FILMING: BAND PERFORMANCE SCENES

On the 19th of November, I and my group were able to fill the first major scene that would be featured in our music video. We decided to use our school gymnasium as it is very large giving us plenty of space to film as well as use lighting and props.

We were able to use our friend Huw Carey as our drummer whilst Elliot and I played guitar and bass/vocals respectively. Ellie was on the main cameras and we also borrowed Huw's GoPro camera for the shoot so we had someone experienced to help us with filming and positioning. Ellie used two cameras to gain a variety of shots and experiment with different angles and lighting combinations to try and get the most professional looking shots we could.

This was the basic setup for the instruments and the cameras. We had one that would shoot face on and a second that would shoot low and at angles. The drum-kit took center stage and me and Elliot stood at either side to distribute the screen time as evenly as possible.

Unbeknownst to us we had access to a smoke machine which our teacher was able to get for us. We used this to add depth to our lighting when filming to create some very dark and creative shots. The fact that we could utilize the large gymnasium meant the smoke dissipated evenly and quickly so we were not completely hidden in smoke while on camera.

This is me striking a pose in conjunction with the smoke machine, we had not used the lights at this point so as to try and preserve the bulbs, but we were able to get a sense of how the camera would react to the sue of smoke and how we would appear. As you can see the effect gives an edge to what might have otherwise been a bland photo.

Here we are utilizing the GoPro to get closeup shots of us playing our instruments. We decided to film the scenes with the GoPro first as it was one of the easiest shots to set up.
Huw simply held the camera in place and we adjusted the angle to get different shots. We did not fix it to the instruments as we did not have the clamp attachment for the camera and holding it in place allowed us to move the camera freely and try different positions on the instruments to see which yielded the best result.










This was the Camera we used to film the front facing shots. Its a Canon 100 and we used it primarily to film the front facing shots as it was attached to a higher tripod and had a better zoom capacity than Ellie's camera which we used for closer, low angle shots.
We used the canon to film our entrance to the music video, the three band members playing all at once and towards the end used to to film panning, close ups of the individual band members.



Overall, the shoot went extremely well, and although we were time pressured due to a late start because of the lack of availability of the school gym until 4pm, we got a lot of brilliant work done. The shots we have taken will provide us with near a minutes worth of screen time for our music video. We will review what we have filmed on Thursday 20th November and begin to start editing the shots so that they are ready to be incorporated in the music video when new scenes are filmed. 

FIRST DAY OF FILMING

Today we had the opportunity to film one of our first scenes for the video. This scene is meant to be a direct reflection of the shallow and materialist values that stereotypical Americanism represents.

The scene shows Ellie driving into the distance followed by a tracking and zooming shot. As she moves away a handful of money is carelessly thrown out the window.



Here is a picture of the tripod and the car we were using during the filming of our first shoot. The weather was sunny and crisp and therefore it was an ideal time to film this scene as we could see everything clearly when filming and  the weather reflected the Californian image. 

This scene is influenced directly by Adorno's Theory of the culture industry. Adorno suggested that today's society influences and encourages needless materialism and that people are kept satisfied by this need for things that are not actual necessity's, which has been manufactured by a huge industry that churns out basic brain food to keep the human population satisfied .

Here we printed  out 5, 10 and 20 pound notes to use as props that would be realistic enough to be recognized (although there will also be a closeup of the money before it is thrown so the audience knows what it is).








Bibliography: 
Adorno, Theodor (1991), The Culture Industry: Selected essays on mass culture, Routledge, London.

CALL SHEET: MONEY THROWING SCENE

A2 Media Studies Call Sheet: Money scene

·                     Track – Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Californication

·                     Length – 3 mins 22 seconds

·                     Shoot date – tbd

·                     Location – Money throwing out of car window – Ellie’s Car – in car

Crew: [Ellie Walton, elliepw@hotmail.co.uk,]

·                     Crew: [Elliot Hogan, hogan.elliot@yahoo.co.uk, 07825563046]

·                     Crew: [Max Day, maxday@hotmail.com]

·                     Camera equipment (Nikon Camera (Ellie’s cam) and tripod from media)

·                     Lighting equipment (N/A as will be done in natural daylight)

·                     Props (Photocopied money – preferably £20 notes)

CALL SHEET: HANDBAG FIGHT

Call sheet A2 Media – Handbag fight scene

Track: Californication

Track length: 3 minutes 22 seconds

Cast and crew required:

·        Ellie

·        Elliot

·        Paris

·        Max

Equipment:

·        Canon camera

·        Camera battery (charged)

·        Camera lenses

Props: Stereotypical cop

·        Handbag

·        Police badge

·        Hawaiian shirt

·        Baseball bat

·        Sunglasses

·        Fake handlebar moustache

·        Doughnut box

Band members:

·        casual clothing

CALL SHEET: BAND PERFORMANCE

Call sheet A2 Media – Performance shots

Title of page: A2 Media Studies Call Sheet for Red Hot Chilli Peppers - Californication

·                     Track – Red Hot Chilli Peppers: Californication

·                     Length – 3 mins 22 seconds

·                     Shoot date – Tuesday 18th November 2013

·                     Location – School small gym, Claremont Fan Court

Crew:             [Ellie Walton, elliepw@hotmail.co.uk,]

·                     Crew: [Elliot Hogan, hogan.elliot@yahoo.co.uk, 07825563046]

·                     Crew: [Max Day, maxday@hotmail.com]

·                     Camera equipment (Nikon Camera (Ellie’s cam), Media camera's from Mrs Mann x 2, Huw Carey's 'Go-Pro' and tripods from media)

·                     Lighting equipment (Lightings from media, x3)

·                     Props (Musical instruments brought over from Music School, Drum Kit, Mic Stands, brought in guitars etc)

Props required - Band members:

·        Casual clothes

·        Guitar

·        Bass guitar

·        Drum kit

·        Microphone + stand

·      

LYRICS ANALYSIS

'CALIFORNICATION'

Here we have synced the lyrics of the song to what will happen in the music video. This outlines for us what we want to happen and when and will be able to give us mores consistency when it comes to editing.

(song intro builds up)             We see a RHCP fan lying on his bed on his phone. A close up sh Psychic spies from China     
Try to steal your mind's elation
Little girls from Sweden                          
Dream of silver screen quotations       
And if you want these kind of dreams
It's Californication

It's the edge of the world
And all of western civilization
The sun may rise in the East                  
At least it settles in the final location
It's understood that Hollywood
sells Californication

Pay your surgeon very well                                    
To break the spell of aging
Celebrity skin is this your chin             
Or is that war your waging

Chorus:
First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn               
Dream of Californication
Dream of Californication

Marry me girl be my fairy to the world
Be my very own constellation
A teenage bride with a baby inside
Getting high on information
And buy me a star on the boulevard     
It's Californication

Space may be the final frontier
But it's made in a Hollywood basement
Cobain can you hear the spheres
Singing songs off station to station     
And Alderaan's not far away
It's Californication

Born and raised by those who praise
Control of population everybody's been there and
I don't mean on vacation

Chorus

First born unicorn
Hard core soft porn                

Dream of Californication      
Dream of Californication

PLANNING: DEFINING CALIFORNICATION

'Californication

The process by which the American television and film industry, for the most part based in California, spreads their own highly sexualized, consumer driven, version of American culture that heavily emphasizes sex, violence, celebrity, and youth as both virtues to be extolled and goals to be achieved. Ignoring and often doing everything in their power to blur, if not erase, the dividing line between the fantasy of the cinemas world view and reality. This process has become pandemic with the proliferation of reality television wherein a person can achieve "Californication" without possessing any real talent but rather just the ability to make a fool of themselves on a world wide stage (See: Snookie)

e.g.The sudden popularity of this actress is merely a case of "Californication".

-Thank you Urban Dictionary.

The Red Hot Chili Peppers "californication" is an amalgamation of the words "california" and "fornication". The band uses the word to satire and mock what is percieved to be life in california and that the image everyone round the globe is fed through media, is simply not the truth.

In our music video we are attempting to exploit this view, such as its preoccupation with plastic surgery, self-image and conformity to the California scene for fear of feeling an outcast or alien.
In our music video, we have people spending money unnecessarily that they don’t need to spend, such as pimping out their car, throwing money out of the windows of cars, adoration of brand names, coveting of other people’s things.


The theme of self obsession and the constant need to churn out a glorifying image ties in directly with the Andy Warhol quote "everyone will be world famous for 15 minutes". This highlights what the Chili peppers tried to achieve in their song, by pointing out the shallow and empty promises of everyone wanting to be a star even if it will only be for 15 minutes.

Most people who have never been to California, imagine sea, sand and healthy living. The Red Hot Chili Peppers challenge this perception of Californian life by presenting the shallowness, narcissism and materialism that is actually an everyday part of life. It seems evident that would the band’s lyrics alert us to one of the areas that are the subject of moral panics.

REQUESTING PERMISSION

This is the email we sent to the Warner Brothers music label, requesting permission to use the song Californication for our non profit coursework. We did not receive a reply however this email serves as proof of us at least asking.