Venture Grant: Music Video: Bitter Sweet Symphony
*Music Video Treatment
The Verve "Bitter Sweet Symphony"*
Have you ever felt like you were alone in this brave world? We all lose ourselves in search of the grand things in life, often forgetting to appreciate the small things that make us all human. This music video is a reminder of the immense impact that words can have on us. We often take words for granted, seldom realizing the unifying forces behind them.
The video begins with a young man placing stacks of paper onto the bed of an old Chevy pick-up truck. The simplicity of his actions and surroundings possess a magical aura. Great things are about to happen.
Dead silence. Gloomy souls are occupying the sidewalks of a lonely street. As the old pick-up emerges from the horizon, the enchanting music of The Verve saturates the air. The pick-up passes through the crowd. As the driver is singing the lyrics of the song, he looks in the rearview mirror. The stacks of papers are being picked up by the wind. Seemingly unfazed, he continues on his route.
A few sheets of paper drift by a crying girl sitting at a bus stop. No one gives this inconsolable girl a second glance. One of the sheets lands on her foot. Another piece of paper flies into the window of a building. It lands on the floor of a public bathroom. One man is sitting in a stall and another man is occupying a urinal. The man in the stall panics, as he realizes that the toilet paper is missing. He then sees the sheet of paper lying next to the toilet. Yet another sheet of paper follows a couple through the doors of a movie theater. A fourth sheet of paper soars over a group of jocks playing football. It travels into the chimney of a mansion.
Back to the pick-up. The driver is still singing the song and spreading paper all over town. More and more people begin to notice the littering truck. The girl at the bus stop notices the sheet of paper at her feet. She stops crying and slowly picks up the paper. The man in the stall examines the sheet that was lying next to the toilet. He seems pleasantly surprised. The couple sits down to watch the movie. The sheet that followed them through the doors is now drifting up the aisle. They smooch. The sheet that entered the chimney is now resting in a fireplace. An older man sets a couple logs on top of the paper. He then lights a fire.
The pick-up driver continues his journey. Nothing has changed – he’s still singing and papers are still flying. The girl at the bus stop wipes the tears from her eyes. Reading the paper seems to uplift her spirits. She begins to sing along to the song. Finally, people stop to notice her. The man in the stall is also singing the song. He now uses his sheet as toilet paper. The man at the urinal hears the singing and decides to join. The couple is now watching a boring movie. The sheet of paper continues to drift up the aisle and ends up in front of the projector. The message on the paper is projected on to the screen. All members of the audience get up and sing. This moment is truly epic. The sheet of paper in the fireplace is now completely incinerated. Smoke is billowing out of the chimney. Nearby, the football players stop their game in amazement. The smoke is extending across the sky, spreading the paper’s message. The jocks also begin to sing. The entire town is singing to the same song. No one is lonely; everyone has finally come together. The music video ends with the pick-up truck riding into the horizon. We are left with an empty road covered in paper, as the song slowly fades away.
Tentative Schedule
The Presentation
We will have a master copy of the music video by the 15th of March. We hope to present the video to the Colorado College community during seventh block. We will welcome the entire faculty and student body to a public viewing of the finished product. The viewing would be held at Packard Hall, Wes Room, or Max Kade Theater.
The Group
We are senior Film Track majors, pursuing careers in the film industry. We have done extensive coursework in both filmmaking and film theory. Outside of coursework, we have a strong passion for the art of filmmaking and strive to keep ourselves busy with projects of our own. Through our devotion to the medium, we have grown knowledgeable and competent, which is apparent from the various prizes and awards we have gathered at previous Colorado College Film Festivals. Below are short summaries of our individual merits:
________’s initial passions were in photography, but soon moved into cinematography through a growing fascination with movement and choreography in skate videos. Due to the nature of skate video footage, ________ grew very attentive to mis-en-scene and camera movement. During his freshman year, ________’s interest in filmmaking grew ten-fold, when he produced a skate video with ________ as an extracurricular project. After this, ________ decided to become a Film track major and has taken every available course in filmmaking. His sophomore year, ________, along with ________, won the Best Picture award at the CC Film Festival for their Basic Filmmaking project 2X-treme. The following year, his advanced filmmaking project, Foreign Feelings, won honors for Best Picture, Audience Award, and Best Actor (________).
________ came to Colorado College with plans to be an art major, due to deep love for visual art. These plans were narrowed into filmmaking during his freshman year. In addition to attending all offered filmmaking course at CC, ________ has worked on various projects of his own. In the summer of 2000, ________ worked as an intern at a television/film production company in Finland and now works as an Editor and Cameraman at Aztec Media Company, a Colorado Springs-based production company. His musical background has proven beneficial in both editing and soundtrack design. ________ deep interest in documentary filmmaking developed in Doug Pray’s course "Film Editing as Writing."
Equipment
We will be shooting the music video with a 16mm Bolex film camera. We specifically want to use a film camera rather than a digital camera for the experience. We have never worked with real film, yet we feel it is necessary to further our understanding of film. However, we gained sufficient knowledge of the equipment and process through Tom Sanny’s Advanced Filmmaking course. Now we wish to expand our knowledge of the format. We will also checkout a Lowell light kit from the film department. Editing will be performed on Macintosh G4 computers using Final Cut Pro 3. The editing will take place at the Spencer Editing Lab and Aztec Media Company. We will provide all necessary props and accessories.
Expenses
We will check out a 16mm Bolex film camera and required lighting equipment from Tom Sanny at the Colorado College Film Department. Editing will be performed at the Spencer Center and Aztec Media Company. Our relationships with these establishments allow for free access to the editing equipment. However, the costs of buying, developing, and processing the film will cost approximately $1050. The budget is divided as follows:
Lens Rental: Zeiss 10-100mm, T2.0 "B" $100.00 per day X 2 = $200
Film Stock Costs: 16mm Kodak film, 400’ spool $35 X 10 = $350
Processing Fees: Telecine Services (film to video transfer) $250 hr
X 2 = $500
Note: We will be covering any expenses beyond the scope of the venture grant personally.
Benefits
The music video is very important to us personally, academically, and professionally. It will provide us with crucial experience for our future careers. A project shot in 16mm will prove invaluable for our portfolios, as it is regarded highly in the film industry. It will also promote the venture grant program as well as the often-neglected English Film Track. It will benefit the Colorado College community by providing students and faculty with a form of campus entertainment and education that has not been explored enough.