Individual log of the filming process by Alex Nugent

1st day filming

As director/camera man my job was to position shots and ensure they were being shot correctly and also similar to the animatic storyboard . With the first days filming we wanted to get a substantial amount done so I decided to shoot the mirror scene where Matt's character would try and make himself look like the gorilla. We wanted to start inside in order to a bit more freedom and make the actors feel more confident within a comfortable environment . The process was generally hassle free however i personally encountered a few problems . Firstly , we realised as a group that we would not have enough time to use the planned routine of Matt walking into the bedroom therefore decided to allow the previous chorus to play over and then go straight into the miming with the first line of 'tonight's the night...' . I personally found the main problem was the lighting . We were shooting in front of a large window , meaning each shot was affected by the glare from the sun . I decided to wait a bit in order to allow the sun to set a bit , meaning the glare was not as strong. Other personal problems encountered was ensuring the tripod was level as i found it hard to adjust the setting to keep it level however , this was only a small problem . I felt the miming was done perfectly as we had decided to play the track out loud , allowing actors to know when exactly to mime. In order to make the editing process straightforward I ensured we had plenty of footage meaning we could have a number of alternative shots. The creativity of this shoot came from the variety of shots which we used , for instance the 'look over there' shot with revealed the gorilla and Megan walking down the street from Matt's perspective. I want to be creative as possible with these shots in order to execute the idea well.

2nd day filming

Originally we had planned to shoot the picnic scene however , due to adverse weather conditions we filmed inside and I shot the 17 second introduction of the male and female character. This process was very stress free as it was very straightforward and only entailed short , quick close ups and no miming . Therefore, I decided to get a variety again for the purpose to make the editing process as smooth as possible.

3rd day filming

Over the last few days the filming process has been very straightforward as we have been in indoor location which we are familiar with i.e my house and Megan's house . However, today we had to book out an hour slot in the cafe in order to get filming done. This in itself made the process less straightforward as I had to take a few things into consideration. Unlike previous days we didn't have to account for member of the public however today I had to film around member of the public and staff of the cafe. The shots which I took were aided with Megan who didn't need to act much within this section of the project. This made the shooting process slightly easier, we decided to account for members of the public and ensure the shot was framed correctly and also ensure the miming was in time with the song.

4th day filmiming

Today we filmed the park scene where the picnic occurs with the main event of the slow motion banana feeding . This again , for me , and the rest of the group was made slightly harder as it was out in public and we were being interrupted a bit by the members of the public. In my view the filming was ok, my task again though was made harder by the glare again from the sun . This was a problem as the glare made the faces darker on the camera making it very hard to record the mime. To overcome this problem I had to place the camera closer to the face and ensure the sun was behind me whilst I was shooting it. I tried to be creative with this shoot and I emphasised the idea of the strangeness of the video , therefore tried to show as much of the gorilla and Megan together having their day in the park.

5th day filming

This was the final day of filming and it was the hardest and probably the most stressful shoot of the whole project. Originally we stuck rigidly to the storyboard however, today I found the shoot quite hard to stick the original idea as some of the shots which we had decided to use were quite long so we came unstuck trying to create enough footage to match the song. Therefore, i decided to use a technique from throughout and shoot plenty of footage so when we edit it we have a lot of footage to play around with. I took the original idea of a confrontation but , with the help of the others in the group came up with an idea allowed for this to occur. We decided to make the Gorilla and the love interest look like tourists asking for a photo as opposed to the original idea of the hair picking on the bench. I tried to be as creative as possible with this shoot and one which stood out was the use of the low angled shot of Matt being grabbed by the gorilla whilst Matt mimed the lyric of ' I get so mean around this scene'. I placed the camera as low as possible to show the fear of the character as he is being beaten up by the gorilla.

Roles within the project

During the planning process we decided to choose roles for each member of the group allowing for equal participation and contribution to the overall outcome of the video. We decided to make Matt the main character of the filming as it would entail him to mime, we knew that he would suit this role as he mimed in the prelim task we had to complete which he did well and confidently so we knew this was the best option, and we had learnt was an important aspect with this role. The other acting roles would be taken up by Megan (love interest) and Georgia (the gorilla), they would all have to act/perform in public which meant that they had to be confidant.

(Georgia Briggs) - We felt as a group that Alex would be the best person to film as he proved in the prelim task that he was good at filming different varieties of shot to make the video look effective. Although the prelim task was a group effort it was evident that he could film at a high standard and we were happy with starring in the production.

Video analysis - Sledgehammer (Peter Gabriel) by Alex Nugent

This is the music video for the song 'Sledgehammer' by Peter Gabriel :




This music video contains a number of music video conventions and they are as follows:

• Dramatic lighting
• Miming (performance)
• Changes of location
• Pace matches the beat and pace of the song

Throughout the music video there is a use of strange characters and situations which are emphasised with the use of dramatic lighting. This alters throughout the video with a variety of different lighting ranging from a spot light to a contradiction between fire and a black backdrop. This dramatic lighting , as mentioned allows for an emphasis on each strange instance within the video :



Above are two instances of the dramatic lighting . The one on the left is a black backdrop with the use of fire , the bright colours from the fire in the backdrop illuminate the ice sculpture allowing and emphasise on it. Similarly, the spotlight allows for a more literal approach to the dramatic light as again the use of the dark backdrop with a bright light allows attention to be drawn to the peculiar figure of the chicken dancing. The video also uses bright colours which make the video interesting to look at.

Throughout the video , the artist Peter Gabriel is miming the lyrics of the song which is a common convention with any music video. However, throughout the song there are actions which match in accordance to the lyrics which he is miming:



Within these two instances above , the signer incorporates the lines of , 'bring your blue sky back' and 'all you do is call me ' . This works well as for each line it allows a new and wacky action to be shown , again relative to the video as a whole. This technique of miming and incorporating the line of the song is something we wanted to do with the lyric 'something going wrong around here'.

The changes of location within the song are quick and allow for a flowing movement to the video. The use of stop motion throughout is significant as it creates a distorted movement of shots again representative of the idea of the video as a whole . The changes in pace allow for a unconventional movement between shot but as mentioned throughout , i think , allow for emphasises on the strangeness of the video. This idea is further emphasised with the length of the video. Usually, music videos are about 3-4 minutes long where as this is about 5-6 minutes long again highlighting the unconventional nature of the video.



Above, the use of stop motion allows the movement of fruit across his face . The nature of stop motion suits the pace of the song as the distorted movement matches the loud and constant beat in the background of the song. Overall a very successful music video and fits its purpose very well.

Creativity during the project

During the last 10 weeks we have spent much time on planning every aspect of our music video and we tried to leave no stone unturned. This process meant us depicting aspect from real media texts and then applying it to our own idea and then finally editing the video in order to make the final outcome look professional. Within each process we have been creative and used equipment effectively and efficiently.

Firstly, as mentioned we have used sites like Youtube in order to get an idea of what conventions are used within music videos, how they can be specific to each genre of music. We looked at a range of examples yet we felt the idea of doing a spoof was the best idea and also incorporating miming. We decided to choose a song, which we felt this was possible so when we choose one we wanted to go against the norm and do something different. Therefore, the project as a whole was creative, instead of using a normal love story we decided to use a gorilla as a rival within a love interest. The creativity came with the development of an idea, which is unique and different and suited the genre of music, which we used. We were also creative with the use of mise-en-scene as we placed the characters in certain situations and managed to twist them in order to suit the unconventional plot line. For instance, on specific lines of the chorus of ‘something going wrong around here’ we used banana feeding as a way to emphasise the strangeness of what was going on within the video. We were also creative with costuming, trying to make the main character look like a geek. We also used things like make up for a fight scene to make a black eye again showing our creativity with mise-en-scene.

During both the filming process and the editing process we also tried to be creative in order to emphasises the spoof theme within our video. We used quite straightforward shoots but managed to use them creatively, for instance we used close ups to introduce characters. The use of the tripod during the fight scene allowed us to get overhead shots with the camera looking down at the floor, again emphasising creativity as we tried to avoid using medium shoots throughout The editing process was important and we tried to make great use out of the software. For instance, we used slow motion over a few clips in order to emphasise the stupidity and also the bizarre nature of what was going on in the shot. This software was important during the fight scene at the end. As well as slow motion we also used still frames to show Matt’s character motionless after being beaten up and also fades in and out in order to make the piece flow. Overall we feel we were creative with quite a lot of the video.

2nd day of editing - 23/11/2010

Today we began editing the second half of our music video Like yesturday we again used the Imovie HD editing software which allowed us to cut clips down to fit , place in transitions and apply slow motion. Again, like yesterday, the process was generally hassle free with the main problems arising from the miming sequences. However, after taking a bit longer on each one we managed to place each one correctly and accordingly to the music. Like the slow motion clip we edited yesterday, we had a problem trying to fill in the fight scene. We realised some of the shots we had used were not suitable so to overcome this we used still frames and black outs in order to emphasise the fact that the character has been knocked out. We did this by creating a still frame of a blank screen and then using the editing option placing a 'fade in and out' on the clip in order to allow it to flow as it then moves on into the miming. Over the last two days we have completed quite a lot and we feel we are nearly getting to the end of the process. Overall, we are all pleased with how it has turned out.

1st day of editing - 22/10/2010

Today we began the process of editing, which entailed us uploading and placing the clips together. This process was all done using the Imovie HD editing software. Firstly , we had to upload the clips by importing from the camera , then dragging shots into an order. Then each individual clip was cut in order to take out any mistakes within each individual clip . Finally we extracted the sound out in order to allow for the music to be applied.

Overall, the first stage was successful we managed to edit the first half and didn’t really have many major problems with the process. We again like with the filming process stuck as rigidly as possible to the animatic storyboard, which we used as a guide to place each of the clips successfully together. The first few sections were quite straight forward as they didn’t match over the lyrics and didn’t have to be placed over. The hard part came when each miming section needed to be edited as if the placement is only slightly off it looks silly. These sections were difficult, yet we successfully edited each clip accordingly. The main problem with today’s editing was the banana feeding section as we didn’t have enough footage to make up the first chorus. Therefore, instead of re-shooting we decided to be creative with the clips we already had and using the editing software managed to apply slow motion over this particualr section in order to fill the space. We were pleased with this outcome.

5th day of filming - 16/11/2010

Today was the final day of shooting and we had to complete the fight scene, which is undertaken in London. Like the last days of filming we have used industry standard equipment which were a camera and a tripod. Originally we had wanted to film in Carnaby Street however, after review we decided this was not the best idea as it is too busy which would disrupt the filming process. Therefore, we changed the location to a place, which is up London but does not have as many people to interrupt the scene. We moved the location therefore to a side street in Holborn. This is the first major change of the day, which was impromptu and was altered on the day. When we began filming we stuck to the storyboard and included miming the chorus. However, originally we had decided to get the gorilla to pick at Megan’s hair when the lyric ‘there’s something going wrong around here…’ but today we decided to change it. Instead, Matt walks past the camera and as he passes his love interest asks a member of the public (Alex) to take a photo of her and the Gorilla together. This incident then leads on into the fight. We feel this was a better idea as it allowed it to flow and allowed for an exaggerated confrontation. Also, we have decided to not place in the miming during this section as we feel it allowed for a better participation in the fight. We then decided to pick up the miming again during one line of the fight. This could seem confused however we feel the mix between miming and acting allows for greater variety we feel. It also was done in order to make the editing process easier as it gave a benchmark to refer back to if we needed to place more footage in. We hope the footage we have obtained will be perfect for editing.From the line of 'is she really going out with him' to 'I get so mean around this scene' will have no miming in it. The miming commences in the final chorus and verse of the song.

4th day of filming - 15/11/2010

After today we are now coming up to the final stages of filming and the completion of the task. Today, we filmed the picnic scene (the first chorus) where the male character runs into the Gorilla and his love interest having a picnic in the park. Again we used both a camera to film the shot and a tripod in order to keep the camera still and allow for tracking shots to be made. Overall, the shoot was successful however; we had a problem with the lighting as the glare from the sun made it hard to see the miming. We overcame this problem by reconstructing the scene and moving each character around. Again, like previous days of shooting we have tried to stick to the storyboard, which again proved a big help as it enabled us to get the shots done quickly and efficiently. The main element of the scene is the slow motion banana feeding. However, after filming it we have discovered we might not have enough time in between a verse to place it in. Therefore, we might alter it slightly and keep it in normal time.

3rd day of filming - 9/11/10

Today we filmed the cafe scene in which the male character thinks he is waiting for his love interest but in fact he finds out she is in love with the gorilla. Originally we had decided that mimed everything, however, we feel now that it would be better t to mime a few lines and allow the music to play over scene of the Gorilla and Megan together. We have decided to do this for the purpose of the narrative as it makes it easier to follow.

We had a little trouble with filming today. During the verse there is a section where it switches between Matt saying 'there' and someone else saying 'Where?' which we have done wrong as we missed out a section where the miming was supposed to go. Therefore, we will have to go back and film this small section but it shouldn’t take to long as we know what we're doing. Another aspect which we decided to alter was instead ofmiming 'There's a lady that I used to know' we have decided to show Megan walking with the Gorilla to emphasise there in love and then switch back to Matt in the next line saying 'She's married now or engaged or something so I am told'. Another problem we had was at the end where Matt us is supposed to get up and walk out however, we filmed it too slowly meaning it doesn’t fit with the song. To overcome this we will have to edit it down to the allotted 3-4 second gap.

2nd day of filming - 8/11/2010

Originally we had planned to film the picnic scene , in which one of the chorus' takes place . Within this part the slow motion banana filming was going to occur - however, due to heavy rain and strong winds we were not able to film outside. Therefore, we decided to complete the indoor shots - we decided to do the character introductions where the man and women are introduced. This is done to make the audience think that the two members are going on a date with each other. The filming was relatively stress free; it's only a small 17-second part and we stuck pretty much exactly to the storyboard.

The part where Male charcter is introduced did not take much time so we decided to shoot from a variety of angles and then piece together the best ones when we come to editing. We have used a variety of shots. These include: close up, medium and the mirror reflection, which we used frequently later on in the video. To ensure that each shot was correct we filmed them twice. The second section of filming was the same thing but for Megan who plays the love interest. Again, we paid close attention to the storyboard however we changed it slightly. We used a close up forward shot to the camera when she is putting on her lipstick and placed in a medium shot of her walking to the camera.The use of the tripod allowed us to track movements well and show each character leaving a specific location.

1st day of filming - 2/11/2010

Today we began actually filming our music video. Over the last 6 or so weeks we have been planning this with depiction of music videos to get an idea of what the video should look like, analysis of past A2 level videos but mainly through the creation of a storyboard. This was important to us today as it acted as a guide for the shots we were going to carry out. However, we always wanted to be flexible with this and not stick too rigidly to it. We used camera to capture footage which would film onto a tap allowing us to upload later and alos a tripod to rest the camera onto.

Today we filmed the scene where the male character tries to look like the gorilla. Originally we had planned for him to walk in and place object down on the bed however, we decided to cut this down as when we filmed it we found out that the 6 second instrumental was not enough to compensate for this. Therefore, we’ve changed it to him walking into the room, closing the door and beginning to mime. We also cut out a few close ups as when we were filming we thought they were unnecessary. During the planning process we wanted to have a variety of shots and today we tried our best to do this. However, the main problem we have with this is ensuring there is enough time between each line as it all needs to fit in order to allow the mime fit easily. Therefore, today we have used quite a few medium shots but have been creative with them, i.e. tracking shots with matt walking over to the mirror. In addition to this we changed the final part of the verse; originally Matt would look to the camera looking clearly upset after seeing the girl and gorilla together. Instead of this we decided to show him taking off the fur and walking away from the mirror. We feel this allows for the piece to flow as now everything has been done in time. One shot we were quite creative with was the inclusion of the close up of looking into the camera giving the illusion that he is looking into the mirror. The changes we have made from the original idea have been quite distinctive, however, we feel they have been needed in order to ensure each piece fits in with the song.

One big problem we had was the way the male character and the gorilla appeared on camera. We originally had planned to film straight in front of the window; however, the sunlight made this difficult and created a glare on the camera. Therefore, we improvised and had to shoot at and angle, one shot which stood out was the line of ' ' where we managed to film Matt's (male character) reflection in the mirror. From this we now realise that changes will be made at each stage and that the technique of playing the track whilst filming worked well as it meant we were able to ensure miming was perfect and that the instrumentals were filled in correctly.