Music Video Planning & Preparation - Test Shots (Videos)

The performance aspect of this video will be filmed as one continuous shot of Liam miming and playing an acoustic guitar which I will then cut into segments and edit into specific points in the video. This performance will be seen in shots 7, 9, 24, 27 and 40. Due to this only being a test shot, Liam's outfit, the background and lighting are not to the standard of what will be seen in the final outcome.

I originally wanted the performance to be filmed as a high angle, mid-shot of Liam standing against a white background. After filming this test shot I was unhappy with the outcome as I wanted Liam to connote dominance and confidence in his performance and I felt that filming it from a high angled highlighted his vulnerability. I then got Liam to sit on the edge of a bed whilst I filmed him in a low angle long shot. I feel that this looks better and makes Liam central to the shot. His body language in this position looks more relaxed and comfortable which is what I was hoping for as this scene is set in Liam's characters house and it also provides reference to the laidback look of Indie musicians.

Music Video Planning & Preparation - Test Shots (Photos)

I took photos of some of the shots I am planning on filming. This helped me to visualise my ideas as it gave me a better insight than my storyboard did due to the fact these are real photos containing my lead role. The mise-en-scene of these photos isn't correct but I am only using them as a draft to give me a rough idea of the overall outcome.

Shots 1-6 

Recurring Shot: Shots 7, 9, 24, 27 and 40

Music Video Planning & Preparation - Screen Test

As I have cast my friend Liam as the main role/singer in my music video I decided to get him to do a screen test of him miming a small segment of the song. This aided in giving me an idea of how he would look on camera and whether or not he was suitable for the role.

Music Video Planning & Preparation - Animatic Storyboard

I have made my hand drawn storyboard into an animatic to give me an idea of what the finished outcome will look like. I did this by scanning my storyboard onto a computer and then putting the images into Windows Movie Maker. I put my selected song into Windows Movie Maker aswell and then proceeded to time the images correctly with the music. Due to the fact that my music video will have a non-linear narrative, I applied a black and white/grainy filter to the images where the shots are intended to be flashbacks. This aids in visualising my ideas. I also applied panning and zooming to particular slides to represent movement in the shots. Overall I found this task extremely helpful as it gave me an insight into what my final product will look like and made the planning of my filming schedule a lot easier.

Music Video Planning & Preparation - Shot List

Shot 1: High angle, long shot of a pack of 20 Marlboro Gold cigarettes (Shots 1-6, 0:00-0:03)
Shot 2: High angle, long shot of a lighter (Shots 1-6, 0:00-0:03)
Shot 3: Close up of Liam's face in profile with a cigarette in his mouth (left side) (Shots 1-6, 0:00-0:03)
Shot 4: Extreme close up of Liam's mouth with a cigarette in it and a lighter in front (Shots 1-6, 0:00-0:03)
Shot 5: High angle, long shot of a pint (Shots 1-6, 0:00-0:03)
Shot 6: Close up of Liam's face in profile taking a sip of the pint (left side) (Shots 1-6, 0:00-0:03)
Shot 7: Mid-shot of Liam miming (0:03 - 0:07)
Shot 8: Long shot of Liam in his kitchen (0:07-0:11)
Shot 9: Mid-shot of Liam miming (0:11-0:18)
Shot 10: Medium close-up of Liam looking directly at the camera (0:18-0:19)
Shot 11: Close up of Liam's face (0:19-0:20)
Shot 12: Extreme close-up of Liam's eyes (0:20-0:24)
Shot 13: Long shot of Liam and Katie walking towards each other (0:24-0:28)
Shot 14: Mid-shot of Liam and Katie looking through a plastic bag (0:28-0:36)
Shot 15: Long shot of Liam and Katie in a field (0:37-0:45)
Shot 16: Mid-shot of Liam and Katie embracing (0:45-0:51)
Shot 17: Mid-shot of Katie and Liam lying down, filmed from overhead (0:52-1:07)
Shot 18: Close-up of Liam's face whilst he's laid down (1:08-1:10)
Shot 19: Long shot of Katie sat down with a needle in her arm (1:11-1:14)
Shot 20: Medium long shot of Liam and Katie arguing (1:14 - 1:20)
Shot 21: Close up of Liam's arm with a syringe hovering over his vein (1:20-1:22)
Shot 22: Long shot of Liam and Katie sat cross legged on the floor (1:22-1:23)
Shot 23: Close up of Liam's face (1:23-1:24)
Shot 24: Mid-shot of Liam miming (1:24 - 1:29)
Shot 25: Long shot of Liam moving round his kitchen, grabbing clothes and putting them on (0:29-0:31)
Shot 26: Tracking shot of Liam and Katie running across a field holding hands (1:31-1:38)
Shot 27: Mid-shot of Liam miming (1:38-1:44)
Shot 28: Liam walking out of his kitchen, tracking shot (1:44-1:47)
Shot 29: Long shot of Liam and Katie walking across a road (1:48-1:53)
Shot 30: Mid shot of Liam looking in the mirror (over the shoulder) (1:53-2:02)
Shot 31: Over Liam's shoulder shot of a car coming towards Katie (slow motion) (2:02-2:06)
Shot 32: Close up of Liam's face in shock
Shot 33: Long shot high angle of Katie and the car behind her (slow motion)
Shot 34: Long shot of Liam running towards her in an attempt to stop (slow motion)
Shot 35: Long shot of Liam Callum (car driver) and Katie who is dead on the floor (2:11-2:13)
Shot 36: Tracking shot of a bottle of White Lightning rolling along the floor (2:13-2:16)
Shot 37: Mid-shot of Liam looking in the mirror (2:18-2:26)
Shot 38: Over the shoulder of Liam looking at the needles, empty bottles and photo (2:26-2:29)
Shot 39: Close up of a bin opening with syringes dropping in it (2:29-2:33)
Shot 40: Mid-shot of Liam miming (2:33-2:42)
Shot 41: Medium long shot of Liam picking up a rose in his bedroom (2:43-2:49)
Shot 42: Over the shoulder mid-shot of Liam looking in the mirror about to shave off his hair (2:51-2:58)
Shot 43: Tracking shot of Liam walking through a graveyard (2:59-3:02)
Shot 44: Over the shoulder of Liam looking at a grave (3:02-3:06)

Music Video Planning & Preparation - Storyboard

This is the shot by shot storyboard for my music video. It has detailed notes regarding mise-en-scene, sound, editing and cinematography for each shot and also includes the timing of each individual shot.

Music Video Planning & Preparation - Narrative Development

Although I already had an initial idea of what I wanted the narrative of my music video to be, I found myself struggling when it came to fitting the ideas with the timing of the song. To make this easier for myself I printed out a copy of the lyrics and made notes on them whilst listening to my chosen song on repeat. I found this very helpful as I used these notes as the final template when creating my storyboard.