Filming (and Editing) Day 2 - DONE!

Hello everybody!

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. I've recently finished filming some of the scenes in the music video.

Here are some storyboards I had prepared for the shoot:

THERAPY SEQUENCE(s)

BEDROOM SEQUENCE:

LANDING SEQUENCE (1):

LANDING SEQUENCE (2):

HALLWAY SEQUENCE:                              

 KITCHEN SEQUENCE:

HALLWAY SEQUENCE(s) (2):

I've lost the storyboard for the GARDEN SEQUENCE, so I cannot show you the storyboard of it. However, I had it on the day and it seemed to work very well. This sequence was set in my back garden to follow the opening lyrics of 'Brain Damage': "The lunatic is on the grass...". I wanted to do a dolly shot moving toward the Lunatic as he simply sits still on the grass. I had to hold the camera whilst being pushed on a wheelchair by - in professional terms - the Grip person. Unfortunately, the camera was rather shaky and moved about quite a lot. So, to resolve it, I used the 'SmoothCam' tool in Final Cut Pro.

This made the camera seem much smoother in its movement. However, the display itself in the video is shaky but the camera appears smooth. I believe I can use this to demonstrate the fragility and disturbance in the Lunatic's mind.

To delve into the Lunatic's mind even further, I decided to modify the colours of the video. I had a specific colour scheme for each of the scenes. This is to show the different scenes which the Lunatic appears to see. I plan on filming an ECU on the Lunatic's eye and every time it blinks, a different colour filter is presented. This is a technique used in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey:

With the garden sequence, I had filtered it with green to go with the overall green environment. It also provides an ill or sick effect, which the Lunatic experiences. Following on from that idea, I used a yellow colour filter for the street scene:

I'm debating whether or not to use this filter because I think the blackness really adds to the darkness of this particular scene. I also used this method in the beginning scene in the SPEAK TO ME section. When night fell after filming the garden sequence, I was able to film the Lunatic sitting on the sofa and speaking to his therapist:

Here, I've made the filter more red - which goes well with the furniture and surrounding objects. I think red presents the suggestion of intensity and anger, which I thought appropriate in the therapy scene.
To make it seem like the character is undergoing the symptoms of schizophrenia, I have edited the footage together to give the illusion that he has Multiple-Personality Disorder. In the first part of the dialogue sequence, the shot above is given - angry and trying to prove a point. In the second part, I wanted the Lunatic to be more scared and open to his therapist - so I had him lying down on the sofa:

The Lunatic does not notice this change in personality, which makes it more realistic - in spite of the surreal style.

I wanted to make sure that I had the Laughing Man with the Lunatic in most scenes. So, I included them in both the garden and therapy sequences:

Here, I wanted a good shot from the Lunatic's perspective. So, I decided to compose a Over-The-Shoulder shot to achieve this. It worked well because of the simplicity in the Laughing Man's presence, which is rather terrifying.

In the therapy sequence, I made the Laughing Man be the Therapist. This was to mean that the Lunatic could find no escape and have no trust for anyone in his state:

In this part of the song, there is a cash register sound going on in the background. I have edited two shots together so they become in-sync with this sound:

I thought this editing could symbolise the Lunatic's feeling that the Therapist is only after his money. So, the edit with the sound of the cash register suits this perfectly.

With the ending sequence I had initially intended to replicate the Lunatic three times on the sofa. This would give the illusion that three Lunatics are sitting on this sofa. However, it proved impossible to line up the three images together. So, I decided to just have lines going down the middle - showing that they are on the sofa, yet different from one another:

I will try to improve it but this is the basic image. I want to give off the impression that although they are the same person, they are completely different from one another - without even realising it. The lines down the middle separate them and also give a sense of confinement and claustrophobia. 

Brand Identity

As a homework, our teacher told us to try and figure out the identity of our band. I started by doing a few brainstorms:

Here I was covering what was going to be involved in my music video, who it will appeal to, and what genre it is in.

Here I was trying to establish what the Digipack was going to be like. I had to relate this to the band's intended identity. It was at this point that I decided to call the band "GOOD VERSUS EVIL" to give it a more intellectual, philosophical edge - like many songs and albums by the Prog-Rock band MUSE ('Supermassive Black Hole', 'Thoughts of a Dying Atheist', 'Black Holes and Revelations', 'Origin of Symmetry' etc). Likewise, for the Digipack, I want to create a similar kind of name for it. I thought of three names: 'Metaphysical Mayhem', because of the difficulty in differentiating between reality and imagination; 'The Crazy Complex', because of the protagonist's difficulty in coping with his schizophrenia; or 'Schizophrenic Serenity', because of the antagonist's joy in torturing the protagonist.

I think I may go for 'Schizophrenic Serenity' because my music video ends with THE LUNATIC, the protagonist, accepting the 'reality' of the LAUGHING MAN, the antagonist. Whether this is a good thing or not is uncertain. But THE LUNATIC seems calmed and relaxed in his own imagination.

With the poster, I plan to compromise between a scene in my music video and a 30 Seconds To Mars poster:

The crimson colour scheme is exactly what I am trying to achieve. In the music video scene, the LUNATIC is in therapy - the therapist being THE LAUGHING MAN. I would like to have both THE LUNATIC and THE LAUGHING MAN on a red sofa, in front of a red curtain. I'm wondering whether I should put the "GOOD VERSUS EVIL" logo on the red curtain, which will be above the two characters, or not. 30 Seconds To Mars appear not to have done that, which adds to their dark mystery. It is also noticeable that members' dark appearances contrast heavily to the crimson backdrop - making us notice them a great deal more. I may use this method with my own poster.


I also did a word document presenting many of the ideas I've written about already:

GOOD VERSUS EVIL

Brand Identity

PROGRESSIVE ROCK

Since my chosen song is a part of the Progressive Rock genre, I thought I would take inspiration from other prog-rock bands. However, I still want to appeal to a modern audience – so I decided to take elements from modern progressive rock (new-prog). This features bands such as 30 Seconds To Mars, Muse, and Radiohead. One common feature of all their music videos is dark and surreal imagery, often with a conceptual or dreamscape environment. I think this appeals to many youth groups of today, who are more attracted to the darker side.

I want to use the same style of music videos as 30 Seconds To Mars. Their videos are made like short films – with either a narrative- or concept-based framework. “HURRICANE” is a good example of this. They also include many intertextual references of well-known movies within their work. I also want to use a similar mise-en-scene to them.

MISE-EN-SCENE

The make-up will consist of black eye-shadow and black nail varnish. This is what 30 Seconds To Mars does to appeal to an audience more attracted to the dark. It also has a rebellious side to it, since it is not common for men to wear eye shadow or nail varnish. This carries on the spirit of rock n roll.

However, to make it more appropriate to the band name “GOOD VERSUS EVIL”, I felt that there has to be a conflict between the light and the dark. This will be shown through the costume. The protagonist wears a white shirt, which is an indication of the goodness within him. It is at odds, however, with the black trousers and shoes. This clearly shows that conflict between good and evil in him. This will be mostly during the house and forest scenes. In the street scene of the music video, I had a dark jacket covering his white shirt – indicative of his falling into darkness.

The antagonist, known as the LAUGHING MAN, is far more surreal and abstract. I have him wearing a Venetian mask and a black suit. This is to add to the dreamscape scenario occuring in the LUNATIC’s head. This costume for THE LAUGHING MAN brings out his evil qualities, particularly since no emotion can be seen behind the mask. The suit provides a desire for dominance, which the LUNATIC must attempt to fight off.  

TARGET AUDIENCE

All of the features I have described previously are to appeal to a particular audience. I think this most appeals mainly to youth groups who are more attracted to the darker side. The use of dark colours, costumes and make-up would mainly appeal to the Emo youth sub-culture, who dress very similarly to 30 Seconds To Mars. I also think my protagonist’s hairstyle - which is fairly longer than most - would appeal to that group too.

I think this video would probably attract older audiences as well because of the age of the song. “BRAIN DAMAGE” - by Progressive Rock band Pink Floyd - is from 1973 and the album “THE DARK SIDE OF THE MOON” was fairly popular. So, fans of that song would be attracted to the video.

In terms of gender, I believe a male audience would be drawn to the band than a female audience. The singers are all male and the darker imagery would probably appeal more to men. However, since the Emo sub-culture is not limited only to men, it is highly possible that women will be attracted to the video as well as men.

Exterior Location Pics

I took some night shots of my street because I had an idea of another setting. 

 I thought that maybe the Lunatic could walk out onto his street. He looks up at the lamp-post closest to him. He then looks down and sees THE LAUGHING MAN standing under the light - as if he were being spotlit. The Lunatic runs back into the house.
I'm not sure whether to include this because it is set outside of the house. I want that sense of seclusion and claustrophobia - and I fear that I'll lose that with these shots. But I love the darkness and the emptiness of the street, which looks a lot like a dreamscape.

I also wish to use my back garden as a location. I think it is quite a good setting for the lyric "The lunatic is on the grass".

Like in my "Practice Filming" video, I'm going to have my protagonist - THE LUNATIC - sitting in front of the tree in the centre. The camera will move gradually toward him in a dolly as the music continues. In the edit, I'll keep cutting it so when singing is involved, we can see him singing it. Also in the edit I will reduce the colour more, perhaps giving it a more grey and depressing look - since that is the overall style of the video. THE LAUGHING MAN will only be featured towards the end of the video in this location, looming over the LUNATIC as he sits there.


The final exterior location will be in Knole Park, just on the edge of the forest. I have previously used this location for other film projects:

I think that this place a surreal vibe to it. I love the fallen tree-trunk being in between two standing trees. I also think that it would be good to have THE LAUGHING MAN sitting on one side and THE LUNATIC sitting on the other. I plan on naming the bad "GOOD VERSUS EVIL", so this idea would suit this identity. In the edit, I will darken it to make it seem more surreal and dark. It will be difficult to carry all of our equipment to Knole Park, but we managed before!