Production Blog

26th February
Up until this point we were told to be coming up with ideas for our short films so that when we were eventually put into groups we could merge our ideas. In today's lesson, I was put into a group with 2 of my classmates Jake Clarke and Bradley Norman. However Jake was already set on working individually so I was happily in a duo with Bradley. I thought this was good because I knew Bradley would be compliant with my idea, as he had no ideas of his own, so I was free to work with my own narrative and direct while Bradley could just help out with paperwork and potentially star in it as I had him in mind for a bully character. I had 4 ideas a the time but only one was really thought out (Transcendent) the rest were really rushed and thought up on the spot. With Transcendent I thought I could play around with the visuals and that is what I led with in my pitch for Sujata.
28th February
Today was the first lesson where our groups were meant to discuss ideas and start pre production but Bradley didn't show up for lesson so I was left on my own to start on the script. I also began to think of a potential cast and completed the mood board for the film.
1st March
In today's lesson Bradley actually turned up to help me out with the script. While I did the script and the inspiration films while Bradley did our "Ideal casting" sheet but I already had our cast in mind.
5th March
In today's lesson me and Bradley discussed about meeting up the next day to dedicate it just towards pre-production. I further continued on working on the script where Bradley completed the risk assessment sheet.
6th March
Today was the day where me and Bradley met up. I picked him up from Wraysbury station at 1:30. When we arrived at my house we had lunch and started with pre production. I finished the script and production schedule. Bradley completed the costume/ props, Shooting script, Location considerations, casting and job roles. Finally we had organised our first filming day to be tomorrow where we planned to get both classroom scenes filmed and done. We also scheduled to film the whole day on our Friday off. Later in the evening I had called my friend James to potentially star as Raymond. He agreed and was all good to film both days. I also messaged my friend Anthony (Tony) to star as the lead. He didn't give a definite answer at the time.
7th March
Today I managed to finalise things with Tony for being the lead and even cast my fiend Cara for the character of the mum. Today was a half day so regardless of subjects, everyone finished at 12. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to get some extras for the classroom scenes. I filmed both of them in the space of half an hour which was the estimated shoot time as some people had places to be. I had arranged for Cara, James, Bradley and Tony all to film the next day. My aim was to get Scene; 1, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 13 and the flashback segment for scene 14.

8th March
Bradley Acton (My Cameraman) arrived at 10 am to help me get things ready. Bradley Norman was supposed to also get here for 10 but instead arrived at 10:30. This was to get things ready for when the actors arrive at 11. In this time we managed to clear my desk for the first scen and me and Bradley A dug a fake grave in my front garden.

After this Bradley N arrived and while we had another 20 minutes to spare we did a short stop motion animation for scene 1 of a pen moving on its own to show the characters powers. Me and Bradley N thought this was a better idea opposed to using string which we thought would look tacky and unnatural. at 11 am Cara and James arrived right on time. I texted Tony to see how close he was but turns out he hadn't even left yet and was cycling. This disrupted the schedule as we were going to do the body discovery scene (9) and the walk home scene (3) in the same location as Bradley A was set to act as a policeman for scene 9. instead we decided to head straight over to location and film the flashback scene of scene 14 with James and Bradley as this is the scene where James' character is murdered. We headed over there with some props.
The props we took were:

• A prop knife
• A pot of Jam

Because James hadn't read the script he didn't know he would be getting muddy so I had to lend him a jumper for the scene. Bradley N also just wore his own clothes because he dresses how I pictured the character of Brent to look. The scene took us roughly an hour to complete with James having Jam on his neck for the last segment to act as blood.

 He had to walk home with Jam on his neck. This caught some stares from drivers. When we got back we were greeted by Tony waiting outside my house. When we got in James cleaned up and we got everyone changed into their party costumes and filmed scene 5 with Bradley N, James and Tony.

This scene was done in half an hour and completed perfectly with only a couple of retakes. Next we did both of the scenes with the mum (scene 1 and 10) because Cara and James both had to leave at 3. We got them filmed and charged the camera to do scenes 4, 10 and 13. We got these done, However when filming it came across as quite rushed. Tony and Bradley N then left my house and we were done for the day.

9th March
Today I had planned to go to my cousins 18th birthday party. I thought this would be a good opportunity to get some transition footage for the party scene and entrusted Bradley A to get the footage.
10th March
This is the day where I reviewed the footage and realize the footage from the night before was unusable. This is where I realized that if I wanted to do a party scene, I had to do it right.
14th March
Today I filmed the date scene with Tony and Laura (Susan). Neither of them learnt their lines so I had to let them read off the script which I tried to conceal as much of it as possible using things like books and pencil cases. There was no chemistry between the characters nor did it come across as real. I couldn't risk recasting and didn't have enough time for re-shoots so I just bared with it. In the end I just thought to myself that the scene wasn't too long and I didn't have to worry about it.
15th March
Today me, Bradley, Matt, Lewis and Tony were supposed to come to the Arthur Jacobs nature reserve to film the final scene. However Tony canceled on us last minute and we had to improvise. We decided to use Jay as a stunt double for Tony and had to film at Manacroft Park instead. Because of the location change I couldn't get my camera or SD card and had to use Jake's camera and Matt's SD card. The scene was done quite rushed but seemed to have turned out good. When I reviewed the footage later at home the sound was all messed up as well as the footage having a green tint over it which I knew I had to edit in post. I knew I could never do a full re shoot as Matt and Lewis were only available that one day.
18th  March
Today me, James and Tony managed to film the walk home scene which we were able to take our time with and get multiple camera shots with the same scene. At first I felt the scene turned out shorter than I would've liked as this scene was meant to show the friendship these characters shared. I got James and Tony to improvise a conversation for the scene. The topic at hand ended up with the subject of girls and the female anatomy. After an hour and a half of filming we called it a day. The lighting of the scene, I felt that it turned out very well giving the scene a warm glow with this friendship.
19th March
Today after college I re-shot some bits of the final scene with Tony and Bradley N just so I switch out some clips and get some dialogue that isn't ruined. This time I did use Bradley A's camera and my SD which meant it didn't have the tint nor sound errors.
20th March
Today I filmed the police flashback and the mum flashback with my sister. I later on did re shoots for scene 10 and 4.
22nd March
Today we filmed the party scene. I asked around college for people to be extras in the scene and manage to rally 6 extra people as well as the cast to be in it. In total that was 9 people to help me film a crowded party scene. At 4 o clock I met with Jay, Jake and Laura and gave them a lift to my house where we set up the scene and by the time we were done everyone else had arrived and we started shooting. We began by filming the crowd dancing just to get transition shots. I also focused in on some of the extras for this bit dancing separately. After I got some other types of shots like shots of bottles, people drinking and etc. Next we filmed all of Tony's bits including an improvised scene with Leon posing as a drunk person. I thought this improv was good as it showed Spike interact with other people. After this I filmed several clips of Jake dropping the bottle without breaking it. To ensure this we had Jay lying on the floor with pillows either side of him to catch it. Finally we ended it by filming Tony leaving and some extra clips of Bradley's character and the extras. The only things left to film at this point was scene 9 and the bottle smash.
23rd March
Today I went and reviewed all the footage I had captured so far and noticed some errors. To list a few:

• In scene 6 you can see the daytime in the windows when the scene is meant to be at night
• In the final flashback, Cara's foot can be seen during Raymond's and Brent's fight
• Bradley leaves the knife behind in the murder which from a story telling standpoint, isn't accurate.
• I had filmed a scene a scene of Bradley walking out for the 2nd classroom scene but he has a coat and hoodie on despite only wearing a t-shirt in the master shot meaning it was unusable
• In both classroom scenes some bags can be seen in the background still
• In the date scene the camera man laughs and it can be heard
• In the 1st classroom scene, Bradley switches seat

I began the editing process for my film and officially entered the post production stage. I began by doing the final scene as I knew it would be the longest to do. First I began by putting the clips together. I had to mute all the clips from Matt's SD and instead put music up to cover the noise. I took a break and looked up some effects I could do in Premiere Pro. One of them was Posterize Time which added a second layer of frames which could be adjusted to add a blurry effect. I used this on all the shots where Spike uses his powers. I also used an Emboss effect for the flashback scenes to give it a colourful black and white effect to make it obvious for the audience. 

24th March

Today I edited together scene 3. This took quite a while as I had to combine the different shots I got. I also did scene 4 which also took a while as I laid it out like a montage with music and blinking effects to make it eye opening and catchy for the audience.

25th March

Today I edited scene 13 and scene 11. I never filmed scene 12 as I thought it didn't really contribute anything to the narrative. Both scenes were simple and easy enough to put together although I never ended up using the mum's flashback and decided not to use it for the police officer as the scenarios I filmed felt to surreal for their characters.

26th March

Today in class I manged to edit scene 10 and scene 1. Again both of these were easy enough to put together but in scene 1 I added a title card and music. I later used this music in scene 10 as well as an earthquake sound effect. I then sent these scenes to myself.

28th March.

Today I did both Classroom scenes which turned out OK apart from two big continuity errors concerning Bradley. In scene 2 he switches seats before getting up and nudging James and Tony. In scene 7 he suddenly appears to have a coat despite leaving class in a t-shirt
29th March
Today I did scene 8 in class and after college filmed scene 9 with Tony and myself acting as the police officer. I made a last minute decision to make Tony perform a dance sequence before filming the actual scene. I thought this would add some comedic value as well as extending the scene. The scene was filmed fine but was a pain to set up the camera as we didn't have a camera man. When we got back to mine we filmed a short segment where spike is pretending to talk to Raymond on the phone after the party. I did this to help fill in the gaps. After Tony Left I edited both this scene and the party scene itself. I added music to both and cut them both to be set out like a montage. for the party scene specifically I added the posterize time effect for when he brings the bottle back up although it isn't as noticeable in the dark. I then put the whole film together ready for the next Thursday. I added title cards to specify the days in the film and even a credit sequence at the end.
2nd April
Today I smashed the bottle and filmed it after college for the party scene. This took 3 takes as it wouldn't break but I got their in the end. I reversed and slowed down the clip and added it into the film.
4th April
I presented the 1st draft of my film to the class and received feedback from my peers and my teacher. My teacher later sent me all the feedback on an email for me to refer too:

Hi Luke

Apologies for the late response but please see below the bullet points taken during the focus group screening of your film.

Feedback:

-          Start from a black screen for a couple of seconds to allow audience to settle into film

-          Mum’s scene is dark- lots of video gain/noise

-          Title is great

-          Music from title doesn’t fade

-          Jump cut between class packing up

-          Bike left in background of conversation scene

-          Focus issues in conversation scene

-          Context of conversation doesn’t suit characters- they should be talking about something nerdier

-          Jump cut in dialogue ‘I don’t want to rule the world’

-          Sound issues- plane going over conversation- jump cuts between shots

-          Should we be able to hear music before party scene? If not, then transition needed to show day turn into night

-          Bradley’s reaction to the alcohol pulls you from the film

-          Music from the party starts too abruptly, it needs to fade in

-          Girl that Bradley flirts with looks at camera

-          Sound jumps all over the party scene- watch your levels

-          Jake looks at the camera

-          Sound cuts in party scene

-          Have best friends’ voice on phone call (you don’t have to hear what he says, just have a voice to talk to)

-          Coats and bags left in classroom

-          Names for the film are bizzare

-          Actors reading the scripts obviously in the classroom scene

-          The class in the background move obviously in the shot reverse shot so that they’re behind each actor

-          Lots of dodgy sound cuts throughout the entire film

-          Camera work of dancing scene is too shaky

-          Location of dancing doesn’t make sense (directional continuity) he shouldn’t walk from the lake, down a path and end up back at the lake

-          Jump cut in police scene

-          Title cards- odd choice for colour/font when this is not stylised anywhere else

-          Colour of fight scene keeps changing from blue tones to warm tones- colour correct accordingly

-          First punch in fight scene is excellent but then becomes too repetitive- add in other sfx here

-          Dramatic changes in music levels- keep these clean

-          Plane- sound cuts in and out during shot reverse shot

-          Matt- cut on head maybe?

-          Matt and Lewis disappear from background in the fight scene.

This should not only be used to help support your films’ improvement but should also feed into your production log and evaluation.

Kind Regards,

Sujata

I attended to all of these over my Easter break. When it came to the first scene I couldn't do anything about the video gain and brightening it only made it worse so I left it how it is. I faded the title music into the next scene but when it came to the jump cut I had to keep it in as after where I left it some of the extras began laughing and Bradley changed seats in-between shot. I changed as many shots around as I could in scene 3 so the bike was seen less in the background. This even included zooming in on a few shots. When going over the final bit of the conversation I ended up completely cutting out the last bit and adding a transition shot with James's line over the top. At this point in time I don't know what I can do to fix that plane in the background so for now I've left it. I also fixed the jump-cut by replacing the clip.
Between scene 5 and 6 there is now a transition shot of an outside light of the house with the party lights on at night. This is to transition the previous shot from day to night and to fade in the music properly. While I was at it I decided to add some music over Bradley opening the door to Spike and Raymond. I did it so as he opens the door, the volume increases and increases again when Spike and Raymond step into the house. The song I  chose was "Monster" by Kanye West for some clear foreshadowing of the character. I fixed the majority of the sound problems in the party scene as well as add very quiet voices on the phone afterwards using James' lines in scene 3.
When it came to the coats and bag in the classroom scenes there was nothing I could really do about it. The same could be said for the actors reading the script in the date scene as it was their fault for not learning their few lines in the first place.
I fixed the order of clips in the body discovery scene so that its in chronological order. As for the title cards, I changed them all to white apart from the party scene 1 as the colours there match the aesthetic and stand out as a turning point of Spikes life.
In the final scene I changed the SFX and fixed all the sound problems. To add to this I colour corrected the best I could do the majority of the scene matches up until Spike pulls down the hood. I reverted it back to warm lighting to show that there is still some good in him. I couldn't address any of the Lewis and Matt situations as they weren't ever available for re-shoots.

2nd April
I put together my final film for submission the next day. Overall I had a lot of fun with this project and had a lot off stressful moments along the way but I truly believe this is the best I can submit with the footage I've filmed.

Single Camera Production

A single camera production is a method of film making which involves using one camera to take various camera angles/ shots. This may involve having the scenes redone each time a new angle is taken. This also requires a different lighting configuration to be set up. This method of film making involves a lot of editing and takes. There are many types of moving image productions that use single camera production. Examples include; music videos, TV Dramas, Movies, Adverts and Documentaries. Each of these use mediums use single camera techniques effectively to establish a difference between them and have different effects on an audience. These mediums use different angles and shots in order to correspond to a certain genre they are aiming to achieve. Each shot has has a different composition in order to match the genre. For example a Drama will have a lot of close ups in order to establish a characters emotion and allow the audience to build a connection to them.
An advantage of Single Camera production is that shots don't have to be shot in sequence which allows more dramatic effects to be added in post production. It is also a lot cheaper and means that it is easier to transport around the different sets. It also allows the production to have less of a "Cinema effect".
A disadvantage would be that you could only get one angle per shoot, making it so numerous takes would have to be done as well as making it more time consuming. This means a lot more time will be spent in post-production in the editing room.
In single camera productions there are realist and non realist narrative perspectives. Realist Narratives are often true to the real world or may even be based on a true event where as non realists are set in worlds where anything is possible. A linear narrative tells the story from start to finish where as a non linear narrative tells the story in any order. They do this to confuse the audience or to add backstory to characters or previous plot points.

The Shining-Come play with us scene. Film example

The first shot of this scene is a wideshot of Danny on his bike, incorporating a lot of the setting around him, in this case a corridor. The camera slowly traces his movements with a dolly at a low angle to make the character seem vulnerable as he is a child. It is also used to build suspense as it makes it seem as there is a presence following him. The dolly also makes him appear to be getting smaller as it is moving slower then Danny. The camera stops following as he turns the corner which creates a sense of danger to the viewers.
The camera then cuts to a closer tracking shot of Danny continuing down the corridor. The close up creates suspense as it gives leaves the audience in anticipation for whats around the corner. As he turns we are given a long shot of two girls standing at the end of the corridor The camera is still to create a slow pace, leaving the audience to anticipate the next move. The mis en scen is particularly important as there is an emergency exit sign posted above a door warning Danny to get out. This warns the audience that he is in certain danger. It then cuts to a close up on his face to show his horrified expression.
It then cuts to a shot over Danny to place the audience alongside him in this traumatic experience. This shot is also extended to allow viewers to absorb whats happening. We then get another close up on Danny to emphasise how horrified he is. The camera then cuts to show a quick shot of the girls murdered. This would catch the audience off guard as the quickness of this cut would undermine the slowness of the whole scene so far. It also is to quick for the audience to take in which helps in further developing the tension.
The camera then cuts to show the girls much closer to the screen. This quickens the pace and alerts the audience of Danny getting much closer to danger. While the girls talk the same image of them murdered is flashed up on screen a couple more times to increase the intensity.
The editing is maintained at a fast pace to build on the initial suspense for the audience. It also reflects heavily on Danny's heavy mental state. The camera then cuts to an extreme close up of Danny's face with his hands other his eyes. The audience is left in anticipation as he slowly lowers his hands to make it seem as if the both of us are waiting to see whats on the other side.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle action movie trailer example.

Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017) is a sequel the the action film; Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015) which consists of spies and guns. For the genre to be clear certain codes and conventions must be followed. 
The trailer opens with and establishing shot of London. This is used to establish the location. The shot is accompanied with a warm orange glow to give audiences who saw the first film a sense of familiarity and comfort. The next shot is a medium close up held in a reflection. This establishes our main character of the narrative. The reflection comes with a golden glow to again, create a sense of familiarity with the character and to also establish that he's the "Hero".
The trailer starts off slow with suspenseful music and fades to black for transitions to create tension.
As the music begins to start, the action and pace of the trailer is increased where the mis en scen of these quick shots show all action movie tropes such as guns, car chases and choreographed fight scenes. This is to explicitly tell the audience that it is an action film with what is being shown in frame.
In one of these specific shots, the camera pans to the left as Eggsy (the protagonist) is flung out of a car. The close up then suggests a look of fear as we are then shown ongoing traffic coming his way. This particular shot is in 1st person to place the audience in the heroes shoes and to increase the fear factor in order to create suspense. We are then giving a wide shot of Eggsy jumping over the car in slow motion to create excitement.
The camera then quickly fades to black to give us an establishing shot of New York City. Which tells us that there may be new locations within the film. The music and pace is slowed down as dialogue from the villain is spoken. The audience learn this from her tone in voice but more specifically, her body language. The character is placed behind a desk with quite sturdy body posture to show certain power and authority. She then voices over a cutaway of an explosion as if she is claiming responsibility which creates mystery and suspense behind the villain. We are shown a low angle shot of the Kingsman base as it is blown up in order to make them look powerless. This creates a sense of hopelessness from the audience as the protagonists are made powerless.
The camera then shows quick close ups and medium close ups of new characters which builds more suspense by adding mystery to each of them. It then cuts to various gun sequences and explosions to make it fast paced and build on those original action genre tropes.
Overall the trailer succeeds in advertising the film as is non linear to stray away from giving away the narrative. As well as this is clearly demonstrates the codes and conventions of an action movie through mis en scen and with high paced movement through quick cuts and action sequences.

Blue Planet Documentary Example

Blue Planet is a documentary series surrounding marine biology and environments of planet Earth. It is hosted by David Attenborough and is aired on BBC One which means it has around 50 minutes to teach their audiences on certain topics concerned within the episode. This means they have to focus on educating the audience and keeping their attention while having a short time to do so.
The camera continuously cuts between David Attenborough and the turtle. This is to remind the audience who is talking and what the subject of conversation is. This time it is the turtle. The positioning of David is low and closely next to the turtle. This is to used to demonstrate a bond between man and creature to the audience. It also shows that there is no hostilities from David as it appears comforting to the audience for David to be close to him.
The movement on screen is in sync with what is being said in the narration. In this case it is the scene where the turtle is burying its eggs. Davids narration fits perfectly with the actions on screen taken by the turtle. Their are also numerous close ups on both its face and eggs to allow the audience to bond with the turtle and it keeps the clip ethical as there is no sign of falsehood in what David is saying as its matched up.
When Lynn Peters is introduced, a medium shot of him walking towards the camera is shown. This establishes a clear shift in focus from the turtle. While he talks to the camera, its positioning is kept at a medium close up of Lynn as he discusses turtle meat. This creates the illusion that he is talking to the audience and educating them directly like some sort of teacher. When the topic of discussion focuses on leatherback turtles from Lynn, we get a wideshot of two turtles on the beach to show that he is expanding our knowledge on them and providing a different perspective.
Later on, the shot where all the different citizens gather around the turtle, The turtle is placed centre screen at a low angle shot. This makes the turtle appear vulnerable and is used to drive sympathy from the audience.
It then cuts to an establishing shot of the outside of a school to establish the next location. Inside the school we see a wide shot of the children in the school at their desks and then a low angle mid shot of Lynn teaching them. This makes him look powerful while he teaches the children and the audience. It also helps address the audience as it puts him in a position of power.The camera then cuts back and from shots of him asking questions and close ups of the children. This makes it seem as he is addressing the children and audience subsequently when the children ask questions the audience may have.

Go Compare Ad

The Go Compare advert is used to advertise the car insurance company of the same name. The advert is primarily aired on TV which means it has a short time frame of around 30 seconds. This means that the advert has to fit in some information while keeping their audiences attention. The advert starts with an establishing shot to establish a setting of a cafe. This is used to make the advert seem ordinary to the audience. The colours in this ad are quite bright to create a happier mood which allows the message of car insurance more approachable for the audience. This makes the product more visually appealing for an audience which will help increase overall sales for the company. In particular, the ad focuses on two friends discussing car insurance. This is shown by the various 2 person shots of the pair sitting on the table.
However, when the "Go compare man" appears on screen to sing a lot of cuts and are added to match the pace of the jingle. As well as this, text has been added in post production, of certain lyrics to act as a visual reminder to the audience of the message the ad is trying to convey. Again, the text is added in a bright green font to make it visually appealing and eye catching so the audience can pay more attention the the words on screen. The camera cuts back onto close ups on the two friends to portray their confused facial expression. This could be used to reflect a possible feeling from the audience or to simply humour them.
It then zooms out to show everyone in the cafe singing. The mis en scen has a lot of bright objects and lighting to exemplify the happy environment of the advert. For example the bright red apples in the fruit bowl. The positioning of characters in this shot is also particularly important as our two main characters are positioned in the back left corner of the screen. This is to create a sense of isolation between the characters and everyone else who is singing along. This could be used as an advertising technique in order to make the audience to feel left out of buying the product.

This is America music video by Childish Gambino

This music video begins with a title card displaying the name of the song. This could be used to lead the audience in to a false sense of simplicity where the video itself is filled with hidden meanings. The video itself opens with an establishing shot, showing a warehouse location with a chair and guitar. A man in frame walks in and starts playing the guitar as the camera pans off to show Donald Glover in the middle of the shot with his back turned. This immediately establishes that he is the focus of the video with his presence being important. This is exemplified by the wide shot of his character. The camera then zooms in on Glover as he starts to turn around and dance. The camera then traces his movement as he begins to move towards it. IT then zooms out to reveal him with a gun and the same guy from before but now with a bag on his head. The prop in shot suggests a reference to American gun violence however the other mans costume and guitar is used to reference the artist Calvin The Second. When the shot is fired, the action begins to pick up the pace with characters in the background and Glover's movements being faster. The camera remains to trace his movements with his ecstatic dance choreography and exaggerated facial expressions. This is used to distract the audience from whats happening in the background and to keep Glover in focus. His movement is used to exhibit the mockery of black people in the 1800's. The camera then pans out to give an establishing shot. It is similar to the last but this time has a lot more on screen including cars and numerous extras standing and dancing around. This is to contrast the previous shot and establish two clearly different atmospheres in the video.
The shot then zooms out and whip pans into another scene. The camera movement begins by panning across and zooming out on a couple of performers supposedly singing the backing track. As Glover enters the scene, the camera pans slightly to the left to focus as he comes closer to the camera. An AK47 prop is thrown into the frame by someone off screen. Glover catches the weapon, turns and sprays down the performers. The clothing and props in this scene give a reference to the 2015 Charlestone church massacre as the costumes reflect that of a choir boys. The different pace builds up the movement of him turning by being so sudden compared to the rest of the video. The camera again begins to trace Glover's movements as multiple people sprint past him. His slow movements are meant to contradict the action in the background.
The camera again whip pans back to the original location where the camera is now tracing Glover from behind where it then rotates around to focus in front of him. While it does this more people and cars are moving in the background until the camera halts to show Glover dancing with some extras. While this happens, a police car is clearly shown in the background. This prop is used to hide a subliminal message about racial discrimination from the police in America. The camera then pans vertically to show some actor with their phones out. The phone props show that most discriminatory acts from the police force were recorded using a cell phone.
The mis en scen throughout the video hints to various cases and stories about racism and gun violence in America. This allows it to carry its message over with the lyrics of the song and allows continuity to be remained by keeping consistent with subliminal messages and hidden details pointing to the bigger picture.