Location, Location, Location

One of the most important parts of any shoot for a music video, film or television show, or even a photo shoot, is the location. Where do you want to put your actors? What kind of effect do you want the location to have on your audience?

When I initially started planning for my music video shoot, in my head I had the plan of filming at my home, with the idea of a house party due to the underlying themes that came out of the lyrics. However, on reflection this wouldn't have been possible due to how messy house parties can tend to be, so I rethought that idea, planning on shooting it in the drama studio at school.

This idea was then scrapped as so many people kept dropping out, and I decided to replan the idea completely, which meant new locations coming to the forefront. The first location, in fact, was my house, more specifically my bedroom, stairs, kitchen and hallway/front door. As the new plan is geared more towards a "day-in-the-life" style narrative, it felt more authentic to film in these locations, as it also allows the audience to see what the character's personal life is like.

The next location, keeping to this idea of authenticity, was the path and field near to my house. For a few people this will be a familiar sight on their morning travels, showcasing the village I live in, in a positive fashion rather than a negative one. For this reason, filming would take place on the morning walk to the bus stop, just as the sunrise is taking place, which is always a pleasant way for me to start the morning.

Another location that would be familiar to several people is the common room at my school. Again, this gives another element of a backstory to the actor behind the camera, and allows another strand of their life to be played out for the audience. Here, the cast members would be my normal everyday group of friends, so there would be some recognisable faces in there anyway.

The final location for shooting is a place very close to my heart, and that is my local Air Cadets squadron. All the people who know me know how much of an impact the squadron has actually had on my life and how large a part it plays currently. For this reason, I wanted to film here to show another part of the backstory for the actor, and as there were several people from the squadron who supported this filming, it felt like the right thing to do.