Critical Evaluation of my short narrative music video.

Evaluation – Critically reviewing the processes of my short video production titled ‘Upside Down’.

List of what each artist did on the production of my short narrative music video:

Jake Regan: I designed the screenplay for ‘Upside Down’ after I liaised with a musical artist named Graham Woolley, Graham had created the MP3 track and he inspired me to create a narrative story which would accompany his MP3 track. I emailed Graham and contacted him via phone to confirm a date in which I would meet Graham and collect a copy of his MP3 track titled ‘When the curtain falls’, I also got a consent form which I have in my production folder, this consent form gave permission to me using Graham’s musical file in accordance with my narrative music video, editing and distributing this final edited version into film festivals and onto online networking sites. During the pre-production process of the assignment I used the HND blog production documents which included call sheets, shot lists, storyboards, camera log sheets, risk assessments, treatment and proposal for my short narrative music film. I began by designing my storyboards using the printed production sheets and this helped me to outline the vision for my script, I was able to articulate on the types of shots that I wanted to use and easily refer back to them when I began to film. During the pre-production process I also began to brainstorm locations that would suitable to use, these included Bradford College, Abigail Chilton’s house and my student accommodation halls. For each location I created consent forms and ensured that I had permission to film in each location before I entered. I also outlined the potential risks that my crew and I would have to face during the process of filming, I created risk assessment forms for each location and also outlined the controls which I would introduce to minimize any of the risks. I created a production log which outlined who would be in each scene on each day of filming. During the first day of shooting on May 23^rd 2013 in Abbie Chilton’s house 14 Moorside Road, Eccleshill, Bradford, BD2 2EU, I ensured that all of my artists were personally ensured if they did happen to become injured, although I carefully planned the shoot to ensure that they did not face any danger, on the second shoot on May 30th 2013 in Bradford college, Great Horton Road, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD7 1AY, I met with the health and safety coordinator Brian Kendrick and he agreed to let me film on the premises of Bradford College, I also met with Mark Hirst head of security for Bradford College who agreed to let me film providing I outlined that I would let the college see the final edited version of the film to ensure that Bradford College was in no way defamed or misrepresented, I agreed to this and also agreed to Brian Kendrick and Mark Hirst seeing my risk assessment forms and adding any information to them that they felt was important. Brian Kendrick and Mark Hirst outlined to me that the risk assessment form only covered me for the types of risks which I stated on the form and if in any way I changed the risks or hazards during filming I would be liable to face punishment, which could include jail. I accepted this and agreed that the risk assessment I showed them were the finalised risk assessment forms. The third shooting location was location was at Bradford College again on 3^rd June 2013 as I re-filmed the scenes with Steve in meditation, the confrontation scenes and the scene in which Graham exits leaving his girlfriend behind. The fourth shooting location was just on Great Horton Road near my college, this was shot on June 3rd and the reasoning behind choosing Bradford was the ease of filming on the streets as opposed to travelling to another city such as Leeds or Halifax, logistically it was most convenient to film in Bradford as all my artist live in Bradford and I also live nearby to the college. The final session of filming was at my student accommodation halls Dennis Bellamy Halls of Residence, Laisteridge Lane, Bradford, West Yorkshire, BD5 0NH, which took place on June 3^rd 2013, I also created a consent form which I emailed to the accommodations officer and the security team to ensure they were okay with me filming in the building. I also had a list of other areas which I did want to film in which included Malham and other areas of the Yorkshire dales but due to time restrictions and logistical difficulties of transporting my crew there, I did not manage to film in those locations, instead choosing more convenient locations.

During the research process for my film I began to look at other musical artists who had created narrative music video’s these included Californication by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, All I want by Kodaline and Hips and Lips by Maximo Park. These inspired me to create a narrative music video as opposed to a short film; I began to look at storyboard concepts and then gradually crafted my own storyboard’s originally using online tools such as Storyboardthat and then using the production documents which were on the HND media blog. Principally I did have difficulties with storyboarding as I tended to focus on intricacy of the art of the storyboard as opposed to what it was conveying, I then met with my tutor and he outlined the idea behind storyboarding. This helped me as I then began to draw much more simplified storyboards which helped inform me before I began principal shooting, the storyboards consisted of the type of shot I was going to use, the action for the actors and also a description of the shot, including movement and direction of the character. The art of storyboard correctly helped me when I was on set as it helped me convey to my crew the real vision for my narrative music video and they were able to pick up the ideas quickly with ease.

However I could have improved on my narrative music in many ways, I did make the error of not being stern and bold enough towards my artists when on set, I was very light on them despite times in which they would act slightly inappropriately. As a director I wanted to ensure that they were happy and comfortable around me, however at times I should have been stricter and clearer that we were facing deadlines and time constraints. On reflection I hope that my artists enjoyed working with me and feel I was professional and approachable as that was how I feel that I conducted myself through the whole project. I feel that the project for me was a huge learning curve and I was naïve to begin with about the art of making a music video, I did not fully realize the level of planning, detail and patience that goes into managing actors and planning scenes. This level of pressure did affect me and this is evident with several mistakes which I mad including the shadow which is present in certain takes, however I did rectify these issues by re-filming scenes and ensuring that no shadow was in shot and the scenes were correctly white balanced. On evaluation I feel that I have learnt a great deal during the duration of this assignment and I am pleased that I have experienced working with actors and working to deadlines. To improve if I ever did this type of task again I would ensure that I did more planning and also would me much more assertive with my artists about their time management and being able to attend shoots more flexibly. My biggest complaint during the filming was not my actors/actresses dedication to being able to film but the workload which we both faced was a huge constraint in trying to meet the deadline. I often experienced times when I wanted to film and I did not have the availability of the artists, this happened various times and made it very challenging for me to organize sticking to the deadline, as I had planned dates in mind but could not stick to them and this is effect gave me a lot less time in the editing suite. On reflection of editing I do feel that editing is my least strongest suit and I would like more time editing and learning the art of colour grading and the type of lighting which suits each shot, I feel experienced at using the razor tool but I also experienced the feeling that my vision in the edit did not match my tutor’s vision and this may have been due to my lack of editing ability.

In heinsite I feel that I need time editing and more understanding of how editing works before I can truly create a perfectly edited production but considering my lack of experience I am pleased with the vision and style of the film. I believe that the style of shots which I used for the narrative music video were successful, the balance of medium and close ups shots helped to define the situation which Graham was in and also his emotional feelings as he finds his girlfriend cheating on him. Throughout the process of filming I learnt shot composition, framing, white balancing and the importance of using wide, medium and close up shots to capture different tones. Critically I feel that I have learnt the techniques of filming from all the sessions which my tutor has equipped me with and I am thankful to him for helping me.

On May 23^rd at Abbie Chilton’s house in Bradford I began principal filming and managed to film a great deal of my narrative music video, I filmed for 4 hours but had to cease filming due to it becoming late. I filmed the first scene in which Graham (Steve Maloney) arrives home from meditation and slumps onto his Bed, I filmed scene 2 in which the girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) arrives and joins Graham in Bed, they relax and converse about their days. Both Steve and Abbie were very helpful on set, they understood the vision of the scene, it did require however several takes as both actors had moments of loss of concentration and this was challenging for me as at times I had to reign them back in to the vision of the story. Steve Maloney was very good at understanding the character of Graham, he understood the meaning of the song and also the ideas which I gave to him he understood them very well, however there were times where there were bloopers which I did not feel angry at, I slightly felt when I watched the footage back and other class members saw it, I felt it reflected badly on me as I could not control my artists. I also filmed scenes 3, 4 and 5 in which Graham (Steve Maloney) wakes up and find to his surprise his girlfriend is not sleeping by his side, however due to the mistake I made in which shadow was in the shot, I had to cut at a certain point in the scene, did however re-shoot the scenes and they were successful. Scene 4 was Graham (Steve Maloney) going to his girlfriend’s parents’ house, Graham finds her Mum (Gina Amos), Brother (Richard Orange) and his girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) as they laugh and tell jokes, poking fun at Graham. During this scene I was pleased with how Gina Amos did well to get into character of the Mum despite not really knowing the vision of the narrative music video and I was pleased with Richard Orange’s ability to portray a sincere character. During this scene on reflection I feel that I should have given my artist more clarity as to what they needed to do, I am however pleased with the result. Scene 5 consisted of Graham (Steve Maloney) visiting his girlfriend to give her flowers, this scene was successful but I did feel that despite clearly explaining the scene Steve did at times laugh when it was not really necessary.

During Monday 23^rd we also filmed scene 10 in which Graham (Steve Maloney) comes and finds his girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) in bed with her new boyfriend (Thomas Shearer), this scene was a great performance from Steve Maloney and the level of emotion which he put into the character was great, however in this scene Abbie did look at the camera several times so we had to reshoot this scene. We also did scene 11 in which Graham forgives his ex- girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) and finally accepts seeing her with her new boyfriend (Thomas Shearer), during this scene Abbie and Thomas were very good at suggesting shots I could use and this scene also featured a great performance from Steve Maloney, I used a wide shot to capture the environment of the scene and then I used a medium close up to capture Steve Maloney as he gazed into the distance.

On the second session of filming on May 30^th at Bradford College I shot the scenes with Graham (Steve Maloney) and Richard Orange (originally the Dad) it was shortly after this that I was aware Richard looked too young to be the Dad, in which case I later decided to use Adam Mitulinski. On May 30^th I filmed various confrontation scenes between Graham (Steve Maloney) and the then Dad (Richard Orange), I also filmed a meditation scene with just Graham (Steve Maloney), however I had to reshoot this scene due to the fact that I miscalculated the zooming technique which did not work.

On the third session of filming on June 3^rd 2013, I re-filmed the scenes in which Graham has meditation (scene 12), this time I used a wide shot, then cut to a medium shot and then finally cut to a close up shot which was very effective. I also re-filmed the scene in which Graham (Steve Maloney) confronts his ex-girlfriend’s Dad (this time played by Adam Mitulinski) choosing to cast Adam as the Dad due to him look much older and more authentic. I also filmed scene 9 in which Graham (Steve Maloney) walks out of the door and ignores his girlfriend’s (Abbie Chilton) calls, deciding to leave her alone. During this scene I filmed multiple shots of Graham (Steve Maloney) receiving calls from his girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) I then close ups of the phone as we see Graham ignoring the calls. During the June 3^rd shoot we also did a separate session of filming in which I did a tracking shot of Graham (Steve Maloney) as he leaves his girlfriend behind and wanders off into the city of Bradford, this scene was a tracking shot. The final session of filming was also on June 3^rd at my student accommodation halls, Laisteridge Lane, Bradford, BD5 0NH, during this session I re-filmed the scene 11 in which Graham (Steve Maloney) catches his girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) in bed with her new boyfriend (Thomas Shearer) the reason I re-shot this was due to the original scene Abbie was looking into the camera. I also filmed a scene of Graham (Steve Maloney) and his girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) entering their new apartment, watching television together and also going to bed together. I also filmed a scene in which Graham (Steve Maloney) awakens to again find his girlfriend not by his side, which is repeated in the film to outline that it is not the first time that this has happened to Graham (Steve Maloney).

I re-filmed the reaction shot of Graham (Steve Maloney) as he finds his girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) in bed with a new man (Thomas Shearer), the reason I reshot this was in the original version I could not use it Abbie and Thomas kept hiding under the covers, in the updated version it is much clearer who both characters are and also it is much more effective as we see Graham’s (Steve Maloney) emotion more clearly. I was pleased to be able to re-shoot these scenes as I amended the earlier issues of my shadow being in shot, white balance issues and the issues of Abbie looking into the frame.

The several hours of filming at Abbie’s house was beneficial and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to film, it also taught me the art of time management and that I need to be more assertive and clearer when I work with a crew in future.

I do also feel that I was professional and dedicated to delivering the best possible narrative music video, I was careful in the planning of the scenes and patient in the way I crafted each scene, the experience was a first for me and I did feel considerable responsibility which I feel I dealt with extremely well.

To improve in the future I would however have given myself more time to plan and shoot the film and also spend more time with the artists clearly outlining the vision of the film, due to the time limitations, I felt rushed on set and did not always feel that I was being fully understood which on reflection could have been my fault but also I felt that I needed more time which I did not have.

I am very pleased with musical artist Graham Woolley who although he was not in the video, he was however extremely helpful with providing me with the music file and consent form, due to the nature of both of our busy schedules however it take me sometime before I finally acquired the consent form but I am also extremely thankful that I was even given the opportunity to use Graham’s musical file and he was extremely co-operative.

My performing artists were also extremely helpful, Steven Maloney as Graham was very good and I knew that when I saw him on set on the film suspicion in Spain, he was the artist which I wanted to use. However I do feel that Steven at times did drift off topic and although this is not a criticism of Steve, it did reflect poorly on me and I do feel that this does slightly frustrate me.

I do believe though that Steven was dedicated to the vision of the script and was also helpful in his flexibility to film. Abbie Chilton who was the girlfriend in my narrative music video was also extremely helpful she persuaded her parents to let me film in their house which was a fantastic location and perfect for the idea of my film. Abbie was very dedicated and her time management was great, I enjoyed working with Abbie on all stage of the production and felt she was professional. During the scene in which Graham (Steve Maloney) catches the girlfriend (Abbie Chilton) and the new boyfriend (Thomas Shearer) however Abbie did look at the camera several times which I did need to completely cut out and re-shoot again. Aside from this there were occasions where both Steven and Abbie did go out of character unusually and this is not a criticism but it did get pointed out by my tutor who outlined the need to be more assertive on set

On reflection I do feel that both Abbie and Steven were professional and understanding of the nature of my script, I feel however that at times despite me stressing the importance of sticking to time, they did create difficulties for me by laughing during a take.

I was however pleased with Abbie and Steve’s willingness to work hard to meet the vision of the script and I still believe that I chose the best possible artists.

Evaluating this I concur that I learnt about the art of time management, people skills and managing multiple responsibilities. I am aware that this assignment has equipped me with skills and tools to shoot a film in the future independently, on set I feel that I could have perhaps done with a director of photography or assistant director to help me plan and stage the scenes more but I also think that the assignment was very beneficial in m learning how to work independently. The mistakes which I was conscious of when looking back at the footage was my shadow which was in frame for one scene and this is an aspect of my filming which I most certainly need to improve on in the future. I feel that the work which I have been taught in class by my tutor and also during other project including preparation for Malham I have learnt new skills such as white balancing, dealing with ISO levels and aperture. These skills have equipped me with the tools to create a short film in the future and be more aware of the technical aspects of the camera.

Thomas Shearer was the new boyfriend in my narrative music video production and Thomas was very helpful from the beginning, he contributed ideas on set and also perfectly portrayed the dark, sinister looking character which I had hoped for. During the scene in which Graham (Steven Maloney) catches his girlfriend and the new boyfriend in bed however I do feel that Thomas and Abbie both hid under the covers slightly which is not exactly what I wanted, Thomas and Abbie did though re-shoot the scenes with me at the my accommodation halls so this rectified the earlier mistake. I was pleased with Thomas during the set of suspicion in Spain and I liked his performance, believing he was the best possible artist to be in my narrative music video. Thomas was very good in the party scene and authentically portrayed the type of character which I wanted.

Richard Orange played the Brother and a party member in my narrative music video, Richard was very helpful and was often the first person to arrive to film. Richard was often composed on set and also was a great addition to the party scene in which he authentically played a local drug dealer. I am pleased with Richard’s contribution to my narrative music video, originally casting Richard as the Dad was a mistake of mine as Richard did not look old enough to portray a Dad, Abbie’s Dad was very busy and we did not have any other older guys so luckily Adam Mitulinski offered to help out during the final day of filming.

Adam Mitulinski looked like a much older and much more believable Dad than Richard Orange; it was noted by my tutor when he first saw my footage that Richard did not look authentic or old enough to be a Dad. Thankfully Adam agreed and his performance was very good, despite his lack of time to understand the concept of the video, Adam was very good at capturing the emotion of the Dad and his older looks blended very well to the authenticity of the narrative music video, Adam even choreographed a mini confrontation scene with Graham (Steve Maloney) this was very impressive and I was glad that Adam could help.

Gina Amos is a make-up artist who was on set during the day of filming and she kindly volunteered to be in my short narrative music video as the Mother, I originally did want Leanne Kelly as she is slightly older but due to other arrangements Leanne was unavailable. I was however very happy with Gina Amos’s performance, Gina was able to adapt well and she also thoroughly enjoyed the idea of my narrative music video which meant she was very keen to help out. Gina was very helpful during the party scene and helped organize the room, bring drinks, food and also arrange the room to ensure that it looked authentic.

Dom Maloney was an artist who was also on set on the day of the shoot and I drafted him in as an extra, believing he would be a great addition to the party. Dom was fantastic and very co-operative, even contributed great ideas for alternative scenes and also being very sincere in his support of Graham.

Becky Chilton and James Shearer were also additions to the cast who happened to be on set during the day of filming, I added them to the cast and they were also extremely helpful in setting up the party scene and also being very authentic in the filming of the party scene.

Originally I did want Sophia Kelly to be the sister however due to an illness she had this was not possible, Alexandra Garrick was due to be in the film but due to her commitments with yoga she was unavailable, Leanne Kelly was due to be the Mother but she had the commitments of looking after her own children, Nicole Holt was due to be in the party scene but was unavailable, Vivianna Poludniak was due to be in the party scene but was very busy and Steven Normandale was due to be in the party scene but due to other commitments he was unavailable. Importantly I also wanted members of my HND media class to be in my party scene but due to their own short film filming commitments this was not possible.

To conclude one of the major aspects of my narrative short video production which I would like to improve on is the editing aspect, although my knowledge of editing is okay, I also feel that I need more training in colour grading, lighting and after effects. I feel that my editing ability needs to improve if I am to produce a high quality final edit.