(4) Preliminary Task - Planning

Planning For Our Practice Music Video
Now that we have the basic story and plot planned for our preliminary task, we can begin to think about the more physical aspects of our video, such as the location, cast and props etc.

Potential Locations
We have begun brainstorming different locations to work out where would be most convenient to us as well as which areas would suit the romantic but realistic look and theme of our video. Our ideal location is an outside area that is a realistic place to walk dogs, that is also open enough to move freely for filming. Suitable locations may include a park, forest or public footpath.

The following locations are the places suggested by our group members:

Kett's Park, Wymondham
Kett's Park is a public playing field in Wymondham. It is an appropriate place to use because of its open nature, meaning there is a lot of room to move freely, allowing more freedom when setting up the camera to film. The openness and size of the field are also convenient because it means that people are less likely to interrupt filming because it's large enough to hold us and the public. Furthermore, it contains different areas to it, for example, it includes a woodland, a field and a

recreational park. This is convenient because it means if we want to use various locations in the video, we don't have to travel far to achieve this effect. It is also convenient because it's easily accessible to our entire group, meaning none of us has to travel far to meet. Furthermore, it is a place where people often walk their dogs, meaning that it's realistic to the image we're trying to achieve: a realistic dog walking spot.

On the other hand, this location may not be appropriate to use because it's a very popular place, meaning that we're likely to encounter pedestrians when filming, which may interfere with filming. Although it wouldn't matter too much if a person was to walk into the background of our footage because our video is set in a local dog walking spot, meaning passersby add to the realism, it may put the continuity of the project at risk if people are in one shot and then not in the other, ruining the realism of the video. Also, the dogs we cast may be distracted by people and dogs walking by, disrupting filming. Another issue we may encounter when using this location is that it's very close to a road, meaning that we have to be careful when handling dogs because they're at risk of running off into the road.

Kett's Park

Watton Sports Centre

Watton Sports Centre is a leisure centre situated in Watton. It's an appropriate location to use because it's a very large and open area, meaning it's easy to move freely and set up the camera to achieve the best look for our video. Furthermore, it has many different segments to it, including a children's play area, tennis courts, basketball courts, a playing field, wooden dugouts, a small woodland and loch.

These different areas may be helpful if we decide that our video needs more than one location - this means we won't have to plan a different location and won't need to travel far to achieve this look. It's a popular dog walking spot and is therefore realistic for our video. Moreover, certain areas, such as the field and loch, are very beautiful and therefore will heighten the romantic feel to our project. 

On the contrary, this location may not be suitable because it's based 15 miles from most of our group members, meaning it's a large and difficult distance to travel, particularly when public transport is scarce. Secondly, it's a very popular place, meaning we will likely encounter pedestrians which may disrupt filming and ruin continuity if they appear in the footage. Furthermore, the loch is particularly dangerous, meaning that extra care must be taken to ensure the dogs don't jump into the water. Lastly, although the majority of location is very open, some areas are very compact, such as the woodland, meaning filming may be difficult because the camera's view may be obstructed or the actors may find it hard to move among the trees. 

Final Location: Kett's Park

Out of the two locations that were suggested, we agreed to use Kett's Park. The main reason for this is its convenience: we can all get here easily. Furthermore, it's realistic looking as it's a dog walking place and it's overall picturesque appeal suits the romantic themes of our music video. 

We plan to primarily use the woodland area situated toward the back of the playing field as this area is the least likely for people to walk by and disrupt filming. Secondly, it's also the more romantic looking area of the park. Because of this, we intend this to be the place in which our characters meet and fall in love.

Later on, in the video, we intend to depict indoor scenes in which the couple will be arguing. The reason we chose indoor is to, firstly, create a stark contrast between the happy scenes and the tense scenes; the bright and natural connotations of a forest will allude happiness and fond memories, whereas the boxed-up nature of the breakup scenes will allude stress and suffocation. The sudden contrast will imitate the progress of the plot. The location we all immediately agreed to use for these scenes was Megan's living room. This is because it's a convenient, easy to access location that fits the nature of the scene. 

Potential Characters

We only plan to feature four characters: the couple and their dogs. We made brief character descriptions:

Eliza and Alice

These are the main protagonists of the music video and are the couple that meet and fall in love when walking their dogs together. They're roughly 17/18 years old.

Oscar

Oscar is Alice's dog. He is particularly hyperactive, energetic and excitable, however, is very obedient. Oscar has a very big personality. 

Roxie

Roxie is Eliza's dog. She's more laid back than Oscar and is very calm and composed - also a very obedient and well-trained dog.

Potential Cast

After we drew up brief character profiles, we began to make suggestions as to who would be able to play each character. The following people are who were suggested for the roles:

• Eliza & Alice: As these characters didn't have defining traits and physical characteristics, we were able to compile a list of people willing to perform either one of the roles, instead of one specific role. 

Megan Lansdell

Age: 17yrs

Occupation: Sixth Form Student

Megan is an appropriate actress to consider because she is the right age for the role and is an ordinary appearing teenager, therefore, she fits the role's requirements. Furthermore, she is a member of our group, which is convenient because it means we don't have to go to the efforts of casting someone who is less likely to meet to film than our actual group. Furthermore, she lives in Wymondham, meaning that using Megan is practically speaking, more convenient to use because she lives within walking distance of our location. 

On the other hand, Megan may not be an appropriate casting choice because, although it's more convenient, she is a member of our group. This may make directing as well as acting too much of a task. Furthermore, her acting experience is limited, though she is likely able to perform the role well. 

Emily Rogers

Age: 17yrs

Occupation: Sixth Form Student

Emily would be a good casting choice because she's the right age for the role. Furthermore, as a drama student, Emily has a lot of acting experience and is, therefore, the most skilled for the role. Furthermore, Emily lives close to the location, meaning she is able to get there without hassle. She;s also a member of our group, meaning it's more convenient than finding another actress to play the role as we know, as our group member, that she is reliable. 

Although having a group member playing the role is convenient, Emily may not be a suitable casting choice because working as both a set member and an actress may be difficult. However, Emily is a skilled actress and therefore will likely overcome this obstacle. 

Wendy MacKinnon (me)

Age: 17yrs

Occupation: Sixth Form Student

I may be an appropriate casting choice because I am the right age for the role. Furthermore, as a group member, I am convenient to use because it saves time and effort finding an actress willing to perform outside of our group. Furthermore, I have lots of experience working with dogs as a dog handler myself, and therefore will be able to work with the dogs on set as an actress. 

On the other hand, I have very limited experience as an actress and therefore am likely, not experienced enough to act. Furthermore, I live quite far away from where the filming location is, meaning a backup may have to be found on the chance I can't make it to filming. Lastly, working as both a crew member and an actress may prove difficult.  

• Dog One - Dog One (Oscar) is the more hyperactive dog of the two, and therefore, an energetic dog is required to play the role. These are the dogs suggested for the role of 'Dog 1': 

Oscar Lansdell

Oscar is appropriate for the role because he's a very confident and hyperactive dog, meaning he fits the role perfectly. Furthermore, he is photogenic, meaning he'll definitely look great on camera. Another reason Oscar is equipped for the role is that he is Megan's (group member) dog, meaning he is readily available and convenient to use. Furthermore, he lives in Wymondham which is convenient as it's easy to get him to the filming location. 

Riot MacKinnon

Riot is appropriate for the role because he's extremely excitable and energetic, meaning his personality suits the role very well. Furthermore, he's a very striking looking dog which means he'll look good on camera. Riot actually has a bit of acting experiencing having played a starring role in my AS coursework, so I know he'd be able to work on a set. He's also well behaved around other dogs, meaning he'd be able to work with the second dog on set and can be trusted. Being my dog, I know that he'd be available for filming and we wouldn't have to rely on someone else to bring their dog.

On the other hand, Riot may not be suited for the role because he lives very far away and would have to get to the location via public transport with me, which may be difficult. 

• Dog Two - Dog two is the female dog who is more calm and laid back. These were the dogs suggested for the role:

Roxie Carolan

Roxie is an appropriate casting choice because, firstly, we know that she gets along with Oscar. Furthermore, she's calm and, therefore, suits the role well. Another reason is that she lives in Wymondham and therefore doesn't have to travel far to the filming location. She also belongs to our group member and is, therefore, a reliable casting choice because we know she'll be readily available.

Cassy MacKinnon

Cassy would be an appropriate choice because she's extremely calm and laid back and therefore suits the role's requirements. Secondly, she gets on well with strangers and dogs. Another reason she is appropriate is that she belongs to me, so I know she'll be available and won't have to rely on someone else to bring their dog. 

On the other hand, Cassy lives very far from the filming location and would have to travel via public transport. This is made extra difficult because she's extremely old and may struggle to travel the distance as well as perform on a set all day. Also, being a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, which is a very stigmatised breed with a reputation for being aggressive, Cassy may look like a stereotypical aggressive dog and ruin the romantic mood of the video.

Final Cast: 

These are the final Cast members we picked for each role: 

• Eliza: Megan Lansdell
• Alice: Emily Rogers
• Dog One: Oscar Lansdell
• Dog Two: Roxie Carolan

All of these roles were mainly picked because of convenience as they all live in Wymondham.

Potential Costumes and Props

As our preliminary will be modern and naturalistic, we decided to use very ordinary clothes for our characters to depict realism. The characters will also be wearing teenage oriented clothes, this will allow the audience to understand their age. There will likely be a few costume changes in our video, however. This is to help create a sense of time progression, particularly between the dog walking scenes and the breakup scene. 

In terms of props, the props used will not be particularly significant but just be ordinary, such as dog leads, phones etc. This will help establish the realism of our project. 

Potential Split Between Performance and Narrative

We agreed that we wanted our video to be solely narrative driven and not contain any form of performance. The reason for this is because it distracts the audience away from the narrative, which isn't effective when our purpose is to tell a story. Moreover, we felt that performance creates a very commercial sense and therefore detracts from the realistic tone our video will set. It will also make the video less relatable because of the sense of commercialism created by performance. 

Storyboard

After we had everything established, we decided to create a storyboard. However, because we were uncertain about how to end the video, we listed the alternate endings on the storyboard. We're unsure between the happy ending and the sad ending. The sad ending will prove easier to film, however, the happy ending leaves the video on a warm tone, which we personally preferred. This is the storyboard we created: