Music video treatment: notes

Music video treatment

At the beginning of every music video project, there is a need to work with the artist to define a desired treatment. A video treatment, also known as video concept, outlines information with regards to what the music video will be about.

Conceptually, a music video could show the artist performing the song in front of a live audience or by itself; alternatively, a music video can also present a story line where certain situations and storytelling takes place. Furthermore, it can also be an experimental exercise where random images are shown to complement the music in a more abstract way. All of these angles constitute the treatment, or concept, of a music video.

However, a video treatment goes beyond this exercise of defining the overall direction of the video. The treatment goes down to describe the kind of locations, situations, stories, images, look and feel, tone and colour, pacing and so on of the music video. Even though most treatment writers don't follow specific guidelines or structures, a well written treatment is one that can successfully communicate complete ideas to artists.

Summarizing, a music video treatment is the starting point of every project. It allows the production company to communicate its ideas to the artists and it allows artists to make decisions regarding the direction of their video. The treatment also helps production companies to write production budgets that are accurate and that give artists a complete view of what to expect when embarking on the production of their music video.

Source: Creando Music Video Production

Example music video treatment

Alt-J: Breezeblocks by Ellis Bahl 

Three shots, slow motion, played in reverse.

Cool tones. Blues and Whites.

Scene 1: A man sits on the floor of a bathroom, head in hands.

The camera moves to the bathtub, the water is running, a fully clothed woman lies submerged, a breezeblock on her stomach. Her hair floats on top of the water, hiding her face. Blood slowly runs backwards into her head. The man gets up and the breezeblock bounces up off the woman's head and into his hands. He puts it on the ground next the the tub. The two of them scuffle.

Scene 2: They sprint backwards down the hallway. Her in front, him in back. (he's chasing her) They backwards fight through a flat. They unshatter dishes and bookshelves stand up with books placing themselves back into order as they reverse fight their way through the apartment.

Scene 3: They make their way towards the front door. A knife flies off the floor and into the woman's hand. The man grapples with her. He turns away from her and she recedes into the shadows. 

The man looks down into a cupboard. ANOTHER woman is tied up and sucking in a scream. Her eyes close. They kiss. They stop and the man slaps ducktape over her mouth. He closes the door. He walks backwards, flips the lights off and exits out the front door.

The woman with the knife returns and opens the cupboard. The tied up woman's eyes are filled with terror. The knife woman says something. "I think I'll have a bath while we wait for your Husband to get home. You don't mind, do you?"

Music video treatment task

You now need to finalise your group and choose the song you will use. Once you've done this, brainstorm ideas for your music video and then write a treatment planning exactly what you are going to film. A reminder of the three main types of music video:

• Performance
• Narrative
• Visual effects

This online Powerpoint of music video key conventions may help you plan your video.

Remember the songs you can choose to use are as follows:

• College – A Real Hero
• Clean Bandit – Rather Be ft. Jess Glynne
• Woodkid – Run Boy Run
• M.I.A. – Paper Planes
• Sam Smith – Stay With Me (Rainer + Grimm Remix)
• Bastille – Of The Night
• American Authors – Best Day Of My Life
• The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
• Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars
• Frank Ocean – Thinking About You
• The Script – Hall Of Fame

If you have a specific idea that requires a different song you can pitch this to your Media Studies teacher and see if they agree. If your song choice is approved, you will need to bring your own copy of the song in (WAV, mp3 or mp4 format).

Use this music video treatment template to document your planning.

This is a vital part of your 12 pages of planning and you should make sure your treatment is no longer than two pages.

Your music video treatment AND existing product research is due by the end of the day on Tuesday 3 February.

Assignment 3: Existing product research

The first part of your Research and Planning is existing product research - that means analysing existing music videos and learning from them.

Research ten music videos, writing a minimum of 100 words for each video. Focus on a different aspect for each video:

Video 1: Creative concept
Video 2: Narrative
Video 3: Performance element
Video 4: Visual effects
Video 5: Camerawork (shots/movement)
Video 6: Mise-en-scene
Video 7: Editing (inc. counting the shots in the video)
Videos 8-10: Your choice of focus/analysis

Example:

You must complete this for homework - due next Tuesday.

Assignment 3: Music promotion

Preliminary exercise

In your assigned groups, create a 30-second music video by the end of Thursday's lesson.

Note: you will be put in a group for this exercise but can choose your group for the actual coursework.

In your groups, you need a choose a track from a selection and then film a variety of specified shots (as well as your own ideas).

You will then edit them together into a 30-second video, learning how to use Premiere Pro and apply certain edits and visual effects.

The songs available are:

• College – A Real Hero
• Clean Bandit – Rather Be ft. Jess Glynne
• Woodkid – Run Boy Run
• M.I.A. – Paper Planes
• Sam Smith – Stay With Me (Rainer + Grimm Remix)
• Bastille – Of The Night
• American Authors – Best Day Of My Life
• The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army
• Coldplay – A Sky Full Of Stars
• Frank Ocean – Thinking About You
• The Script – Hall Of Fame

These songs are available on the school's VLE: Departments > Media > Shared documents > GCSE Music video

You MUST include the following:

• A close-up
• A high/low angle shot
• A long shot
• A handheld camera shot
• A slow dissolve transition
• A super-speed OR super slow-motion shot
• A minimum of 10 shots
• Use of colour AND black and white

Timing

Tuesday - choose song, concept and filming
Thursday - editing and exporting video with Mr Qureshi

The Wolf of Lady Margaret Road

The Wolf of Lady Margaret Road award for commitment to detailed essay writing and maximum Assignment 2 concentration goes to - Asmit Sharma - congratulations young man.

Assignment 2 analytical task

To complete Assignment 2, you need to write a 1,200 word essay analysing the film poster and trailer for the film you chose to study throughout this unit.

This essay guidance might help you structure your essay but you don't need to stick to it exactly - original and effective responses will be awarded plenty of marks.

Deadline: Thursday 15 January

Representation Reminder - Genius vs Moron

People,

Want to sound like a genius rather than a moron when writing about representation?

You've come to the right blog post!

Please find below a 'hall of shame' and a 'hall of fame' for comments about representation - Hopefully the 'hall-of-shame' will not look too familiar!

Check out the Wolf of Wall Street halls of shame and fame...

Wolf of Wall Street - Hall of Fame

Throughout the trailer for the Wolf of Wall Street, rich, white, young-American financiers are represented as being stereotypically wasteful with money and as people who have no regard for anyone but themselves. Di Caprio, who plays the lead-role in the film, is depicted throwing $100 bills in to the bin, hosting lavish and wild parties, and using a number of women as sex objects, purely to be exploited for his own pleasure. It suggests that the American Dream, which the film is all about, actually only makes a few people very wealthy and leaves them with no morals, and no long-term relationships. During the trailer, a number of the 'victims' of the American Dream are also represented deliberately pathetically by the director, Martin Scorcese. A drawrf is thrown towards a cash target in order to entertain the wealthy bankers, a black man can be seen waiting on others - reinforcing the stereotype that during times of great wealth, vulnerable people in society often do not access any of the wealth, and remain vulnerable...

WWW:

Sophisticated vocabulary where appropriate (financiers, stereotypically, reinforces, lavish, vulnerable)

Specific examples from the trailer (throwing dollars away)

Full sentences (NOT BULLET POINTS)

A wide range of points fully explained

Hall of Shame

White people are represented as party animals. they like to party and spend money. Stereotypically, white people are rich. Di Caprio is represented as a man who likes women. He wastes money. White people are shown to waste money. Women are represented as sexy. They are all going to parties and not wearing many clothes.

Students - ask yourself this...are you a hall of famer, or a hall of shamer?

Narrative theory: blog task

Your blog task is to apply the three narrative theories to the film trailer you are analysing for your essay.

You need to analyse the trailer on your blog using the three theories we learned this morning:

Todorov: equilibrium
Propp: character types
Barthes: enigma and action codes

Embed the trailer in your blog and then write your analysis in full sentences and paragraphs making specific reference to moments in the trailer.

Word count: 200 words.

Example: Silver Linings Playbook

The trailer for Silver Linings Playbook uses many narrative techniques typical of Hollywood romantic comedies. Applying Propp's character theory, we have a clear protagonist or hero in Bradley Cooper's character Patrick - although Jennifer Lawrence's character Tiffany is also a major character so doesn't quite fit the role of Propp's Heroine. In many ways, she is shown to be the stronger character and it is her quest (to compete in the dance competition) that drives the narrative. Robert De Niro offers the classic Father character (and is actually Pat's father) while Chris Tucker plays the Helper role as Pat's friend. These well known character types quickly help establish the romantic comedy narrative and allow audiences to understand the main relationships within the two-minute running time of the trailer.

The film's narrative is clearly introduced in the trailer and follows Todorov's theory of equilibrium. The state of balance is the character of Pat trying to get his life back together following his spell in a psychiatric institution. The introduction of Tiffany creates the disequilibrium - along with the request to compete in the dance competition. The new equilibrium is not shown in the trailer - this is critical because even though a standard Hollywood romantic comedy narrative would suggest the couple get together in the end, the audience have to watch the whole film to enjoy this resolution.

The trailer is full of Barthes' enigma and action codes. These are designed to draw the audience in and encourage them to watch the whole film to resolve their questions. The major enigma codes the audience will ask would revolve around whether the couple get together and whether they win the dance competition. However, there are other enigma codes such as what has happened in each character's past to cause psychiatric problems - particularly concerning Pat's stay in the psychiatric hospital. Although action codes are less important in the genre of romantic comedy, there are still plenty of dramatic scenes such as the book being thrown out of the window. This suggests there will be moments of drama and tension in the film and the only way to see these resolved is to watch the whole movie.

Narrative theory: key notes

The key notes from today's lesson:

Narrative definition: (Noun) A spoken or written account of connected events; a story

Todorov: equilibrium

Tzvetan Todorov is a Franco-Bulgarian philosopher. He suggests that all narratives follow a three part structure.

They begin with equilibrium, where everything is balanced, progress as something comes along to disrupt that equilibrium, and finally reach a resolution, when a new equilibrium is restored.

Equilibrium > Disequilibrium > New equilibrium

This can be applied to almost all film narratives.

Propp: character types

Vladimir Propp was a Soviet scholar who analyzed the basic plot components of Russian folk tales to identify their narrative elements.

His theory states that there are only a certain number of characters, who crop up in most narratives.

Protagonist (or Hero) 

Leads the narrative, is usually looking for something (a quest) or trying to solve something (a mystery).

Antagonist (or Villain) 

Gets in the protagonist's way; rival or enemy.

Heroine 

Usually some sort of ‘prize’ or reward for the hero. (Note: if your hero is female, your heroine can be male)

Father 

An authority figure who offers a reward to the hero for completing their quest. That reward might be a prince or a princess or a new job or promotion.

Helper 

Helps the hero - often acts as a sidekick

Donor 

Gives the hero something - a clue, a talisman, a special power - which helps them complete their quest

Mentor 

Teaches and guides the hero

Barthes: enigma and action codes

Roland Barthes was a French literary theorist.

Barthes' Enigma Code is a theory that suggests a text (whether that be television, film, a poster etc) portrays a mystery to draw an audience in, pose questions and, as such, become intrigued in the piece. 

For instance, a murder mystery will often not reveal the identity of the murderer until the end of the story, which poses the question "Who is the murderer?"

Barthes' Action Code relates to tension: any action or event that suggests something else may happen – and therefore keep the audience engaged. A good example would be a gun being drawn - the audience know a dramatic scene will follow.

Action codes work alongside enigma codes to engage and maintain the interest of the audience.

Representation - questions to consider

Potential representations to consider:

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire
How are young white female represented (Katniss)?Why?  Are traditional female roles subverted?
How are young white men represented? Why?
How is the political hierarchy and those in power represented (President Snow and his army)? Why?
How is THG a satire on real life (reality TV, materialism etc)? Why?

Taken
How is the white middle-class male hero presented? Is this representation conforming to other representations of white men in action films? Why?
How are females represented? Are the women being rescued by men? Why?
How are eastern-Europeans represented? Why are the human-traffickers Albanian? Why?
How is Europe represented? Remember, the film involves an American girl visiting Europe for the first time - is Europe presented as safe? Why? Why?

The Perks of Being a Wallflower
How are teenagers represented? Why?
How are teenage boys represented? Are the boys traditional American teenage 'geeks' or does the film subvert this notion? Why?
How are females represented? Why?
How are white people represented? Why?
How is the gay character represented? Is he an outsider? Why?

The Wolf of Wall Street
How are American business men represented? Why?
How is the idea of the American Dream represented? Why?
How are the 1980s represented? Is the film critical of a certain mentality or way of life? Why?
How are black characters represented? Why?
How is the dwarf represented (person with a disability)? Why?
How is the USA represented?  Why?
How are women represented? Is the film sexist? Why?

Frozen
How are females represented? Why?
Does the film subvert tradition gender roles? How is the Princess different to princesses in other Disney films? Why?
How are males represented? Why?
How are fairy tales represented? Why?

Blues is the Warmest Colour
How are teenagers represented? Are they accepting of their gay friends? Why?
How are lesbians represented? Why?
How is French society represented? Why?

12 Years a Slave 
How are black people represented? Is this a fair and honest portrayal of slavery? Why?
How are women represented? Why?
How are white men represented? Why?
Is it as simple as saying black people are represented as good and white people as bad? Why?

Django Unchanined
How are black people represented? Is this a fair and honest portrayal of slavery? Why?
How are women represented? Why?
How are white non-American represented? Why?
How are white men represented? Why?
Is it as simple as saying black people are represented as good and white people as bad? Why?

Precious
How is the traditional dysfunctional American family represented? Why?
How are black people represented? Why?
How are obese people represented? Why
How are women represented? Why?
How is disability represented? Why?
How is American life represented? Why?

Pompeii
How is a famous historical event represented? Has it been 'Hollywood-ised'?
How are men represented? Why?
How are women represented? Why?

Representation

Key notes: what influences representation?

1. The media text itself
2. The opinions of the person making the representation
3. The reaction of the audience to the representation
4. The society in which the representation is taking place

Analysing representation in film or TV

When we analyse representation in film or TV, we are interested in how certain people or groups are portrayed.

Key word: stereotypes

Stereotype: A widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.

Representation blog task

1) Go back to the film you chose at the start of the unit for your essay. Here's a reminder of the original case study task.

2) Embed the trailer in a new blog post. 

3) Write a 250 word analysis of the representation of different people or groups in the trailer.

Example of representation analysis

Remember the short clip from Die Hard 3 we analysed in the lesson:

The representation of gender in Die Hard 3 reinforces traditional gender stereotypes. Bruce Willis plays the stereotypical male American action hero. He is aggressive, brave, intelligent and heroic in trying to find the “school bomb” that is discussed in the phone conversation. When the bomb is about to detonate, he refuses to run or throw it away and instead solves the riddle under extreme pressure. These are typical qualities associated with men in action films. Similarly, the lack of female representation in the clip also reinforces stereotypes. This creates the suggestion that dangerous situations such as a terrorist threat are no place for a woman. This is an old fashioned (and possibly sexist) representation of women but is typical of Hollywood action cinema.