Filming Four

We made another trip up to London with the understanding that we had to get our filming right.

One of the main criticisms we received was our lack of point of view shots. Due to the fact Glenn was available after 12.30 Adam Matt and I went up to film some of the shots that we had not got in previous filming. We decided that there was not enough perspective shots so we filmed some of these whilst we waited for Glenn to arrive. We felt this was an effective way to use our time in London without Glenn.          

Unfortunately I had work later on in the day so I had to leave before Glenn arrived, but Adam and Matt stayed in London to film with Glenn. They revisited the tunnel that we filmed in previously, this time it was lighter. This was significant because we found that our footage was clearer when we got back to the class room, which makes for a better quality video.

Notion of Looking

These are some of the shots that we have come up with, we wanted to show more people in and around London and define life. This shot on the right presents the concept of voyeurism which is a key convention of music videos.                                                                           

P.O.V Shot

The picture on the left was taken on Southbank and is another point of view shot which shows Glenn observing life. This also creates voyeurism, this is something we felt there was not enough of in our rough cut.

Second day of Filming

First Day of Filming- Take 2

With Glenn on board we headed up to London to begin our filming adventure, this was a step into the unknown for us but we were hoping to get some good footage to use and learn how hard it is to film in London.

Putting all the strange looks and people thinking they were on tele behind us we started filming, making sure we were referencing our storyboards. We decided to film Glenn performing the whole song in different locations because we wanted to have plenty of footage to play around with when we got back to school.

We planned our journey so we'd get off at London Bridge train station, this meant we could start filming on London bridge itself. Here is a picture of me filming the opening shot, with the help of the tripod I kept the camera still, but found when I started to move round the back of Glenn when filming the camera started to move. This gave me the appreciation of just how hard it was going to be, to move with the camera and keep it still.

 We were walking along Tower Bridge to get to another location, when we thought why not film Glenn performing the whole song on this bridge. Adam filmed a tracking shot with Glenn walking towards the camera whilst singing. This required a steady hand and Adam did a good job at this as we have used quite a lot of this footage for our video.


Here is a shot of Matt holding the camera freehand, this gave a rough image and we decided that the tripod would be the best option as the shot would be steadier.

First day of filming ...

The plan was for Matt and Adam to go up and film the London Eye, section of our video and myself and Jack were going to meet them after our football match. After our game I got a call from Jack saying that his workload at school ment that he would be unable to perform in our video. Intially I was very annoyed with him but I could empathise with him.

I immediatley rang Matt and informed him of the news, he then informed me that they Eye was closed, things could only get better from here. They did. On the way home Matt rang up his mate Glenn Rice, and asked him in he wanted to be the main character in our video, he said yes.

Glenn is in a band called Go-Zilla, so he is a natural musician, he can play the drums and has been part of making music videos for his band before. He also did Media Studies and had to make a video so we hope to benefit from his knowledge and hope he can pass onto us what went well for him and what they would have improved. Glenn's musical background means that he has experience of lip syncing, which will make our jobs much easier when we get to London. He may even be able to  pass on some ideas to us of good shots or angles that we may have missed.

Here is a picture of Glenn playing the guitar, in our video, he will have a guitar and we will film close ups of  his hand strumming the guitar, this will make it more realistic because he has experience of playing this instrument.

Risk Assessment

Before we start filming it is important that we evaluate all the potential risks before we start filming our video.

Busy Roads

London is an area where the roads are full of congestion and we as a group will have to be very wary when crossing these busy roads. When in London we will have to be patient crossing the roads despite time constrictions. We will always look for appropriate crossing areas and focus on the road when crossing. One of our shots in our video includes Glenn crossing the road whilst singing, we will have to ensure that the road is completely safe and empty so he can cross.

Train Stations

These can be very busy especially during rush hour, whe will have to make sure that we are aware of all the possible dangers at a train station. These stations can also be a hotspot for theft, so we should be aware of this, espescially as we are using expensive equipment. We need to make sure we all stick together as a group, because these stations can be very crowded. Avoiding peak periods will enable us to use our time better.

Time Management

Time is precious for us, we do not want to rush our filming but we need to make sure we use our time effectively. This is why I have drawn out a to do list, this will help us stay focused on what we need to do, and we can work out how to get to all of our locations in the shortest period of time.

Filming in Crime stricken areas

Crime is high in London and in specific areas, some of our video requires us to film in some of these areas. We need to make sure our equipment is with us at all times and that we stick together, because if one of us gets isolated they are more likely to become a target to a theif.