Location Scouting & Test Footage

So the other day I went to scout for my locations just to make sure that firstly they were available, and that they were suitable to film in.
The first place I plan to film is the woodlands in Bearpark as they are local, less used and have a lot of little alcoves and footpaths which are isolated so run less risk of someone disrupting the filming. As it is local, I know my way around and know all of the locations where I can film - there will be no nasty surprises on the day of filming.

Here is the walk down to the woodland which is the same location I used for my AS coursework. At this point of the year the setting is very colourful and bright in the autumn time which is what I want for my video.

 Here is the entrance to the woodlands.

The  images left and below is where I will be filming the woodland walk. I will possibly be filming in the depths of the woodland but my initial idea is to film here.

 Some scenery shots I can take as fillers.

Here is another entrance to the woodlands.

This is my backup location just in case for some reason the woodlands and pavement is off limits. This is a small meadow on the way down to my location which is also a suitable location to film in for the woodland scene.

In the very distance is the small bridge I mentioned in my storyboard post which the couple would be crossing over.

The woodland is a good area to film in because if I link back to my audience feedback, it was mentioned that the name, The Shires, had links to the countryside and this bares well with my chosen genre as there are connotations of the English countryside with the folk genre - therefore filming in this setting suits best for my genre.



The next location is my house, which is the easiest place to film in. I know when to get the best lighting and which angles I can use. This also links to my concept as there is a sense of personal belonging throughout the lyrics. There is a lot of links to the couple's relationship through the use of family photos and their demenour around each other. To film inside their home adds intimacy which is what I want the audience to experience.

And the final main location is Seaham beach. Unfortunately I couldn't scout for a location there but I know the place well and know of a little alcove in which I can film in. As I couldn't take my own pictures, the ones below are sourced from Google Images.

On the ramp in the distance, the couple could stand at the top and then run/jump down to the beach.

I have an idea for filming at this particular rock. To keep in with the childish humour, the couple could play hide and seek in this location. I wanted to film at the beach as for me, this holds a lot of memories for the couple as we'll see through the scenes containing the family photographs. The beacj is a place where the the couple have had a lot of fun with each other and have enjoyed their time. Their return to the beach from the distant past will help the couple to relive their childhood fun together one last time before returning home.

If for some reason the beach is unsuitable for filming, then I will change the location to somewhere else, such as the grounds of Alnwick Castle or a set of ruins of an old priory, a local attraction in Bearpark. This location is just beyond the bridge and is on the same route as the woodland so it is easily accessible and suitable for filming in as well. Again, the imagery of the old, overgrown setting in the ruins links to the English countryside, which works well for my genre.

So these are the locations I will be filming in. I have already filmed some test footage to work out the settings on the camera I'll be using, a Fujifilm Finepix HD 30-EXR, which is excellent for filming in all settings, including low lighting. - I have filmed in a different range of lightings with this camera and I haven't experienced any problems with it so far.

Below is some test footage for when I film the close ups in the external settings. 

The shot isn't exactly how I wanted it as I would have preferred the background to be slightly more blurred, but it's still great quality and is perfect to use for my video. Another problem is that when the lens is zoomed in fully, the focus blurs if there's a lot of movement from the camera, but there is a setting which reduces and prevents this so hopefully this won't happen when it comes to filming the real thing.

So that's my footage and locations. Now all I need to do is complete the rest of my planning in time for the end of the next week so that I'm ready and prepared for filming - I've already filmed some shots today and so far, so good!

Until next time, 

                          Toni