Media - Shoot Evaluation

1. Shoot evaluation Freya Kerr

2. Day before our shoot. • In preparation for our shoot, we decided to get the newspaper backdrop ready so that it would save time. Luckily we did this as we were already behind schedule, so not having the newspaper backdrop prepared would have held us back massively. The stress we saved ourselves being caused was greatly appreciated as we were stressed enough as it was. • When creating the newspaper backdrop we had decided on as a group to try pick headlines that involved models of high fashion as that is the main theme to our music video. • Via our group chat that we connect through via snapchat/WhatsApp we made sure all of us had everything we needed for the day of our shoot (props, costume, hair and makeup) to save all the stress of forgetting it on the day. • Personally, I made sure we had all the forms we needed, ie. Location release form, breakdown sheet, music rights agreement. I did this to save the hassle of doing it on the day as there is much more important things to be done. • Lastly, we made sure our talented stars were all fit and well for the shoot tomorrow and made them a list of everything they needed to bring in, ie. Costume, makeup.

3. Morning of the shoot. • The morning of our shoot I woke up with a burst of excitement, ready to crack on, as I knew it would be one busy day. I felt a little nervous as I was worried about the level of stress that could come along with today but I managed to put these nerves behind me and focus on today. Time must have been my biggest worry as I am very anxious when it comes to time, everything has to be done exactly to schedule, no falling behind it. Luckily, we managed to keep ahead of ourselves which we were surprised with as all the different makeup and hair styles, along with taking set up and down took time. Overall, I was excited to watch all our hard work in preparing this music video, pay off.

4. Preparation. • I believe we were well prepared when we arrived for our shoot. • Firstly, we had our two talented stars come in with their hair already done for the first set up. The first set up consisted of easy hairstyles which are stars could do easily themselves, so we decided instead of wasting time we asked if they were able to do the look we wanted, which they did and their hair was a success. • Secondly, before school had started we began to do their makeup as we didn’t want this to run into the time frame where we should be shooting our first set up. This saved us all stress as we were able to all be their for the first set up – seeing what to do and how to do it, easily demonstrated by our teacher Matt. • Thirdly, we set up all our outfits we wanted in order of set up so that we didn’t waste time each outfit change on trying to find what goes with what in multiple of suitcases. This again saved stress as we were able to spend more time on other things that were more important. • Lastly, we had time to write a schedule for the day and have a clean plan of all that we wanted to produce. This helped us keep organised and keep to time.

5. Set design. • All the set we design had to work within the space of the studio as the studio is where we decide take on our filming. • We had 6 set ups which we planned to do within the time of 6 hours. This 6 hour time period included creating the set, taking down the set, doing makeup, doing hair, filming, making mistakes, discussion etc. Surprisingly, we managed to complete it all in this time without stress. • Our first set consisted of a big open box which we created with metal scaff bars which were able to attach to one another. This set up happened quickly, we managed to wash the floor as we didn’t want shoe marks showing up on camera and then put the scaff bars up to create the box effect. We played around with the height of the poles however, decided to have it at all one level as that is what looked best on camera. • Our second set consisted of a black flat with 4 monitors. The black flat was used to hide the wires of the monitors behind as we didn’t want them to be on show as it would have looked messy. Our fear for this set up was that the monitors would have a technical issue issue so we gave ourselves enough time in our schedule to spend setting up and sorting monitors. Luckily, the monitors have any issues and we got ahead. • Our third set consisted of a checkered floor board and a flat with a green light placed behind it. This set up was designed specially for our producer. We took inspiration from the instagram ‘Anna Koblish’ For this set design and whole aesthetic for this set up. • Our fourth set consisted of 8 flats placed vertically in a circular formation, with multiple colour lights casting through the flats from behind. The light was tracking up and down the flats to create an illusion effect. In the centre of this circle we placed a luminous orange chair used as a prop for Matilda our lead singer to interact with. This set design was also inspiration we took from Anna Koblish’s Instagram. We left time in our schedule to be able to create this set and also deconstruct it, so we didn’t stress about time. • Our fifth set consisted of three flats placed vertically next to one another. These flats were covered in newspaper and so was the floor. We wanted this set to look like a high end fashion shoot being taken place. We also insisted on using our teachers dog who was very well behaved. We took inspiration from fashion magazines to create this set. We tried our best to gather news paper articles on models so that they could be stuck on the front so the audience could see as it relates to our theme and idea for our music video, which is a high end fashion. • For our final set, we wanted a plain blue flap for our talented stars to go crazy and paint on. Our lead singer is extremely artistic, so we asked her to do her best at painting abstract faces. We obviously only had one take at this as there was no time to clean the flap and do it again however, that was no problem as she did it amazingly first shot. We also did a mid shot of her painting her dress which looked awesome. We took inspiration here again from ‘Anna Koblish’.

6. Set design.

7. Roles. • As a group, doing our last A-level practical, we wanted to split the roles and have a go at everything that there was to offer, which was a great opportunity. However, to save any stress we did make some key roles. • I was the producer. I made sure everything was organised via keeping to time and no slipping behind the schedule. I selected the talent. I made sure everyone was where they were suppose to be, along with keeping the talent happy. I also made sure I was happy with what I saw on the screen as well as on stage and if I didn’t I spoke to Kiera, the director along with our teacher. Furthermore, I helped with the lighting alongside the lighting designer Chris, making sure he knew exactly what we wanted with colour, angle etc. In addition, to all this I managed to keep track and do the clapper board, making sure everyone was ready to start shooting. • Kiera = director . We thought this would be the best role for her as she is not afraid to speak up about anything the team does or doesn’t like and has everyone’s best interests for this music video at heart. Furthermore, she is great at keeping us all in line in a friendly way without being too harsh. • Anasatsia = hair and makeup. We believe that she is the best at doing hair and makeup quickly and is able to keep it looking amazing under the pressure of time. • Sahara = editor. She is the best at editing in our group and although we will all be taking part in editing, she will take the lead role in it as she is quick whilst still making it look amazing. Sahara also helped Anastasia with the hair and makeup to save Anastasia any stress. • No one had the role of being the camera man as we all did this evenly, as we all had some cool ideas.

8. My strengths. • Organised. • Easy at following instructions. • Good at working individually as well as in a group. • Well prepared. • Great ideas. • Not afraid of getting anything wrong or people not liking what I have to offer. (Confident) • Good at sharing the workload. • Good at listening. • Great leadership. • Able to give anything a try, even if I don’t think it’s a great idea. • Think positively.

9. What was Successful? • I believe that all our sets were successful. I am very proud of everything we have produced. • We kept to schedule. • Worked well as a team. • Kept our talent happy • Kept our talent hydrated. • We kept our work space tidy. • Our communication to one another was excellent. We spoke up about anything we were/weren’t happy about. • All went away feeling proud of what we did. • All helped one another. • Everyone did a good job at everything. • Shared roles equally which helped no one feel left out.

10. Problems on the day. • Had a slight time issue. We found ourselves falling behind schedule however, we resolved this by picking ourselves back up again, not gaining stress and getting back on track. • Sadly, the set designer didn’t have our table that we needed so the stress level had risen within the room however, it ended up looking better than expected without the table and just the luminous orange. • We had a plan to wrap a towel amongst our lead singers hair however, it was too small so didn’t fit around her hair, we had the decision to wet her hair back instead and it ended up looking much better. • We had slight stress when we put the newspaper flap up as the newspaper all started to falling off however, we fixed it extremely quickly and got back on track

11. What could have gone better? • I believe that we could have been quicker in creating the set and deconstructing the set as this wasted a lot of time. • I believe that our last set up went well however, when she painted her dress I think we could of got her to do this more artistic/abstract like the painting behind her that she painted. However, we were under strict time so we had to be quick as possible to be out of the studio for a certain time. • As much as I loved the dog being involved, I wasn’t too sure if it fit the high fashion shoot we were trying to demonstrate however, I’m sure when we edit I will be surprised and it will look sick. • We could have spent more time thinking of lighting before the day of the shoot as we kind of just went with it and didn’t have anything planned.

12. Managing the talent. • As a group, I think we managed our talent well and did everything we can to keep them happy. • We made sure they had plenty to drink and made sure they had some lunch, so they didn’t feel faint at any point. • If there was anything they didn’t feel comfortable wearing we had options so that they could choose. However, they were happy with everything we provided them with. • If they needed a break or just time out, we were happy to waste time for them and let them take a breather before shooting again. • We encouraged them to go full out and made them feel comfortable by singing along with them and making them feel like it wasn’t just them.

13. Best parts. • My favourite part to the day was working close by with my friends and seeing something that we had prepared for ages on paper, come to life. All our imaginations had come together in one and they all seemed to be the same, not one os us was one a different page. This was very satisfying to watch as we were just all so happy with what we were producing. • My favourite set was the newspaper set up as I believe this appealed to me the most out of all the set ups we did. I think it looked the most high fashion and worked the best out of all the sets. • I loved working with Matilda and Malaika our two talented stars and was just so pleased with how amazing everything went and what they had to bring to the table. • We all managed to keep our chill and not stress, we were able to still joke around and keep smiles on our faces which was really nice to see.

14. The edit. • When we come to edit, I look forward to seeing the hand held camera work that we managed to do. I think the hand held shots will be the best because we were able to move freely with the camera to make it look epic. • I look forward to the satisfaction when it all flows in one and the continuity is perfect. • I believe that the birds eye view shots in set up four will look super cool. We had a problem with the lighting in this scene however, did multiple shots to make sure when we come to edit, it would work so that her face was never in the dark. • Finally, I look forward to seeing it all come together and see all our hard work being paid off.

15. My team. • I believe that my production team worked extremely well together. • We had great communication skills throughout. • If someone had an issue they were comfortable enough to raise it. • Everyone kept a smile on throughout even through the stressful stages. • We were fair to one another. • Everyone helped out and did their part. • No one was left out at any point. • We all cared for each other. • No one was doing all the work themselves (‘No I in team’) • We took part and split the work evenly as all of us wanted the opportunity of trying everything out. Ie camera • No arguments. • All have respect for one another. • All of us have patience. • Focused on the goal. • Offered each other support throughout.

16. Lessons learnt. • I have learnt that having team mates who you get on with is the most important. Every other group have mentioned how stressful and how annoying their other team mates are but we haven’t. I believe that this made our shoot day successful as we all had the right respect for one another and knew how to communicate with one another. • Time management is another super important lesson learnt from this shoot as it showed me how precious time is and how you have to use it wisely. Although, we kept to schedule most the time, there were a few hiccups that made us panic although, we got back on track. • I also believe an important lesson learnt from this track is to check in with your set designer that they have everything you need as although it worked out in the end, it would of saved us panicking.

17. Overall. • Overall, i have really enjoyed my time on this shoot and it has been my favourite by far. • I look forward to the edit and watching our hard work all come together. • My team mates have been amazing and I couldn’t have done this music video without them.