Improvements- Added the casting section
Changed what was listed in the comments.
The new and greatly improved ‘Sail away with me’ music video!
Originally the video was going to consist of a linear plot in which a girl entertains the audience at a beach. Some filming and planning was constructed for the video until it became apparent that the original scripting lacked originality, substance and entertainment. This meant that in order to capture our target audiences interests we needed to add another location and plot twist. However as the setting and production had been selected to follow a complete story line, adding another location would of seemed as though we were meshing two different films together. So instead we decide to start afresh. This is the new initial idea and pitch for the ‘Sail away with me’ music video by Ruth Bewsey.
Establishing shot is a close up of a set of headphones on a table, this will be taken from high angle, a pair of hands enter the shot and grab the headphones, the camera pans up to follow the headphones as Julian places them on his head, at this point the camera will be a direct close up framing his head.
Camera then pans down Julian's body tracing the wire and proceeds in a close up tracking shot following the wire along the floor at a minor tilted angle, this will give the effect that the camera is swallowing the wire. This section will be edited to double speed in order to cover a greater length in a small amount of time than in normal speed.
The wire slowly climbs upwards so that with the camera at the same tilted angle it will slowly ‘look up’, at this point the screen will fade to white giving the impression of a bright white light, this will then fade out to reveal the following scene.
Drama Room Scene
The entire drama scene will be shot using a wide angled single shot.
At the beginning of this scene once the light has faded out the room will be in complete darkness. A spotlight comes on in the centre of the stage where Julian with his headphones still on will be revealed looking puzzled. He then looks up into the spotlight to reflect the lyric ‘I’ve got sunshine on my face’. The following lyric ‘rain aint fallin’ around here’ will be accompanied by a set of small plastic colorful balls falling around Julian from above as a metaphor for the rain.
‘Bird people’ swoop in from left and right to mimic birds alongside the lyric ‘birds are singing the same song’. They then crowd in around Julian and envelop him so he is out of the cameras view, this action occurs during the lyric ‘feeling chilled aint nothing wrong’. Between this and the following lyric the group palpitate until just before the following lyric begins. They then disband to reveal him without his headphones and with a tambourine to ‘and it’s a great, great place I’m in’, the birds then walk a complete circle around him and separate with three exiting stage left and three exiting stage right. Julian then shakes the tambourine to the lyric ‘why don’t you come on over here and’, at this point the camera will zoom in on the tambourine until everything is out of focus.
The camera zooms out from the tambourine to reveal Julian and the 6 other birds in a line holding big white boards, each board containing a word from the chorus, ‘sail’, ‘away’, ‘with’, ‘me’, ‘baby’, ‘sail’, ‘away’. And during the chorus they wave these boards up in the air in a Mexican wave, this imitates a wave which relates to the ‘sail away’ lyrics.
The group then looks up into the spotlight, the camera following their gaze by panning up and zooming into the light.
Elm Hill
During the instrumental and the lyric ‘I’ve got sand between my toes’ a stop motion sequence will occur from birds eye view using the headphones for around 12-14 seconds. The camera then pans up and zooms towards the action far in the distance.
At this point during the lyric ‘how I love how this feeling grows’ Julian will be introduced in a suit and tie with a microphone in his hand. He will jump off a ledge in slow motion while the bird people pop their heads in shot at normal speed and nod up and down in time with the word ‘grows’. It goes back to normal speed as soon as Julian touches the ground then he walks off the left of the screen.
The camera then pans Julian walking along, from right to left of the screen while the bird people are huddled together in the background playing like children. In the style of a BBC reporter Julian walks across the screen with his microphone and his arm stretched out towards the bird people in the background, he mimes the lyric ‘kids are playing they’re real near’. Then, in the foreground carrying on the reporter gimmick Julian stops in the left third of the screen mouthing ‘nowhere else I’d rather be than here’ Then he exits to the left. During the same lyric in the background all the bird people look up and ‘notice’ the camera, get up and stand together waving at the camera in the style of ‘Hi mum I’m on the telly’.
The camera arcs straight up through the sky drops down and twists until it is facing the opposite direction, as though it has done a 180 degree turn. To reveal Julian in a canted wide angle shot with a bird mask on, he will walk toward the camera until his body covers it making it go black and then walk out of it in to the drama studio. To appear as though the camera has transported him back to the studio.
The camera turns back up until it’s a straight angled shot again whilst the birds enter the screen form both sides. They hold up the boards again for the chorus but this, time walk around as though they are announcers in a boxing ring. They flip their cards to reveal the words buh bye on the other sides. The birds close the boards together to create a wall, which they push the Julian through. They continue pushing him all the way up to the camera. Camera fades to white. Then the shot of the wire plays in reverse until it reaches Julian taking off the headphones looking confused and setting them down beside a bird mask.
Rain aint falling around here
Birds are singing the same song
Feeling chilled aint nothing wrong'
And it’s a great great place im in
Why don’t you come on over here and …
Sail away with me baby
Sail away
How I love how this feeling grows
Kids are playing they are real near
No where else id rather be than here
And it’s a great great place im in
Why don’t you come on over here and …
Sail away with me baby
Sail away
Sail away with me baby
Sail away
Saying buh bye…
Saying buh buh buh buh buh buh buh bye
Buh buh buh buh buh buh buh bye
Cause we’re sailing, cause we’re sailing away
The music video is taking a cheerful song and interlacing unsettling enigmatic properties in order to challenge the stereotypical linear narrative structure that most folk songs have. To show that sometimes audience interpretations of the song can be contrasting with the artist’s inspirations and ideas.
LocationThe opening scene will be shot just outside the ARC building, however due to the constant use of extreme close ups the audience will not see the location at all. The shots will be played in a sequences of an extreme close up, of headphones alongside a bird mask, to panning close up of Guys body, then a straight angle extreme close up of Julian’s face down to another panning close up of his body. So this location has been chosen for accessibility rather than visual significance. Also the setting had to be the correct distance away from the Arc building, so that enough footage of the camera panning along the ‘headphone wire’ could be collected, otherwise during edit when the footage will be sped up to produce a smother shot finish, the shot length won’t be long enough to last the length of the introductory music.
This video is a short visual preview and explanation of the locations that are going to be used in the music video.
La Roux In for the KillElm Hill- Elm Hill is one of Norwich’s most historical streets, its ant
ique architecture and cobblestone streets have often been considered a spot of influential beauty amongst the concrete buildings of Norwich city. Elm Hill was chosen because of its contrasting factors to the drama studio. Its historical content and absence of modern culture mean that is more stereotypically connected to folk genre music than the ARC. Also by completely changing the setting, it will be easy for the audience to realise that as Julian becomes increasingly immersed in the action his views of the music start to change.
espond with the lyric ‘Rain ain’t falling around here’ they will be released above Julian’s head in the drama studio. The balls are being used to create the enigma of, why balls and not water? This will draw the viewer further into the video and also act as a buffer for the later more confusing entrance of the bird people. However they are also practical as they are light enough not to do any injury if they land on Julian’s head.Microphone- The
microphone will be used in order to show the audience that Julian is impersonating a news reader. He will hold it in the shot as he is walking along mimicking the songs lyrics. The inclusion of this prop is imperative as it helps tell the voyeur what is going on in the short period of time they have to understand the video. If Julian was not holding it then he would just appear as a man in a suit. 
Lyric Boards- the lyric boards will be used throughout the songs chorus. The bird people will hold up the boards which will each have one of the words ‘sail away with me baby’ printed on them. The boards will be held up erratically to mimic a Mexican waves. They are being used as a metaphor for ‘Sail away with me’ in that they create the shape of the waves crashing up and down.
A pair of headp
hones- The headphones are used continuously throughout the video. They link the main character to the song in that when he places them on his head the narrative begins. They are used in the establishing shot to automatically show the audience what they are watching is to do with music. They are also used halfway through the video to create a transition from one location to the next; they are shown in an extreme close up on screen and will appear to be moving consciously by themselves. This technique is created using a still shot camera to capture images which are then pasted in to Premier Elements.Bird Masks- The bird masks are going to be used by the six extras. They will wear the masks so their identities are
shrouded by ambiguity. This detaches them from being individuals, and instead suggests that they are a singular entity working and moving as one. By objectifying the main character as being a singular unit, isolated from ‘the bird people’, the watcher will become aware of the solidarity the character is feeling. This will act as a complete contrast to the song’s lyrics as they connote a happy and relaxed atmosphere. This contrast will push the audience into creating their own interpretation of the song. As the lyrics’ Sail away with me baby’ could be a suggestion to detach from the current social construct that they are in. Later on in the song the main character will himself appear in a bird mask to suggest, that as he progresses further into the narrative of the song, he is becoming more absorbed in his environment and comfortable with the characters around him. 
The birds will enter on the line 'Bird's are singing the same song'.Costume
The bird peoples costumes will be casual student wear such as jeans, jumpers and t-shirts, giving them the persona that they are impersonating birds rather than trying to actually be them. This also emphasise Julians’s confusion and solidarity from the situation as the ‘birds’ are his peers, yet they are not at all alike. They will stay in the same costumes throughout the video connote a state of solidity. They are also a representation of the childlike quality the song has, their enigmatic antics and partially hidden but still benevolent nature is the perfect antidote to Julian’s anxious instability with the situation. They personify the relaxed, tranquil and happy emotions, that listening to the song creates, and although their appearance doesn’t mesh with the normal linear narratives that many videos folk genre songs try to relay, they are still integral for crafting the songs story.
Julian- In the openin
g scene and the drama scene Julian will also be dressed in casual clothing consisting of a pair of jeans a t-shirt and depending on the weather a jumper. This is to convey his character status to the audience as soon as they see him. It also gives him the ability to interact with the audience, as they are more likely to feel empathy for a member of their peer group or social background than they would for someone who had a completely different life. Also the song is not about money, class or material objects the video is not aiming to make it’s audience jealous or to inspire awe, its main aim is to tell a story and if Julian way to appear with bank breaking jewellery or chequered clown shoes, then the audience will be more likely to focus on his costume than the narrative of the song. Furthermore the object of the video is not to overshadow the song, but simply add to it. 
In contrast to this during the Elm Hill shoot Julian will appear in a suit, holding a microphone, this is to portray his gradual emersion into the video. It also shows that he has stepped out of his natural role and is now playing the part of a performer. The suit is being used to show the audience he is posing as a news reader. The use of props and costume within a music video is integral as the audience only has a certain amount of time to understand the narrative, so with Julian appearing in a suit with a microphone the audience will automatically assume that his character role has changed.
Cast
The lead character ‘The man with no name’ will be played by Julian Newton. Julian is a competent and reliable sixth form drama student. He is part of the Norwich playhouse theatre and has been an integral part of many of their productions. Julian is reliable and can be contacted easily. He is a close friend and so will be dependable. Also his appearance fits with the student stereotype, applying a relaxed, communicative, nonchalant visual character to the role.
The Birds will be played by
Catherine Riley- like Julian Catherine is an A2 level drama student. She can also be relied upon to show up to shoots and will be able to easily perform the set choreography.
Cameron Button- Cameron studies drama as an AS level student. His stature enables us to use him to throw the balls at Julian form a proficient height.
Ronnie Cornell- Ronnie is also a A2 media studies student, he understands the time sets and complications of shoots and is able to convert his knowledge into patience, if a shoot needs to be performed continuously he will be empathetic and cooperative.
Kerry – Kerry is a work colleague and can be relied upon to undertake tasks with a constant tolerance. Also by including a character that is older than the other students, it will reaffirm to the audience just how solitary Julian is because of the differences between the bird people in age, sex and appearance.
These are the shoot maps for the 'sail away with me' video.
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