Sunday 16 October 2016

LYRICS #5

Sunday 16 October 2016
Upon receiving feedback on our draft, we attempted to re-tweak the song the way we imagined it but without too much success. However, the feedback has come to solidify how we see the structure of the story we want to tell, so we thought it might useful to post a (rough) break down of the purpose / key emotion behind each possible stage of the song:  

Verse 1

Intended as a flashback, the first verse should ideally convey that for years, our character felt terribly unimportant – not belonging anywhere, without a place to call home where she’d matter and feel supported.
This is meant to hopefully parallel Norma Jeane Mortenson’s childhood (as she still is a main inspiration to our short), a time during which she drifted from one foster family to the other, even staying for a while in an orphanage. The verse should therefore feel like a lonely roam, the hurt coming from the fact she’s being ‘cast off’, as no one really cares to see what she could put into the world.
For that reason, lines like “In the dark” or “All one with her fears” are not truly describing the state of mind we were hoping to tell (and might actually render the visuals a little static too). In short, she isn’t specifically scared (like an Elsa character), she’s just seen as insignificant, with a talent unrecognised.

Verse 2

The second verse should inform the audience that, although no one notices her, she hasn’t given up hope on making the tables turn. There is a spark of ambition, the seed of a dream in her heart, but she isn’t doing anything about it quite yet. 
(This verse could also be useful to introduce the first chorus and eliminate any sense of confusion as to ‘who’ is talking and whom she’s singing about.)

Chorus 1

The first chorus is a statement of this vivid daydream she’s been cultivating. It doesn’t involve any active decisions yet, as she opens it with some doubt in her voice, contemplating the person she would like to be. In theory, the chorus shouldn’t really contain anything about looks: she’d like to get others to appreciate her but mostly for her own sake, for what’s inside, longing for her worth to be valued. (In the next verse, she gets concerned with changing her appearance, but it’s a means to an end).

Verse 3

Here she’s embarking on a journey to step out of the shadows. She has figured out she needs to change in order to please, so she leaves the past behind and starts anew; counting on the fact that after she goes through a universally approved mould she could become ‘visible’ to the rest of the world. (Though it's a mould that doesn’t allow for a cancel button)

Verse 4

Now pressure’s built up and the fourth verse oozes with a sentiment of stage fright (as if she was right behind the curtains before they open). She’s come a long way, is she going to be a flop? Will her efforts get rewarded?

Chorus 2

The second chorus sees our character reveal her new self to the world. It’s a continuation of the previous verse where she wonders if she’ll make an impression.

Chorus 3

Applauded, confident, our character fully assumes her recently gained title and revels into the joy of finally being recognised and adored. It is however a title of ‘sex kitten’, since her physical image has come to prevail on everything else she had wished to offer.

Bridge

The bridge is a moment where she takes a quick break to reflect on her success and considers whether or not it can bring her happiness/peace/satisfaction. She therefore briefly ponders if she’s lost something, now that she’s also the public's property. But being caught up into the Hollywood machine, she lacks the time to truly think about it twice and simply carries on, giving it all she’s got.

Chorus 4

The final chorus should if possible be a nod to Marilyn Monroe’s fate and legacy, to how much she impacted pop/celebrity culture and came to personify the tragic side of stardom. To this day, many things still revolve around her persona and memory, so the idea of ‘being remembered’ should come in to balance the ‘being forgotten’ theme that was present in the first verse.

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