Filming Day Overlook: Day 4- Liverpool 1890's & Present Day

Today we filmed in Liverpool. Soon I'll post today's Vlog showing you how things were like behind the scenes but in this quick overview I'm just going to talk about how I think the day went.

So we started by going down to Saltney Street which is close to the old docks and industrial buildings that made up Liverpool's info-structure in the Victorian times.

We started at 9:00 am and after meeting up with everyone and getting changed we started blocking out the scene and begun filming.

Overall I think the 1890's segment went very well. It was a challenge to figure out proper choreography and to match that with the lip syncing to a high enough quality of the other time periods. 

I think this section went very well considering the time we put into it. 

And after looking over the footage again it's clear it is and won't be in need of any re-shoots in the future.

After 1890 was filmed we had lunch and made our way down to the Albert Docks, by the Echo Arena where at night we filmed the final time period of the video.

This single shot (As seen below) was very well done and I am quite proud of the framing we achieved with the wheel silhouetting me in the background before I put on my hood and move on.

(We unfortunately haven't had the chance to include the Present Day section to the final video but above is a GIF I have made of the independent section)

Vlog: Filming Day 4- Behind the Scenes (Liverpool)

Today's Footage

0:00- 1890

1:27- 1930

1:50- 1950

2:22- 1970

Last minute Schedule changes

Unfortunately the Pocket Watch I owned has been misplaced and we only realised this on our filming day intermission yesterday.
So we quickly sorted out getting our hands on an new one  and while we wait for postage, I made adjustments to the timetable.
With Moreton (1930 & 1970) being refilmed we have time to edit and plan what further improvements could be made.

Here is the new schedule for filming (Due to the Christmas Holidays and January Collage Mocks it has been hard to plan for days in the week to meet up)

Wednesday 28th of December- Liverpool 1890's & Present Day
Saturday 7th of January- Moreton Re-shoots
Saturday 14th of January- Green Screen Day
Saturday 21st of January- Moreton 1970's & Green Screen Day

Filming Day Overlook: Day 3- Moreton 1970's & 1930's Re-shoots

Today my group and myself re-filmed both the 1970's & 1930's segments that we decided needed redoing.
1970 went very well and I was able to work on the performance and lip syncing a lot (However there are one or two establishing shots we feel could be redone but sadly ran out of time to do them today so we plan to spend only a quick re-visit later on to finally finished this segment.)

However I felt like the 1930 segment could be greatly improved if we tried to re-film the entire section and try to improve the lighting and lip syncing.
This also gave us the opportunity to make a last minute adjustment to the costume by adding large glasses, fashionably similar to one worn by Ronnie Kray, an actual and infamous crime boss.

Overall I think today went very well, the redoing of 1930 was such a good idea as the lighting and costume are both now vastly Superior to their predecessor.  

(Due to the fact today was purely a day of re-shoots, there wasn't anything new that I felt would be needed to show you via Vlogs, it was a ordinary shoot in the same locations as Day 1)

Filming Day Overlook: Day 2- Port Sunlight 1950

Today I just filmed the 1950's segment for our music video, 'The Greaser' section as our group started to refer to it as.
It was an extremely successful and although we ran into a small delay and last minute location change, due to a cycling club being present we decided to film further down the road with the neighboring building. (This weeks Vlog will elaborate)

Next we aim to re-film several shots for both the 1970's and 1930's section.

Vlog: Filming Day 2- Behind the Scenes (Port Sunlight)

Today's Footage

1:28- 1950

I think the 50's segment went extremely well and doesn't need any major revisits like 1930 and 1970. I feel like today was a very successful day of filming.
(The only slight addition that I feel needs to be done for the 50's is for us to adjust the colour grading to give it a retro '1950's' Neon glow and bright effect)

Project Timeline: #3 Filming Schedule Latest Update

There's been a slight complication to the filming schedule...

Certain members of the group are unable to make Tuesday but are now able to film on Wednesday. And as the props and some of the costumes that we've ordered for the Victorian era apparently won't arrive until the 18th of December.
So I have had to quickly re-adjust the timetable accordingly.

Previous Schedule:
Saturday 17th of December- Go to Port Sunlight to film the 1957 scenes
Monday 19th of December- Go to Liverpool to film the 1897 and 2017 scenes
Tuesday 20th of December- Re-shoots day 1
Thursday 22nd of December- Re-shoots day 2

New Schedule:
Saturday 17th of December- Go to Port Sunlight to film the 1957 scenes
Monday 19th of December- Re-shoots day 1
Wednesday 21st of December- Go to Liverpool to film the 1897 and 2017 scenes
Thursday 22nd of December- Re-shoots day 2

Panic over- we're back on track and the schedule has been sorted.

Filming Day Overlook: Day 1- Moreton 1970 & 1930

Today my group and I filmed the first two time periods scheduled.

1930 and 1970 as I've previously mentioned were going to be filmed first.

At the end of the week you'll be able to see the Vlog that I made during filming to give you a good idea of what things where like behind the scenes. 

Overall I feel like the day went very well, we first filmed the 1970 section and despite on set difficulties and lip syncing issues we were able to complete the entire section. 

After that we went to Oliver's house and begun to set up the set for 1930. I got changed out of the 70's costume and into the 30's suit. I gelled my hair back and got ready to film. Lighting the interior in a way that would look good on camera.

After a long day of shooting we all discussed the preparations we would need for our next day of filming, 1950. 

Filming Day Overlook: Day 1- Moreton 1970 & 1930

Today's Footage

We returned to the footage we filmed and edited together.

Note- only the 1930 and 1970 segments are edited so to see these segments go to the time codes listed below-

1:07- 1930

2:01- 1970

Upon reviewing the content I've noticed there still are a few problems with lip syncing, performance and lighting so I've discussed it with the group and I have made a list of all the shots we think need redoing and plan to correct them on our re-shoot day.

The Green Scene Day

As you may have seen on the project timeline and filming schedule, we intend to do a Green Screen Day. This will be for our dance section and special effect walk we intend to attempt where our protagonist will walk from one end of the screen to the other while transitioning from each time period.

I see this section as being the combination of all the time periods all taken out of their original time period and put together in this blank white world where he performs and dances to the song's musical section. Then when the merging of the time periods is complete it will cut to blank as the song finally finishes (a strong contrast to the white) And then it will seamlessly transition to the Present day, after showing all the criminals of the past we see what he has become today before he walks off camera to continue his roguish life- emphasising the endless conflict the Cops and Robbers will always have.

Project Timeline: #2 Filming Schedule (& Edited Schedule)

Now that we have a very good idea of what song we're doing; and decisions of locations, costumes, props and performers have been finalised; I thought it would be important to start planning out the dates in which we will begin filming.


Saturday 10th of December- Go to Moreton to film the 1937 and 1977 scenes
Sunday 11th of December- Go to Liverpool to film the 1897 and 2017 scenes

Saturday 17th of December- Go to Port Sunlight to film the 1957 scenes
Sunday 18th of December- Fill in day to return to locations that we didn't finish filming




(Edit- 7th of December)

After talking with the group more we've decided that shooting in the Christmas holidays would be more practical than trying to meet up on a Sunday.
So this is the new updated schedule.



Saturday 10th of December- Go to Moreton to film the 1937 and 1977 scenes
Saturday 17th of December- Go to Port Sunlight to film the 1957 scenes
Monday 19th of December- Go to Liverpool to film the 1897 and 2017 scenes
Tuesday 20th of December- Re-shoots day
Thursday 22nd of December- Green Screen day

(You may see here that there's mention to a 'Green Screen day'- it is our last segment of filming that we intended to do and is a very recent development, but there will be a post tomorrow explaining it in full detail)

Example of My Target Audience

It is important to know when making any form of media intended for the public to know who that audience is.
Back in November I did an Audience Questionnaire to ask where people most commonly consume Popular music which informed me how people stay up to date with the latest songs and videos.

As my Music Video is a Pop Rock song it is most likely to be well received by teenagers and young adults due to this genre and as the lead performer in my video (Myself) is of similar age, it will mean it appeals to this audience type.

It also features multiple time periods which might cause naustauga in older audience members who might personally remember living in those times. The use of time periods might also further encourage younger viewers to watch and enjoy it as it might remind them of very popular shows like Peaky Blinders, Train Spotting and imagery from those times.

Planning for: Props

A task that I have given myself for planning for this video is trying to establish very quickly how our protagonist is the criminal of the song. So I have been thinking how to easily establish without any dialog or any complicated actions and I've found that using props will be the best way to help portray these ideas.

1890

Victorian Cigarette

Although at the time smoking was completely normal in Victorian society it is usually assumed that modern audiences would interpreted, aided by the loitering and untrusting outfit that he is the potential criminal. This is quite a heavy stereotype but throughout our music video we need to portray his 'villany' in a quick and easy to follow matter so by using these types it quickly gets the message across 

Pocket Watch

Our music video has a segment set in the late Victorian era. To show that the main character is actually a crook, we felt we needed to feature a crime. Since the song is called 'Cops and Robbers', we felt the crime should be theft. We decided it was best to have our protagonist steel a pocket watch. To save on costs, we decided to use a pocket watch already owed by a member of the group. Unfortunately, the watch is a Dr Who watch, but it is barely noticeable so we are just going to use it.

Cane

We are thinking about maybe having a cane in our video, since it gives something else for the character to do. We were initially planning on having the character spinning around an old lamppost, however we do not appear to have any old lampposts at any of our locations so we may have our character spinning around a cane. He would also be able slam it on the floor in time with one of the sounds in the song.

1930

Gun

We would like to have our 'mob boss' character loading a gun in his scene. We have access to a prop based on an M1911 which looks similar to the pistols found at the time. The only issue is that the barrel is orange, but we can easily fix that by painting it black.

1950

Flick Comb

For the 50's period of our production, we are going for the 'greaser' motif. This was, inspired by the film Grease, it made sense for our character to appear obsessed with his appearance. The best way to do this, as depicted in Grease, is to use a comb. Since we are saying this character is a criminal, we thought a flick comb was a good idea since it can appear thuggish (the audience will believe it is a knife) and then innocent, adding comic relief to the video, fitting the tone of the song.

1970
Beer Can

In the 70's section we wanted a different way to show that our protagonist is the criminal of the song so we decided to have him be drinking in public in the middle of the day which is usually thought to be socially frowned on and as he goes to perform the rest of his song he litters, throwing it away with no regards for the local neighbourhood.