MiniVid Pitch: The Pixies/Debaser

The song that I have chosen is 'Debaser' by The Pixies.

Original music video:


Vodcast version of the pitch:


The pixies are an indie rock band who formed in 1986 in Boston and had a significant impact on the alternative rock boom of the 90's. All the members were from different musical backgrounds so they all had different musical influences, but their music tends to include many subjects such as extra terrestrials, surrealism, incest and biblical violence.

Debaser is the first song on their album Doolittle, which was released in 1989. The lyrics are based on a surrealist film called Un Chien Andalou, which opens with a scene in which a woman's eye is slit by a razor, and this scene is referenced in the song with the lyric 'Slicin' up eye balls, I want you to know'. The title of the song also refers to the fact that Un Chien Andalou debases morality, meaning demeans.



First shot

 

The original video begins with the word 'Pixies' flashing across the screen, in a blue and white sans-serif font against a black background. The next shot is a shadow of a figure playing the guitar. The shots then become a montage of random shots which don't appear to make much sense. The camera occasionally shoots back to the band playing their instruments, and then it will once again show a mixture of shots. All the footage is dark, and the colours are mostly greys and browns. There are a lot of fades and cross-overs, and many of the band shots are close up. Writing is constantly flashing across the video footage, although it is unclear whether it says something or is simply there for effect. The editing is also fast paced, to match the tempo of the music.

Second shot

Because the song reflects the theme of a particular film, I think it would be best to construct a new video similar to the original. This would be easier because the lyrics tend to be repeated very often so there is no anchored story line behind the song. I think it would be effective if references to the film were also made in the video, and although the shots would be random in no particular consecutive order, they would still need to work well along with the song, otherwise audiences may lose interest quickly. It would be ideal for many different locations and props to be used, and I think layering in the editing process would make the overlapping shots and fast paced editing look effective.

Montage of shots

Montage of shots

Montage of shots

Montage of shots

Last shot