Unfortunately just before Christmas we were prevented from doing any internal filming as the green screen we have access to was broken and needed to be replaced. As this type of filming is central to the video we're creating it meant there was little else we could do but wait. We attempted to come up with contingency plans that would see us film more external shots and make some slight alterations to our storyboards to reflect this. Just before Christmas we came up with a fantastic idea that would give our video a new focus that we'd not really considered before - to make sections of it a behind-the-scenes montage to offer an insight in to what it is like being part of a band. We felt it would be a statement of intent that Rough Cuts don't take themselves too seriously and were willing to poke fun at themselves in a video that was deliberately made to look low-budget. I feel this challenges the codes and conventions of a typical 21st century music video where every effort is made by directors to create the illusion of grandeur, wealth and happiness. We don't want to create a video that attempts to mimic the content of professional videos as it would be clear that we are just copying what we know to be successful. What we wish to portray is a video that highlights the vast difference between the big money spent on music videos in the professional industry and just how far away that we are from that as a young band. If we present it as we hope to - in a way that doesn't show us leading idyllic lives and reminding our audience that we are just like them - we hope to reinforce that we understand why professional acts are branded in such a way and that they are designed in order for their fans to live vicariously through their on-screen experiences. Our decision to create a video of a much different style perhaps hints that we don't believe in the hype of a popular band (which is how we've begun branding ourselves on our websites) and want to develop a relationship of equality with our audience.
Despite the fact that we feel it is fresh and unusual, I have been inspired by the way one famous band have done something similar in recent years. British band Snow Patrol developed a similar idea for their single 'Hands Open' in 2007 and the way that did it could prove to be the basis for how we format ours:
They have made it black and white throughout to symbolise that what the footage/photographs they are showing are from the past - a collection of memories. The editing techniques used include a slow zoom in and out of certain shots which offers a greater perspective in to what is being shown. From this you can see that it is a 'story so far' kind of video that charts their journey in the build-up to this particular song being released. Whilst ours will not be similar in that regard, some of the photographs are from behind the scenes when Snow Patrol aren't conforming to their stage presences and that is the type of trait we wish to reflect.
The whole idea gave us added impetus going in to the Christmas holiday to go and film as a group around our hometown of Bristol. We planned on coinciding our filming with visiting a skatepark and picking up the shots we needed from that particular environment too. However, we were not all available at the same time over the two week break and it meant we were unable to go out as we'd hoped. Knowing full-well that we've slipped behind schedule with the video we have worked twice as hard since the turn of the new year to ensure we are making the most of our time. Ollie has got some shots of him skating (from ground level) and that is one element of the video that we are pleased to have now got sorted. There may still be further skate shots that we need to film but the bulk of it is in place and will be uploaded shortly. Safiye is trying to arrange an appropriate time to meet with her friend who is part of a dance group and we hope the opportunity will arise for her to get some footage of a males vs females dance off. Ollie and I discussed using a podcast for our websites last Wednesday and wondered how we could include one another in them and I suggested that we could all use the same footage if we were to stage a 'radio interview'. Both Ollie and Safiye liked the idea and we set about creating a mini radio studio equipped with low angle cameras that showed the interview taking place at the table below. Safiye assumed the role of radio presenter whilst myself and Ollie played ourselves and answered the questions that had been devised by the radio company. An additional feature was that we were interacting with our fans who were sending in questions to the radio station's Twitter account during the interview. We came up with the name 'Fresh FM' and pleasingly it went really well. All three of us settled in to our roles quickly and it felt as if we were a part of a proper band who were being interviewed as part of their PR duties. The questions and answers were completely spontaneous as we felt it would give the impression of a live radio broadcast when uploaded to our websites.
That will be our main video and, certainly in terms of my website, it will be the focal point of the 'podcast' section. The footage has not been edited fully just yet but should be done relatively shortly over the next couple of weeks. We did, for contingency purposes, film a second interview with Safiye being interviewed by me and Ollie in a role reversal. However, this will only done as a back-up should for some reason we lose the footage from the original.
The plan at this point is to go out and film both externally and internally as quickly as we possibly can over the next fortnight, but we have been dealt a blow with the heavy snowfall we've experienced in the past 24 hours. Our Media Studies facility at school was closed today (Friday 18th January) and with the adverse weather conditions set to last well in to next week, we could face the same problem. Hopefully the snow will melt sufficiently for us to be able to go in and have access to the cameras and iMacs to edit but we'll have to wait and see how things are on Monday.
We're a little worried that we have fallen behind as much as we have but from my point of view I'm very pleased with the radio podcast idea and how that's turned out. We're all just hoping we can make further progress over the next 7 days!
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