This video is a very clever interpretation of the lyrics and displays manipulated control. The male protagonist of the video believes he has ultimate control, until he discovers he in fact is merely a puppet himself. The video's editing is slow compared to the fast pace of the chorus, the rest is fitting. I think this has been done so the audience has time to appreciate and understand the obscure narrative of the video; the lyrics depict a sexual intimate act from a young males point of view, however this video has interpreted this is a psychological way as loss of control. Opening with running that matches the beat of the music longer shots have been used to capture the action till it ends as he hits a door; on one side a lamb, on the other a sign reading 'watch your step', framed in an extra close up to highlight its importance. Blue lighting is consistent and creates a cold atmosphere, the image appears to me as desaturated. The artist first lip sync's to the important lyric 'This is so messed up'
The lighting is seductive thus deceiving, strong shadows are created throughout. The use of mirrors is inspiring, literally multiplying his body is a metaphorical of his many persona, cleverly you cannot see his physical body, and his reflections thus appear to be following and without control. The single lamp as well as adding to the mise en scene once reflected has created a visual boundary which he has crossed.
Dramatic movement increases as the powerful fast chorus kicks in, destruction of once perfectly aligned mise en scene expresses this loss of control. Smashing of glass is used on a hit of a symbol, the glass is visually dramatic as it shatters, slow motion is used to capture the scattered pieces. The second lyric to be mouthed is 'It used to be the reason i breathe but no its choking me up, die you and save yourself', the latter half screamed to mirror the screaming of lyrics.
At 1.14 to 1.20 a tracking camera rotates around the protagonist to face to opposite way, this camera move stood out to me as it was unusual and a contrast to the other shots. At 2.04 the sped up action is extremely effective as it is almost inhuman, similar to the other ideas in the video.
The identity of the person controlling the protagonist is always unknown the shadow leaves only a silhouette
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