Health and safety

Before filming commences I must ensure that all health and safety regulations are met. Having already conducted numerous health and safety shoots, I have researched this topic in depth and as director of the project I will be in charge of making sure that everybody involved is safe, and I must therefore prevent any potential accidents. In order to do this I must identify all of the hazards and evaluate the risks, identifying measures to control these risks.

Firstly, I must ensure that everybody is aware of fire exits and escape routes, which may be fairly easy to conduct when shooting outdoors. Although shooting in this way has separate dangers which could include road hazards (e.g. cars and trains), nature hazards (e.g. uneven ground and steep drops) and factors out of my control (e.g. other human error). Equipment should be carefully transported, set-up and used effectively to prevent any accidents. Heavy equipment (e.g. fluid head tripod) can become obstructive, however if I carry out my health and safety precautions well enough then this will not be a problem. I will attempt not to obsrtuct anybody around me and will do this by ensuring that I am constantly aware of my surroundings and people around me.

Location scouting

For this unit I plan to create a music video production with abstract visuals and a nature based theme. I decided that the best place to film would be the south coast. Here, I have researched some locations along the coastline and nearby places of interest that I would like to shoot at. I have also included the distance of each place away from the main nearby town, to attain a better understanding of methods to get there and if they are realistic with my transport and time frame. I feel that researching numerous locations is beneficial in finding the perfect shooting location, as it gives me more opportunity and scope, and I will be sure that I am finding the right location to match my visual ideas.

Bournemouth

- Poole (5.5 miles)

- Brownsea Island (7.7 miles)

- Old Harry Rocks (9 miles)

Brighton

- Brighton Pier (0.3 miles)

- Friars' Bay (7.7 miles)

- Belle Tout Lighthouse (20.2 miles)

- Beachy Head (20.8 miles)

Weymouth

- Wyke Regis (2 miles)

- Weymouth Bay (3 miles)

- Portland Bill (8.9 miles)

- Durdle Door (14.1 miles)

- Lulworth Cove (14.9 miles)

- Mupe Bay (14.9 miles)

- West Bay (17.4 miles)

- Worbarrow Bay (17.4 miles)

- Golden Cap (22.4 miles)

Durdle Door (top) and Mupe Bay (bottom).

I have decided to shoot in Weymouth/Portland, as there are many local places of interest and I feel that I would attain better footage there. Out of the towns on the south coast that I have researched, I found Weymouth to have the most striking locations nearby. I have also looked into transport, researching how to get to each place and ensuring that they are not difficult to travel to/from from the town.

Here is a weather forecast showing precipitation, humidity and wind in my planned location, for my planned filming days. This will be very helpful when shooting, as it gives me an idea of where to shoot at which day/time, plus the wind speed and therefore the wave height in mph (miles per hour).

Visual influences

Kazuyuki Okajima - Kuro-shio (black current)
Kazuyuki Okajima was born in Fukuoka City in 1967 and graduated from the Tokyo School of Photography. After working as a studio assistant and photographers assistant he became a freelance photographer. In addition to working as an advertising and magazine photographer he travels the world shooting images imbued with a strong poetic sentiment.

In the body of work Kuro-shio (black current) by Okajima, he stated "I never get tired of watching the undulation of waves. The waves roll in as she rise and fall, and make a wavering motion. The shape and line are beautiful and distinct. Through the finder, I chase after the waves breaking against the shore and washing the sand; and I release the shutter. The picture may seem be still but what I had captured were continuation of wavering. I aimed to condense the situation into photographs. After I started to live near the sea, I became conscious about the tide. As with the relation to moon, I find it mysterious. I wonder where all the seawater at flood tide goes when it becomes ebb tide. The title is punned on the strong western boundary current that transports warm, tropical water northward in the northern Pacific Ocean called Kuroshio."

The main feature that attracted me to this body of work is the motion of the waves and black and white edit, simplifying the images and concept. Shots of a similar calibre would be possible with my production plan and budget.

This information/statement was taken from Lens Culture (https://www.lensculture.com/kazuyuki-okajima).

Syoin Kajii - NAMI

NAMI is a series of photographs of waves around the shores of Sado Island in Japan. The photographer, a young Buddhist monk named Syoin Kajii, watches the water patiently waiting for a moment of surprise. He states that he chooses places to photograph based on the information from weather forecasts or news from fishermen, which is an effective way of ensuring great footage and could be useful to me. Using a digital camera, Kajii photographs the waves by staying in the water for approximately 5-6 hours, attempting to capture the very moment he was somehow startled, so it's not only targeted to just high waves. When suggested that the waves look "threatening, dangerous, dark, ominous and frightening" however seem like "graceful dancers - powerful, but beautiful and full of poetic gesture", he simply commented that waves should have various aspects.

Similar to Kazuyuki Okajima's work, I have pulled inspiration from these photographs as the striking composition captures the viewers eye and imagination. Although getting this up close and personal with waves of that magnitude isn't very realistic with a professional camera, I aim to capture something similar.

This information/statement was taken from Lens Culture (https://www.lensculture.com/skajii).

Keith Johnson - The Chosen Place

Johnson photographs a beautiful place called Kanandarqua by the Senecas meaning "The Chosen Place." He photographed the sky, the water, the light and the feeling of the place. Lightroom from Adobe allowed him to see his photographs in vast contact sheets. He then grouped his images defined by mood, subject or colour. As a result of grouping images in a folder he got to see a whole bunch of relationships and juxtapositions that previously might/would not have. This body of work is the result.

I personally find this collection of images very striking as the comparison between sky and sea works perfectly in conjunction with colour and atmosphere. Upon looking, the 2 photographs look like 1 image but only on closer investigation we can see that they have been joined together. I like the idea of this technique and hope to experiment with this to see what qualities I can achieve in video. I also believe that this technique would work well in regards to video rather than static images, showing the relation between 2 forces of nature. This is also a unique opportunity to show a large amount of footage in a 2-3 minute music video.

This information/statement was taken from Lens Culture (https://www.lensculture.com/kjohnson).

Questionnaire results

The collated results from my questionnaire:

1. What is your gender?

- Male 46.15%

- Female 53.85%
- Prefer not to say 0%

2. How old are you?

- Under 18 0%

- 18-24 69.23%

- 25-34 7.69%

- 35-44 0%

- 45-64 23.08%

- 65-74 0%

- 75 or older 0%

3. Do you watch music videos?

- Yes 92.31%

- No 7.69%

4. How often do you watch music videos?

- Very often 15.38%

- Often 46.15%

- Sometimes 23.08%

- Not very often 15.38%

- Never 0%

5. Where do you watch music videos?

- Television 15.38%

- Vimeo 0%

- YouTube 84.62%

- Other (please specify) 0%

6. What is your favourite music genre?

- Alternative 23.08%

- Blues 0%

- Country 0%

- Electronic 7.69%

- Folk 7.69%

- Hip Hop 7.69%

- Jazz 0%

- Latin 0%

- Pop 15.38%

- R&B/Soul 7.69%

- Rock 30.77%

- Other (please specify) 0%

7. What type of music video do you prefer to watch?

- Abstract 23.08%

- Concert/Live performance 23.08%

- Dance 23.08%

- Narrative 30.77%

- Other (please specify) 0%

8. Do you prefer music videos that are...?
- Fast and energetic with a lot happening visually 61.54%
- Slow paced and easy to watch passively 38.46%

9. In your opinion, what is an ideal length for a music video?

- 30 seconds - 1 minute 0%

- 2 minutes - 3 minutes 61.54%

- 4 minutes - 5 minutes 30.77%

- 6 minutes + 7.69%

10. How often do you watch music videos in their entirety?

- Very often 23.08%

- Often 30.77%

- Sometimes 30.77%

- Not very often 15.38%

- Never 0%

From my questionnaire, I have concluded that my main target audience is:
- Female
- Aged 18-24
- Watches music videos (often)
- Watched music videos via YouTube
- Prefers rock music
- Prefers music videos following a narrative
- Prefers music videos that are fast and energetic
- Likes music videos that are 2-3 minutes in length
- Watches music videos in their entirety often/sometimes

I ensured the validity and accuracy of my results by distributing my questionnaire to multiple sources. I did this by handing it to my family and friends, so I knew I would attain quick and definite results. This ensured that all of my sources were reliable. When designing my questionnaire I took into account ethical considerations, moral issues and privacy e.g. when asking the audience which gender they were I added the option "Prefer not to say", as some audiences may not be comfortable in disclosing that type of information. I attempted to verify the validity of interpretations by handing it out to a variety of ages, and although despite the majority participants being 18-24, I did include a wider range of audience. Although the results were not specific to how I had planned my music video production, the results show a close correlation. I collated my results by working out percentages and then creating a graphic visual pie chart, for easy and clear reference.