Behind The Scenes

 

Behind The Scenes

Here are some behind the scene pictures that were clicked while shooting for our music video.  

This is a picture of Me, filming a scene where the car is being parked

This is a picture of my partner and I handling the camera to film the car scene where the teenager is caught eating his junk food by his father. 

Lakshya and I filming another scene of the car parking 

Day 1 of shooting the gym scene where the teenager is shot doing different movements

Day 2 of shooting the gym scene, this is another shot of him sitting on the bench, and where we are taking a close up shot of his face. 

Technical Trials

Prior to filming, we conducted a series of trials to explore the key aspects of our production including shot composition, camera angles and clarity of audio. These initial tests allowed us to experiment with how different shots would appear on screen. By testing all these aspects, we were able to gain a better understanding of how the emotional tone of the narrative would be represented visually.

Here are a few pictures of us testing out the waters, with aspects related to the shot, how the shot looks and how the sound is heard on the mic. 

Regarding the technical trials, as per our experience, the technical trials were done on the final shoot itself, this was because we were extremely confident and we trusted the equipment that we had utilized for the shoot of the music video and to match our expectations, the technical trials had gone smoothly as advanced cameras, and mics were used to capture moments that will be included in the final music video. We used good quality equipment which minimized the risk of technical errors and storytelling rather than troubleshooting. Overall, the combination of preparation and adaptability contributed to a technically strong final product.

Location Scouting

This explores the 3 gyms we had scouted for. This Blog shows 3 exhibits and shows the space, lighting and overall vibe of the gym that we are looking for in the music video.

Exhibit A 

Exhibit A is the most likely and competent gym of all variants, this is because, despite it being less on the size of the gym, it provides us the correct form of lighting which would make it more convenient to define muscles, and since it is a relatively newer gym, it also gives us a more variety of equipment to get better shots and newer movements  

 

Exhibit B

Exhibit B shows a combination of good space in terms of the size of the gym, it provides us with ample amount of equipment to get various shots in, however, the only aspect that the gym lacks is the aspect of a dark theme and the availability of good lighting to help us define muscles and get good shots 

Exhibit C

Exhibit C shows a good combination of colors that could set the vibe of a very gothic, dark themed video, however this gym lacked the advancement of equipment which means that it would have been a little difficult task for us to get multiple shots of movements and exercises for the character to execute. 

Behind the Look: Building Realism Through Makeup

INITIAL CHALLENGES

Collectively deciding on whether we should use make up or not has been challenging because we were confused and a little worried about the characters final look on the screen, however after the trial shoot we shot, we were satisfied with the characters final look. We were unsure about how the characters would appear on the screen and were concerned that a wrong decision would negatively affect the authenticity of the music video. As the project focusses on the emotional transformation of the character, visual note was extremely important. 

TRIAL SHOOT & FINAL DECISION

We decided to try out a trial shoot  which allowed us to see the character's appearance on camera without heavy makeup. After reviewing the footage, we all were satisfied with the natural look as it aligned well with the theme of realism. Therefore, we decided not to use noticeable makeup in our final production.

To also add on, we also did not decide to utilize make up due to the fact that we wanted our characters to maintain their natural skin tone, to symbolize rawness and could also have potentially helped us deliver that gruff and unfiltered look onto both our characters. It helped us create unfiltered aesthetic that reflects the intensity of the character's journey ultimately enhancing the visual storytelling of our project.

Character Auditions

To find out the best suitable actor to play our character, we had taken the pictures of different people, along with their profile. We looked at their overall sharpness, hair type and their physique to make sure that it is suitable to play the role. 

Exhibit A:

Body Type: Bulky; almost like a powerlifter (strength athlete)

Facial Hair: Thick bushy facial hair

Hair Type: Straight hair, although due to personal reasons, it would be covered if this is the actor that is selected. 

Background: No athletic background.

Exhibit B

Body Type: Non-athletic physique, lacks muscle definition

Facial Hair: No facial hair, no stubble as well to give the gruff look

Hair Type: Straight Hair

Background: No athletic background

Exhibit C

Body type: A little on the bulky side, however is still lean to give an atheltic look

Facial Hair: stubble visible. to give the gruff look

Hair type: wavy bushy hair 

Background: volleyball player.

Exhibit D: 

Body type: The sweet spot between lean and bulky, has clear muscle definition 

Facial Hair: has shown signs of stubble although its very light, could possibly give a gruff look. 

Hair type: Thick curly hair 

Background: Bodybuilder, has worked as a model. 

Final Character Selection

 Actor Finalization for the music video

For our music video, we are going to choose our friend, Mustafa Gaffar, because he perfectly fits the character description for our music video with good accuracy. This will help out music video have good meaning and will help us convey the message we intend to convey to the audience. 

This is our friend Mustafa, these are his profiles, he exhibits physical qualities such as a wide back, broad shoulder, thick and bushy hair, low body fat and a sharp jawline. This characteristics were achieved by him from an interest in building a sculpted physique. Mustafa also participates in modeling for certain clothing companies and this is what makes him a good match for the actor we are looking for to play the teenager.  

For the father, we have chosen, another one of our friends, which is Anshpreet, his physical characteristics perfectly fit into the bulky type and he has a thick bushy beard which adds an effect of more of an age to him.

From Vision to Reality: Exploring Our Locations

FINALISING THE LOCATION

After careful planning and consideration, we successfully finalized the gym as the primary location for the music video. The decision was based on how well the setting matched with our plot. 

While we had finalized the location for the gym, we had to take trial shots of a subject executing certain movements to test out the lighting and to assess the suitability of the location. From the trial shots, it became clear that the gym's existing lighting played a major role in enhancing the visual quality of our footage. The trial shoot also helped us to decide whether the location was suitable in terms of area and layout. Also, the presence of equipments contributed to the authenticity of the setting, making the scene feel more natural.

                                        

As you can see from the two images above, with the provided lighting and equipment that the gym gives off, we as a team are extremely confident with the quality of the video, as the light gives us an opportunity to showcase deep definition in our main actors physique. The setting enhances the storytelling by allowing us to capture powerful and visually striking footage that reflects the journey of our main character.

Location Finalisation

 For the First scene where the teenager is caught by his father eating processed food, we have picked the perfect parking space where there is a combination of an open parking space and good lighting to make sure that the subjects on the screen are defined well. 

The car scene was filmed in a Toyota Innova Hycross ZX Hybrid model, this car was picked due to the convenience and as well as the space that the car brought along, which gave us the necessary area to fit in camera equipment and shoot comfortably.

For the Scene where the teenager is shown exercising and where he is located in the gym, we chose to film in a private gym, that belongs to one of our classmates, we chose this location due to the fact that it exhibited extra-ordinary lighting and space as well as equipment's that gave us more number of shots as well as the uniqueness of them 

Equipment List used for filming

 Equipment List: 

1. Camera body- Black Magic Pocket Cinema camera 4k

2. ⁠Lenses- Voigtlander 10.5mm prime, 17.5mm prime, 42.5mm prime.

3. ⁠Audio- Rode VideoMic

4. ⁠Dji rs2 Gimble 

5. ⁠Insta360 one rs mk2 

6. ⁠Digitek diffuser 

7. ⁠Digitek tripod

Costume trials

 Final Costume Trials: Our judgement.

We have collectively agreed to take the following long sleeve t shirt and the baggy pants as the main characters costume to be a part of our music video. We have chosen the long sleeve compression t shirt because of the fact that it would look more aesthetic on the camera, and by analyzing the picture closely, we can notice that the subjects biceps and shoulders are popping out, which will give him the muscular/ athletic look we are looking for. 

It was also decided that we choose the baggy sweatpants as the lower wear for the main character, because I strongly believe that the baggy pants will help the main characters frame to be filled in more without the shots of the subject looking empty and not filled. 

Costume Arrangements

'Costume Scouting'

Lakshya and I had researched about potential costumes that we could use for our main character to wear in the music video, we hoped to find a t shirt or a long sleeve gym shirt that is fitted, typically what a person would normal wear to the gym, and we hoped to choose baggy track pants as well. 

Upper wear.

This above picture shows a compression T shirt that is most ideal for a shoot since it will allow the subject to showcase more definition in the music video. The company that sells this T shirt is Fuaark. 

This T shirt is another type of Gym wear that the subject could wear, however this does not fit into our requirements of falling under a compressed T shirt but it instead falls into the oversized category. 

Lower Wear. 

These are track pants that are sold by a clothing company that is based in India. These are the baggy pants that we are holding as an option to use for our video. 

We have an option of using these type of Adidas shorts or any type of shorts in the music video as well. If we use shorts we are looking for shorts that are above the knee to make sure that the main character looks more athletic 

For the Fathers attire, we wanted to depict him wearing a shirt. A simple piece of clothing you see a lot of fathers wear today. 

For the father, no pants would be visible on the screen, therefore we are not particularly looking for or choosing any specific lower wear for the character's costumes, we have left that decision up to the actor himself.