Filming Diary - Day 3

Filming Diary - Day 3

Planned date: 15th March

For the third day of filming, I plan to film all of the performance sequence of the music video. This will be filmed in the morning, between the hours of 10am-12pm so that a bright morning sunlight can be captured to create an uplifting and optimistic lighting. I will find a variety of natural backgrounds, including trees, bushes and blossoms, and lip-sync the song several times to ensure I have excessive footage to pick and choose from during editing. Using various backgrounds for the performance sequence is a common convention for pop music videos.

Props and Costumes 

• Steadicam must be fully charged - this is essential equipment to ensure that the performance sequence looks professional. It should be transported in its portable protective case.
• Camera (iPhone) must be fully charged and have enough storage for multiple takes of the complete song. 
•  An additional device (phone or iPad) to play the song for accurate lip-sync. 

Evaluation of Day 3

What went well?

The whole song being lip-synced was recorded five times in different locations to ensure high-quality footage could be used for the final video (which may require mix-and-matching shots from the several takes). Thankfully, the weather was better than expected; it was warm and there were no clouds in the sky, meaning the lighting stayed constant in all takes. 

The backgrounds were chosen more specifically upon arrival, since some backgrounds appeared 'more green' than others - the greenery in the background was essential for the continuity of the natural theme throughout the music video. 

I was very pleased with the stability of the video, despite the rough terrain. This was partially helped with the use of the steadicam, but the cameraman/woman had a huge responsibility in this situation as well. Overall the lip-sync was accurate and believable too.

What could have been better?

In some of the takes, the sun was in the eyes of the performer, meaning the face was illuminated excessively and squinting was visible. In my opinion this looks unprofessional in regards to lighting control. Thankfully, the song was shot several times in shaded conditions as well (under a canopy of trees, or simply facing away from the sunlight). 
In hindsight, I wish more 'casual' shots of the performer were filmed, for instance shots which show plain happiness and laughter. This would give the performance sequence a more 'natural', casual and realistic effect, and make the performer seem more realistic as well - solely performance arguably results in connotations of objectifying or dehumanising the performer. 
Overall, I am satisfied with the footage recorded on Day 3; the problems which have appeared could be solved with the use of editing. If not, quick re-shoots would be easy to conduct.