Evaluation of Shoot Day

Before our shoot day we had to make sure that all our sets were sorted and that everybody was ready for the coming day. As we only had two studio sets which mostly just involved different lighting it was fairly quick and simple to organise it. My group and I tested out many different lightings with George in order to choose what would look bet especially for our neon/UV scene. Once we had decided that set we had to get our other one sorted. We knew we just wanted a simple white flood light that would create silhouettes with our dancers, it took a little time but after a while we were able to create what we were looking for.

As we had set up our lighting for the sets the day before, all we had to do spend some time dressing our cast and putting makeup on them. Santi and I took on roles as the makeup artists and we decided to paint the two dancers using the red/orange/pink UV paint whilst Carlotta (the lead) was painted in blue/green/yellow as we wanted to highlight that she was the lead singer. Once the makeup was done we sprayed UV hairspray onto the girls and had them all wear plain black leotards, along with Carlotta wearing UV contact lenses.

The neon/UV studio shoot went extremely well as it looked very professional and cool and our cast really performed well as Carlotta knew the lyrics and was able to focus on performing rather than trying to remember the words. My group and I worked especially hard making sure our cast and crew were happy and we provided lots of food and encouragement! During the shoot we made sure we were getting all the right shots and we also came up with a few more ideas which we previously hadn't come up with. Our concept was most defiantly achieved and I feel that this was one of the strongest looks of our whole shoot. 

For our second studio shoot, we had three dancers (Gen, Leila and Phoebe) who had created a choreographed three-minute dance to accompany the song. We dressed them in black leotards and simple makeup as we mostly wanted to create a bold sequence highlighting their bodies and dance moves. During shooting we had some white smoke in order to add more of an atmosphere which I felt really worked however sometimes too much was sprayed meaning we had to take a few minutes out to let it pass which occasionally held us up, but overall it was very successful as the girls all looked great dancing and the bright light really looked good. 

After the morning studio shoot we had the outdoor filming. For this we had 14 extras, a lead male and female along with three main dancers, so organisation was key as there were so many people. We set off around 2pm and arrived at our location at 2:45pm, however disaster struck, as when we got there the paintball site was all locked up and no one in sight. After a few phone calls we had established that there had been some miss communication and it wouldn't be able to be unlocked till 4pm. With us having so many people to look after, we decided that the best option would be to wait in a nearby cafe in order to keep our cast and crew happy and since my group had bought lots of snacks and drinks it meant the hour went quite quick.

Once it had been open, it meant we could crack on with the shoot. Luke and Henry set up the equipment whilst Santi and I dressed all our extras and cast along with putting makeup on everybody. For the extras we had them dress in all camouflage and we thought it would link to apocalyptic concept and female dominance theme. For the London Bus set, Carlotta was dressed in a red soldier jacket whilst our dancers were dressed in black leather and we had red and green smoke. For the space scene, Carlotta and the dancers were all dressed in silver and nebula style clothing as it was very fitting with our space ship theme. For the pyramid scene, we had Carlotta in a long white gown whilst the dancers wore brown leopard clothes and George (the boy in the cage) wore beige shorts. I really think we nailed these scenes as our costumes and makeup were spot on. However, as the light quickly faded it became quite cold and our cast and crew did an excellent job remaining focused.

Throughout the day, I defiantly think Santi and I took more of a forward approach towards directing and shooting. Luke and Henry did an excellent job during the day making sure we got all the correct shots and helped with moving all the equipment from each outdoor shoot. I really enjoyed spending time filming as I think I'm very much a person that enjoys to be in control although I did let my fellow group members film as well! Henry and I also spent some time letting off smoke bombs during the outdoor shoots which was actually quite difficult and a big responsibility as the weather was quite windy meaning we had to run around the sets making sure there was enough.

I think I worked really well during the shoot, as I feel I remained encouraging and brought a lot of energy to the shoot and I think people felt my enthusiasm. I really enjoyed dressing our cast and putting my ideas into place. I feel I was a big part of the day and offered a lot of knowledge and fun to the day!

During the day we had a few problems that arose. In the morning of the shoot, one of our lead dancers cancelled last minute meaning we had to find another dancer luckily we had a reserve so it was quickly resolved. During the day the weather was a constant worry and I feel that we were very fortunate to only come across a small bit of rain that lasted 10 minutes at around 9pm. It became very cold during the evening shoot and it was a bit of a struggle making sure everyone was feeling alright, however we ordered pizza for everyone and kept them in the warm which helped spirits and made them remain positive. Additionally, as I mentioned earlier, the site was closed when we got there which meant we did lose a bit of time and sunlight but once we did get in it just made us more determined to start filming. Regardless of the problems that arose I really felt like it was a successful day as we had organised brilliantly and felt prepared for the day. I think we all did a great job putting all our cast together and making sure they were all looked after during the day. 

The only bit I wish had gone better was the space scene. During, the lighting was very dim due to all the shadows and we just couldn't get the exposure right and the space ship washed our cast out a little bit. However, I'm confident that we will be able to use aspects of the footage from that scene. One thing that I regret is how the cage looked. As we ran out of time we didn't trim the cable tires meaning they are visible in some shots. Along with this George was sitting on some bubble wrap in order to remain warm and comfortable which may look a little weird on camera.

I really loved filming with my group as we are all really good friends and we all saw the same vision when it came to this music video! We all understood each other strengths and weaknesses towards roles within the day and all worked extreme hard to create some excellent footage.

Previously, we had decided to use a disposable picture for our album cover, however we decided that we would use a normal camera and use a filter/effect to give it the look. I think we will really enhance on the neon aspects and add some more colour to the website. However, I defiantly think we will have to tone down how 'grungy' she is as we have realised that Carlotta is more of a natural beauty than edgy girl and this was portrayed in the music video so we will have to adjust her bio a bit!

Overall it was a great day and I'm very excited to edit the footage and create an EPIC MUSIC VIDEO!