Initial Ideas

I had the idea to make a pop promo using the song Five Years Time by Noah and the Whale who are a fairly low stream indie folk band.

My initial thoughts were to involve a narrative of a man and woman who were ending their previously happy romantic relationship. The lyrics of the song indicated future doubts about the relationship of the lead singer and his girlfriend so it dawned upon me that actually showing that breakdown would be both suitable for the song whilst also being a different take or angle if you like. My main inspiration came from the Woody Allen film Annie Hall which I thought captured a breakdown of a relationship in a very funny bittersweet and alternative way. I was also influenced by the fact that the band's next album, The First Days of Spring, deals with a similar theme.

Treatment:

Editing: I thought that there could be flashbacks between times when the relationship was in effect and then when it was over creating contrast. There would also possibly be shots of a brief performance possibly of Chris playing guitar or maybe miming. This would be useful for not making the jump between time frames to become too repetitive during the video.

Cinematography: I thought that the girl would be mainly shown in mid shot and possibly occasionally out of focus so that the audience would get the impression that the man is remembering her in a slightly hazy way almost as if he is trying to create a new person in his memories (one that won't leave him). The man would be shot with lots of close ups in both time frames in order to emphasise his differing feelings from one time to the next.

Mise-En-Scene: I thought that good locations for the 'happy' times would be a park as the autumnal conditions should provide a warm and hopefully dreamlike romantic setting. Whilst the harbour may be a good location for the moodier sections how storytelling has a tradition of using the sea and other bodies of water to create a sombre tone. Finally the performance elements would hopefully be shot in a small space (a studio for example) with low key lighting but with the possibility to create strange maybe sometimes colurful light to reflect his conflicting emotions.