Applying Music Video Theory : Little Mix 'Shout Out To MY Ex'

The video opens with a close up of a member of the band. The audience is able to focus on her, due to her being centre screen- it shows that the band is the main focus of the video as opposed to the mise-en-scene. The dark makeup and clothing could be used to give the band sex appeal.

The music and video converge on several occasions- notably, when one band member sings ‘I’m over it’, a gun is put in focus with a message saying ‘OVER IT’.  This matches Andrew Goodwin’s theory of relationships between lyrics and visuals.

By showing all of the band singing in chorus, it illustrates to the audience that each member is as relevant and contributes as much as the others. This matches Ann Kaplan’s theory that music videos can be used for both entertainment and self-advertisement. The mise-en-scene in this scene shows that the women have money and fame- a common trend to make them seem more successful than they may actually be.

The shots are all quickly cut, in order to retain the low attention span of the predominantly young fans of the band. This relates to the music theorist Carol Vernallis, who believed that the most important thing in relation to editing is impacting the audience, as opposed to chronological accuracy. There are also free hand camera scenes, showing the point of view of the band members. This is aimed to help young girls project themselves onto the band members.
The video matches Sven E. Carlson's theory that music videos are either song, dance or musical performance. The video is a mixture between song and dance performance.

Finally, there was an attempt to make the video appeal to male viewers who would not normally be fans of the band. This is primarily through sex appeal and the camera following Diane Railton’s theory of the male gaze.