1. Travis – The Beautiful Occupation
By Graham Armstrong
Background of the song
“The Beautiful Occupation” is a rock song written by
Travis’ front man Francis Healey. The song was part of
Travis’ fourth studio album “12 Memories” which
reached #3 in the UK Charts. The song was also released
as a single on 15th December 2003 with several B‐sides
but only managed to reach #48 on the singles chart.
The single is said to portray a feeling of helplessness in
regards to war. Many believe it to be written about the
Iraq war with the lyrics both amplifying and parodying
the general public’s attitude. This juxtaposition of
possible meanings makes for a very intreiging song.
The Music Video
I want to amplify the meaning of the song with my music
video. Using our four band members I will use a mix of
shots of the band playing, to keep to the typical
conventions of rock & indie music videos, and shots of a
narrative.
Symbolism & Narrative
The narrative would involve a lot of symbolism; I want to involve a lot of
references to world conflict using board games, which will symbolise the
publics innocent attitude to
the war – not understanding
the full extent to what
problems the war has
caused.

2. Costume & Location
Mise­en­scene
Filming locations will involve a light white room where the band members will be seen playing
their games as well as a dark studio. In order to contrast against these locations the band members
will be wearing dark casual clothes and light formal dress
respectively. The style of clothing will help the actors stand
out against the background and also help the video content
relate to the audience. The style of clothing could be
described as late ‘90s which is the general target audience of
the video.
The video will use a simple colour scheme may be limited in
certain areas for monochromatic effects, giving emphasis to
certain props within the video. The
lighting will be maintained as high‐
key.
Props will involve the boardgames as
well as a table and chairs. We will also
be using the band’s instruments:
electric guitar, bass guitar and drums.
As well as that we will be using
pseudo‐newscasts in the background
which we’ll film in our studio and
display in the video by playing it on a TV.
Initial Ideas
Some ideas for shots I have devised (although not finalised) are:
• “Read it in the headlines” – Shot of the lead singer having newspaper sheets blown at him.
• “Put it in the background” – Out of focus shot of the lead singer with a blurry visible
newscast in the background of the frame.
• “To drop in upon a nation” – Slow motion shot of game dice being rolled and knocking over
small infantry figurines.
• “Don’t call the united nations” – At
the end of the song, the lead singer
would have his mouth taped over
with thick tape, symbolising
censorship.