Shooting Schedule

Based on the video planner, we have been able to construct a shooting schedule for the video. This gives us precise information on which order to shoot the different scenes of the video in. It also gives us guidance on the props which we'll need to have with us for each scene.

Note: By 'page' we mean an A1 sheet of card that the camera will be zoomed in on, and it will form the whole of the background.

Video Planner

Now that the storyboard is completed, we have come up with an extensive plan of how we'll shoot our video. The video planner in the images below is how we plan on shooting the video:

Audience Feedback: Storyboard Edit

From the initial storyboards that we did (found further down this blog), we gathered some audience feedback. We wanted to ensure that our production was taking the right direction, for our target audience; fans of the folk/indie genre. One comment was, "The shots before the song plays seem unnecessary," and many people said words to this effect. Therefore, on our final, updated storyboard, we have removed the shots from before the beginning of the song, and the first shot (a close-up of the guitarist playing) co-ordinates with the beginning of the music, giving the video more of a 'kick'.

Furthermore, the previous storyboard had several sweeping shots from member to member, and following audience feedback, this is something we've decided to alter. People that we questioned were of the view that the sweeping shots would become less effective if we used them too often. Therefore, we have changed them to straight cuts, and will make use of different shot types and transitions in later stages of the video, for instance, we have a tracking shot of the drums at 1:24-1:28. 

Below is our final storyboard, including the adjustments we've made following audience feedback:

Storyboard

Here is an updated version of our storyboard:

As is evident, we have made a few alterations from the original draft. Instead of having several shots of each band member before the song kicks in, we've decided to adopt a more concise version; there will be a sweeping shot of all the band members to introduce them once the song begins. Therefore, the purpose of the shots is the same as before (to introduce the band members), but this way will be far more effective, as it will take less time as it will reduce the chances of the audience getting bored before the song even starts. We have still implemented the idea of an establishing shot of the dark room, but this time, the band members are already there with their instruments, and will appear in silhouette form. Once the first line of the song has been sung (0:14), there will be a mid shot of the drummer, who will throw a drumstick. A straight cut to the drummer then catching the stick in another setting (next to a whiteboard) concludes this stage of the storyboard.

Animation Experiment

Animation is certainly a feature which we are keen on intergrating into our production. The following clip bares no relevance to the idea we have in mind for our video, but it was simply an exercise to experiment with techniques, and I think it displays that we will be able to use this form (stop-motion) of animation in our video. Obviously, the drawings we be of much better quality in the production, but we just did this very quickly as a test.

Storyboard Idea

We've been coming up with some ideas as a group, and I've been trying to translate them onto a storyboard. The following image is the beginning of a storyboard which we've been creating.

The idea illustrated in this storyboard we have decided to alter slightly though, and a new version will appear on the blog once completed. We will still essentially be following a similar idea though; the dark establishing shot seen in frame 1 will be the same as shown, though it will also include the band members with their respective instrument, in silhouette form. However, we've realised that if we continue the trend we have started in this storyboard (a light flicking on, and cutting to the corresponding instrument, and then tracking the band member to their instrument) we will have at least 30 seconds of filming before the track even begins, which could become rather tedious. Therefore, we have altered the idea in the following fashion; we are going to already have the band member already positioned with their instruments, but we will still implement the idea of the light flicking on and then cutting to one of the members. Thus, the difference between the new idea and the one portrayed in the above storyboard are that rather than watching the band members walking over to their instruments and then getting into position, they'll already be there, which will reduce the number of seconds prior to the song beginning, and we think it will be more aesthetically pleasing too, and we provide a strong foundation to build on for when the song begins.

Belingo - Lonely Hearts

We have decided that 'Lonely Hearts' by Belingo (Elliot and George's band) is the song which we'll be creating a video for. We opted for this over 'Let Us Be Known' because we think that the recording quality of the former song is better. Also, we found thinking up potential scripts for a video to 'Lonely Hearts' far easier than for 'Let Us Be Known', and feel we will be able to utilise more techniques of film, as the song has a stronger running theme. An idea we are considering is using animation to project animated hearts onto blank canvases.

Main Product Planning: Flowchart of Stages

The brainstorm that we have created has enabled us to produce a flowchart of the actions which we will now follow closely:

EDIT: We have noticed that the creation of the storyboard is not mentioned in the flowchart. This, however, is the the very first stage that will come after we've decided upon the song and features which we'll include. 

Main Product Planning: Clothing

One of the uncertainties arising from the brainstorm was the appearance of the actors in the music video. As suggested in the brainstorm, I researched various stereotypical groups using the website http://www.uktribes.com/. However, I found that none of the 'tribes' completely reflected the genre we will be producing a video for (folk/indie), and rather, various 'tribes' each representing different components of the folk/indie genres.

Consequently, I have decided to adopt a different approach; I have looked at a number of bands in the folk/indie genres, and analysed the clothing they generally opt for. We will then be able to form a general appearance which we can use as an option for our video.

Here are some examples:

Mumford and Sons:

• Smart casual:
• Shirts
• Straight/bootcut jeans
• Two members wearing open waistcoats
• Chinos
• Casual blazers

Bombay Bicycle Club:

• Casual:
• T-shirts
• Shirts
• Cardigans/hoodies
• Jeans

This Town Needs Guns:

• Casual:
• Polo shirts
• Shirts
• Jeans
• Slip-on shoes
• Trainers
• Cardigans

Two Door Cinema Club:

• Smart casual:
• Open sports jacket
• Shirts
• Tie
• Waistcoat
• Jumper
• Smart trousers

Local Natives:

• Smart casual:
• Shirts
• T-shirts
• Cardigans
• Plimsoles
• Smart shoes
• Black skinny jeans

Main Product Planning: Brainstorming of Ideas

We have now completed sufficient audience and product research to begin planning our main product. Therefore, we have produced the following brainstorm which provides numerous ideas for our music video, and will begin form the foundations of it.