Before the music starts to play, I want to make it
apparent to the audience that there is a certain mood and atmosphere to my
video. The best way I believe I can reflect the tone of my video is by using a
‘grey scale’ filter. This washes out all of the colours from my shots and
leaves everything colourless and almost dull-like, which will help link it to
the lyrics of the song; the band described their sound as ‘black and white’, so
I am trying to portray this in the video. The black and white theme will run
throughout the video, but also links to the brand identity of the band ‘Little
Gone Life’ which will be seen in my CD booklet and the magazine advert for the
single ‘Sweater Weather’.
As the music starts to play and the lyrics start, I
want to capture the theme of my video in these few opening lyrics. The first
image that I want to present is a troubled teen, and I believe my first few
opening seconds will very easily capture this with my male actor drinking
whiskey from a glass in a derelict building; the abandoned building will give a
mysterious look to the opening of the video, especially in black and white.
For the next line in the song, I want to show that my
video will be relationship focused and portray a young couple; going for the
‘young, dumb and in love’ approach, whilst, at the same time, showing that not
everything is as it seems on the surface. There is the general perception that
young people can’t be in love as they’re too naive, but I hope to change that
perception with my video and the clips of the couple, portraying the teenagers
in an adult relationship.
The next scene, which will feature in my lyric video,
is a seagull on the beach with the lyrics “I hate the beach” appearing on the
screen. Personally, I adore this clip because of how simple it is but also how
easily it can capture the audience’s attention.
The next few scenes in my music video will be located
on a beach. I will film my male actor looking out to sea, followed by clips of
the couple together on the beach. The male character looking at the sea and
into the distance, with his girlfriend in the background, implies to the
audience that their love and relationship makes him feel miles away and as if
nothing else matters. However, it could suggest that he feels alone, and the
fact that his girlfriend will be blurred out and not the main focus suggests
that she’s not his main focus, at least not currently; this is all seen in the
lyrics and later in the video.
Whilst I was studying the lyrics and trying to create
a shot for the lyrics “Use the sleeves of my sweater” I wanted to create the
idea that this couple are connected and almost the same person; I wanted to
reference the young couple being extremely close on the surface but I want to
keep the mysterious idea always in the back of my audiences’ minds.
As above, I wanted to reference the closeness of the
couple I am portraying in the music video and in the next scene I wanted to try
and capture this couple perfectly, in the lyrics “Let’s have an adventure”. I
will film a shot of the couple cuddling on the bed together or possibly pulling
the sheets over their faces to hide from the camera; I wanted this to show the
emotional adventure that this young couple will be going through and not
exactly the physical idea that will come to mind when one thinks of adventure.
Whilst I reference closeness of the couple a lot in my
music video, I want the idea of mysteriousness to always be present – mainly
focusing on my male actor in these mysterious shots. I will use a downward pan,
point of view shot of the male actor then a medium shot of his side profile
looking into the distance, as I believe this fits nicely with the lyrics “my
head in the clouds but my gravity’s centred”.
As I’ve previously talked about, I want to show that
this couple are very much in love, and portray their closeness through this.
The next few clips will focus around their love and in my next few shots I
wanted to show this through the lyrics “you in those high-waisted shorts” and
“she knows what I think about”. I want to show the physical aspect of their
relationship and just how close and connected the couple is, this is why I will
have the male actor brush my female actor’s hair behind her ear while staring intently
into each other’s eyes. I believe this captures the idea of love and commitment
these people have for each other in this music video while still fitting nicely
with the lyrics.
I also want to reference the changing of seasons
throughout my video and the changes that my couple will be going through. I
want to show that their relationship appears to be comfortable and I believe I
can capture this with the couple playing on the beach together in slow motion; this,
I believe, will show the joy they have with each other with no care in the
world for anything else.
Furthermore, I want to show the couple holding hands
with each other several times during the video, but mainly with the lyrics “let
me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater”, as this is the main chorus
line in the song. I believe I can capture this nicely with my female actor
holding hands with my male actor inside of his jumper, directly portraying what
the lyrics say. However, I want the clip to, at the same time, imply a subtle
mention that everything is not as it seems with the young couple. I will do
this by showing a shot of them sitting on a bench with the male actor smoking,
as the lyrics “and if I may just take your breath away” play. This links with
the idea that the couple are “young dumb, and in love” because the lyrics seem
to suggest that he is wanting to take her breath away, which can have several
connotations itself, but the clip will show the guy smoking which makes the
audience realise that the lyrics is referencing the cigarette.
Next, I will have an alternative shot of the couple lying
down on a bed or on some grass, perfectly still with their eyes shut, holding hands,
with the lyrics “sometimes the silence guides of minds” playing. I believe this
captures the lyrics perfectly and really gives them a physical meaning, as it
shows that the couple don’t always need to talk in order to feel close to each
other.
I also want to have a slow motion clip of my male
actor touching the girl’s waist in slow motion, with the lyrics “the goose
bumps start to rise, the minute that my left hand meets your waist”. I want to
try and bring in a more ‘sexual’ side to the music video, as it will show that
the couple, just like every couple, have intimate moments. As I’ve previously mentioned,
I want to portray to the audience that the couple aren’t the false ‘perfect’
couple, as I want my music video to portray a realistic relationship, which has
its ups and downs; I believe I can capture this in the next few shots quite
accurately. After the slow motion shots of her boyfriend grabbing her waist, I
want the female actor to push the male actor away and show the audience the
girl walking away in the slow motion. I want this to imply that she wasn’t
‘ready’ for this kind of relationship, referring back to their age, but I also
want to show that the guy doesn’t understand why she has walked away, again
implying his immaturity. The following shot will show the guy chasing after the
girl and grabbing her hand, but she shakes him off as she is not interested,
contrastingly showing her maturity to the audience.
Going against the style of my video previously, I want
the lyrics to contrast with what the audience are seeing; I am portraying the
guy in the video as if he is the lead singer of the band and he has written the
lyrics about the girl. This means that the lyrics are how the guy wants their
relationship to go, but the clips are what is actually happening between the
couple. Whilst the lyrics “cause you love the taste, yeah” are playing, I want
the male actor to run his hand through his hair and breath heavily, showing his
frustration and confusion as to why the situation isn’t going as how he planned
it to, followed with the female actor crying on the sofa.
I will use
shot-reverse-shot in the next few clips to show the contrast between the two,
and show how, at certain times in their relationship, it’s as if they’re two
different people whom are often distant from each other. I will use
shot-reverse-shot to show the male actor sat outside on the doorstep when it’s
raining, whilst the female actor is sat on the sofa looking into a warm fire,
but is crying, with the lyrics “inside the place is warm and outside it starts
to pour” over the top, also showing the contrast.
Whilst the male character is stood outside, I want to
show him smoking using a close up shot, implying drug use, which fits with the
lyrics “coming down”, and subtly implies that this is the reason for the
troubles in their relationship.
For the start of the chorus, “one love, two mouths,
one love, one house, no shirt, no blouse, just us you find out”, I want to
create the idea that the couple were able to accept each other again and show
that they are ready to have something ‘more’. I will do this by showing the guy
walking back into the house and kissing the girl, showing that this is his way
of making up with her. I will then show a medium-close up shot of the couple
walking along the landing of their house, with the guy’s shirt and the girl’s
blouse dropping to floor, before they shut the bedroom door behind them,
implying the more ‘physical’ side to their relationship, which hasn’t often
been seen in the rest of my video.
In addition to this, I want to base the video around
the seasons and show how the couple grow and change throughout the year.
In the chorus of the song, the baseline stops and the
beat is drastically slowed down. To show this in the video, I will have a video
of the couple having a slow motion fight with
leaves, in order to capture the prospect of autumn when the trees start to die
and the leaves fall, but will grow back greener and stronger than before, just
like the couple.
I also want to try and capture the girl in the
relationship ‘coming out of shell’ and starting a playful but meaningful pillow
fight; showing that the couple are a lot more physical and relaxed with each
other.
For the next scene, I want to show another change in
seasons by the couple having a slow motion snowball fight; to show that, even
though they’ve had their ups and downs in their relationship, they’re still
playful with each other. I really want to capture the audience’s attention with
every season change and I believe this will do just that.
I will use a fade to black transition to show that
time is passing, but it will join nicely with the next scene, where the couple
in a dark background with sparklers in their hands.
The camera will cut to a
clip of the couple holding hands, and maybes a montage of different clips of
the couple holding hands, to show the strength of their relationship throughout
the year.
To end the music video, I will show a clip of
fireworks in the sky, editing it to make it look as if the couple are watching
the fireworks.
It will then fade to black again and the band’s logo (flatline)
and name will appear on the screen.
