VIDEO TREATMENT FOR “SIMPLE JOYS (4 ROY & PRIS)”
OVERALL LOOK:
“Simple Joys” is a Love Song for Roy and Pris, Blade Runner’s ill-fated android couple. I believe it would be a misstep to try to exactly replicate (no pun intended) the look of Blade Runner (as well as being impractical and improbable), however since the song was so heavily inspired by the film, the video should serve as a visual metaphor for:
1. The human desires they possessed but were unable to fulfill
2. The exploitation of them as non-humans.
We will be trying to evoke feelings of fear and despair through intense lighting, strange animation, and curious landscapes, tipping our hat towards the general direction of the dystopian sci-fi genre.
Given our time constraints we will shoot primarily in a green screen studio so we will have greater control over our environment in post-production. The overall look will be moody and grainy, the darkness being cut by shards of neon lights coming from unseen outside sources.
STORY:
The main concept for this video revolves around a large screened-in cage for birds (similar to the one in the album cover – see attached photo – this will be an actual set piece.). A dark, dirty space with an ambiguously industrial background and inhabited by several plastic owls, hawks, and a large figure perched in the corner covered in a black robe. Coming close to the figure we see, in contrast to the black cover, the white feet of a human peeking out from underneath. A small silver chain is attached around one of its ankles and locked in some way to the cage, presumably keeping it there. Moving upwards to the face of the figure, the pink lips of a female (Bree) emerge from the top of the cloak, but her nose, eyes and head are covered by the large leather mask of a hawk’s hood (see attached picture).
As she sings it is clear she is somehow trapped or kept. Whether she is waiting to be cooked, killed, put on display or used for some other purpose, it is unclear, but the feeling of hopelessness and danger permeate.
Enter Simon. He is also dressed in dark clothing although he has no hood or shackles. He opens the cage door easily and moves toward Bree. Whether he is captor or saviour, is unknown, but his movements toward her are gentle and she is not afraid. He removes her hood and after her eyes adjust to the little light in the cage, she looks longingly toward him. He returns the look as he continues to unchain her. First the metal from her ankle is removed followed by her cloak. He replaces it with a beautiful silken robe and as he stands behind her, touching her shoulders, he leans his face to her ear and neck and sings:
“There’s a place for us, my dear…”
As he regales her with images beyond the cage, the enclosure melts away to reveal a fantastical, lush landscape with hazy green and golden tones: This is their reverie. As in “the Last Temptation of Christ” where Jesus gets to live a long life together with Mary (instead of martyring himself), this is the chance for Roy and Pris, (i.e. the trapped bird souls of Bree and Simon) to be free. What follows is a montage of “simple joys”. Spending time with your love: Quick shot of Bree and Simon laughing over a cup of tea in an outdoor cafe. Cut to Simon with his reading glasses examining the Sunday paper while Bree is fast asleep on the other side of the bed – a big white bed, white comforter and sheets, white pillows, sun pouring in. Cut to later, same bed, the two face each other, clothed, awake, looking deeply at the other. Very soft, gentle smiles. Very quiet, peaceful. Very intimate.
As the final part of the musical bridge descends, a repeated red flash of light – like a ship’s alarm – interrupt the dream. And as the final hit of the piano shocks us back into the third verse, so are they jolted back into the birdcage.
Separated by a screen partition they sing looking at each other, but are unable to touch. Close-ups on their bare feet reveal metal bracelets around both their ankles this time (with the words Tyrell Corp.?) Dirt, feathers, maybe even some blood cover their cage floor.
As the final chorus swells, the cage explodes with bizarre cut-out animation (see Martha Colburn). Images of owl heads with human bodies, geishas with melted faces and other unsettling, surreal images abound.
“I’m not feeling well (but I’ll sit real still)” repeats. As the bizarre images begin to fade, Bree and Simon head back to opposite sides of the cage. Bree climbs back onto her perch and drapes the dark cloak around her shoulders, covering her body. Simon does the same on his side. Two hawk’s hoods descend from the top of the cage and over their heads covering their eyes. As the last notes ring out, the cage gets very quiet. Bree and Simon turn their heads away from each other and as they get still, they fade into the darkness of their enclosure and become as inanimate as the plastic birds that surround them.