This also came before we started storyboarding but this wasn't a problem as we were filming the section of our music video which features the band so we didn't need to decide on the sequence of shots we needed as we weren't telling a story like we will be during the narrative section of the video. We did, however, need to think about the types of shots and camera angles we wanted. We took inspiration from other music videos in the same genre, specifically the Maroon 5 video for 'Harder to Breathe', to decide on how we wanted to position our camera. We settled on taking 3 cameras to minimise the number of times we had to run through the track. In the first run through we needed one was set up as a master shot to capture all the band members together and two off to the side, one focussing solely on the lead singer and the other on whoever was on the other side, perhaps a guitarist. Then in the second run through we would get more close up shots on the other members of the band.
Initially we were supposed to be filming in a location called Pirate Studios. We were very happy about this as it looked like a great location with lots of lights which we could use to create the mood we needed and get good quality footage. However, at the last minute the band changed locations to a different studio in Leeds called Jar Mills Studios. When we looked at this online we could tell it wasn't as ideal as the other, the rooms looked darker and less set up for filming than the other (which was specifically used for doing live streams or filming videos). Their time in the studio had also changed - it was now 7-10pm. Although this was less convenient, we decided to make the most of it by going to the Leeds Christmas Lights switch-on, which was on the same night, to get some cutaways and establishing shots for the music video.
Unfortunately Rob was unable to go but he helped us prepare and decide on our plan so me and Ed could execute it with as much ease as possible. We arrived at the studios with 3 cameras and 3 tripods and met with the band who were really lovely and eager to help in any way they could. However, we hadn't anticipated just how loud it would be in the soundproof room where they were playing as if on the main stage at a gig; luckily they were selling earplugs in the studios which we quickly purchased. Unfortunately this posed another issue - we were trying to set up three cameras with just two of us, making sure that each one was exactly the same so we could seamlessly cut between each shot, without being able to verbally communicate. This was a real challenge. In the end we had to use our phones to write down what we were saying and show it to each other just to get it all set up.
The next problem we had was lighting. It was pretty dark in the room with no proper lights we could use to improve the situation. The walls were also a deep red with the wall directly behind the band painted a matt black. This just absorbed all the light. We did the best we could by turning the ISO up to 400 however, we didn't want to take it any higher as it would make the picture grainy. Therefore the image was darker than would've been ideal.
The room was also very small which posed a challenge in getting all the band members into one shot and getting all the cameras set up as the floor was completely covered in wires. However, we managed it so the first run through we had a master shot, a side shot and a shot of the singer. We had decided that we wanted the shot of the singer to be at a low angle and from the side, just like the angle on Adam Levine in the 'Harder to Breathe' video as we really liked this effect and saw that it was typical in the 'indie rock' genre. The camera on the singer and the master shot stayed static throughout the whole first run through however, me and Ed both stood at the side shot and moved the camera around depending on who was doing the most in the song at each given time and got a variety of shots including two shot of the lead and backing singer during their harmonies together.
On the second run through we got a close up of each of the other band members - bass guitar, lead guitar and drummer. To get a good angle of the drummer we had to ask the lead singer to stand out of the set-up as he was stood in front of the drummer and the shot looked so much better from the front than from the side. This was okay though because we didn't need another master shot of the whole set-up so it didn't matter that there were cameras in the middle of it all this time.
We also made sure to get some pictures for our social media campaign.
After we had done then second run through we had managed to get everything we needed. We said goodbye to the band and headed straight to the Headrow where the Christmas Light Switch-On was happening. We arrived just as they were starting the 10 second countdown so we rushed to get our cameras out and Ed managed to capture the actual light switch on, although that turned out to actually be very anticlimactic. Then the fireworks started so we managed to capture various bits of footage from different angles of the explosions which we thought we could use to accent beats in the music. I switched between having them in and out of focus because they looked very effective both ways so we can choose between which effect we want.
When the fireworks were over we turned out attention to the travelling fair which was there as there were loads of lights and crowds which could make for some very effective cutaways. I just found anything of interest such as carousels or carnival rides and filmed them, usually using a focus pull to create some movement within the shot.
When the crowds had cleared we filmed some of the cleanup too as there was loads of rubbish left over to get some nice contrasting shots. However, this was very dark as the lights were going off so I don't know how usable this will be. We tried to make use of the left over confetti on the streets though by setting up a shot of the town hall covered in fairy lights and sprinkling confetti in front of the camera lens which actually looked quite nice.
When we reviewed the footage we found that the bits in the studio were very dark so we initially thought it wouldn't be usable. However, black and white was much more forgiving and this was an effect we wanted to use for the main body of the video anyway. Therefore we thought that we would get back in touch with the band and see when they were using Pirate Studios so we could go and film them there too. Then we'll have two bits of footage of them which we could choose between. We also thought that if the Jar Mills Studio footage looked better in black and white and the Pirate Studios footage looked better in colour then we could use one for each part of the video to get some variation, clearly demonstrating the two different tones and conflicting narratives within the video.
The footage of the light switch on was as shaky as we'd expected but there are some nice shots in there which we can use as cutaways or establishing shots at the start and throughout the video.
This was a very eventful night of filming but overall pretty successful. We have some footage of the band which we may or may not use but, even if we don't, it was still very useful as a preliminary task so we got to see the dynamics of the band and what shots work for them as a group. We also got some nice shots of Leeds which we can use in the main body of the video which is very important to the band as they are keen to represent their home town within their music video. We are going to turn the footage we collected into our first rough cut of our performance aspect of the video so we can practice this and get a feel for the pace of the video and how it should be edited. This is the final product:
- Rhythmic editing
- Cuts between the band in performance and a location shoot around Leeds (At this stage we haven't begun to film the narrative portion of the video so shots of Leeds are substituting for this at this point)
- Shifts from black and white to colour
- A down-to-earth aesthetic in terms of the text and inclusion of real recorded sound from the shooting day
- Establishing shots of Leeds
- Close ups of the band members
After editing we have come to the conclusion that we should arrange another filming session with the band as the footage is ultimately more grainy and dark than we would have hoped to achieve. In order to get the video as professional looking as we can we need to either bring lighting equipment or shoot in a different location, as Jar Mills was unfortunately black and red with dim lighting that didn't translate well to camera (such as the original preferred venue Pirate Studios, which has its own lighting installed, including lighting with coloured gels that could give our video more vibrancy). We also now need to plan a shoot at the Leeds German Christmas Market as this closes on December 24th and is a crucial desired location for the narrative portion of our video.
This is another excellent post Melissa with a detailed description of what was a partially successful first shoot. Lighting aside, I think you did a fantastic job of capturing the performance and acquired some very useable footage in Leeds. This is impressive given that you have never filmed a band before - it's not an easy task!
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