The Pitch: 2

With the reformation of a second group, this of course meant a second pitch to Luke. I was understanably less worried about this one as it was in private and we had been through the process before. I also felt more confident about the idea I was bringing to him this time. Much like the first pitch, we were able to film his immediate response to the idea after I had explained it to him;

This was the beginning of what actually turned out to be a half-hour conversation with Luke which was great as this private meeting granted us much more time than we had pitching conventionally with the rest of the class. This meant we were able to go into detail about the ideas for our video and he was able to respond at length. After doing this the first time, I found making a summarised list of his comments very useful in helping us to evaluate the idea. Therefore, I decided to do the same again. 

Luke's Feedback

- Luke immediately understood the concept of the video and the big ideas about the criticism of  the manufacturing and commercialisation of the music industry.

- He, like us, thought the the video needed a further element and started to suggest possible avenues we could take. He thought our suggestions for this were completely workable.

- He suggested one possibility was to show the people behind the manufacturing process such as producers and managers. Myself and Rachel, weren't as keen on this idea as we thought that it would be difficult to find appropriate casting for these roles. We preferred his idea of a "freedom scene" which linked in with the thoughts we were having.

- He found the personality we were creating for the band very realistic as he has seen bands act the same in his experience as a director.

- He warned that our 'gags' won't take up as much time as you might think so it needs to be planned well using timelines and storyboards.

- I later discussed some ideas I had regarding shooting certain sections using a specific brand of slow motion were through adapting the speed of the song, some people move at normal speed where as others can either be faster or slower. He fully understood the process of the making this happen and said despite it being ambitious, it is perfectly possible. However, upon discussion we both agreed that it might not be in-keeping with the tone of the video and runs the risk of not looking exactly right. 

- He suggested that the video could actually start with another lead singer who begins to lip-sync before being swapped for another band member by an executive. I really liked this idea but thought that it shouldn't go as far as the false singer actually beginning to lip-sync. However, I feel it captures the plasticity of the people behind the video really well.

- In general, he responded really well to the video and said it was different while still containing some really recognisable themes.

- He also stressed how it is an idea that it is largely dependant on well it is executed by us as a team.

I felt increasingly positive after coming out of this meeting with Luke. He was progressively more enthusiastic about the idea as he discussed and raised some important issues for us to consider, while also letting us in on some of the practicalities of things such as lighting and what cameras/lenses we could use for specific moments. We were also able to establish a plan for shooting a further element for the video which will include handheld, home-video footage of the band 'off duty', having fun as friends. This shows the true side to the band when they are not bound to their contractual obligations. We can see them messing about/touring and actually recording the track in the studio. This creates an interesting contrast while also developing the star image of the band. It helps us solve a problem in terms of having enough content to fill the video. For the first time since this project began, I now feel an element of stability and assurance in an idea that I feel is within our reach, that we can develop make happen.