CD and Website Photos (12th/19th October)

During the first and second filming sessions we captured lots of photos of Sophie in different positions and locations around Suffolk Lodge and the streets where we filmed. These images could be used in the cover, back cover or insert of the digipack we have to make or images that could be placed on the website. We took photos of her in both of her main outfits from the music video that represent the artists vulnerable and stronger/sexy states in the narrative. We decided to keep the same locations and costumes from the music video because if the digipack was actually released then we would intend 'Not Made for This' to be the lead single and title track from the album. Therefore the song and music video establish the main image of the artist and the narrative and style for the whole album. Therefore images that have similarities and links to the music video would be used on the album cover to support and continue the style set up in the music video for the whole album. This has been done by many artists in their albums, for example Madonna, who constantly changes her music style and image for each album to remain fresh and popular in the music industry used a cowboy image for her 'Music' album. The cover of which she wore a similar costume to the one in her 'Music' video the lead single and title track of the album. This then lends this style and image to the whole album and will then make people associate that album with the cowboy and dance style/ image. For our album the music video creates the theme of a split personality (which links to the to styles of songs that would be on the album- acoustic ballads and upbeat pop/rock music) and pop/rock image about a journey of change, revenge and growing strength. This creates an album that has an overall story that links to the first single and its music video, an original idea for an artist to do.

For these images we tried to convey the young, innocent and vulnerable side of the artist in the song. The use of the piano and guitar conveys the acoustic style of many of the songs on the album. The green setting and light clothing creates the light side of the album- the normal, carefree persona of the artist. With the images below we deliberately contrasted this to create the confidient, sexy and star persona often created by artists. This perhaps represents the darker more wild side of the artist and the album. The corset costume and make up combined with the street and wall setting conveys a more urban, rock image for the album. The facial expressions and poses Sophie pulls also portrays the stronger side to the artist. With these two different contrasting styles combined it highlights the two images and styles we want the album to have. We came up with this idea after listening some other songs by Anna Neale and forming around ideas around the syle and themes of the music and lyrics in her songs. The split personality and styles creates a unique and interesting twist for an album and I am really happy with the original idea we have created.

Filming Session Two (19th October)

Location: Backstreets around Suffolk Lodge

Sequence: Second Chorus and Verse, plus Sections of Final Chorus

Today we returned to our friend Louise's house 'Suffolk Lodge' to continue filming, however today we used the streets around her house as our filming location. In the planning stage we decided some of our shots would consist of Sophie as the artist in the video walking down a street singing the song, walking to the beat of the music and getting more angry throughout the song, showing her change of personality and her journey to getting revenge on her boyfriend (even though we do not intend to show this as it could potentially be predictable and a bit of a cliche, so we will leave the video on a cliffhanger). The cold, wet and dirty looking street is contrast to the large house with the beautiful garden and symbolises the transition of the girl from vulnerable to a stonger, 'rockier' side. We decided to return to Louise's house to film the street scenes as she had informed us the streets near her were quiet with few cars or people to interrupt us in the afternoon time that we intended to film.

Arrival and Wall Dance Sequence When we arrived we walked a minute down the road from the house with the equipment to a quiet crossroad, we decided to film here as it meant we could film shots from different angles meaning a different side of the street was behind Sophie in each shot, creating the effect that she was walking to different locations without us actually having to (this saved a lot of time and avoided struggling to find multiple suitable locations). It was a great place to film as it was a crossroad on a back street/ housing area rather than a main road which would have been dangerous. On one of the roads leading off from the crossroad, there was a small street that came to a dead end and on it was a small section of a brick wall. In the planning stage we discussed filming some shots of Sophie singing against a wall as it is a easy shot to pull off but looks effective and suits the image of pop/rock song and the girl's stronger attitude. This was the first sequence we filmed today and is the scene placed to the second verse and chorus of the song. I filmed Sophie from the from the side leaning on the wall using a handheld close up shot, she then turned to look forward and I filmed her from the front with her back against the wall using a long shot. We will then place these two shots together to demonstrate our ability of placing shots together in sequence and making them flow, ensuring the continuity is correct (she turns in one shot and then it cuts to the direction she has turned to). Andrew and I continued to film in this location using mid-shots and long shots for the second chorus. Long shots allow the audience to see Sophie performing and moving to the music, showing her growing agression and anger and mid-shots give a closer view so you can see her emotions and that she is moving. We filmed these shots several times to make sure we had plenty of footage to choose from, we also had Sophie perform with and without a black coat on to experiment with different additions to her corset costume described in the previous session.

Handheld Walking Shot The next shot was a handheld shot filmed by Josh of Sophie walking down the street from the wall singing one of the final choruses near the end of the song. Although handheld can often be quite shaky the shot was filmed successfully. I aided Josh in saying that when Sophie moves forward he should move back so both of them move simultaneously. This would ensure the distance between them remained the same throughout the shot- which was a mid-shot. Obviously this would have been much easier with a track along the floor with the camera and tri-pod attached however we do not possess this technology so we had to make do with the handheld technique. These shots again add to the variety we already have and demonstrates our ability to create different angles and situations that link to the narratative and style of a music video.

Walking and Running Street Seqeunce The final shots we filmed were of Sophie walking and running down each of the streets in the crossroads which when cut between other shots will look like her progression down different streets. She progresses from walking to running as the song progresses to show her anger increasing. The running matches with the song becoming faster and building to climax. We first filmed her from a long shot perspective so the audience could see what was happening however we also filmed through a close up and mid- shot perspective because in the long shot you could not see her singing. In addition close ups allow emotion to be conveyed as well as creating a connection to the audience. Andrew and Josh filmed the long shots and I filmed the mid-shots. I found it particularly difficult to zoom out as she got closer smoothly as it kept jolting, particularly in the running shots as it had to be done quickly but in sync with Sophie running. Teamwork was crucial at this stage, whilst Sophie acted and some filmed the others were on traffic watch. This sequence took a long time because of interruptions from cars and pedestrians, meaning we had to keep restarting. Often we would be filming a really good shot and a car or in one case a large truck would turn into the street and the shot. However this is the nature of filming in a public location and we dealt with it effectively and kept carrying on. (Below is a collection of clips where Andrew filmed some of the shots being filmed whilst he was not filming... Remember the clips do not represent the shot types, angles and quality that will be present in the final video!)

During the walking and running shots we tried to experiment further with voyeurism by having Sophie remove her coat and corset as she walked or ran down the street in certain shots. This would show her anger and new found confidence coming to a conclusion and be appealing to a male audience. Furthermore, we also managed to film a great shot with Sophie walking in the rain but not singing and the rain is visible in the shot, this will be placed in the instrumental. The rain in certain shots really adds to the moody, darker and rockier image of the character and song. Overall another successful filming session which was frustrating at times because of the traffic interruptions which meant we spent a lot of time on one sequence but in all we still managed to film a lot of footage.

Filming Session One (12th October)

Location: Suffolk Lodge

Sequence: Pre-Song Material, First Verse and Chorus

Today was the first filming session for our music video. During planning we decided that the narrative of our video would follow a girl singing about her boyfriend and her unhappiness within the relationship to link to the lyrics of the song. Initially we planned to portray two versions of the girl- an innocent and vulnerable side and the alter ego where she is much stronger, aiming to exact revenge on her boyfriend. However before we started filming we realised this perhaps would not be clear enough to the audience in the final video. So I suggested we display the narrative of the girl starting the song in her 'normal' innocent, vulnerable and naive state and as the video and song progresses she decides to 'toughen' herself up and become stronger, prompting a change in image and attitude (this would be shown through Sophie's costume and performance, as well as the locations she is in). When discussing the innocent and vulnerable side, I suggested we needed to film in a large, old looking house with a big garden as it would symbolise a sheltered girl with a luxuryious lifestyle and link to the lyrics 'Money is power and I have everything' in the song. Andrew suggested our friend Louise's house and this is where we filmed in the session today.

Arrival and Location Shots When we arrived it was clear to see that the house was the perfect location for what I had described. At first we had a tour around the house and gardens, at this stage we took pictures and discussed where to film which sections. I suggested filming shots of the gardens to introduce the setting to the audience in the pre-song material, revealing where the character in the song lives to deepen her story. Louise had a white bench in her garage area (seen in the pictures above) and Andrew thought that this was a great area to film the first verse of the track. We also founf the wooden fences and gates in the garden gave the image of a cage which could be filmed in and against to symbolise how the girl in the song is trapped, but still maintains the vulnerable life she has through the pretty garden's in the background. The first shots were filmed by Me and Sophie, these were establishing shots of the front view of the house and some of the flowers and trees that were at the front. We tried to include a variety of shot types and angles, including a long still shot, a long pan shot and a close up of the name of the house above the front door 'Suffolk Lodge' which could be used to further give realism and credibility to the setting and story of the girl in the song. Andrew and Josh then filmed the shots of the gardens to include in the pre-song material described earlier whilst Me and Sophie rehearsed the argument scene between the girl and her boyfriend which would introduce the narrative behind the song in the video. Again Josh and Andrew filmed using a variety of shots, such as long and close up and still and pan. Including pre-song material in a music video creates a cinematic feel and enhances the story and depth of the song which we though was an important idea to experiment with an include. After all some of the most critically acclaimed videos such as those by Lady GaGa (Paparazzi and Telephone) include pre-song material because of the cinematic feel they create.

Arguement Sequence After sufficient rehearsal to make the scene as believable as possible we filmed the arguement sequence between the girl and her boyfriend (played by Me and Sophie). We chose to act in our video as well because we all have acting experience from GSCE and A Level Drama as well as school productions. Therefore we can give believable performances and be in charge of what we are doing ourselves, avoiding the need of instructing others what to do which could waste valuable time. I am particularly proud of this shot as in the planning stage I suggested that we film the arguement from the outside, with the camera placed at the window and the audience see the two in the window argueing inside. This creates the impression of the audience being outside looking in and includes an exciting and original shot within our video. Although some in the group was unsure we could pull it off it was very successful. Me and Sophie stood in the window, Josh outside with the camera (which I had to place on a table to create the right height needed to film the shot) and Andrew stood with the front door open ready to shout when to start filming. I believe this is a prime example of how well we work as a group and highlights the great teamwork during this project. As with our Thriller opening last year we filmed this shot several times so we could pick and choose the best bits during post-production.

Bench Sequence After this we started filming the first verse of the music video starting with the lyrics “go down”. We chose the bench setting described earlier for this sequence as it effectively created the vulnerable image we hoped for with the gardens and cage like fence in the background. Sophie sung the lyrics aloud so it would look as realistic as possible and avoid miming errors when the track is placed over the shot in the final video. Sophie chose to wear a white vest top with a flower like pattern, light blue jeans and to be bearfooted in this sequences as it again creates and enhances the normal, innocent and vulnerable girl. Josh filmed this sequence whilst Me and Andrew instruced him on the different shot types and angles to film the sequence from. These included a long shot from the front, a high angle shot which symbolises her vulnerability, a mid shot from the left side and a close up from the front. We intend to cut between these shot types so the audience see the sequence from a variety of perspectives and it makes the sequence much more interesting. Multiple shots are needed to mimic the style of a music video as they never stay on one shot to long they often cut between several shots in each verse. The close up is particularly effective in this sequence as it allows the audience to see the girl's emotions and her unhappiness which was acted brilliantly by Sophie hear, who put a lot of effort into the singing and acting today.

Cage Dance Sequence The final shots we filmed in this first session were the first shots of the girl in her stonger form. For this 'version' of the girl we knew that their had to be more of a performance aspect to the character and shots, this would effectively mimic how all female artists portray themselves in music videos. To create voyeurism Sophie chose a black tank top with a red corset over the top with black leggings and heels. This brillantly creates a tough and sexy image that female artists often achieve in actual videos and is again another aspect of our video that I am particularly proud of. The shots consisted of Sophie singing the first chorus and the section before the chorus. We filmed this sequence in a gateway to the house at the back garden where the wooden fences joined to create what looked like a cage. This gave the impression of being trapped and a cage containing a her new found wild side ready to burst out. This part of the song is quite upbeat so Sophie did a lot of movement based dancing such angry gestures, leg movements and kicks to the music, head movement and hair flicks, allo of which we captured through a long shot. We also filmed the section through a mid-shot so you could still see the movement of the girl but also her facial expressions which are angry and stressed which contrast to the earlier emotions of innocent and upset. Credit must be given to Sophie in this sequence as she felt uncomfortable acting in this way as she felt it was not her however she persevered for the team and on the footage you cannot notice her nerves at all. Overall, a great first filming session where each of the group played an important and equal role in the creation of our video. Although Sophie is acting in the video she still has experience with the camera as she filmed some of the establishing shots of the house with me and often suggested shots and set up the camera for someone else to then film her.