Your ideas for a music video for this song?

[Gillvane]

A friend did a favor for me, and in return I'm shooting a music video for him. The song is country, not really my genre.

I have carte blanche for the concept. I can do pretty much anything I want. There are some parameters.

I have no budget, so suggestions like, "first rent a limo" won't be helpful.

There are no musicians for the video. This was done in a professional studio in Nashville with hired musicians, not a local band.

I don't want to do a shot for shot matching the lyrics. First, not very original, and second that would be a pretty big production.

I'm looking for a concept. Like this video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB7ON...eature=related

It's a concept that goes with the lyrics, but not a shot for shot rendition of the lyrics.



Here's the lyrics. It's a country song. Just imagine slide guitars and a driving bass.

He killed my woman. and he took my pride.
he burned my house down, and ran in the night.
I got a pony, and I can ride.
When I catch you, gonna take yer' life.
What makes a man do the things he does, I don't know.
Well I hunted, and I looked around.
2 days later, I rode into town.
see the news, done got around.
theres' a gunfight, at sundown.
What makes a man do the things he does, I don't know.
You're an outlaw and you've got no pride.
You've got a six gun, and it's by your side.
You're a killer with an evil mind.
And I"m here to tell you, you're out of time.
What makes a man do the things he does, I don't know.

(Break)

I pulled my pistol, and I took a shot.
I felt the sunshine, and it was hot.
I shot that six gun, right out of his hand.
Couldn't find it in me, to kill that man.

What makes a man do the things he does, I don't know.

Well at his trial, he was found guilty.
And the sherrifs and the deputies
well they all hung that man from a big old tree.
and the town turned out to watch him swing.
What makes a man do the things he does, I don't know.
What makes a man do the things he does, I don't know.

[Dr. Benway]

What makes a man do the things he does, I don't know.

Can't watch it here in Thailand - unavailable in 'my' country.

[cgbier]

"first rent a limo"

Well, it's a country song, so I'd suggest to first rent a Ford F100.

To me it looks like you will have to do it line by line. A bunch of African Americans surrounded by bikini chicks and making weird noises while jumping around like monkeys doesn't work with country.

[Dr. Benway]

...chicks and making weird noises while jumping around like monkeys doesn't work with country.

Unless it's African country where the hip action is sublime!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4EoTYIvvzQM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7VUVO...eature=related

[Almohada]

Shoot it on a ranch?

[STUDIO32MID]

Hmm maybe i am taking it a little too much in the simplistic vein but it smacks off like a western-styled music video to me. With color correction smacking of that warm. rusty, dusty feel.

[Gillvane]

Hmm maybe i am taking it a little too much in the simplistic vein but it smacks off like a western-styled music video to me. With color correction smacking of that warm. rusty, dusty feel.

The song writer did say he'd like something along those lines, maybe a bit of sepia tone would do it.

[STUDIO32MID]

Well, then it appears its a western style then, i am seeing some shots already in my minds eye but- certainly the music will help with some more specifics.

Is there any way we can hear the music? Others will throng in with more suggestions will the musical notes and melody hit home.

[Gillvane]

It's not up anywhere. I'll have to make a vid with just a place holder pic and put it on vimeo.

[previdman]

Here's a thought: Why not ask everybody to shoot a little clip of something symbolic in the song. Nothing elaborate or time intensive. Take a look at all the footage submitted, picking and arranging and adding your own shots for direction and cohesiveness ... or just use the clips as b-roll to your main footage. You might be surprised at how well it all comes together ... or maybe not. But hey, it'd still be a fun experiment.

[Video Frank]

How about old western CC photos Ken Burns style, maybe mixed with sepia'd shots of horses, ranch hands, etc?

[Gillvane]

How about old western CC photos Ken Burns style, maybe mixed with sepia'd shots of horses, ranch hands, etc?

If I'm gonna take pictures of that stuff, I might as well shoot some video.

[Video Frank]

That's what I meant - old photos plus a mix of your videos.

[Tuluws]

Here's my concept - how about having a older man flashing back to his youth (mid-teens) while staring at a torn photo of a woman. Show the suggestion of the murder and focus in on the killer's face. The older man, as a young boy in the flashback, chases after the killer and realizes that he doesn't want to be like him and chooses to let justice prevail (not necessarily hung but jailed) maybe do a "COPS" type of arrest sequence. We find out at the end the photo is his mother - the man then puts the other half of the photo back and we see it is his father.

Cheers,

PJ

[movielighter]

Agree with the above post. If you do a "flashback" from a reflection, or the singer telling the story with the song, it helps you avoid having to show the more expensive and harder shots (True Grit type) through most of the video. I certainly would find an old oak tree at the top of a hill somewhere and have a shot of the singer with it as a today look, then do a flashback to the same tree with a noose swinging in the wind with sepia and a little grain. Very interested in seeing it when it is done, looks like a nice project.

[STUDIO32MID]

Hmm i think Tuluws storyline seems very interesting. I also cant wait to see the final product!

[Tuluws]

I usually like to hear a song first - concentrate on the mood and melody of the song. Then I'll listen to it a few more times really concentrating on the lyrical content. From there, it's a matter of trying to put pictures to words, either literally or symbolically. Seeing as Gillvane was looking for a concept, I took a symbolic run at the song - although, it still would be nice to hear the song, rather than just reading the lyrics.

Gillvane, any further word on posting the song?

Cheers,

PJ

[Gillvane]

Here's my concept - how about having a older man flashing back to his youth (mid-teens) while staring at a torn photo of a woman. Show the suggestion of the murder and focus in on the killer's face. The older man, as a young boy in the flashback, chases after the killer and realizes that he doesn't want to be like him and chooses to let justice prevail (not necessarily hung but jailed) maybe do a "COPS" type of arrest sequence. We find out at the end the photo is his mother - the man then puts the other half of the photo back and we see it is his father.

Cheers,

PJ

"my woman" is definitely not his Mom.

[Tuluws]

"my woman" is definitely not his Mom.

True, although there is nothing else further in the lyric that suggests it couldn't be his Mom. My concept was that a young boy seeing his Mother being killed, took on the role of her protecter, and at the same time, avoided becoming an abuser and ultimately a killer, like his Dad. The opposite is very often true, where children who are raised in a abusive household tend to carry that forward into their adulthood - the notion of "my woman" is open to interpretation as long as you don't get all Oedipal with it - it's not "The End" by the Doors.

Furthermore, the burning of his childhood home could represent the action that broke the chain of abuse.

It's a little bit out of the box - but it's just another interpretation.

Cheers,

PJ

[Gillvane]

I usually like to hear a song first - concentrate on the mood and melody of the song. Then I'll listen to it a few more times really concentrating on the lyrical content. From there, it's a matter of trying to put pictures to words, either literally or symbolically. Seeing as Gillvane was looking for a concept, I took a symbolic run at the song - although, it still would be nice to hear the song, rather than just reading the lyrics.

Gillvane, any further word on posting the song?

Cheers,

PJ

Well, this is the song just in case anyone is curious to hear it. It's a professional recording in Nashville with an up nad coming singer.

Password is Cowboy.

However, I talked it over with the writer, and we've decided to do a different song. We couldn't come up with something we liked that really fit the feeling of the song we felt we could do without a real budget. There's gun fights, burning houses, hanging, etc., and we don't have a production budget to do all that stuff. I suppose we could do something that doesn't show any of that, but we didn't feel that would really capture the feeling of the song, so we're going to do another one that's more contemporary and easier to storyboard.

[Gillvane]

I usually like to hear a song first - concentrate on the mood and melody of the song. Then I'll listen to it a few more times really concentrating on the lyrical content. From there, it's a matter of trying to put pictures to words, either literally or symbolically. Seeing as Gillvane was looking for a concept, I took a symbolic run at the song - although, it still would be nice to hear the song, rather than just reading the lyrics.

Gillvane, any further word on posting the song?

Cheers,

PJ

Well, this is the song just in case anyone is curious to hear it. It's a professional recording in Nashville with an up nad coming singer.

Password is Cowboy.

http://vimeo.com/27198881

However, I talked it over with the writer, and we've decided to do a different song. We couldn't come up with something we liked that really fit the feeling of the song we felt we could do without a real budget. There's gun fights, burning houses, hanging, etc., and we don't have a production budget to do all that stuff. I suppose we could do something that doesn't show any of that, but we didn't feel that would really capture the feeling of the song, so we're going to do another one that's more contemporary and easier to storyboard.