Planning - Actors and Actresses

Actors and Actresses

For our music video, Kenz and I used three actors that we wanted to perform in it. We knew that we needed a couple that was willing to act a little cringe and a dancer who was prepared to dance and lip sync for us to Crazy in Love. We knew that the performer needed to be someone reliable and that would be willing to spend a fair amount of time working with us to get the best shots possible at various locations. Straight away Kenz knew a girl who went to her dance school, Lauren Simpson. She was dramatic but not overly so it looked bad but was also professional about everything and would be the perfect candidate. Also, since she was a young girl we knew that it would not only fit with the pop genre but our audience would be able to relate to her as they are of similar ages. 

Next, we needed to decide on a couple that would not mind getting a bit PDA (personal display of affection) on screen. We thought that it would make sense to use a friend that is in a relationship as we thought that they are more likely to be themselves on camera and let the real chemistry show as they should not get as embarrassed. We went through all our options of who would suit our song and also a bit part of our decider would be who would do it since quite a few turned down our request due to the fact they thought it was too cringe. Finally, we came to the conclusion of using Alice and Jack which was a very good choice on our part as they were perfect for the role. 

Planning - Digipak Font Ideas

Digipak Font Ideas

First i created the draft for the back cover of the digipak, i thought that there would be more writing on this side and so i should see what font looks best on this side first. Below are a few examples of different fonts that i liked. I liked the curly ones since i thought they went with the genre of pop and were quite girly which then fits in with our target audience. Although, i thought that these did not really fit with the theme of our songs since they were not as such fun and girly but more deep and meaningful so we thought we should steer clear of anything that looked too childish. Then i just started looking into what serif fonts look like on the screen and thought that they were not the right kind for a CD back or front cover, they made it seem a bit too old school. Lastly, i looked at the font Nueva Std in Condensed Italic, i straight away knew that this was the one. Because it was italic i thought that it did add that pop of fun and immaturity into it but also since it was sans serif it was easy to read but looked professional, this was then the font we ended up using for the back cover of out album cover. 

Planning - Unplanned/Spontaneous Idea Changes

Unplanned/Spontaneous Idea Changes 

We started filming on the 28th of October and by this point we has not planned exactly when we would film the rest of our footage for our music video. We had just assumed that we would plan to film as we went along, and for the most part this scheme worked very well and we got enough footage from the four locations that we did film, these were at Jacks house, the dance studio, the recording studio and the pit. However, from our plan we had thought it would be a good idea to film with Lauren lip syncing over a projector screen with a video of her dancing on it, but once we had filmed in the four locations we believed that we had enough footage for our video alone without the extra scene involved. So, because of this we then decided to not film in this location. 

Another factor as to why we abandoned the idea was because we could not find the space to do, an obvious option would be for us to use a classroom at school because they all have projectors in but they would not have the kind of lighting we need for the atmosphere we wanted. We wanted to have a dark room where Lauren was lit up by the dance going on in the projector behind her and since we didn't have much time left to film we thought that we should just not waste our time in trying to find a location and fit it in and instead focus on the editing of the other footage that we had and that filled up the time space of the song perfectly. 


The effect we were originally going for was something like in the Ariana Grande video 'The Way'. In the video you can see Ariana dancing and singing in front of the film projected on the back wall, we thought that this would look very effective in our video as then we could relate the narrative and performance together. 

Planning - Shot of Busy Motorway

Shot of Busy Motorway

This is the clip that we then edited down and used at the very beginning of our music video, i think that it is very effective how we changed the focus of the camera manually so that it gave this effect. I think that the way it goes from in focus to out of gives a different look to things and was in beat with how the song started off slowly. When thinking about using this shot i had thought that it would be relatable to the fact that maybe she was once able to see things clearly but then love drove her crazy and that is why when it goes out of focus it is representing her losing her mind. Even though there were some very shaky points in this footage due to the fact that it was a very windy night, once we had edited it i think it worked well with out song. 

Planning - Day Four Filming

Day Four Filming

This was the last time we filmed and it was my favourite out of them all, we filmed her singing and then dancing both with a black background. We did this in the pit at school as the curtains were perfect to film in front of to get a solid colour background and originally we thought that it it would look like a curtain but it turned out better than i expected and it looks like just a plain black wall. Since we had the lighting system in the pit i think that this may be why the shots we got seemed so professional and vivid. The contrast between Lauren's skin and blonde hair compared to the dark background makes the shot as she really stood out. Also, being able to change the lighting allowed us to test out where she looked her best and where the light hit her face and accentuated her features best. The main two lights we used when filming were the main white light that came down from all around and is shown in the medium close up image above. We also played around a bit and used the red wash over the lights to see how it looked and i think that out very well and we got a decent amount of shots with her singing and dancing. I think that these add a pop of colour to our music video since most of our shots do not have a lot of vibrant colour. To add to this, it is red which can connote love and then relating back to the song where she is crazy in love. I think that this was a good idea since now there is a bit of meaning and synchronization between the lyrics and visuals. 

The dance shots that we got were a lot better than what we got in the dance studio mainly down to the lighting of where we caught Lauren's features. It was still very difficult to capture a moving shot of her dancing since she was all over the place performing and trying to get a stable shot of this proved almost impossible but we did out best. Since we knew that the lighting was best in either the white or red wash when we got to the dancing we just filmed using these and this meant we had more time to try out different angles and try to capture different ways of her moving. 

Planning - Day Three Filming

Day Three Filming

The next location that we filmed in was the recording studio which is located at our school, we had originally thought that a recording studio would fit our music video as it would give the effect of Lauren recording her new song which is what we are trying to promote with the ancillary products and our music video. Since this location was in school we did not get charged for using it and we just had to keep everything tidy and not actually use the equipment just film them. I think that the shots we got from this shoot were similar to the ones we got from the dance studio since these were both filmed inside and we could have used with some big box lights to highlight and contour Lauren's face. But considering we only had our little LED light i think we did get a variety of different angled shots. This was the shortest shoot we had filmed so far since there were not many different ways we could film her singing into a microphone but we got plenty enough that fit into our music video. 

Planning - Rough Draft of Music Video

Rough Draft of Music Video

This is the rough cut of mine and Kenz's music video. I am happy with our editing skills and how this draft turned out a part from a couple shots that i think we potentially need to change in our final cut. For example, near the end there is an overlay of two shots which i personally do not think work. The back ground shot is of Alice and Jack holding hands and then Lauren singing over the top but where the lighting flickers between white and red on Lauren throughout i think it is a bit confusing and will distract the audience. 

Another point to add is that we didn't know how to end our video, we were not sure if we should have a couple shot or Lauren walking out of the studio. But we have decided to wait until we get feedback from our classmates on how to end it so we have a second opinion. I think that once we know what others think of it, it might let us see the video in a different light. Since we have watched it over and over so may be oblivious to any errors or shots that do not fit together or with the song so hopefully they can help us fix this issue. 

Planning - Equipment List

Equipment List

Tripod (Mackenzie's)

The tripod helped up get steady different angled shots, we used it every time we filmed. There is not much to say about the tripod other than it holds the camera up and it did just that. 

Dolly (borrowed from school)

There is not much to a dolly either that is different from any other dolly. We borrowed ours from school and used it for any of the moving shots we wanted to create that were all at the same height, it came in handy for this as then they were steady. We mainly used this for when we filmed in the dance studio and the pit since these were the only places where the floor was flat enough to get a smooth movement. 

DSLR Camera (Nikon D900) (borrowed from a friend)

This camera is of a very high quality and we were very grateful to have been able to use it since it helped us create some of our better shots, without the level of cinematography that we had we would not have created some of the cool and interesting shots that we did. This camera allowed us to be able to change the focus of our shots and letting us be to film a pulled focus shot and the out of focus motorway cars. Since it was not our we had to take extra care in making sure it was always secured tightly to the tripod and that we had the strap around out necks when we were filming a moving shot of Lauren dancing. 

LED.... (Borrowed from same person as the camera)

This LED light can be attached to the front of the camera and is a ring light in which we have used for the majority of our shots so far. It does not make up for the whole lighting system if we do not have one but it did allow us to get a good view of Lauren's features during close ups and meant her features stood out on her face. It is a simple little object that attaches to the top of the camera where the flash pops up and then the actual light fits around the camera to allow maximum light all around the object we were filming. The ring that covers the lights was detachable and you could buy other colours or it did come with a some, blue, orange, yellow, white or clear. We only ever did use the white or clear one depending on how sharp we wanted the light since it was a lot brighter with the clear one and so sometimes we used the white to mute the vibrancy. 

Planning - Revised Schedule

Revised Schedule

We filmed our test footage on the 21st of October, we did this just in Kenz's garden to see what sort of quality the camera was that we were working with. Also, i had never met Lauren who was our main actress and so it let us all meet and know what her strengths and weaknesses are, this also helped us be sure that we wanted to use her to act and dance in our music video. We just filmed Lauren singing in front of nature so we could not only see how well she films but also it allowed us to test out any shots we wanted to see if we were going to use. 

Next, we filmed our couple scenes on the 28th of October at Jacks house. The time we got to his house was about half an hour before golden hour and so it was perfect timing. We filmed a variety of 'cringe' couple shots that reflected a perfect/cute/happy couple using the sunlight in our favour. The shots we gained from this time filming were most probably my favourite since the lighting was perfect since the sun allowed us to get some great silhouette shots of the Jack and Alice. Also, on this date we filmed our in and out focus of a busy motor way at night, the effect that this gave is very different but effective and we plan to use this shot at the very beginning of our music video.

Then, we filmed at the dance studio at Rhodes Centre on the 6th of November. We only had booked the studio for an hour and a half so we had to work quickly when it came to this shoot. We filmed Lauren dancing to the song many times until we had got a wide variety of different angles and different lighting types. We got her to do quick fast movements at times when we kept the camera still but then also we thought that a pan or track would be effective when it came to her more slow moves. Overall, i think we got enough shots that we needed to, however, if i were to film somewhere like that again then i would get some box lights to light up the area she was dancing as she can look a bit too plain at time which is not the look me and my partner were going for. 

On the 9th of November we filmed Lauren singing in the recording studio at our school. This gave us the effect of her recording the song herself, however, this shoot was similar to the one in the dance studio since the lighting was very bland and did not do much for Lauren. We did use our LED light that attaches to the front of the camera but even with this there was not much difference and i thought that we could have used a box light to one side of her and this would have made all the difference. Too add to this though, it was not a complete failure since we did get some good footage to use. 

Lastly, we filmed in the pit on the 7th of November and this was by far my favourite shoot that i got to film. I think we got some excellent footage from filming in the pit since we got to use the lighting system that my school has in place and this allowed us to get Lauren to dance and sing and create great shots of her. Although, we did have the issue of that the floor was quite dirty as so we had to try and not get it in the shots most of the time but we managed just fine. 

Planning - Day Two Filming

Day Two Filming 

On this day we filmed Lauren dancing in the dancing studio we have rented out at Rhodes Centre in Bishops Stortford. We had to book this venue out a couple of weeks in advance, luckily it is near Kenz's house so it was easy for her to go down and talk to the receptionist about hiring the studio. Fortunately for us, there was a slot for an hour and a half on Friday the 6th which was the week after we had booked it and so this was perfect since it still allowed us a lot of time to edit these into our video before the rough cut due date. However, it did cost us £40 to use the dance studio for this long which was quite pricey but it was out best and only option. Also, because it was a real dance studio it gave us the look we wanted. 

I think that these shots could have been a lot better, the lighting was not very good even whilst using out LED light that fixes onto the camera. We got better shots with having the lights dimmed and then using the LED but this did not give us the effect we wanted of her rehearsing as it looked more like a performance which is not what we wanted. However, we did get a lot of varied shots that showed the dancer and her emotion. I think something that we did find quite hard that we did not realise is that it is difficult to follow a dancer whilst moving and getting the camera to focus at the same time as having her in frame. We could only get a couple of seconds at a time before she then moved again. Then again, this is something that we just had to work with as we did not have a steady camera.   

I think overall we got some decent enough shots to use for these scenes in our video but now looking back on it we should have prepared a bit more and thought about the lighting since it could have been a lot better if we have planned it through more. 

Planning - Day One Filming

Day One Filming 

Our first day filming was when we filmed our couple shots of Alice and Jack in Jacks Garden. I think that these shots were fabulous to start of our filming with as we arrived at the perfect timing of golden hour when the sun was a little way of setting and so the sun was peeping through the trees enabling us to use it in the background and get some wonderful shots of Alice and Jacks silhouettes. I think that when we film in the other locations we will not get as good lighting as this since this is the only footage that will be filmed outside with the natural light. 

One of my favorite shots that we were able to achieve was a pulled focus of Alice and Jack leaning on the fence in his garden. Being able to get varied shots of the pair was a must to try and make sure they were interesting and would not be too 'cringe' or 'samey', i think we did this very well since we got a wide range of moving pan and track shots and some still ones so that it makes the audience focus on the chemistry between them and reflect the meaning of the song 'crazy in love'. We had originally planned to film inside but the lighting outside was so good that we thought the quality would reflect better in the shots we get outside.

Overall, i think in terms of quality this shoot was going to be one of the best (even though we haven't filmed anything else yet). It was going to be the most different from the others as in them we have to film her sing and dance on beat and to the lyrics which is going to be a bit challenging. 

Planning - Lighting Plan

Lighting Plan

Couple Scene at Jacks House 

For this scene we just used natural lighting from the sun as we filmed outside as it was setting. This allowed us to get some very creative shots since in the back ground we could have the sun with Alice and Jack in front of it. It added to the sense of romance between the two characters. 

The Pit

Here we will use the lighting system that is in place and for the majority of the time we will have a spot light of Lauren dancing to show her isolation. 

Dance Studio

In the dancing studio we will most probably use the natural lighting from the lights that are provided as we want it to seem like she is just rehearsing her routine as she would normally. Even if the lighting is a little too low this will give the effect of portraying her feels and that they are not as perfect as they may seem.

Recording Studio

This scene will have all similar lighting as it is one room and so it would not change naturally so in order to make it seem real we will have to use our LED light that attaches onto the front of the camera to try and light up her face a little bit more. 

White Board/Projector Scene

The lighting here will come from the projector and if this does not highlight Lauren's features enough then we will have to use a spot light face on at her so she stands out but we will need to make sure that this does not interfere with the light reflection on the white board to ruin the effect of the dance clip playing in the background. 

Research - Advert Examples

Advert Examples

As well as a digipak, Kenz and I need to design poster that is going to promote our album which will have our digipak album cover on. Our initial first idea was to have a picture of our actress on the front as this is going along with the normal conventions of a pop album cover. Even though i am not going to be creating the poster as this role was assigned to Kenz i thought that i should still do a little bit of research. Below is a little analysis of my thoughts of the various posters i liked the look of. 

I like this poster because it is the same as the album cover so it is more memorable for their audience and they can relate both ancillary products together. I think that this poster shows Jessie J's personality with the dark colours and it gives you an insight to what her songs are going to be about. There is a lot of contrast in this image since there are only three colours, the gold name is showing that she is probably about money in some way or another.

In terms of what the poster includes, it explains that it is the poster trying to advertise her debut album that was of the time. To add to that it shows that there is a certain song in it which was probably in the charts at the time and so would have attracted a lot more people to buy the album. I think that how she is looking straight into the camera with her mouth open and flawless skin makes her seem more focused like she is looking at her customers. 

This poster of Ariana Grande is similar to Jessie J's one as is has the same picture on as the album cover has, i think that this is a reoccurring theme and something that i should definitely consider doing when creating my own poster. Having the date bold and standing out is a good way of advertising the album as it shows the audience when it is coming out. This one too is very black and white with a hint of baby pink, i think that this theme must be common amongst songs of the pop genre. With the marketing of this poster there is also the included titles of artists featuring on tracks within the album, this is there to attract more people since fans of any of those artists may then buy the album not just Ariana Grande fans. 


This poster is completely different compared to the other two since it is all about colour, which when researching posters most of them are either black and white or full of bright colours. I think when creating my own poster this is something to consider as we should probably stick to one of these themes since they go with out genre. I think i prefer the way the image is presented in this poster as i like that she is filling the whole back ground with the writing over her. Whereas in the others there is a black background behind the writing.

When creating my own poster there are factors from all of these examples that i will use as inspiration. I think that i am more likely to go with a black and white mellow theme since quite a lot of the songs are calmer and in some ways more emotional and so i think that a black and white image would fit more appropriately.

Planning - Test Footage

Test footage

Here is our test footage that has our actress, Lauren Simpson, in. It is a bit shaky at times but i think that for our first attempt at lip sync, besides her not knowing the lyrics, it was not particularly bad.