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Neha Raithatha

Analysis of pervious students’ A2 coursework
Aiden Chang – ‘Oh My God’ by Cults
This video follows an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ style theme
throughout the video. It begins with an extreme close up of a
girl’s eye opening and follows her journey into a secret garden
in which she finds several interesting characters (much like in
Alice in Wonderland). The motif of the compass is used to
depict this reflection of the classical children’s book in this
music video. The majority of the video seems to be shot using a
handheld camera which adds to the authentic feel of the video
as well as placing the audience in uncomfortable positions to
reflect the uncertainty and confusion that the protagonist is
feeling. A series of close ups and shallow focus
shots are also used throughout the video in order
to illustrate the strange setting and unfamiliarity
of the characters.
Once she enters the garden, the protagonist is
immediately portrayed as a foreigner by the way
that the other characters seem to investigate her
by playing with her hair and staring at her in
fascination. This is shown through a series of mid-shots to help the audience visualise
how the protagonist has been placed in a foreign environment. This is reemphasised
by the fact that she is wearing a white nightgown which contrasts well with the dark
lighting, only broken up by fairy lights.
The other characters are wearing clothing that is unusual of everyday members of
society to wear such as masquerade masks, face paints, floral headbands and animal
print capes. This use of mise-en-scene adds to the idea that they are different to the
protagonist who seems like an everyday girl who the audience would be able to relate
to.
The next scene imitates The Mad Hatter’s Tea
Party from the classical children’s book, Alice
in Wonderland. This imitation is displayed
through the use of props such as an oldfashioned tea pot and cakes. We see the
characters all gather around to drink their tea
and this is when the protagonist seems to start
feeling more comfortable and less afraid.
We then see a close up of a trail of tea light
candles on the floor before understanding that
the protagonist is being taken away from the
tea party and soon see the other characters influencing her to dance with them. The
use of swift camera movements imitates the care-free nature of these characters and
the enjoyment of the protagonist as they all dance together.
There is then one shot in which two of the female
characters are shown placing a floral headband
just like their own on the protagonist’s head. This

Neha Raithatha
may have been used to reflect how she has now been accepted as one of their own.
This is followed by several abstract shots that include extreme close ups and shallow
focus shots which show the protagonist in the middle of the characters as they dance
around her, possibly suggesting how they have captivated her in their unknown land.
As the song builds, more and more of
these aesthetically pleasing, abstract
shots are shown to depict the party
before displaying shots where all of
the strange characters seem to be
looking in one direction. We then see
a shot of the protagonist who has
now been transformed from a normal
girl in a white gown to someone with
the same face paintings, headband
and clothing as the other characters
before a shot where she is showered with yellow flower petals. This final shot is then
reversed.
I believe Aiden may have used this to reflect the idea that people can become
captivated and influenced by those around them very easily, a moral that runs
throughout the classical children’s story, Alice in Wonderland.

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Analysis of a previous student's coursework

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