GOSPEL VIDEO TREATMENT
TREATMENT BY CORY FREY
The biggest take away I get when listening to Gospel is that these are the thoughts of somebody who’s been through trials and tribulations. The lyrics ride the line of a life being hardened by disloyalty, pain and suffering and yet still desiring mental peace and to be vulnerable and open. I believe the video for this song should reflect this message. Our main setting will be with Raz alone in a church, dressed in a suit, both sitting in the pews as someone who is coming in to speak to God and seek guidance as well as up in front where the preacher would stand as he talks to a congregation. This will demonstrate the wisdom and mental peace he seeks versus the knowledge, insight and even anger that he’s confident in voicing. Approximately halfway through the song we will also see a short scene of Raz seated outside of a laundromat at night with a look of exhaustion yet calmness as we see blood dripping from his hands and smeared on his suit. After this scene is shown the blood on his hands and suit will start to be shown in the church scenes indicating that he has come back looking for guidance after having his way with an opp. Our final scene during the outro/ hook will show Raz walking fully clothed in the blood stained suit into a body of water, arms outstretched in an act of self baptism. This will act as the resolution to the inner turmoil, washing away the blood and symbolically the pain. Our final shot will be Raz walking away down a street lamp lit wet road at night leaving the video a bit open ended and up for audience interpretation. Is this Raz going down the same road or something of a new beginning? Let the people interpret how they chose as we do with art. Our style of shots, like the song, will be slower in pace than a typical rap video but will still feature a couple of high energy moments. We’re showing a deeper narrative and evoking thought from the audience and because of that will want this to feel tasteful and authentic. Below will be our shot, mood and style references pulled from films as well as the shows like Euphoria (when it comes to color) to show the look and feel we’re going for with this music video.
MOOD BOARD/ SHOT and color INSPIRATIONS
Church scene
Style reference for the church we’ll use
We’ll see multiple close up’s of Raz with some being performance but many won’t be as we capture the emotion and expression that makes this song powerful
Silhouetting will be a way we highlight body language as well as see performances in a more unique way than the face right into camera
Smooth in camera zooms at Raz like this, or even slower, will bring us into and then out of the video at the end of the song as well as be featured during slower moments in the church
Framing and energy we’ll show when Raz stands at the front of the church like the preacher
Lighting look when sitting in the church pews
Color grade will emulate film to work in tandem with the vintage sound of the song and rawness of emotion we’re looking to capture
laundromat eXTERIOR scene NIGHT
Close detail shots of bloodied hands and stained shirt letting the audience infer what’s happened rather than showing
Self baptism/ washing of the blood scene
The angle of the outstretched hands we’ll capture right above the level of the water
Final shot walking down the road
A-ROLL/ PERFORMANCEs
Many of our performances will be shot in silhouette using light from the windows in the church as well as dim edge lit close ups to capture emotion
Our b-roll to a-roll split will be roughly 60/40 in favor of b-roll
Our most intense performance will be Raz acting as the preacher like the photo below for lines like “y’all don’t have no self service b*tch we don’t vibe”
LOCATIONS
Seattle First Baptist Church
Aurora Clean Express Laundromat at night
This location provides the closest look to the reference with the machines visible from out front
Mathews Beach Park on Lake Washington
Water will be cold but we will be able to execute within five minutes and have a heater and change of clothes standing by
WARDROBE
We’ll only need one outfit for this shoot, a standard black or dark blue suit with a white shirt (nice church attire)