Shoot Five

Date: 21/03/2014
Actors: Sam Potter, Jamie Steenoven
Equipment: Video camera, Tripod
Props: Toy gun, Car
Shots: 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 43, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 52 + more

Shoot five was the longest shoot that we did as it lasted around four hours. Fortunately we had time to do this as Sam and Jamie both had full days off work, I thought that this was a good opportunity to get lots of the shooting out of the way and finish the main part of the music video (except the introduction). This included getting a toy gun to use for the shoot and getting Sam to bring his car to feature in the areas with Jamie (the drug dealer). A lot of the initial planning from the storyboard and animatic were replaced with different shots to keep continuity throughout the music video; however I tried sticking to the original plan in terms of narrative. 

I started filming on shot 14 which was initially planned to be a shot of Sams shoes as he is walking down the street. After gaining a lot more understanding on cinematography and what makes a shot more attractive, I decided that this was too boring so the shot showed a medium-close up of Sam's back as he walks down the street. This was then joined with another medium close-up from the front. In the storyboard, I planned on having two people in a car following the anti-hero but this changed when the other person who was going to act in the video was too busy on most of the days that we planned on filming. I came to the conclusion that he was quite unreliable and the filming would go smoother with only one antagonist; therefore I just asked Jamie to do the role instead. With this decision, shot 15 featured Jamie sat in the car at a medium close-up keeping the car in the frame of the shot. His facial expression maintains a strong look at Sam as if he is furious about not getting the money. Following this, the next shot shows Sam walking towards the car in an attempt to talk his way out of the circumstances. 

I aim to add subtitles to the shots which followed where Sam begins to ask if he can have an extension on the time that the drug dealer had given him to give his money back; this will also include Jamie having subtitles. This lead to writing some dialogue for Sam and Jamie to say in the shots, although it will not be audible in the finished product. Once this had been decided on, the next shot included Sam telling Jamie "I need more time" through the car which included a range of angles. My personal favorite was an over the shoulder shot of Jamie as he stares at Sam saying his lines; I intend to edit this into the final product. That shot then lead to Jamie saying "If I don't get it by six you're dead" at a medium close-up. Sam then appears to be disappointed as an extreme close-up addresses his emotions at the time he hears the message from Jamie. Following this, the next shot shows Sam beginning to walk off away from the car which leads to the next scene of him running (which was covered in the first shoot). The mise-en-scene in this shot shows his body language as hesitant where he turns around to make sure the drug dealers car has gone and sprints away.

Picture taken from Google Maps/edited with MS Paint

The second part of the shoot meant that we had to drive to the alley down Woldholme avenue where the shots just before 43 were filmed; this was not far away from the previous location (as pictured above). Sam also had to go home to get changed as he was wearing the clothes from the previous scene where he has changed into a brown hoodie when performing the drug deal; this was necessary to maintain continuity. Whilst waiting for the rush of families to clear the area for filming, we proceeded with shot 43 which shows Jamie emerging from the bushes once Sam had finished his drug deal (shown in previous shoot). Shot 44 was filmed in a previous shoot as it features Jamie singing along with the song in one of the main lines, thus we proceeded with shot 45. As this was part of the climax of the music video, I found it necessary to make some additional shots so that the editing was fast and the viewer feels like part of the action. I added an extreme close-up shot of Sam's look of fear after shot 44 which brought the audience back to the narrative from the shot of Jamie playing guitar. 

As it continues, Sam is shown running away from Jamie. This is shown from a long range including both characters as it occurs. I filmed this from a variety of still angles and dynamically using the handheld camera to add tension. This will give me a range of shots to use when editing them together to appropriately convey the fear that would be going through Sam's mind at the time. The perspective then shifts to Jamie as an extreme close-up of him reaching for a gun in his pocket is shown. This was then followed by a medium close-up of Jamie holding the gun out at Sam whilst he is running away. I used this shot (although it may be unrealistic that a drug dealer would hold a gun like this - or at all) to create a hyper reality within the text and make the video 'spring to life' in the climax of the song. 

Following this, there is an over the shoulder shot of Jamie as he is aiming at Sam running down the alleyway where in the same shot he shoots to kill. I filmed this with the intention of it appearing as if the viewer is staring down the aim of the gun themselves with the antagonist; with this shot I intend to edit a gunshot into the background of the song and learn to use special effects for the gun fire. After Sam falls to the ground, Jamie is shown walking away around the corner in an exaggerated walk as if he thinks he is of great importance or that he is a dangerous person. This was also filmed using multiple camera angles so that I could decide which one effectively portrays Jamie's reaction appropriately. With these shots, I made sure that Jamie was still carrying the gun so that the mise-en-scene reflected his evil persona. The final shot which I did in this shoot showed Sam laid on the floor dead whilst members of the public's legs and shoes were in sight walking past him; this was done to create the impression that nobody who sees him on the floor wishes to get involved or help (as with a lot of cases in real life).