R+P Post 29: Rehearsals

Rehearsals were important in figuring out both how we could physically connote the personalities of the band members, through gestures and body language and so on, as well as how we could lay out the more intricate scenes through choreography. To this end, we allocated some of our pre-planned meeting times to rehearsing- we had already decided to meet in various free periods that we all shared, so we simply went to the studio to rehearse instead of to the media department to plan. Additionally, we were able to use the test shoot as a more advanced rehearsal, that used the lighting and some costumes and props that were ready at that time- this allowed us to both rehearse normally as well as capture an approximation of what our planned movements and so on would look like on camera.

One of the most important things to rehearse was gestures and personality during the band shots. We therefore had Noa and Jack mess around a bit, and tried to figure out what kind of moves would be best to get across their relationship. We had them glance at each other and smile or laugh from time to time, and we had larger interactions such as going back to back while performing, and we added all of this to our 'movement bank' for use later when we were capturing footage. Noa also got some time on the stage by herself, to prepare for her lead role, I got to practice using the drums a bit, and Tom got to have his first real experience of what he was going to have to do in the shoot, being the only one not part of the group and thus not privy to the entire planning process.

Noa and Jack directing each other and working on their sibling relationship gestures, while I get some practice on the drums. We are all standing or sitting in the approximate place we plan to be when we film during the test shoot. Click to enlarge.

Footage of Tom practicing for his role as Terence Kitchener playing the keyboard. Him being able to practice, even if at the start he had to use a mock-keyboard in the form of a table, and us being able to view him in role, was very good for solidifying him in the role- he now knew what he had to do, and we now knew he was definitely the right choice after viewing him in various shots. Click to play.

Every scene except the band scene has specific movements and actions to advance the narrative, including Casey falling asleep and going to the dream in the apartment set-up, or biting an apple to be transported to another scene in the Alice in Wonderland set-up. We got to try out all of these movements, and see if they worked within the bounds of the studio and camera frame. This was beneficial as it helped us either change our ideas by the main shoot, or, in the majority of cases, to practice the correct movements before the main shoot.

Noa and Tom while getting ready to practice the Sergeant Pepper scene. The monitor in the background is facing towards them, so they know how to stay within the framing, and we could all see how the composition of the shot could allow the slot machine to fit in the frame too. Click to enlarge.

Certain scenes needed even more rehearsing, specifically the Singing in the Rain and Mortal Kombat scenes. This is because we included movements directly inspired by movements in those pieces of media in our video. For Singing in the Rain, we choreographed a dance, or rather a set of dance-inspired movements, inspired by the famous movie scene. For Mortal Kombat, we choreographed a basic fight scene to look like a fight from the video game. These two required extra attention as we had more complicated and sequential movements, especially Mortal Kombat which takes place almost entirely in one framing and thus one take (although we plan to have cuts to other scenes like the band performing which increases the margin of error.) Being able to practice them in advance is a great help, as we don't want to waste time on a shoot day trying to get the choreography right.