First Night of Shooting (and a little editing)

I have recently completed my first night of shooting in the STREET. It was more effective than I could ever imagine. The light from the street lamps gave the image a dark and phantasmic effect, which is exactly what I was trying to achieve.

I began with filming the close-up:

For this particular section in the music video, I wanted a close-up like this. I centred him so the consumer's interest is not distracted. I kept a shallow focus on the LUNATIC's face to maintain this intention. However, in the editing stage, I thought the image was too far out and needed to be closer. I managed to do this using the resizing tool in Final Cut Pro:

I now feel much closer to this character, merely by closing in on him. We can also see more of his face, which allows the audience to empathise more with him.

A similar situation happened with the LUNATIC's high-angle close-up:

I took inspiration from 30 Seconds To Mars's video "THE KILL (BURY ME)", where they feature a similar kind of close-up:

I even applied eyeliner to my central character to make him seem darker. But I had to get closer to him, to make it seem more personal. The LUNATIC only has this shot when particularly dramatic events happen within the song. It is used during one of the screams at the end of SPEAK TO ME (and beginning of BREATHE) and during the lyrics "And if the dam breaks open many years too soon" in BRAIN DAMAGE. Here was the result:

Unfortunately, the image appears slightly out of focus. I may have to film this shot again later in the course.

I played with the focus during a wide Over-The-Shoulder shot of the LUNATIC staring at the antagonist, THE LAUGHING MAN. I began with it completely out of focus:

Then I created a deep focus so we can see both subjects clearly:

This is to create the impression of a "stand-off". It allows the audience to see what is being uncovered to us. Being an enigmatic piece, they will have to be active in interpreting it.
I doubt I'll alter the colour much in the editing stage, which many people seem to do. I feel that the light and colour are perfect as they are.

I then focused more on the THE LAUGHING MAN.

I decided to use a Venetian mask because of the fear it evokes. The use of a smiling mask seems somewhat inappropriate in a dark scenario. This incomprehension brings this fear from the audience. The suit adds to the mystery of THE LAUGHING MAN. I thought he could be an official dark presence, ever haunting the LUNATIC. It is his official business to drive him insane.
With this particular image, I did not centre him like I did the LUNATIC. Our eyes are naturally drawn to him because of his current position. Nothing moves around him and he does not look at anything else but the LUNATIC. I also think that if I did centre him, it will provide the audience with empathy for this character. This is not what I want at all. I want the audience to fear and hate the LAUGHING MAN, without necessarily knowing why. I took inspiration from the shot in 'Donnie Darko':

This figure is centred, but this is because the character does not have hate for Frank the bunny rabbit. If anything, he has admiration for him. I did not want to have THE LAUGHING MAN sympathised with in any way. To further pursue this, I did this shot:

This low-angle, dutch-tilt close-up provided an even larger fear within this character - domination. From a low-angle, he looks far more victorious over the LUNATIC - thus having further control over him. As the viewer, we do not want THE LAUGHING MAN to have this power. The dutch-tilt effect seemed fitting to the surreal and weird scenario but it also makes us feel uneasy. This are the feelings of the LUNATIC. Therefore, we are brought to the LUNATIC's level. The light on his face allows us to seem him perfectly, without removing his mystery. The yellowness provides us further with the sense of uneasiness and surrealism.

Shooting Schedule - STREET SCENE

This is my shooting schedule for later this evening. I will do a larger one for the rest of the video later on. For now, this is my plan:

Storyboards - STREET SCENE

I'm planning on shooting one of the scenes in my music video on the 27th January, which is tomorrow. I've done some storyboards to know exactly what I'm doing.

It is not in order but I have placed the lyrics alongside each shot. This will allow me to determine which part of the song fits with which shots. 

The Lunatic's normal close-ups and shots of The Laughing Man were mainly inspired by a scene in 'Donnie Darko' - it happens at 9:18 in this video:

I thought it could suit Andrew Goodwin's theory of intertextual references. Except for the antagonist being in a golf course, mine will be under a street lamp. The Lunatic will be under another streetlamp. They will face one another. I thought that the Lunatic and the Laughing Man could be contentedly imprisoned in this nice pool of light. But one can still influence the other to going into darkness.

I thought the use of ECUs on the eyes would be appropriate here. I thought I'd copy the technique used by Sergio Leone in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" (from 7:10 onwards):

I thought that idea of a stand-off between the Lunatic and The Laughing Man would do well. The ECUs could also be rapidly cut together to suit the music when the pace quickens. It would also be good to try and copy the over-head shots and the wides to suit that kind of atmosphere.