'NIN - Metal' - Performance filming

This weekend we will be filming our performance scene in Ilkley, we are thinking about filming up near the cow and calf, using basic equipment (2 guitars, amps, microphone and basic drum-kit) to contrast with the technology based narrative of the video. We have several people in mind, however nothing is final and we're still discussing this.

"NIN - Metal" Feedback from sample footage

The last 3 weeks we have been working hard on producing some sample footage for our video, we currently have 45 seconds of footage that was shot over 4 shooting sessions, two were at school, one by the railway bridge and one down at the industrial estate location.

The sample footage helped us get a better understanding of what our end product can/will look like and what effects looked good, what locations and camera angles were right, and even what wasn't so great.

The first time we showed our work to others was at the schools creative art's evening, this was an evening put on by school showcasing work from the media, drama and music department and was full of creative minds who could offer helpful feedback about our product, we were even lucky enough to have the headteacher view our work which was a great honour.

The feedback we got from creative arts evening:  

• People didn't really know what was going on, there wasnt any anchorage that gave the audience an idea of what was happening in the video and why and what our character was trying to escape from and what relevance did all the shots of Mac's and other miscellaneous objects have to do with this. 

How we will change our product after the feedback:

• We think the main reason people didn't know what was going on was because the footage we showed them was only 45 seconds long which really isn't that long to provide any real anchorage especially with our idea that 'Technology is Bad' it is hard to portray that in such a short clip so we think that we will just have to work on getting more footage and then getting more feedback to see whether with more time the audience got a better understanding of what was going on.

We also showed our work in our Media lesson which is full of young talented minds ready to make their break in the music video world, so is good to get other media students to give their creative opinions on our work.

Feedback we received:

• Include more subliminal messages
• Perhaps get the character to get on the train, this would give us scope to go to new locations
• The fast pace editing was good gave an intense feel to the video
• Good use of effects, thought that the Black and White effect worked well.
• Expand locations to more urban areas such as Leeds and mainly Bradford.

How we plan to adapt to feedback:

• Start location scouting around Leeds and Bradford, we already have one location in mind in Leeds and two of us being born and bred in Bradford have good local knowledge and and a few locations in mind for places in Bradford.
• We need to think about good ways to include our illuminati symbolism 

Feedback from our media teacher:

• The scene when Ben walks backwards should be changed because it gave a comedy feel, which wasn't all what we were wanting.
• Didn't think that Ben was right for the role.

How we are going to change:

• We are going to edit out the backwards walking scene to make sure we have the correct intentions for our video.
• We have started looking for different people to cast for our role instead of Ben.

'Nine Inch Nails - Metal' Sample Filming

Yesterday (5th December) we started the outdoor sample filming in Ilkley, this included some performance (lip syncing) shots mixed in with the narrative of the protagonist being followed/ surveyed. This footage was to get an idea of what the shots would look like, and to spark new ideas for our later filming in Bradford. Today we are going to carry on filming at the bottom of Ilkley before adding this footage to our sample footage back at school, we are hopefully going to have some finished sample footage by the end of the week, that we are going to screen for the rest of the class for feedback and suggestions.

"NIN - Metal" Original Idea

After receiving feedback from our re-pitch on our idea for the music video, we have re-thought a few aspects of what we're going to include, and as a quick outline: Our video is centered around one protagonist, who is living in a dystopian like world, and has been brainwashed by technology, the video goes through the character (who we decided would be a teenage male) trying to break free from the hold that is over him: this is going to be shown through various scenes, such as him smashing a laptop after being shown staring at the screen. We also have decided to use (as mentioned before) a slow zoom shot of a corridor, which we are going to cut to as the video progresses, eventually having the door at the end of the corridor open at the end of the video to signify the protagonist's freedom.

Facebook Page!

I have just finished setting up a facebook page for our productions company "HBK Productions", as we felt having a twitter and facebook page, as well as the previously created separate blog, would help keep people up to date with what is happening with the music video creation, see the facebook page here.

'NIN - Metal' Treatment

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"NIN - Metal" Costume/Casting

Well this is a subject that we've barely touched upon in full detail in our discussions about the video although we have decided upon using a teenage protagonist this means that we can have another connection with our audience. Because of how 'weird' we have planned our video to be, we would use the protagonist to really give our audience a way into the video.
We haven't really decided upon who else would appear in the video although /I think we do plan on including some basic performance shots but really keeping it to a minimum. 
Of course there are still issues to discuss such as should the singer also be the protagonist (something frequently done across all genres in the music video format) and should the band appear in the video, and if so then in what manner? 
Maybe something closer to 'The perfect Drug' where the other three band members appear as gentlemen dressing in top hats playing violins or later standing on the hill with canes in hand looking into the distance. but then the band have never really appearing in other videos (other than March if the pigs) all that clearly (cameo from Richard Patrick and Robin Fink in Down in It) so we are still debating as to wether we stick to the established Nine Inch Nails 'convention' of the focus just being on the singer.