HOMECOMING

Official Music Video Treatment
Artist: Serena Sun
Director: Hannah Yang

LISTEN TO HOMECOMING HERE.

[Clicking the link above will take you to a private Soundcloud page in another tab]

Artist Statement.

Please press each section to view responses.

Written by Serena Sun.

This song is a story about self-discovery and personal growth. I wrote Homecoming about finding inner peace within myself after leaving home early, moving to different cities and seeking out rich experiences outside of what was familiar to me. Along the way, I felt like I lost my innocence and parts of my identity that I liked. I tried to regain my sense of self while I was away, but it was not until I returned home that I realized the self-assuredness and sense of peace I was craving was always within me. Homecoming touches on this realization. This song holds an important message I want to share with the world; in today’s society, we are so easily swept up in the busy-ness of life that we rarely take a moment to rest and reflect. This song is meant to help those who crave peace to experience it in realtime.
1. Messaging: The song itself has a strong connection to my identity as an artist; creating a video will help share the meaning of the song with my audience. The visual storytelling enhances the journey I want to take listeners on through ‘Homecoming.’ The hope is to enhance listeners’ attachment and understanding towards the song.
2. Marketing: the video will be used to promote the song on streaming and social media platforms. It can also be used to make ads, stills/photos, reels, and other micro content to reach new audiences on platforms that favour visual content such as Tiktok.
3. Community: Create opportunities to work with filmmakers from underrepresented groups. All key creatives recruited thus far are women of colour. One of our production’s major goals is to hire people from minority groups who are passionate about developing their careers and uplifting their community.
- I am currently planning to continue releasing songs every 6-8 weeks this calendar year.
- Homecoming would be released in late 2022 (likely November, before the industry-wide slow down in December).
- Homecoming, the official music video, would be filmed in the late fall of 2022 and released on my YouTube channel in December.
- Marketing pushes to be implemented to increase visibility: social media posts, targeted ads, publicist assistance, playlist pitching.
- Apps to track engagement: weekly reports from Soundcharts and Chartmetric.

Why Hannah Yang:

I was first introduced to Hannah’s work through the Vancouver Asian Film Festival, during which Mama’s Song, a film that Hannah directed, was played. I was immediately drawn to Hannah’s ability to tell thoughtful and touching stories through filmmaking. Almost a full year later, Hannah attended my debut EP release party and was exposed to my unreleased work; this is where she expressed her interest in working together. After getting to know each other better, I learned that Hannah and I share similar convictions as artists and creatives. We have a shared mission to create works that are deeply meaningful, and this inspires me heavily. I have full confidence in Hannah’s ability to direct the music video for Homecoming.

Hannah began her film career 2 years ago as an Assistant Director working primarily in music videos where she established a strong pre-production workflow. During her time as a Post-Production Coordinator, she oversaw the completion of high profile TV commercials for companies such as 7-Eleven and Toyo Tires. Hannah has also written and directed an advertisement as well as her short film, Mama's Song (PW: Appleseed), which is currently in its festival circuit. Having worked in various aspects of the production pipeline and also bringing her own ideas to fruition, I am confident in her ability to collaboratively bring our vision to life.

The Story.

CONCEPT.

The music video depicts Serena in a barren field, planting seeds and watering them with the hopes that they will grow into a thriving garden.

NARRATIVE.

Serena’s song, ‘Homecoming’ describes Serena’s life experience with moving to different countries, seeking out new experiences and meeting new people. After living through many thrills and challenges, she eventually realizes that the peace she was hoping to find has always been within her. This music video is a visual metaphor for Serena’s path to self-discovery.

Serena is on a mission to nurture a barren field into a sea of beautiful flowers, which we allude to in the lyric of the first verse, “I was laying in a bed of flowers.” However, the seeds are taking more time to sprout than she expected. Still, she persists in watering them and eventually we see young sprouts beginning to grow.

Serena awakens one morning to find her young flowers were ravaged overnight by wildlife who have left behind nothing but paw prints and shredded petals. Serena is discouraged yet begins again with new seeds. She waters them with what’s left of her watering can and hopes for the best. In the night, she awakens to droplets falling on her face. Rain is falling from the sky, refreshing her world. By morning, Serena is surrounded by a field of flourishing blossoms.

We hope to show the audience that despite all the challenges we face, we can continue to do our best and no matter what we wake up to, it will be worth it because of what we hold inside of us—hope, strength, and peace. This is why the universe rewards Serena at the end, with rainfall leading to a full bloom, signifying a new beginning.

TECHNICAL TREATMENT.

TECHNICAL NEEDS:

We will be filming in a studio and using lighting and heavy set design to emulate a natural environment. This will allow us to create a controlled environment that reflects the different stages Serena experiences throughout the video.

STYLE:

Blend of performance and narrative. There will be cuts of Serena singing as well as non-performative moments where she will be taking care of the plants. We will be using lighting to show the progression from day to night. Soft, natural, ethereal look.

COLOUR PALETTE:

GEAR:

Komodo 6k Camera Brain
Revolva RF-EF Adapter + ND 0.6, 1.2 & 2.1
Red Volt BP Batteries
Leica R Cine Modded Set: 28mm, 35mm & 50mm
Atomos Shinobi SDI 5" Monitor
Wooden Camera V-Mount Adapter
NP-F750 Batteries
Tilta Mini Follow Focus (Manual)
512 GB Red Pro C-Fast Card
Red C-Fast Card Reader
6" 12G SDI, 1' 12G SDI Cable
12G/3G SDI Isolator
Smallrig Top Handle
Medium Noga Arm
Nato Rail + 15mm Rod Clamp
8" 15mm Rods
12TB G-Raid Drive
18TB G-Drive Back up

CHALLENGES:

Set design: in order to ensure this video is visually captivating, we are heavily investing in the Art Department. We foresee the transportation and execution of the set [flowers, greenery, and rain falling (SFX)] being a potential challenge. The funds from this grant would allow us to bring on board an experienced Production Designer with the expertise to advise on practical options and hire enough personnel to seamlessly put the set together for the shoot.

Logistics of shoot day / being limited to 1 day of shooting: we foresee the need for an Assistant Director to coordinate with all departments the day of the shoot; this is to ensure that all scenes are efficiently and effectively carried out in 1 day.