Applying Music Video Theory: Little Mix "Shout Out to My Ex"

When looking at the music video Shout Out to My Ex it is clear to see that all six music theorists come into play. Starting with E. Ann Kaplan we look at the editing of the music video. typically with any sort of on screen video continuity is important and is not meant to be notice as it will break the immersion however applying this to music video's is very different. The editing within Little Mix's music video is very noticeable. At the beginning the music video cuts from a performance type video with them singing and a pseudo-documentary style video showing what the audience perceives as a background to each member of the group showing their personality. Diane Railton looked into this. Further within the video editing also plays a key part. When the chorus picks up pace editing gets more energetic, this is to install a rhythm into the audience viewing this making them dance. 

Next music theorist is Andrew Goodwin. Goodwin's research states that there are six different rules when analyzing music video's. The video's genre is pop and therefore needs to be upbeat. One thing that happens in modern pop there are either soloists or a gender bias group. This shows to be apparent with Little Mix being an all girl group. Also in pop music videos women tend to be sexualised however the girls hold the power. This is apparent when at the beginning of the music video Perri is Waving her body around in a certain way that exudes power. This also shown with Leigh-Anne within the pool scene in a later verse. With the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals there is aspects of amplification and illustration as well. Point of illustration are shown when Jesy shoots a gun saying Over it at the same time the lyrics say it. This is done with a mid-shot. Other times within the music video it is just amplification. The theme of the song is somebody getting over an ex and there fore when the group throw's some males belongings out of a car this is a clear amplification of the songs main theme. There is also reference to Perri's late relationship with Zayn as they ditch a guy who resembles the singer which is done intentionally to spark controversy. The relationship between the music and the visuals is also important. The way the shots are edited together are done to the beat of the music, noticeable but intentional. This is to keep the audience entertained but also to help advertise their song. The shots are also very important within the music video. Every member of the group has equal screen time and most of the time are shown together as a group with a long shot. This is to promote their image as a group however they also are promoted and put together in such a way that they appeal to different target audiences. There is no set ethnicity within the group and their weights vary, not to mention they also have very different singing voices. Some members of their audience will want to be Jade where as other will want to be Jesy. The Mise-en-scene in the video is very important to. The way the women are dressed is very similar to high fashion at the time. This is done purposely to promote the group as being in with the trends and seen as being cool. Also their clothing is meant to show them as a sexual figure. Not only does this empower them as women owning their femininity but also helps to attract male members of the target audience. This is clear example of the male Gaze at work which is when the camera is looking at the women the same way a man would, in a sexual manner.  

Sven E. Carlsson looks at the artists themselves within the video and not the video it self. The artist can be represented in one of three ways  in a music video as a modern mythical embodiment. The group are a commercial exhibitionist. This means that they are selling their figure and their celebrity lifestyle. Moving on to how they are represented in terms of gender within the video. This is Carol Vernallis' theory. This goes back to the face that they are not all the same ethnicity or weight showing diversity within the group. This also supports that there was no continuity within the video but this is done to have impact on the audience. Keazor and Wubenna look at editing. When the music is playing the editing is synchronized with with beat. Also because of the genre of the song there is use of high frequency cuts especially at the chorus of the song.