The Verve: Drugs don't work

The music video for this song was directed by Andy Baybutt. When the video first starts, it looks similar to other videos in which the verve have produced, howver it then goes on to be very different. The video is partially black and white throughtout, which gives the audience the impression that the state of mind of characters is changing as frequently and randomly as the audience are seeing.
The use of flashing lights and quick cross cuts also gives the audience an abstract impression. it makes the shot look at little like a point of view shot at times. The video has very low lighting for the majority of the time, making it appear dark for the audience and quite hard for them to see what is happening in great detail.

The band appears in the same formation and clothes as they did at the end of the video for "Bitter Sweet Symphony". The cover of the machine on the front of the album No Come Down also appears briefly. The band turns around a corner and walks over to a vending machine called "Feelings." This refers to the song "Life's an Ocean" from their second album, A Northern Soul, where Ashcroft sings, "I was buying some feelings from a vending machine" (the same vending machine is also seen on the back of that album). The rest of the video shows, partially in black and white, the band playing the song indoors. The video ends with a piece of burning wood, with the words 'Urban Hymns' written on, floating on water. The original concept for the video was to have the band filmed in a maze to illustrate "loss of direction".

The song was released in 1995 and was writeen by Richard Ashcroft. He briefly mentioned it in an interview at the time, relating it to his drug usage: "There's a new track I've just written [...] It goes 'the drugs don't work, they just make me worse, and I know I'll see your face again'. That's how I'm feeling at the moment. They make me worse, man. But I still take 'em. Out of boredom and frustration you turn to something else to escape."

Similar music videos

As a group we researched and found three music videos that we think carry out the same or similar narrative within the lyrics. We decided that it would be good to look at and analyse these, as we wanted to see the various ways in which elements are put across by different people, and if they have linked this with the music in the song, if so, how?

The three videos we found were:

The Verve: Drugs Don't Work
The Streets: Blinded by the Lights
Prodigy: Smack My Bitch Up

I have decided to look at these videos in further detail, as when looking closely at the lyrics in our chosen story, I found that they could have a double meaning, and I think that this is fully related to the use of drugs, as are the three songs above. The reason that I want to analyse these videos is that I would like to see how each director uses camera and editing to fit with the narrative, music and meaning, and also see how they use mise en scene, lighting and setting.

I think that I will benefit from this as it will expand my view of these sircumstances, and then when I have seen this situation in many other points of view I can go on to create my own new ideas and use these effectively in my own music video.

Video ideas

Along with thinking about the true meaning of the lyrics, we looked at other music videos to find effects, themes and features that we liked and thought could look good in the music video to our song.

When putting all ideas together, and talking about it as a group, we decided to go for the following effect:
We liked the idea of the video showing not only the male band singing the song, but also concentrating on one girl who is living in to very different worlds. We like the idea of shooting part of the video in a 'white room' scene, showing the breakdown stage, which in our situation would also be a kind of rehab stage. The other part of the video would be in very much a party scene, with the band playing, lots of people partying, bright colours etc. We thought this would show the pre-breakdown stage, as told in the lyrics.

We like this idea as we think the contrast within this video would work really well, and show the desired effect. We also think it would show the narrative well and highlight a deeper meaning within the lyrics. Along with this, we are hoping that our effect will make out music video appealing and entertaining for our audeince, as although we have got our music video ideas from other music videos, we have not yet seen one with this effect and contrast. We also looked into using effects within the filming and editing of the video, such as a 'speed up' effect, to show the characters state of mind and body, but also again highlighting the deeper meaning of the lyrics.

The Wild Eyes - Breakdown (song to be used)

We found a song in which we liked, and wanted to use as the song that featured in our music video. The song is called Breakdown and it is by an unsigned band called The Wild eyes. We liked this song as we think not only is it catchy, but has a clear narrative within the lyrics which would make the song more challenging to work with, but also make the finished project more effective.

"The WiLd EyeS Bio:
The Wild Eyes are a three piece band. They penetrated into this dimension using the carcass of a fallen angel hot-wired into a 1948 John Deere-Special Road Clearance Vehicle. When they were abandoned in outer space, they listened to the radio a lot but only received mish-mashes of fifties jukebox music and snatches of the mid 70's disco boom. They understandably assumed this was mankind's much discussed classical period. They were wrong. But their git-down-and-boogie approach to the 'classical' style has led to much hip gyration when faced with earthlings. They plan to perform as a band until the great floods wipe mankind off the face of the earth, like roadkill from a public bypass. Which, we estimate, should be around next week... Until then we love feedback, sonic or otherwise..."

Quote taken from: http://www.unsignedbandweb.com/music/bands/7366/

We looked into the lyrics of the song, and when analysing them, we saw that the lyrics had a deeper meaning than first appears. We thought this was good, and would work to our advantage as it would make the video more effective, and more appealing and intruiging for the audience.

The lyrics to our song:

The WiLd EyeS - "Breakdown"
saw you at the drugstore you were bleeding from your ear
you had a breakdown
breathing in the cold on the side of the road
you had a breakdown
what you gonna do when the lights go out?
don't have a beakdown
you know that I could never ever stand it everytime you have a breakdown

so I said:
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it

banging down doors just before dawn
you had a breakdown
bloodstained tissues pink pills in your purse
you had a breakdown
hearing teardrops fall on an international call
it was a breakdown
oh you that I could never ever stand it everytime you have a breakdown

so I said:
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it

dancing on the tables but dying in the hall
you had a breakdown
you were moving so fast that it just couldn't last
you had breakdown
milkshake years and my sobbing in your ear
it was a breakdown
aw you know that I could never ever stand it everytime you have a breakdown

so I said:
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it
no no no no no no never again
when you break it I just can't take it

Planning and Preparation

As a group, we decided to plan the homepage of a website for our music video and song. We thought this would be a good idea, as it is something that all music videos and groups have at this time.

This meant that it would be good marketing and advertisment for a music video, as most people have access to the internet and go on it regularly, especially our target audience age range.

Here is a first draft plan of our website homepage, to be a base and start of the actual finished project.

Coursework task

Four our GCSE coursework, we have been given the task of creating a music video. In our group we have four people; Tyshea Holden, Jamie Brookes, Dan Rae and myself.



As a group we will be creating either a dvd cover, a webisite home page or a poster for a filming, editing, evaluating and planning a music video.

We have been researching other music videos and analysing them, to give us ideas and inspiration.

Textual Analysis of a music video

Girls Aloud – Jump
I have been analysing the music video Jump, by Girls Aloud. It was released in 2003, and was put onto the album Sound of the Underground. The song is sung by all Girls Aloud members, and therefore they are all in the music video. The song and video was produced by Brian Higgins, and his production team, Xenomania. It was produced for and used as the sound track of the British film, Love actually. The song Jump (for my love) was first released in 1983, and was the third song released by the Pointers Sisters.

When looking at the video it is clear to see that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The song and music video both fit into the genre of Pop. Pop is a very commercially friendly, marketable and memorable genre of music, that is usually very catchy and has lyrics and a beat that are very easy to remember and stay in its audiences mind. As, with the music, a pop music video tends to be very image driven, telling a story, and therefore is memorable and stays with the audience. The song is very happy, positive song that is catchy and sticks in your head. This is partly because the chorus’ main focus is on just the one word, so it is not hard for anyone to remember, even after their first viewing. As in all Pop music videos, there is a story being told that is backed up by the song itself and the lyrics to the song; however there is an even stronger narrative than normal in this video due to the fact that it is the main soundtrack to a very successful film. This means that the story being told in the song is being backed up by what the audience see.

Pop is a genre of music whereby the lyrics usually have quite a strong narrative. This narrative us generally very easy to pick up and follow, and emotions are made clear from the lyrics and the way in which the song is sung. This narrative tends to be backed up by the visuals in the songs music video, showing the same story that they lyrics are telling by either having the main artist(s) going through it, or being a part of it. With the song Jump, the lyrics go with not only the music video, but the film Love Actually as well. The film Love Actually is a British film that tells a seasonal love story, and with the song Jump being a modern up-beat love song, sung by British artists the two go very well together. The lyrics are aiming to encourage people towards the artist, and the video backs this up by showing the girls as a group of fun, cheeky, sexy ladies dancing and having fun. They also incorporate the lyrics with flashes of parts of the film quite often, this is very effective for the audience to see, as it shows a strong link between the song and the film, but also give a very effective visual to the music video. Below are some examples of this.

This part of the video shows part of the film where a couple have their first kiss, but the man isn’t expecting it, this short clip is played, along with another similar scenario whilst the word ‘then make the move before you try and go much further’ are being sung.

This part of the video shows part of the film where a man jump 5 steps from top to bottom outside the front door of his house, this short clip is played whilst the words ‘Jump in!’ are being sung, from the second line in the first chorus.

There is also a clear relationship between the music and the visuals. Pop music, as a genre tends to be quite happy and funky and easy to dance to. In order to not only comply with the music genre, but also to keep the target audience engaged and amused, the video needs to back up these typical values with its imagery. This means that, generally pop music videos are set at discos, on stage, performing, with groups of friends etc. The music video has the girls dancing to the song together in quite minimal, feminine and reasonably formal wear. They are in a big house, which just happens to be the 10 Downing Street, to suit the film, however the girls are in a bedroom and cross cuts are used to show what is happening in other rooms at the same time. It also has them spying on people such as Hugh Grant, who plays the prime minister in the film, and sneaking around the grounds of the property. This backs up the music as the moods are similar, the characters from the films movements e.g. dancing or celebrating, and the girls reaction to the song is the intended reaction of the audience when taking in the music along with the visuals and narrative. The editing of the video itself often goes to the beat of the music, or a change in pattern of the music etc. For example when fast bits of the chorus are being matched to certain parts of the film, the video only shows very quick clips of the film that match the timing of the music. There is one part of the song where the music slows down; this has a big effect on what is being shown as everything slows down with it, like the lyrics and the girls. This is very effective as it almost gives the audience the impression that everything is calming down.

In a music video there tends to always be close ups of the individuals. As any public showing to an audience of some kind containing someone well known, all music videos tend to show the artist well, so that the audience and fans are satisfied. Pop music being a cheery music, they would usually be shown in a good, positive situation in the music video and play a big part in the story being told through the music being played. There are many close ups of the girls, and they are the main focal point in the video, with parts of the film being shown in the music video, as well as the film having parts of the music video and the girls in it. The girls are a very well known group and therefore it does not need to be priority to show and make sure that the viewing audience know who it is, however showing them in their usual light and in a suitable positive manner is still a priority. As expected, this video will not have the usual target audience; it will have a wider one than usual due to the attention of the films audience being drawn to it as well. When the music video is showing the girls performing their song it is showing them in the same way that any other music videos have shown them. However all of their music videos tend to have a theme to them, which means that to their usual audience and fans the fact that this one is linked to a film, is a surprise, but at the same time something abnormal or different was expected.

Whatever the artist, a music video usually has reference to the notion of looking. There are often still females in the music video itself, whether the artists are females or not. They are usually dancing in minimal clothes, with high class images and surroundings e.g. cars houses bars etc. All of the girls in the video are dressed very well, as if they are going on a night out or to a party. This is highlighted even more due to the fact that they are just in a house, so they look somewhat ‘overdressed’. However the music and the ways in which they are dancing fully backs their costumes up. Also, as you go on to watch the video you realise where they are and then their outfits in a way seem slightly more fitting. The slightly suggestive dancing and movement of the girls gives off a sexual feeling, and the sneaky, almost risky actions of them brings in the intended excitement.

A music video will usually have intertextual references; this is so that there is either something extra to intrigue the audience, or so that they get the same feelings and emotions as are intended from the music video. These will relate to things like other music videos, certain aspects of the start image, films, books, TV programmes and so on. In the case of this video, there is a link to the featured film. The video flashes over to different scenes of the film consistently, making both the narrative of the video clear, but also giving strong hints of the narrative of the film. The fact that the song is also a cover of one released twenty years previously, means that in order to be successful in this the song and video needed to have a completely fresh new look and feel to it, however the song itself and lyrics are still very similar to before.

Pop is usually a mixture performance, narrative and concept based, however there is usually a strong narrative to a pop song, which is shown and told in the music video. The artists still perform in some way, but emotions and action are usually according to the narrative of the song lyrics or mood. As this video is linked with a famous British film, it has a strong narrative throughout. The story is shown in certain bits of the music video, but is consistent to timing and narrative flow. There is two different main scenes in the video, one the film and one just the girls in the room next door to where the film is being based, so the girls are still performing to the audience in this video it is neither fully on the film or on them.