Director's Commentary

My music video was filmed in Rhyl high street and Rhyl beach in North Wales. I managed to get all the filming done in one day, with footage enough to have to cut out over 50 minutes which I simply couldn't fit into the 4 and a half minutes music video. Here I will explain what I did with the video and why.

I began the video in black which then faded quickly to white. I did this because it makes it seem like the viewer is beginning a dream. The settings of the black and white tint in the first few seconds were altered so it's brighter, giving the effect that it's a dream, too.
  The first shot you see of Ben is a long, high angle shot where you can see him sitting down busking with his guitar. I used the public walking past him taking no notivce of him, because then this clip fits with the 'Lost at Sea' lyrics, making it seem as though Ben is 'lost' though there's so many people around him. The high angle shot emphasises this, making him seem insignificant.
  I filmed Ben singing the whole of his song in one position which I could then use as a cut back, and to fill in gaps in the narrative. This was filmed with Ben standing up playing his guitar and singing. It is a medium shot so you can't see past his knees, which I chose to do because the further out I got, the less clear Ben's lips were, which I needed them to be in order to sync the words with the lips, and also for the audience to see. I chose not to do a close up, because I wanted to include the guitar in this shot.
  I then fade into a shot similar to the previous one when Ben is sitting down busking, as this is when Lucy is introduced first. The audience can't yet see Lucy's face, which adds to the mystery of her being. Ben is instantly captivated by her, so much so that he pauses singing (only for the dubbed over track to continue).
  The next shot is from Ben's perspective on the floor, watching Lucy as she walks away and beckons him to follow. I used a low angle shot looking up at her because at this point in the video, she has all the power over him. I added a solar flare to this clip because it makes Lucy seem more mysterious and dream-like.
  When it cuts back to Ben on the floor, the sun has broken through the clouds so Ben's face is illuminated. I originally shot this clip twice, the second time because I didnt  think the sunshine looked right. While editing I decided the sunnier clip worked better because of the solar flare I added, and how it looked as though it was Lucy's sunlight which was illuminating his downtrodden existence.
  After another shot of Ben singing with his guitar, the camera then follows Ben as he follows Lucy down the street. You can see her over his shoulder, always dancing away from him. I used this shot as it makes a change from always using a 'bird's eye view' shot or high angle, while the audience can still see what it is that Ben's seeing. This shot is shaky as I'm not using a dolly or any sort of tracker, but I think it adds to the urgency of Ben's quest.
  I then switch shots to watch them coming towards the camera, Lucy in front again further from his reach, as a long shot of the two. I decided on a long shot because it showed the whole of the two of them for the first time, and the audience can take a good look at them both.
  Ben then goes on to emerge from around a corner, seemingly to have lost Lucy. he searches left and right for her before spotting her across a busy and crowded road. He doesn't hesitate in sprinting after her, with no regard for his own safety. This is the first time that the audience can tell that she won't be easily caught.
  After another shot of Ben singing and playing, an instrumental begins, and I decided to add images of ordinary things that Ben might see as he races after Lucy; the birds flying, the wheels of a bike, the sign-post, the waterfall, the reflection of Lucy in the water. I added these as fillers during the instrumental, and to add depth and realism to the video.
  It then fades to Ben singing again, and then fades to a Very Wide Shot of Ben running across a bridge, and cuts to Ben's point of view as he runs. I used this sequence first to show what He's doing and then to show his own perspective of what he's doing. This makes it seem more realistic, as this is a frequently used technique in music videos.
  I then sandwich two shots, one of people walking on the beach and one of birds on the beach, inbetween two shots of Ben singing, just to continue with the abstract shots from before. They reinforce the theme of the beach and sea as they're both of the beach.
  Then the shot of the slowed down bird fades in and fades slowly out at the end of the note that lasts three bars. This shot is juxtaposed with the lyrics, as birds are very free animals, yet the words say "Can't escape from this place".
  Ben singing with his guitar then fades to a very wide shot of him walking through a wide pavilion and putting his guitar on his back. I used this shot because it adds realism to the video; they dont normally show the minor details like that.
   It then fades into a medium shot of Ben looking oout to sea singing with his guitar. This shot shows how Ben is still searching for Lucy with no luck. He is on the left edge of the screen, which leaves more room on the right for him to 'look' int, which creates more effect of 'looking'. Here he is singing the end of the chorus, which is a powerful part of the song, and then leads to a very quiet part which builds into the crescendo before the finale.
  This shot fades to Lucy's point of view through the railings as she looks down at Ben. The mise en scene of the railings act as a sort of camoflage from him, which adds to the effect that she is etheral and always out of his reach The shot cuts to him looking up to her from his point of view in a low angle shot as she beckons again to follow him. As it switches again to his point of view, the music builds to the climax and as if in time with the music, he sprints off to the bottom of the stairs in haste to find her. The link between audio and visuals at this point goes really well together and creates a desperate yet determined feeling from Ben.
  The shot cuts to the top of the stairs where Ben emerges and the camera spins around with his face in a close up so you can see his emotion clearly. The camera then breaks off and tracks with him to the edge of the railing where he looks out to the beach. The spinning shot is not used with a tripod, so it's quite jerky but I think this adds to the feeling of Ben's frantic search, and makes it look less staged.
  A shot of the beach is then cut to, and Lucy spins in from the right, smiling mischeviously. When she stops she is in a long shot so the audience can see all of her dancing movements and take in all her dream-like aura.
  Then a close up shot of the stairs as Ben's feet run down them is cut to, as the music slows, which makes Ben's actions seem tired and exasperated now, as he's been chasing her for so long. Then it cuts to a low angle shot, as Ben runs towards the camera and leaps over it. it cuts to a side-on shot and sees Ben land from jumping down the stairs onto the sand. These two shots together work well because it creates a smooth sequence of Ben running jumping and landing, via 'two' cameras.
  The final shot of Ben standing and singing with his guitar is shown, and then it fades to Ben facing the camera on the beach searching for Lucy. She then appears from the right edge of the screen and goes to touch his back. The camera then cuts to where she was stood, and it is apparent as Ben turns around that she has disappeared. These shots together create the illusion that Lucy isn't, and never was, there, which was my main objective for the video; to make her and the video seem as dream-like and mysterious as I could.
  Ben then turns to face the sea, and the video fades to white, before finally fading to black. I wanted it to do the same as it did in the beginning with regards the fading because then it would seem like whatever had begun at the start was now ending, i.e. the 'dream'.

I feel the video's aims, which were to create a video to promote Ben's song Lost at Sea, and to make the whole thing seem as dreamy and mysterious as possible, have been achieved. I am very happy with the result, and from the feedback I have recieved, it seems as though the audience, in particular the target audience, enjoyed the video too.