JIM DAVIES - 'THE BAR IS LOW'
Jim Davies, a highly influential musician with a remarkable career spanning decades in the music industry, has made significant contributions to renowned bands such as Pitchshifter, The Prodigy, as well as his successful solo ventures. Recently, Jim joined forces with Jamie Mathias, Jason Bowld (Bullet For My Valentine), and Nick Kingsley to form the exceptional band, Shadow Addict. Recognizing his immense talent, Jim approached me to create an engaging and visually captivating illustrated lyric video for his latest masterpiece, “The Bar Is Low.”
In this thought-provoking song, Jim eloquently expresses his concerns about the modern media landscape, where profit-driven motives overshadow the creation of truly remarkable and emotionally impactful content. He entrusted me to portray this concept through vivid illustrations, employing tongue-in-cheek scenarios that encapsulate the essence of his powerful message. Through extensive conversations, we collaboratively crafted each scene, ensuring they effectively convey the intended narrative.
Our creative journey began with a scene that humorously depicts a father and son exuberantly exiting a cinema after watching the latest installment of the Squid Man franchise. Their excessive enthusiasm, with the father triumphantly pumping his fist in the air and the son radiating pure joy, satirizes the repetitive nature of franchise movies. These blockbusters often rely on tired formulas to secure their place in the industry, while bleeding audiences dry. To enhance the desired ambiance of a monotonous and cold world, we opted for a muted blue and grey color palette. Speech bubbles from the characters and floating reviews on the left added an extra layer of absurdity, reminiscent of discussions surrounding modern franchise films.
In the subsequent illustration, we aimed to capture the intense reactions of young cinema-goers as they were enthralled by the content on the big screen. Their wide eyes and beaming smiles were but a fleeting moment before shifting the focus to the cinema screen itself. There, a trailer for another satirical franchise film, Sinister Speed 10, played. The caption, “Fast cars going really fast!” accompanied by a modern car and numerous explosions, served as another playful jab at the relentless production of repetitive franchise movies.
As the first chorus resounds, we introduced a recurring image featuring dials and meters. A hand adjusts a quality control dial, progressively moving it from average to low, effectively highlighting the lyrics emphasizing the lowered standards. Additionally, two meters were incorporated: one measuring mediocrity, which approached high levels, and the other indicating a declining IQ. These elements symbolize how mediocrity diminishes our cognitive engagement and critical thinking.
The next illustration introduced a young family engrossed in watching series 20 of the hit show “I’m An Imbecile… Make Me Famous!” on their wall-mounted TV. The channel, aptly named Low IQTV, further underscores the concept of low-quality content permeating television. The subsequent illustrations feature an exuberant group of friends enthusiastically enjoying TV content on a couch, followed by an average middle-class white family deeply immersed in the latest program.
We then shifted focus to a young woman listening to Jim’s music on her mobile phone using a prominent streaming service, only to be interrupted by frequent advertisements. With a smile directed at the audience, she exclaimed, “OMG! Pure fire!” accompanied by three fire emojis, mimicking the style of a text message. Another image portrayed a man listening to music on his phone’s small speaker, comically claiming that it “sounds fine to me” despite the lack of clarity. A third person, depicted in the subsequent illustration, enjoyed the music through her handset’s tiny speaker, exclaiming, “This is lit!” from the comfort of her home.
In the following illustration, we envisioned a classroom filled with school children seated at their desks. The teacher pointed to the whiteboard, where a young girl had been instructed to write the words “Aim low and you’ll never fail” in cursive. This scene humorously emphasized the narrative of setting low standards and the notion of instilling it in our children.
Our final illustration transported viewers to a boardroom, bustling with business professionals intently observing their CEO at a whiteboard displaying a graph with a downward trajectory. This visual metaphor depicted the collective responsibility for perpetuating a constant stream of low-quality media content.
To bring these illustrations to life, we employed Adobe Photoshop CC to create separate layers for the foreground and background. These layered elements were then transformed into 3D layers in Adobe After Effects CC, enabling the incorporation of a parallax effect. By placing a camera within the After Effects composition, we added dynamic movements that enhanced depth and perspective.
To achieve a more handheld feel, we incorporated wiggle expressions, creating a subtle yet captivating visual experience. In the opening scene featuring Squid Man 7, we utilized 3D text for the reviews, giving them a sense of depth and resembling movie advertisements. The lyrics in the video were presented using a font with a rough and broken aesthetic, enhancing their visual impact.
For the final touches, we applied post-production effects to the video, including glitch and old VHS effects, chromatic aberration, and frame warping. These effects imbued the video with a chaotic and fast-paced atmosphere, aligning perfectly with the energy of the song. Jim particularly appreciates glitch effects, as they resonate with the electronic music genre he is passionate about. You can experience the full illustrated lyric video for “The Bar Is Low” by Jim Davies by following the YouTube link provided below.
This lyric video represents just one of the many creative offerings available at Unit 15 Productions. Explore our lyric videos page for comprehensive information on our diverse packages. If you’re interested in collaborating with us on upcoming video projects or motion graphics, we invite you to contact us here.