Possible Locations

Sea Palling and Waxham

On a family trip to the beach, I thought it was the best opportunity to take some photographs of another possible location. Sea Palling is the beach exhibited, I think this would be a satisfying place for a possible location of shooting, as it is a scenic beach, with a small arcade. On the return from Sea Palling, I came across a windmill with boats surrounding it just by Waxham, I feel that this will be a perfect place to shoot, as it can be Incorporated with 'Boat Song'. 

Although 'Boat Song' maybe assumed to be an upbeat song, I believe it suggests a deeper meaning of sadness; the individual singing is serenading a love who may not take any notice of him, or even know of his existence. The vast colours in the sky could suggest an almost dream like state, he is dreaming about the girl featured in the music video, however she only knows of the song, not that the song is about her. The images below express the idea of dreams and the mood of desire.

Brighton 

On a University trip to Brighton I took some more images of the beach and it’s attractions to get an idea on what our video could possess. When arriving I noticed that Brighton was a very tourist place, full of different attractions; the pier, the fun headboards, sea life center, ferric wheel and the popular funfair and arcade at the end of the pier. I felt these places would be perfect to film as there are so many things going on that would attract the audience’s eye, and would relate to the theme we are trying to project. I found Brighton had many fun attractions and would have been perfect for filming; however there was an issue with getting to the location as it is a long drive and we did not have the time nor the financial support to succeed with this endeavor. However some aspects of the beach were helpful in general of what we could exhibit in our music video. 

First Day Of Shooting

Anna and I visited Lowestoft beach at an estimated time of 6pm. We felt that this was the right time to shoot as the sun was just setting. The sunset gave a pinkish orange colour to the sky, which I felt was very effective, as it gave added definition to certain things you would not normally notice in daylight. For example a boat in the distance, and the outline of the chimneys of houses, established the colour difference between the sky and the ground. Just out of luck there was a boat situated on the horizon, which was exactly the shot we were looking for, we spent a long time shooting the boat, with different techniques (zoom, close up, landscape, pan). We plan to revisit this beach with our main character and for the whole day, to film more aspects of the beach, such as the pier, amusements, and water attraction. The shots below were taken on my Iphone camera, I did this to give an idea of Location and certain characteristics that attracted Anna and I to it. Also I took images of Anna filming, as to exhibit us at work. 

After analysing the footage we had taken from our first shoot, we discussed what shots went well, and what we could improve on for future shoots. Firstly we felt that some of the footage was very shaky at points, this was due to the fact that neither one of us had used a tri-pod before, so it took us some time to get used to it. Also when panning the location, in some shots it was too fast, that the vision was out of focus and blurred, in the future we must make sure that we take our time and produce slow shots. We were very excited about the exoticness of the sky, and how the orange of the sky reflected onto the sea, and made the beach seem like paradise and unique. Going to shoot at this time of the evening (6.00pm) is very effective as it is the perfect time for a sunset.  

Exhibited below are examples of shots and screen shots which Anna and I felt worked well:



Above are screenshots of certain aspects during our shooting which I felt were very effective. We were lucky to start shooting whilst a boat was out at sea, the color difference of the sky against the boat is eye catching, and emphasizes the name 'Boat Song'. Anna and I were considering using one of these images for our print production, as when planning this is what we had in mind. Although these were test shots, and our main character is not exhibited, I feel that these shots can still be used in our video, as they are deep meanings of the characters location to the audience, resulting in them retrieving a sense that they are there themselves. 

Ideas for Location

After communicating with our teacher, Anna and I felt that going to a theme park and filming the rides and our chosen character on the rides was a good idea. We began to invistagate different theme parks near us:


 

Pleasure Beach is located in Great Yarmouth which is a thirty minute drive from our current location. We felt that this was a good theme park to film at as it is on the beach, so whilst there we could film other shots, for the music video, on the coast. However due to us both being unavailable during the summer holidays, we were unable to meet up, and Pleasure Beach unfortunately shuts at the beginning of September, which has already passed. Also the price of going to Pleasure Beach was higher than we could have afforded.

 

 

We than researched Pleasure Wood Hills, we checked to see when the opening times were and if it was open during september, it was. However it was very expensive to attend and neither of us, including our actor, had the money to pay for such an extravagant day. Also the theme park is not located at the beach which we really wanted in our filming; even a shot with the sea in the background could be very effective.

 

I thought of the idea of attending Adventure Island which is located in Southend On Sea. The entry to the park is free, however you have to pay to go on the rides, so the idea of shooting our actor whilst on the rides is lost. Also Southend is quite far from our current location, so it would take up a lot of filming time travelling to and from Southend.

 

We than thought of going to arcades instead of Theme Parks, as filming inside would be free. Typical arcades in Cromer and Great Yarmouth would be great for filming as the bright colours during day and night time would be exciting to the audience. Also they are located at the beach, which is our theme for our music video. Anna and I also thought of the idea that we could intrigue a wider audience by including the controversial and unique arcade on Southold Peir. Each ride has been made by different artists and is very alternative from the typical stereotype ideas of what an arcade is. 

 

 

Some intetextual references are:

Case Study 1 - Narrative

'Afrika Shox' - Leftfield;Afrika Bambaataa

Release date: 6th September 1999

Leftfield 

The British electronic band Leftfield formed in 1989, all band mates are from London, England. They were a duo of artists and record producers, who were hugely influential in the evolution of electronic music in the 1990s. The term progressive house was to define their style; it was a fusion of house, dub and reggae. They were the production team which brought back house music from the brink of commercial mediocrity. To produce their sound, they combined the classic soul of early Chicago and New York house to create classic, intelligent dance music. 

Afrika Bambaataa

Afrika Bambaataa (Kevin Donovan) is an American DJ from the south Bronx in New York. He is recognized for releasing a series of genre defining electronic tracks in the 1980s, which as a result influenced the development of hip hop culture. He is one of the originators of break-beat dj'ing and is respectfully known as the 'godfather' of hip hop culture, and the father of electronic funk. He is responsible for spreading hip hip culture around the world. Afrika Bambaataa means "Affectionate Leader".