Ideas for my own music video

Initial Idea - I initially wanted to base my video upon three different peoples lives and to follow their pain and suffering which is the main theme throughout the song. I decided this because it would create a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals and also the melodic music would suit the mood of the song. The three different stories included the life of a prostitute, a homeless person and someone suffering abuse. However, I have recently changed this idea after watching the original music video for 'No more drama' by Mary J Blige and realised that my idea was very similar to the original. From the lyrics it created ideas very easily that were almost 'cliche' and this is why I think the actual music video was very similar to my initial ideas. In order for my music video to be successful, I want my idea to be unique and original, so I have changed my idea in order to do this. I also don't want my video to be compared to the work of Sanji (director of no more drama music video) but take inspiration from his work and make the song my own.

New Idea - I have now decided to keep my video more simple by following the life of one person instead of three as I feel this will be easier to produce and more effective in the end. I also think the audience will be able to relate to the main character easier if my story is just focused on one person. The narrative of my music video is based around a young teenage girl who lives with her parents. Growing up as a teenager, her stubborn personality clashes constantly with her parents and this causes her to leave home in fit of rage. She feels by doing this she can create a sense of freedom and Independence for herself.

The girl decides to travel into the city, to be far away from her parents and believes there will be a range of opportunities for her. However with no place to stay, she finds herself vulnerably roaming the streets at night alone. She witnesses the lives of people suffering such as homeless people asleep on the streets, prostitutes trying to make a living, drunk people fighting, poverty and people who are dependant on drugs. I will also make boards for the characters within my story to hold up which highlights key words within the lyrics of the song. I will use strong, emotive words such as 'Pain' 'Hurt' 'Tears' 'Fears' and a phrase at the end of the video 'No more drama' also from the song. I feel in doing this, it will further create a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals of my music video.

As a result of this the girl experiences of the drama different peoples lives, she realises that by running away she is only creating drama for herself and for her parents. Staring into the eyes of prostitutes, drunks, drug addicts, and homeless people changes her mind on running away when she has a family who love her and care for her. She decides to return home but before she gets chance, her parents track her down in the city and she is finally reunited at the end of an eventful, emotional experience. I feel this will send a message to the target audience that running away is never the best option and also how easy it is to even cause drama in your own life and that we can prevent this in some cases from happening.



Added effects that I plan to use within my video include shots that are sped up shots of clouds and the bustling city. I will use the clouds at the beginning of the music video when there is melodic music and when she is heading towards the city which will hopefully capture the light change too as it gradually becomes darker. I feel I am at an advantage at this time of the year to create this particular shot as it becomes dark very quickly as winter approaches. I will also use the shot of traffic which is sped up to gain a busy, lively effect. I feel this will make my main character more isolated from the rest of the city, and an outsider as she walks the streets alone. It also weakens her hopes of opportunity, which she believed she would achieve by living here.


The narrative of my music video typically follows a structure. Many storys and other current music videos include this particular structure and it is a succesful way for the audience to follow and they can almost predict the base of the structure itself. I will add a few twists however, in order for my story to break the mould slightly so that again it is original and unique. All narratives have a protagonist which is the main character which in this case is the young teenage girl. The story evolves around her and the equilibrium is broken at the begginning when she argues with her parents and leaves home. Her parents become the antagonists, which formed the obsticle in her life causing the 'norm' to change for her. The girl is then on a quest to find her freedom but in conclusion finds that 'Theres no place like home' and the equilibrium is formed again when he is reunited with her parents.