therefore i am billie eilish

1. Therefore I Am Music
Video Analysis
Scope Vids X Loops Media

2. Body Shamers
• This music video and song was a way to
clap back at the body shamers who keep
talking about Billie's weight and size.
• René Descartes, a philosopher, wrote in
1637 "Cogito ergo sum" which translates
to "I think therefore I am".

3. 2 takes
• This music video is comprised of two takes which is
countertypical considering Billie Eilish has a younger
target audience which usually perfer short takes.
• In these two takes, Billie Eilish is running around an
empty mall and taking food from different stands.
• The first take transitions to the second take when Billie
enters an elevator on the second floor and there is a
black screen for 7 seconds before she comes out of the
elevator on the first floor.
• Although these are two long takes, there are many
different angles and shot types in the video.
• The music video ends at 4:39 but there are 19 seconds of
a black screen afterwards.

4. Diegetic
sound
• For the first 37 seconds, there is
only diegetic sound of Billie’s shoes
squeaking on the ground, her
footsteps and the noise of the
escalator.
• At 1:49, we can hear when she hits
the elevator button and for the next
37 seconds, we only hear diegetic
sounds. These include the beep of
the button on the elevator, the doors
opening and closing, the elevator
going down and her footsteps on the
ground again.
• At 3:41, we get another 21 seconds
of just diegetic sound. These

5. Non-diegetic
sound
• The song only begins to play 37 seconds in.
• It is broken up with parts of diegetic sound of her in the mall.
• In some parts of the video, she is lip-syncing, however, in other parts she is not.
• This shows the irony of the typical conventions used in music videos and
deconstructionism.
• An example of her lip-synching and then not, is at 4:12 where she sings “I’m not your”
but not “friend” as she is eating fries.

6. Convergence/Web 2.0
• This whole music video is filmed on an
iPhone.
• iPhones now have the ability to film in 4k
further blurring the lines between consumer
and prosumer.
• This video indicates that anyone can make a
music video thanks to convergence (having
a camera on a phone) and web 2.0
(becoming your own producer).
• On the iPhone 11, you can film in a 0.5x lens

7. Billie as Director
• Billie Eilish directed her own
music video.
• She has directed a few other
of her music videos before
and clearly enjoys the craft.
• We could use this in our
video for our artist to direct
her own music videos.