During initial discussions with the band My Goodness, they wanted to create a certain mood – of sadness, loss, confusion. They wanted it to feel like the viewer was hijacked and brought through a hell-scape. So when I bid on this job on behalf of Bucci, this was the treatment I built.
-Joe Aliberti
It all started with the story. What could I include in the video that conveyed loneliness? The song is after all, called Islands. Right away, I thought, we need to have close ups of eyes and we need to have a lot of soft bokeh in frame to look like little, tiny islands. As soon as I found the picture from Slide 5, I knew I wanted to go for that type of hot red look, and of course, that I needed to include a car.
The car could also convey the feeling of being hijacked, so the Driver had to be scary and mysterious, and eventually, psychotic. And what better place to put this car than Sunset Blvd at night.
Of course, not everything went as planned and other ideas emerged after the treatment was submitted. For example, the closing shot was much different. Rather than a lonely, dark street as pictured in the treatment, the Passenger is brought home in the day time, morning-ish, and the trip is over.
Also, the band is not included in the video. We thought the video kind of spoke for itself and opted not to shoot My Goodness performing the song.
Take a look now at the finished video, after having seen the Treatment. I hope it gives you an idea of how create a winning treatment.
