R & P Post 33: Reflections on my role and contribution during research & planning

Throughout the research and planning phase of the project, we have all worked hard as a group to ensure that our extensive collection of paperwork, brainstorms and research notes will come to fruition and produce a good finished music video, album cover and website. In hindsight, I would say that having assigned roles to each other at different stages of R&P based on individual strengths, whilst also coming to important decisions as a group, we have worked extremely efficiently to collect references, complete individual paperwork and broaden our understanding of the music industry.

In my opinion, we worked well both on individual tasks and
also whilst making decisions and completing work as a group.

I feel that delegating roles based on group members' strong points has also been an advantage, for instance, I have been able to help with both research into the industry as well as the creative and technological aspects of the project - producing diagrams & our website flat plan, and assessing whether our ideas were practical. Meanwhile, Phoebe has given useful creative and research input, such as through the album flat plan and her collection of album & website reference points, and Georgina has demonstrated her performance ability already through the test shoot, alongside her organisation to buy props.

Below I have listed my personal contributions to the group during the research and planning process:

Tasks I completed Individually:

-Producing set design diagrams:
I drew up a series of set design diagrams for each of our planned setups, including lighting details and a small prop list for each. In hindsight, I feel this was a good idea as they were useful documents to refer to when dressing the set and lighting each scene for our test shoot. Hopefully they will have a similar effect during our final production.

(left) My six set design diagrams             (right) Drawing up the diagrams

-Producing a website flat plan & analysis:
I was entrusted with a lot of responsibility when it came to the website, in terms of both research and planning. I not only collected a number of website reference points & produced an analysis of Daya's website to give us an example of how to potentially produce our website and conform to existing conventions, but also produced an initial flat plan to map out a representation of our potential design, which I believe has been useful to refer to when producing the website.

(left) My analysis of Daya's website    (right) My website flat plan

-Producing logos for both our artist and record company:
I feel pleased that I was given a lot of creative freedom when it came to the project, and I was tasked with coming up with the logo of both our artist, GiGi, and Glass Ceiling Records, our record company. I ensured that I used our research into existing branding of both to produce realistic and plausible designs, and that the overall brand would be synergistic, continuing into our other tasks, such as the website and album cover.

 (left) My final designs for our artist and record company logos.              (right) My initial ideas for our record company

-Group Input:
I was also able to give my opinion on whether our ideas were practical, which - despite leading to some initial disagreements - was ultimately crucial to guarantee that we had a workable idea which we were able to shoot well, and in time before our shoot week ended. For instance, we were originally going to include another 'businesswoman' setup in our video, which I vetoed as I felt it would have been a stretch too far to plan, dress & light the set and film for a seventh setup.


Tasks I completed as part of a group:

-Acting:
I really enjoyed the opportunity to also take part in the music video itself as a patriarchal doll. I was able to mix in acting with my other roles on set, and develop my skills and confidence in front of the camera.

-Filming:
Filming was, of course, a huge responsibility, and - often alternating director/playback and camera roles with Phoebe - I had the opportunity to broaden my expertise, using manual focus and a dolly for the first time, thus enhancing my camera skills.

-Editing Test Shoot:
At any possible time when we were not needed on set during the first week of construction, I would work on Premiere Pro to help the group edit a brief rough cut from our test shoot footage - useful in order to act as a guide on where to improve certain shots in our main shoot.

-Prop and Set Design:
I helped the group to cut & staple wallpaper onto the large white backboards which enclosed our set. I believe that the juxtaposition between the clearly fake dolls house, with real wallpaper, works to good effect to reflect its artificiality, whilst also conveying a strange element of realism.

-Completing paperwork:
I helped the group to complete a number of documents - this

Some of the roles I took
during the R&P stage.

includes our timeline, our shootboard & key shots shootboard amongst others. I feel that this was a key aspect of research and planning, and helped to lay the foundations for our eventual ideas.

-Completing jobs on set
As well as filming and acting, I was also required to complete other jobs on set, including:
-adjusting lights/using the lighting desk
-playback

R & P Post 32: Test shoot and rough edit

Our rough cut

(Please click to enlarge)
Our schedule for the test shoot week

The test shoot and rough cut were extremely important during the pre-production stage of our project. They allowed us to shoot initial rushes of our ideas in a test shoot, before editing a rough draft version of our final music video - naturally this proved extremely useful, in our opinion, as it was a chance to identify aspects of our shoot which worked and conveyed our initial ideas well & those we could improve. We were also able to add any final adjustments to the video, such as tweaking dance moves, lighting and shot types.

For the test shoot week, I felt that we were far more focused and organised than we were the week before with rehearsals, and we stuck stringently to an agreed schedule (our group are Group 2 - highlighted in green). Although the length of time between the Monday and Thursday sessions could have caused a problem, we ensured that we still continued to work on any pre-production preparation for the shoot including prop and set design, such as posters & wallpaper.

We had to ensure that a plethora of props were completed
in time for the test shoot - this included myself & Georgina
cutting and sticking the numerous dwarfs and posters.

We were able to direct our efforts into
other areas when not filming, such as
set design and especially the rough cut

Unfortunately, our test shoot was directly before our final shoot. This meant that sadly we were totally unable to edit a rough cut between Friday - the last day of the test shoot - and Monday, when we began our final shoot. I helped Phoebe to produce a rough cut at every possible opportunity when not shooting towards the end of the test shoot week and also later during the main shoot week, though as a result of this limited amount of time we were only able to construct a rough cut until the middle of the second chorus.

(Please click to enlarge)
left  Some of our initial feedback      right  Phoebe also collected some target audience responses

Whilst in the studio, we filmed both the shots which we had planned and noted on our shootboard, as well as extra experimental shots. We were then able to assess their impact when editing, and decide if they were suitable or not. During editing we also noted as a group that we needed much more movement and shot variety, as the abundance of static shots in our rough cut meant that it was a visually boring, lacklustre music video.

Please see below for a list of improvements which we were able to draw up following our test shoot and subsequent rough cut:

(Please click to enlarge)
A list which I constructed going forward detailing
improvements and how we can go about achieving them.

Hopefully we will be able to use these going forward as a reference point when completing our final shoot and edit. Despite our group being unable to receive feedback for the second part of the rough cut, in hindsight we did still gain a really useful insight into how our project has been progressing and the target audience's reaction to it.

After the test shoot...

R & P Post 31: My call sheet

Amongst the important paperwork which we needed to produce for the project was a call sheet. It is an essential piece of information when shooting, as it clearly denotes the role of every member of the shoot, both cast and crew, as well as indicating clear start and finish times for each setup of the shoot week. It also includes necessary health and safety information, and the locations of numerous aspects of the shoot setup, such as the makeup table and base for the cast.

Our call sheet for the shoot week

Because our shoot only includes one main performer in Georgina (plus Phoebe in a smaller role), it means that we can guarantee that we will have someone prepared to dedicate their time to achieving a good finished product and thus cuts out the need to include anyone else outside of our group. Not only this, the fact that it will be shot entirely in our school's Seward Studio as opposed to an external location is an enormous help as the call sheet is simplified, and we can focus all our attention on various setups within a single location.

R & P Post 30: My shootboard

In order to prepare for our shoot, we created a shootboard - part of which can be seen below:

Our shootboard, providing a description and visual indication of each shot and who is needed.

The shootboard is arguably the most important piece of information during the production stage, as it is our group's main visual reference point when shooting. During the shoot week, we can refer to the shootboard to clearly work out how to film each shot, from its framing and composition, to who is needed and which costumes they will require for a particular shot or setup. This is in itself useful, as those who aren't needed on set (more often then not myself and Phoebe) will know exactly when they are and aren't required.

We have roughly split our shootboard into setups, which we felt was important in minimising hassle when changing props and lighting amongst other factors once one setup is completed, instead of constantly doing so if we planned shots in chronological order.

When shooting, we will mark which shots have been completed and refer to the document to see which shots are yet to be completed. After the test shoot, the shootboard will be revised and hugely improved (at the moment, for ease when testing and to allow experimentation before the main shoot, it includes key shots as opposed to every shot). We will remove shots which we don't believe will work whilst adding new ideas, and we will also add a timings column to keep our shoot to a tight schedule and avoid too much wasted time - especially if we need lots of pickups at the end of the week.

R & P Post 29: Rehearsals

Rehearsal video of Georgie practising her lipsync.

(apologies for the video quality)

In the run-up to the main shoot, we conducted a series of rehearsals to prepare for the final shoot week. This was crucial in order to ensure not only that our performer, Georgina, was prepared and had the required characterisation, but also to make sure that we had rehearsed the technical aspect of our shoot. 

In hindsight, her lipsync was good and her theatrical training clearly came through, though we could have perhaps rehearsed in the studio, as the small rehearsal space which we used did not allow any room for dance moves or movement. Moreover, had we diverted some time into a rehearsal (as opposed to lighting setups) we could have experimented with shot types or added dance moves or gestures for Georgina, and could have made last-minute alterations if there was anything which we felt was wrong with our idea.

Once we were able to adjust the intensity and colour of the studio lights,
 we could save a setup as a 'memory' which we could load at a later date.

Meanwhile, myself and Phoebe were able to use the time during the rehearsal schedule to go over information on the studio and how to set up and safely operate various pieces of equipment such as floor lights, the music lectern and the camera. Additionally, we were able to use any available time before our test shoot to learn how to use all the relevant features of the lighting desk, and to then experiment with different colours and intensities which we could save as 'memories'. We felt this feature was extremely useful, as we were able to instantly bring up a particular lighting setup without having to spend the amount of time initially taken to move and configure lights for each setup.

At the lighting desk. Once a lighting memory was selected,
you could press the green button ('GO' button) to load that setup.

R & P Post 28: My kit list

For our shoot week, we will require a huge amount of various equipment on-set, to ensure that we can create a high-quality music video. Below I have listed our main equipment - both on-set and behind the scenes in the studio when shooting:

Examples of some of our kit during our technical briefing

Essential Kit List:

-Canon 5D Mk. II camera
-Canon 24-105 mm lens

-tripod/track

-650W ARRI turret floor lamps

-ARRI Studio Lights

-LeapFrog lighting console

A lighting rehearsal. Much of our kit is visible in-shot.

-Control Tablet

-Apple iMac

-Samsung TV Monitors

-HDMI Cable

-Cyclorama

-Clapperboard

In order to fully prepare to use this equipment when shooting, we were given a technical briefing by media technician Emma, in which we recapped how to correctly use certain pieces of kit, as well as how to use previously unknown kit, such as the sound and lighting desks.

(Please click to enlarge)
My breakdown of the main
features of our camera and
our lens

(Please click to enlarge)

Document confirming that we

had completed our briefing.

In hindsight, I believe that this re-introduction to using kit within the studio was extremely useful, as it was a valuable recap to consolidate our experience and familiarise ourselves with new kit before we complete the project ourselves. It also gave us necessary health & safety information during the shoot.

R & P Post 27: Casting

When casting, we knew as a group that we would have to strike a balance between those who we knew would look the part - those who would have the required performance skills and characterisation, and people who were willing to be flexible and give up a huge amount of time to perform for the project. As a result, we discounted a number of potential performers and decided early on that we would instead use Georgina from our own media group as the main performer, with Phoebe and possibly myself playing smaller roles if needed.

Our group's cast list. As it is only the current draft
for the test shoot, some aspects may change, for
instance I may not be performing in the main shoot.

We believed that casting Georgie as the main performer would have significant advantages as opposed to someone outside of the group. One reason is, indeed, the fact that she is in our group and is used to the demands of both the project and A-Level media in general, thus will be guaranteed to offer the flexibility which you must have when completing an intensive period of rehearsals, testing and final production. The other reason we had full confidence in her is due to her previous on-stage experience singing and acting, and we felt this (alongside performance skills from the Taylor Swift prelim) would be extremely useful for our project. Thirdly, we felt that we could easily convey our artist's persona and take inspiration from real-life female soloists through her.

A selection of reference points when casting. We felt that
Georgie could easily take stylistic inspiration from real-life
artists such as Demi Lovato, Meghan Trainor & Katy Perry.

R & P Post 26: Set design, locations and props

Location & Set Design:

As we are filming our music video entirely in our school's Seward Studio, this makes the task of shooting our music video far easier, as the equipment and (extensive amount of) props are already in school, and are far easier to transport. It also allows for far more flexible working hours than if organising an external shoot on location. Not only this, the studio is equipped with a cyclorama as well as floor lights and a studio lighting desk, which allow us to achieve different coloured backgrounds for each of our planned character setups.

The Seward Studio: location for our music video shoot

Despite having used the studio on a number of occasions before, I felt that it would be best if I produced detailed set design diagrams, with the aim of providing a clear & useful reference when actually dressing and lighting the set.

I produced initial setup sketches in order to keep in

 mind a clear idea of lighting, props, & prop positions

In terms of how we will dress and light our set, each setup will differ in its different lighting colour and props. We want to clearly differ between the setups, as GiGi's characterisation will be different in each - similar is seen in Jessie J's 'Price Tag' (right).

Below I have included each of my sketch diagrams for our planned shooting setups. 

(Please click on each to enlarge)

Props:
We also created a props list in order to clearly keep an idea of what we needed to bring, and which particular props were needed for each particular setup. I also included a small list to the right of my diagrams for the same purpose. I felt that this tactic to break the list down into setups was really useful, as it meant that we were able to simply reference a certain setup when transporting props into the studio.

Our group's prop list, broken down into setups

R & P Post 25: Costumes, props and make-up

An essential part of the production process is planning costume, props and make-up, and as our group's video incorporates a lot of Andrew Goodwin's theory in Dancing in the Distraction Factory through its use of intertextuality, this importance is emphasised. This is due to the number of individual setups, and the different props and characterisations of GiGi needed for each individual scenario.

We used the reference point of Meghan
Trainor's 'Dear Future Husband' to
include a 50s housewife, and from
there began to consider the wider
history of the role of women.

Having already drawn up ideas during the analysis of our lyrics and instrumentation, and tweaked these during the construction of our Steal-o-matic, we finally drew upon any reference points of existing music videos to begin to narrow our setups down to:
-Puppet
-1950s Housewife
-Dolls House
-Land Girls
-Snow White
-Performance

We are aiming to achieve both a mix of relationships between the lyrics and the visuals (Goodwin) through e.g the Puppet and Snow White setups, as well as a strong message of female empowerment through both the conceptual narrative of breaking out of the rigid structure and patriarchal dominance represented by the Dolls House, and references to the history of female roles via the 1950s Housewife and Land Girls setups.

As a result, Phoebe collated and added to our list of costume, prop and makeup references:

As for the other characters in the Dolls House, Phoebe has bought green circular contact lenses in order to better connote the idea of a doll, whilst I will wear a shirt, jumper and tie to connote an archetypal figure of the patriarchy.

I am pleased that we are also planning to incorporate signifiers of each setup into our video, such as an apple and (cardboard cutout) dwarfs in Snow White, a typical 1950s hairstyle - even if we had to adapt the puppet, as Phoebe didn't feel using body paint on Georgina for a marionette effect would be practical.

I feel that we have researched, planned and documented a number of useful reference points and are now well aware of each reference, as well as how we aim to present GiGi in each setup with regards to costume, props and makeup.

R & P Post 24: Planning my digipak panels

As part of our artist's promotional package, we had to produce a four-panelled digipak. This digipak, the front cover in particular, is a hugely important marketing tool, as it is an image which must stand out enough to appeal and entice potential customers for the album.

This is the template for the digipak panels:

We wanted to follow conventions of existing debut digipak examples, and include relevant institutional & copyright information, a consistent & synergistic colour scheme and a clear, striking focal image. We had to ensure that the images we used stood out enough and varied their shot type to grab the attention of the audience, whilst being representative of our artist, GiGi, and whilst connoting the pop genre.

Phoebe began by sketching some rough initial ideas and showing it to us as a group:

We found this really helpful, as we could visualise our potential digipak ideas, and thus identify what we thought worked and what we didn't like. The initial idea to have a front-and-back view style digipak - similar to Kanye West's early albums - was initially appealing, as it was something different and visually engaging, however we reconsidered, as the back of Georgina's head as one of the images on our digipak panels would have been extremely unappealing. In the end, the two drafts were merged - the draft on the left became the focal image, and the draft on the right (singing) became the back cover.

Inside Panels:

Similarly, at first we liked the inside panels and idea of a throne as a motif associated with GiGi, though we soon realised sourcing, or making any sort of throne would be extremely difficult and impractical. Therefore, I suggested as a replacement to have GiGi appear as though she is signing her name. This is the idea which we eventually kept and continued into the final flat plan.


Decisions:

-Front: We decided to use a MCU shot of GiGi on our front cover, similarly in shot type (and artist pose) to 'Stars Dance' by Selena Gomez. The use of an MCU could clearly show facial expression, whilst the glitter theme (inspired by RED, Hyuna) would remain consistent for synergistic branding.

Back: Similarly to Rihanna's 'Good Girl Gone Bad', we used a longer shot of our artist and positioned it to the left of the back cover. This could create contrast with the closer MCU on the front cover. We found, however, that positioning the barcode and copyright info to the right of the back cover was in fact slightly unconventional  - though we considered this to be a unique aspect of our digipak.

Inside: We wanted to connote GiGi's personality, thus used a more extrovert image similar to 'Call Me Maybe' (Carly Rae Jepsen) plus brighter colours, whilst also reflecting her beliefs - the purple, white and green colour scheme matches that of the Suffragette movement, indicating her feminist beliefs, whilst the continued glitter theme adds synergy to the digipak, as it continues from the front cover.


Producing a flat plan for our digipak panels was massively important in gaining a clear picture of how our final album cover could look, and so that we as a group could make adjustments before we produced the final version.e.