Synopsis

The "Down" video places 311 in a stark, surreal performance setting. The band plays against a gray background while the image bends and warps around them, giving the footage a disorienting, almost dreamlike quality. A large tattooed man becomes a striking visual presence, and the members eventually sit before him in meditation. The simple concept matches the song's confrontational energy while adding an odd, playful spiritual dimension to the band's breakthrough hit.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in Los Angeles in 1996.

• The video's visual distortions were created before the widespread use of CGI. In a later discussion, the band recalled being lifted on a practical wire rig, with the wires removed during post-production to create the floating effect.

• 311 have recalled that the production budget was approximately $50,000, a substantial investment for the group at that point in its career.

• "Down" was the single that brought 311 into the mainstream. It became a major alternative-rock hit and helped propel the self-titled album, commonly known as the Blue Album, to a breakthrough level of success.

• The video's unusual meditation sequence and exaggerated camera effects helped distinguish it from a conventional band-performance clip during the mid-1990s alternative-rock era.