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 viewers extremely 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.

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 most well-known for, and this encourages some 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.