Idea Treatment

My group and I are creating a music video to a melodic Hip Hop song. The song is about being in love and getting high and we wish to portray element of this within our music video. Our video will have a series of settings, characters, props and shot types. This video will be a hybrid between narrative and performance it will have a linear narrative showcasing a couple’s relationship, it will demonstrate the highs and lows in a relationship which relates to the song as it is about being in love, however it will also intertextualise the highs and lows of getting high. 

This video will also contain many aspects of performance that will take place in urban areas such as busy high streets, tunnels, and hidden spaces. We have chosen these particular locations, as it would be a convention of the Hip Hop genre. We intend on using very stereotypical hip hop costume for the male and female characters, this means that the male will appear to have wealth by wearing the latest and most stylish costume associated with this genre. The female will purposely be wearing revealing costume as this will create an over sexualised image of her which is a common idea within the Hip Hop genre.  We will be using very realistic props within our music video however they will all have relevance and be used to create a sense of verisimilitude. Examples of the props we will need to use will be mobile phones, a roll up spliff, a vase and others that will add to a setting a used within a scene. 

The most important feature within our music video that will cause it to reach it potential and allow us to capture and emphasise on aspects of the video that are necessary will be the camerawork and editing. We will be using lots of camera work that is commonly used within the Hip Hop genre in order to make our video fit in with the genre. The shot types that will be used the most throughout the video would be close ups, wide shots and long shots, this is because the create emotion such as isolation, they can promote empathy with the audience and they also capture the setting surroundings as well as those being the main shot types within hip hop music videos. We will also be using; low angle shots, panning and zoom in’s to create the image of superiority.  The editing techniques that will be used will be slow motion and black and white filter and these will exaggerate aspects of the video create a more intense atmosphere.  All of these aspects combined will allow us to create a music video that will be emotive and powerful in regards to the narrative and performance as well as fitting in with the genre of hip hop and will look as realistic as possible using our knowledge of editing and camera skills.