When publishing music videos to the public, music videos are normally shown on music video channels in order to promote the artist, song and record label. Usually large companies such as MTV are used who have rights in all areas of the music business and broadcast internationally. MTV would by the broadcaster of our chose if we were to promote our music video as this broadcaster is aimed at the under 30's, which covers our target audience of people in their late teens and early twenties. As MTV promote internationally, our music video would be shown globally therefore gaining more promotion which leads to more sales. MTV is also the parent company of other types of music channels such as MTV hits, MTV base, MTV classics, MTV rocks and MTV dance, meaning the music video can be also promoted on these channels as well especially as Birdy is Folk, Indie Folk, Indie Pop and Indie Rock.
When it came to choosing location/s for filming,
Our video prospects have enabled us to establish suitable locations for our filming. We have three prime locations: Erith Pier, Erith Town Centre and Hall Place.
We managed to travel to Erith Pier in order to take some test shots and do some filming. Here is one of the photographs taken by me (location/establishing shot). Erith is a district of South East London within the London Borough of Bexley on the River Thames.
As proof of filming, more pictures were taken whilst Hannah filmed Katie sections of our pier scene/s.
Equipment used: DSLR camera and Cannon Legria FS306 video camera.
This is the outfit we envisioned our lead to wear originally:
An issue that arose when filming, was the bulkiness of the clothing on camera; we didnt get the sleek, smooth, feminine, angelic look we were going for.
Because of this, we had to rethink our costume choices. Despite the cold weather conditions, it was required of our model not to wear her coat during the shots. We also changed her footwear; from clumpy boots to casual but stylish shoes.
Here is her final look; as planned, we removed the coat and changed the shoes from boots to brogues. These are lot more feminine and go better with her outfit as a whole. To counteract the evident issue of cold weather, we had extra clothing waiting for the model (Katie) so she could warm up in between shots.
On top of this, in terms of genre/ resemblance to indie styling, this look is a lot more appropriate; here is an image of the artist Birdy taken from the album cover of which the single 'People Help the People' featured. Evident similarities can be drawn from her outfit in comparison to our own styling:
The Golden Hour, also known as
the Magic Hour, is the first and last hour of sunlight in the day which allows
a specific photography technique to be achieved due to the low level quality of
light.
The light is
typically softer and in warmer hues. The shadows are normally reduced as the
sun is below the horizon. When the sun is near or below the horizon, the
sunlight travels through more of an atmosphere which reduces the intensity of
the direct light so the illumination comes from the indirect light from the sky
which reduces the lighting ratio.
The blue light is scattered so when the sun is
present the light appears redder; additionally the sun’s small angle with the
horizon produces longer shadows, creating a moody, darker look.
This is
especially effective when shooting a ‘romantic’ looking shot. The sun is low
and no harsh shadows are created. This prevents any details to be lost because
of extreme shadows or blown-out highlights. This technique is particularly useful
when shooting landscape or nature related shots although works well when used
with a model.
The only
limitation with this form of shooting is the lack of time space to shoot in.
There is a relatively small window of available to take advantage of in order
to achieve the perfect glow. Planning is essential with an idea of the
sunset/rise times to ensure the light is used to the maximum effect.
A wide aperture must be used to
allow more light to be used in the shot. The lighting, however, changes rapidly
meaning the lighting during the first 5 minutes will be distinctively different
in another 20 minutes. Shooting for the whole hour is the best way to overcome
this so many different variations can be captured. An adjustable white balance
is also needed as auto white balance will try to change the light to neutral.
The 1978 film ‘Days of Heaven’
directed by Terrence Malick clearly shows the effects of shooting in the Golden
Hour. The film is shot primarily in the early morning, just as the sun rises,
and then in the evening, as the sun sets. This creates a warm, romantic glow.
Director Stanley Kubrick was the
first director top use the ‘Steadicam’, a brand of camera stabilizing mount
which isolates the shot from the operator’s movements, preventing the camera
from shaking. This allows for a smooth shot, even when the camera operator is
moving on an uneven surface.
Before the
‘Steadicam’, the only form of tracking shots was to use a camera dolly, a
wheeled mount that rolls on tracks or levelled boards. This was unpractical and
a time consuming set up. The other option was for the camera operator to hold
the camera manually.
Having tried
the manual way of filming, we came to the conclusion that the shake from the
operator’s hands was too much for our film, making it look rather amateur, not
the smooth shot we feel our video needs considering it is a music video which
is supposed to work as a technique to sell something, in this case a song.
The ‘Steadicam’ combines stability,
which means steady footage, with the fluid and flexibility of a hand held
camera. This was used in Kubrick’s film, “The Shining”; most notably the scene
where the young boy, Danny, is being tracked as he pedals at high speed through
corridor after corridor on his blue plastic big wheel tricycle.
Kubrick used a wheelchair, to film the
tracking shots, pushing this around to gain a smooth shot. The wheelchair also
worked well as shot was then shown to be at about 18 inches- which was roughly
the height of the small child meaning the shot would look like a child’s
perspective as intended. The wheelchair had rubber wheels which absorbed the
shock which also ensured there was no sound of the wheelchair which could
impact the filming.
To achieve this shot a wheelchair can be used
and we shall have to partake in some testing shots to try out this technique,
seeing if it is viable for our film.
When publishing music videos to the public, music videos are normally shown on music video channels in order to promote the artist, song and record label. Usually large companies such as MTV are used who have rights in all areas of the music business and broadcast internationally. MTV would by the broadcaster of our chose if we were to promote our music video as this broadcaster is aimed at the under 30's, which covers our target audience of people in their late teens and early twenties. As MTV promote internationally, our music video would be shown globally therefore gaining more promotion which leads to more sales. MTV is also the parent company of other types of music channels such as MTV hits, MTV base, MTV classics, MTV rocks and MTV dance, meaning the music video can be also promoted on these channels as well especially as Birdy is Folk, Indie Folk, Indie Pop and Indie Rock. 
