Music Video Treatment

The Dada Weatherman

-“Child For Life”

The Dada Weatherman - “Child For Life”Hang around in concrete all the day

To keep my feet on the ground and stay

Yes, I’m clean as a whistle, I’m proud to say

Still live my life like a kid and play-ay-ay

Some of them die death throughout the day

In the cupboard he threw his brains away

I fell walked around to the other way

I get my eyes and mind clear for my own

Now I know I will be a child for life

Now I know I will be a child for life

When I see things I cannot forget

I push back into my youth and wait

In the mid the day is not back yet

The younger I stay, the better I get

Now I know I will be a child for life

Now I know I will be a child for life

Now I know I will be a child for life

TreatmentThe idea for this music video resides from a narrative-performance with camera shots switching between characters/ actors lip syncing & performing, and then the characters/ actors acting out the narrative element of the song in order to grasp the audience’s attention through a series of juxtaposing and conflicting scenes that capture the interest of our desired target audience.

The beginning of the music video will start prior to the song actually starting as the audience are shown a narrative piece of the protagonist being talked down to by their boss/ co-worker as they sit at their menial desk job. This is considered the present within the video in this circular narrative music video meaning the song will eventually link back to the same shot the audience will see in the opening verse. This shot will be used to introduce the protagonist to the audience - as well as build up a feel for the emotive response we are looking for from the audience - and create a grounding for the atmosphere and genre of narrative we are creating to help build the impact of the overall song.

As soon as the song starts, there will be a lyric and visual match as we will physically see shoes on concrete as the song reads “feet on the ground” in the second line. Matching the beat and the tempo of the music, the following scene will track the protagonist in a mid-shot walking towards the camera surrounded by foliage to imply the words “clean as a whistle” to mean lacking of taking any substances that are deemed ‘adult’, whether these may be illegal drugs, cigarettes, or even alcohol. At this point in the music video, the main actor would be lip syncing, and walking to the beat/ tempo of the song to hold that accompaniment between the music and the visuals.

The following scene is contrasted between the older character and previous scene taking place in the present day of the timeline the song resides on. In this short clip, the audience will see the child form of the protagonist literally demonstrating the line “life like a kid and play-ay-ay” by running around a field playing football with a collaboration of close up shots of the character’s shoes kicking the ball and moving shots of the movement of the character themselves as they race across the football pitch.

TreatmentA contradiction to the lyrics “some of them die death” is created within the character switch where the child is swapped out within the football pitch to that of the main protagonist expressing their inner child - as demonstrated within the previous shot - despite the line implying the child within someone being repressed.

Contradiction to the previous imagery is then created when we depict the protagonist curled up in a ball, basically breaking down both mentally and physically in an enclosed space so dark it feels almost like an abyss that helps to illustrate the line “in the cupboard he threw his brains away”. The contrast between the previous shot and this one helps build up an understanding of the conflict within the protagonist’s mind of wanting to be care-free and childlike, and holding all of his responsibilities and stress and having to act a specific way for society to accept them, causing this break-down.

The melodramatic sequence of the protagonist stumbling and getting up only to walk in another direction will be dramatised by the use of close up shots so even the audience feels somewhat unsteady, like the protagonist at this point within the music video.

The following sequence demonstrates a decline in mental stability as we are shown the protagonist hunched over a bar, ‘drowning’ in an alcoholic drink, which contrasts the previous illusion that the protagonist hasn’t touched any ‘substances’ before. This helps to demonstrate negative growth within the character as they are trying to ‘cure’ themselves almost blindly. This also, somewhat, builds on the supposed state of the protagonist in the previous shot, stumbling around.

Once we reach the chorus, the music switched to a more angelic and almost ‘hypnotised’ feeling, where the audience will see shots of the child form of the protagonist playing in the park and having fun: playing football; going on swings; messing about on a climbing frame. This may be shown in slow motion to keep up with the almost surreal feeling of the music and the fact that these sequences are being played in the protagonist’s head.

TreatmentAs we switch back out of the chorus, the character switches back to the main protagonist in the abyss like state, showing close ups of negative emotions that are designed to be perceived as a reaction shot as the line reads “when I see things I cannot forget”. This is used to engage the audience and allow them to guess what may have provoked this reaction from the protagonist.

As the lines switch, so does the imagery to the beat of the music as we see the protagonist ‘downing’ the last of their alcoholic drink, causing this feeling of dizziness and the feeling of being unbalanced as the protagonist shakily gets off their bar stool. This is designed to give an illusionary feeling to the narrative as if the protagonist’s existence isn’t even necessarily real, or that it is only just there.

The following line reads “the younger I stay, the better I get” is accompanied by the graphic match of the protagonist ‘falling’ off their bar stool towards the camera , forcing the imagery to become black, and then showing the child running away from the camera from the dark as if to symbolise an almost surreal event in the protagonist’s mind where they ‘become a child again’.

The fact that the protagonist is seen as almost intoxicated through alcohol in the previous shot, depicts how these scenarios may be taking place in either an unconscious or disproportioned mind.

As we reach the second chorus, the audience is presented again with a series of slow motion imagery of the child playing and simply being a child to demonstrate this complete ‘fall’ into being a child once more.

Before the abrupt fading out of the song, the main protagonist will be seen, almost dazed, once again, at their desk at their medial job, which will complete the circular narrative loop of the music video, before the screen fades to black and the music and the video ends.

CostumeThe adult protagonist within the music video will be portrayed as a kind of business man with a mundane job, wearing some form of suit/ formal attire and therefore will be wearing a shirt and tie with dark trousers.

To contrast this, but without completely opposing the link between the characters, the younger protagonist will be wearing a more casual shirt with dark jeans to create a small link between them and the adult protagonist, but without the cliche of the younger actor wearing oversized clothing for the audience to make the link that they are the same character.

LocationThere will be a small variety of locations within the music video, designed to further illustrate the contrast between the adult and the child characters within the video: the dull office and dark pub locations will help to emphasize a sense of the mundane and a sense of lacking of excitement and enthusiasm, making the viewer feel confined; the park will be a wide, open space for the child character to ‘be free’ and ‘mess about’ in, contrasting the dark, and boring locations associated with the adult protagonist.