Music Video TreatmentHalsey - Colors

Inspiration• The inspiration for my music video largely came from the Artist

Halsey herself. She has a particular aesthetic that my music video will reference as though it was her own. For her live performances and album covers she often incorporates the colour blue in either lighting, clothing or scenery. I was inspired by this as well as the lyrics from my chosen song to have explosions of colour (mostly blue). The use of lots of colour is one of the conventions of the electropop genre as they often use bold and bright colours to convey positive emotions. The music video for Take It Off by Kesha influenced some of the ideas I had for editing techniques such as reversing clips as I think this looks effective using powder paints.

Initial Ideas• My music video is going to be a combination of performance and abstract

imagery. Theorist Joan Lynch stated that there are three basic video structures that music videos will include at least one aspect of – performance, narrative and concept. My music video will include aspects of performance through lip-synching (Gow) which is conventional of the genre.

• Jon Gow identified six genres of music videos which are determined by their portrayal of performance. My music video is going to be enhanced performance which blends lip-syncing with abstract visual forms. I think this will be visually exciting and engage the audience without a developed narrative.

Mood/Style• The general mood of the video is fun, youth and happiness which is expressed through

the cinematography, editing and use of colour. The colour blue symbolizes trust, intelligence and loyalty. It’s also associated with masculinity which is contradicted by the female protagonist in the video. Throughout my music video it will cut between shots of the protagonist lip-syncing in a studio with overlaid clips of natural, outdoor scenery and various shots of paints being thrown and poured over the protagonist. There will also be slow motion clips of paint splatters, powder paint and cotton candy melting; these elements all refer to the song title ‘Colors’.

Your little brother never tells you but he loves you so

You said your mother only smiled on her TV show

You’re only happy when your sorry head is filled with dope

I hope you make it to the day you’re 28 years old

You’re dripping like a saturated sunriseYou’re spilling like an overflowing sink

You’re ripped at every edge but you’re a masterpiece

And now you’re tearing through the pages and the ink

The music video opens with the title of the song and artist against a clip of some white sheets

being blown in the air. These will later be covered in paint at the end of the video and so

represents the calm before the storm. The typography will be black and in a simple font which will fade onto screen before the lyrics begin. This will contrast against the white

background and so more eye-catching.

It then cuts to a shot of the actor in the TV studio in front of a white background lip-syncing

to the lyrics for the performance part of the video (Jon Gow). The performer will be looking directly at the camera addressing the audience; she will be wearing dungarees and a colourful

shirt as this type of clothing is popular in mainstream media. Dungarees symbolize a fun

and easy-going nature as they are often associated with children’s clothing. There will be

video clips overlaid on top of natural outdoor scenery e.g. the sky, clouds, lakes, woods, beach.

Throughout the second verse it will cross-cut between the studio and similar videos to which

were previously overlaid. There will be jump cuts to shots taken from the window of a train or

car as it drives by a sunrise and country landscapes. Slow-motion shots of inks being

dropped into water.

Everything is blueHis pills, his hands, his jeans

And now I’m covered in the colorsPulled apart at the seams

And it’s blueAnd it’s blue

Everything is greyHis hair, his smoke, his dreamsAnd now he’s so devoid of colorHe don’t know what it means

And he’s blueAnd he’s blue

Jump cut to a mid shot of blue powder paints being thrown at the actor from different

directors. The actor will be wearing white clothing the emphasize the vivid colours. This will all be in slow motion as the paints hit her. Cut to close up from a different camera angle, close up of hands covered in the paints. Shot of blue powder paints being thrown in front of the

camera so only they are visible.

Cuts back to studio location but the image is in black and white which relates to the lyrics for the chorus and amplifies the music (Andrew Goodwin). For the third line it will cut to an

extreme close up of a paint splatter on a clear surface it colour which will flash between black

and white and colour.

You were a vision in the morning when the light came through

I know I’ve only felt religion when I’ve lied to you

You said you’ll never be forgiven ‘till your boys are too

And I’m still waking every morning but it’s not with you

You’re dripping like a saturated sunriseYou’re spilling like an overflowing sink

You’re ripped at every edge but you’re a masterpiece

And now you’re tearing through the pages and the ink

Mid shot of actor in the TV studio lip-syncing with video clips overlaid in editing, similar to first shots in the music video. I’m going to use

various editing effects to emphasise the abstract imagery and build excitement. The camera will cut between shots of the protagonist in slightly different positions in the frame that will change

in time with the beat creating a relationship between the music and the visuals (Andrew Goodwin) making the video more visually

pleasing to watch.

Mid shot of paint being poured over actors head. The paint pot will not be visible so it look as if

the paint is coming from no where. Reverse and then speed up clips so paint is being lifted off her. Close ups of her clothing and face now

covered and dripping with the paint. Paint drops hitting the ground.

You were red and you liked me ‘cause I was blueYou touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky

And decided purple just wasn’t for you

Everything is blueHis pills, his hands, his jeans

And now I’m covered in the colorsPulled apart at the seams

And it’s blueAnd it’s blue

TV Studio location. The high-key artificial lighting directly on the actor will create harsh

shadows and a sharp contrast. Overlaid imagery of a lilac sky referencing lyrics.

Extreme close-up of performer’s hands covered in blue powder paint. Extreme close up of face.

Blows powder paint off her hand. Editing becomes more fast pace as it reaches towards

the end of the video.

Everything is greyHis hair, his smoke, his dreamsAnd now he’s so devoid of colorHe don’t know what it means

And he’s blueAnd he’s blue

Everything is blue (4 times)

Shots of the clouds in black and white. Outdoors shots from window of a train, reflects imagery at the beginning. Close up of smoke using smoke

machine.

The video ends with a montage of shots from outdoors, the studio and abstract clips. Fast

editing builds drama and excitement. Mid/long shot of protagonist dancing in powder paint,

barely visible through the amount of powder and colour. Finishes with a long shot of the actor

sitting on the floor covered in paint in the studio surrounded by white sheets that are also

covered in multi-coloured powder paint before fading to black in time with the music.

LocationsTV Studio/Photography Room

There are multiple locations in which I’m going to be filming, these include: TV Studio or the photography room if the TV Studio isn’t suitable. For the locations were I’m going to be using paints I will cover the walls and ground in white sheets, and put a cover over the camera so as to not damage the equipment and make it easier to clear up at the end. The reason I’m going to use the TV Studio is because it provides white and black background which I intend to use for the lip-syncing and paint shots; it will provides lighting equipment and is easy to access.

Outdoors/Natural scenery:

I’ve chosen to film natural scenery for the overlays on the lip-syncing shots as well as imagery at the beginning and end of the music video. I intend to film in locations such as the woods, the beach and nearby ponds in the morning and evening as the sun will create interesting lens flares. I also want to capture the sunrise and sunset in these locations so that there is a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics as I think this will be very effective and become more meaningful to the audience.

Shooting Plan• I’m going to do the majority of the

filming for my music video in the month of November. This gives me time to fully plan out what I want to do, organise the cast and collect the required equipment.

• The majority of my video is filmed indoors using artificial lighting so I won’t need to worry about the weather forecast or time of day for shooting.

• I’m going to take a few videos of outdoors scenery a week before as I will be travelling on a train and I think some of the shots would be beneficial towards my final music video.

Equipment• Multiple cameras (600D)• Lighting equipment• White sheet• SD card• Powder paints• Paint• Inks• Cotton candy• White clothing• Tripod• Smoke machine

Reference: Colour, Texture, Props

Reference: Lighting, Locations