'Thousand Words' Day 2 Interior "Apartment" Shoot

  

Photography by Christopher Lee

Apologies about the extremely late continuation of this series covering 'Thousand Words'. It's been an incredibly busy few months and along with external shoots as well as university film projects, it's been crazy and I've found it so difficult to keep up with all the workload. Anyway...

Here we continue our adventures of filmmaking on set of Chris Gill's 'Thousand Words' Music Video! Today, I am discussing the progress of our second day of shooting. Despite there being no battles with the cold weather, hobos or risk of being arrested for filming in Central London, there were still plenty of interesting ups and downs, so keep on reading!

Unfortunately, being unable to do a location recce before the actual shooting day we had to deal with the space issues and improv set dressing on the actual day. Though it took some time to get everything set up  we used our time wisely! While Chris was in hair and make up with Becky, our on set Hair & Make Up Artist, we moved the furniture, unpacked and set up all our equipment and started set dressing with the things we had in the actual apartment. 

All the spaces that were available to us (i.e. Open Living/Kitchen Area & Bedroom) were far smaller than we first anticipated. It was difficult to fit the entire cast and crew in there (despite it being a skeleton crew) and setting up the shots we wanted. However, we managed and did exceptionally well, getting enough coverage of both Chris singing solo as well as Chris and Chantal together as a couple. We played night as day and even got some more coverage of what we referred to as the "phantom singing shots", where Chris was singing to Chantal but she was unaware of his presence. 

It was a very long day in the end and after Seun, our Production Runner got lost attempting to purchase more DV tapes for the camera and Chris, our Production Photographer falling asleep several times during the shoot (no joke!), we sent most of the crew home and got some interviews for the Behind the Scenes featurette. Will, our BTS Camera Operator interviewed Chris, Chantal and myself. We talked about the project and how we've all come together to create it. Hopefully, you guys will get to see some of this, along with more BTS very soon!

Next post talks about the most important footage coverage day, our day at the warehouse studio where cinematography became the most important factor as well as set dressing. However, we had a little more control over the environment so despite there being a lot to do, we felt more comfortable and creative being able to do it in an open space. Our studio was kindly offered to us by friends Karl Roberts and Toot. Many thanks to them for all their generosity and contribution, we really couldn't have done it without their help and tremendous patience! 

'Thousand Words' Day 1 External Shoot

Photography by Christopher Lee

Finally blogging about the actual shoots on the 'Thousand Words' MV production! The cast and crew were battling the elements on our first shoot day, but despite the bitter cold of the classic British weather and lack of daylight, everyone did exceptionally well and we actually got a lot completed! The best news of all? We were not arrested or moved on by the police, despite shooting on location in Central London!

Bit of a slow start in Soho Square, getting to grips with the location, equipment and lighting (as well as Chris G being late! Tut tut!) but despite it all we got some really lovely shots of Chris and Chantal together and some solo shots of Chris, including our very first singing (or rather lip-syncing shots)! After some moving around, a brief scare with a Community Support Officer walking past, a LOT of church chimes, a very large tourist group that were standing in the background for an uncomfortable length of time, a convoy of roller-bladers with loud music and a few hobos coming over to talk about their own "productions", lack of hats/socks and then asking for money, we moved on to some different locations around the area to get more shots and coverage.

We moved on to film some couple walking scenes and were cheating when it came to the close ups of the holding hands, where we made the actors walk at a fraction of their normal pace to get the right movement. To get some scenes of Chris walking alone, we ventured around the corner and dealt with some issues of having to move the equipment set up because of cars and letting some members of the public know they were about to be filmed, but all in all, we managed to get some lovely footage and even managed to fit in some time for close ups. Then we moved to Meard Street to get some shots of Chris as the "isolated protagonist" where we ran around him many a time to get the right effect and while he was trying his best not to burst into a fit of giggles, the rest of us had a hard time to keep up with Luc, our wonderful Cinematographer and his extremely long legs! Further up the street is where we set up for our very first set of singing shots and we were all very pleasantly surprised to find out how good Chris was at lip-syncing! Alas, we also dealt with our first rude and uncooperative member of the public here, when some grumpy old man walked right into shot despite crew being on traffic control! Some people eh? The joys of shooting in public spaces!

After breaking for lunch we resumed filming back at Soho Square where it was important to utilize the daylight while we still had some. Therefore, the 'time lapse' shots had to filmed at this point. Poor Chris had to sit out in the cold for half an hour, trying his hardest not to move and when he did have to perform some sort of movement (including blinking!), he had to slow it right down and do so at a fraction of his normal speed. An incredible challenge for him, sitting so still for a long period of time is hard enough but in the painful cold was some feat! Good job we cut it all short in the end, as we were originally planning to leave it running for an hour (yikes!) to get the best movement when sped up in post! After some warming up with some hot drinks, we moved on to film more singing shots in a different location, mainly looking for an aged brick wall. Surprisingly enough, we didn't deal with too many complications with people and vehicle traffic here, but rather the fact that Chris and Chantal neglected to follow the rest of the crew and ended up getting lost while we were on the move! Our final couple shot followed these singing set ups, with our on-screen couple window shopping together. By this time, the daylight was rapidly fading and there was not much more we could have completed externally, but we managed to get - in my opinion - more than enough footage for the edit, so a wrap for the first shoot day was called! After a cast and crew group photo was taken (minus Ellie, our Runner), courtesy of our Production & Commercial Photographer Chris Lee, we were all happy to make our way back to the warmth of our own homes!

Next shoot day: Interior 'Apartment' - our most important and cram-packed day! Check back for more in-depth details about it!

It's A Wrap!

I have officially called wrap on the 'Thousand Words' music video production today! We've done it! An incredible amount of work has gone into just these three short days worth of shooting and I can only hope that we have more than enough coverage and footage for an amazing and smooth edit! Despite all the ups and downs with issues with lack of space, public liability, props and most of all lighting (!) we have managed to pull it all off and I am so incredibly proud of the progress of this project, from start to finish.

It all couldn't have been possible without an amazing team behind me! Many thanks to everyone that helped on this production, I am truly humbled and honoured to work with such a wonderful cast and crew that have gone above and beyond to make this production as successful as it has been. It has been such a pleasure working with such a talented and dedicated group of creatives that have so kindly put in all their time and effort into making this music video possible. These words simply do not express my gratitude and I can only hope that you have all gained some valuable experience from this, as well as had lots of fun in the meantime, despite the stupidly long hours and hard graft that comes with the job!

More details and pictures to come of the shoots themselves! Watch this space people, some exciting stuff coming this way very soon! In the meantime, a shout out to my fantastic cast and crew on 'Thousand Words': Luc Sung, Seun James, Tom Fuller, Will Oakley, Chris Lee, Becky Hall, Chantal Chevailler, Ellie Rees and most of all, Chris Gill, my wonderful adopted older brother who worked himself like crazy to get this production to where it is today. And special thanks to Karl Roberts and Raj Toot, whom were incredibly gracious and not only let us borrow all their lighting equipment, but were generous (or foolish depending on how you think of it haha!) enough to let us turn their rehearsal/living space into a film studio! Thank you everyone, "a thousand words are never enough"!

'Thousand Words' Final Pre-Production Meeting

 

Photography by Christopher Lee

The final 'Thousand Words' crew meeting for Pre-Production took place on Sunday 13th February. It's been a while since I've had the chance to post this entry, hence the gap in between the event and this post. You'll be glad to hear that everything went very smoothly though, it was a wonderful opportunity to get everyone involved together for one last meeting before the shoots began. 

Amongst the hundreds of handouts I had to give out on the day (literally, no joke!), the crew seemed to connect well with each other. Everyone was keen to start production on 'Thousand Words' and it was great to have so many talented and dedicated individuals working with Chris and myself on this project. There have been a lot of ups and downs already, mainly dealing with location, the final remastering of the music track and getting our hands on some decent equipment were the issues that worried me the most, but after finalising these details, everything just seemed to slot nicely into place. 

There was (and still is!) a ton of paperwork to complete on this project for health and safety and insurance reasons, as well as something as simple as keeping everyone updated on every aspect of the production. Being a Producer is certainly not an easy job, but when you're partially managing the Recording Artist as well as Directing and Editing the entire production, things do get crazy, especially if you're juggling an MA alongside! But at the end of the day, I'm having a really fun time doing it all and despite the late nights and short sleeps, I've never been happier working! I know all this hard work is going to pay off in the end and it's not just me that's working incredibly hard! I couldn't have asked for a better cast and crew, everyone is so hands on and willing to help I feel so grateful to be surrounded so many supportive members. It has definitely helped the process along, even if I have preferred to deal with the majority of it myself, it's reassuring to know there are many ready to help. 

I want to thank my entire cast and crew for all their hard work so far in this production. I am truly humbled to work with such wonderful people and I'm confident that this amazing energy will transfer to every corner of this project and the end result will be (hopefully!) everything we hoped for in the early stages. A special shout out to Luc Sung, our wonderful Cinematographer, whom is so incredibly hard working and dedicated that even though he was super ill, still came out to sit with us for 2 hours to have this meeting, you never cease to amaze me "darling"!

Still to come...a sneak preview of Behind the Scenes photos (courtesy of our talented Production & Commercial Photographer Chris Lee!) on our first shoot that took place on Sunday 20th Feb in Central London! Blog post to come very soon! And of course, our final shooting weekend this coming Saturday 26th & Sunday 27th February! Very exciting stuff! Keep checking this space!

'Thousand Words' MV Green Light

After some serious issues with crew members, schedules and even more so, location we have finally sorted out 90% of everything we need to give the "Thousand Words" Music Video the green light for production. With a general shooting schedule confirmed, locations decided and booked, we are putting together final details in order to commence shooting from the 20th February onwards!

Many thanks to those who expressed their interest and applied to work with us on this project. We had lots of applications but have chosen some talented and enthusiastic people for the job and I'm confident that it's going to go really well! (Fingers crossed this is not famous last words!) And an even bigger thank you to those that have offered to help in other departments such as location, equipment etc. You have no idea how much of a help you've been and contributed to the green light being called on this production!

Wish us luck everyone! Let's make cinema magic! More information to come on this project as and when things are happening! So, watch this space!

Road to the BAFTAs

Usually my Wednesday nights are spent at home with the housemates. We're all usually either working, playing games or glued to the computers doing whatever we normally do. We have dinner together, chat at the table, clean up and then return to whatever we were doing before dinner. As boring and repetitive as that sounds it's actually comforting to me and I'm really happy. It reminds me of being at home and stops me from getting overly homesick at times. This Wednesday was very different though.

This Wednesday 26th January, 2011 was spent at the BAFTA building in the heart of London. For those that don't know - but really should know, especially with the picture above! - BAFTA stands for the British Academy of Film & Television Arts. Now, don't too excited, I didn't attend the Award Ceremony, as much as I wish I did! That is marked up on the calendar for the 13th February...alas to be watched at home and not live at the Royal Opera House! Instead, I was at the BAFTAs to see the first official screening of the four final project films of the MA Filmmaking students from last year.

Each film had it's individual character and unique attributes and were exceptionally well executed. In fact, you could not at all, for a single minute tell that they were student-made short films! Of course, nothing is ever perfect. So, there were certain things that were noticeable that could have been a bit better or tweaked slightly. But overall, a wonderful showcase of hard work and passion.

I thoroughly enjoyed my evening at the BAFTA building. I learnt a lot of things and met a sensational group of people that gave me an insight of the year ahead of me. I'm nervous about the standard of work we have been set with last year's students' films, but I'm also extremely excited about rising to the challenge and hopefully exceeding these high standards! In a year's time I will be back at the BAFTA building, but this time it will be my coursemates and myself that are in the limelight. We will be screening our films and that will be our time to shine...I can't wait!

ChrisG: Artist, Lyricist, Singer

Chris and I have been friends for over a year and half now, but somehow it feels like we've know each other forever. I met Chris when I went to work for Madame Tussaud's in London during the summer break between my second and third year at university. Out of all the wonderful people I met there, Chris is the one person I still keep in regular touch with. We have a lot things in common, like our love for Hong Kong, interest in Chinese TV dramas, immature humour at times and now more than ever, our ambition to succeed in what we love doing the most. Chris is like my older brother and over the years I've accumulated quite a few people into this dis-functional, adopted family of mine, but like my real family, I will always try my damn well hardest to help them get to where they dream to be.

This post is the first of many to come about ChrisG, and no doubt not just from me either. We're hoping to get Chris better known in the music industry by promoting his stuff, giving everything a great, big musical revamp and - this is where I come in - creating his first professional music video for his beautiful song "Thousand Words", complete with a behind-the-scenes featurette as well.

We've just had our first pre-production meeting and the ball is definitely rolling, with plans on story boarding, filming locations and production crew already under way. Shooting is planned to commence very soon and a remastering of the song itself is about to enter production already! These times are extremely exciting and despite everyone being so busy with other commitments, I personally am delighted to be spending my spare time on this amazing project.

Despite the wait for the MV, you can have a sneak preview by listening to "Thousand Words" now along with all his other current stuff here. Help Chris move up the charts by becoming a fan and spreading the word!

We are also always looking for help on the production of this project as well! Tell us what you can do on set, in our design department or if you have a great location for us to shoot, props for us to use, sponsorship to fund the project or even distribution contacts, we want to hear from you! Email me using the link on my profile or simply leave your contact details on a comment on this post and we'll get in touch! Thank you everyone for your support, we won't let you down!

Goldsmiths Dance: Roulette Trailer

So, my last few days were spent capturing, recapturing and then editing day and night to get this out, but after all the intensive hard work...here it is, finally! Goldsmiths Dance's 2010 showcase, Roulette is now available to pre-order on DVD so everyone can take the experience away with them! The trailer is just a sneak preview of what the DVD has to offer and I sincerely hope it's made the show look exciting and fun!

This year, I had three people troll through an incredible amount of music to find the right track for this piece. I found a similar version of this track by chance and found that I actually really liked it, so I searched for more remixed versions and found the one I used in the final video. The song is very different to my usual choices (I normally use instrumentals, fast paced & very techno based) and it's the first time I've actually worked on something with lyrics. At first I didn't want a track that would be so recognisable, that way hopefully the viewer would be focusing on the video itself rather than the song. However, this track fitted so well with the casino theme of the show, while also having this unique, modern twist to it, I really couldn't think of any reasons not to use it! At first I was unsure on how I should start, I'm used to edited very fast and abrupt beginnings and I wasn't sure to start off with stills or footage from rehearsals. The beginning of this video had so many different versions I really started to get fed up and wondered if I had chosen the wrong track in the end. However, as my mother always used to tell me, "perseverance counts for everything" and in the end I could not have hoped for a better beginning to the video! It's a wonderful contrast to my usual work and certainly a very different pace to the rest of the trailer itself, which is what makes it so special in my opinion. You can really stop and look at each scene properly and appreciate the angle of the shot, the dancers themselves and the variations in colour.

So, a transformed style of editing, mixing the best of the old with the freshness of the new, making an exciting way of creating videos. Certainly one of my best works to date (if I say so myself!) and I'm excited to see what this experience has to bring in terms of my future work. I will be now dedicating my time to my MA Filmmaking course - which takes an incredible amount of dedication and hard work and I've only completed my first week! - and editing the actual full length feature of Roulette, along with many other exhilarating things! Certainly watch this space people, something great is coming this way, I can just feel it!

Roulette DVD's are £5.00 and are available to pre-order with Goldsmiths Dance at any of their dance classes or public events. Pre-order yours now!


Footage shot on: Canon XM2 Camcorder & Sony 720p HD Handycam
Camera Crew: Milli Lo & Christopher Lee
Film Location: The Stretch, Goldsmiths Students Union, London
Edited on: Final Cut Pro & Adobe After Effects
Audio Credits: "I Put A Spell On You"
                           Original performed by Nina Simone
                           Version remixed by MiM0SA

Night Owl Or Early Bird?

So, what are you? An early bird or night owl? The reason why I ask is because the time of day affects my productivity a lot and I'm sure I'm not the only one out there. I think the majority of my friends are night owls. Working with computers a lot probably means we like to work when the internet connection is at it's fastest - when no one else is up to obstruct the lines! However, a handful of my friends are early birds as well. Many because of their job but some because that's just the way they function. One of my closest friends can never stay up late. She begins to get tired around the 10-11pm mark and goes to bed before she starts to get slightly cranky. Though she cannot stay up very late, she gets up early and starts her day at a decent time, getting the most out of the day. She works well during the day and relaxes in the evening. I envy her ability to do this, it would make many things much easier if working during the day worked for me.

Working at night is not completely down to internet speed though. I mean, if we ended up getting cable and the internet was fast all the time I don't think I would suddenly switch to working during the day. There's something I like about working at night. The silence, the ambient lighting and knowing there are less distractions like phone calls, TV, having to go out etc. allows me to get within what I call the "Zone". The "Zone" allows me to work continuously and my concentration is at it's all time high. I generally find this is particularly useful when it comes to video editing. I like to work very chronologically when I'm editing, so each section is crucial to how the next bit turns out. It's also much easier to edit to music than try and find or compose music to video (unless you're a very talented music composer which, unfortunately, unlike some of my friends, I am not). Therefore, working at night helps me sync my clips a lot better, as I tend to play it by ear a lot more than looking at audio peaks.

It's not just editing that works better for me at night either, I tend to write a lot better at night as well. Most of my best essays were written both under pressure and at nighttime - yes, a lot of my best work is also completed under pressure, for some reason my brain likes the challenge and words come to me better at that time. Shame this kind of work flow doesn't work the same when it comes to exam pressure.

So, my name is Milli Lo and I'm a Night Owl. This may all change one day - most likely when I get on the career ladder! - and I may become an Early Bird, after all, they do say it's the early bird that catches the worm. But for now, being a Night Owl suits me just fine.

Highlights of 2010

2010 has been full of ups and downs, in my life as well as many others. I've been inspired by many wonderful creatives this year and thought they deserved a quick mention amongst all my ramblings. For those that you should know;

Christopher Nolan
One of my filmmaking heroes! Inception was mind-blowing and one of the best movies I have ever seen in my life! I've never been one for choosing favourites as there's always so much choice, but this has won my vote! Well done Mr Nolan, Inception, like so many of your other films (The Dark Knight, The Prestige etc.) was beautifully shot, cut and the storyline was gripping.

Darren Aronofsky
Black Swan was exquisite. Edgy and dark yet beautiful and elegant at the same time. The "dancing" camera was very impressive and complimented the dancing so incredibly well. Fantastic casting and you can really appreciate all the effort both cast and crew have put into this production! Thank you for integrating my two favourite things of all time!

Jane Xu Jinglei
Go girl power! Beautiful, talented and creative. A great actress and a director with a contemporary vision. Though Go Lala Go! wasn't one of the best films I've ever seen, the storyline was simple yet addressed the issues of the modern woman; career and/or love. Something that I have thought about many a time myself over the last couple of years. Throw in some wonderfully executed effects and editing style and you have one feel-good film that I have genuinely enjoyed watching time and time again.


And for those that some of you may know but if not then from here on out should definitely keep an eye out for;

Howard Whiddett aka Cable Clef
One of the most talented music composers I've had the pleasure to work with. His music is sketchy, unique and right up my street! A fun and easy-going guy, thanks for all the work you've done for Goldsmiths Dance! Check out his website and audio portfolio!

Seldom Differ
My funny and talented friends from The Farm Group Post Production! It's been a real blast working with you all and I've enjoyed every minute of it! I've always felt so much more creative when I'm around other creative people so it's been a big eye-opener! Check out their hilariously weird videos on their website!

All Dancers & Instructors of Goldsmiths Dance
Past and present. Everyone's talents, dedication and spirit has really fuelled the clogs in the old noggin and kept my motivation at it's all time high! It's wonderful to see everyone enjoy the club and just have fun, keep up the good work and I will continue churning out the videos! More information on the club's website.

Filmmakers of all the Videos I've seen this Year
Too many to list! Thank you for creating ultra cool videos that have really impressed me and motivated me to keep doing what I'm doing. Though not all the videos I've seen were brilliant, even those that were only so-so (and even in some cases - sorry to say - just simply bad!) were able to teach me things that I should improve on or not do in my own projects so I'm glad I've seen those videos as well! Keep making videos everyone and thank you for the ones you've already made! Here's to many more to come!

Happy New Year 2011!

So, gone is 2010 and hello 2011! Happy new year everyone, may this year be the best of the best for all! Looking back, the difference between the start of last year and the start of this year could not be any further apart. So much has changed in such a short period time. Some things changed for the better, but there must be balance and so some things changed for the worse as well.

It is quite unbelievable, even for myself to think of all the changes that have occurred. That start of last year could not have been any different from the start of this year. I am no longer an undergraduate, instead having had two separate jobs and then being accepted into my Masters, I'm now looking forward to start a brand new course with different people and different responsibilities. Friends that I've spent my entire uni life with are no longer in the country and I've met an entire new set of people. I've seen old friends, moved many a time during my summer of sofa surfing and travelled from Hong Kong to Beijing to Shanghai and then back to Hong Kong. I've met distant relatives that I've never seen before but now really enjoy their company, gone back to teach dance and completed several projects in the meantime. But all good things are balanced with a good helping of the bad as well. I can only hope that we've had our share of bad luck and circumstance in one big helping and that 2011 will be much kinder.

You wouldn't realise but I've actually rewritten this post many times now, hence why it is so many days into the new year before this entry has been published. I'm not entirely sure why it's been so difficult to express in words the happenings of the previous year. I've written certain things and deleted them time and time again in fear of conveying inappropriate and personal issues in ways in which they could be misunderstood. This usually is not my manner at all, I've always felt that I was a very direct and outspoken person, and "was" is the key word here. I don't believe I've changed radically but I've learnt that some things are better kept private and trust is something that cannot be dished out so easily. No need to pour my heart and soul out publicly to bring everyone else's mood down or simply to gain sympathy and attention, nor is there any point hinting that I'm unhappy. I understand that it's not good to bottle everything up and people care, but sometimes not dwelling on things and simply getting on with life is the easiest way to deal with certain situations.

Over the past few years I've grown to recognise the line between personal and business issues very well and learnt to separate the two. This is now the way I function and I don't ever mix the two. I've found that I can remain professional and get tasks done much faster and better without allowing my emotions to get in the way. After adopting this method I've realised my capabilities in management, organisation and even finance, all qualities I wanted to try and test before I decided whether I should start my own company in the future. And now, in this new year I'm going to seriously get the ball rolling for my own business and trying to get in as many side projects as I can alongside my Masters. Starting with a music video for an original piece my good friend Chris Gill has written and sung. An exceptionally talented singer, songwriter and artist and I cannot wait to get the show on the road! Make sure you check out his music here! Keep your eyes peeled, more things coming this way very soon!