Tuesday 16th November - Narrative Shots + Re-filming

Filming - Narrative Shots + Re-Filming

(below are photos from the filming session on the 16th November)

In this filming session our aim was to reinforce our music video’s narrative and moral. This was completed by planning certain shots which would show the vulnerable character transforming in to a more confident revenge-seeking, violent character, and this transformation given a reason.

Firstly we filmed the first chorus on a double bed, via a crane shot to make Sophie look vulnerable, this was also reinforced by the bed pillows the duvet. This was quite a hard shot to film because the tripod was positioned on the bed with the legs either side of Sophie’s waist, however they then became noticed in the shot, and not only was the shot not overly steady but Sophie wasn’t comfortable. Therefore we had to readjust the shot type, but luckily we still portrayed the shot that was initially planned.

The next shot was Sophie singing the first verse sat up on the bed with her mobile phone. This shot, due to the prop, added a narrative to the shot. The composition of the shot we thought was very effective and portrayed the image that we wanted however it was hard for Sophie to get off the bed after the end of the verse to give the impression that she has had enough and was going to “change” (metaphorically in terms of her emotions and also physically in terms of her appearance). She tried getting of the bed smoothly, but due to the size of the bed it looked very unnatural.

We then filmed the “changing” shots. We started with the corset. We filmed this shot using an insert shot portraying the mirrors perception of the action. Sophie, in the shot showed her upper bare back, this was to increase the voyeurism in the shot and then the corset was placed over the skin. This mirror shot portrayed intimacy and will hopefully result in the audience members being engaged with the music video. In the same shot we filmed Sophie applying her make up, this was another transformation shot and was again an insert, close up shot. We then filmed Sophie zipping up her boot. This close up shot of the boot portrayed the dark side of the character and increased the "confidence" in the character by her decision to wear a risky pair of high heeled boots. These transformation shots will be slipped in to the bridge before the first chorus to show the character transforming from the vulnerable/ innocent persona to the violent, confident, strong one. Hopefully these shots will increase the narrative structure and make it obvious to the audience that the character is going through a transformation due to her negative experience with her boyfriend (symbolised by the mannequin).

After those shots we quickly filmed a shot of Sophie walking out the door of her house, implying that she is leaving in her outfit/new personality to cause some damage. This shot was filmed about five or six times because we figured that Sophie had to walk fully out the door and around the corner due to the translucent window in the door. The camera was situated behind her as she stormed out with the door slammed behind her. The door was fairly heavy therefore it took a few takes to get the strength for the slam. In addition to this shot, we filmed a take of Sophie walking out her drive, to the street where the second verse is filmed. This was purposefully filmed to be filler if we needed narrative shots later on in the editing process. This shot would also make the narrative more obviously and decrease the transport gaps.

In this filming session we also re-filmed the first bridge, chorus and second chorus because we realised that we hadn't got any footage for certain lines in the second chorus and realised that the original first chorus and bridge we filmed wasn't in wide screen. We attempted stretching the clip in adobe premier pro but it lost pixels and the quality of the footage wasn't suitable for viewing. Due to having had done this before this shot didn't take as long as the previous version. However we discovered another location for the second chorus, therefore we used the wooden fence for Sophie to climb on whilst filming the chorus. This enabled the character to adopt "risky", "rebel" characters which would reinforce the new transformed personality.