The day before the shoot the team and I did a couple of activities and double checked that all set and actors were in place and knew what they had to do for the next day. For example we did screen tests with the main act of our video, a soundcheck on the CD copy of the song to make sure that it played the whole way through on the respected audio system. We also spent the majority of our afternoon outside the media recording studio glueing the wallpaper to the flats that constructed the walls of our changing set.
On the morning of the shoot I felt confident that everything would go to plan. I was raring to go and happy that it was finally the shoot day. However, the only thing that I was nervous about going wrong was the actors being too shy in front of camera or Leah not knowing the words of the song to the best of her ability. Nevertheless everyone that got filmed was comfortable in front the camera and understood their roles fully. Leah Chapman (Ivy) knew all the words too, which made our lives easier when it came to shooting.
When the shooting began, nothing held us back or delayed us an extra minute because everything was ready to go. The all actors that were there were patient and those who were needed at a specific point were there on time and able to perform. Jess from the group helped to apply appropriate make up on the actors that needed it on the morning of the shoot and gave them their costumes for their scenes. I also attended to the casts needs throughout the day such as providing food and water for them when the needed, along with clothing if they were getting cold whilst on stage. All the filming equipment that we needed was already in place in the studio along with tripods and extra lighting.
For all of Ivy's footage she is sat on 'a wall' against a green screen, so the set and props list we ended up needing for her scenes were very small. Nevertheless, I felt as though what we did have for the scene including props and costumes was enough to produce a realistic yet stylized video. For the extras I felt as though the overall sets and props were good, but that we could have done more in order to sell the image. I think more could have been done in terms of props and set.
Dividing the roles which we played as the shoot day went on was easy as we all knew how to handle actors or control the playback & camera. Between James, Jess and I we each had a turn directing, shooting on camera and on playback. Personally I also had to take part in the acting for one of the extra's scenes.
Personally I feel the best job that I did was helping the actors, making sure they were comfortable, confident in performance and directing. I felt as though the advice that I offered throughout the day was constructive criticism and well help the final outcome of our product efficiently.
On the day of the shoot we only encountered a few minor problems which, included getting the cast on set and prepared at the right time although that had been sorted out with them before hand. Thankfully we were able to contact them when we needed them because of the contact sheet we had made before hand. We also ran over time on the day, meaning that one of the extras groups wasn't able to get recording time.
The most successful part of the shoot was during Leah's (Ivy) time in front the camera. I felt as though the shots that were produced, her lip sync and the mis-en-scene all fitted the music perfectly because of the messages that they portrayed. Another good part of the shoot day was Pete Bergin's time in front of the camera as the Transvestite. I felt as though not only the camerawork and mis-en-scene made the scene, but the way which he acted in the performance was brilliant too.
Parts of the shoot that I wish had gone better were the props that we had organised for it. I feel as though we could have done more to sell the atmosphere and mood of the piece. However, what we did have I thought worked very well.
I think that the actors and crew were managed very well, as they were on time or early for their part of the shoot and were willing to play the roles properly that they were given. I feel as though they were offered food and drink well and given advice as to how they could act or work around the shoot in order to gain maximum perfection with what we had.
The part of the shoot that I personally enjoyed the most was directing Leah's scene as Ivy, because I felt as though I was fully involved in directing her and keeping her happy. Plus the atmosphere on set was buzzing happily.
In the edit I am looking forward to creating the message through the cuts we use and where they end up in the timeline. I feel as though the final product, judging by the editing we have already done will be a great success, so that if what I'm looking forward to the most.
I feel as though the team effort between myself, Jess & James was superb throughout the first day of setting up the shoot and the entire day through shooting. We worked holistically in order to get the job done as well as possible and as quickly as possible to make sure we didn't run out of time at the end of the day.
The website page that we create will need to be changed to pictures of Leah as she so suddenly became our Ivy artist. The web page will also need to look black & white with a decayed element to it in order to fit in with her star image and the mis-en-scene of the music video we created. We also need to choose an appropriate font.
