1. Hannah Cochrane
Evanescence – Haunted
Wind-Up Records
Music video treatment
Overview
The music video follows a narrative – the story of a girl who faces an on-going
battle inside her head. It illustrates what she is thinking and feeling; making the
audience sympathise with her and empathize with her situation.The ending will
leave the viewersextremely fearful for her safety as well as her sanity because it
is not known what happened to her. The way the antagonist appears suddenly
and out of nowhere will shock the viewers and his appearance will be creepy.
Influences
The music video will be based around the genre of the gothic,
exploring key gothic features such as ‘otherness’ and elements of
horror. It is heavily influenced by the work of Angela Carter and
the twists she puts on conventional fairy tales; particularly
focussing on two of her short stories, The Company of Wolves and
The Werewolf. These are her gothic interpretations of the
traditional Little Red Riding Hood fairy tale. Another key influence
is Pauline Darley’s photography, in which she paints models’ faces
and necks to resemble a skeleton. The main setting of the video is
the woods, but there are some shots towards the end that will be
filmed in a house. The gothic genre also links in with the band’s
visual and music style. It will also be influenced by elements of
horror films to add a twist to the video and incorporate
intertextual references because audiences like to know the ‘in
jokes’.
Characters
Girl – wears black trousers and t-shirt. Also wears a red coat/shawl with the
hood up and carries a basket covered with a cloth (like Little Red Riding Hood).
In the basket is a kitchen knife (allusion to The Company of Wolves)
Antagonist – a man with his face and neck painted like a skeleton (reference to
Darley’s photography) - Wears a long sleeve white t-shirt and dark trousers.
Style
Right at the beginning of the video when the girl skips through the woods there
is a sepia filter; tricking the viewers into believing the narrative will pan out like
a traditional fairy tale. A cold blue filter fades in, showing this is no ordinary
children’s fairy tale. The colour scheme is full of dark colours, mainly blacks. This
is mainly shown in the clothing of the characters and reflects Evanescence’s
visual style, something they are well known for.There are also lots of red, white
and blue tones – these colours being stereotypical of the gothic. From the
beginning onwards, the girl’s hair gets increasingly messy and her dark make-up
smudged all over her face, showing how much her inner turmoil has affected her.

2. Hannah Cochrane
Evanescence – Haunted
Wind-Up Records
Concept
A young girl wearing a red shawl and carrying a basket with a cloth covering it
skips into the woods and stops suddenly, without any explanation. It is suggested
that there are 2 sides to everyone and her other side begins to show through the
use of another character. She and the other character battle in the woods. She is
overcome by the character and frightened, goes home. She goes to the bathroom
and throws water in her face and when she sees in the mirror, the lights
beginning to flicker. Whilst the lights are flickering, the other character gets
increasingly closer to the girl and as he outstretches his hand to touch her
shoulder, he disappears. This causes the girl to completely break down. After this
she goes to her bedroom and we see her hunched up on the bed in fear. The girl,
paranoid, looks under her bed but the shot cuts to black.
Summary
The gothic elements in the video will reflect the band’s iconic visual style. This
is what they are mostwell-known for, and this encouragessome fans to dress in a
similar fashion. The music the band produces also reflects the gothic style of the
music video and at the same time will fit perfectly with the music video narrative
I have in mind.