SO FAR NOT SO GOOD...

I uploaded my footage of the dance sequence and realised my framing in a couple of shots is not good. I also noticed my tracking shots are not as steady as I wanted them to be. I may have to re-shoot a few shots but it will be difficult due to the lessons and rehearsals in the drama hall.

I also spoke to my male actor today to see if he was free any time soon, so that I could shoot my outdoor sequence. However he told me he is unable to commit to this project as he has other responsibilities. I have already shot a lot of footage of him already, but the main sequence was yet to be done and it was vital that he was apart of that as well.

I had no option but to cast another male actor. I spoke to a friend called Jermaine who was willing to act for me. I gave him the outline of the video and also showed him the song and existing video so he knew exactly what concept I was trying to capture. Clothing is very important as my actors have to be dressed in the right way in order to portray the personalities of the characters.

Since my last male actor's clothing was not that appropriate, this gave me a chance to re-shoot scenes with Jermaine and appropriate clothing consisting of a suit, tie, hat and black shoes.

I will speak to Carmen about shooting the outdoor sequence and some of the dance sequence again.

FILMING

I did a significant amount of my filming today in the drama hall.

My female actor Carmen is also a professional dancer, so I filmed a dance sequence in a majority of different angles.

My teacher talked to the drama technician, who sorted out a spotlight for me.

First of all I took an establishing shot of the empty drama hall, and will create this to be a point of view shot coming from Carmen. I used the tracks to create a shot that follows her through the hall. I did find it a little difficult to use the crane, but in the end I got a long distance crane shot of her dancing and will intertwine that will several close-ups and mid-shots.

PLANNING OF FILMING

I have spoken to my female actor today about filming some of her scenes tomorrow.

It is important that her clothing is right to depict her character, who sees herself as an individual and in esentially in her own world. So she will be bringing in a dress and high heels for the outdoor shots. This will emphasise her sexual appeal, and that she is an untouchable character, who has an affect upon the opposite sex.

As the main focus of the filming tomorrow is the dance sequence in the drama hall, she will be bringing in a leotard, black tights and red ballet shoes to dance in.

I wanted to use a spotlight so that the dancing looks more artistic and highlighting the idea of fantasy. One of my teachers may be able to arrange a spotlight with the drama technician.

I will be doing the female actor's make-up and hair and I will come in early to organise the layout of the drama hall.

I am very much prepared to film as I have created a storyboard and shot list. However in terms of time-management I do not believe I will get everything filmed to tomorrow. I do not want to rush my filming and want to get as many angels as possible, so I will take my time and hopefully organise another date if any filming is left over.

The weather may be an issue as it might rain, so in terms of the outdoor filming it may not be possible to film if it does. This is because I have already filmed the motif and symbolism shots of the leaves and the lighting will not be the same if it rains too heavily. I believe that I am on track and will hopefully be able to produce some good footage tomorrow.

FILMING

Before the half-term, I started filming some scenes and shooting one of my actors. It was successful as I got a variety of different camera angles.

The main focus was to get several shots of the background scenery e.g. trees blowing and leaves falling. The background is important as it reflects the character's mood, so I used a worms eye view of the camera looking up towards the trees. I am trying to create as much movement as possible, so that the video is appealing to my target audience.

I did face a few difficulties with clothing as the male actor was supposed to wear a hat to cover his face but he did not bring one in. There was also an issue with the clothing, as I had thought of something more formal. I did however shoot many Close-ups, so I might be able to get away with the clothing issue for now.

I have organised another date to shoot the female character and since all filming will be taking place within the school grounds, there will not an issue of getting permission beforehand.

My teachers are aware of my shooting schedule, and know when I will require equipment such as the tracks and crane.

SCREEN TEST

I am currently storyboarding my music video and casting characters for it as well.

I decided to do a screen test with the cameras so that I am able to see what people are like on camera.

This also gave me a chance to re-familiarise myself with the equipment and importing onto the computer.

The song that I will be doing a music to is; Jem-'They'. For this video I will need a main female and male character.

After the screen test I have decided who I thought was appropriate for this video, and represented the ethos of the character, and therefore I am now able to storyboard a narrative based on my actors.

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH

Recently ATO Records parted ways with Sony BMG and are now distributing through RED, which is a Sony Music Entertainment-owned sales and marketing division that handles releases for roughly 46 independent record labels.

Sucessful RED acts include Los Lonley Boys, Young Buck, Mark Ronson and Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.

Founded in 1979 as mainly a hard rock music distributor called Important Record Distributors, which originally released Metallica's first two LPs in the US. It became RED Distribution by the '90s and changed to RED - An Artist Development Company in 2007.


Apart from ATO, other labels also distributed byRED include; New West Records, Warlock and Cashville Records.

INSTITUTIONAL RESEARCH: ATO RECORDS

The artist whose song that I am going to be making a music video for is, a Welsh singer/songwriter known for her eclectic music stylings.

Jemma Griffiths AKA Jem, is influenced by a number of genres including reagge, hip hop, soul, dance music and classical music.

Jem moved to America in 2002 where she got a record deal with ATO Records which was founded in early 2000 by Dave Matthews, Coran Capshaw, Chris Tetzeli and Michael McDonald as a division of RCA Records. ATO Records is based in New York City and currently distributes its records through Sony BMG.

ATO Records currently represents a diverse group of artists. The mission of ATO Records is to fully develop each artist and each release with sufficient time and attention. According to the official website, "there is no timeline, but there is a plan to build the label on the quality of the musicians."

Other than Jem, other successful mainstream artists signed to this record label also include David Gray and Radiohead.