Setting

Performance Setting – The Drama Studio

We decided that we wanted to use the drama studio as our setting for the whole narrative due to the fact that it is very dark and has the blackout boards which could act as a background. The dark room was exactly what we were looking for as we wanted the performance to be understated in comparison to the narrative. The use of the drama studio also allowed us to use the stage lighting which meant we could put Liam under a red light – which portrays to the audience that he is an antagonist in the video. It also looks like it could be a small practice space which wouldn’t be expensive to rent out – which follows the indie-rock genre as it is low-cost which is typical in most of the music videos we have seen.

Narrative – Outside Costa and the Stairs. 

We had originally chosen to use this area outside of Costa because the main female character was originally planned to buy a drink in the cafe before walking out and then sitting down. However, we weren’t able to use the inside of Costa due to the worry that filming would disrupt the costumers. Due to this we were only able to film outside, but the space allowed up to get a range of different camera angles that we wanted as well as being able to make the scene look as natural as possible due to the addition of extra people walking around in the background. It was relatively early when we filmed and on a week-day so it wasn’t so busy that it would disrupt the filming. 

We chose to use the stairs as an alternative to using Sainsbury’s as a setting who didn’t get back in touch after we asked to use it. We liked the angle which we could get with this shot as it allowed us to use a high angle which we hadn’t originally planned. It also allows the bassists introduction to this part of the narrative to be more of a surprise as he appears from around the corner, which it is the first time that the twist can be revealed. The fact that this shot is also similar looking to outside Costa adds to this as it emphasises how unlikely it would be that he could appear there in the time scale. 

Narrative – The Park

We chose to use the park in this scene because it’s a large open space which contradicts the outside of Costa as it is completely empty – therefore drawing a comparison between the two. We decided to use the park as it is a typical place where teenagers are seen to be around, as well as the use of swings being almost romantic for the bassist and the second girl character. Despite the two shots being a distance apart it it obvious that they are pretty close do to the red brick wall in the background.

Narrative – The House

The house we chose for the setting is quite big and clean. We chose this because we wanted to emphasis how the female character comes from a very middle-class environment and may also be very together – contradicting the almost dream like narrative sequence. The use of the mirror in the house also allowed us to show that the day is a little bit backwards  – checking herself in the mirror as she enters the house after a day out – instead of the other way around.  The house was also chosen as it was large enough for us to comfortably film with the tripod in both the kitchen and the hallway – so we could get the shot where the door is opened easily. 

By Rebecca Gatfield