These are a few test shots of a sunrise I've filmed to try to give an idea of how my music video will begin. I would like the beginning to feature an animation of a sunrise (similar to the sunrise animation at the start of Coldplay's Every teardrop is a waterfall) and then there will be a transition to a real life shot of a sunrise. I have taken seperate shots of the same sunrise at different stages of rising, the first one is when the sun is lowest in the sky, the 2nd and 3rd shots are when the sun is higher in the sky. The test shots were taken in a similar location to the one I am using for my music video.



Test shot 1: I like the way the sun's rays are bursting out from behind the cloud, which evokes an optimistic feeling for the beginning of my music video, thus reinforcing the light-hearted style of typical Indie music videos. I also like the church tower in the background of the shot, however I think the foreground of dense trees is a bit dull, I would prefer a far reaching vista. The camera work is quite shakey, but I could try to edit the footage to get a smooth shot.




Test shot 2: The composition of this shot is much more effective as the two trees frame the sun on each side, which draws the viewer's attention towards the sun rise. The sky is also clearer so the sun is brighter and more vivid. In terms of animation this shot would work well as I could use black card to depict the silhouetted trees in the foreground and in the back ground I could use paint in various colours (orange, yellow, red, pink) to display the gradual rising of the sun.




Test shot 3: This is my favourite out of all the shots, as I like the strong foreground of the plants with the droplets of dew sparkling in the sun. However I will edit out the car going past on the road in the middle-ground. This shot reinforces the typical Indie conventions as it places a strong emphasis on nature, which occurs in many Indie/Acoustic videos I've analysed. I wanted the style of this shot to emulate the beginning shots of Ben Howard's Old Pine music video as he walks through a field as the sun is rising and there are beautiful close ups of orange rays shining through the grass.

Creating the animation

This screen shot displays the iStopmotion software which I used to create my letter and sunrise animations. It was simple to use and navigate; firstly I opened a new project then I set the recording mode to capture 3 frames per second (which is on the right hand side of the screen), after which I linked the camera to the computer and positioned the image I wanted to animate in front of the camera. Then I moved the position of the image a few millimeters at a time and pressed the number '3' button on the keyboard to capture 3 frames. To ensure the animation was as smooth as possible I only moved the image a tiny amount per click of the button. Once I finished creating the animation, all of the frames should be displayed on the timeline at the bottom of the screen, to play the sequence you simply press the space bar or click the 'play' button.

Animation inspiration

Pixilation- is a stop motion technique where actors or objects are used as a subject taken frame by frame in an animated film. This is created by; the actor/object posing while one or more frames are taken and the actor or object changes pose slightly before the next frame. This technique is often used to blend live actors with animated ones in a film, e.g. The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb by the Bolex Brothers.

I would like to include a short section of stop motion animation within my music video. The main part will be the animated sunrise at the beginning during the intro to the song with the sun rising above the countryside; the sky changing colour from an inky blue dawn to an amber then sunny yellow morning, and the birds flying in the sky. I have discussed this idea with a professional animator and we think this will work best either using paint on glass or cutting out a drawing and moving it. I also want to do a section of animation using letters cut out from newspapers or magazines and spelling out the main words in the lyrics to illustrate the message of the song. I have already experimented with this technique using wooden blocks with letters on them, and it worked really effectively. Here are some animation videos which I have used for inspiration.

This video was written and directed by Andrey Shushkov, inspired by the legendry animator, Lotte Reiniger and Anthony Lucas's 'Jasper Morello' Film. I like the use of the silhouetted characters and objects which evoke a dark, slightly gothic feel. I think the smooth movement of the animation makes the film very realistic and life-like. I would like to create an animation of a landscape with trees silhouetted by a sun rise at the beginning of my music video, so I will experiment with cutting out trees from black card and maybe painting a sun rising behind the trees.



This Coldplay music video is one of my favourites as it utilises stop frame animation in a creative way which doesn't distract the viewer from the band. Instead not only does it illustrate the lyrics of the song but it amplifies the message of the lyrics in an artistic and (at times) humourous way. The animation is in a spray paint/graffiti style which portrays the quirky conventions of the Indie music genre. I like the way the animation flows seamlessly into the real life shots and the way the editing of the animation - particularly the transitions (cuts) - fits in time with the harsh beat of the music. I would like to use a similar shot of the animated sunrise at the beginning of the video in my own music video using paint or a cut out drawing as I really admire the use of colours and the optimistic connotations that starting a brand new day has.

Shot log

Risk assessment form for filming

Call sheets

Music video shoot schedule

Costumes, props and locations

This is a powerpoint presentation displaying photos of the costumes, props and locations I will utilise within my music video, plus explanations about why I've chosen them and how they reinforce the genre of my music video.

Costumes, props and locations from Jessie Williams

Music Video Storyboard