My third and final idea for a possible music video that my group and I could make next year as part of our A2 Media Coursework Portfolios is for the song Stabat Mater by acclaimed french artist, Woodkid.
The song was released as a track on Woodkid's debut studio album, The Golden Age, released in 2013, and is considered to be of the orchestral pop genre. The Stabat Mater is the name of a 13th Century Catholic hymn to Mary, which portrays her suffering as Jesus Christ's mother during his crucifixion. Woodkid's Stabat Mater currently has no official music video.
the song's lyrics
My idea for the music video is a combination of Performance, Narrative and Concept styles. For my idea, I would need just two, simple locations: an empty black room, and an empty white room.
As the song opens to the sound of a beating drum, a single male figure stands shirtless within the black room, slamming down large, elaborate drumsticks upon a grand, kettle drum. Talcum powder has been set upon the drum skin so that with each beat, a flurry of white powder disperses into the air. The only things he is wearing is a pair of old, ripped and stained trousers, and a very peculiar bronze face cage.
When more orchestral instruments join in, the video cuts to a new shot of a ballerina in a traditional, white ballerina's outfit, dancing alone to the song within the same black room. For the rest of the opening instrumental, the video occasionally cuts back to the drummer, and on one occasion, cuts to a shot of the white room, where a woman shrouded in a skin-hiding royal blue dress and matching veil (with a small silver crown on top) stands still, her hands before her in prayer - a small reference to Mary, Mother of God and the song's title.
Once the singing begins, the video cuts to a suited man standing within the black room, passionately singing into a 50's style microphone. During the verse, we are subject to short narrative-based shots (all within the white room) such as of a pair of holding hands, a couple arguing, and a black coffin alone within the middle of the room. On the line, "How could we be close again?" there is a shot of the man from the couple within the white room, holding a knife in the air, captivated by it.
With the return of the song's instrumental, we return to the ballerina (with a few shots here and there of the drummer), who is dancing with a severe air of desperation, her dance moves denoting that she is struggling with something, to some extent implicit that she is drowning or suffocating.
As the singing returns for the second verse, the video cuts back to the singer. Within the verse, we see a shot of two black coffins next to each other within the white room, as well as another shot of a small child dropping a bouquet of flowers onto the floor (also within the white room). With the line, "A circle of horses," the video cuts back to the ballerina who is frantically dancing. As the verse progresses, she slows into a still position before dropping to her knees, silently screaming at the camera. She pulls a knife out, that was tucked into her skirt and whilst staring directly into the camera, slices across her stomach - a long bundle of red cloth tumbling out of the cut seams to her dress, denoting blood.
For my take on Stabat Mater, the artist (who would be the singer within the video) would be an organic singer-songwriter named "Jules", his musical style comparable to American singer Lana Del Rey, Swedish singer Lyyke Li, or even composer Hans Zimmer. The song would be one of the early released singles from his debut album.
To summarise, the video would need:
- Two sets: an empty black room, and an empty white room.
- A cast of seven: a singer, a drummer, a ballerina, 'Mary', a male and female, and a child.
- Four elaborate costumes and three 'every-day' costumes.
- Nine props: a knife, two black coffins, a kettle drum and drumsticks, a bouquet of flowers, a bundle of red cloth, talcum powder, and a microphone.
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