Location recce and lighting tests

Rather than just guessing, it would be useful to scout out the location like real life photographers would during productions. Whilst a lot of the music video may take place in my house (and so I know what they're like), it would still be beneficial to scout them in terms of how to get good lighting conditions and what looks good on camera. I also need to recce the 'Downs' area for light and to see which locations I might want to use.

The one con is that the weather may not be the same and so the pictures may not have reflected the actual lighting on the day of filming - for example it is sunny in the images shown but when we film the production it could be raining (in which case we most probably wouldn't film).

In the recce, I decided that since I would be filming with my actress, it would be best to capture a lot of shots which actually have her in them, to see how we could use the light to our advantage in practice - rather than just guessing what it would look like when she is in it.

as you can see, there is a wide variety of different lighting scenarios we could use to our advantage in the belmont downs wooded area. The area, despite a lot of it under shade - offers a good amount of consistent light. In the first photograph, although it is an interesting combination of colours, I wouldn't choose to use it for the majority of my film - I would instead opt for the lighting of the 4th, 6th and 7th shot, as they are more easy on the eye and fit a more moody tone that I am looking for in the film. As for the locations, the path through the wooded area was perfect. It gives the impression of being endless  - though after my 3rd test shot, we probably won't be using a shot where she ventures into the trees - it it didn't really look natural.