Meetings Summary: Research & Planning 2

This stage of the project was all about pinning down the details and logistics relating to shooting the video; things such as shoot schedules, organising props and planning out lighting. In our meetings we opted to delegate all of the tasks amongst ourselves.

Click bullet points to see results of delegation

Myself taking responsibility for:

- Organising Props

- Making Shootboards and Call Sheets

- Making flatplan for website

- Making flatplan for album cover

Harry was responsible for:

- Planning the lighting set-ups

- Initial ideas for the website

- Initial ideas for the album cover

Yssy was responsible for:

- Initial ideas for the website

- Initial ideas for the album cover

- Planning the publicity shots

- Making plans for costuming and make-up

Call sheets & Shootboards

We used adapted versions of the conventional storyboard and shoot schedule and combined them to make shootboards. These give us both on the spot visual representations of the shots and the scheduled timings for each of these shots for the duration of that day. Our call sheets are essentially the same for all of our shoots, only ever really changing call times, set and, in two cases, cast. The call sheets give a basic outline of the whole day, noting down all emergency procedure and informing cast and crew of the times they are needed. These documents essentially work as guidelines for us to stick to when we are on set.

28th-29th October 

Our first shoot has been scheduled for the 28th and 29th, in which we have decided to get the vast majority of our location shots completed. We decided to prioritise the location shots because we felt that these shots posed the biggest risk of having retakes because there are so many factors taken out of our control by being on location.

 On the shoot board there are so few timings, because we just can't be sure of how long our shots will take. There are too many uncertainties for us to be able to schedule anything, one thing we are confident in is that the shots will not take any longer than two full days.

We have spread out the shots according to the various locations, with the shots in Central London on Tuesday and the rest in North London on the Wednesday because the locations are within a fee miles of each other.








We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because it would be near enough impossible to stick to the timings due to the amount left out of our control because we are shooting in central London, as well as the fact that we would be unable to even make a basic  one, because we wouldn't be able to input the majority of required information. Furthermore, considering that it is only my group required on this day and we are all aware of the plan, it would be an unnecessary document on this occasion.

3rd November 

This was our very first shoot in the studio, so we opted for an ambitious approach to this shoot; hoping to get through all our main three performance shots and some of the smaller conceptual shots.


Shootboard for 3rd November

Call Sheet for 3rd November

10th November

Shootboard for 10th November

We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because the cast and crew consisted of solely our group and after creating our first call sheet, we were all aware of the health and safety procedures; as well as using our shootboard for scheduling references.


11th November

This is planned to be by far our most challenging shoot bringing in people from outside our group, media and even the school to be in our shots. The plan is to get all of the shots which require other people out of the way as early as possible, so that if any retakes are needed, then we have the time to let them know or get other people if required.

Shoorboard for 11th November

Call Sheet for 11th November

19th November 

The main focus on this shoot was promo shots, however since we still had outstanding shots, it made most sense to get them out of the way first since they were very straightforward.

Shootboard for 19th November

We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because the cast and crew consisted of solely our group and after creating our first call sheet, we were all aware of the health and safety procedures; as well as using our shootboard for scheduling references.

22nd November

Shootboard for 22nd November

We opted not to make a call sheet for this shoot, because the cast and crew consisted of solely our group and after creating our first call sheet, we were all aware of the health and safety procedures; as well as using our shootboard for scheduling references

24th November

Shootboard for 24th November

This was our last shoot, so we left making a shootboard or call sheet until we had decided whether or not any retakes were needed. After concluding that a new shot was needed, this was the main priority for this shoot, with the remaining time used for promo shots to go on the ancillary texts.

Shootboard for 24th November

Shoot Schedule

Receiving our scheduled bookings in the studio made it possible for us to start thinking about when we would get each shot and then from there, start creating our shootboards. All of the slots in yellow were our allocated times.

Shoot schedule for production in November

Props List

Once we had planned out each of our shots, it was then our task to source all of the props required for them. We started out by listing all of the individual props we needed, listing whether anyone in our team had the specific prop or whether it would need to be made or purchased.

When it came to the logistics of organising the props I got stuck straight in, ensuring any props we didn't have collectively could be sourced for a reasonable price.

Now that our props list had been finished and a suitable source had been found for any that we didn't have, all that was left to do was get any purchases approved and the props ordered in good time for our shoots.

Costume and Make-Up

Make-up and costumes are an essential part of our artist's image, presenting Roza to the public in a specific way and putting across a specific message. The look for our artist was discussed an decided in our pre-production meetings as being urban yet sophisticated; showing that Roza can be sexy without being sexualised and putting across that Roza isn't afraid of her femininity.

Make-up was talked through with a professional make-up artist, discussing what look would best compliment our artist's image and the costumes for each shot.

Make-up Montage

Look for Wet shots"

Beyonce's look in "If I were a Boy"

For our main performance shot, we opted for a 'wet' look, taking inspiration from the Beyonce video "If I Were a Boy". Costuming for this shot was simple, because this shot is a close-up at its widest. We chose to have no costuming for this shot so it shows her vulnerability, as well as allowing us to layer more vibrant, busy shots on top.

Look for Fire Projection Shots

Since we intended to project quite vibrant moving images on Yssy, the make-up for this shot needed top be quite bold, so as not to get lost in all of the colour. We opted for make-up that was quite bold and sharp, especially around the eyes, so that the audience are given a focal point the shot. These shots are much more, for lack of a better word, fiery than our other shots. It's Roza's chance to show off and embrace her femininity, that being the reason for our choice of costume being a tight fitting cream and black dress. The dress doubling up as a canvas to be projected on, while still giving some texture to the shot and bringing it back into the 3rd dimension.

Look for Silhouette Performance shots

Silhouette performance is our darkest shot, in terms of both lighting and mood.In keeping qith this dark theme, it was decided that Yssy's make-up wouldn't include any bright or vibrant colours; with the main feature being "smokey eyes". The costuming for this shot goes along the same lines as the colours, with grey and black coloured materials. So that the shot has some depth, we decided that Yssy's top should have some texture to it. Yssy will also be wearing a plain black mini skirt, which we feel works well with a crop top to put Roza across as being sexy, but not sexualised.

Look for Rose Performance shots

We want to go for more of an urban feel to the Rose performance shots, keeping the theme of sexy, but not sexualised in mind. We chose a plain black crop top with a navy blue jacket for the costume on this occasion, with Yssy's hair to one side and much sharper make-up. Putting across some of Roza's attitude and strength is the main purpose of this shot, which is why these decisions were made.

Look for Bridge Performance shots

Costuming for the Central London performance was in a way dictated by the weather. Warm clothing with a jacket was a must, so we opted for a nice and warm jacket with fur lapels. Make-up is slightly more generic than the other performance shots because it was a location shoot, with bold eyes and red lips.

The costumes used in our narrative shots jump between a range of looks. From extremely casual (kitchen shots) to fully dressed up with sharp looking make-up (Bedroom Argument). Harry's look follows the same trend, with minimal/no make-up.

Costumes and Make-up in Narrative

Kit List

Studio AND TECHNICAL KIT

Camera unit                                     Canon Legria HFG30
                                                               Canon 5D Mark 2

                                                             Go pro

HDMI CABLES + CONVERTER

1 X 64GB Memory card

Playback unit                                 50 inch monitor

                                                                15 inch mac book pro

                                                                Studio sound system

                                                                Stereo Jack to 2 x Xlr box

                                                                2 x Extension cables

lighting                                              Studio lighting rig

                                                                2 x floor lights

                                                                1 x turret light

                                                                Leapfrog lighting desk

STUDIO                                                 1 X White Cyclorama

                                                                1 x sheet stand

                                                                1 x sheet

                                                               

Lighting and Set Design

In all of our studio set ups, there is either minimal or no use of set and props, mainly relying on lighting to create the different atmospheres for each shot. Harry and I took a great deal of interest in the more technical sides of the lighting, using the lighting desk to change the colour and intensity of the lighting; while Matt and Yssy almost instantly took up lighting poles and were re-positioning the lights with such confidence. It was great to get into the studio and test out our ideas and seeing if they translate well from thoughts to reality.

My group programming lighting in preparation for the shoots.

After coming to lighting set-ups that we were happy with, we programmed them into the lighting desk and drew out sketches to remind ourselves of the positioning of the lights.

Sketches of the Lighting Set-ups for each studio shot

Casting

Our casting was a fairly simple process, we had already decided that our artist would be played by a member of our group and that we would keep our cast as small as possible.

Roza

Yssy will be taking on the role of the artist; with previous acting experience and being extremely comfortable on camera, we felt that she best fit the role. The track also works well because the vocals work well with Yssy's look and when the two are put together, the performance is believable.











Boyfriend

Harry has been cast as the boyfriend who appears in all of the narrative within the video. He was screen tested along with another male, however we felt that due to the pre-existing chemistry between the two, that the relationship seemed most realistic. He is very confident in front of camera and is comfortable with some of the more intimate shots of the narrative.










Screen Test for Boyfriend Role

We lined up a few potential candidates for the role, but we managed to narrow it down to a shortlist of two, who we would then screen test to see how real the relationship between Yssy and themselves appeared.










Concept

Whilst Matt has previous experience acting in front of camera, when asked to test a scene, we were left unconvinced there was a relationship between Yssy and himself beyond that of a professional one. He did however have the most enthusiasm for the more creative, abstract elements of the video. It is for that reason that he was chosen to take part in the conceptual sections.

Out of the 3 males in my group, I have the most acting experience and whilst this would normally dictate that I would be in the lead male acting role, on this occasion we felt it would be most beneficial if I took on a more directory/performance coach role. I do still have a role in the video however, I am the male silhouette in the performance shots. This role required some choreography and since it is sort of my forte, it made most sense if I were to take on this part.

Publicity Shots Planning

As a group we discussed what sort of shots would best represent Roza. Our thoughts were that we want three things to come across in the images: 1) Roza's British identity 2) that Roza isn't afraid of showing her sexuality 3) Roza his this innocence to her personality. We decided that Jhene Aiko was a good choice for inspiration, because we feel that there are certain similarities between the two artists. Whilst there are similarities between Roza an Jhene, the images we use for inspiration are really easy to adapt for Roza, therefore giving them Roza's own personal stamp.

 The whole idea behind these shots was to play towards Roza's British identity and what is more of a British activity than drinking tea. Having Roza drinking tea and eating biscuits allows for slightly more tongue and cheek images without her coming across as being sexualised

This shot's aim is to show Roza in a more relaxed, less staged environment; making her more relatable to audiences, as it shows Roza to be a normal person who loves nothing more than taking time out to relax in a peaceful and quiet environment.

This idea of being very calm and relaxed is continued in this image, with Roza dressed in a baggy shirt. Which in a way emulates the relief felt by many people as they arrive home, unbutton the top of their shirts, take their shoes off an really make themselves feel comfortable.




Considering that Roza wants to show that she has a slightly more raunchy side, without being sexualised, we constructed some shots where her mid-rift and arms are on show. Further showing this mischievous persona by posing with her arms raised behind her head.

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Roza's whole identity initially started around a rose, hence the name "Roza". Therefore we feel it to be fitting that roses be a constant in the personality that it Roza. In keeping with the theme of "roses" that flows through most of Roza's work we thought it would be interesting to show Roza in a slightly more vulnerable/innocent light, whilst holding a rose in her hands. This just continues the metaphor which the roses represent throughout her work, the roses representing herself; being very beautiful and fragile,but still having this dangerous element, them being thorns in the case of the rose.

Flat Plans: Website

The design of the flat plan for the website was delegated to Harry an Ysabel. After meeting with the group, the two of them researched further into the artists we discussed could be used for inspiration. They then began sketching up some possibilities for the design, before settling on what they thought to be a suitable design for Roza's website.

Taking all of our inspirations and the ideas Harry and Ysabel came up with, I went and designed a rough outline for Roza's website. The layout seen below is our thoughts on what the website could look like. Obviously there is still room for improvement on the design and as we build up different texts, the design will be adapted accordingly.

Draft for the basic template for Roza's website

Below are the draft layouts for some of our planned pages on the website