Account of shoot day

Our first location we shot at was Shoreditch. We decided this as it was the furthest distance making it more logical to start there. Once we parked we noticed a street by the name of Whitby Street that was covered by trendy street art of mainly a women in bright colours. As a group we decided to set up the camera here and film our first shots. Once we finished here we walked closer to Shoreditch overground station where there was a wall with authorised graffiti and artists covering it. Then we asked an artist to borrow a can and used the go pro to film our actress vandalising the streets. Once we finished in Shoreditch and filmed inside the station; a tunnel consisting of a tramps bed and a 5 aside football arena we walked to Brick Lane for our next location.
In Brick Lane our main idea was to carry on filming our actress looking lost, drunk and depressed whilst walking into newsagents and pretending to beg for cigarettes and alcohol but being turned away. We went into Brick Lane market to film our actress walking around the food store looking lost and trying to find food. We also filmed in iconic areas such as the Truman Brewery to demonstrate the areas we are in and that our actress is traveling around London.
After we filmed in Brick Lane we filmed in Piccadilly Circus to get some time laps shots. We filmed in Piccadilly Circus where it was very busy and we had our actress standing still whilst everyone else was doing there thing, this made us able to edit in a time laps. Within Piccadilly Circus we also filmed in alley ways to show her isolation and get shots of our actress without any interruption.Finally our last location on the day was Hendon bridge to film our last few shots. We used the bridge to show her being drunk and extremely depressed as we tried to make it look like she was contemplating suicide. By this time it was 6.30 and time to call it a day.    
Unfortunately whilst searching for free parking in London, we found that this would be nearly impossible with all car spaces being taken. After half an hour of searching we found a space and paid £10 for 2 hours of parking, which was anticipated, the cost of this was split between the group so it was a minor cost for a necessary expense.
Unfortunately the battery life on the Go-Pro was not as long as we anticipated, so during the film day, just before lunch it ran out of charge. We went out looking for the specific charger needed to give it extra life and was quoted £14. However, we went into the Carphone Warehouse store in Soho and they offered to charge it for us for free whilst we took our lunch break. Although this was an unexpected but great obstacle we were swiftly able to deal with it.The weather in London during this time of year (November) is inevitably cold, but especially on the day of filming temperatures reached as low as 3 degrees, with high winds. Because we were out all day, we became very cold with our hands becoming the least functioning limbs. We recognized that this would impact our ability to film and hold a camera in a stable way, so we went into Primark and purchased pairs of gloves for £2. Once again, this was a low but necessary cost.
A key obstacle that influenced our day of filming was the immense traffic in London on our way to Soho at 2pm; it took a lot longer than we had thought. Unfortunately there was no way of overcoming this, but as mentioned later on, if we were to do things differently I think we should have taken the London underground.
Because we were filming in such a busy area of London on a weekend evening, it means that the place was packed, so we weren’t always able to get clear shots. In order to secure a clear shot we were standing in the way of the shots, blocking pedestrians from walking in the way of our camera, apart from the time-lapse where it was necessary.
As it got dark too early for our liking, and we were very tired from walking around all day, we plan to shoot the rest of footage another day, in a more local area.

Individual Role:

I was the co-producer/driver, controlling the artistic and dramatic aspects, where I was responsible for all the business and logistical aspects during the main phase of film production. I was the driver within the group this meant i was responsible for carrying around all the equipment and getting to location on time.

In addition, we switched up the roles throughout the day to ensure all members if the group didn’t get bored in their job. As the part-time camera operator I was responsible for the shots taken throughout the day. I had a good eye for seeking special shots, understanding of the equipment operation and functioning. Being able to fulfill the specific instructions from those directing me who had an exact vision of each scene. I used my videography skills from last year to successfully capture images, lighting created by the cast and crew of the film.

Things in the day that inspired us:

Whilst walking through Shoreditch on our way to the next filming location we stumbled across a wall of graffiti being done by an artist named ‘Sketch’. We approached him and kindly asked if we could use some of his paint to get some filming done for our music video. We used this shot to depict our actress as a rebellious type who likes to express her emotions through the art of music and painting. 

After finishing up with the graffiti wall, we were on our way to Shoreditch High St Station and as we walked past I saw there were windows with bars. I was immediately drawn to it and envisioned Lucy walking in the distance, whilst the camera remained behind bars, suggesting that she is mentally imprisoned as she strolls down the derelict land alone.

Opposite Shoreditch station we saw a barbed wire fence with padlocks all over it to symbolize love. Typically names or initials are inscribed on the padlock to show the love between two individuals. Fortunately for us we found a padlock on it with ‘Lucy’ inscribed on it, we used this to our advantage as we got a shot of Lucy taking the lock and throwing it away in disappointment.

On our way to Brick Lane, we walked under a bridge to find a spot where evidently a homeless person was making their home. There was a shopping trolley full of belongings, cardboard mat to sleep on and a pot for money alongside a sign asking for donations. Fortunately, the owner wasn’t to be seen so we asked Lucy to take a seat where the homeless man would and act like she was homeless herself. This enabled us to get a shot of her appearing homeless, begging for money as pedestrians walked past, ignoring her.

If we were to things differently, I would of preferred to take the train up to London. This is because it is more convenient as we wouldn’t of had to worry about the traffic and issue of parking in London, but also it would’ve opened us up to a wider range of footage to take at the same time.

Also, it would be more ideal to start earlier in the morning in order to get all footage done, we had planned to go to Camden but we only left Piccadilly Circus at 5:30, by this time it was really dark, we were tired and because Camden is not as well lit as central London, shots wouldn’t have been as clear so we decided to scrap that idea.