MUSIC VIDEOS
Proposition
Two narrative driven music videos for local Sydney artist Nerissa Cavaliere.
With streaming platforms becoming the predominant method of listening to music, music videos are consumed less and less memorable. In order to make a music video stand out,
it must have a good visual narrative or good cinematography. Ideally both of these should be within the videos, however, as someone with limited practice with film - the former will
have to suffice.
Slamming Doors and
Burning Bridges
Synopsis:
A girl is stuck in a house and haunts her murderer while trying to understand why she is there, consequently tormenting
the killer into feeling guilt. The story follows the girl as she begs for answers from someone who can’t see her.
Treatment:
Slamming Doors and Burning Bridges as a song is about someone hurting you and wanting to hurt them back tenfold. My
visual interpretation of this song is the haunting of someone who has killed off a part of you by making their life a living hell
and making them understand the severity of their actions.
Our protagonist in this story, played by Nerissa Cavaliere, will start as a ghost sitting on a bed with plushies. The house is
dreary and off putting yet has symbols of child-like innocence as decor. The ghost will follow around a man through his daily
routines but taunting the man who can’t see her with increasing severity. Her motivation is to make him see what he did,
which we inevitably find out was being responsible for her murder. As the anger within the music builds, so will the tension
on screen; resulting in the ghost finding the murder weapon, making it blatantly obvious for her murderer to know, finally
getting him to see her.
The idea of of “mutual slaughter” being a necessary evil for one’s healing process will be reflected through the
frustration from both sides and acting through facial and body expressions. The power dynamic from before the story will
be switched as the victim holds the power of guilt over the murderer.
Behind the Scenes
This video exclusively takes place within a house and its backyard, as a reference to the ghost being bound to her place of death. We filmed the video over two days on an iPhone 11 and gimbal, and with two panel lights. The 2 member cast (Nerissa Cavaliere and Tabitha Sharp) made scenes and continuity a lot easier than if there were more people and this ran even more smoothly with the help of my director’s assistant, Eleanor Critchley. The music video was edited with vintage film colour grading in mind to emphasise the story of a ghost.
Costuming:
The styling of Nerissa’s character is a gothic, childlike outfit with a black & white theme. The dress, ribbons, frilled socks and Mary Janes; paired with the tired & dead make-up with glittery tears reflect the loss of innocence the character has experienced.
Tabi’s character is in formal attire, starting their morning routine as if going to a high priority job or event. The character also wears flannelette pyjamas to bed to emphasise a coldness in the house and the character being a routine oriented person.
Lighting:
During the nighttime scene we used 2 panel lights, with the colouring fixed in edit. Also used were blue light filters to make the character look unwell and in a cold sweat; and red filters the break up the scene and make the ghost feel more vengeful. We used natural light and filters during daytime shooting which helped to maintain an eerie, uncanny feel.
Props:
Primarily we used household items within the location with the thematic feeling of being eerie, childish, and feminine. To film the inside of the mug for the coffee-to-dirt transition, we rolled white cardstock into a tube which we placed around the camera with plastic wrap over the lens, then pouring a spoonful of coffee grounds through the tube.
Set Design:
Using the one house as our setting and limiting the rooms to the bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining room, and garden; the narrative and locations are easy for the viewer to follow while also staying true to the idea of ghosts being bound to the location of their death. The house was already furnished with an older interior design style, so focusing on the symmetry in the framing and quirks of the house, it was easy to make the location feel unsettling.
Magic Boy
Synopsis:
Following a mysterious letter in the mail, the protagonist follows a trail of cards from her house into a forest.
The journey is full of awe but frustrating as she tries to reach something unattainable. As a take on para-social
relationships, and curiosity of what is actually behind the screen, the character becomes content with seeing
the magic from afar.
Treatment:
The song Magic Boy is about being infatuated with a person you can only see from afar, drawing allusions from the Alice in Wonderland scene of Alice chasing the Rabbit down the rabbit hole.
The main character played by Nerissa Cavaliere will find an envelope outside her door with a playing card inside it, and comes inside to see a trail of playing cards leading to under her bed with a bright light. Knowing it’s from the ‘Magic Boy’ she follows the cards in hopes of finding him, ending up in a pretty forest. Still following the trail of cards, she sees more magic things happen and excitedly continues to follow. The character trips and has a few stumbles but is still determined to find the Magic Boy as it gets darker. After chasing after Magic Boy, our main character sets up an audience for a magic show where she finally gets to see him up close. This will end in an outside tea party between the character and part of Magic Boy's outfit to reflect being content with never meeting him.
This video will primarily be shot outside within a local bush trail and will utilise the natural daylight. Props using playing cards will be created beforehand like flowers and animals in order to make the world building of the magic forest seem more than just a forest.
Behind the Scenes
This video has small references to fandom culture as the song relates to being mesmerised by someone you are a fan of and therefore unable to meet them. Nerissa Cavaliere again plays the main character of the explorer and I had to fill in for Magic Boy as I was the only person available who knows how to do basic card tricks. The character Magic Boy is very hidden but leaves a trail as if he wants to be seen, the whole video is his performance including the magic show near the end. The outside part of the video was shot in one day, and the indoor scenes were shot over 2 days due to schedule conflicts. We made some origami frogs and flowers out of playing cards to add to the magical environment with natural yet slightly uncanny mise-en-scene.
Costuming:
Nerissa’s character is styled as an explorer who is curious and ready for what the environment throws at her. Dressed in green and browns, she seems to fit in to her new and unusual environment, even when the environment seems to be testing her. She is dressed with preparation for anything to show the character is determined.
Magic Boy is dressed to be ethereal with flowy white clothing and a red scarf to conceal his identity. He doesn’t want to give much about himself away, keeping a distance and using the environment to his advantage. His costuming doesn’t blend in with the setting, but implies he was the one to make the forest more magical.
Lighting:
Using natural lighting, the story shows the progression of the day, with all outdoor scenes shot chronologically from morning to late afternoon. Fairy lights were used under the bed to reflect on Nerissa’s character as she lifts up the sheet. Fairy lights were also used to surround the picnic blanket in the final scene as decoration.
Props:
Before the shoot I folded a few paper frogs and flowers out of playing cards to decorate the set. I also put the ace of hearts into a toploader and decorated it like a K-Pop photocard as a reference to fandom culture and the themes within the song.
Set Design:
Using a lot of garden decorations and gems, we tried to made the setting feel more magical. Choosing a location with a variety of settings including bridges and different pathways and trees helped to create a more journey-like narrative without repeating too many settings. Using left over playing cards to create the trail also brought the set into its obscure magical world.
© Abby Titmuss 2023