Shotlists for actors

I have produced some more detailed shotlists for the actors appearing in my music video. I will be printing out these sheets and handing them out before the main day of filming. This gives the actors a basic idea of the storyline, and where they appear in the video.

Action Plan and Deadlines

Main Task Deadline: Friday 28th January
Ancillary Task Deadline: 18th February

The main music video must be handed in by the 28th of January which gives me the Christmas holidays for more filming and editing at home. I have listed some more specific dates below. Now that I have completed the research and planning stage of my portfolio, I can start filming and editing footage.


Various filming and editing

Monday 22nd November - Friday 22nd January. Between these two dates I will be filming various parts of my music video, including time lapses and other tasks which I can complete on my own. I will also start the editing process as soon as I start filming and have some footage to play with.

Main day of filming

Monday 20th December. The main day of filming will be taking place on the 20th December. This gives me the whole day for filming purposes and allows me to organise the characters in my music video. During term time, there isn't enough time for a filming day as many of the characters have other commitments. There are also low lighting issues, whereas using a day during the holidays; I can film in lighter conditions during the daytime.

Editing

Editing will be taking place throughout, as i will be editing footage as soon as possible after filming. This allows me to save the project and return to it later when more filming has been done. I will be using Adobe Premier Pro and After Effects to edit my footage.

Ancillary Tasks

For the portfolio we are required to create two separate ancillary tasks after the completion of the practical work. I will be producing a digipak cover for my music video, where i need to design the cover using a template. I will be designing graphics using Adobe Photoshop from pictures taken on set. The second ancillary task is a choice between producing a double page spread from a magazine, or a website page promoting the music video. I have chosen to create a website as I am more experienced in this field.

Conclusion

Overall I am happy with the progress of my work and I will be trying to keep to deadlines and dates set in my action plan as well as possible.

Filming

I  have now completed all my research and planning and I am now ready to start filming. It will be taking place throughout next week, meaning that hopefully I can start editing the week after. I will be using both lesson and free time for filming purposes.

Actors & Costume Research

I am currently planning on the costumes and characters which i which will be featuring in my music video. The costumes are very simplistic and casual.

The postman - I will be aranging for a Royal Mail postman to appear in my music video. The first appearance willl be when the postman collects the letters from the postbox, and another postman will also appear when delivering the letter towards the end of the video.

Costume - Since I will be aranging for a Royal Mail postman to be in my music video, the costume will be the conventional and traditional Royal Mail uniform. This normally features a jacket with the Royal Mail logo, carrying a bag or on a bicycle.

Male Character - The male character in my music video is the first character which the viewer sees. This character could be considered as the main character as the first shot will be of this character sitting at a table. The character will be a 17 year old male. I am arranging for one of my friends to fill this part, so hopefully he will be available.  

Costume - The character will be wearing very casual normal clothes and puts on a coat when walking out onto the street outside the house. He will also be wearing jeans. Overall a very casual costume to reflect an average older teenage male today.

Narrative

Narrative in terms of music videos is the basic underlying storyline of the video itself. A philosopher called Tzvetan Todorov first described the narrative features, splitting them into five differant sections.

Stage 1
A state of equilibrium is defined.
 

Stage 2
Disruption to the equilibrium by some action or crisis.

Stage 3
The Character(s) recognition that there has been a disruption, setting goals to resolve problem.

Stage 4 
The Character(s) attempt to repair the disruption, obstacles need to be overcome to restore order.

Stage 5
Reinstatment to the equilibrium. Situation is resolved, a conclusion is announced.

This basic storyline can be reflected in most modern music videos we see today.

Copyright

Almost all popular music released today is protected by copyright from record labels. Copyright is designed to make sure that the artist of the song, gets the correct amount of money back from their music. I finally found a contact address and have written an email to Brushfire Records, the record label of Jack Johnson, requesting permission to use Breakdown by Jack Johnson on my music video. I am hoping for a response soon and Il will post the results here.

(Click for larger image)