PRODUCTION

Auditions

In order to find the cast for our music video, my team and I held auditions. We put up a notice that had all the job description of what was required from the actors and actresses. We only auditioned their expressions since it is a music video and dialogues are not required. The turnout of people who came to audition was quite impressive since many people were quite keen to act in front of the camera. However we chose the actors from our preliminary task music video since they had a high comfort level between each other and their expressions go well together.

Preparation on Set

We had to some preparations on set and had to rearrange and set things according to the mise en scene.By using large black canvases we blocked the sunlight that was entering the auditorium. The actors and actresses were dressing up according to the mise en scene requirement. Paper shredding were distributed on the floor in order to get the desired setting. The actors were given eye drops to fake cry. A mike was also set up which was later removed.

Practice

I have to say that my cast and crew were amazing. They were extremely adaptable and understanding and compromising. They practiced for the final shoot in order to be successful in their first take. The team practiced again and again to get the shots right.

Shots and Angles

A variety of shots and angles were used in the music video. This was done in order to emphasize on the representation of different characters throughout the music video. Different angles and shots have different significance and can be used for symbolic purposes. The following are a few shots and angles and the purpose of using them.

Close ups

Close up shots were used a lot in the music video. The purpose of using close up shots was to emphasize on detail and to high light important components of the music video. We used close ups to better communicate the emotional or the physical and to try to bring the character and the audience closer together. For example in the first picture, it is a close up of the default letter, It shows in detail that the female lead did not have leukemia and thus she did not have to keep distance from the male lead. It is an integral part of the music video. Pictures 2,4,5,6 and 8 are closeups which are used to show the expressions of the characters, for example the girl's smudged make up and the boy's tears.

Low Angle

The low angle shots are used to make the shot more dramatic as can be seen in the shots above. Shooting both the male and female leads from the ground with only the sky or the ceiling in the background can create a sense of hope to the audience. This shot can also give the sense that the character being filmed is a hero or a heroine. Low angle shots can also be used to give the audience a sense that they are sharing the character's perspective, especially when they are looking up at something.

Mid/ Full Shot

These shots are used to depict body language and more of the setting around the characters. The long shot seen in picture 2 shows the surroundings as well as the full bodies of the characters. The emphasis tends to be more on the action and movement rather than a character’s emotional state as seen above.

Two shot

Two-shots are good for establishing a relationship between characters, in this case, the female lead and the male lead and the supporting actor. It is a good way to follow the interaction between two people without getting distracted by their surroundings. In our music video the relationship and the fun moments between the girl and the boy are shown in a two shot to highlight their relationship. It can be seen that when the female lead is with the male lead both of them are standing closer to each other, however when the female lead is standing with the supporting actor they have some distance. This shows the body language that the girl is more comfortable and closer to the male lead rather than the supporting actor.

Ground/ Eye level shot

A ground eye level shot was used to show the actions and objects closely that are at ground level. For example, when the girl steps on the envelope, when the boy drops the teddy bear and the gist box and when the boy finds the letter on the floor and so he stops. The camera shows his feet where he stops. This shot captures the actions that are take place at a lower position.

Over the Shoulder Shot

One's feelings about the on-screen actor's state of mind is informed by the presence of the off-screen actor's shoulder in the frame. In the shots above, in the first picture it shows that the girl died in front of the guy. This shot shows the perspective of what he sees. In the second picture, it shows how the reports from the hospital is related to the girl. This type of shot establishes an empathy with whoever's shoulder it may be, as well as establishing the distance between the character and what he or she is observing.

Closeup Aerial Shot

The shot gives the audience a wider view and is useful to highlight special relations, or reveal to the audience elements outside the boundaries of the character’s awareness, as seen in the above shots. The second picture above portrays what the main lead is seeing with his eyes.

Behind the Scenes

The behind the scenes show our journey throughout our shooting experience. We used many tricks and angles to shoot the video. For example when the male artist was singing we used a chair which had wheels under it to film the tracking as one of my team member (i.e Aroob) was pushing the chair as shown in the video above. Paper shreds were cut to give a messy confetti look to the stage. 2 stools were also used to make the camera stay stationary.

Experience

Shooting for our final music video was quite hectic, difficult and quite frustrating. Our shooting experience had quite a bit of ups and downs but due to such a fantastic team we were able conquer those hurdles. The team was the same as before however due to our preliminary task we had grown more in knowledge and were able to resolve difficulties with better logical solutions. We had friends who came voluntarily to help my team and I with the music video. It was quite an experience for us and we had gained a lot of knowledge while experimenting here and there with the whole production process. From setting up the scene as per the mise en scene to showing what expressions do the actors need to show, the four day shooting was quite troublesome yet fun since we had to keep the frustration in check while keeping in mind the synergy.

Strengths

The actors were extremely communal and were cooperative
The lighting was perfect, we had control over it
The parts where we shot indoor were uninterrupted and were easily shot
The male actor is already a model/ photographer thus he is more used to being in front of the camera and helped us with some camera tricks
The facial expressions were quite as we wanted
The help of our teacher to clear out the auditorium
Actors were familiar with the song and had no hassle in lip syncing

Weaknesses

There were time constraints since some of our shooting was on the school premises we had limited time, forcing us to cut back on some things
the outdoor shots were quite difficult to film since we had to get permission from the authorities
many people stared at the camera directly and the actors so the shots had to be redone
Some props were quite difficult to find