H.P. - Inserting Extras VFX

We had enough extras in our performance section, in fact at one point we thought we may have too many to manage, but it worked out fine in the end. So there was no necessity to add in extras with VFX, this post is about something we did purely because we felt like testing a new skill and letting a friend who was unable to make it to filming get into the footage.

I'm going to break down this one second of footage to show all of the processes required to complete this seemingly simple task. All processes took place in Adobe After Effects CS6.

The Process

Starting with the original footage, I identified a spot between two extras which would accommodate another person. I then found some footage of my friend from a previous social event and stabilized the camera with Warp Stabilizer, completely removing handheld camera movement. 

I then began to Rotoscope the person. This is a process by which you essentially cut out an object in your footage, removing it from its background. I used After Effects' Roto Brush Tool, a powerful part of the program which allows you to make brush strokes over the area you want to keep and the area you wish to remove. The program does a pretty good job of tracking this object, but due to the motion blur in the footage I found that I had to manually adjust most frames in order to get a clean cut.

After I had completed this I scaled the image down to a size more in line with the other extras in the scene. After this I began to adjust the look of the footage to match the look of the rest of the film. I started by changing the colour of his jacket to black using the Change to Color effect. Then with curves I made the whole image much darker as I was placing him into a shaded area behind the other extras. Minor adjustments to the look were made with a warm Photo Filter, Hue/Saturation adjustment and an Optical Flare placed to his left to create a brighter highlight on that side, as the other extras in the scene are all lit from their right.

I made more visual adjustments with Brightness/Contrast and a Camera Lens Blur to match the focus of the rest of the image, which was not entirely clear. The next step was very important. Using the Match Grain effect, I applied visible camera grain to the image to match that caused by the high ISO of the rest of the footage. I had to make a few manual adjustments to the grain here as the automatic process struggled to get it right. I finished the visual adjustments with another instance of Curves and another Hue/Saturation Adjustment. 

Next I had to place my friend behind the other extras. I duplicated the base footage of the other extras and placed this footage over the footage of my friend. Then using the Masking Tool I cut a hole between two of the extras and adjusted this shape frame by frame to match their movement and the movement of the camera. My friend is now behind the other extras, however he did not move with the movement of the camera, breaking any realism in the effect.

To fix this I used After Effects' inbuilt 3D Camera Tracker to generate a number of tracking points in the footage. I chose a point on one of the extras and created a Null Object and Camera attached to this point. Using the Whip tool I told the footage of my friend to follow the movement defined by the Null Object and I converted the layer into a 3D Object.

The finished effect is brief, intentionally unnoticeable and serves no further purpose than to advance a skill and get my friend into the finished film, but I see that as fair enough reason to test the effect.

Group - Call Sheet and Risk Assessment

Call Sheet

Risk Assessment

Group - Questionnaire and Feedback

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YGNS5VK

• At the time of writing we received 21 responses to our questionnaire on survey monkey, which is enough to give us a solid understanding of our target audience.

Creating the Questionnaire

• Our first few questions were designed to give an overview of what our target audience's taste in music and what appeals to our target audience in a music video.
• We then moved onto a number of more specific quantitative questions to give us defined statistics regarding what our target audience would prefer in our music video.
• The final questions were qualitative and designed to reflect each individual members personal concerns and doubts regarding the video, which gave us a comprehensive amount of data to analyse. A sample can be found below:

General information about our target audience

• They have a moderate interest in music videos, over 50% of those we surveyed watch music videos once a week, a clear majority.
• Generally their taste in music is quite mixed, from "Pop" to "Rap" to "Alternative rock", but some said their favourite was "Electro-swing" and many do not seem open to the genre
• Over 61% of those we surveyed prefer narrative which fits into our concept as all of our lines of action have some connection to the narrative, and "Performance from the artist" achieved an average score of 1.67 as we have a line of action largely committed to this.

Target Audience's Preferences For Our Video

• Over 76% of those we asked thought that an amplified relationship between the lyrics and visuals would be most appropriate for the track, which means we shouldn't need to adjust our concept as we currently have an amplified relationship.
• The target audience favours a comedic tone over a more serious one for our video and they prefer a more comedic style over an emotional one. Both of these elements tie into our video well, and mean we won't need to make any changes to the to tone and style we have in place already.
• The general consensus was that a fragmented narrative like ours encourages a decent number of repeat viewings, although on reflection the question we used to for this could have been much more clearly worded. Having a number scale with 1 being none and 5 being many leads to a lack of clarity in our answers.
• Similarly the majority of people have faith in the blend of modern and period visual motifs, 36% believing it will work very well and only 15% having strong doubt that it will work

Specific Concept Feedback

• The most useful feedback we received were the direct responses to the vampire concept itself. Many liked the concept and appreciated the link with the lyrics and the title with responses such as "Yeah liquid-lunch = Blood is enough of a link", "Yes, immediately recognisable due to the name.", "yes I believe it links well with the 'Liquid Lunch' lyrics. It is a clever interpretation of the lyrics." and there were only three responses that were doubtful, but unfortunately they did not give a reason why.
• Most responses to what does and doesn't work about the concept were very positive, with comments like "innovative vampire concept" and some even saying that "It all works - no criticisms".

Concerns for the Video and How to Solve Them

• More valuable were the explanations of doubts our target audience have such as the need to ensure "the biting parts don't look a bit naff" which we can prevent by practicing these shots before hand. There were concerns that "The dark colours could be a little too dark when the music itself is very funky." but we can experiment with this in post production until we arrive at something that works. They also said the vampire should "be realistic - no capes or creepy laughing." and our vampires have been adjusted from the traditional vampire concept to fit this. Some had concerns over the fragmented narrative, believing it "could be a bit complex with all the different story lines which some may not understand." but this is intentional as it would encourage repeat viewings of the video.
• There were some doubts about "the time period aspect of the concept" because "it could cause some confusion among the audience in that you will see modern things in the background." This is very valid and there is no easy solution to this, we will simply have to try and exclude as many modern elements from the frame as we can and this will help appease other recommendations that "it should be all 1920s though rather than the use of modern day as well".

Group - Shot List

Shot List

We created an in depth shot list to outline each lyric and line of action throughout our piece. This also allowed us to ensure that we kept with the fast pace cutting rate, which is a generic convention in music videos. On set we will be able to closely follow this shot list, which will ensure that our production flows smoothly and that we have the right amount of shots and detail.

Group - Logistics

• On the 25 October we are planning to film the second line of action in Eleanor's house, specifically the bathroom and bedroom.
• The only cast member we need for this will be Eleanor and there should be no problem in organising this.
• In terms of props and costume, we need to have bought the fake teeth, make-up such as lipstick, eyeliner, eye shadow etc. and both the red dress the character will wear in the third line of action, which she will be wearing when she passes out, and the flapper dress she will change into while she hurriedly gets ready for the performance.
• The kit we will need will be the camera (Sony Alpha 65), boom microphone, 2 tripods, slider, glide cam, fog machine, shoulder rig, two static clamp lights, bounce board, grip clips
• On the 26 October we will shoot the first line of action in Freya's garden.
• This is where the cast will be most significant, but the cast we need especially is Eleanor, the band members: George, Tiernan, Joe, James, the vampire group from the third line of action, which is comprised of, excluding Eleanor, Cat, and possibly one more, but we are not decided on yet. The other cast members will essentially serve as extras and will be used to create a party atmosphere in the crowd.
• The props and costumes we need for this shoot, are the vampire teeth, the microphone our protagonist will use to sing into, the instruments the band will play such as guitars, drum kit, double bass, the trilby's for the band members, and the flapper dress Eleanor will wear.
• The kit we will need will be the camera (Sony Alpha 65), boom microphone, 2 tripods, slider, glide cam, fog machine, shoulder rig, two static clamp lights, bounce board, grip clips, three 400 watt flood lights, two sets of string lights and one set of rope lights, 12 extension leads and adaptors, luminous electric tape, first aid supplies.
• We have not decided when we will shoot the third line of action, but we will shoot it in the Pantiles.
• The cast required here will be Eleanor, Cat and possibly one other to make up the vampire group, along with a number of cast members who will be bitten, but we are not sure who will these will be yet
• For props we will need three sets of fake teeth, blood squibs and fake blood
• The kit we will need will be the camera (Sony Alpha 65), boom microphone, 2 tripods, slider, glide cam, fog machine, shoulder rig, two static clamp lights, bounce board, grip clips
• The other details we have not yet decided on

Group - Animatic

Group - Digipak Photos Shot List

Photographs Shot List

For our digipak we will need photos - all of these photos will be taken on set, however, some will also be edited with text etc, on photoshop.

Shots:

• Some various shots of the band - we will experiment with close ups and mid shots. All of their instruments will be included in the shots. These shots will be needed for the top pane of the digipak.
• We will need a (extreme) close-up of the lead singer/actress, who will be right aligned of the shot, with the rest of the background location behind her (clearly in shot).
• Some mid and close up shots of the lead singer as well, this will be needed for the front cover pane and the song list pane.
• We will take some location shots as well, to ensure have enough photographs for the digipak. For example, we will experiment with panorama shots and wide angle shots.

Some examples of shots we are aiming to replicate and take inspiration from, are:

Group - Concept Development

Over the past week our concept and planning has developed significantly. Here is a brief outline of our progression:

• We presented our pitch to the group and received a range of positive feedback and improvement suggestions. These have been outlined in a previous blog post.
• We performed three location recces over the last few weeks with associated blog posts and video logs added to the blog.
• We have assembled the majority of our cast and created a Facebook group to bring them together and communicate information to them.
• We created mock-ups for our digipack and print advertisement designs. 
• We created blog posts detailing our plans in terms of costumes, props and sound.
• We have created a detailed shot list outlining 88 key frames throughout the video.
• We have begun the story boarding process and have completed roughly half of the storyboard so far.

Over the next week we must achieve the following:

• Finish the storyboard
• Create an animatic to show a visual approximation of our video.
• Purchase or source any remaining props or costumes required.

F.L - Costume

Costumes

Costume is one of the most vital aspects of mise-en-scene for our production, because it aids the stylistic features of the 1920s, and it also breaks up the three lines of action.

Action Line 1 - Performance
In this scene we aim to hold most focus on the lead singer, so we will aim to put large focus on her outfit. However, the audience and band will also be appropriately, stylistically dressed.

• Our lead singer 'Caro' will be dressed in a black/red flapper-style dress, with black heels, tights and accessories such as jewellery, a headband and a cigarette holder.
• Our band will be dressed in full 1920s-style suits, with basic suit jacket and trousers, and extras such as a chain, waistcoat and hat. 
• Our audience extras will also be dressed in stylised clothing, which will include suits for the males, and black dresses and jewellery for the females.

Action Line 2 - The Morning

In this scene there is only our main singer, therefore the focus will be on here, only two costumes will be needed:

• 1920s style nightwear, we are considering a nightie will a thin nightgown draped over the top (for full aesthetic success).
• She later begins to get dressed, this will show her dressing in her 'perforamnce clothes' which, were previously described (above) - a dress, shoes, tights and accessories. 

Action Line 3 - The Evening Before

In this scene, the lead singer and some 'vampire friends' will be walking around a town at night attacking their victims.

• They will be dressed in mainly dark clothing, which is a stylistic feature of this era.
• Our lead singer will be dressed in a baggy skirt, with a jumper and jacket over the top. The 'vampire friends' will also be dressed in similar clothing.
• However, this costume is our most debated and we are still deciding upon an accurate and finalised decision for this particular Action Line costume. 

F.L - Digipak Mockup

Digipak Mockup

• This digipak mockup was constructed using images from google (some animated and some from Caro Emerald's albums) and others taken from our location recce video.
• We will aim to construct a black and white contrast in our finalised version of our digipak. 
• The top three panes will be all one image, which is stretched across all the panes. However, the lower three panes will be three separate images. 
• The colours will consist mainly of black, white and red, focusing on the general conventions of the electro-swing genre.
• We will use a mixture of images of the band, lead singer and location.
• One of our images (the top three pane image) will be taken on location. 

Group - Details (Updated)

Filming Dates and Details

We have finalised our dates for our filming for our final production, they are as follows:

• The first Sunday in half term (25th October) - filming at Eleanor's house. There are multiple locations for this as we are filming at two houses and the surrounding streets. We will begin filming at around 10:00am in her bedroom and bathroom. This will be the longest section of filming on this day and will take between 2 and 3 hours. We will then move to her flat to film a couple of shots in the hallway. We will finish by filming in the streets around her flat.
• The first Monday of half term (evening of 26th October) - filming in Freya's garden. This is for the performance scenes with the large crowd and band. Our time plan for this day is for our group members to arrive at 3:30pm to start setting up the location. At 4:15pm the band members will arrive as we need to get some initial shots with them before it gets dark, (sunset is at 4:45 on this date) and at 5:00pm the rest of our cast and extras will arrive to begin filming. We estimate that filming will last between 3 and 4 hours, an official time span will need to be arranged in advance to help with transport. We will encourage key cast members to arrive in advance of 5:00pm as we will need to fit vampire fangs and discuss their roles in detail with them.
• The last Sunday of half term (1st November) or the following weekend (7th/8th November) - filming in the Pantiles. This is the night time scenes of the vampire attacks. We are currently working on the date and times of this section.

H.P. - Props: Microphone

Another important part of the visual aesthetic in our video is the idea of merging 1920's period and modern influences. One of the ways we want to do this in the performance section is to use a retro style microphone. We have managed to secure a suitable microphone in this style for our shoot, however we are still looking for a stand to hold it. The image below shows the microphone we will be borrowing for the performance section.

H.P. - Props: Vampire Teeth

As our concept has developed it has become apparent that our video is going to include a fair few vampire characters. These will be:

• The main singer/protagonist
• Two of her friends who are featured in the third line of action
• The whole band in the performance section of the video

We estimate that we will need as many as 10 sets of fangs for the vampires, as they cannot be shared between actors. Through our research we have found a few different types of fake fangs that we can buy for our actors. 

• One type is just two small pointed teeth that fit over the actor's canines. These can be applied using a dental mold that fits to the shape of a person's teeth when heated. These cost more so are not feasible to buy for all of our actors, but they have a much more realistic look than other cheaper variations. These types of teeth are ideal for our main protagonist and possibly her two friends too. 
• Another type is a more traditional set of plastic teeth that cover both the top and bottom sets of teeth in the mouth. These are much cheaper and look much less realistic than the version mentioned above. These are not ideal, but based on our budget they are a much more cost effective investment. At a distance they should look realistic enough for our video. They are a good option for the band members who will not be seen in close ups.

We have found both versions on Amazon UK for affordable prices, and will ordering some this week. We are all putting an equal amount of money towards any investments required for the video.

H.P. - Capturing Sound

Although the track will be playing over all of our footage, we will also be capturing some scratch audio.

This will benefit our production in a number of ways:

• It will help us to align our actor's singing of the track with the official audio, giving us a much closer sync.
• In some shots some sounds from on location will be essential to creating the atmosphere required. For example we need plenty of audio of the crowd cheering and having fun to be used during the introduction to the song, where the music is playing but there is no singing. This will help to quickly immerse the viewer in the video.

H.P. - Extras Casting

Now that we have completed the pitch, we are moving on with our concept and trying to organise our filming days. We have now created a Facebook group in order to get all of our extras in one place where we can communicate essential information to them.

We will be using this group to let them know about issues such as filming dates, costume requirements and if there are any changes of plan prior to filming.

This is the next biggest step in our preparation as it addresses one of the key challenges we identified in our pitch, that being the uncertainty of how many extras we could acquire for the performance section.

Group - Pitch Feedback

What was effective in terms of pitch and presentation? What areas would you improve?

• Generally we conveyed the key concepts for our music video
• We had researched each part of our idea thoroughly, for example particular locations which we all had planned ahead of time and the magazine we could put our print advert in
• Our presentation was organised well, we had all allocated particular slides to read so information could be delivered in a coordinated and orderly fashion
• The inclusion of key frames was a useful visual aid in delivering the pitch
• The prezi was well arranged and clear
• Challenges were thought-out and manageable
• We could have more effectively communicated where the link with vampires came from with reference to the lyrics, If we had colour coded them in the Prezi as we had on the blog, this would have helped

What are the strengths of your concept?

• The outdoor performance space is a suitable and more manageable alternative to using an actual theatre for the performance scenes
• The location choices broadly were very fitting, particularly the Pantiles
• The period details were well considered, such as the use of props and costume, which had all been thoroughly researched
• The core concept is very inspired and imaginative
• The core cast is strong, Eleanor is very appropriate for the role

What are the areas for development?

• There will be elements of each location that are too modern for the 1920s period influences that should be avoided such as cars in the Pantiles
• Certain shots should be tested before shooting such as the shots involving prosthetics, particularly the blood sucking
• We should use coloured props and costumes, eg. red lipstick and a red dress, to continue the colour motifs typical of the genre rather than add this in post
• There were doubts over how we would highlight different lines of action, but this should be obvious as each line of action will be shot at a different time of day and any confusion will to the re-watchability of the  music video
• We need to consider if our protagonist will have fangs throughout the video on only in the third line of action when she is hunting for blood
• Ensuring everyone dresses appropriately for the video could potentially be an issue but considering we will only ask people who are reliable, this shouldn't be an issue

What are the key areas you need to test on your target audience?

• We need to test some of the darker scenes such as the biting and blood sucking scenes to ensure they feel tonally consistent with the rest of the video
• Similarly, it is important the scenes in the second line of action with the protagonist in her bed have a sense of energy to them that is fitting of the song

Group - Pitch Presentation

Group - Action Line 3 Location Recce

Video Log

Location Details

Some of the key points we established from the recce were:

• The Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells is a very suitable location for our third line of action to take place.
• The small cobbled streets give a slightly gothic atmosphere, which ties in well with our vampire concept.
• We should film the scenes over the course of an afternoon and evening in order to capture three distinct times of day, the afternoon, evening and night.
• This will help to show the passage of time as our protagonist hunts for blood.

K.H. - Print Advert and Magazine Choice

• The print advert would build on the colour scheme used in the digipak, and whilst that was focused on a contrast between predominantly black colours used on one side and primarily white colours used on the other, the print advert will subvert by being in full colour while still utilising a similar colour scheme to the digipak, dark colours (black will still feature heavily), with emphasised reds and yellows, but these will not be block colours and the lighting will be created on set
• The image will be a close up of the star of our music video (without her fangs), holding a lit cigarette in a cigarette holder, sitting in a similar pose to the protagonist of the "Tangled Up" music video, with the smoke from the cigarette catching the light
• We can include a number of period details here through the prop of the cigarette holder and the costume

• Our magazine advert would be very well suited to Time Out magazine, which whilst very popular (it is the most widely read magazine in London, receiving 1 million readers a month), it places much emphasis on promoting different types of media and is willing to support up-and-coming bands such as Emerald - she has found enough success to achieve a half-page spread for an advert, but not enough for a whole page
• They have run pieces on Emerald before, this one promoting one of Emerald's performances: http://www.timeout.com/london/music/caro-emerald

Group - Action Line 1 Location Recce

Video Log

Recce Details

We were very pleased with the location, and thought that we had effectively transformed the space into a suitable performance location. We believe the most effective parts of the location were:

• How we managed to turn the tree house into a feature using the smaller string lights. we had concerns that this would detract from the visual style we were trying to achieve but we were very pleased with how we managed to use this part of the location to our advantage.
• The bonfire in the middle of the space was an issue on our recce, but we have plans to get this moved by the time that we film.
• In terms of getting the cast to the location, we are fairly confident that it will be easy for the cast to get themselves to without any need for organised transport as it is in a fairly central urban location.
• The three floodlights we used to light the space were very effective and provided plenty of light for the camera to pick up. With the fog as well, the camera was able to cope comfortably at around 400 - 800ISO, which is suitable for our production ion terms of the amount of grain this will provide. The ISO was never pushed too high to be an issue while on the recce.
• In terms of safety, we will need to fill out a risk assessment for all our locations. For this location some definite issues to consider are the large number of cables in the dark that can be tripped on and the high running temperature of the floodlights and fog machine. Another potential issue could be the brightness of the floodlights, which could easily damage people's eyes if they look at them for an extended period of time.
• However overall we are incredibly pleased with this location. It is an incredibly important part of our video and we believe we can make a very effective production in this setting.

Next Location Update

Our next location update should provide details about our AL3 location, which we believe will be in the Pantiles in Tunbridge Wells. We will be performing a third and final recce in this area tomorrow.

Group - Action Line 2 Location Details

We have three key lines of action in our video. The performance, the morning before and the night before. We are calling the morning before 'Action Line 2', or AL2.

This abbreviation will be used throughout this post and subsequent posts to avoid confusion.

Locations

Action Line 2 features two primary locations. The bedroom/bathroom and the hallway in the house. Unfortunately we were unable to find one location that met the criteria for both of these areas, so instead we will be using two locations and using cuts and camera work to make them appear to be the same location.

Our first location is one of our actor's homes. This will feature the bedroom and bathroom required in AL1 and AL2.

The second location is a different flat owned by on of our actors. Here we will be using the hallway and stairs and making the two locations appear to be the same building. The images to the right show this hallway.

Next Location Update 

On a separate note this evening we will be doing a recce for our AL1 location. We will be setting it up with all the equipment we will need on the day to get an accurate representation of the location.

Group - Treatment and Lyrics

There will be an almost entirely illustrative relationship between visuals and lyrics. Our video will have three distinct lines of action that all converge by the end of the song:

·         One will focus on the protagonist performing the song on stage, which is part of the narrative

·         The second is a dedicated narrative portion, told through flash-backs which focuses on the protagonist looking for blood and biting people

·         The final narrative portion being  focused on the protagonist recovering in her bedroom from a kind of hang-over bought on by her drinking too much blood

[Intro] (Walking towards the stage and dancing in the lead up to the song.)

Baby, pass the aspirin, something’s gotta work (Hard cut at the start of this line before the protagonist starts singing to her lying uncomfortably in her bed having just woken up from her "hangover".)
I know I did it to myself but man, oh man, it hurts
That second last Martini, the one that went down real smooth
Set me on the bender with nothing left to lose

I just can’t apologize
For what I did to myself
My bed’s an ocean liner (We can use some pro-filmic effects here to make the protagonist's bed rock like a ship.)
And I can’t call for help

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch
The girls got going and we had a munch (This introduces the group that the protagonist goes blood-sucking with.)
I promise on a dime, it’s the last time (This could be a small aside to the viewer that breaks the fourth wall or be delivered to her band.)
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch
The girls got going and we had a munch
I promise on a dime, it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch

I think I’ve got the symptoms and none of them will leave
They think that it’s a party to laugh at all my grief (She sings this wryly to the band.)
It must’ve been a doozy, I had two hundred dreams
At least I found my pillow ‘cause I can’t find my keys (She rolls off her bed and grabs her pillow, and realises she's late for her performance.)

It’s hard to remember
All of the events
But I must’ve paid the tab (The protagonist leaves money to people after she has bitten them.)
‘Cause all that’s left is fifty cents

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch (This is connected to another human reeling in pain from being bitten.)
The girls got going and we had a munch
I promise on a dime it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch (She's preparing for her performance, hurriedly applying make-up, etc.)

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch (Refers to her pain after having drunk too much blood.)
The girls got going and we had a munch (She walks away from biting someone, wiping her mouth with a napkin.)
I promise on a dime it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch (Jump cutting her wiping blood from her mouth, looking more run down with each shot.)

Musical interlude (More jump cutting but at a slower pace to the previous two lines, cutting between each line of action, and her staggering back into her house which ties this line of action into the hangover.)

Maybe, I can call the pharmacy (She examines her fangs in the mirror after she has returned home from hunting, she is questioning being a vampire and her decisions that night.)
They’ll bring something up, something up 'toute suite' (She sits downtrodden against the wall in her bathroom.)
Some exotic medicine to cure my every ill (She struggles to get to her bed.)
With some kind of magic pill (She collapses onto her bed at the end of the line. This brings the line of action up to the start of the hangover line of action.)

I just can’t apologize
For what I did to myself
My bed’s an ocean liner
And I can’t call for help

Instrumental (The protagonist leaves her house and heads towards performance area, trying to restrain herself from biting people on the way. This is inter-cut with shots of the band looking expectant like they have a plan, it is easy to assume that this is because the protagonist is late. A member of the band whispers in her ear that they are planning an attack on the audience after the performance and she is initially shocked and unwilling to go along with it. This makes this line of action converge with the performance.)

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch
The girls got going and we had a munch
I promise on a dime, it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch (This first chorus returns to a typical performance segment.)

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch
The girls got going and we had a munch
I promise on a dime, it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch (The protagonist is coming round to the idea of partaking in the band's planned attack. shown through shots of the audience's neck and hints in the lyrics, for example "I promise on a dime" could be delivered coyly to the band. The band’s vampire teeth are revealed to the crowd, people at the front have noticed and are growing worried.)

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch
The girls got going and we had a munch
I promise on a dime, it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch ( It is revealed that members of the audience are vampires, particularly towards the back, panic is setting in)

Yea baby, it hurts a bunch
The girls got going and we had a munch
I promise on a dime, it’s the last time
I’ll ever have a liquid lunch (Shots showing full scale of chaos and panic as vampires in the crowd and band prepare to attack, band loosens ties, the protagonist and band jump off the stage and attack at the end of the song.)

Group - Location Update

Problems

We have now reached our self-set deadline for securing our location and unfortunately we have not secured any of the locations we were looking into for our performance section. We had correspondence with The Trinity Theatre for a few weeks and have since stopped receiving replies to our emails to them. We have phoned them with no response, so we have had to rule out this location. We also spoke to the Oast Theatre in Tonbridge and the EM Forster Theatre in Tonbridge, both presenting us with issues that we could not resolve.

Solutions

We have now decided to change our performance concept. Our original plan was to use the location and costuming to give a period feel, while the song and narrative provided a modern influence, encapsulating the clash of time periods with the visuals in addition to the track. So under this plan we would have:

• Used period locations
• Used period costumes
• Had a modern narrative 

Our new plan is to continue this idea, but to swap around the elements that create this visual collision of periods. Our new plan will feature:

• Modern Locations
• Period Costumes
• A modern narrative with period elements

What does this mean for our concept?

Our concept will stay the same in terms of narrative, what will change is our approach to locations. Previously we were striving to have a realistic period location, our new plan is to have a location which is very obviously modern, and to fill it with 1920's costumes and cultural influences,

We have decided to create a modern party atmosphere for our performance section. this will take place in a large outside space at night. We will create a warm and inviting atmosphere using a large crowd of people, lots of lights to light the scene and fill it with colour and fog to add a cinematic quality and even out the contrast. 

We have arranged to do recces on the majority of our locations over the next week in preparation for our pitch next week.

Group - Pitch Progression

Pitch Progression

1. How is your pitch for A2 going to show progression from AS?

• We have looked at all aspects in a larger amount of detail, for example we have thought about all the costumes needed and which colours would be most appropriate (clearly demonstrating our new level of attention to detail).
• We have considered a larger range of location options, as opposed to A2, where we only considered one or two options. This allows us to find the most appropriate location possible.
• We have looked into each part of the pitch with more efficiency, ensuring that each part of the pitch and production have been thought about as best possible.
• We have also thought about shots in more detail, ensuring that the specific shots can related to specific lines of lyric. This is different from AS because we are planning each shot more specifically, and ensuring a thorough link between video and soundtrack is kept.

2. How are you going to show a cohesive band image across the three products?

• We will ensure a recurring colour scheme throughout - the video will feature the main three colours of black, white and red - this will then be highlighted on both the advert and digipak by keeping the three colours repeated.
• The general mise-en-scene will be continued throughout all three products, for example 1920s costume.
• We will also have a reoccurring visual motif throughout all three, for example, our main actress (acting to be the lead singer), will have statement red lips and use a specific prop, such as a 1920s cigarette holder.