Music Video

Camera Shots
In this shot, in final cut pro, we layered two shots over the top of one another and varied their density so that they faded into one another, as we felt that otherwise the two shots were too jumping and we wanted to somehow make the editing softer and more original. Also as the first shot is a back view of the girl running away from the camera & the second shot includes the girl running past the camera we wanted to merge the two.


I especially think this shot is successful due to the composition. For example, the girl is slightly over to the right of the shot instead of being central and this is visually more pleasing for the viewer. The branches of the tree stretch over two thirds also. I think in videos it is effective if a number of the shots look almost like they could be photographs - like this example shot.

This is a shot that could be seen as between a close up and a mid shot as it shows some of her shoulder. It shows the girl's make-up which in turn draws attention to the mood and emotion of the girl and the whole video itself.

This is a long shot or could be considered an establishing shot, as it shows the setting well as the girl herself. The long pathway leads the viewer's eye towards the girl and beyond, while the trees at the side frame the shot and add interest preventing the shot from looking too stark.

Camera Mounting

To mount the camera we used both handheld and the tripod. We utilised the tripod when doing panning shots to keep the camera steady and prevent any shaking, although when we took the shots of the trees overhead we found it impossible to use the tripod and therefore me and jace stood opposite one another and both held the camera agaisnt our bodies to steady it - turning in circles as we went.

To set up the tripod we extended the legs to the required level then screwed the hole in the bottom of the camera to the plate on the top of the tripod. We then checked the level gauge on the top of the tripod to check if it was level - if not we adjusted the legs so that the 'bubble' was in the centre of the circle.

Camera Movement & Control

Some of the panning shots slightly jolt - even though they were carried out using a tripod. This may be due to the fact that they are too fast and therefore 'catch' alot. In future I would keep the panning shot slow when it is taken on set, then I would speed it up on final cut pro instead to minimise the shaking.


Camera Settings

Before each shot was taken, we checked the white balance setting - making sure it was on either indoor or outdoor. This allowed us to achieve consistency of colour and tone. Secondly, we altered the aperture when we needed more or less light in the shot as it adjusts the exposure. We used manual focus throughout our filming.

Communication on set

Firstly, whenever we shot on location e.g. in the woodlands, we made sure we took with us our storyboard, used for our animatic, as it helped prompt us as to which shots we needed and in which order we needed them - it was an extremely helpful tool. We also remebered to take an a4 pad of paper with us and a black marker pen which acted as our clapperboard, we noted down the shot no. and take - so that when we came to edit it each shot was easily identifiable, saving us time and therefore we knew which shots were successful and which werent.

Our production schedule was also extremely important as it helped us keep on target and meant that both me and jace knew our roles and what had to be completed when.

In turns of the roles we played, I mainly took on the role of director - as I had the loudest voice on set, I would count down from 4 everytime a shot was about to be taken therefore everyone knew to be ready and in position.

Link to music video -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrDQMBavz3A

Link to video of practice shots -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKo-C_yxGNc

We took this video of practice shots because we wanted to learn what was effective and what wasnt - in terms of camera shots and techniques. I think that the shots which start with the fence and then pan to the left to reveal the girl are effective but for the real video we must get the girl to start running before the camera is on her - to make sure it looks natural and not so staged. Another aspect we thought worked well was the concept of having shots of the girl spinning and then quickly going to a POV shot of the trees above her, which are spinning - this is something we will use in the video. We tried many different ways of shooting her walking/running past the camera - just showing her lower legs and feet. Some were too zoomed in and others we forgot to use the tripod therefore after capturing back we realised how visible the shaking was without a tripod and we will not make the same mistake when shooting our real video. Another aspect, that may seem obvious but really isnt is the fact that the bags ruined some of our shots - therefore in future we need to carefully plan each shot so that we know the start and destination of each pan etc. so that we avoid putting the bags somewhere in the shot.