Things to think about

 

 In order to stick to the typical indie conventions and create a successful indie music promo, we need to ensure we follow the basic rules of a music promo. We need to think about costume, lighting, mise-en-scene, location etc to get the right aesthetic look for our band and fit into the stereotypical indie genre.

 We need to ensure that everything in each camera shot works well together to benefit our music promo, nothing random should be in shot that doesn't fit in with the the mise-en-scene as this will give our a promo an unprofessional look.




 In order to improve our filming skills for our music promo, we need to preplan shots and make them interesting. A large range of shots should be used in order to keep our promo interesting and varied throughout.

 As well as considering the types of shots we put in, we also need to think about the way in which we are framing them. Basic rules such as the rule of thirds should be thought about during filming in order to keep our shot types interesting and accurate with the right parts appearing. For example, a shot where the band's head is cut off would be pointless in selling the band to the audience due to them not being able to recognise their visual appearence. This would also give the music promo an unprofessional vibe. Even though the music promo will be made from a very minimalistic budget, we need to make it look as professional as we can through the use of clever shots, steady pans, and other filming techniques.

 In order to make this shot appear interesting, the lighthouse appears right on the lines in order to create a well set picture. It shows you the location of the lighthouse, the weather and the natural mix of colours appearing in the shot. In order to create this more interesting look in our own shots, this rule can never be broken when filming.

Convincing Acting

 When filming a music promo, the acting needs to appear very convincing else the audience won't believe in the narrative which we are trying to portray. In order to succeed, we got our group to try out 5 key steps we researched on the internet on how to "give a good performance".

 

Before the scene, take a moment to get in character. Think about their background, their attitude, etc. Most directors have you think about this at the beginning of the production.

 

Try some improv before the scene with others who are in it. If it's a romantic scene, try to have an improv where you are both at a romantic dinner, etc. It should get you warmed up for the real scene.

 

During the scene, avoid looking at people. It usually makes people uncomfortable, and the actors can get out of character very easily. If you need to look at the wall, that's totally fine. Just don't look at anything that will make you break character.

 

If the scene is a sad one, maybe conceal some eye drops. If you can hide them in your costume or hand, then bring them up to your eye, it will be a convincing crying act.

Just remember to stay in character the whole act. Otherwise, your scene won't be as emotionally charged, and the audience won't buy it.

 

 Lighting

 In order to film a successful music promo, we also need to think about our lighting within our location and the natural lighting we will also need to manipulate to work to our advantage. When researching into successful lighting, shots which are lit from the back often appear interesting. However, the picture demonstrates the way in which the foreground performers appear very dark as no light is hitting their face front in front. In order to get this interesting back lighting, and the ability to see the performers, we also need lights shining on the band from in front. The location where we are filming does have electricity installed and has working lights which will allow the band to be seen on the camera during filming. We will also bring flood lights when filming in order light up the background of the shot the way in which we want to. It will create interesting shadows for the camera to capture and give the video the indie vibe which we wanted to show.