Pre-Production: Location scouting

As previously mentioned before, the most endeavouring aspect of the video project - currently holding up production, no less - would be the acquisition of something which rings simplicity, yet emotes worry: the car repair shop; the logistical headache which has levied proceedings to a halt.

We have examined the possibility of jumping ahead into principal photography despite the cul-de-sac which inhibits our passage going forward, with the hope that during filming, we would secure the repair shop before the end of filming. The consensus within our camp remained however: that would be an unwise decision, filled with undeniable folly.

The aim is to commence and end shooting within 3, or perhaps 4 days; and that is certainly a viable conquest with the plans that are detailed in the step outlines for the project.

With the strategy to use the Christmas period to film, and a few days before this post, I went shopping, not for the Boxing Day sales, but for potential locations to film at. The main character for the video, who will be played by me, is a young, working professional in London, who is to attend meetings and engages with his fellow colleagues, not to mention all the commuting he has to do living in London. And so, the location must match our character's description and also tell our audience this story about who he is and what he does, as sound will certainly have a hard time doing such a thing for us.

I thought about a place, an area, a street which would be quite busy and full of people: I traveled to Oxford Street first, and noted - despite the bustling atmosphere - that the location could be of use, to stage our video.

 I then traveled to King's Cross as I know the area to be very busy and also as it is intimately close to the London Underground, where some scenes will be shot.

Lastly, I made the trip to Vauxhall to explore the area more intricately, to find out any secrets that are hidden from the view of the majority - myself included - who use this area solely as a passageway. I walked aimlessly in the parts of Vauxhall, driven only by determined legs and youthful fascination of discovery: and I did make a discovery, which certainly would not have been discovered otherwise: Vauxhall is a credible possibility to stage the scenes that "Disconnected" calls for with its transport link, its closeness to a wealth of corporate buildings and its particular look and feel that would resonate, I feel, with what the video is really about and the epitome of a volition to resorting to the Atlantean of allegory.

To put it in simper terms, what Vauxhall embodies and suggests about itself: a haven for the materialistic consumer, who works towards the necessity of the unneeded physical desires thrust upon them, by the power of corporate hegemony and the advertisers that do their dirty work for them.

I hope that was simple enough.

Ceysun Dixon KU ID: K1326851