JB: Reflection on Pitch - Lines of action

Lines of Action for our production

The feedback from our pitch expressed that there was some confusion from the lines of action point of view. This needs to be very clear before we can continue to plan the rest of our video. If the audience does not understand the concept and the fact that the lines of action are not all happening in the present then our actual music video will be difficult to understand and unclear to the audience.

There will 3 lines of action with the ratio of
(Graveyard) - 40%
(Train sequence) - 40%
(Polaroid photo montage) - 20%

During the Polaroid photographs sequence, we are planning to use around 4 or 5 different photos which will be represented as the main character on the train flicking through memories of him and his father. These photographs will be conventional photographs, probably meat shots of activities such as a Father and his son playing football in the garden ect, all happy memories. These photos will cut in between the two other parallel lines of action and start once the track has completed its first verse.
These shots will come to life from the Polaroid canvas for example:

• The football shot will go from a still to a short clip perhaps 2-3 seconds long of them playing football. An example of this technique is used in 'The Streets - Fit but you know it'.

The Graveyard scene will consist of much darker colours, so we are partly reliant on bad weather, this line of action will cut between the photos line and the train sequence. This sequence will be longer than the photos sequence and will juxtapose many of the happy moods shown in the photographs section. Lots of this shots will be from behind and longshots will be used to show the tranquility and isolation of the graveyard. We hope to use the track and crab and the jib in this sequence as it will be the segment with a slower cutting rate and we will have more space to experiment with different angles and shots.

Shots will include:

• Long shots of the main character sitting facing away from the camera looking at a grave to connote his fathers passing.
• Close ups of crushed beer cans on the ground to connote depression and addiction, longshots of smoke rising to connote a sinister tone. Shots of church and graveyard prevalent to make it clear what is happening.

The train sequence again will consist of darker sepia colours so that the yellow of trains will be darkened so the mood will be created as solemn. These shots will consist of the main characters face, shots of what he sees from the train and shots of the train itself. No acting or narrative will commence in this part of the sequence as he is shown to be 'motionless' and deep in thought. 

• Many different angles will be used on the train to show a variability of camerawork.
• A higher percentage of these shots will be meat shots to connote the actors sunken and depressed expression.

We will plan on working some lip-syncing shots into a multitude of these locations. We aim to use lipsyncing in both urban and rural locations to show a vast selection of shots. We plan to either film in a wood or a park, and will use more tracking shots in more urban locations, (because of ease of use with track and dolly), in a train station or main road.