Alive

From Videoville

artist: P.O.D.
label: Atlantic
director: Francis Lawrence
year: 7.10.01

treatment

VERSION #2

After thinking about this song quite a bit, I have come to the conclusion that changing the mundane day into an exhilarating day is the absolute right choice. This song is hopeful and is about living life to it's fullest because at any moment we might be gone.

Now, this clip is an action packed exhilarating journey of one young man in one day and is told to us during the duration of the car accident.

Now, both the car accident and the guy's day will be exhilarating and action packed.

Fade up.

We sit in a car as it is driven by a young man, somewhere in his late teens. He cruises casually. We are looking at him from the passenger seat. We can see out of his side window. His car enters an intersection. A bus roars into frame and just as the song's opening explodes with energy, the bus impacts the side of his car, sending the two vehicles into what looks like an explosive and deadly accident.

The camera whips over to reveal P.O.D. set up right in the middle of the intersection. They dig into their instruments with the intense energy of the song's intro. Cars whiz past, just narrowly missing the guys, as they try to avoid the accident that has just begun.

The impacting cars slow and almost stop in ultra hyper real slow motion. We see every piece of debris, every ripple of metal and every tuft of smoke as these two vehicles head out on their random trajectory.

This car crash, which would normally take mere milli-seconds, will now be stretched out to the three and a half minute length of the track. We will watch every action of this guy's car as it skids, tumbles, rolls and impacts other objects.

P.O.D. performs here, almost as guardian angels, right in the middle of this car crash trajectory.

We set up an epic performance that lets the band perform as best they can, right smack in the middle of a suburban intersection as cars whiz past them and the barreling vehicles race toward them.

The crashing cars, will skid and tumble, just inches from them. At times, the cars will swipe away the drum set, sending pieces of the drum kit flying into the air. The guys will step casually out of the way of the crashing car, performing without missing a beat.

We will watch the guys reflected in the burning metal of the cars as they crash in surreal slow motion. We will see the guys performing from inside the crashing car. Sometimes they will reach out and actually let their fingers glide along the rattled windows of the crashing cars.

We shoot each of the guys in the band in various areas of the hectic intersection and capture them in dramatic and cinematic compositions. This takes the guys up a step from the live feel to the surreal and mythical level… they are unbreakable.

We focus in on each of the guys here, letting each of their individual personalities shine through as they interact with their insane surroundings.

We see them step casually away just narrowly missing the impact of the crashing cars. We watch them perform, caught in the spinning side view mirrors of the crashing cars. We watch them perform as warped reflections in the crumbling bumpers.

In fact, the crashing cars become our performance space, but it is here where we launch into our narrative.

Imagine a perfect day. Maybe, if you were to look back, it could be one of those days that could be the best of your life. It is not a wedding, a birth or any other major event, but rather a day filled with perfect and exhilarating moments.

Think of this guy's day in terms of a very cool, edgy and action packed Coke spot. It is the moments we wish we could experience in one day, let alone ever.

We watch our character wake up at the beach to watch the sunrise with friends. We watch him and his buddies paddle out into the waves and surf some heavy waves.

The footage here is handheld, natural and quickly paced to match the intensity of the song. We combine normal and slo mo speeds to add to the amplified sound of the song.

They pack the surfboards on top of the car… the car we've seen crashing earlier… and head back into town. He has the windows down, the sun's in his face, and POD is blaring.

There's a barbecue in a backyard. A crowd of friends mills about. A half-pipe is set up. Our guy grabs his board and rips it up a bit.

We cast someone who really knows his or her shit here. Someone that can surf and really catch some air. This should be part perfect day and part x-games commercial. That is the line we will ride here. This day is about friends, the sun, the wind, the surf, the speed, the airs, etc. It is the perfect combination. Quiet moments and fast moments… peaceful moments and exhilarating moments.

His girlfriend is there. They go into another room. They go at it and we show it. We let it go as far as we can.

These kids feel real. Like the kids in the film "KIDS" or the film "Over the Edge." They are real, edgy and charismatic. But, the key here is that they are believable. We let the audience soak them in, believe that they could be real. We suck them in emotionally.

Our guy and his girlfriend head off in the car in the late afternoon. They drive. They head somewhere I haven't thought of yet, but it has to be somewhere where they experience something together. Another perfect moment. There was a commercial that I saw where a group of teenagers were hanging out on a small bridge and listening to music. They are waiting for something. Suddenly, out of the darkness, two trains go flying underneath them at ninety miles an hour. The roar of the engines and the rush of the wind blasts the kids and creates a surreal and beautiful experience. I want to create a moment like that… a moment to cap off the day… after the surfing, the friends, the skating, the sex and the sun.

It is later when we catch back up with the guy as he drives. It is the same shot we opened the video with.

We sit in a car as it is driven by a young man. He cruises casually. We are looking at him from the passenger seat. We can see out of his side window. His car enters an intersection. A bus roars into frame and just as the song's climax explodes with energy, the bus impacts the side of his car, sending the two vehicles into what looks like an explosive and deadly accident.

The band roars with intensity and we watch the car crash now happen in real time.

We see every moment of the horrendous crash happen right before our eyes. The grace of slow motion is gone… now we get the reality as his car tumbles through the intersection, flipping, spinning and finally slamming into a telephone pole just as the song ends.

We hold for a moment on the smoking mess. There is no movement… Then suddenly, the driver's side door is kicked open. The kid gets out slowly and stands next to his wrecked car.

You never know when it may all end.

Fade out.