Finally its starting to take shape

With various delays on our filming we could only get just over half of it done. Furthermore, we could not do the shaving scenes (which take up a lot of the song) because of the problem with continuity. If we film the protagonist at the start with no beard, then further through he suddenly has one, it looks very bad and not well thought out.

Nevertheless, we uploaded all the footage into Final Cut, as well as the music, and have started editing finally. We have put together all the footage we have, and made a very rough cut. Pretty much the footage is all there, but with no effects and not very well cut at this present time.

Weekend filming

We have now booked the camera along with a tripod and a dolly for this coming weekend. We are aiming to complete almost all of the video, so we can start editing it all next week.

Storyboard upload

Pistola Kicks

We have been looking into the Pistola Kicks previous videos and album covers, and came accross a few that would be good for inspiration.

Here is the album cover

This really connotes the feeling we are going for in our music video, the darkness connotes negative feelings, the tunnel connotes isolation, and the light at the end connotes how the men are stuck in a negative world.

Upcoming filming

Hopefully all should go to plan this weekend, I have a number of different actors that are all willing to act over the weekend, and we will book a camera soon, then its just a matter of hoping the weather is right and hoping nothing goes wrong!

We have gotten pictures of all the actors and here they are:

Filming over the weekend

Over this weekend (4th - 5th of December) I filmed some of our sequences. I got the shots done where the man is at a party and playing football. I also got the shaver part done, and the section where he plays on his XBOX.

Now we need to carry on filming whilst we edit along the way, I will book a camera out over this coming weekend as well.

A few more texts for influence

With the Kaiser Cheifs music video to 'I Predict a Riot' we felt that the overall feeling of the video could be used in the same way for ours. The extremely fast cuts, the quick glimpses of the band members faces, and the partying going on in front of them. Nevertheless; this video is taking a much more performance based approach to the work, rather than our text which will be more focussed on the narrative and experimental side.

Filming time

Now we have pretty much completed all of our aims for research and planning, we need to get on with the actual filming. I am booking a camera out today and will film a few of the scenes at the beginning and towards the end of the music track. Then it leaves us the weekend to get most of the rest of the filming done.

Mise en scene

Now we have completed the storyboard, we are in need of planning our props and actors. So far we have the following planned out.

ACTORS:
Main protagonist - Tom Swinburn
Memory people from past life - Curtis Reid, Harry Curry, Owen Lake
People rushing around at home - Jennifer Quillen, Curtis Reid
Random people at party

LOCATIONS/SETTING:
Saffron Walden
Saffron Walden County High School
Cambridge
Littlebury/Debden

PROPS:
Paper/work
Computer
Clock
Desk
Shaver
Mirror
XBOX/PS3
TV

Barthe's media narrative codes

Having researched into narrative codes, Roland Barthe came up and his theory of narrative codes.
The codes are as follows:

The Hermeneutic Code

This code refers to plot elements of a story that are not explained. They exist as enigmas that the reader wishes to be resolved. For example; The Pigeon Detectives music video for the song 'Everybody Wants Me' shows two people in pictures at the beginning, who are they? what are they doing?



The Proairetic Code

The proairetic code refers to plot events that imply further narrative action. For example, a story character confronts an adversary and the reader wonders what the resolution of this action will be. Suspense is created by action rather than by a reader's wish to have mysteries explained. The final three codes are related to how the reader comprehends and interprets the narrative discourse.

The Semic Code

A seme is a unit of meaning or a sign that express cultural stereotypes. These signs allow the author to describe characters, settings and events. The semic code focuses upon information that the narration provides in order to suggest abstract concepts. Any element in a narrative can suggest a particular, often additional, meaning by way of connotation through a correlation found in the narrative. The semic code allows the text to 'show' instead of 'tell' by describing material things.

The Symbolic Code

The symbolic code refers to a structural structure that organizes meanings by way of antitheses, binary oppositions or sexual and psychological conflicts. These oppositions can be expressed through action, character and setting. An example of this would be the Killers music video to 'When You Were Young' - The two protagonists are at opposite ends - binary oppositions.



The Cultural Code

The cultural code designates any element in a narrative that refers to common bodies of knowledge such as historical, mythological or scientific. The cultural codes point to knowledge about the way the world works as shared by a community or culture. Including Bruce Willis, for instance, in the Gorillaz video to 'Stylo' refers to the audiences' common knowledge of action and adventure.



We can use these narrative codes with our music video, so that we create a greater sense of narrative following and engage the audience more effectively.

Finished storyboard

We have now finished our storyboard. We developed our ideas and have now implemented a much bigger variety of shots and techniques. The only thing left is to film and edit, then create our ancillary tasks.

I will scan the storyboard in next lesson and put it on the blog.