Music Video TreatmentSail – Awolnation

Full Screen Recommended

SailThis is how I show my love

I made it in my mind becauseBlame it on my A.D.D baby

This is how an angel diesBlame it on my own sick pride

Blame it on my A.D.D baby

Sail, sailSail, sail, sail

Maybe I should cry for helpMaybe I should kill myself

Blame it on my A.D.D baby

Maybe I'm a different breedMaybe I'm not listening

So blame it on my A.D.D baby

Sail, sailSail, sail, sail

Sail with me into the darkSail

Sail with me into the darkSail

Sail with me into the darkSail

Sail with meSail

This video is going to be a visual extravaganza fuelled by rhythm. It is going to include mesmerising oscilloscopic visualisations created directly from the music (albeit with some effects) as well as sprawling fractal zooms and kaleidoscopic shots. The video will not have a conventional narrative, however will closely follow the beat and rhythm of the music. This will have a mesmerising effect on the viewer, creating emotions of wonder and awe.

The video is also going to contain some live actions shots, however these shots will be heavily distorted with the ‘newsprint’ effect (a.k.a dotted halftone) as well as the ‘crystallise’ effect.

Technical Details:

To generate the fractals for the video I will use software called Xaos, along with a waveform generator. Both these software generate still images (such as the one to the right) that can be edited together to create motion. This technique is preferable as it renders extremely high resolution frames with zero compression, this allows the creation of extremely rich video.

To film the live action shots a Nikon D3100 will be used with an 18-55mm stabilised lens. This camera is perfect as its large 14.2 CMOS sensor allows crisp 1080p footage as well as live autofocus. A tripod will also be used to ensure stability.

With the fractals, it will be a technical challenge to synchronise the movements of the video to the beat of the music however the Xaos software – as well as some editing tricks – will make it possible.

To create kaleidoscopic shots, the layer will be mirrored along the several points and at different anges. This technique can be completed in Sony Vegas Pro or Adobe After Effects.

The video is will experiment with out of balance colours.

The video will start with a modified audio oscilloscope shot pulsating to the beat, this will expand out to a sprawling fractal zoom that zooms in time to the music. After that, the video cuts to a shot of an archway of trees. A combination of zoom lenses and digital zoom will be used to achieve a normal zoom or dolly zoom effect. The video will then phase out to 50% opacity and the oscilloscope shot will return (also at 50% opacity). After a few seconds the screen will will descend into a kaleidoscope effect. The rest of the song will be mixtures of oscilloscope shots, kaleidoscope shots, fractal zooms and various live shots. The other live shots will be of the moon, fire, fireworks, trees and water – captured from different size camera shots.