Evaluation of Shoot Day

Within our music video, we had 3 separate shoots, on 3 different occasions. Each shoot took a lot of time during our post production stages to organise and prepare for, especially the day prior to our filming.

For our TV shoot located in the studio, we made sure all out talents knew when they were required on set the day before. Also one of the many jobs I was given included the task of organising all their costumes, I made sure I had exactly what I needed, ready and packed the night before, and that the pieces of clothing that we had asked our talents to provide was also not forgotten via a quick message, this was possible through a ‘Call Sheet’.

Again regarding costume, the evening prior to filming I had to make some slight adjustments to the leads artist costume, especially her skirt. So with the help of a friend with similar height and size of our actress I was able to achieve the simple hand sewn alterations. Below are some photos of the finished look of the skirt. As you probably can’t realise what you see as the skirt is actually indeed a full-length dress that I was able to tuck inside on the waistline and sew a small piece of black organza material around the waist to make it look like a waistband that can tie at the back.

As our set was simple and uncomplicated not a lot of time in the studio was needed to set up the day prior to shooting. A quick check of the multiple cameras we were using working with the TV’s, was a simple required job that did not require a lot of time, and apart from this, we didn't have much else to prepare. 

For our paint shoot, however, a lot more preparation was required. The day prior to filming I visited the studio we were using and had a meeting with the owner confirming all the details. Organising when we were to arrive and leave, the night before I again made sure all costumes were organised, my camera equipment was packed and ready, hired equipment was all prepared, and that our talent’s including our makeup artist knew how to get to the location. 

Initially, on the morning of our shoot days, I was extremely stressed, especially for our London-based paint shoot. A lot of preparation had gone into organising every little element and we wanted the entire process to run as smoothly as possible. However, I was also very excited to get started with the day as the entire plan and call list including the arrival of the makeup artist and our outside lead actress coming in to shoot created a highly professional atmosphere which as an aspiring amateur film maker really opened my eyes into the industry. 

With our simplistic set for our TV element, there was not a lot to prepare regarding the set and props on the morning of our shoot.  One by one, once the makeup of our dancers was completed we were ready to begin shooting. One element though we could've been slightly more prepared with was with our makeup choices, as some members of our group were indecisive with the overall looks, especially with our lead actress. Quite the opposite of this our paint shoot was a lot more difficult. With myself having the responsibility of organising the majority of the day for e.g. the costumes, props, catering and equipment, everything had to be organised in advance, all ready and prepared for us to make the day as least chaotic as possible. Even though with all our post production work we did run into problems due to lack of luck and miss communication, and in result it delayed our filming for around 2 hours. But with quick thinking and reliable contacts, I was able to find alternatives to fulfil our needs. 

As our sets were extremely simple by following our main colour schemes of  black and white, not a lot of set up was required to create our overall visions. The element with the most complicated set up included the use of the multiple, different sized TV screens and with the experimentation of our different layouts, the effect we were able to achieve was both simple but also highly effective as it created a strong and defined image. 

On the days of filming, we all assigned ourselves roles to help the day run as smoothly as possible, along with our assigned roles we however also attempted to at least once during the filming to experience different jobs of the process to help us give us a wider insight of the opportunities within the industry. Along with also personally assigning myself the role of the producer, I initially began the production stages of our video as the Director/Camera operator, as with my knowledge and experience with dance, I had the advantage of the group when directing the dance element. Also, operating the camera was second nature to me as I, myself have the same camera as we were using on set. 

Personally, on the shoot days, I think my organisational skills during the post-production stages had a huge impact on the overall tempo of the day. Firstly, by introducing myself to the makeup artist and our talents created a very mature and professional but approachable atmosphere. Another element I felt I reached the expectations was the filming of the TV section, as again along with the professionalism of myself and the rest of the group it gave a unique, fun but concentrated dynamic to the day.