Day of Filming = 29th October

Initial CowGirls shots Filmed AND Switch of Camera from now on.

Today we filmed the opening shots for the introduction of the Cowgirl characters in our music video. We were able to easily accomplish a variety of shots that we needed and liked and also some shots were created on the day due to the location.

We have also changed out camera from the troublesome Hitachi to a Flip Ultra HD. This is because the flip allows us to instantly import our filmed files onto the macs without having to convert them.












 Also. Bloopers of the day.
Peace!

Why we hate AVI files.

We thought we were being really clever getting our own camera, but we were naive (or lacking in computer magic) to think that a mac could play .avi files. As we tried to import these .avi files we found we need to convert these files into .mov so that they could be played through quicktime and entered into iMovie and Final Cut Express. The macs in school and Aisling's macbook do not have the same version of quicktime, which partly makes the situation easier as the videos can be converted at home and brought into school on an ipod, in theory. Whether this will really work in practice is another thing...
If it transpires that this cannot be done, our efforts will have been in vain, we will have to film again and Josh may cry.

Filming in the Pub = 19th October

Tuesday 19th October in the pub in Welling: 1.00 - 2.00.

Post-Filming:

Today we filmed in the pub on Welling High Street as we were given permission to film because Chloe's brother works there.

It was a rather embarrassing situation for Aisling & Chloe, because they were dressed as cowgirls in a rather busy public area, however the filming went well and we managed to film the amount of footage needed in less time than we originally thought.

However we did stumble across a slight inconvenience, because the camcorder that Aisling bought is incompatible with the MAC computers we use so Aisling has to take her camcorder home, upload the footage to her PC and convert it to a format that works on the MAC computers.

Updates

1) When we did our test shots using the green screen for the opening of our music video - the iPod advert effect - we found out that we were unable to do this effect. This is because we needed better lighting and a better green screen because the shadows showed up when we uploaded our filming.



2) Therefore, we decided that instead of the iPod advert effect, we would use a sepia effect for the opening performance. This is effect is more Western and looks good for our film.

3) Instead of using the school camera, we decided to use our own. Aisling bought a Hitachi camera which is better quality, has a flash and it's a lot easier for us as we can keep it for the whole of our filming.

Being creative for no reason.

Just a quick poster Idea!

Test Shots

We made a number if test shots in a western theme, now that we have finished our storyboard. These shots helped us decide which ones would fit best for our music video where there will be a showdown between the cowgirls and the indians. These test shots include the classic ECU onto the eyes, shot between the legs and the sliding of a drink along the bar.

Schedule List

Saturday 9th + Sunday 10th October = find and buy all our costumes and props
Monday 18th October = Practice Performance Shots
Tuesday 19th October = Cowgirl Shots - in the pub

Half term = 22nd october - 1st november
Filming done in this time.

Tuesday 26th October - Practise Cowgirl Shots
Friday 29th October = Cowgirl Shots

Back to school:
1st November = Performance Shots

Storyboard

Three members of our group, Chloe Aisling and Josh B, each took 30 seconds of the song Taper Jean Girl to write about and described the camera movements, angles and sound onto the storyboard. When we were done, Josh E drew all the pictures following what we had written.

Digital Storyboard

Location List

1. Park - Either Danson Park or Bostall Heath

2. Cafe - Expresso Bar

3. Pub - Turn Pike

4. Street - Any Street

5. (Maybe use a house for some shots if the bar/pub is unavailable for filming)


Park used for indian shots, more rural area as parody for indians living in the plains/wilderness. Also used for the big fight scene at the end

Cafe used for the shots of Indians sharpening their arrows

Pub used for Cowgirls sitting drinking beer, like a parody of saloon

Street used for the parody cowgirl shots

Costumes and Props And Actors

Prop List + Costume
1. Cowboy hat 
2. Gun

3. Holster
4. Checked shirt
5. Cowboys boots
6. Headbands
7. Bow + Arrows
8. Canvas shoes
9. Car
10. Bike
11. Powder Paint
12. Cigarette 
13. Brooms


ACTORS
We decided as a group that we would all participate in the acting of the film. As there are two boys and two girls in our group, it was ideal for us and as easy amount of people to work with. 
Furthermore, by using ourselves as the actors, we are each able to do parts of the filming and contribute equally to our film. 

OUR INSPIRATIONS

Video 1 + 2


Video 3


Video 4

Video 5



Video 1 and 2 - We liked the style of the video and we thought that it would look cool if we used it for some shots in our music video. So we researched how to do it, first looking at making of Queen of The Stone Ages video, however that was in 3D. We also looked at the iPod adverts as they use similar techniques. We found a video on Youtube and realised that if we used Final Cut instead of iMovie, we would be able to achieve this effect.
Video 3 - This video of Clint Eastwood in the film "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964) gave us a lot of inspiration for our music video. The shots gave us many ideas that we could use and a more solid view of how to go about the showdown ending between the cowgirls and the indians. Moreover, we looked carefully at the cowboys clothing so we could get some more ideas for the cowgirls costumes.
Video 4 - This video, "Take it Off" by KeSha, We chose this video due to the use of powder paint for the majority of the video. However the paint is used in a different manner with more effects and is used more of a central plot of the video rather than a creative flourish like it will be in our video.