Swedish House Mafia - 'Don't you worry child'

SWEDISH HOUSE MAFIA a treatment by Max VITALI

- don’t you worry child

So... It’s the grand finale. To me, the song is the perfect signing out; it’s personal, it’s emotional and it’s BIG in a kind of bittersweet way. And the video obviously needs to have those qualities as well, and leave you with that feeling of joy tinged with something almost sentimental. It was great, but it’s over, and no one knows what will happen next...

I would love to make a video that has a soft narrative, in a dreamy and fragmented way. And, without being a classic dance-video, still use and enhance the powerful drops and builds of the track.

It would start off feeling really intimate and personal, and end up as the greatest party ever. Maybe the party is being hosted by SHM, or it’s a party hosted by the people who love them the most, to say their thank you for the time that has been.

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Imagine there are 3 parallell stories, all from a different part of the narrator’s life. But they are happening at the same time, all set in nature, in a forest, with fields and open spaces. We would start out on a little boy, perhaps 5-6 years old, out walking in the woods with his father. They are spending a precious moment together; one of those that you remember and maybe wish you’d had more of. Nothing special is actually happening, but there is a silent understanding as they walk through a beautiful forest. The boy is curious, running ahead of the father. The kid sees fireworks further away, above the trees. Just one beautiful flash of colour. At that point he stops, looks at the sky in amazement, and then turns around to see if his father is still there. The father nods to him and encourages his adventures and curiosity. He runs on into the forest to see what that colourful explosion was.

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The second memory is when the boy has become a bit older, somewhere around 15 years old. In the same part of the forest he is now with a girl, but there are troubles and we see them crying. It’s not aggressive or harsh, more one of those sad moments when two people love each other but something isn’t working out. The girl runs off, into the forest. The boy falls backwards, in slow motion, into the soft ground. While lying there and looking up at the stars in the sky through the tree tops, a big firework goes off in the sky. Then another one, and another. The sky lights up in beautiful colours. He reacts and gets up, determined to find the source of this. He too, runs into the forest, only to disappear out of sight.

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We are yet again thrown forward in time, the same place in the forest. The boy is now probably 25 years old. He is with a girl again but this time it is great. The girl takes his hand while walking, and he smiles to himself. They stop, get closer and start making out. It starts softly and gently, but they get into it, and stumble into the grass. The making out intensifies. But in the middle of this something gets their attention. It’s fireworks again.

More than before, lighting up the sky. They sit up, and laugh at the dramatic sky. They decide to find the place where the fireworks are coming from.

We see the kid in search of the source of the amazing firework he saw, the teenager in pursuit of the girl that ran away, the couple, as they get up and make their way into the woods. There is activity in the distance.

Lights shine through the woods, a feeling of movement and excitement.

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Eventually all of them reach an open field and there are masses of people dancing, lasers are pumping, the atmosphere is dreamy and soft. What looks like hundreds of people are having the best party of their lives. A kind of friendly, intimate but mesmerising old school rave party: just about the music, the place and the lights. There could be huge speakers out there in the forest, but other than that I see it as being pretty bare on the props side.

The little kid just looks at the spectacle with amazement. The teenager looks for his girl amongst all this, but can’t see her. He slowly makes his way into the crowd anyway. Gradually he starts running, and in the end he almost charges into it, just excited, and with the conviction of letting himself go and enjoying the music, leaving his troubles behind. The young couple make their way into the crowd, together, dancing and loving it.

When we think it can’t get any better or bigger, we see a small spark of light fly through the sky, upwards like a rocket. It disappears for a second, and then... BANG! The fireworks set off again, shooting into the sky like trails of glittery paint, exploding and colouring everything and everyone. As the euphoric atmosphere reaches its absolute, total climax, there is a strong glow from the middle of all the people. The glow expands quickly, and the crowd explodes. Not a gory explosion, but a bright, cosmic particle explosion, as if all the energy built up can’t be harnessed in this form any more; it has to expand even more. So in a positive and futuristic way, the people there transcend to the next level, something else, somewhere else.

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After this, we cut to the kid, standing where he was when looking at the party, but we now see the field and there is nothing there. Either this was a vision from his future, or a vision from the past, we don’t know.

He turns around and we see his father come walking through the forest. He runs back to him.

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The casting of the main characters is vital. The boy, teenager and young man all need to have personalities and be likeable. To me, that means they need to be characters and have a face that you instinctively like, yet not be flawless models. They are natural guys who look cool without really trying too hard. The styling should follow in the same vein, effortless cool.

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I would use varying speeds to help enhance the drops and breaks, and the different parts of the video. Not in an obvious way, more as a subtle enhancer. This way we can really draw out segments that create and build tension. In general, I am thinking it could be interesting to let some shots and takes roll for longer. Parts walking through the forest could be beautiful if they could hang on for a while, either they are hand held and “alive” or super dreamy smooth.

I would like to create the transitions between the different “times” through cut aways, or close ups. A foot cut against a foot, a little hand against a bigger. Or the kid looks up and we cut to a tree top, but when we cut back it’s the teenager. In general, I would love to put extra effort in making sure we get great shots of the environment.

Mood shots, or contemplative shots. They could be POV’s, or just observations the camera is making. Trees against the sky with wind brushing through the leaves, feet walking through the grass, the evening/night sky, a firework flying up into the sky.

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The camerawork and grading are a huge part of this video. I would want to shoot digital, Alexa or Red Epic, and preferably use anamorphic lenses for that real cinematic feeling. The way I see it,  a soft handheld feeling seems right. It will make the video human and warm, yet with the quality of the lenses and grading still feel premium and rich. In the forest the feeling of the light is natural, while at the party it’s still natural as a base but with lasers and fireworks to heighten the vibe to epic and dreamy.

The fireworks are something I would like to look at how best to solve. I am thinking it might be a mix of in camera and post production to make them big and special enough.

Max Vitali