Research into similar products - Music videos portraying the negativity of drugs

This music video is about a girl that is addicted to drugs. It has a powerful message and shows what a negative impact drugs can have on a persons life.

Lyrics:

The first lyrics to strike out were 'Struggling to pay rent. Long nights, strange men'.

This shows that this lifestyle can be rough. 'Struggling to pay rent' could be reference to the amount of money some drugs cost. This could mean that she is spending all of her money trying to pay for her addiction or it could also be interpreted that she turned to drugs to help her cope with her already difficult life, which would not help and clearly just makes the situation worse.

After this I noticed 'But lately her face seems. Slowly sinking, wasting'.

This reference tells the listener about how the drugs are affecting her physically as well as emotionally. You can tell just by looking at her that she is unhappy and you may be able to tell that she is an addict because of the affect drugs have had on her. He says that she is wasting away which shows her depressive lifestyle and that the way she is living is not good for her.

As well as this the song says 'Cos we're just under the upper hand. And go mad for a couple of grams'.

This shows that drug has the upper hand on the girl and has taken over her life, controlling her. She is addicted so she is a changed person that is brainwashed by drugs and the impact they have on her. The song suggests that she started using drugs to help her with her difficult life but they have only made it worse.

The next lyrics that I thought were powerful were 'Or sells love to another man'.

This is telling the listener that she is selling her body to men for sex, which is very low and not a nice lifestyle to lead, but she needs the money. The drug addiction has got the better of her and has taken over her life, making it much more difficult to stay afloat.

These are the lyrics that stood out the most to me in this song and I feel that these portray drugs in a negative light and show the negative affects that the drug lifestyle can have on people.

Camera shots:

The video opens with a shot of a girl crying and looking very distraught.

1. The camera then cuts to a shot of a girl lying dead and it pans upwards to reveal the crying girl again which is effective as it is emotive and shows the drastic impact drugs can have on a person's life and is a very dangerous thing to do. It reveals that drugs impact other people as well as the person taking them.

2. There is then a close up of the dead woman's face, which looks sad and distressed, giving a powerful message to the viewer. This is also emotive as it is very dramatic and gives the viewer a shock as you do not expect something so graphic. The shock is effective as it gets the message across immediately.

3. After this, there is an establishing shot to show the change. The video goes back in time to when the woman that died was alive which is also very powerful as it shows her life and how she lived and it is then a realisation that she has died from a drug overdose at a young age. 
4. There is a wide shot from the back of the woman, showing her location. This shows that she has been sleeping in a park and is depressing as you see what kind of lifestyle she lives. 
5. The long shot of the woman standing up shows her clothes and how her appearance is. This is also shocking as she has little clothing on under her coat and is wrapped in a duvet in the middle of a park. Her tights are ripped and tatty and she looks a mess, showing that she is not living well and that she does not lead a nice lifestyle.
6. This wide shot shows her walking in a busy city, with a blanket wrapped around her, looking a state. This shows the negativity of her lifestyle and that she is not in a good place. The shot makes her look small and irrelevant in a big city and she is being completely dismissed by passers by which is upsetting as she obviously needs help.
7. The close up of her face shows her looking very tired and worn down, which is probably a mixture of her unstable home and drug abuse. It is emotive as it shows her looking in need and unhappy and crying. This shows the negativity of drugs as it shows they do not make you feel any better. 
8.  This medium close up shows her looking like she is dreading what is about to come and she doesn't feel happy about doing so but desperately needs the money to support her lifestyle of drugs. This shows negativity as it reveals that most addicts will do anything to feed their addiction. 
9. This close up shows her face to be filled with regret and unhappiness which again shows that this is not how she wants to be living but she has no choice as her drug addiction has power over her and she has to do what she can to get money for it. 
10. This shot shows the drugs at the forefront, implying that they are powerful and in control. She is in the background making her look weak and desperate. 

Colour scheme:

The whole video is in black and white, which brings out the grey tones in everything. Grey is linked to depression and sadness. It is never a glamorous colour and is known as shabby and dull. This colour scheme is effective as it really shows the negativity in everything, and brings out the girls emotions and how the viewer is feeling watching the video. The colour grey is never at the centre of attention, representing the girl as being less important and excluded from society.