Idea 1 for Music Video "Honey"

My first idea uses the song ‘Honey’ by Mariah Carey. The song is an R&B/Hip Hop fusion. I wanted to use this song because I think that the lyrics are very fun and easy to adapt into a music video and the genre of music is one of my favourites.

The idea (image) of my artist was a down-to-earth, gentle girl but who is still glamorous and exhibits a diva personality. I would compare her to artists such as Beyonce and Mariah Carey. 

For the music video concept I first brainstormed the word ‘Honey’ it then led me to ‘Bee’ and then I thought about actual bees. After a Queen Bee lays her eggs they grow inside the hexagonal comb of the hive and then they hatch and go on to fly away and collect honey.

 I used this concept to build on the narrative for my music video. I wanted to express the idea of being under control (like a bee is controlled by their queen) and then breaking away and finding freedom (the bee flies away).

My idea starts with an interior of a honey factory, before the music starts. Interior of a honey factory

 For the outfits, I sketched a few designs that I will go further in to detail below. I drew the outfits with the background behind.

The image is in black and white, a line of girls shackled and chained, walk in a single file; they are wearing a black tube top with a black skirt with a slit. 

They approach a small metal trough, which holds a river of honey; and then they begin pouring bowls of honey into the small river. 

Then the main girl (singer) takes one of the bowls and smashes it on her foot chain, breaking the bowl and the chain; this is when the music begins. The image begins to saturate and slowly turn to colour. The girl frees the rest of the slave girls and then a short choreographed fight sequence begins with the guards and the slave girls. The slave girls end up tying up the guards on chairs; that is when the singing begins at 00:53 seconds.

 The rest of the music video is the girl giving the guards a piece of her mind by singing the song to them. In the first chorus at 1:13, the girls all play and throw around honey, the play sequence is semi-choreographed and mostly involves the girls jumping around, rolling and throwing honey. Whilst they sing to the guards the background and outfits change.

One of the outfits is a gold sequence skirt and tube top against a black shimmering background.

 Gold outfit idea

Black shimmering background

The other is a bronze flowing maxi dress against a gold background.

Gold background

The last one is a white crop top with wide white trousers against a bronze background.

Bronze Background

For the music video it will alternate between the 4 different backgrounds and outfits, the outfits will also swap different backgrounds. When the scenes change the other girls will perform as background dancers with the singer in a choreographed performance, they will not wear the same outfits as the singer but the same colour code will be kept.

In some areas of the set I will like to integrate the hexagonal ‘honeycomb’ design such as in on the floor or walls.

At some point, I would like to have a birds-eye view shots of when they dance because I want the dancers to be in a hexagonal formation.

During points where the music slows down, such as the bridge at 3:35; I want close up shots of the singer, kneeling in honey and rolling in the honey.

I found these photographs of people covered, I would want to do something similar with the singer, but not the same amount of honey, just half her body covered in honey.

 I also want close up shots of when the singer sings the high notes.

When the music begins to fade at 4:30, the singer and other girls return to standing in front of the tied up guards, the singer walks up to the main guard grabs a pair keys from his shirt pocket, unlocks the factory door and exits with her girl ‘squad’. When she opens the door, white light floods in and the songs ends completely white. The song ends at 5:01

During the music video the elements of the honey and hexagonal shapes are meant to connote honey and symbolize ‘the worker bee revolting against the queen bee and being free’. However, I do not want to make it very literal, I want it to be subtle. She sings about wanting something "Don't you see/ Every night and day/ I can hardly wait/ For another taste of honey"

 She wants to be in love and to be free and I'm sure the strong visual elements will convey that. 

The video fits with the track because like in the lyrics it discuss how love is smooth and beautiful, there is also a theme of being ‘liberated’; for example, the honey being poured out of the bowl, it is first contained but then it is ‘freed’ and poured into the river of honey. I think the style and message of the video fits with the star image of the artist. She is representing women as strong, independent and brave, whilst maintaining her sweet and seductive nature. The outfits and set also highlight her glamorous ‘diva’ style.