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Miss Blakeman's (unfinished) treatment!

MUSIC VIDEO TREATMENT

Frightened Rabbit

‘State Hospital’

Producer: E Blakeman

Director: E Blakeman

Frightened Rabbit:

(Overview of your (imagined) artist- description of their style, background, where they’re at in their career etc, and what purpose this video will serve for them (e.g. new sound or image))

State hospital:

The song tells the story of a girl born without hope of a good life, and tracks her seemingly inevitable path to self-destruction as she is “born into a grave”.

She is born into a world that doesn’t want her; probably an accidental conception, she is raised in a home of anger, violence and probably drugs. She is neglected and never made to believe she can achieve anything in life; she believes even the teachers in school have given up on her.

The song lyrics follow her into adolescence and young adulthood, as she begins to lead a lifestyle crying out for affection and validation, but finds it in negative behaviours – excessive drinking and sexual promiscuity.

The song ends with ambiguity in the lyric “all is not lost”- is it always inevitable that she’ll lead this life?

Music video basic concept:

Throughout the video, the images we see appear to tell the story of the girl’s life as featured in the song’s lyrics.

We’re walked through her life as a child, an adolescent and a young adult. We never see her face, but we experience things through her point of view throughout.

Possible twist?? (Hollywood ending?!):

However, at the end, it will become apparent that the images we’ve been seeing are actually of her mother. The mother’s story was one of inevitable struggle, but the “born into a grave” lyrics turn out not to apply to the daughter featured as a baby at the start.

In a quick montage at the end, the images of her mother’s life are replaced by a new narrative- that of the daughter succeeding against the odds (“all is not lost”). Full circle- back to mother and baby scenes from the start, but with adult daughter now present somehow…

Style:

Muted colours, almost bleached, watching the mother’s life to convey the melancholy and hopelessness of her life. A lot of the lighting will be low-key and will make effective use of shadows, especially in the mother’s home. For the final montage at the end, we see more light and colour.

In order for the audience to make meaning from the narrative, there will be certain recurring motifs to help them follow the video.

The cinematography

Scene-by-scene

Rough lyrics analysis:

How to write a music video TREATMENT

Music Video Treatment

Overview:

A treatment summarizes your vision for a music video for your client (in the industry, this would be the artist), using visual and written communication. It is effectively a form of ‘pitch’. A record company would approach many directors to submit a treatment, and then choose the best idea. For the director, getting a music video can be great exposure for them, so the treatment is crucial in securing that work.

Format:

It is advisable to blog this directly and include links and images to support.

GUIDE:

(This is from a music video director, but you can ‘interpret’ this as there is no set way to do this!)

Section 1: Introduction

Start with a title page. Include the name of the band and the song. I also usually try to find a nice image of the band or artist if it fits with the mood of the video. Put your name as director and producer.

Section 2: ‘Elevator Pitch’

Explain your vision in a paragraph or two. (An “elevator pitch” is a quick description you could give to, say, someone who wants to give you a million dollars whom you meet in an elevator, giving you only a fraction of a minute to pitch to them.) Use visually descriptive words, be specific, and paint a picture of what the video will look and feel like. Keep this brief, get them excited and leave them wanting more.

Section 3: Script

“Some music videos get to be very literal when it comes to the lyrics of the song; some are completely abstract. However you decide to do it, this is the place in the treatment to go into detail. I like to break down the video into scenes and describe each separate scene in a paragraph or two and will usually add some photos as well.”

Section 4: Moods / Style

Describe the feeling and look of the video. What format will it be shot on? Are you going for a stylized look? What kind of editing? Long cinematic shots or quick jump cuts? Cite references for the style; this can be anything such as films, paintings, books, celebrities, or photographs. Whatever best communicates how your video will look. Include plenty of images.

Summary Section: Sum it up

Summarize your video in a few sentences reminding your client why it’s a great idea. Keep it short and simple. 

Audience research

Research the Target Audience

You have completed secondary research into music videos, now you need to conduct primary research in order to find out more about what appeals to an audience.

Primary Research – draft a questionnaire in order to determine who your target audience are and how to target them (present to a sample of 10 people minimum). Remember to ask qualitative (opinions) and quantitative questions (answers that can be displayed in a graph/chart etc)

Example questions:

·         How old are you?

·         What gender?

·         What typical features do you expect to see in an indie music video?

·         What appeals to you mostly in a music video?

·         How often do you watch music videos and on what platform? (Could be multiple choice)

·         Do you prefer a music video to have a narrative/storyline?

·         Would you prefer to see more than one location?

·         Do you like performance in a music video?

·         Is location important to you?

·         Which of the following appeals to you…. (etc etc)

Once you have collated your data, summarise the results and produce pie charts and graphs to support your results and findings.

Next step: produce a target audience profile!