Draft Treatment 
22/09/2014 
Will.i.am, Cody Wise 
It’s My Birthday 
Ideas for music video (narrative, concept) 
Our main narrative is the idea that it is the lead boy’s birthday. 
Due to the fact that it is his birthday, he is having a great day. 
He has received a lot of money, which he wants to flaunt, he 
feels confident in pursuing his love interest and everything is 
going well for him – including his school grades and the fact 
that he has received a car. 
We want to open the music video with a split screen of various 
locations including his school, party, mind, driveway and the 
street. 
In his school, we will see him receiving good grades and being 
allowed to dress how he wants, solemnly because it is his 
birthday. We want to include a part showing him bickering with 
one of his friends, but quickly getting over it because it is his 
birthday. We want to frequently cut to shots of the house party 
to show him and his friends enjoying themselves partying. We 
want to film his driveway and show that he has received a car 
for his birthday, emphasising how much money he has. We 
want to film in a studio/green screen to show people dancing 
and the lead boy singing, this can be called his ā€˜mind’. 
We want to put the idea across that a birthday means fun, 
happiness, enjoyment, love, gifts and money! Our concept 
mainly explores the idea of ā€˜fun’. 
Resources needed (Actors, props, location) 
Resources that will be needed (actors, props, location) 
Most importantly, we will need one lead boy to play the boy 
who is enjoying his birthday. We will need lots of other cast 
(extras) to play his friends, specifically at the house party and at 
school. Furthermore, at school, we will need two teachers.
Throughout the music video, we will cut to a split screen of 
around 3 people dancing, or simply just fooling around and 
having a good time. For this, we will need a variety of people 
who can dance or who are confident to express their 
personality to the camera in a fun way. Also for this, we will 
need various props to make it more interesting. This includes a 
sombrero on the lyrics ā€œMamacita, mamacita, Senorita vena 
quiā€. We would like to opt to use as many spontaneous items 
as possible for these split screen cuts, such as trumpets, 
sunglasses, paper fans, tennis rackets and teddy bears. 
Moreover, for the house party, we will need conventional party 
items such as cups, plates and balloons. We will finally need a 
car. 
In regards to location, we have established 5 main locations. 
These are Swakeleys Sixth form, a house party, The Oracy 
Space for a studio/green screen, the street and a driveway. We 
opt to make the house party look like a night club by making it 
dark, including a dance floor and lights. These locations are all 
in close distance to each other and will be easy to commute 
between. 
Justification for our ideas (Relating to artist, genre, audience 
questionnaire) 
We have chosen the idea and narrative that we have because 
the song and lyrics themselves are very happy and positive, and 
the songs releases an upbeat vibe. It is typical for Will.i.am to 
sing about partying and money, and this is evident in his other 
songs such as ā€œI Like to Move Itā€ and ā€œHot Wingsā€. 
Furthermore, Cody Wise is young and will attract a younger 
generation; therefore we want to include lots of youth in our 
video by using teenagers. 
We have established that the genre of Will.i.am’s music and 
this particular song is pop, and therefore we will embed the 
main pop convention into our video of dancing and extravagant 
and colourful clothes/props
Relating to our questionnaire, people informed us that they 
always prefer when there is a narrative in a music video, so we 
have ensured that we will include this. 
We have also conducted a Focus Group, who have shown us 
what they want to see, including the birthday boy receiving a 
car, and lots of teenagers dancing.

Final treatment

  • 1.
    Draft Treatment 22/09/2014 Will.i.am, Cody Wise It’s My Birthday Ideas for music video (narrative, concept) Our main narrative is the idea that it is the lead boy’s birthday. Due to the fact that it is his birthday, he is having a great day. He has received a lot of money, which he wants to flaunt, he feels confident in pursuing his love interest and everything is going well for him – including his school grades and the fact that he has received a car. We want to open the music video with a split screen of various locations including his school, party, mind, driveway and the street. In his school, we will see him receiving good grades and being allowed to dress how he wants, solemnly because it is his birthday. We want to include a part showing him bickering with one of his friends, but quickly getting over it because it is his birthday. We want to frequently cut to shots of the house party to show him and his friends enjoying themselves partying. We want to film his driveway and show that he has received a car for his birthday, emphasising how much money he has. We want to film in a studio/green screen to show people dancing and the lead boy singing, this can be called his ā€˜mind’. We want to put the idea across that a birthday means fun, happiness, enjoyment, love, gifts and money! Our concept mainly explores the idea of ā€˜fun’. Resources needed (Actors, props, location) Resources that will be needed (actors, props, location) Most importantly, we will need one lead boy to play the boy who is enjoying his birthday. We will need lots of other cast (extras) to play his friends, specifically at the house party and at school. Furthermore, at school, we will need two teachers.
  • 2.
    Throughout the musicvideo, we will cut to a split screen of around 3 people dancing, or simply just fooling around and having a good time. For this, we will need a variety of people who can dance or who are confident to express their personality to the camera in a fun way. Also for this, we will need various props to make it more interesting. This includes a sombrero on the lyrics ā€œMamacita, mamacita, Senorita vena quiā€. We would like to opt to use as many spontaneous items as possible for these split screen cuts, such as trumpets, sunglasses, paper fans, tennis rackets and teddy bears. Moreover, for the house party, we will need conventional party items such as cups, plates and balloons. We will finally need a car. In regards to location, we have established 5 main locations. These are Swakeleys Sixth form, a house party, The Oracy Space for a studio/green screen, the street and a driveway. We opt to make the house party look like a night club by making it dark, including a dance floor and lights. These locations are all in close distance to each other and will be easy to commute between. Justification for our ideas (Relating to artist, genre, audience questionnaire) We have chosen the idea and narrative that we have because the song and lyrics themselves are very happy and positive, and the songs releases an upbeat vibe. It is typical for Will.i.am to sing about partying and money, and this is evident in his other songs such as ā€œI Like to Move Itā€ and ā€œHot Wingsā€. Furthermore, Cody Wise is young and will attract a younger generation; therefore we want to include lots of youth in our video by using teenagers. We have established that the genre of Will.i.am’s music and this particular song is pop, and therefore we will embed the main pop convention into our video of dancing and extravagant and colourful clothes/props
  • 3.
    Relating to ourquestionnaire, people informed us that they always prefer when there is a narrative in a music video, so we have ensured that we will include this. We have also conducted a Focus Group, who have shown us what they want to see, including the birthday boy receiving a car, and lots of teenagers dancing.