Shoot One

Date: 15/12/13
Actors: Sam Potter, Jonny Brown
Equipment: DSLR camera, Video camera, Tripod
Props: Fake drugs (created with salt), Bags

The first shoot took place on the Sunday 15th December (2013) where I decided to film a middle section of the music video. This included shots 19 - 30 on the storyboard as they featured the two main characters who were free on the day which I chose to record this section. Before I had arranged to film this shoot, I investigated weather reports which said that it would be around 6 - 8 degrees on that day which was ideal considering the poor weather that has been in Driffield around the time. I then decided which shots would be most appropriate for the date of filming and began planning how to conduct the shots.

I started filming from shot nineteen which showed Sam (the main character) running towards Jonny's (secondary character) house. For the purposes of filming, Jonny's house was mine as it would be easier to get the most amount of shots filmed there. This was filmed multiple times from a range of angles as faster editing would convey the character's urgency to reach the house to tell him of the danger which they may face. I begun filming the running from the tripod across the road, this showed a long range shot of Sam running a small distance. I then felt that a handheld shot of him running would make the scene somewhat more realistic as the cinematography shows the rush that the main character is in whilst on drugs. There are few shots which follow after of Sam running which are shown from a steady angle with the tripod with his back in the shot. This is to create the idea that as a viewer, we are watching him from behind as we are not in the same rush that he is, it also makes it seem that he is running at a very fast pace.

Whilst filming this footage, I had a lot of ideas running through my head about making the main character appear to be in a panicky state. Luckily, Sam was very good at acting out distressing emotions towards the camera to make the footage appear realistic. When the shots shown at the doorstep of the secondary main character's house were done, it is the body language and facial expressions of the main character which make the scene show a degree of verisimilitude. In terms of cinematography, the shots begin with a back shot of Sam knocking at the door as if we, as a viewer are stood there with him. This changes to a close up of him looking very worried and paranoid as if something could go wrong at that very minute. When he realizes that nobody is answering the door, the knocks become more vicious and urgent. This is shown effectively through a medium close-up which shows his clenched fist making it look as if he is doing a very loud knock. The extreme close-up of his head against the glass door makes his emotions seem clear when watching the video as he appears to have given up all hope.

When he tries forcing the door open to get to the secondary character, the door was left open whilst we were filming so that the door didn't actually break. Because of this, the shot took a lot of retakes to make it look like he was genuinely breaking the door down; this meant that the door had to open at a specific speed. The main character finally reaches his friend in the next scene to find him overdosed on the drugs whilst laid on his bed. This is effectively shown by an over-the-shoulder shot leading to an extreme close-up of him laid on his bed appearing to be lacking much life. Sam is then shown trying to wake him up but he appears to be dead. When the scene in my room was filmed, I used the tripod whilst on a stool to get the over the shoulder/two shots flawless. This is because the main character, Sam, is over six feet tall which made it hard to shoot when the tripod only reaches around three/four foot. I also had to carefully consider the lighting in my room which felt more appropriate to use smaller lamps as the main lighting was far too dark to make the shot work with the other ones filmed. The scene ended with an extreme close-up of the drugs on a desk in the room. For mise-en-scene purposes, I shot the CD case with the white powder on next to a sticker and patches of tobacco to convey the characters' messy personality more. For future filming, I am using the same pile of white powder to create recognition throughout the music video.