Filming Day 1 - Woodland Road + Forest

 Today I carried out my first day of filming for my music video. I had planned different shot ideas which you can see in another blog post by using the link: Initial Shot Ideas. I had also carried out a full risk assessment for the days events and had taken into consideration all aspects of filming which you can see in my blog post: Woodland Road + Forest Risk Assessment.

 Firstly, I prepared all of my filming equipment which you can see in the photograph on the left. The image shows the two bridge cameras I will use for filming, the GoPro Hero 3 action camera which I will also use, along with the chest and head mounts for the GoPro. I also have a suction cup mount and a gorilla tripod for the action camera which I used in today's filming. I also have a full size tripod and extra light which I will use to improve my filming in low level light. I also have a bluetooth speaker and my phone which I will use to play the music out loud so that Jordan (the performer in my music video) can match his lip syncing with the song. This will improve the results of my recordings and will also make editing easier for me.

 We then travelled to our first shooting location in my local town of Attleborough. I performed research for this location on my last blog post: Forest Environment. When we arrived I set up the GoPro camera on the car so that we could begin filming the first shots.

I used the suction cup mount that I had brought in my bag and used it to secure the action camera to the rear of the car. This was the set up for my first shot which was one where Jordan would be filmed running behind the moving car. We filmed this part on a relatively small country road as we didn't want it to be busy while we were performing. I cleaned the section of the car where the camera mount would be going to ensure a more secure fit as I didn't want the GoPro falling off at any point. Once it was on I was able to connect my phone wirelessly to review the footage. I sat in the car while Jordan ran behind. I gave signals and ensured everything ran smoothly. I am planning to use the shot in slow motion or in reverse to add effect. This is the mounted camera on the back of the car (right).


 I also wanted to get a shot of Jordan running down the road from a side angle. To do this I mounted the camera to the side of the car using the same suction cup mount. I used the wireless preview feature on my phone to set up the framing and then we repeated the driving and running speed to produce another shot that should match with the rear view shot and allow me to use match cuts between the two. I had to give instructions on speed to the driver of the car as they needed to drive at a suitable pace for Jordan to run along side. I also needed to ensure Jordan was safe while performing which meant keeping an eye on the roads behind and in front to look out for other vehicles. For a full risk assessment on the recordings please see Full Risk Assessment