Initial research, influences and ideas: What kind of music video I want to make

I like the idea of making a music video that is both performance and narrative.

What is important to me is having a music video that is set apart from other music videos in some way - for example, even if it follows a conventional narrative, it would have some kind of original or unexpected element to it. A good example of what I mean is demonstrated in the music video for Fall Out Boy's "Sugar We're Goin Down":

Performance and narrative cross-cut throughout, so the band remain in the audience's mind. Sometimes I find with music videos that are purely narrative, it can be harder to get a sense of who the band are, so the audience might forget about the band itself and just remember the video. This is why I want to include performance.

Fall Out Boy performing in the music video

I really like the narrative to this video, because it isn't just a conventional love story. The main character is introduced at the start, and what is different about him is he has antlers.

He is first introduced as isolated and alone because of this thing that makes him different. This is another thing I like about the video - even though no humans in real life have antlers, the audience can still relate to feeling different or like an outcast for whatever reason, and something conceptual and unrealistic like having antlers makes this universal, so anyone who ever has felt this way could relate to it regardless of exactly why. 

He then finds a love interest, and we see this relationship develop, most of the time resembling any other romance regardless of his antlers. The audience see that he can still be normal, and feel happy for the character. I like how in a music video, the audience can still feel sympathy with characters and be interested in following their story, even when it isn't explored in as much depth as it would be in a film or television show. 

The romance element of the narrative includes moments of humour, e.g. when his antlers are caught on her dress, to give it a light-hearted and humorous feel despite some sadder moments in the story, such as towards the end, when the girl's father/grandfather (it isn't specified who he is exactly) prepares to shoot the boy with antlers because he doesn't like the girl being in a relationship with him:

Despite most of the narrative not matching the lyrics literally, there is an interesting parallel between the lyrics and the visuals here, as this shot of the man about to shoot him is placed when he sings, "I'll be your number one with a bullet"

A plot twist is even included in this narrative, when it is revealed that the man is like the boy - instead of antlers, he has deer legs. He didn't want the girl to be with someone like himself. This maybe links to themes of insecurity, and not liking something about yourself and so trying to protect those you love from it. 

The ending is happy, as the boy with antlers and the man with deer legs reconcile, and he accepts their relationship, as well as accepting who he is (in this last shot, his deer legs are exposed for the first time in the video).

I want to make a music video like this - a narrative with something different about it, whatever conventions it follows, so it sticks in the audience's mind. Even though I have seen music videos with a romance narrative many times before, this one I remembered because it had something different and special, and a heartfelt story was created with memorable characters that audiences can connect with like in a film. I would like my music video to be cross-cut with performance, too, because I would like to create an image for the artist/band and use it in the video, and also, a band performance would be fun to do.