"Life Goes On" music video (MV) which is directed by BTS youngest member, Jungkook has been receiving endless praises from fans,medias, professional filmmakers, directors and MV editors ever since it dropped on November 20. 

Jungkook mentioned in ‘BE’ press conference that the most important element of the MV is genuineness, which explains why the setting of the MV is more cinematic and story-driven and the viewers can actually feel that it is more "personal". Jungkook wanted to convey the sadness and longing that was felt because the tour was canceled and how much they are missing ARMY. 

Throughout the whole MV viewers will notice the "little" things that showcase Jungkook's genius directing and how he smartly visualizes the "genuineness" that he wanted to portray into the MV. These "little" things also demonstrate both his technical and theoretical knowledge in cinematic and story-driven filmmaking. 

1. RM wipes the dust from his bike.

Jungkook mentioned in Vlive that he included this scene because RM likes to ride his bike. Jungkook's idea was to convey the message through the action of wiping the dust from the bike, implicitly expressing the feeling of longing and missing of the old life before the pandemic.

2. Visual metaphorically matching the lyrics.

This happens twice in the MV; when V was driving heading out the tunnel and when Jin closed his eyes before the transition to the concert scene. 

The lyrics translated to "There's no end in sight, is there a way out?" and the scene shows the end of the tunnel and how the car came out from it into the light, metaphorically answering the question put forth in the lyrics. 

The lyrics translated to "Close your eyes for a moment, hold my hand, to that future, let's run away" and the scene shows Jin closing his eyes before the transition to the concert scene which is implied as "the future". 

3. The transition from BTS dorm to the concert in stadium.

This is the scene that receives the biggest reactions and as Jungkook said in V Live, it is the most important scene of the MV. Jungkook conceptualizes the scene and this is one of his genius ways in visualizing the feeling of longing to meet ARMY again in concerts and tours in the future. The technical aspect of this scene is something to rave about too, especially when the camera zooms out of Jin's face to reveal the BTS members are actually onstage singing in a concert stadium.

4. ARMY is represented by the ARMY bombs lighting up the stadium seats.

Jungkook came up with the idea to use ARMY bombs as representation of ARMY filling up the concert stadium. The fact that the scene is in black and white truly showcases the brilliance of the whole idea; highlighting the members and the "ARMY" who are shining in white and making the scene looks aesthetically pleasing. 

5. The "home videos" scenes.

Besides being shot in old movies filter, there is another remarkable thing about the "home videos" scenes. It shows BTS members were having fun outside but in fast transitions between one scene to another. This having fun outside is portrayed as sweet memories, thus explains the fast transitions between each scene because memories are like fleeting images. This truly showcases Jungkook's technical skill in cinematic filmmaking.

6. The underlying message behind BTS watching their "home videos" scene. 

Before watching their "home videos" the members look gloomy and sullen, halfway through it they get a little bit closer to each other and by the end of it they were all hugging and cuddling. This shows that all the memories bring them happiness, and despite being stuck in their home they are still thankful being surrounded by the people who love them-- a good message to convey during this pandemic.

7. Camera pans out to the stadium while V was driving.

As Jungkook mentioned he wanted to portray how much BTS are missing the tours and ARMY, and it is perfectly visualized in this scene. While V was driving he looked up to the side, longingly at the Seoul stadium, which supposed to be the first stop of their world tour.

8. A scene closes with a member and the same member opens the next scene.

When the scene of RM with his bike closes, the next scene shows he enters the frame joining other members hanging around at the couch. Another example is when Jin closes the scene at the couch and opens the next scene at the stadium. This little detail actually received huge praises from Jordan Orme-- a professional MV editor who worked with artists like Justin Bieber, Post Malone, Roddy Ricch-- in his reaction video. He said, "OK Director Jungkook, you were thinking of those things. Well done Jungkook, I see you!" 

9. Jungkook combines both his GCF style and normal music video style in this MV. It is a combination of filming of the members (like what Jungkook usually does with his GCFs) and normal music video scenes where the singers are singing to the camera. It is very different from BTS' previous MVs yet the feeling is much more intense and personal.

In conclusion, Jungkook truly proves himself as an aspiring filmmaker and delivered a remarkable performance as an MV director, despite being his first time. He truly deserves all the acclaims and praises from media and professionals, as the MV becomes one of the Top 5 biggest debuts in Youtube history.

Image credit: @jeonfolders