The document analyzes a music video created to raise awareness about mental illness. It discusses how the video uses cinematography, lighting, editing techniques and symbolism to tell the story of a young girl dealing with deteriorating mental health issues like loneliness, insanity and depression due to a lack of knowledge about mental illness. It aims to convey the message that mental illness is common and seeking help is important by allowing viewers to experience what it might feel like in the girl's mind and showing her overcoming her struggles through determination.

1. Analysis
The song "EX's and OH's" is a pop rock song that explores the traditional conventions from
the pop genre, throughout the original music video she is singing about all of her ex
boyfriends wanting to come back to her because Elle King (the real artist) is so irresistible.
As a group we didn't want our upcoming artist to send out a shallow message just like that,
therefore we looked at the lyrics with a different perspective and come up with a
narrative/ performative music video that would help shed light on a taboo subject. When
researching what subject to help raise awareness about me and my group stumbled on
these facts. One out of four people will suffer with a mental in any given year and it is
estimated that one in six of the adult population will have a significant mental health
problem at any one time, (more than 7 million people). Therefore we wanted to create a
music video that can help individuals realise that mental illness isn’t rare and that if not
treated can depreciate. Many people aren't educated about mental illnesses, even though
many people go undiagnosed and suffer from it. Thus this music video is about a young girl
dealing with a personal issue of mental health and due to the lack of knowledge the
condition deteriorates. We allow the audience to connect and follow the journey of the
artist’s character, to inforce the urgency of acknowledging the fact that mental illness is
on the rise.
We decided to focus on the themes of loneliness, insanity and depression. In order to
express these themes we have used a wide range of shots, angles, mise en scene and
editing techniques, this helped us create a product that will allow our audience to initiate
their own conclusions.
The song has a fast beat and is very energetic, we didn't want to take away this aspect
because a fast upbeat song entices the audience. Therefore During post-production we
used a lot of on beat editing to make the music video memorable to others. This was also
a good juxtaposition as our music video was about a melancholy theme.
We felt that it was crucial to follow Goodwin's theory therefore we used one of the seven
key steps he swears by to make a successful music video. We use voyeurism throughout
through the use of characterisation, many of the shots are of the artist making eye contact
with the audience, to make them feel a connection with themselves and the artist. Thus in
the opening scene we used voyeurism by filming the artist approaching a studio mirror
whilst lip singing in an establishing shot, this essentially allowed the audience to get a
wider knowledge of the surroundings and the narrative. The artist performing in our music
video was wearing a glitzy outfit to insinuate that she loves to perform, this again helps
the audience have a clearer understanding of the narrative. Within this shot we used
natural lighting this gave a soft subtle lighting that can insinuates inner peace, which
suggests the artist is expressive with her emotions through performing which results with
inner peace. This is reinforcing the underlying message that it is beneficial to be honest
with their emotions. We used a high angled shot of the artist whilst she was on the floor,
in order to show she was vulnerable and was potentially looking up for guidance. However
we also used a low angled shot to show that the character had the power to change her
fate. Within this shot there is high key lighting on the characters face to convey that she
felt all the attention was on her (as she thought she was being followed by imaginary
people). This is then followed by a series of on beat editing of an extreme close up of the
characters eyes and paired it with high key lighting to make the eyes look harsh and
dominant, this was to support and accentuate the fact that she was being followed. Most
performative shots were either filmed as a mid-shot, long shot or close up. Throughout the
song the shots begin to become more erratic. For example, at the beginning the character
was calm and collected whilst performing in the mirror However as the music video

2. Analysis
prolonged she started to lose control and became more irrational, an example of this is
when she visited the cemetery avert from these imaginary people. These shots were to
highlight the theme of insanity.
We used high key lighting create a black out in the back ground so the focus was remotely
on the artist, we then covered the light with a yellow gel. This created a flood light within
the mid-shot. The yellow flood light was to insinuate that there was a light at the end of
the tunnel and that the character was happiest when performing as it helps release her
emotions. This shot was supposed to encourage others to become open with their
emotions or seek help if they feel in distress because there is always a light at the end of
the tunnel. During the music we manipulated and increased the speed within the high
angled train shot, this is call temporal relations. This connoted the continuous irrational
thoughts racing to her head, and therefore gives the audience an idea of what it is like to
be in the characters head. Adding to this we used on beat editing within the music video,
w we wanted to make the audience feel disorientated and confused as they then will be
able to get a glimmer of how it is like to be the character, which will help the viewers
relate to the music video a bit more. In order to keep the tension there is fast pace in the
music video, specifically in the instrumental (climax) as it will encourage the audience to
continue watching.
Whilst filming in South Norwood studios, we used strobe lighting, we increased the
flashing dial to the highest setting to get the best effect, we didn’t use a dolly or a tripod
for this shot, and it was purely filmed on a handheld camera. The intense flashing lights
and the unsteadiness of the camera insinuates the lack of control and highlights the theme
of insanity. The consistent flashing lights symbolise the feeling of being trapped and
constantly being by the imaginary people within her head.
Towards the end of the music video, we overlapped a mid-shot of the artist standing in
the middle of the cemetery with a shot of the artist making erratic movements. During
editing I decreased the opacity of both shots in order to merge them all into one, I then
decreased the speed of the movement to make the audience have a sense of confusion.
Overall this shot was effective because it gave the impression that the artist’s character
was calm on the outside but psychotic on the inside.
The last scene of the music video is a long shot of the artist’s character walking towards
the camera with ambition and determination, she then turns the camera which essentially
results in a blackout. This insinuates that she has managed to overcome said emotions and
fears by confronting the problem face on, this is the exact message we would like to
portray to our audience.