Test Shots

• Today our group recorded some test shots in one of our locations, allowing us to ensure the quality of the footage would be clear enough and the shot types would be successful. as the majority of our shots will be filmed in daylight, therefore we will not have any influence over the lighting.


• After producing the opening scene to a thriller film at AS, I became very aware that a lack of lighting would result in grainy footage, therefore by running test shots we can ensure this will not be a problem and save wasting time when shooting.


• These test shots proved very successful, with the autumnal colours of the leaves appearing vibrant in the footage, inspiring us to develop and embrace an autumnal theme, incorporating it into our footage, such as the artist kicking leaves as she walks.
  
• The bright leaves on the trees also provoked ideas for a possible album cover, so one of my group took a picture of me leaning against a tree, to create a rough depiction of what the shot could look like if taken properly and used on our digipak.

• We did some test shots walking towards the camera, as this is included in a number of the shots in our video, with them being from a face on angle. We were experimenting with zooming the camera out as the artist walks, creating the idea that the camera is are moving back with her, as we do not have the correct equipment to move the camera smoothly, such as a dolly and walking backwards would look shaky and unproffessional.

• Our music video has a common shot used throughout, to create cohesion and comply with the conventions of a similar shot being used for each chorus, such as in Eliza Dolittle's Music Video "Pack Up", where it goes back to the same location with her singing for each chorus. This shot is against a wall, appearing to be at the train station, with the artist lip synching to the song. When investigating our locations, we discovered a wall which appears perfect for this shot. Despite not actually being at the train station, it is irrelevant as it appears as though it could be. We did some test shots, we me standing against this wall and singing as though I was the artist and another member of the group filming it to create a rough visual representation of what the actual shot will look like. We were very pleased with the outcome and believe with the correct stylying and well executed lip synching, this shot could be very successful.
• This day of taking pictures and rough videos proved very helpful, with it giving us a visual representation of our ideas, allowing us to evaluate the quality of the footage and avoid wasting valuable filming time.
• Although, the actor we used for the shots is not the actor who will be used in the real thing and a tripod was not available, therefore the shots were all taken using a handheld camera. This does however give us confidence that our final shots will be of even better quality due to using equipment such as a tripod, giving us steady shots and smooth camera movements.