1. Did you enjoy the workshop day? What are your best bits and why?

The workshop day was a really enjoyable experience. It was really interesting to see how many different roles there were and how everyone worked together. The scale of the production was very impressive and much bigger than I had previously anticipated. It was great to see the make-up department getting the look that is seen in the music video, while other worked on the lighting (which was much more complicated than I expected) and others worked on changing the lenses and the positioning of the camera so that the final shot was framed just like in the original music video. Despite how tiring the day was, everyone really seemed to be enjoying the shoot and there was a really positive atmosphere throughout the day.

The view of the set from the lighting desks

I got to use the clapperboard for a few shots and helped to re-position the sets. It was good to be involved in the project instead of just watching while everything happened around me. I also enjoyed acting a lot more than I thought I would. I wasn't nervous because everyone was relaxed and having a good time so I just played drums and tried to look disinterested to mimic the drummer in the 1975. Dom was friendly and supportive so it was very easy to act convincingly as we were all comfortable in front of the camera.

Me doing the clapperboard for a close-up shot of Kayvon

I would have liked to get more involved with camera. I've already worked with lights a lot as I'm on the Sound and Light team so I was already familiar with the technical side of lighting. However, it was still interesting to see how many lights were needed and how they were all used. Some were bounced off the back wall and floor and others were shone into a diffusion sheet so that there was a soft light on the actors' faces. Getting more involved with this side of things would have been great but I didn't want to get in the way of Dom and the rest of the team so I let them get on with it.

Diffusing light onto the poolside scene

I'm not at all artistic or good at making things so I was very impressed by how closely the sets mimicked the original music video. I thought everyone involved with the set design did a great job and all of the setups looked really good. The same applied to make-up. While I have no interest in in, I thought the make-up artists did a great job, especially with the girls in the photography scenes near the end of the video.

Overall, it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience and I learned a lot from it. Seeing so much fancy tech in one place like the camera, all the lights and the 4 monitors was really cool and seeing everything come together to get the shots was fascinating. The day basically inspired me to pursue a career in the media industry and I hope I can work on many more sets like this one in the future.