final

REPORT

Problems faced

In Film and TV Production 2, our group chose to do a music video (MV) as our assignment and this was the first time attempting to make one. It was really something new and rather challenging for us as previously we had only done short films because the visuals in short films and music videos are quite different. For example, it is essential to have an establishing shot in short films whereas it is not necessary in music videos. All of us took charge of our own positions and helped each other when needed.

The first problem that we faced was shortage of equipment. We did not have the required LED light to light up our subject to create the preferred mood . Thus, the results of our first camera test was that the background and subject were either underexposed or flatly lit. To resolve this problem, we used other light sources such as sunlight, phone flashlight, table lamp and reflectors such as white paper and styrofoam board to add light and create a specific mood in a shot.

Secondly, we had a limited number of camera batteries and on certain occasions, we had to take a break during the shoot to charge our batteries. However, we use that break time to edit the recently shot footages.

Thirdly, due to our group being in two different batches, we had slight differences in our weekly schedules. So, planning for our shooting schedule was a bit of an issue. We had to juggle between meetings with different groups for different subject assignments.

Next, location was one of our major problems in shooting this music video. We had a scene where the setting was a roller skating rink. The location we had in mind had been shut down and upon searching for other roller skating rinks on the Internet, we found out that they too were either shut down or unreachable by public transport. In the end, we decided to alter that scene so that it would be less time and money consuming.

60% of our shots were outdoor shots and weather was definitely a problem. We wanted beautiful backgrounds for our outdoor shots so we went to a few places like the KLCC park, Petaling Street and so on but sometimes the weather was not on our side. During the daytime, it would sometimes be too sunny so we would have to wait for the clouds to block the sun so that the light is not too harsh on the subject. Towards the evening, it would rain and we had to wait for the rain to stop.

For a lot of the shots in the music video, the D.O.P. wanted to try many different angles for each scene. At one particular shoot in the KLCC park, the D.O.P. and the actor had to climb a tree to get various angles and the outcomes were good. Although it was dangerous for them and at one point the security guard warned and told them to get down from the tree, it was worth it. Other than that, since we were shooting at public areas, we had to constantly make sure that we were not blocking anyone’s way. Also, for some of the shots, we needed a crowd of people to walk pass the stationery actor but most of the time there were only a few people. So, we had to wait till it was lunch hour.

As we journeyed from one place to another, we took impromptu shots at places where the D.O.P. felt would best suit  the mood of our music video. Thus, we had to constantly be alert and quick on our feet. For example, as we were walking towards the KLCC train station, we noticed an overexposed stairway that led to the outside where it was sunny and that shot gave the impression that the character in the music video was going to heaven. Thus we spent about 10 minutes at that spot taking a few shots.

          As a conclusion, there were many problems faced throughout the whole process of making this music video because different crew members have different opinions, so disagreement and mixed reactions have occurred in our discussions. However, we always compromised and found a solution. Overall, we really enjoyed ourselves during the shoot as we got to venture out to different areas other than our college area and also meet new people along the way.