P3 Production Schedule, Gantt chart and Gear list

Embedded in this post there are three documents which outline the production schedule I will be operating on when creating my music video. The first is a pre-production schedule, the second is the schedule for shooting and the third document is the post-production schedule. In addition after these scheduled tables there is a Gantt chart which briefly shows all the shoots on one page.

Release date: _________

All of the pre-production posts I mentioned creating in my pre-production schedule can be seen on the right hand side of my home page pre-fixed by 'P3'

I will mainly using Adobe Premiere Pro to edit this video as well as Photoshop and After Effects to assist it. The editing schedule is a more loosely based guide than the shooting schedule as I may decide to do 6 hours of the workload in one day for example. 

GEAR

DSLR:Canon 750d

Tripods: Cullman large, Slik travel, Manfrotto mini 

Gimbal: Feiyutech a200

Lenses: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 prime, Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 kit, Hanimex M42 135mm f/2.8 prime, Helios M42 44mm f/2 prime

Light: Neewer T120

Important accessories: Variable ND Filter, San disk 32gb 150mb/s SD Card, M42 to EF converter, Rode shotgun mic, Double battery grip. 

Gantt chart:

This is a Gantt chart which shows all three of these schedules in one document, dated. It is a snapshot in time of how production is going so far and therefore I'll upload the finalised Gantt chart once the video has been published.  

P3 Consent form and call sheet

NEED TO RE DO CONSENT FORM AND GET PERMISSION OFF PARENT 

Because one of the locations I'm shooting in is privately owned (Church) I drafted an email to ask for permission to film in their venue: 

As my video will only feature one actor who is under 18 and is in my 'Covid bubble' I only needed to acquire on consent form. Any other people who feature in my video will be on public property and unidentifiable due to EWS, blurs, time-plases, lighting etc. 

Call sheet: 

P3 Location recce, back-up locations, health and safety

Due to rainy weather and coronavirus restrictions this location recce is a bit different and part of it will be done remotely. Location recces involve scouting out possible angles, looking at lighting conditions, accessibility - all to determine if it is fit for purpose and can accommodate my needs in terms of filming and desired look.  

Location 1 - House:

The first location is Wills house (the actor's.) As will and I are in the same 'covid bubble' this is deemed safe. His house is easily accessible and often free which means that filming dates are flexible and in surplus. In addition filming in this location is ideal as we have lots of space and time to allow for more creativity/ control. No back-up location needed, if the house wasn't free then we would just film on a day where it was as there are many. 

Images: 

The kitchen is quite cluttered which makes for good B-roll and sort of fits the boredom feeling. However I will have to be careful not to knock anything over when setting up my camera as I need to use this countertop to acquire a specific angle of the table in the dining area. 

There are many unique objects and subjects that are fitting for B-roll to give a better feeling of what the location is like to the viewer. This also shows the type of lighting there is in the house, warm tones are desirable for my video especially in this setting - I outlined why in my proposal. 

I tried setting up my camera, on the tripod in different positions and angles to see how flexible and creative I could be with angles when shooting. This set up was difficult and quite flimsy as it required a chair however in the end it was safe and stable - I believe it will work well when shooting. 

This was the angle I got when setting the camera and tripod up on the kitchen counter. This angle was difficult to get as I had to remember that my frame size would be cropped to 4:3 and so I found that I needed to use a fisheye attachment. The lighting worked well in this set-up and I will shoot like this when it comes to it. 

This angle which shows the living room was fairly simple and easy but also required the fish eye attachment which did lead to distortion however this isn't a bad thing as this look could work well for the overall feeling of the video. Lighting could have been too dark however WB was fine. 

Map: 

Location 2- Ilkley Moors and the woods: 

This location is nice and barren which supports the message behind the video and means that EWS works very well - giving a minimalistic look. Also as this location is outdoors and public it means that as long as distancing rules are followed there doesn't need to be a back-up location as it will always be legally accessible.

Images: 

Paths between heather worked well as natural lead-in lines

Wide angles with minimal compositions 

Nice autumnal colours and dramatic clouds work well with EWS 

Test image to try out an effect that I may use

Complimentary green tones work well accompanied by the excess vertical lines 

Low angles worked really well here as the light would leak through the trees

Map: 

Location 3- St. Margaret's Church:

This location is very desirable as it supports the look and feel I want behind the video as well as adding those holy connotations I want. The scenery is perfect and the light is perfect for what I want. In addition the many powerful leading lines and unusual shapes allow for really interesting compositions and will also work well when special effects are applied in post. However I do need a back-up location for the church because it is a privately owned indoor venue which means that although it is a place of worship it's still subject to many governmental restrictions at the moment which could bring problems when working to a deadline. As a back-up shooting location I would still like to shoot somewhere with holy connotations/ relation. This could be a graveyard, adding more sinister undertones but still retaining the holy feel. However this could be controversial and disrespectful if tombstones aren't shot from a great distance or blurred or if people are disturbed (which I would make sure does not happen.) I will send a request to film here as it is privately owned, this can be seen in my P3 Consent forms post.

Images: (have been sourced from internet)

This is the exact type of lighting I would love to have when shooting here, need to shoot mid day. 

Many details and powerful compositions which would work really well when shot for B-roll/ filler. 

Low angles create an overpowering feeling and also looks quite ominous when of the stained glass and crucifix. 

Individual seats will work well for the multiple copy effect I want to create, accompanied by a wide angle similar to this. 

Outdoor view, will use an angle similar to this when showing the actor entering the church. 

Map: 

Location 4 - Leeds: Preferably I will shoot in Leeds at night in the rain as I want to get really blurry and dreamy shots, probably with slow shutterspeeds and fast whip transitions. This location is accessible via train (about 20 mins) however at the moment it legally isn't as it's not essential travel which is why the following images have been sourced from online but give a sort of mis-en-scene of what I want my shots to look like from this location. If I'm not legally allowed to shoot here on the day I designated in my schedule I'll just shoot the same style shots but in Ilkley town at night. If it isn't going to be rainy I'll re-schedule to shoot on a day where it is. Train fare 7 GGP. 

Images: 

The high, central angle I'd like to get on the train which will match shots I get in Ilkley, showing the journey to the church location. 

This is pretty much the exact shot I want to get, from  this same place and angle. However I will add a slight camera movement and make sure that the white balance is slightly colder. 

Low angle long exposure shot of traffic passing by on the Leeds streets. 

I will try my best to get a high angle like this in Leeds which may mean waking to the top of a multistory carpark as I don't have access to an apartment. 

Reflections like this on the river or in puddles from car lights are very desirable as they support the exact look I want. Requires low angles and works better with slower shutterspeeds. 

Map: 

Other B-Roll locations: I will also be shooting around Ilkley train station, The grove and down at the river wharfe (in ilkley.)

Images/Mis-en-scene for these locations: 

River wharfe 

The grove

The train station from bridge angle

Risk assessments: 

P3 Full storyboard

 This is my five page storyboard which gives a sort of visualisation to my Shooting Script. I apologise for my lack of drawing skill :)

P3 Full Shooting script

Camera work, transitions and editing techniques have been outlined in detail in my P1 Proposal. 

Specific camera directions can be seen in this shooting script and the schedules for both shooting and editing are in the Production Schedule post. 

Extensive location detail here: P3 Location recce, back-up locations (couldn't fit this detail into shooting script)

Quick opening test

For one of the first shots I have planned out in my music video it features multiple copies of my actor fading into frame, this is not how the finalised version will look, however it will use this same shot. So this was just a quick editing test to see how easy and efficient this editing technique was, taking 2 minutes to film and 15 to edit. Side notes: High wind meant that the sky was fast moving and the camera was unstable even on a tripod with 2 bags holding it down, however this affected the effect less than I had thought. 

M1 Distribution and marketing

Audience 

As I mentioned in my M1 Justification of content blogpost this song best fits into the dream-pop genre. A genre that spreads throughout generations as it was founded more than 40 years ago but is most popular with Gen Z (ages 14-20) in all genders. Yeek's work tends to appeal to this audience with a majority male audience however this difference is insignificant in the creation of my video as the songs lyrics are relatable for everyone. The genre and the artist are both associated with the reformers and strugglers of the C1, C2 and D classes. classes. I don’t think this genre is aimed at people with any specific education level, occupation or ethnic background however I think that it is probably more accepted by younger generations. In terms of psychographics the song , genre and artist are all aimed more towards; Explorers (those seeking discovery/experience and valuing individualism,) Strugglers(disorganised and seeking escape, typically lower demographics,) and Reformers (those seeking enlightenment with a freedom from restrictions.) In relation to the song and the music video I want to create this target audience is good as the other demographics and psychographics aren’t as open to new ideas and effects as well as the music itself.

Export

This video will be exported as a high bitrate .MP4 file with a H.264 codec to make it better suited for upload to sites such as YouTube, Vimeo and Instagram reels. As they compress the original file upon upload. The decrease in quality won't be too noticeable though because the video will be filmed and uploaded at 1920x1080 25fps as this is what the main camera operates as and the editing software works well with however the aspect ratio will be 4:3 as opposed to 16:9 to give a more nostalgic feel in addition to the frame posterization from 25fps to 18fps to support this feeling. 

Instagram research

Instagram is the second most popular social network and the third most famous. Instagram is described by fans as: Addictive, Colourful, Amusing and Always check it. After being bought by social media giant Facebook in 2012 98% of people have heard of Instagram. This Facebook ownership means that the two huge social media platforms are very cross-compatible and integrated with one another. This link between the two means there are many features within Instagram that Facebook supports such as their business account tools. These business tools include features such as "Insights" which gives you information regarding who has seen your content/page, how many people, their demographics, your ideal time to post and many more features. In addition, Business profiles in Instagram (which are created using Facebook,) have the ability to promote their content to a specific target audience profiled by demographic and age, for a cheap price compared to old media mediums as well. Instagram is the most popular social media platform amongst Millennials and Generation Z, meaning that Instagram is a great means of promotion and distribution for our video as it overlaps the TA. There are many features within Instagram however the 3 main ways to distribute content are as followed: Story (Maximum 15 second long post which disappears from your profile after 24 hours,) Post (appears on people's main feed and appears visible on your profile until you decide to delete it,) and 'Reels' (social media video site inside of Instagram where you can upload much longer videos.) I will talk in more detail about I'll use Instagram for distribution and marketing later in this post. The artist already has an established and verified account @imyeek with 54.8k followers. Instagram's algorithm favours accounts who post frequently which means that to pre-empt the release of the video Yeek may have to start posting more content, maybe a post a day and also a few story posts. 

YouTube research

YouTube is the 3rd most popular digital service and the 6th most famous, 99% of people have heard of it. It is described by fans as: Great for entertainment, Useful, Easy to use, Fun and Accessible. It is owned by Google which means that similar to Instagram it is integrated with many different google features such as Google Ads, Google pay, Google drive etc which is why it is seen as so accessible and efficient. There are majority positive opinions of Youtube across all generations and genders as we can see on YouGov which is beneficial as it means people aren't as reluctant to spend time on it and therefore there is a higher chance that YouTube users will come across our video, increasing Yeek's listener time. On YouTube anyone with a Google account can upload any video they desire within the guidelines of any duration however this means that without effective promotion and distribution our video will get lost in the algorithm as 30,000 hours of footage is uploaded to YouTube every hour. Yeek's youtube channel 'Yeek' currently has 22.4k subscribers and averages around 150k views per music video. It is important to build a following on Youtube, maybe by promoting his channel via his other social media platforms, because it means that more users see his video as soon as it is uploaded - increased interaction by users at close proximity to the release of a video favours the algorithm and means the video is pushed to more users.     

FaceBook research 

Facebook is the most popular and most famous social network and was founded by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. Close to 100% of people have heard of Facebook according to YouGov data, being described as addictive and a great way to keep in touch with people. It is most popular among Generation X closely followed by Millennials and 10% more popular among women. Over the years Facebook has expanded into one of the largest corporations in the world from acquiring and merging many huge firms and buying out companies. They seem to dominate the messaging and social media market; owning Instagram, Whatsapp, Messenger etc. This large scale of ownership means a high amount of compatibility and integration between platforms and as I mentioned earlier this allows for features such as tailored business promotion, analytics and cross-platform posting (more efficient way to post content across Instagram and Facebook.) Like Instgram you can post videos, images and create timed story posts. Yeek doesn't currently have a Facebook profile as the majority of his audience frequent other networks however Facebook could be useful if he wanted to break into other genres that maybe have older demographics. 

Twitter research

Twitter is the 4th most popular and 2nd most famous social media network with close to 100% having heard of it. It is seen as a more informative social media platform, keeping users up to date with all types of news. It is popular among all generations however unlike Youtube or Instagram there isn't as large of an under 13s prescence. All types of media can be distributed on Twitter from videos to GIFs and it allows people to 'retweet' which is where users can share another persons 'tweet' on their page for more to see. This can lead to a sort of multiplier effect which would increase the virtual footfall on our video, increasing Yeek's listening. Yeek has 4000 followers on twitter and appears to be very inactive on it, with only 5 total tweets - his last post was a month ago

Other new age media

There are many other social media platforms however I didn't research these in as much detail as they either don't appeal much towards the target audience or don't align with the artist's image and brand. Platforms such as Linkedin and Tumblr have demographics older than my target audience and although networks such as Snapchat and Tiktok are popular amongst the target audience there is no synergy between them and Yeek's aesthetic. One platform I didn't outline earlier on in this post is 'Vimeo' which has a similar business model and operating interface to YouTube and will be a useful platform to use for distribution as it's users have a larger interest in higher quality media products such as music videos. 

Old media evaluation 

I considered using old wave promotion and distribution such as radio shoutouts/plays and/or TV distribution by means of MTV or Vevo however these methods are more expensive than the cheaper social media option. In addition social media platforms allow us to promote our content to a specific group of people which old media does not, meaning that marketing and distribution will be more effective overall especially seeing as the majority of our TA use social media and don't consume old media as much as older generations do. 

Marketing and promotion methods

In conclusion I will be avoiding old age media and some specific social media platforms as mediums for promotion for reasons I outlined earlier in this blog, mainly relating to TA and the artist's iconography. Promotion and marketing will occur on the artist's profiles on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook (new profile), Twitter (needs to be more active in the hope of retweets) and Vimeo. In addition we will also use Yeek's website as a means of promotion as maybe his more established fanbase will be present on here. Firstly I will design promotional covers for the video, one in portrait orientation (for story posts) and one in landscape orientation (for feed posts and Youtube/Twitter banners.) These posters will feature an interesting shot from the video which matches each orientation and leaves room for copy, with the 'Solstice' logo, Yeek's logo and an 'Out now' header also present on the poster. These stills will be efficient as they will remain present on the artist's social media pages as headers, posts or profile pictures which increases the likelihood of people seeing the video. I'll use a six second exert from the video where I think there is a fast paced and interesting range of shots, firstly overlaid with the song logo, then Yeek's logo and then an 'Out now' title. I'll create both a vertical and horizontal version of this promotion - the vertical version will be used for paid and targeted story promotions on Instagram and Facebook whilst the horizontal version will be used as and un-skipable advertisement on Youtube and Vimeo. This method of marketing is effective (especially with our TA who use these platforms,) because although it may not spark immediate interest within some people, the repetition across all platforms subliminally builds interest and leads to more viewers and further interaction. I chose to create a 6 second promotion as opposed to a longer one because it is proven that the ideal 6 second exciting promotions are much more efficient than longer ones, especially within the younger demographics (TA.) The final means of promotion/marketing I intend on executing invloves paid promotion of the uploaded video on Youtube, Vimeo and a 30 second Instagram preview. On Youtube and Vimeo this means the the video itself will be placed in-front of similar videos as a 2 minute skipable advert whereas on Instagram this means a preview will appear on user's feeds who don't follow the artist. These mean that the video reaches a wider range of people outside of Yeek's following which will increase the multiplier effect and lead to a sort of 'snowball effect' which would increase the video's views across all platforms. The reason I chose to do faster and more exciting promotion methods instead of longer but more informative methods is because this is proven to work well amongst my TA (outlined earlier.)

Distribution 

The video in it's full duration will be published on Youtube and Vimeo - both on Yeek's own channels with fairly active subscriber bases. Furthermore I noticed that Yeek posted his videos to his website https://yeek.site/ using an integrated Youtube link which gives us even more reason to publish on Youtube as the more linked together platforms are the better as this increases utility for the user. I considered uploading the full duration video to Twitter, Facebook and Instagram Reels, alongside the already planned previews however this actually tends to hinder the growth of the video as it can easily be lost in the algorithms and feeds on these platforms in comparison to Youtube and Vimeo and seems to draw attention and views away from the videos on these two sites. In additon Yeek has never posted his full videos to any platforms other than Youtube and Vimeo which means that to remain aligned with Yeek's brand we will do the same. Although maybe our target audience may be more active on networks such as Instagram I feel that these are more effective to use for promotion and lead users to Youtube where the consumption of music videos is easier and more comfortable. 

M1 Justification of content

What Genre is your song?

This song (Solstice by Yeek,) is seen as best fitting into the dream pop genre which is a sub-genre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelica developed in the 80s. The genre is typified by strong texture and atmosphere just as much as melodic quality. Whilst this genre has been around for 40 years it remains current and now appeals to all genders of generation Z and I would say it is usually associated with reformers and strugglers of the C1, C2 and D classes. This song revolves around the process of rain and particularly the negativities it can bring, with the gloomy and solemn mood supported by the heavy synth use and monotone vocals. I outline my target audience more clearly in the M1 Distribution and marketing blogpost. 

What are the conventions of a dream pop music video? 

Music videos from the dream pop genre tend to have unique visuals and concepts behind them (even if the video is performance style,) vintage colour grading/ filming (super8/vhs look) and long duration shots. Wide shots are used excessively in these music videos to create a sense of isolation which we can see in the ‘Only in the west’ video from Yeek. I want to utilise this convention to support the videos concept, aided by some close-up shots to show emotion and finer details. Furthermore another genre convention we see is innovative special effects and editing techniques which I will try to conform to by using some SFX. Some artists from this genre create performance style videos such as 'No Vacation', 'Alvvays' and Yeek himself (however he hasn't created a Dream pop video yet, just Indie and R&B.) However performance does not typify a dream pop video as many artists don't even feature in their videos and prefer to lead with more concept style videos when the message is stronger - which is what I will be doing in the video I create. This means I will not be breaking any genre conventions by leaning more towards a conceptual video. Beneficially to us, dream pop videos often use weather to support the mood of the song - shooting in sunny condition when there is an uplifting mood and ominous and miserable conditions when there is an overbearing or melancholy mood. 

Why have I chosen a concept style video?

I've chosen to create a concept style video because although some dream pop videos are performance there is always a supporting concept, either seen in special effects or innovative camera movements. Yeek himself always has strong concepts which act as the foundations for his videos and support the feeling and message of the song. In his 'Only in the west' music video we saw him use strange conceptual shots to emphasise the meaning of the song, showing the effects of drug abuse. In addition I feel that a conceptual video will fit this song best because it has a slower pace with a mood that may not have worked well as a performance style video. Furthermore this allows for more expressive and memorable shots and means that this video can be filmed well without the need of an artist performance (would be difficult with travel and COVID restrictions.)

How will the visuals reflect the themes and meanings behind the song?

I will follow the song's theme of rain within my video, looking at its connotations, mental effects and beauty. The lyrics focus on the artist's hesitation and anxt towards rain as well as referencing drug use as many of his songs tend to do. There is a sense of boredom created by the monotone delivery of the lyrics which I also want to outline with the visuals. Rain has holy connotations which I want to allude to with some of my visuals, with a handful of the A-Roll shots being set in a church. As religious people often speak of feeling overwhelmed inside of churches I want to support this by using low, wide angles to create a sense of inferiority; supported by some subtle distortion special effects. As rain can have negative effects on mental health and leave many people feeling alone and isolated (even more prevalent in todays current social climate,) I want to use an abundance of wide shots and only ever feature one character in frame at a time to emphasise this solitary feeling and fit the overall theme and meaning behind the song. As mentioned earlier, the artist purposefully comes across as bored to show the effect rain has on him which I will support when shooting in the house location, by having many jump cuts and actions which portray the actor as bored and show an unproductive passing of time. Apart from rain themed supporting B-Roll I will also reference the process of evaporation which is crucial to rain by manipulating the opacity of different subjects. 

How will this video support Yeek's iconography?

Yeek is a multimedia artist, filmmaker and musician. He is apparently ‘the pop artist throwing convention to the wind’ which is evident in all of his work and is why he is often labelled ‘genre-less’ although most songs fit into the R&B, indie and dream pop genres. His following is expected to sky-rocket as his reach increases however he has still remained independent, signed to his own label (Yeek INC.) The artist has a very strong image and iconography not only created by his unique songs but also by the graphic elements, style and special effects in his self directed music videos. The first of these effects that we often see in his album covers and music videos such as ‘Only in the west’ is the neon green line animation. This is usually used to outline objects, people and create drawings that support the lyrics. I’m confident that I could execute this effect in post production using frame by frame animation in after effects even though it’s very time consuming. The next common trait we see on his single covers is the elliptically boxed text stating the name of the song, this is a minimalistic touch that lets you know it is one of his songs and would be interesting to weave into the music video, possibly as a title. Finally, another way I want to develop the artists iconography is by using abstract special effects and transitions such as data moshing to build on the special effects we have seen in some of his previous video such as ‘Fatigued’. The release of this new video paired with a 2 year old song will fit perfectly with the release of his next album which is due to drop soon, for newer viewers this will build interest in his older work which increases his monthly listeners and build brand loyalty. 

Technical Justification

This video will be exported as a high bitrate .MP4 file with a H.264 codec to make it ideal for upload to sites such as YouTube, Vimeo and Instagram reels however I talk more in detail on distribution in my M1 Distribution and Marketing blog post. The video will be filmed and uploaded as 1920x1080 25fps as this is what the main camera operates as and the editing software works well with however the aspect ratio will be 4:3 as opposed to 16:9 to give a more nostalgic feel in addition to the frame posterization from 25fps to 18fps to support this feeling.   

What is the purpose of this video and why is it necessary? 

When thinking about Bulmer and Katz’s ‘Uses and gratification theory’ (1974) I feel that the purpose of this video will be to provide as an escapism/diversion as well as giving an opportunity for the viewer to relate to the lifestyle and emotion seen in the video caused by rain. Typically the escapism and diversion purpose-based videos have lots of interesting special effects and I feel that out of the 4 reasons people consume media this one follows the mood of the song the most because ultimately the visuals are just supporting the feeling of the song.  To make sure my music video appeals to my target audience (TA outlined in distribution and marketing post) I’ll use interesting compositions, camera movements and SFX because GenZ’’s attention span is shorter and therefore I need to hold this attention through the use of these techniques. Furthermore I may show subjects in the video that make it more relatable to this younger audience such as the brand of clothing or an online game. I'll use effects such as overlays and frame posterizations to create a nostalgic feel to support the artist's and genre's aesthetic as this follows current trends that the audience is interested in. The video acts as something for the listener to associate the song with which makes it more likely that they will think of the song more, listen to it more, re watch the video, look at Yeek's other work and share with their friends. As I mentioned earlier the release of this video paired with the release of his new album, will lead new listeners to see his older work and feel closer to him as an artist, building brand loyalty and adding to his already powerful following. However alongside anything this video acts as a means of promotion, increasing interest in the artist and his songs which increases his revenue and therefore future brand expansion - maybe signing artists to his label soon. 

P1 Feedback

Feedback I received from 12 students about my P1 Proposal 

P2 Sample materials

 Shooting script sample

Mood board

On P1 proposal

Storyboard sample