Media Studies - COMP 3 Filming Schedule & Preperations

This blogpost, written by me (Maxi), details the preparation we undertook as a group before the filming of our music video, including a filming schedule, communication with actors, preparation of props and equipment, etc.


Scheduling & Planning: 

To make sure everything ran as smooth as possible for the filming of our music video, my team and I had gotten together and picked a few dates that we believe would work best for us and our cast for us to get to the locations and start the filming process. We decided that these dates would be the 27th of January, 3rd of February, and 8th of February. We also planned out the different props and equipment that we would need to bring with us on each day, depending on the location we would be shooting at on the day. After deciding on all of this, we then promptly made a WhatsApp group with our 7 cast members to share the needed information with them.

Here is a screenshot of the group we made, and the messages we (Nayana and I) initially sent to the cast: 

After this, we informed them of the specific times, dates, and costumes they would need for the locations we would shoot on each day. The filming schedule thus became as follows:

Day 1:

- January 27th @ Gunung Payung Beach (Beach Scenes)
- Attire: Summer Outfits
- Arrive at Gunung Payung by 1 PM, finish shooting by 4 PM

Equipment & Props:

- Camera
- Lens'
- Monitor 
- Gimbal
- Light Reflector
- Blanket

Day 2:

- February 3rd @ Hillstone Villas & Resorts (Villa Scenes) 
- Attire: Pajamas & Summer Outfits (Girls)
- Arrive at Hillstone Villas at 10 AM, finish shooting by 6-7 PM to be able to get our sunset scenes

Equipment & Props:

- Camera
- Lens'
- Monitor
- Lighting Panel
- Gimbal
- Drone
- Makeup
- Cosmetic Items
- Bouquet of Flowers
- Feathers

Day 3:

- February 8th @ Griya Alam Pecatu (Car Scenes) & Peninsula Island (Park Scenes)
- Attire: Summer Outfits
- Arrive at Pecatu Graha by 11 AM, finish car scenes by 2 PM, move to Peninsula Island and arrive by 3 PM, Finish shooting by 5 PM.

Equipment & Props:

- Camera
- Lens'
- Monitor 
- Gimbal
- Picnic Blanket
- Snacks and food 

Day 4 (Added after the conclusion of Day 3, knowing we would need an extra day, due to complications that are explained in the production process blogpost): 

- February 13th @ Lapangan Renon (Park Scenes)
- Attire: Summer Outfits
- Arrive at Lapangan Renon by 4 PM, finish shooting by 6 PM.

Equipment & Props: 

- Camera
- Lens'
- Monitor 
- Gimbal
- Picnic Blanket
- Picnic Basket
- Snacks and food 

Prop & Equipment Preparation: 

Since we had planned to use a variety of props throughout the process of filming our music video, we had to ensure that we could buy and have these props beforehand, to make certain that we wouldn't be scrambling to get a hold of them days, or even hours before shooting. We invested our own personal funds into the purchasing of these props, which we split evenly between the 4 of us. The purchasing of props were done by the individual team members who lived closest to the locations, while together as a team, we all deliberated and discussed on which props would look best.

Furthermore, we also invested our funds into the renting of video equipment which we could not attain otherwise, since for the rest of the equipment, we were already able to acquire through our own personal belongings, or from friends of ours who were generous enough to lend them theirs. Below are a few images of the props that we bought, their prices, and equipment that we intended to use, and what we planned to use them for.

Picnic basket, which we intended for the girls to use for the picnic scenes at the Park. Nayana bought this for 80,000 IDR

Bouquet of roses, which we wanted KIARA's ex boyfriend to hold during the scenes at the Villa. Sharon bought this for 113,000 IDR

Picnic blanket which we intended to use for the girls to sit on during the filming of our park scenes. Nayana bought this for 41,250 IDR

Feathers which we planned to use for practical effects during the scenes in which the girls would be pillow fighting at the villa. Nayana bought these for 117,000 IDR

GODOX LEDP260C Lighting Panel which we wanted to use for indoor scenes during villa day, to provide better lighting as there would be little natural light we could use. Timo rented this for 2 days (since only renting it for one wasn't possible), for 240,000 IDR

Timo's Sony A7III Camera that we intend to use for all days of shooting. It is a highly reliable and incredibly high quality mirrorless camera that can take both pictures, and videos up to 100 fps. Previously we had used the Mark II model of the A7 during our component 1 project, but since Timo bought this camera afterwards, we decided to use this new and improved model instead, since it could capture higher quality video,

Timo's Zeiss 24-70 F4 Lens that we intend to use for all days of filming, specifically for close up shots, as this lens allows us to the faces of our actors clearer, and provide a more immersive and appealing viewing experience for audiences.

G-Master 16-35 F2.8 Lens which we aimed to use for our establishing and wide angled shots, since it provides a higher field of view, and can thus capture zoomed out shots better than the Zeiss lens. This did not belong to us, which meant we had to borrow it from one of our videographer friends, who was kind enough to lend it to us.

Timo's MOZA AirCross 2 Gimbal, which we aimed to use throughout all days of shooting, to capture stabilized tracking/moving shots. This lets us capture visually attractive moving shots that aren't shaky, and creates a more calm, and easy-going atmosphere throughout our music video. We had also used this Gimbal previously in our component 1 project.

Timo's GODOX Gm 55 Camera monitor that we intend to use throughout most days of shooting, as it will allow Timo to better see the shots he's getting on camera. This makes it easier for him to get the best shots possible.

GODOX RFT-02 Lighting Disc which we intend to use during the filming of outdoor scenes, specifically at the beach. This light reflector allows us to focus natural lighting from the sun (which may create unwanted shadows), onto our actors faces, which makes lights them more evenly, and makes their faces more visible to audiences, and in turn proves a more aesthetically appealing music video for audiences to watch, as compared to watching a video where the faces of our actors were unevenly lit. This was also borrowed from the same videographer friend who lent us the G-Master lens.

Reflection: 

By drafting out and writing down a clear plan for our days of filming, we were able to keep ourselves organized as a team. By planning effectively, we were able to provide clear communication between the team, and our cast of actors who would need to clear their schedules and also plan around these dates. By arranging the details of the schedule (what time to arrive, what time to leave), we were able to give our cast a heads up about the times we will need them for, which means they will not be caught off guard, and gives them plenty of time to prepare their own personal schedules to line up with ours. This allows for the filming process to go smoothly, as this increases the likelihood of the cast and the team arriving on time, and being able to get all the shots we need as fast as possible.

By also listing out and preparing the props and equipment that we intended to use throughout the days of shooting, we were able to keep organized and ready for each individual day. This meant that we did not have to waste time and effort into trying to scramble and find these items on short notice, since we planned ahead and had all our planned arrangements in order beforehand, which helped massively throughout the filming process. Our filming process would have looked far more hectic had we not listed out a clear and detailed plan about what we would need, when we would need it, and for what we would need it, which would've led to a plethora of consequences.