Treatment.

The opening scene to the video is somebody rolling and smoking a cigarette on new years eve, as 2012 dawns, we thought this would be an accurate portrayal of someone not even considering the idea of the Earths impending doom. Backing this idea up, the radio is featuring a DJ mocking the idea of 2012 being the end. After this scene, the radio is shown to switch from the jolly station is what tuned in to, to a different station playing the dark and ominous beat featured for the song. Despite the give away of the dramatic instrumental, the broadcasts begin happy and not all doom and gloom as the weather improves and the new year has started.

Synopsis

The concept of our music video is the rumors about 2012 being the end of the world, and we took a spin on the idea saying that perhaps it will not be a sudden end, but a gradual, dramatic end with subtle weather changes going to extremes. We thought it an original idea that would make viewers and listeners think about the idea and come to their own conclusion. Instead of a typical song we went with the idea of using a news broadcast we recorded over an intense instrumental. The broadcast starts off on a positive note, praising the suddenly hot weather and encouraging people to go out and have fun, the broadcasts however take a dark turn for the worse as weather gets too hot to handle, and humanity itself is faced with aggressive danger. The broadcast acts as a diary of what is happening to Earth and the people on it. The starting scene is set on new years eve with someone rolling and smoking a cigarette listening to a cheerful radio broadcast, after this however there is a portrayal of the radio turning and tuning into a different station which is when the beat kicks in and becomes the song. There is a time lapse facing a busy town as people go about their business before the gradual end of the world. The last scene is showing a blazing sun that soon fades to black in the time lapse as the radio presenter who is now showing his fear, merely prays for help. The extremities of how the people react is portrayed clearly in a scene showing news broadcasters being chased by angry rioters, who are no doubt riddled with fear as their planet comes to an end.

Risk Assessment Forms.

It is important to fill out some risk assessment forms to ensure awareness of any possible dangers or hazards lurking in the area of filming, this way we are better prepared to shoot there once possible safety measures have been taken. However, if there are too many risks,dangers or hazards etc. we will be unable to film there.

Storyboards.

We had to sketch a rough over view of the main scenes featured in the video to give us and our tutors a good idea of what we are setting out to do as well as give us a good idea of what the finished project will look like. These are the storyboards.

Stripboards.

This is somewhat of a diary of when we will be recording what and on which day. It also includes information on any extras or props used during filming.

Pre-Production.

These sheets needed to be completed before shooting to ensure planning and efficiency in recording the video.

On this sheet we wrote down what locations we will be in and when to ensure our tutors know where we are for safety reasons.

Shoot order logging sheet.

This sheet records the the order in which the shots were filmed in.

Camera Logging Sheet

This sheets chronicles the time, movement, location and any comments on the shoot recorded.

Bibliography

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstar_(Lupe_Fiasco_song)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvmR2NK5j4o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atIr849sjOM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yd3ol7kRg4k

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_Williams_videography

Music Video Director Research

Harold "Hype" Williams (Born 1970, Queens, New York)
Hype Williams is an extremely successful video director who originally set out to become a painter, he acted on this by starting a graffiti hobby, which was proved all around Queens on the front of many shops, billboards and playgrounds. He used the graffiti alias; "HYPE". Williams quotes about his graffiti days; "That's probably what stimulated my interest in colour, I wanted to be Basquiat or Keith Hairing of the streets".

Williams began his film making career when he left Adelphi University in Garden City, NY. To create "SOTA" - State of The Art Productions with two of his old graffiti friends. This company also provided many art work covers for a lot of the albums around in that time, generating more fame and income for the company. Williams went on to found his own film company FWA - Film Makers With Attitude. Williams has worked with the late Notorious B.I.G, Nas, Missy Elliot and LL Cool J, and has revolutionized all of their careers due to the success of their videos. In 1998, Williams directed his first feature film, Belly starring DMX and Nas and is about an epic struggle between trying to do what's right despite the situation you are in.
Williams has received numerous awards for his successful and creative work such as; The Billboard Music Video Award for Best Director of The Year, The NAACP Image Award and The B.E.T Award for Best Director for Kanye West - Gold Digga'.

My favorite of Hype Williams work is Lupe Fiascos hit song; Superstar which is about the overrated and overhyped idea of fame and the stereotypical traits that follow it. It became number one on February 19, 2007 and was the debut single from Fiascos second studio album. The video features Lupe Fiasco in a dark room filled with smoke whilst the camera switches between stereotypical famous people stepping out of limousines surrounded by flashes. The song also featured characters that would only be noticed by big Lupe Fiasco fans such as Michael Young History, a metaphoric nickname for Lupe Fiascos supposed "My Cool Young History" alongside the metaphoric characters, The Streets, in the form of a beautiful young woman with dollar signs for eyes, The Game in the form of an intimidating looking 40 odd year old male with gold teeth. These are all metaphoric characters Lupe Fiasco based his album; The Cool on.
Hype Williams has had possibly one of the most successful directing careers to date and is now a multi millionaire due to his hard work ethic, roots of struggle and his love to express colour in a visual, moving form.