Hopeless- Halsey

Hopeless is an indie song from Halseys latest album, hopeless fountain kingdom, about a
relationship that is changing and coming to an end and how the people in it feel hopeless. I
plan on therefore showing multiple young adults and teenagers in various locations alone as
narrative video, to represent the hopelessness feeling that dominates our generation within
relationships and how lonely we stereotypically are. I also plan on showing themes such as
alcohol and smoking to bring attention to how people cope with these feelings of loneliness
and hopelessness.
From my survey, it is evident that people enjoy music videos that show multiple people in
different scenarios and therefore I believe it would work well to show various shots of
different models in multiple varied locations. I will use both male and female models to
countertype the image that it is only women who feel vulnerable in relationships.
Whilst keeping the video predominantly low lit to show the negativity of the situation, I
believe that it would be effective to include fairy lights and other small sources of light into
the shots as it is something that is aesthetically pleasing to people between 17-21, as seen
across social media, and as most people who filled in my survey and who are part of
Halseys audience fit into this demographic I believe that it would be more successful as a
music promo.
As well as showing shots of the models, I plan on intercutting shots of various locations such
as shots of busy town centres to emphasise the loneliness of the generation by contrasting
the lone models with places that represent crowds, socialising and togetherness. Since the
lyrics are also focusing on the lead up to the end of a relationship, I think it would be
interesting to include cutaways of people holding hands, laying together and legs
intertwined.
From my survey, it can be determined that many people like the indie genre and so I plan on
keeping the costume and makeup for this video quite indie and grunge, not only as it fits
with the genre but its also reflective of the themes within the song. As I will have various
models, Ill have the freedom to experiment and show multiple assorted styles within the
video, contrasting between heavy makeup and no makeup; dark clothes and more pastel
coloured clothes; and loose and tight clothes. I will include some female models in more
revealing clothing in order to follow Goffmans theory and appeal to the stereotypical
heterosexual male audience. However, I plan on contradicting this too by showing
stereotypically attractive men topless to sexualise them for the stereotypical heterosexual
female audience.
Whilst I would like to film in more built up locations, such as in alley ways between busy
buildings and in carparks, I will also be including some shots of more natural settings such as
by a river. Whilst these settings are rather different, I think it will show how our generation
feels alone no matter where we are, but also keeps it visually interesting and more
adventurous (as my survey revealed that most people prefer music videos that are
adventurous and I would interpret this as multiple distinct locations). I will also get some
shots in front of iconic land marks in London to appeal to a wider audience as many people
have a fascination with London.
When editing, I plan on cutting the music to the beat, as media theorist Carol Versallis
suggests that music promos are most effective when cut to the beat and that the video pace
should depend on the beat. As the song is also rather slow, I may slow some of the clips
down to fit the pace but also make it appear more dramatic. I think this will emphasise the
themes of the song effectively.
I plan on varying the shots of models, and getting multiple angles on them; but I plan on
intercutting a few mid shots of female models looking to the right as an intertextual
reference to Halseys first albums cover for her super fans to recognise. It is also known
that Halsey is bisexual so when showing shots of couples, I will include both gay and
heterosexual couples to represent this, but also as a political statement to show how we are
evolving and becoming more excepting as a generation.