LAST AND FINAL FILMING

Today I shot the outdoor sequence with Jermaine, and thankfully the weather has been good all week, so Carmen's filming was a success as well.

The outdoor sequence with Carmen takes place at the start of the video, in which she is walking into the school gates and does not notice Jermaine standing there. This is the only shot in which both actors feature together. I originally wanted more shots of them together, but the whole situation with finding the right time and date came in the way. I used tracking shots to follow her walking into the dance studio, and various low angles and mid-shots to highlight the power of her character.

Jermaine's ethnicity plays a vital role in the narrative, as some of the shots disguise his facial features, and show merely an outline due to his dark skin tone. However this was the affect that I wanted to create so that the audience are slightly challenged and unaware of his identity, or characteristics. This is the complete opposite for the female character, as the audience really gets a sense of her personality through her dancing and appearance. This highlights the male character's inability to get close and personal with her, which brings up the idea of her existence.

The hidden identity of the male character may also question his existence, and the fact that he is really controlling the female character, and his walking could metaphorically symbolise him walking through her mind while she dances.

The many different interpretations of the narrative, I believe creates excitement and appeal, as people would want to watch the video over and over again to try and figure out the narrative.

UPDATE

I did not get the final filming done before the term was over, since both actors were still busy, I instead focused on perfecting the editing of the footage I had so far. This gave me a chance to really try and construct the video, so that I could plan exactly what shots I would need to create a narrative that works.

I spoke to Carmen during the holidays, and have organised and finalised to shoot her tomorrow. Since it is an outdoor shoot, I have to rely upon the weather being good, as if it rains we cannot shoot, and this is the only time that I will be able to.

In order to stick to the deadline, I will be editing after I film Carmen and staying after school the following day to finish her putting together her piece.

I will be filming Jermaine on Thursday morning, and will spend any free time editing and constructing the whole piece together, as this will be the last of the filming.

PROGRESS

It seems that I am encountering one too many problems of commitment within this coursework. I spoke to Jermaine-the male actor-a few days ago, and he also has the issue of commitment to this project. He said that he does not have any extra time to show up to the dates, that he confirmed he was free on.

Again, after speaking to him I told him that I would need him for one more day only. He did agree, but I am worried that he may not show up on that day. I will just have to keep reminding him and hope all goes well.

Due to this problem, it seems that I have to change my original narrative of the music video. Since I cannot secure a date and time with the actors for the drama hall sequence, I will just have to do with what I have got.

The chase sequence will no longer take place, and Carmen's character will now be the mysterious figure controlling Jermaine. Jermaine will now be walking around trying to look for Carmen, as she remains in her own world of fantasy as a dancer. The question of her existence will take place in Jermaine and the audience's mind.

The fact that the female character is more dominate out of the two, subverts conventions of the male authority. This will hopefully create excitement and challenge the audience into questioning the existence of the characters.

NO SHOW

I was hoping to film Carmen today, but she did not show up. After speaking to her later, she told me that she had other commitments. It was perfectly understandable as she too had exams and other priorities. And she was not gaining anything out of helping me, I understood that she would rather focus on other things.

However at the beginning of this process I made it clear that she should commit to any filming taking place, and that I would work around her schedule as well. At the time she was more than willing to compromise, but I think the stress and workload of an A Level student got to her.

This problem made me realise more about the real world of filming and production. And that these sort of problems come with the job. Ans since she is not a professional paid actress, this was bound to happen. The best that I could do was persuade her to do one last day of filming, as none of the outdoor sequence with Carmen was done. With the rest of the filming I was just willing to work my way around it.

EDITING

Today I dedicated my time to editing and piecing together the footage that I already have.

It gave me a chance to see if the shots I have taken work with the song. And after roughly piecing the footage together, I saw that the music worked well with the shots taken.

The opening shot will be zooming out of a sun and then a worms eye view of trees going by. This will establish the isolated outdoor setting. It will quickly cut to a close-up of Jermaine followed by a close-up of Carmen. This will establish all the main characters at the beginning and give the viewer a hint of what the video may be about.

I am currently working on adding transitions to get the action synchronous to the music.

FILMING

Today I filmed the male actor, Jermaine.

Unfortunately I did not have a lot of time as he showed up late, and therefore I had to rush some of my shots. As I was shooting outside, I was worried that it might rain, but thankfully it didn't so I was able to use the tracking equipment so get various different walking shots of Jermaine.

I will however still need to film the chase scene with Carmen, and she is busy herself at the moment, I will be arranging in the coming week.

OUTLINE OF VIDEO

The Music video is split into three different sequences.

The first sequence consists of Carmen walking into school for a dance rehearsal. She does not notice anything around her and acts as if she is in her own world. While she is walking inside the gates, Jermain is standing outside but she does not notice him.

The second sequence in the drama hall, involves Carmen dancing alone and all of a sudden gets distracted by someone sitting in the seat. As she runs up to the seat, Jermaine is gone. She then sees him walking out of the hall and runs after him.

The chase sequence takes place as she runs after him and ends up in an isolated forest-like area. Several point of view shots will take place as she looks up at the tall trees. She sees Jermaine standing at the tree, so Carmen runs to the tree but only to discover he may be a figure of imagination controlling her and telling her what to do.

I will be filming Jermaine tomorrow in the chase sequence, as he leans onto trees and walks around. Close-ups will be used in order to disguise his identity. I will need to make sure that my framing is right and that all shots in my shot-list are completed so that I am able to keep on track.