Pride Festival 2018
I thought it would be worth writing a post that goes into more depth about the main event of which I will be filming at - Pride Festival 2018.
Held in London, 'Pride in London' has been running since the summer of 1972 meaning that this year it will celebrate its 46th birthday. On June 28th 1969, a riot broke out in the Stonewall Inn, a gay nightclub, which sparked a week long protest. This was one of the very first Pride movements, and the following year saw the first official Pride event, 'Christopher Street Liberation Day' which commemorated the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. One individual who attended the event, Fred Sargeant, wrote that the event was 'sombre', as well as there being 'no floats, no music', juxtaposing the happy, electric and empowering atmosphere we see at Pride today. Over the years, parades have evolved into pure celebrations, and an atmosphere that I want to come across in my video.
In terms of details about the festival this year, Pride have a website which they update up until the event. For example, there are different events across different days included in the festival, including performances on stages, the main parade, plays, escape venues and book launches. However, I will only be attending the official Parade which is being held on the 7th July and I still have a lot of planning to do before I go out and film.
Unfortunately, at this moment in time, the website has not released details of the Parade, such as when and at what time it starts. An unofficial website has stated that the Parade commences at 12pm meaning that, because I am travelling by train, I would most likely catch the 09.32 train because this would leave me enough time to get to the Parade if there happen to be delays.
The return train ticket will cost around £7-£10 but the actor has agreed to pay for their ticket because they want to enjoy the experience of Pride and I will be there capturing their experience. The train times are vary to change so I will be checking everyday up until the event so I can work around any changes.
Also involved in the cost is Lunch yet we will likely be taking pack lunches because this means we will not waste any time and the day will be cheaper. Also, many cafes will be very busy so having a pre-made pack lunch will mean that we are prepared.
Potential Locations
At the Pride Parade 2017, the Parade began at Oxford Circus, down Regent Street and through Piccadilly Circus. The Parade ended at Trafalgar Square where many events took place. The location for this year's Parade is very likely to follow the same route as it has done for many years so I am not very concerned in that respect. I have visited London many times, both for school projects and for fun, so I have a good idea of the whereabouts of places as well as how to get to different places on the Tube.
From Marylebone we would get the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus which is a very simple journey. I will also be filming some of the journey for transition shots, if I see anything along the way that would fit well. For example, the walls of the underground may be plastered will Pride adverts with rainbow colours that would fit in with the aesthetic of the video.
Realistically, bearing in mind delays and the general busyness due to the event, we will arrive at Oxford Circus at about 11 with an hour to spare before the Parade commences. Within this hour, I will take some scenery shots before it becomes too busy. I will also carry out a briefing with the cast member; this involves going over what scenes I will be filming, telling the actor how I want their personality and gestures to be like, as well as rough timings for the day.
One the Parade begins I will be taking scenery shots/crowd shots as well as shots of the actor. This will last for 2 hours so I have a lot of chances during this time to get the vital shots. After lunch, I will carry on filming until I have finished which could be as late as 4pm, before looking over my Shot List (coming in a future post) to make sure that I have filmed everything. I will be taking a pen with me so that I can tick off each shot to clearly see if I have missed any.
On the way back from London I will be getting in some extra, last minute shots as well as reviewing the shots I had got that day for the quality control aspect. We are likely to get a train close to 5pm meaning we would get back at 6.30pm, which leaves me enough time in the evening to upload the footage onto my laptop to check that the shots are of good quality.
Every year, often up to a million people will gather for the occasion and I am very excited to showcase the festival within my music video. I do not think any of my classmates are basing their music video on LGBTQ+ issues so I hope to deliver a strong message when it is shown to the class instead of a music video that promotes a song. It is not about the song, what the actors look like, the quality of the filming; most significantly I hope that it continues to raise awareness for a issue that, although some may say is irrelevant, affects so many peoples lives. I want the video to be overwhelming in that there are moments of poignancy juxtaposed with celebration; empowering and most of all, to make a statement.
Held in London, 'Pride in London' has been running since the summer of 1972 meaning that this year it will celebrate its 46th birthday. On June 28th 1969, a riot broke out in the Stonewall Inn, a gay nightclub, which sparked a week long protest. This was one of the very first Pride movements, and the following year saw the first official Pride event, 'Christopher Street Liberation Day' which commemorated the anniversary of the Stonewall Riots. One individual who attended the event, Fred Sargeant, wrote that the event was 'sombre', as well as there being 'no floats, no music', juxtaposing the happy, electric and empowering atmosphere we see at Pride today. Over the years, parades have evolved into pure celebrations, and an atmosphere that I want to come across in my video.
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| Pride Parade London |
In terms of details about the festival this year, Pride have a website which they update up until the event. For example, there are different events across different days included in the festival, including performances on stages, the main parade, plays, escape venues and book launches. However, I will only be attending the official Parade which is being held on the 7th July and I still have a lot of planning to do before I go out and film.
Unfortunately, at this moment in time, the website has not released details of the Parade, such as when and at what time it starts. An unofficial website has stated that the Parade commences at 12pm meaning that, because I am travelling by train, I would most likely catch the 09.32 train because this would leave me enough time to get to the Parade if there happen to be delays.
The return train ticket will cost around £7-£10 but the actor has agreed to pay for their ticket because they want to enjoy the experience of Pride and I will be there capturing their experience. The train times are vary to change so I will be checking everyday up until the event so I can work around any changes.
Also involved in the cost is Lunch yet we will likely be taking pack lunches because this means we will not waste any time and the day will be cheaper. Also, many cafes will be very busy so having a pre-made pack lunch will mean that we are prepared.
Potential Locations
At the Pride Parade 2017, the Parade began at Oxford Circus, down Regent Street and through Piccadilly Circus. The Parade ended at Trafalgar Square where many events took place. The location for this year's Parade is very likely to follow the same route as it has done for many years so I am not very concerned in that respect. I have visited London many times, both for school projects and for fun, so I have a good idea of the whereabouts of places as well as how to get to different places on the Tube.
From Marylebone we would get the Bakerloo Line to Oxford Circus which is a very simple journey. I will also be filming some of the journey for transition shots, if I see anything along the way that would fit well. For example, the walls of the underground may be plastered will Pride adverts with rainbow colours that would fit in with the aesthetic of the video.
 |
| Often at Pride there are many adverts displayed over London |
Realistically, bearing in mind delays and the general busyness due to the event, we will arrive at Oxford Circus at about 11 with an hour to spare before the Parade commences. Within this hour, I will take some scenery shots before it becomes too busy. I will also carry out a briefing with the cast member; this involves going over what scenes I will be filming, telling the actor how I want their personality and gestures to be like, as well as rough timings for the day.
One the Parade begins I will be taking scenery shots/crowd shots as well as shots of the actor. This will last for 2 hours so I have a lot of chances during this time to get the vital shots. After lunch, I will carry on filming until I have finished which could be as late as 4pm, before looking over my Shot List (coming in a future post) to make sure that I have filmed everything. I will be taking a pen with me so that I can tick off each shot to clearly see if I have missed any.
On the way back from London I will be getting in some extra, last minute shots as well as reviewing the shots I had got that day for the quality control aspect. We are likely to get a train close to 5pm meaning we would get back at 6.30pm, which leaves me enough time in the evening to upload the footage onto my laptop to check that the shots are of good quality.
Every year, often up to a million people will gather for the occasion and I am very excited to showcase the festival within my music video. I do not think any of my classmates are basing their music video on LGBTQ+ issues so I hope to deliver a strong message when it is shown to the class instead of a music video that promotes a song. It is not about the song, what the actors look like, the quality of the filming; most significantly I hope that it continues to raise awareness for a issue that, although some may say is irrelevant, affects so many peoples lives. I want the video to be overwhelming in that there are moments of poignancy juxtaposed with celebration; empowering and most of all, to make a statement.
This is a very informative post and I love how much you have researched into Pride which really shows your passion for the LGBT+ theme of your music video.
ReplyDeleteYou mentioned about the history of Pride - do you think you will reference this in your music video?
Thank you so much Kitty, I will be referencing Pride through the old footage I will be using such as LGBT+ Pride marches that are in black and white. With this I can show the contrast between old footage and new footage (2018) to show how much gay rights has developed.
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