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.

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.