The Music
The song I have selected has been made by an unsigned artist - Accidental Hero. His music is indie, folk, and acoustic in sound, comprised primarily of his own voice and acoustic guitar. The song is called "Thank God I don't believe in God". The song title itself is not without a sense of irony, so I'm immediately inclined to creating a music video that is ironic in its visual content.
The Idea
Irony being one of the main themes at the forefront of my ideas, I thought I might interpret the song and the irony on a literal level; who better to sing a song about not believing in God, than a priest?
I was Immediately set on the priest being centre stage, therefore, in my music video; As the story goes, the priest is having a crisis of faith. He addresses his fellow church-goers in his priestly attire, and under the guise of someone who is secure in his religion - obviously, he's a priest - but secretly, to the eyes of the viewer only, he's clearly not happy and lacking conviction in the practicing of his faith. His actions are - to the people he's addressing beneath the alter - nothing of surprise and completely normal. His voice however, and his words, are Accidental Hero's lyrics "Thank God I Don't Believe In God"; the priest wants to break free from what he's currently doing/who he currently is. His mind is elsewhere and perhaps he sees it as a blessing that he does not believe in God, as those before him do.
With regards to setting, I began to think of places that I could film - a place that would not compromise the veiled production value of my music video, while at the same time being realistic as a potential location(s) to film.
I realised that the best and most usual place that one would find a priest would be in a church, perhaps leading a mass. Singing a song about not believing in God in a church however is a difficulty - I'd need permission to film there, even if they would allow media students to reserve the area for filming (Let alone that film being a particularly atheist song!). Naturally, I considered that asking them for permission would be foolish, on my part. My school/sixth form has a hall with an elevated stage, surrounded by seats; I thought this would be an ideal place to film, as it fits in with the priest's current predicament; perhaps he's going through the motions - leading a mass in a school where few appreciate him or even listen. My school has religious items that could be used as props; we're a catholic school, so there are crosses and bibles to hand, as well as an alter.
An excellent example of the mise en scene I'm thinking of creating is depicted in The Black Keys' "Fever" music video:
I was Immediately set on the priest being centre stage, therefore, in my music video; As the story goes, the priest is having a crisis of faith. He addresses his fellow church-goers in his priestly attire, and under the guise of someone who is secure in his religion - obviously, he's a priest - but secretly, to the eyes of the viewer only, he's clearly not happy and lacking conviction in the practicing of his faith. His actions are - to the people he's addressing beneath the alter - nothing of surprise and completely normal. His voice however, and his words, are Accidental Hero's lyrics "Thank God I Don't Believe In God"; the priest wants to break free from what he's currently doing/who he currently is. His mind is elsewhere and perhaps he sees it as a blessing that he does not believe in God, as those before him do.
With regards to setting, I began to think of places that I could film - a place that would not compromise the veiled production value of my music video, while at the same time being realistic as a potential location(s) to film.
I realised that the best and most usual place that one would find a priest would be in a church, perhaps leading a mass. Singing a song about not believing in God in a church however is a difficulty - I'd need permission to film there, even if they would allow media students to reserve the area for filming (Let alone that film being a particularly atheist song!). Naturally, I considered that asking them for permission would be foolish, on my part. My school/sixth form has a hall with an elevated stage, surrounded by seats; I thought this would be an ideal place to film, as it fits in with the priest's current predicament; perhaps he's going through the motions - leading a mass in a school where few appreciate him or even listen. My school has religious items that could be used as props; we're a catholic school, so there are crosses and bibles to hand, as well as an alter.
An excellent example of the mise en scene I'm thinking of creating is depicted in The Black Keys' "Fever" music video:
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