Blog 10 - Mise En Scene

We have decided that instead of the band doing a live performance, we are going to film it as if it is a band practicing for a gig, and the video takes place as a kind of "behind closed doors" sneak preview. This means that sets and costumes are going to be fairly casual. We want the audience to think "Oh that looks fun, being in a teenage band playing rock and roll music". However this does not take away the entire task of creating mise-en-scene for the audience to digest. We need it to look loud, we need it to look energetic, emotional and heartfelt.

This was achieved in our video shoot by stacking up amplifiers, speakers and PA's as a backdrop. This gives the image of a genuine performance/rehearsal as well as providing an energetic image, volume wise. This coincides with the genre of the song to create a good looking set. Unfortunately the only place we could film was in a school classroom. This is justified in my digipak and advert by calling the place "Panic room" although the video is intended to just look like a practice for a youth music band.

The clothing we wore was not particularly generic. I wore the same clothing throughout the shoot. I looked quite smart and cleaned up, which contrasts with the content of the video. Everyone else wore the same clothes throughout, except for Jesse, the drummer. He changed jumper but we could not hide this fact through editing alone. Overall the backdrop worked well. Initially we filmed each band member individually, to get close ups while maintaining a decent background. Then we placed the drums in front of it and had the whole band get close to each other to keep in shot. This worked well, creating the image of a room-wide background as opposed to the real thing that only stood about 5ft wide and 6ft tall. We also did not have the same combination of amplifiers and other sound equipment stacked up on our second day of shooting, but this is barely noticeable in the video.

This whole collaboration of ideas that materialized will heavily influence the favour that a possible target audience would have for our video. This is males aged 14-30. These guys are going to be aware of the music production process. The raw, male dominated rock band scene that takes place in dimly lit rooms, comprised of people who know how to have a laugh, dress normally to practice, play loud and mosh!