Camera's Rolling...

So, the day finally arrived. Apprehension was definitely the theme of my day but determination was also playing a key role. Harry and I went to meet Mike Johnston for a prep talk and he gave us some words of advice regarding the shoot and I felt confident that it was all under control.

Once our meeting was over we went to print out release forms and then to pick up the equipment. We hadn't quite thought it all through in that, there was only two of us and we were having to pick up 4x Sony Z1's, 3x Manfrotto tripods and sound equipment. That was a hell of a lot for two of us to carry but we both prevailed and took the equipment to Harry's, where we met Simon who thankfully drove us to Komedia.

At Komedia we met Edem and my friend, Joe, who offered to lend a hand for the day's filming. While at Komedia we introduced ourselves to Lark, the manager of Komedia who was incredibly helpful. We also met the sound engineers. One of which, to my surprise, was an old school friend, Sam Rowe. We then started to set up our equipment and also started to film a minute's worth of footage on each tape in preparation for logging and capturing in Final Cut Pro. I think that we acted in a very professional manner, making ourselves know to the staff and keeping out of their way and causing minimum disruption.

When the band arrived we introduced ourselves and I liaised with David Pears, the band's manager. He gave us the green light for an interview at 9.30pm and also informed me that the band's setlist will not be finalised until very late on that evening. With that in mind, I decided to schedule the tape change at the end of the 5th song.

We decided to have one camera next to the sound desk. This seemed to be the best area for our wide-angle shot. We also set up one camera up on a balcony because it was not going to be in use by the public. Situated on the right hand side it could focus on the keyboardist and main singer. We then decided to have one camera on the left hand side of the pit and to also roam in the audience, requiring a camera operator and assistant. We decided the last camera would be behind stage getting shots from the wings. We also got permission from the band to go on stage with them and get shots of them and the audience, so long as we didn't get in the way.

When all equipment was set up I spoke to the sound engineers about getting the feed from their mixing desk into one of the cameras. I grew a bit concerned that the sound levels weren't coming through the headphones very well, although on the display screen of the camera they were visibly okay. I felt the need to have a second opinion so called upon our lecturer, Mike Johnston to double check the sound. He also brought his own headphones down in case their was a fault with the ones that we had. He seemed happy that the feed was okay so I felt confident to go on.

It was then time for Joe and I to go backstage and get a quick interview with the band while the rest of the guys got in position with their cameras. We had Simon on the balcony, Edem on the static shot and Tom & Harry in the pit.

The room that we interviewed the band in was very cramped and a lot of noise was being picked up from the mic of the support act still playing, so I am unsure of whether the footage will be usable. The questions we asked were:

• You are currently on tour, how has it gone?
• How does it feel to be playing your final gig back in your hometown?
• What do you have planned for the rest of the year?
• The bands supporting you tonight are also from Bath, do you have any advice for them?

The band answered the questions fully which was very helpful. However, there were a few interruptions which may add to the the fact that the footage may be unusable.

We then had to finish off the interview very quickly as the band had to get on stage to set-up. The general filming of the band, I feel, went very well. Joe and I took it in turns, focusing on the drummer and bassist and also the keyboard player where possible. We also managed to get some shots of the audience which I am hoping will be great for cut-aways.

It was a great thrill being on stage with the band and finding decent shots. We really had to think on our feet and also keep an eye out for Tom and Harry to make sure that we weren't filming the same thing.

Our tape change also went very well as the singer actually stopped and started chatting to the audience after the fifth song giving us plenty of time for it. The lead singer actually forgot to tap the microphone a few times for our sync points, which may cause difficulty in the post-production stages.

Once we finished filming we became aware that Edem wasn't able to change his tape which was unfortunate as we wanted to keep that camera rolling as people left the venue so that we could do a time-lapse of it emptying. Once the band finished, Harry and Tom went out the front to get some vox-pops. We decided to do it after the gig because we figured with the band starting quite late on, their fans may not necessarily turn up to see the support acts. They also took release forms with them.

We all felt the after-show buzz and I was very pleased with how everything went. However, I was still a bit concerned about the feed from the PA. I had a thought that if the feed is bad then we could maybe get an original recording of the song but layer the live footage over it, creating a music video for it. A bit like this video for "Ready to Start" by Arcade Fire. We would likely use a song that they would like to promote, maybe a forthcoming single.


We managed to have a chat with the manager of Komedia, Lark, afterwards regarding filming there again. She said that she would like to see the footage that we have filmed and then she will talk with her marketing team to see if we could make it a regular thing. This was great to hear and I think it goes to show that we were not in anybodies way and acted very professionally.

Simon and Edem are due to start logging and capturing next week and then Tom and Harry will be editing.

iTinerary

Schedule for Filming 9th March 2011

• 1100 Meeting with Mike Johnston. Equipment and release forms to be picked up
• 1400 Meet with rest of group at Komedia for brief and liaise with manager of Komedia and sound engineers.
• 1700 Liaise with band manager, David Pears regarding setlist, interview and sound check
• 1900 Doors open
• 1945 First support act
• 2030 Second support act
• 2100 Third support act
• 2130 Interview band
• 2200 Kill it Kid
• 2300 De-rig equipment

Although all equipment has been booked I also need to get an extra long XLR lead to plug into one of the cameras and get a feed from the PA. The other three Z1's will be recording sound on their internal mic so we will need to create a sync point to make it easier in post-production. This can be created by an audio point, by getting the singer to tap on the microphone a couple of times before they play, or it can be a visual point, using a flash gun.

We also need to be aware that the set will last longer than the 60 minutes each tape allows us. Therefore, we need to schedule a tape change.

O.K.K.I.K

Today I went down to Komedia to chat with the staff with regards to filming there next Wednesday. They were very helpful and keen to let us film. I now just needed confirmation from the band. I had not heard back from Lucy Ray so I found the contact details for their management and promoter on the band's myspace page. I have been conversing with their manager, David Pears, who will also be managing the tour that day. He has also granted us permission to film the band and was suggesting maybe filming the sound-check and also an interview with the band which would be great.

I was unfortunately unable to get into the main venue to do a risk assessment and see where we can put the cameras but I will get a couple of the other guys to go down in the next couple of days to sort it out as I am going home for a few days tomorrow.

Kill it Kid were playing a gig tonight in Bristol that I suggested to the others that we should go to but unfortunately none of them could attend.

Avril Lavigne was right.

'Why did we have to go and make things so complicated?' The Canadian would whine. Never would I have thought that she was actually right in regards to this module. It really did dawn on us that we were over-complicating things in regards to this music video. We were at risk of being over-ambitious which is exactly where we went wrong last time.

So, another opportunity has arisen. Instead of filming a music video we are now looking to film a music gig in Komedia. Bath based band Kill it Kid are set to perform there on Wednesday 9th March with a few support acts. This give us a great opportunity for a film project. Kill it Kid site some of their many influences as Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, The White Stripes, Cold War Kids, Johnny Cash, Leadbelly & Otis Redding which I have to say I was glad to hear. When listening to their music you can definitely see where the influences lie and they also remind me of The Kills and Dead Weather.


In our meeting today we decided to draw up a list of what needs to be done and also try to sort a rough schedule for the gig.

I need to get in touch with one of the music lecturers who can put me in touch with the band, Lucy Ray. I have filmed Lucy Ray before at Komedia so I am hoping that she won't mind. Once I have the contact details for the band I can give them a shout to see if we would be allowed to film the gig. A few things I need to find out from them would be the setlist, a stage plan and also if there are going to be any additional guest members that may be joining them on stage. We also need to listen to the songs they'll be playing, that way we can work out which cameras need to be putting at who within the band. We need to be aware of any solos that we need to focus on.

I am planning to go to Komedia tomorrow to firstly ask for permission if we can film there and also to have a look at the stage and see where we can put the cameras. In our group discussion we decided that we would like to use 4 cameras but will obviously need to see the venue first. It would be great to be able to get a shot from the wings of the band, which can then also capture audience cut-aways.

We would also need to liaise with the sound engineer to see if we can plug one of the cameras into the PA system. We will also need to find out if there will be anyone introducing each act, that way we can get them to tap the microphone a couple of times before each act starts, creating a sync point for the cameras which makes it easier during multi-clip editing.

While at Komedia tomorrow I can draw up a risk assessment for the venue and can also contact Bath Film Office regarding filming an exterior shot.

A few other ideas we had were to maybe film people queuing up for the gig. Maybe even to have a camera back stage if the band allows it and maybe some vox pops of before and after. We will need to have release forms there on the day of shooting.

Once we have finalised the schedule of filming we can then go on to create a schedule for the edit. Baring in mind there will probably be about 5 hours worth of tape to log and capture.

I am very excited for this and hope that permissions are granted without any problems.

The lineup of the band is similar to that of a few bands I like for instance, Dead Weather and so I am now researching different ways and styles of how they have been filmed live.


And also, The Pixies



Both of these bands, like Kill it Kid, have various members singing different parts. So I think it is vital that we film each member of the band when they're doing something like singing or performing a solo etc.

Sunday 16th January

Long over-due was this meeting. Finally managing to find a time when everyone could make it, we settled at Costa where there were no distractions. We now have a basic outline of the storyline and have assigned roles within the group and different jobs that we need to take care of before our next meeting.

It was surprisingly easy to get settled on the storyline once we were all in the correct frame of mind. It goes as follows:

A brief run through...
• Main guy wakes up next to his girlfriend.
• Looks at time, looks at calendar. Job interview! Running late.
• Goes to take a shower and the water doesn’t run. Flannel wash.
• Picks up dirty clothes and does some unorganised dressing.
• Goes downstairs, lots of bills clutter the floor.
• No food in the fridge, milk gone off.
• Goes out to his car, won’t start properly, finally does, woohoo!
• Stops at a garage to get some food. Old lady at the counter taking ages counting pennies.
• As this happens, he’s looking out the window and sees the ticket man approaching his car.
• Shots of him looking very angry and indecisive as to whether he should ditch the food or not.
• He opts to take the ticket. Not happy. But eating.
• Starts the car, it stalls again.
• Then gets it going.
• Can’t find a parking space, parks in a disabled spot.
• Rushes into the building, into the interview room.
• A very intimidating businessman sits at the head of the office table.
• Main guy very nervous, very flappy and flustered.
• Shot of interview check list: Appearance, fail. Punctuality, fail. ETC
• Doesn’t get the job, heads back to the car. Has another ticket.
• Then bird plop on his head.
• Gets home to find his wife in bed with another guy.
• He smashes a picture of them together.
• He screams, which fades into a yawn and him waking up, lying next to her.
• The picture is still smashed on the floor, giving the impression that although it was a dream, something has occurred...

The End

The endless bad situations reminded me of the film Acid House based on a collection of short stories by Irvine Welsh. This one inparticular focuses on 'Boab' who one after another loses his job, his girlfriend, his house and much more.



He ends up being turned into a fly and gets his revenge on everyone who made that day his worst. Although we are not following the same conclusion I think that the audience really starts to feel for Boab. Although you are kind of aware of how ridiculously bad this guy's day has been and it is quite unrealistic, you do still empathise with him.

One of the ways we figured that we could get around this endless bad luck is to film in a comical, almost slapstick manner. The target audience would be around 16-24, the type of audience that would be interested in the drum & bass genre but also who like the slapstick style. So this may appeal to young men more than women.

While researching slapstick comedy I came across a very early short film by Buster Keaton, The Boat, which demonstrated some classic 'Everything that could go wrong, does' ideas which we are interested in portraying in our film.



Looking over slapstick over the years with The 3 Stooges, through to Frank Spencer of Some Mother's Do 'Av 'Em to Bottom, to Men Behaving Badly, I would say that the audience is primarily male, so I feel that we ought to target that specifically but give it a modern day edge.

I have decided to take on the role of producer, so have specified different jobs for the rest of the guys to do in regards to shot-lists, shooting scripts and storyboards.

In regards to casting, we have specified that we would like Tom to play the main character and have Rachel Sowden as the girlfriend. Edem has also said that he will be happy to play the job interviewer. So we are currently on the lookout for someone to play our old lady and the guy who is caught in bed with the girlfriend. I personally don't think the latter will be the problem but I am going to send out a few emails to see if we can find an old lady,or old man if need be.

We also need to organise a location for the interview and the shop scene and to make sure all permissions are granted in time.

I have asked my landlord if we can film the interior shots in my house and I am currently awaiting the reply. However, my housemate has filmed in our house last and permission was granted no problem.

I would like to start filming the week starting 7th February so would like to have cast and locations confirmed by Sunday 30th January. I am suggesting that we log photographs of locations a couple of days prior to confirmation and also have some back-up suggestions in case any fall through. I would like to have shot lists and storyboards done by this date so that we have plenty of time to discuss as a group any changes we need to make. I would also like to have all equipment booked out prior to filming days, probably Friday 4th February.

Once all actors are confirmed I can draw up a call sheet and once all equipment and locations are confirmed I can get on with risk assessments.

I have asked the rest of the group to research any material that may be of use to us and bring to the next meeting so we can discuss the aesthetics of the film at the next meeting which I have proposed to be in a weeks time, 23rd January.

Time to scrap another idea...

So only Simon responded to my post regarding the Bear Hunt. He said he liked the idea. However, apparently there was a group meeting that I knew nothing about. As far as I know now, the song has been changed to the following...



And there is an idea which is incorporating a bad dream into reality. I have called for another meeting within the next couple of days to make sure we're all singing from the same song book. I'm a bit concerned at the lack of communication within the group. I would have liked to have had this filmed before Christmas but I can't really see that happening. We all need to be a lot better on the communication front and stick with the one idea and just go with it.

Chase ideas...

Endlessly thinking of different ideas for our chase sequence I wanted to try something simple but something effective. In opting for simplicity I decided to research some children's fiction, very early years to see if there was a way that we could adapt that into modern times. I came across the story 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'...

We're goin' on a bear hunt,
We're going to catch a big one,
I'm not scared
What a beautiful day!
Oh look! It's some long, wavy grass!
Can't go over it,
Can't go under it,
Can't go around it,
Got to go through it!

I then thought we could easily adapt this into a modern style using adults who go on a hunt to find something with a cash incentive. I thought that there could be a team of about 3 or 4 people and they all need money, one of them comes across an advert to find 'the bear' or a yeti or some other mythical creature, with a cash reward. So they all get there exploration gear and decide to hunt it down. I thought it is a simple idea that could probably be filmed in the woodlands around the university campus.

I then remembered something I saw in the cult TV series, Spaced, which was a mimed gun-fight. By overlaying sounds of artillery with the mime it looked really effective. I then tried thinking of ways we could incorporate this type of thing into the bear hunt idea and thought that perhaps the main group of hunters could bump into a rival group who look quite similar and then have the mime gun-fight with them. Perhaps while they're fighting, they are oblivious to the fact that the creature they are trying to hunt-down sneaks past in the background.

I also came across this music video for the Art vs Science track 'Parlez Vous Francais' which incorporates mime. I have sent my ideas to the rest of the group so hopefully they will be on board.