Advanced Production - Group 2: OH - Reflection on Shoot (London)

When, Where and Who?

On Friday 13th November Brad, Freddie, Luca and I went up to London to commence our first official shoot for the music video. We got the train up to London Bridge and got off to walk down to the South Bank to shoot the first parts of our video. However when exiting the train it was clear that the weather wasn't good enough for the shoot so we had some food before continuing. However the weather took a turn for the worse and the shooting was delayed by another hour, and the battery on the camera was slowly running out. When it had cleared we continued to shoot the first parts of the footage from the skate park to Tate Modern. However after achieving some good shots the camera was running very low and we attempted to get as much done as possible however it was clear that we wouldn't be able to finish the video, so we finished the sequence and headed for the next train home.

Brad and Luca not looking happy at the prospect of bad weather

My Role

Throughout the day I took the role of the director and camera man as well as becoming one of the characters in the final part of the day. However I wasn't alone with Brad and Freddie both directing as well to help create the most imaginative piece possible on the day. Not only this but Freddie also took part in the filming with me to help make sure that every shot was both framed well and in focus.

Luca cheered up by the Starbucks lady

How useful was the shot list?

Bradley completed a shot list before we left to London with the help of both the storyboard and the animatic to help guide his judgement on what should be happening in each shot. But with the shot list it gave us a clear understanding of what had to be done during the day and gave us a checklist to tick off shots so that we could be as efficient as possible.

Brad praying for some good weather

What are your best shots?

The outstanding shot from the bunch taken from the day was probably the shot where Freddie, Luca and I all stood on this balcony in Tate Modern and Bradley slowly walked away from the camera. First off in a medium shot but with the long zoom lens on the camera it slowly both panned up and zoomed out to reveal the skyline of London. This was a good example of how we turned a negative round into a positive, with the zoom lens being at first a burden however played a key part in the success of the shot.

Freddie offering a 3rd person view on the shots

Any problematic shots?

Unfortunately as mentioned above, the zoom lens was a real inconvenience for a majority of the shoot. This meant that for simple over the shoulder shots it meant that the camera man had to stand a few meters away to even get the right framing which we wanted in the first place. However besides that I would say that the shoot was a success and there is still a lot of shooting needed to be done over the next week from the shoot in the drama studio to a repeat of the Bid borough Ridge shoot and the reshoot of the paint shots.