- Type
- Music Video
The Wanderer
THE WANDERER tells the story of a boy trapped within the circular logic of desire.
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All great stories are driven by want. However, to simply get what you want is unhappiness; life is best lived as a journey. Goals are achieved and lost, new ones are born and all the while we are driven by desire. Life is thus movement, wandering, always towards a goal but always displaced.
Narratively, THE WANDERER follows this circular path of desire. Our story is of a boy drifting through important moments in his life - accumulating friends, experiences, baggage - finding everything but what he is looking for. At first, The Boy is pleased with these possessions. Yet, he soon catches glimpse of The Girl - that mysterious figure reminiscent both of his origin and of his destination. With this vision in his heart, nothing else can suffice.
The Boy wanders through four different sets, each archetypal in location and of a historical time period. In addition to these sets' visual specificity, each also calls to mind four iconic literary experiences of wandering.
Each set is linked to the mood and lyrics of each verse in "Don't Forget Sister." Our first story finds The Boy at a college fraternity party in the 1960s. Historically American, this story plays out as if Jay Gatsby had attended Yale, striving for cultural greatness and social acceptance.
The Boy sits on a couch surrounded by extravagance. He gets up and walks through the party. Someone tosses a scarf around his neck. Someone hands him a glass of wine. The Boy seems pleased.
Suddenly, he catches glimpse of someone beautiful at the far end of the party; his surroundings instantly become meaningless. The Boy tries to get across the room, but when he does, she slips out of reach.
Alone, he is suddenly sent careening back into the next set, starting over. The Boy is now in the midst of a beautiful and aristocratic French garden party, sometime in the 1800s. This is the story of a Proustian character uncomfortable in a socially foreign world, longing for the simplicity of his past.
Again, the boy walks forward, accumulating wax-sealed letters, cups of tea and pieces of clothing. This time when he sees The Girl he is ready - he briskly follows her. Yet again, he is too late - he is thrown back through the set, starting over once more.
The Boy is now on a New York City street in the 1950s - a Jack Kerouac story of being lost in the big city, desiring what is elsewhere.
When The Boy sees The Girl at the end of this journey, he becomes desperate. He pushes pedestrians out of his way as he scrambles for her. The street is too crowded; she slips away.
His journey's final iteration takes place within a great hall during a massive feast, sometime in antiquity. This is the story of Ulysses, the great wanderer, finally come home from his odyssey to claim what is his.
The Boy is disinterested from the start - all he wants is The Girl. Upon seeing her, he stops at nothing. He jumps on top of the huge table and sprints down its surface, knocking over mugs of beer, spilling wine and toppling dishes.
At the last possible moment he grabs her by the hand. It is she - the vision at the end of each journey. They embrace. His wandering has come to an end.
The camera lifts, revealing that the entire set is also structured like desire - circular. Each of the four locations extends outwards from the center, like huge spokes on a giant wheel. During each journey, The Boy has wandered from the outside to the inside of the circle, always missing its center, always being deferred to the outside again.
As the finale crescendos, The Boy and The Girl embrace in the center, at long last together.
Narratively, THE WANDERER follows this circular path of desire. Our story is of a boy drifting through important moments in his life - accumulating friends, experiences, baggage - finding everything but what he is looking for. At first, The Boy is pleased with these possessions. Yet, he soon catches glimpse of The Girl - that mysterious figure reminiscent both of his origin and of his destination. With this vision in his heart, nothing else can suffice.
The Boy wanders through four different sets, each archetypal in location and of a historical time period. In addition to these sets' visual specificity, each also calls to mind four iconic literary experiences of wandering.
Each set is linked to the mood and lyrics of each verse in "Don't Forget Sister." Our first story finds The Boy at a college fraternity party in the 1960s. Historically American, this story plays out as if Jay Gatsby had attended Yale, striving for cultural greatness and social acceptance.
The Boy sits on a couch surrounded by extravagance. He gets up and walks through the party. Someone tosses a scarf around his neck. Someone hands him a glass of wine. The Boy seems pleased.
Suddenly, he catches glimpse of someone beautiful at the far end of the party; his surroundings instantly become meaningless. The Boy tries to get across the room, but when he does, she slips out of reach.
Alone, he is suddenly sent careening back into the next set, starting over. The Boy is now in the midst of a beautiful and aristocratic French garden party, sometime in the 1800s. This is the story of a Proustian character uncomfortable in a socially foreign world, longing for the simplicity of his past.
Again, the boy walks forward, accumulating wax-sealed letters, cups of tea and pieces of clothing. This time when he sees The Girl he is ready - he briskly follows her. Yet again, he is too late - he is thrown back through the set, starting over once more.
The Boy is now on a New York City street in the 1950s - a Jack Kerouac story of being lost in the big city, desiring what is elsewhere.
When The Boy sees The Girl at the end of this journey, he becomes desperate. He pushes pedestrians out of his way as he scrambles for her. The street is too crowded; she slips away.
His journey's final iteration takes place within a great hall during a massive feast, sometime in antiquity. This is the story of Ulysses, the great wanderer, finally come home from his odyssey to claim what is his.
The Boy is disinterested from the start - all he wants is The Girl. Upon seeing her, he stops at nothing. He jumps on top of the huge table and sprints down its surface, knocking over mugs of beer, spilling wine and toppling dishes.
At the last possible moment he grabs her by the hand. It is she - the vision at the end of each journey. They embrace. His wandering has come to an end.
The camera lifts, revealing that the entire set is also structured like desire - circular. Each of the four locations extends outwards from the center, like huge spokes on a giant wheel. During each journey, The Boy has wandered from the outside to the inside of the circle, always missing its center, always being deferred to the outside again.
As the finale crescendos, The Boy and The Girl embrace in the center, at long last together.
Comments (12)
TIB This is an awesome concept. I'd vote for this one!
October 28, 2008Nick Francis Great concept. One of the more inspired pieces I've seen here, and the pitch video you added helps explain your vision very well. I actually think this could be pulled off within budget, as you are relying more on choreography and set design than effects. Good work and good luck! Take a look at my pitch as well, I think you'll appreciated the approach I've taken: http://massify.com/pitches/comingandgoing
October 21, 2008Aaron Schnobrich I appreciate the cerebral, technical and artistic approach to your pitch. I am a big fan of moving sets and long ,choreographed shots. As mentioned above I'm curious as to how the jump cuts would affect the overall feel of the video.
October 21, 2008Good luck to all of us ! !
Paul Wallace Thanks for the kind comments! As we all know from watching Star Wars I - III, unlimited budget = ruins the idea. I'm prepared to make this work even on a shoestring budget. Having such limitations will undoubtedly spur on further creativity - that is, unless we want to have a fully CG character...
October 21, 2008CalvinsWagon I am always a fan of directors who take risks and this would be no different. Its a big, bold music video. Its obvious you spent time, effort and energy on this so thank you for making it interesting. My main concern would be budget. I'm not exactly sure what Massify/RSA are offering but to pull this off in the manner that you would want to would require some cost. However, I will say that many times budget restraints tend to lead to creative, innovative results. Best of luck!
October 20, 2008Griff Wow, this is very well thought out. Desire, the woman of origin and destination, the 4 interesting time/location sets, boy and girl getting together at the end, etc.. This is very, very busy, and clearly the product of a very busy mind! You are a very bright and capable person, which can be best seen in the pitch video. Is there a Yale fraternity party in your past? I think there might!
October 20, 2008The crescendo is heavy! I love it as a powerful presentation and conclusion. But, feasibility and budget may be a concern. There is a very dramatic narrative here, which I like. There is definitely a director of feature films at work here I think. As busy as this concept is, it works for me. Too many pitches are super-simple, with no coherent story.
Music videos should be a visual orgy in my mind, and you've got one here! Bravo! And good luck!
Bryan Yomjinda Very creative!
October 20, 2008Paul Wallace Thanks so much for giving my pitch a read! I really appreciate your critique. I agree, that the jump-cuts will break the logic of the "pure" single take shot - however, I was using that aesthetic more as a structuring technique than as a rigid form. The main point of the "single-take" (and, it will most definitely be feigned) is to 1) establish a continuous sense of space, and 2) help reveal the set as sculptural. I think that the jump cuts will add more intrigue with its visual interest and its rhythm than take away with its cuts. But it's definitely something to keep in mind while filming - thanks!
October 13, 2008sdshannon Wow, this is very ambitious. The one shot "master" is very difficult, I find that filmmakers seem to appreciate it more than audiences do, however I think in the way that you have the set structured, it can be a very visually stunning piece. The only concern is that staccato part you mentioned, if edited, could break that master shot illusion. Anyways, very creative idea. Good luck!
October 9, 2008David Kim great idea!
October 9, 2008