Jamie Thraves

Jamie Thraves is a director who made short films when he was at university. He has been awarded for his short film Calling card, as he wants to get a 'foot in the door' with the video production company factory films. Jamie started by shooting three music videos that cost about £5,000 each.

Many directors in the business know how risky it is, as their livelihood is based on each commission. He tried his lucky by entering his top two videos and then made it.


Radio head Just, was shot in three days with a £100,00 budget. 

The band picked Jamie to do their music video band after they saw a couple of his experimental short films. The music video was shot near Liverpool Street Station in London, with scenes of a middle-aged man who lies down in the middle of the pavement outside a flat. This is shown through a wide medium shot.

People start to notice and gather as they think something is wrong with the man. The band are in the flat looking down at all of this happening. Then in subtitles the man begins to explain himself to the crowd, "Yes I'll tell you, I'll tell you why I'm lying here... but God forgive me... and God help us all... because you don't know what you ask of me". This is all shown through the extreme close up of the man's face. 

When the man answers them, the subtitles have now stopped as it leaves the viewer the option to decide what he said. When the camera zooms out the pavement is now covered with the crowd of people. They are all lying down just like the man. This is shown through a wide shot and a crane. 

The Scientist was popular for its reverse narrative, which employed reverse video. The same idea had been previously used for Spike Jonze's 1996 music video for The Pharcyde's Drop. The Scientist was made in three days with a £200,000 budget. In order for Martin to appear to be singing the lyrics in the reversed footage, he had to learn to sing the song backwards.

The music video begins with the camera looking down on Martin who is singing, lying on a mattress. As the camera shot pulls back, the mattress is seen to be outside. A cyclist cycles past in reverse and Martin leaps up from the mattress. He starts to walk in reverse throughout the city. This is shown through a low angle crane shot. 

He then crosses a railway line and into woods, to pick up his suit jacket as he carries on with his journey. When he gets to his car, he passes out for a bit. The pieces start to fall into place, as the viewer starts to realise what has happened. This is shown though a wide shot tracking shot. 

A woman is shown lying unresponsive on the ground in front of the car. As the video rewinds backwards, she is shown flying back in through the broken windshield of the car. The car rolls back up a hill in the woods and through a broken fence, which as the car goes through it fixes its self. The car ends with both of them driving back up the road, and the passenger had removed her seat belt to put her jacket on, causing her death.  This is all shown through a tracking shot in medium. 

Jamie’s top tip is that you should use the lyrics but try not to be too literal in the music video. Also you should go with the emotion of the lyrics.