The script is for a music video for the song "Hold Back the River" by James Bay. It follows a group of friends throughout a day as they get ready to go out, take public transportation, play games, walk around the city, attend a concert, hang out in a cafe and parking lot. Throughout the video, the friends are constantly filming each other on cameras with a grainy, sometimes black-and-white filter to give an old-fashioned feel. The lyrics and music are incorporated throughout scenes of the friends laughing, joking and wandering the city together.

1. Music Video Script
First Draft Music video script
‘Hold Back the River’ – James Bay
by Shauna Leacy & Emily Aldred

2. Music Video Script
Video Title: ‘Hold Back the River’
VIDEO AUDIO
LYRICS / NARRATION / MUSIC / FX
<Over the whole video is a grainy
slight old fashioned tint some
scenes black and white>
1. 0:00 – 0:30 – Shot of girl sat
facing towards her TV, she picks up
her remote the end of a video begins
to play.
No sound only of the girls
movements as she picks up the
remote
2. 0:30 – 1:00 – The girl then rewinds
the video on her screen back to the
start and presses play.
<Rewind sound>
3. 1:00 – 1:30 – As the camera begins
to zoom in towards her TV, the video
starts to play from the start the
video starts with a someone filming
a record beginning to play the turn
table begins to spin.
<Sound of a turn table>
Music begins to play off of the
vinyl when it starts playing
<intro of the song>
4. 1:30 – 2:00 – The camera then moves
onto friends getting ready to go out
you see the girl with the camera in
the reflection of the mirror filming
her friend as her friend waves and
smiles at the camera.
Tried to keep you close to me,
But life got in between, Tried to
square not being there
But think that I should have been
5. 2:00 – 2:30 – The friends start to
get there coats on and begin to walk
down the stairs one of the friends
is always filming so you see the
cameras point of view following the
friends out of their zoom down the
stairs and out of the house as the
friends turn and look at the camera
smiling.
Hold back the river, let me look
in your eyes
Hold back the river,
6. 2:30 – 3:00 – The friends are all
sat on the train a different friend
has hold of the camera as they film
the others laughing and joking on
the train, then it cuts to the
camera facing out of the window.
Cuts to new scene
so I can stop for a minute and
see where you hide
Hold back the river, hold back
7. 3:00 – 3:30 – Then the camera is
placed on the table facing the
friends slightly pointed upwards as
the friends play a game of cards.
Once upon a different life
We rode our bikes into the sky

3. Music Video Script
8. 3:30 – 4:00 –They are walking along
the docks at Liverpool pointing
towards to water and joking around
walking along the steps and turning
every now and then to face to
camera.
Cuts to new scene
But now we call against the tide
Those distant days are flashing
by
9.
10.
11.
12.
4:00 – 4:30 – Then cuts to a concert
scene where you see the person face
the camera towards their friend next
to them and then to the stage
4:30 – 5:00 – You see the friends
sat in a café all just sat on sofas
talking as one of the friends film
them the person holding the camera
films themselves picking up their
drink and drinking it from their
point of view.
5:00 – 5:30 – Then it cuts to the
friends messing about in a car park
sitting in the shopping trolley’s
whilst one friend films then the
person with the camera films
themselves getting pushed in the
trolley.
5:30 – 6:00 – Scene ends with a low
down shot where the camera is placed
on the ground as the friends start
to walk away only seeing the back of
them.
Cuts to new scene
Hold back the river, let me look
in your eyes, Hold back the
river,
Cuts to new scene
So i can stop for a minute and
see where you hide
Hold back the river, hold back
Cuts to new scene
Hold oho, oho, oho, oho
Oho, oho, oho, oho
Lonely water, lonely water, won't
you let us wander
Let us hold each other
Lonely water, lonely water, won't
you let us wander
Let us hold each other