Mr Blue Sky Pitch

By Electric Light Orchestra

 Lyrics
Sun is shinin' in the sky Mr. Blue, you did it right Hey you with the pretty face
There ain't a cloud in sight But soon comes Mr. Night creepin' Welcome to the human race
It's stopped rainin' everybody's in the play
And don't you know over A celebration, Mr. Blue Sky's up there
It's a beautiful new day, hey hey Now his hand is on your shoulder waitin'
Runnin' down the avenue Never mind I'll remember you this And today is the day we've waited for
See how the sun shines brightly in the city I'll remember you this way Oh Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why
On the streets where once was pity Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why You had to hide away for so long (so
Mr. Blue Sky is living here today, hey hey You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why long) Where did we go wrong?
You had to hide away for so long (so long) Where did we go wrong? Hey there Mr. Blue
Where did we go wrong?
Hey there Mr. Blue (sky) We're so pleased to be with you
Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why We're so pleased to be with you (sky) Look around see what you do
You had to hide away for so long (so long)
Look around see what you do (blue) Everybody smiles at you
Where did we go wrong?
Everybody smiles at you
Hey there Mr. Blue
We're so pleased to be with you
Look around see what you do
Everybody smiles at you
Narrative
While my narrative is not entirely established as of yet, I intend to make a video with a narrative that follows a
young artist waking up to a new day. He is seemingly tired and drowsy which is a deliberate juxtaposition to the
pace of the song- the song is essentially the thing driving him in the video. Early in the video it is established that
he is an artist- he will be shown surrounded by his drawings as well as books and art supplies (for example,
notebooks, an unfinished painting on an easel and a seemingly discarded paint palette) creating a mise-en-scene
that is easily understandable in the short time frame. Quickly into the video it will be established that the
drawings he creates appear all around him in his life. His style is simplistic, colourful, almost childlike and
animated in a simple, looping-frame style to keep things easy in the production process. As he continues to try
and enjoy the day around him, the animated wildlife and animals follow him to enjoy the day alongside him. The
animated creatures will be implied to be waiting for him- he, to his cartoon creations, is the “Mr Blue Sky” of the
video. ”Oh Mr. Blue Sky please tell us why, You had to hide away for so long (so long)”. They are waiting for him to
come outside as he is their creator and they clearly love him. Arguably the song is sung by his animated friends as
they wish he would spend more time with them, but he conforms to the common ”shut-in” artist stereotype. I
wish to represent this in the beginning of the video where he is slow to rise and seems to be troubled by his
tiredness and overall lack of energy, but he comes around and enjoys the day with his friends in the end.
I intend to include shots of other groups of people – such as an old man walking his dog- to interact subtly with
the creations to ground the animation within reality. Most of the visuals will illustrate and visualise the lyrics and
it will be largely performance-based as the narrative is very simple.
Application to Brief
I will make sure that my video is still largely upbeat and, while it is socially conscious with my inclusion
of a transgender male main character (therefore appealing to my 15-25 year old middle market
aspirational audience), it will still be anthemic and keep to the happy nature of the song.
This video will be extremely digitally convergent as animation is a very modern form of digital
technology and appeals to a young adult target audience as the animation is cute and a style that
lends to teen audiences. It is not too childish that it appeals to younger than my target audience and it
will show clear maturity as well. I will also use digital convergence by linking my website at the end of
my music video so that they are both accessible to each other. Some of the art assets I use in my video
I will copy over to my website– some of the creatures and animals for example will feature in my
website as easter-eggs.
While I have not decided who exactly I will include in my video, I know I intend on including multiple
side characters who feature from different age and gender groups. As a contrast to the bright young
boy that is my main character, I may decide to include characters such as: an older man, an older
woman and a younger girl to interact with the environment in the video, in order to present at least
two different social groups.
Lyrics Annotations
(Unfinished)
Storyboard Ideas
Examples of
Artstyle –
Concept Art
Intertextual References
• I intend to, with my animation, pay homage to the leaves animation seen
in the Netflix show ”Heartstopper”– this would be very beneficial to me as
it would particularly adhere to my target audience and they would feel
more strongly connected to my music video because of this. It is simple in
style and due to the content of the Netflix show I am referencing it would
reinforce my brand identity as one of acceptance of the LGBTQ+
community.
• I also intend to include an easter egg from the show Adventure Time due
to the similarities between the style I have chosen and the cartoon’s style.
The easter egg I intend to include is based off of one in the show, where a
small snail is visible in a random location in every episode. I will subtly hint
at this by drawing the same snail in a discreet location as a nod of
appreciation to the original show. The show was made in 2010 so was
relevant in the childhood of my target audience, meaning many of them
would understand the reference.
 Shooting Locations

• My house/ room- for beginning shots of main character waking up • Belfairs Park – For shots of multiple characters interacting with
and getting ready. Bathroom can be used for getting ready for the day animation and wildlife.
shots and blue-lighting can produce interesting visual effects • Vast, open space for lots of freedom when recording.
• Lots of natural lighting through main window which is very visually • However it is a public space and there are golfers nearby so must
appealing. Spacious, and easy to manipulate to fit my needs. Available make sure they are not in any video and not in the way when
24/7. filming.
• MUST ensure that the weather is good and the sun is shining with a • Must ensure weather is good- mediocre weather will drastically
blue sky to achieve desired effect.
damage the quality of recording.
• Can possibly get some shots of main character opening window, but
would have to use some form of selfie stick to achieve this.
 Themes - Notebooks
• A theme that I want to include is that the drawings that
are animated are found in the main character’s
notebooks before they are introduced in the real world.
• In the beginning of my video I intend to show a
collection of some of the boy’s drawings in notebooks –
either incomplete or discarded. They will subtly
introduce the creatures and animals I intend to animate
in the video and establish them as the young boy’s
creations rather than random animations.
• This will be useful in setting up my narrative and using it
as a reoccurring theme will help ground the narrative as
well. I will have other shots of the main character
drawing in notebooks throughout the video and I
intend to end on a shot of his notebook as well, to
create a more cyclical structure.
Influences / Inspirations
The Beautiful Briney –
Bedknobs and
Broomsticks
• This snippet from the 1971
film Bedknobs and
Broomsticks is exactly the
kind of animation and live-
action interaction I would
aspire to create in my
video. While I would need
to keep my scope small it
is incredibly useful in
seeing how I can get my
actors to perform and it is
a very striking visual style.
 •”Opposites Attract” By Paula Abdul is a classic
example of video and choreography designed
Influences / around an animated character or feature. It won
a Grammy for the Best Short Form music video
Inspirations – and features animation from several Disney
Opposites animators. I find this kind of animation /
rotoscoping alongside reality extremely visually
Attract, 1989 appealing and I believe studying how it is created
(creating animation on top of live-action video)
will help me in my music video as well.
Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah – Song of the South -
1946