Music Video Pitch for the band "Beirut"
Sutheshna Mani
Art Director
Creative Director
Canva
Google Docs
This isn't the official music video for the song "Nantes" by the band Beirut but...
This is exactly what it would be.
Intro music
We see the setting - an alternative Bridgerton ballroom. Everyone is dressed in 17th-century English Gentry clothing. People who are part of a small province ruled by a King who refuses to see anyone frown or anything close to anger, sadness, etc. So much so—that the inhabitants have red paint-plastered smiles on their faces.
Well it's been a long time, long time now
Since I've seen you smile
And I'll gamble away my fright
And I'll gamble away my time
In this verse, we see everyone is still, except for the servants doing touch-ups to decorations and food.
And in a year, a year or so
This will slip into the sea
Well it's been a long time, long time now
Since I've seen you smile
At the top of this verse, all of the guests start doing a coordinated dance similarly shown in Bridgerton or Pride and Prejudice. The scene shows the inhabitants dancing idly, as they always do, with everyone, including the chef, the waiters, and the butlers, all with plastered smiles, partaking in the festivities.
Instrumental interlude
We are now in an empty theatre, with a King, his right-hand man, who have no face paint, and one Queen, whose face is painted with a smile. They are watching a private ballet show.
Nobody raise your voices
Just another night in Nantes
Nobody raise your voices
Just another night in Nantes
In this entire verse, we see the two dancers dancing, focusing on each other. Unbeknownst to the despots, they are plotting subversion. They are plotting to get rid of the King and lead the Retinue to a nearby forest for their freedom. The male dancer spins her, and using that momentum, she aims and launches a knife at the King.
Lisa!
Oh non je t'en prie, nous ne sommes pas chez nous
Oh je t'assure que ce n'est pas grave
Non laisse moi!
Mais qu'est-ce que tu as aujourd'hui?
J'ai que les hommes me dégoûtent
Vous ne pensez qu'à ça
The Queen in distress, tries to clean up her husband, trying to save him. The right-hand man, leaves, out of fear.
Well it's been a long time, long time now
The male ballerina scoops up the woman, and they run out of the theatre.
Since I've seen you smile
This triggers the other members of the kingdom awake
And I'll gamble away my fright
And I'll gamble away my time
And in a year, a year or so
The members of the kingdom run out and follow the ballerinas
This will slip into the sea
Well it's been a long time, long time now
Since I've seen you smile
[ending musical interlude]
The King runs through the forest with a whip, hitting everyone in his path until he reaches the Ballerinas. Members of the kingdom are slowly stripping their clothes.
The ballerinas reach the edge of a cliff. Then, they look at each other and look behind—there is a mound of rocks and a waterfall. They both jump, thinking to their death, but…
They land in a beautiful creek, with gentle waters and no rocks to hit their heads. They plunge into the water and emerge. The man looks at her, wips away the red paint, and from there, a real smile from the ballerina emerges.
Alt added the ending: They idly float towards a lake where they see land on the other side.
End of the music video.
