Six Feet Under (2016)

Billie Eilish’s second music video is for her song “Six Feet Under” (2016). This is specifically a special music video as it is the first one that she personally directs. Although not apparent at all in the music video, interestingly, the music video is of color smoke bombs erupting. A very different take compared to her first one, this music video allowed me to view her music videos from a more artistic perspective. Rather than explicitly re-enacting her lyrics, or preforming the song, Billie Eilish decided to capture emotion through this object.

The entirety of the video consists of these explosions of smoke and color that appear to be filmed on someone’s backyard. There is a rawness and home-made video feel to it, kind of rustic. 

            The opening clip is of two already erupted smoke bombs, blue and red, the smoke erupts for approximately 8 seconds and then the clip is reversed to create an effect as though the smoke is moving backwards. The next clip beginning at 0.15 is of someone lighting a smoke bomb and the entire process is shown from when its lit to when it erupts. From 0.15 to 1.56, the smoke bomb erupts and reveals a cloud of yellow colored smoke. From1.57 onwards, the clip is reversed and sped up again, allow the eruption of smoke to cave back into the small capsule it came out of. At 2.17, a clip of the smoke bomb dying off is inserted as the yellow smoke evaporates from the frame. At 2.30 a clip of the blue and red smoke erupting till the bombs die off and the smoke exits the frame, then the video cuts back to the yellow smoke bomb showing barely any remnants of the smoke. 

            Visually, it was very interesting to see the juxtaposition of the primary colors of smoke onto the dark colored wood and cobwebs. The fluidity versus the harshness. The play with timing and rewinding, specifically with the movement of smoke and action of eruption and suppression was also simple yet visually very rich.