Location Ideas

The BenchThe bench is an important feature to our video as we are using a circular narrative, meaning we begin and end here. This particular bench is located in the Eaton Marshes, where it is a rather quiet, we thought this was good as it provided a nice private location for our couple to meet, start a relationship and eventually grow apart while remaining a memorable location. This privacy the bench provides could be a nice place for the couple to get to know each other together, just the two of them, however the privacy presents a sense of loneliness. This is shown at the end when one returns to the bench alone when the relationship has ended.

Forrest Gump

It inspired us to use a bench as the starting point of our video as it is a generic location of the folk / alternative genre; it is quite a warm image, conjuring up images of being with friends, while also creating lonely connotations when empty. Also, benches are often found in parks or areas with lots of wildlife, in keeping with the natural imagery throughout our track Gather and Run.

Forrest Gump (1994) is a film which features an iconic use of a bench, using it as a way to position the protagonist as he sits and narrates his story. The famous opening scene - where Forrest announces that “life is like a box of chocolates“ - features a slow pan, almost like the audience is listening in on an private conversation.

This is an effect we want to achieve when we shoot our music video, as we want to show that the first meeting of our couple is an intimate occasion; the pan-in also brings the introduces the characters, as the nearer the pan, the more detail is revealed to the audience. The image of a bench is seen on numerous folk / indie artists album artwork.

Above was written by Meg (member of my group).

FieldOur next location is a field located next to the bench we are using. This location is very open and calm (again in the quiet, private location of the bench), because of this we wanted to use it at the start of their relationship as it is calm and happy to begin with. The openness gives off a sense of relaxation and a comfortable atmosphere, this is what we want to achieve and present the couple to be feeling about one another.

Fields are often associated with locations where children and people are seen running, playing, and having fun. In this stage of their relationship they are rather playful and carefree, so we thought this would indeed be suitable location.

ForestThe forest is another location my group and I chose to be featured in our video. This idea first came to mind when Natasha said in her lyrics ‘to the forest we will gather and run’. Goodwin’s theory states that there should be a link between video visuals and lyrics; due to this we thought it would be a good idea to shoot some of it in a forest, not to mention it is an easily assessable location.Forests also have a very ‘closed’ feel to them, making one feel lost or trapped. This is why we choice this location to be used later on in the video as it is when the couple begin to drift apart.

RiverThe river we use is located in the Eaton Marshes, close to our other locations meaning that it helps to save time and is easily accessed. Rivers are very unpredictable; they can be calm and slow, fast and violent and burst their banks. This is just like how a relationship is, you never know what will happen next. This is why the river is near the end of our video as what seems to have been a calm, happy relationship and quickly morphed into a rocky one where the couple end up separating.