Synopsis and Treatment

Synopsis

The music we made is very dark and brooding, something one can’t sing lyrics to or rap with. So instead thanks to the help of our tutor Tim, he told us about maybe making into a news broadcast. We instantly loved the idea, and with 2012 rolling around the corner we decided to focus on that. However we did not want something crammed with special effects and a wanna-be Hollywood blockbuster. So after some brain storming we came up with the idea of not a solar flare, but just the increase in temperature. This actually hits 2 natural disasters with one stone, the prospect of the world ending in 2012, and global warming. The video will work with the lyrics, starting off in a happy mood, where people are joking around about the end, but soon it becomes reality.
The video will start at the beginning of 2012, the New Year had just rolled around, and people are enjoying it. Soon though the temperature starts to rise, with people thinking it is a normal heat wave. This will be portrayed with people walking around enjoying the sun and getting a tan. Alas it only gets worse, with the radio broadcasts, speaking about worse and worse stuff. From the gentle heat wave, it goes to a point, leaving the house uncovered is a health warning. Water shortages and riots spread out through the poorer countries, an interview with a doctor in astrophysics explains the situation. It then reaches the point where no life can survive the unimaginable heat, and the radio presenter himself gives up all hope. This will be shown through a numerous amount of time lapses, live handheld action, and some post production techniques will be used to help give emphasis on the death side.
The overall idea of the video is that though something like a massive solar flare may not destroy the earth then, something slower and maybe worse can happen. It’s a big universe anything can happen to this planet.


Treatment

The first scene if the video is set outside the college at night. This is meant to represent the early hours of new years morning. The mise-en-scene used in this scene is warm winter clothes, something people would wear when the temperature is below freezing. There will be one light, which will brighten up the ‘hosts’ face, this will create some shadows over the group behind him. In terms of people, there will be one host who will be lip syncing to the first set of lyrics in the song. Behind him is a large group of happy people enjoying another new year? The music will be non-diegetic, the song playing over, with only the hosts voice shining through. The camera will be in a fixed position, in a mid shot fashion, maybe one from the side will be done, however this is a very simple shot compared to the rest of the video. The pace and rhythm of the edit will keep up with the first part of the song, kept in a ‘real-time’ format. This means that it will keep running at the normal pace of the shot recorded. This will probably end with a fade out to the next scene.
The next scene is a relatively simple one just showing a radio, changing stations really quickly. The mise-en-scene surrounding the radio is a simple room, probably having a table, window and a TV near it. This represents an area of transition in our song, the ‘Calm before the Storm’ as it were. This also represents a passage of time, as no news broadcasts are heard at this moment, and the audience would suddenly be plunged into the beginning of the end. The sound is an effect, well in truth the sound of the radio changing stations would be diegetic as it fits in with the actual radio aspect. However the part itself I got from another song- Outkast/Speakerbox-GhettoMusic, then edited down to the beginning which is where the effect is placed. The shot size may start up on a medium close up, and might zoom in/out from the radio. The zoom, even though unnatural and something most camera’s try to avoid will help give emphasis on the passage of time. The edit will follow the same path as the first scene, however the fade out at the end, might change to a heavy saturation of bleach on the shot, causing it to ‘white out’ as it were.
The next scene works with the following new broadcast, at this point it’s just a rise in temperature nothing serious. This is portrayed by people walking along in the sun, wearing summer/beach clothes and enjoying it. One of the people walking will be wearing an interesting pair of headphones, which make it seem like he is listening to the radio and receiving the instructions given on it. The sound will be the music in the background, so its non-diegetic, nothing natural comes from this shot. The shots used will be a mixture of close-ups, medium shots and long shots, at different angles. With the editing, nothing will be sped up but with a bit of playing around I may be slown down a bit.
The following shot is a time lapse of a busy street. The mise-en-scene we can’t really control, however what will most likely have are people, shops and a street. The song will be playing in the background, as normal making it seem like another movement through time. The shot will be a long shot, and this will be recorded in 20 minutes segements. After that in the editing booth, we shall speed the shot up immensely to the point were 20 minutes of footage is only shown in like 5 seconds.
The next scene works with the lyrics of a riot in the middle east and Africa. It shows a reporter and the cameraman running away from a mob. What is shown is the camera held in a ‘free-hand’ with the reporter running in front. However all isn’t well as the camera man falls over, leaving the camera to keep recording a set of feet running past. The music is playing in the back ground, and the shots used will be focusing on mid shots and close ups. However we may mix it up during recording.
The following scene is the camera focusing on a street full of dead people. They all had succumbed to the dire temperature and this is where the broadcasts are getting worse and worse. The shots used will be a mixture of close ups and long shots. The music will be playing over and the clothes used are people in rags.
The second to last scene is the time lapse, this is when the sun is going down and will be filmed again in 20 minutes segments. It will be done in the park so hopefully we will have action going on in the foreground, mid ground and background, to give the shot some depth. The edit will again be sped up really fast, this way we can get the passage of time right. The very last scene is 2 people watching the last bit of news on the TV. This is when all hope is lost and people are just giving in to the heat. A new broadcast will be shown on the TV and an over the shoulder shot will be used between the 2 people. This is the end of the song and the edit will finish with a fade to white.
The target audience for the video is probably aimed at ages between 18-25. With its scene’s depicting the worlds end, a younger audience might not understand the message behind the video. The message is about survival and that even if what is predicted doesn’t happen, something worse might come along. The edits and tune will appeal to that age group because that is when people are thinking about stuff most. When their minds are starting to set in it ways, a song like this which offers up questions will get them thinking.