The document provides a detailed analysis of the mise-en-scene, camerawork, editing, and sound techniques used in the music video for "Beautiful Girl" by William Fitzsimmons. It analyzes how the low-key lighting, guitar playing, recurring bracelet, close-ups of the artist, montage editing, use of slow motion, cross-cutting, synchronous sound, and relationship between lyrics and narrative are conventionally used in music videos and the acoustic/folk genre to explore emotional themes and tell a narrative through visual and aural elements.

1. Detailed Analysis
William Fitzsimmons – Beautiful Girl
Mise-en-Scene
A key aspect of mise-en-scene in this particular piece is the way in which low-key
lighting is used throughout. This emphasises the strength of the emotions that are being
projected to the audience and sets the scene for an emotional journey. Low-key lighting
is not necessarily conventional for this style of music because it connotes sadness and
secrets. Acoustic music is more typically about love or self-discovery, so the darkness of
the video challenges conventions in this way.
The guitar here is typical for the acoustic/folk genre because it shows the artist has
stripped back their music down to their bare feelings. It represents the artist as
sensitive and so makes the audience feel closer to them; it is conventional for acoustic
music videos to feature a guitar because that tends to be the main instrument used. The
way that the guitar is introduced so soon into the music video also shows the
importance of it, and sets the scene for an emotional discovery of some sort.
Another key element to the video in terms of mise-en-scene is the bracelet, which is
featured several times to represent the narrative of one woman’s life. The consistency
that the bracelet represents is challenged by certain events in her life such as
heartbreak, which leaves her feeling out of balance. This bracelet is the dominant part of
the narrative as it shows the way in which it is always with her, even as an old woman.
This signifier is conventional for the form of a music video because it forms a narrative,
which is also conventional, and makes something about the character important. The

2. Detailed Analysis
William Fitzsimmons – Beautiful Girl
bracelet is conventional for acoustic music videos because it has a deeper meaning; this
genre often does not always explicitly reveal the meaning behind their lines, but allows
the audience to discover it for themselves.
Camerawork
One of the more common shots throughout
this music video is close ups of the artist.
This is conventional for the form of a music
video, as it creates a connection between
the artist and the music. However, this is
not necessarily typical for an acoustic music
video because often these would have deep,
meaningful shots of other people or places
in order to create a narrative that is
detached and expressive of deep emotions.
The way in which the artist is framed in this
shot shows that he is consumed by the
darkness to the point in which he cannot
escape. It separates him from the narrative,
to give the impression that he is perhaps
watching the girl’s life go by without
interfering, when maybe that’s all he
wanted to do. This is reflected in the
darkness that envelops him, because it
shows how he is trapped by his choices,
and how the girl in the narrative is
suffering this same fate. This can be seen in
the wide shot near the beginning as well,
which particularly emphasises this point.
The tracking shot featured towards the end of the narrative shows a young woman
running away. This represents the young woman as hasty, irrational and rebellious. The
way in which she glances back shows how she is acting against someone else’s will as
she is checking to see if anyone is chasing her. Tracking shots are conventional for the
form of a music video because they create a sense of movement and progress the
narrative; they often represent an important event either in the narrative or in the
song.This particular shot is conventional for acoustic music videos due to the use of slow
motion. The use of editing makes the shot effective as it emphasises the importance of
her actions and will be analysed later on.

3. Detailed Analysis
William Fitzsimmons – Beautiful Girl
Finally, the pan shot from the young woman’s wrist down to her face is effective because
it introduces the narrative. The previous shotwas of a young girl’s wrist, which then cuts
to the wrist of this young woman. This reveals that the narrative is of the maturation of
a girl and also represents the bracelet as having a certain amount of importance to the
story. This is conventional for the music video form because it slowly reveals a section of
the narrative to encourage the audience to engage with the themes that are represented.
The character here is represented as free spirited, reflecting the ideas brought across in
the previous scene of a little girl: innocent and carefree. The way in which her attention
is paid entirely to the bracelet shows it’s importance to her and how she treasures it.
Editing
The montage style of editing that is used
throughout the music video moves along the
narrative and shows the connection between
events in the character’s life. The connection
between the two events here is quite clear:
love. The bracelet is in the shot once again
which emphasises the consistency of it in her
life and the importance of it; it may
represent the choices she makes in life and
how they will always stay with her. The
montage here is conventional for music
videos, and particularly the acoustic genre,
because songs are too short to play a whole
narrative. The montage allows a story to be
put across in a short three or four minutes. It
is conventional for the acoustic genre
because the narratives are often deep and
meaningful, so allows the audience to
interpret the events in the montage for
themselves. The character here is
represented as still quite naïve, despite
feeling like she has grown up. This would
thus represent the artist’s emotional turmoil
and show how he has made mistakes that are
explained later in the video.

4. Detailed Analysis
William Fitzsimmons – Beautiful Girl
Slow motion is a key aspect of editing within this piece as it emphasises the
representation of the character as rebellious; she is making a statement, and this is
portrayed through the slow motion as there is an element of expansion in the
timeframe. It also expands the narrative by adding depth to the story as she is running
away from more than just her boyfriend; perhaps she is leaving behind a part of herself,
as well. Slow motion is conventional for acoustic music videos because it adds depth to
the narrative, however would not necessarily be conventional for the music video form
because music often tries to keep people entertained through fast pasted editing and an
upbeat style.
A final aspect of editing that has been used in this piece is crosscutting used between the
narrative and the singer. This is conventional for the music video form because it
creates a connection between the artist and the story that is being presented. It
represents the artist as trapped because they are surrounded by darkness and are
separate from the narrative in place. This is effective because the acoustic/indie genre
often creates depth within the music and so this style of editing represents a moral
meaning that affects the singer.

5. Detailed Analysis
William Fitzsimmons – Beautiful Girl
Sound
A convention for the music
video form used in this video is
the use of synchronous sound.
This is particularly conventional
in indie music due to the way in
which guitars are signifiers of
the genre. This once again
represents the artist as sensitive
and associates them with the
music because they are playing
the instrument themselves; the
experiences in the narrative are
likely to have been felt by the
artist. The synchronous sound here is important because it shows how the music has
been stripped back and is the artist’s bare emotions. It can further be associated with
the narrative because it shows how the artist wishes to be a part of her life, and how he
is trapped by his own decisions.
Another convention within music videos is the way in which there is a relationship
between the lyrics and the narrative. This can be seen within ‘Beautiful Girl’ in this
example, where she argues with her boyfriend and walks away. At the same time as this,
the artist sings “the purging of this dark”. Therefore the relationship can be seen
because she is ridding herself of something she doesn’t want to be a part of anymore.
This represents the artist as having deep emotions and is expressing this both through
his lyrics and through the narrative; the narrative acts as a way of exploring these
emotions without explicitly defining them.
This is also an example of asynchronous sound, which is also conventional for the music
video format because the narrative is often a key part to the story. Therefore, the way in
which the artist sings over the top of the narrative shows the association between the

6. Detailed Analysis
William Fitzsimmons – Beautiful Girl
music and the storyline, and makes effective use of the key themes. The asynchronous
sound is important to this part of the narrative because she is walking away from her
boyfriend as a result of an argument. The lyrics placed over the top are significant
because they are relative to the actions taking place and so create an association
between the artist, their feelings and the narrative.