1. 'illicit affairs' Music Video
Planning
By Molly McGee 12C

2. Initial idea
• I have chosen to create a music video to the narrative song 'illicit affairs' by Taylor Swift
• The video will follow an older version of a girl reminiscing on her past relationship after
she finds a box full of old memories, with shots alternating between present day and her
past
• My lead singer will be the older version of the girl, whilst the narrative will
predominantly focus on the younger version. I will film the video both outside and inside,
in a small variety of locations including a house and a car park
• I will take inspiration from other 2010s music videos of 'indie-alternative' songs which
will mainly be reflected in the types of shots I have selected to use
• There is currently no music video for the song, which will allow my portrayal to remain
completely original
• I will plan my video using a storyboard and aim to stick to it as closely as possible
• I will use DaVinci Resolve to edit my music video

3. The song
• illicit affairs – Taylor Swift (2020)
• The structure: Interlude, verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, outro
• During the verses, I will shoot a narrative of the two young lovers experiencing their
break-up, but also document the events that both lead up to this happening and that took
place afterwards
• During the choruses, I will focus more on the older woman and her journey rediscovering
these old relics that remind her of her past
• The bridge will be split into two halves. The first section will feature the young girl
lipsyncing, clearly demonstrating her upset and frustration. This will then transition into
the older woman doing the same, showing the pain this relationship has left her
• In the outro the older woman will be writing in the diary, and we will see that she is
writing the same lyrics as in the song. As the camera zooms out, we will see the album
'Love is a mixtape' playing on vinyl in the background, creating a transfer between artist
and viewer

4. Interlude (17 seconds)
• Woman reaching for scrapbook that has been hidden for a while, brushes off dust to reveal title ‘the illicit affair’
• We begin to see her open the first page and sees the first line written ‘make sure nobody sees you leave’. The
camera zooms in to focus on these in time with lyrics and when it tilts up, we are in the scene with the younger
boy and girl

5. Verse 1 (40 seconds)
LYRICS
Make sure nobody sees you leave
Hood over your head, keep your eyes down
Tell your friends you're out for a run
You'll be flushed when you return
PLAN
Camera pans over diary so that we see these words
written, then pans up to backligting/distant shot of
boy and girl – she's pulling hood over head
Hood over your head – boys pov of her saying this,
keep your eyes down is focused on his face and how
he breaks eye contact
Medium close up with the boy's bag in centre frame,
both arms are seen reaching for it, make eye contact
with eachother
Passes him the bag and the camera zooms in on his
guilty/sad facial expression

6. Verse 1 (40 seconds)
LYRICS
Take the road less traveled by
Tell yourself you can always stop
What started in beautiful rooms
Ends with meetings in parking lots
Outdoor tracking shot of the boy walking down a
road, no entry/dead end sign can be seen in
background
Camera pans/zooms into sign
Pans down to focus on another couple in the
background
Camera turns back around to him
PLAN

7. Chorus 1 (15 seconds)
LYRICS
And that's the thing about illicit affairs
And clandestine meetings and longing stares
It's born from just one single glance
But it dies and it dies and it dies
A million little times
PLAN
Cuts back to first scene with the older
girl sat on her bed lip syncing the
chorus, shallow depth of field

8. Verse 2 (32 seconds)
LYRICS
Leave the perfume on the shelf
That you picked out just for him
So you leave no trace behind
Like you don't even exist
Take the words for what they are
A dwindling, mercurial high
A drug that only worked
The first few hundred times
PLAN
Aerial shot of box which focuses on bottle of
perfume with label 'For him'
Wide shot as girl walks over to mirror and
sprays the perfume in reflection
Reflection and he's there, but then she turns
her head and he is gone
Wide shot of girl walking towards bed as phone lights up =
backlit shot to make this stand out more. Closer, angled shot
of phone reveals that the message says something declarative
and romantic
Girl picks up phone and face drops, cuts to extreme close up
of eye so that the message can be reflected in it, tear rolling
down cheek

9. Chorus 2 (22 seconds)
LYRICS
And that's the thing about illicit affairs
And clandestine meetings and longing stares
It's born from just one single glance
But it dies and it dies and it dies
A million little times
PLAN
Camera slowly zooms out as the young
girl begins to lip sync the chorus,
moving from a mid to wide shot

10. Bridge (32 seconds)
LYRICS
And you wanna scream
Don't call me 'kid', don't call me 'baby'
Look at this godforsaken mess that you made me
You showed me colors you know I can't see with anyone else
Don't call me "kid," don't call me "baby"
Look at this idiotic fool that you made me
You taught me a secret language I can't speak with anyone else
PLAN
Cuts to outside scene where young girl is walking in
opposite direction on same road as boy, eye-level shot
Camera pans left and focus shifts from younger to older,
who are now both in same shot for the first time, both
lipsyncing at this point

11. Outro (31 seconds)
LYRICS
And you know damn well
For you, I would ruin myself
A million little times
PLAN
Over the shoulder shot shows older girl writing
lyrics in diary in the same scene as the beginning,
vinyl seen playing in the background
Final shot = switch to diegetic sound as camera
focuses on vinyl and illicit affairs is playing, album
cover of 'Love is a Mixtape' shot by me will also be
in frame
Screen will then cut to black as the credits for record label/copyright etc. are displayed

12. Artist
• betty james
• Will be portrayed by both a younger and older white female, ideally
with dark blonde hair to closely represent the artist, Taylor Swift, who
the song is written by and who has inspired this project
• I intend to represent her as a relatable figure who the audience may
feel aligned with either due to her age or due to her experience

13. Storyboard