Problem Solving
Final Idea
Style:
My project will be a music video to the song When You Leave by Maps. It will be a narrative which takes place over two separate times in my character's lives; the present day and a series of flashbacks to a different time. I want to focus a lot on cinematography and making my video look as visually appealing as possible which will hopefully be the what the audience enjoy most of my video.
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Plot:
The story of my video follows my main character Laura (Hannah Pritchard), as she goes about her days feeling visibly drained, depressed and alone. She begins to have flashbacks of a time when she had her partner Jack (Josh Hayward) in her life, and they continue to meet up and fall slowly in love with each other. She then starts to think about what her life was like when he was in it, and how happy she was with him compared to how she feels now. They go to the beach together, which to Laura is her favourite memory and the only time she ever really felt alive, however when he sits next to her, he starts to visually / metaphorically fade away. She is brought back to her reality, once again feeling alone, and decides that the only way she can let go of Jack is to let go of the memories. She reads a letter that he wrote to her, and as a final goodbye she throws it into the fire.
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Location:
Since my characters' story takes place over a long period of time, I will most likely have to include a lot of different locations. For the first and second sequence of my video I plan to film mostly in my house and in Hannah's car. For every section of my video I will be including a shot of my characters in a field, which I haven't quite decided on the location for yet. For the third sequence, when my characters fall in love, I will be filming mostly at West Bay beach, hopefully on a day where there is a sunset and the weather is nice. For my final scene it will be filmed mostly in another friend's house, since a key part of the ending includes a fireplace which neither me or Hannah have.
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Lighting / Camerawork:
Since I am not using any of the College's equipment, when it comes to lighting I will mostly be relying on natural lighting / any lamps or main lights that will be in the rooms we film in. For the scenes that take place in present day, I am considering adding some cooler tones to, to highlight the emotion my character is feeling, and for the flashback scenes I intend to do the opposite and add warmer colours to symbolise her happiness. I plan to use a lot of close up shots / overhead shots based on the scenes that I have planned, however I may also try a tracking shot while my two characters run towards each other.
Character Backstory
My two characters are named Laura and Jack. They have been in a serious relationship for several years, and are at the point in their lives where they are so comfortable around each other, trust each other with everything and couldn't imagine themselves with anyone else. They have planned their entire future together and based a lot of major decisions around each other. After a while, Jack leaves. Personally, I decided that Jack dies in a car crash, explaining all the shots involving cars that I intend to use in my video, however my video will not explicitly state this, and will leave it open to interpretation, meaning Jack could also have broken up with Laure, moved away, or died in a different circumstance. Without Jack in her life, Laura feels helpless, empty and depressed, since she no longer has her entire happiness in her life.
Planned shots with song timestamps
0.00-1.21
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0.00-0.06 Streetlamps out of car window
0.06- 0.10 Zoom out of girl in bath crying
0.10-0.15 Girl laying in field alone (overhead)
0.15-0.20 Birds flying in sky
0.20-0.24 Close up of girl's hand on field
0.24-0.29 Girl sat in car looking sad (preferable rain)
0.29-0.34 Cars passing on busy road
0.34-0.38 Behind shot of girl sat on beach
0.38-0.40 Close up of girl's face-sad
0.40-0.42 Close up of cigarette in hand
0.42-0.46 Girl looking in mirror - sad reflection
0.46-0.54 Girl in middle of road, fast cars behind
0.54-1.01 Out of focus blue lights
1.01-1.05 Girl walking alone with earphones in
1.05-1.10 Girl crying in car (continued shot)
1.10-1.14 Car lights on back window
1.14-1.19 Blue lights - switch off
1.19- 1.21 Close up of hand
1.21-2.14
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1.21-1.23 Field hand close up - guy holds hand
1.23-1.28 Close up of both feet running towards each other
1.28-1.32 (overhead) laying on bed reading
1.32-1.37 Both laying in field (overhead)
1.37-1.39 Clouds
1.39-1.41 Up close of dandelion being picked
1.41-1.48 They run around a tree trying to catch each other
1.48-1.52 Blowing a dandelion
1.52-1.55 Watching a movie in bed together with lights off earphones in
1.55-2.00 Pan up of sky (preferable sunset)
2.00-2.06
2.06-2.14 Running towards each other again
2.14-3.10
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2.14-2.18 They run into a hug
2.18-2.25 Skipping rocks
2.25-2.29 They hug under a blanket, he kisses her
2.29-2.43 He helps her climb onto the rocks
2.43-2.46 Beach lights
2.46-2.49 Holding hands
2.49-2.53 They dance on the beach with sparklers
2.53-2.57 Beach lights
2.57-3.01 Holding hands
3.01-3.10 She sits on the bench and he follows
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3.10-3.37
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3.10-3.14 Fade to girl sat on bench alone
3.14-3.17 Close up of girl in front of the fire
3.17-3.20 Cut to her burning a picture and holding a letter
3.20-3.26 She opens the latter and reads it for a little while
3.26-3.30 She throws it in the fire
3.30-3.34 Close up of paper burning
3.34-3.37 She sinks into the bathtub (previous shot ref)
Contingency Plan
If for any reason I am unable to create my entire idea, my back up plan is to create a short film with a similar story to my music video, however I will rely a lot on narration and only have one character in it. This plan covers most of the things that could potentially go wrong with a project, such as if I was to have to make it from home (due to Coronavirus), as I could play my one character, and it would mean that I do not have to rely on anyone else and can film entirely based on when I am free, especially if the actors that I have in mind have to drop out last minute or are not available on the days.
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There will not be a lot of props used in my video, so I do not see arranging the props ever becoming an issue, however I do plan to film a lot of my scenes in exterior locations, and I do hope these scenes to have a summer (sunsets etc.) vibe to them. Since the weather is not looking great, I think I am going to either have to change the overall vibe that I am going for into a darker atmosphere, or change my exterior locations to interiors, and re-plan my shots.
One of the locations I am filming at is at 41 Ashmead, a friend's house. I am using this location as there is a fireplace already in the garden, so I will not have to bring that as an extra prop. This location is also very convenient since it is a less than one minute walk from my house, so transporting the props and equipment will not be an issue.
Another location I am filming at is a random field that I found located near Mudford Rec. I chose this field since it is very out of the way, so I will not have to worry about people walking past or any other interruptions. This location is also situated very close to my actress Hannah's house, meaning that transport will not be a struggle for her, and we can also use her house to gather all the equipment and props needed, and in case we need to go back inside for any reason.
My main filming location will be at West Bay in Dorset. Since I have been to this location many times, I am very aware of the surroundings and it has made it very easy for me to plan my shots. Since Hannah can drive, getting to this location will not be difficult, however I will need to make sure that I am very prepared with all my equipment, since I will not be able to go back to collect anything.
My final location is in various spots along Lysander Road. Since I live nearby, there will be no issue with transport, however filming on a main road at night could potentially be dangerous, so I will have to take a lot of precautions. As well as this, there will be a lot of cars passing by, so I will have to make sure that there are no members of the public or number plates visible in my shots.
Filming Schedule
