Barthe:
Barthes
created 5 codes of narrative:
Action:
It refers to how elements of the narrative suggest further action will happen. For example the heroic character often lust after something so action is suggested so he gets there.
Enigma:
Refers to the elements in the narrative which question the audience, for example will the hero get what they desire or will the villain stop them?
Semantic: Any element that gives a suggests a particular meaning within the narrative. For example glasses and books may suggest a character is geeky, where colours suggest different meanings.
Symbolic:
Is similar to the semantic code, but is sorted into deeper meaning, and exercises opposites. For example a bad character may where black, and a good character may wear white to suggest deeper meaning.
Cultural/ Referential: Any element that refers to common knowledge, often appearing cliché. For example the way things are represented.
Vladimir
Propp noticed similarity in characters within narratives particularly in
fairy tales. These characters are known as 'stock' characters. They are as
follows:
The Villain: The character who attempts and often fails to stop the hero in his path to get what he desires.
The
Damsel: The character who needs helping or saving from something, and it is often the hero who saves them.
The
Helper: The character who aids the hero.
The
Donor: The character who gives up something to help someone else.
The False Hero: The character who pretends to aid the hero, whilst secretly being a bad character and giving the hero false claims.
Claude Levi-Strauss:
Claude Levi-Strauss created a theory about binary opposites. He believed that people don't learn words by their definition but by their opposites. For example:
Good vs. Evil
Black and White
Supernatural and Human
Hero and Villain
Black and White
Supernatural and Human
Hero and Villain
Todorov
suggested a five staged narrative which is as follows:
1)
A state of equilibrium.
2) A disruption of the equilibrium.
3) Recognising there is a problem
4) Solving the problem
5) Going back to a state of equilibrium often gaining something
3) Recognising there is a problem
4) Solving the problem
5) Going back to a state of equilibrium often gaining something
A man finds a tree. (1)
A man wants an apple from the tree. (2)
The apple is too high in the tree. (3)
The man finds a ladder and climbs the tree. (4)
The man retrieves the apple and eats it. (5)
Applying Narrative Theories:
I
applied these four narrative theories on Taylor Swift's 'You belong with me' It
is shown on the Prezi below...
Representation Theories:
Semiotics:
Ferdinand
de Saussure said that language doesn't reflect reality. He suggested that we
could get meaning from signs which could be anything from words and objects.
We
find a sign----> We see the representation-----> From this we get
meaning.
For example we see someone gripping school books (sign) they are often represented as a 'geeky' character (representation) but the we find the real meaning and see them as a smart person, and willing to work. (meaning)
Laura
Mulvey was a feminist who suggested that films are constructed for Males to
look at women as passive objects for their desire. Films therefore are
shown through males eyes, where men look and women are looked at.
For example, women in some cases are dressed in minimum clothing to appeal to the male audience.
Stereotypes:
Dyer
said that stereotypes reinforce the differences between people, and is a
cultural shorthand. Stereotypes are developed over time and although exist are very general and can often not speak the truth.
An example would be all Americans are obese, whilst it may be true that the USA has the highest percentage of obese people, not all Americans are obese as it is a lifestyle choice. Stereotypes therefore suggest that all people of a certain group act the same.
Simulacra:
Jean
Baudrillard suggested that we become so reliant on a certain representation
that we don't know the reality. Simulacra is a copy of something that has more
reality than the thing it was a copy of. For example 'The Only Way Is Essex'
gives us false impressions that Essex people all are dumb and wear a lot of
fake tan. In reality it isn't really like this.
I
applied this to the following three videos:
Rihanna ft Drake: What's My Name:
Semantics: SIGN--> REPRESENTATION--> MEANING.
We see the spilt milk and recognise it as our sign, which represents the males semen thus creating a meaning the male is sexually available for the girl. A close up of the milk signifies its importance in the video.
We see the two characters sipping on wine, the use of wine represents them getting close to one another and getting to know each other, giving the meaning they are loosening up to create this atmosphere.
Rihanna's has red hair and red lips, representing her promiscuous character, giving the meaning that she wants the sexual attention and she is open up to that kind of behaviour.
Male Gaze: WOMEN ARE OBJECTS FOR MEN TO LOOK AT.
In the supermarket Drake looks at Rihanna up and down as she walks into the shop. This is shown through a shot of Drake looking at something, then the next shot of Rihanna, showing that he is looking at her. This is relevant as it shows how she as a female character is being looked at by a male character, thus representing the male gaze. Even men in the streets look at her.
She wears very short shorts which shows how she wants the attention of the males, this is because she knows men will look. She also bites her lip suggesting she wants the attention, likes the attention and wants the guy to look.
Stereotypes: REINFORCE DIFFERENCES.
A stereotype would be a the man is the dominant character because he is the one who approaches the woman, and grabs her from behind. This action suggests he is powerful and can get what he desires.
Rihanna the female does the washing up, women are often stereotyped to be domesticated, and there to do the washing and cooking. This however isn't always the case, and is a very old fashioned stereotype.
Hyper-reality: WE FORGET ABOUT REALITY BECAUSE OF REPRESENTATIONS.The audience are meant to believe that Rihanna lives a normal life like they do, where she washes up her own dishes, and goes to buy her groceries from the local store. This probably has little truth behind it and is done to appeal to the audience and represent Rihanna as a person just like you and I, because she does this we forget that she is a celebrity and see her in this way. The way she dresses is also most probably how she doesn't leave the house to go out to the public, as she is a big star and probably wants to shy away from paparazzi.
Personal Opinion and what I have learnt:
Rihanna’s video is heavily narrative, but with her within the video she isn’t forgotten and it allows her to build on her brand image. The video seems to show off some of the female male stereotypes and representations present in today’s society. The stereotypes are therefor in my opinion deliberately thought out and put into the video. In our music video we will have to look at the stereotypes we want to present and ways we can represent them.
Semantics: SIGN--> REPRESENTATION--> MEANING.
The cheerleaders wear gas masks and holds guns which represents how they see the teenagers, the gas masks suggest that teenagers are infectious whilst the guns suggests they are dangerous.
The cheerleaders are there to show the location of the video as a high school, they are there because they represent the school whilst no other signs are visible to suggest this.
Male Gaze: WOMEN ARE OBJECTS FOR MEN TO LOOK AT.
The cheerleaders
are the only female characters in the video and are there to be looked at, they wear stereotypical clothes for cheerleaders with their short skirts and vests. The camera is usually at a low angle when the cheerleaders are in shot to make it look though the camera is looking up their skirts thus confirming the male gaze.
Stereotypes: REINFORCE DIFFERENCES.
The lyrics "They couldn't care less as long as someone will bleed." shows how little they think of teenagers and how they believe all teenagers are seen as uncaring, dangerous characters. The cheerleaders hold guns to confirm this stereotype, as a sign to tell the teenagers to steer clear of them.
The cheerleaders also wear gas masks to suggest that teenagers are unclean, spotty and infect the air they breathe, suggesting they don't want to be turned to these ways.
The close
up of the lock door with the teenagers attempting to push it open is shown to suggest that teenagers are like wild animals trying to escape, thus suggesting they are dangerous as they are locked up to keep them away from the rest of society.
The teenagers have no emotion on their faces, whilst teenagers are stereotyped to be stroppy and moody individuals it probably reflects more on the target audience and the bands fan base, due to the stereotypes of rock music having gothic moody, unemotional audience.
Hyper-reality: WE FORGET ABOUT REALITY BECAUSE OF REPRESENTATIONS.
The main stereotypes of the teenagers aren't true as stereotypes are generalised at particular groups, and we see tis representation so much that we believe it to be true whilst it may apply to may teens not all teens are as represented in this video.
The vision that My Chemical Romance allows fans and people to jump on stage and stack them has little truth as bands are often well protected in gigs and events, but it is done to suggest teenage behaviour.
Personal Opinion and what I have
learnt:
In this video the video is heavily performance based; it is dark
and is reflective of the video’s genre. I like how the video uses small actions
to show the representations it wants to, like the emotion of the audience’s
faces and the close up of the locked door. Whilst the actions are small, they
seem to have been thought through, therefore I think whilst making our music
video we will have to incorporate small things that will represent something in
relation to our video.
Christina Aguilera- Not Myself Tonight
Semiotics: SIGN--> REPRESENTATION--> MEANING.
Christina wears red lipstick this represents her to be a promiscuous character who wants attention and males to see her in this way.
Objects such as chains and whips represent sexual activity suggesting that she craves attention and wants to be seen as a promiscuous person.
Male Gaze: WOMEN ARE OBJECTS FOR MEN TO LOOK AT.
The women in the video wear little clothing
and chokers to promote the males sexual desire and show she is craving attention. However the majority of her audience are female and by doing so she is sending out the message that females should be more dominant sometimes and be the ones to take charge. The lyrics also suggest this idea as she says "tonight I'm not the same girl" suggesting she doesn't normally take charge. The males look at her as the more dominant person and dance around her and look at her in this way.
Stereotypes: REINFORCE DIFFERENCES.
There is no clear stereotypes in this video being somewhat reversed and actually being countertypes. Christina is actually showing that girls can be more dominant in the situation and the men are following her, looking at her and dance around her as though they serve her.
Hyper-reality: WE FORGET ABOUT REALITY BECAUSE OF REPRESENTATIONS.
The way Christina dresses in this video won't be how she dresses normally and the manor of dressing she chooses to use in her videos is to build her brand image.
Personal Opinion and what I have
learnt:
This video was created in my opinion for the attention. Her
clothing suggests her desperate need for it. In the video the representations
are clear but could have been done in a less explicit way, but then again the
video is created to add to the brand image Christina wants to portray. In our
music video I would make the stereotypes less explicit and more subtle so they
are there but aren’t there deliberately to dominant the video.
Audience Theories:
Hyper-dermic needle theory:
This theory suggests that people consume and believe everything they hear or see in the media like an injection taking over their bodies, in this case media taking over their minds.
Users gratification:
This theory explains why people watch the piece of media it can be one of four reasons:
Diversion-
The consumer watches, listens or reads the product for entertainment and to escape from everyday life, it can come in any form of media which entertains the consumer for example a YouTube video, a magazine article or a piece of music.
Personal
Relationships- The consumer watches or reads something and empathises with one of the characters because they feel like they have similar characteristics or backgrounds, for example a soap character. A social networking site is also a form of personal relationships as the consumer becomes a part of a social group.
Personal
Identity- The consumer watches, listens or reads to retrieve knowledge about themselves through the media. For example a history documentary about where they live or came from.
Surveillance-
The consumer uses the media to retrieve information for example to find out what the weather, news or latest celebrity gossip is.
Encode/Decode:
This code is when
the producer puts in a meaning to the piece of media and thus encoding it and the audience
gets a different meaning from it thus decoding it.
There are three ways to decode something:
If for example I encode the dress to be red to show the character to be passionate you can decode it as follows:
Dominant-
They consumer believes the real meaning, so they believe the encoded reason is true. The consumer believes the dress is red to show the character to be passionate.
Negotiation
Reading- The consumer can't be sure of the real meaning so they have many ideas of the meaning. The consumer could believe the red dress shows passion, but also anger and power.
Oppositional-
The consumer doesn't believe the real meaning at all, they don't believe the way it has been encoded. The consumer doesn't believe it shows passion but believe it shows the characters anger.
The Nationwide Theory:
The consumer sees an element in a different way to another person due to them being from a different background. It's similar to the encoding decoding theory in the sense that people believe in different ideas, but this theory suggests it is because of their religion, area, wealth etc.
For example if a piece of media shows money burning a poor man may see it to be immoral as he doesn't have any money and that burning it was a waste, but a rich man may not see it as a big deal as they have a lot of money as it its.
Applying Audience
Theories:
I applied these audience theories to Madonna: Like a Prayer
I applied these audience theories to Madonna: Like a Prayer
The hypodermic needle theory:
The video injects the consumer with the moral to do the right thing and believe in what is right it does this as the narrative shows an innocent man being arrested for murdering a woman and Madonna goes to the police and tells them he is innocent in the end. This therefore shows Madonna doing the correct and moral thing, and this message should rub off on the audience. However this doing the right thing isn't always easy as no-one is perfect and can ever do the right thing all the time, plus Madonna doesn't always do what is right.
The nationwide theory: In Italy the music video was banned by the government as it was anti-religious which shows how people see the video in different ways, the burning crosses and the fact Madonna seduces the man who claims to be Jesus is seen as immoral and wrong as Jesus has never been presented in this way.
Also the fact Jesus is represented as black
goes against what people believe in as Jesus is always represented as a white man and people have always believed this (Hypodermic). This however is empowering to black Christians.
Encoding/ Decoding:
Encode- Madonna is a preferred Christian because she changed her ways for religion by doing the right thing. However it can be implied that she is not as she appears to devalues religion by the video. Her costume is a black revealing dress which seems inappropriate, but is wearing it to immorally seduce Jesus. She stands in front of burning crosses which is disrespectful of Christians as it is their sign of worship, which suggests how she doesn't value religion as much as she encoded it to be.
Users and Gratification Theory:
The consumer watches it to prove that
religion can save you if you do something incorrectly. Madonna doesn't go to
the police but after being in the church she realises she has to do the right
thing, and religion got her to do that.
The consumer watches it to get
closer to God particularly through the lyrics because the lyrics are about religion and loving someone.
The consumer watches it
to show interracial relationships are acceptable, when it was made in 1989 racism was still a bit of an issue, this video shows that everyone should be equal, and this is done mainly because Jesus is black in the video, and he is one of the most powerful religious figures, so it questions peoples interpretation of Jesus.
The consumer watches it to
escape from their normal day and be entertained, if they like Madonna's music they will watch it to see her new video and how she has interpreted it herself.
Personal Opinion and what I have
learnt:
Learning about Audience theories allowed me to see that
different people will see the same thing in different ways. When we make our
video we will have to remember this theory to make sure nothing becomes
offensive to anyone.
Genre Theories:
Institution:
Robert Kapsis: You can minimizes the uncertainty
of the future of genre by using the popularity of genres to understand what
people enjoy and recreate it. For example superhero films.
Rick Altman: The institution's primary need is to make money so they create products that are similar but have been altered slightly. For example films like Love Actually and Valentines Day have the similar idea but have different stories and themes.
Geoff King: Genre creates commercial stability and if it put out at the correct time it will create a large audience. For example Scary Movies at Halloween.
John Ellis: for every genre and product there is an
image which is reused and recycled and it prompts questions to the audience.
For example in romantic comedies, guy and girl fall in love, and this image is recycled to create different narratives.
Audience:
King: The audience expect codes and
conventions of the genre. For example whilst watching a boy band music video
you might expect close ups and cheesy dance moves.
Ritual:
Kapsis: What happens in society influences
genre. The audience want escapism and a genre that they can relate to. For example
war films relating to recent events, or superheroes films.
Will Wright: Myths that relate to society create escapism for the audience because a myth gets them away from the real society, however it must have real themes and ideas held within. for example the Harry Potter films aren't real but have real themes.
Steve Neale: The audience might just watch a specific genre
because they can relate to it and it holds value. However there is no proof this is
the only reason why they watch them it could just be entertainment alone.
Classification and
Interpretation:
Steve Neale: Audience has expectations they go to
the cinema with and they can then recognize them and put a meaning to
them.
Tom Ryall: genre is about the artist, product
and media text by knowing this they make a product which the audience interpret
it.
Elements of
genre:
Genre
is selection of these elements:
Iconography
– mise-en-scene within genres signify meaning.
Character
Roles
Narrative
Structures
Visual
Style
Ideaology-
Values and themes
Andrew Goodman has
identified music video convention:
Demonstrate
genre characteristics eg stage performances in rock videos
Relationship
between visuals, lyric and music
Lots
of close ups of the artist- visual style
Reference to
looking
Voyeuristic
treatment of the female body- lots of close ups- though you shouldn't be
looking
Inter
textual reference- to films, TV programmes refers to other media
RAP Genre
What do I think about when I hear the word rap:
What do I think about when I hear the word rap:
Guns,
violence, bling, women, cars, swearing, graffiti, mansions, string vests, low
trousers, gold teeth.
General Conventions of Rap:
Low
angle shots are used to show power and manliness and for the audience to look
down on the audience.
Framed
alone in centre screen as they believe they are important enough to
do this.
Two
shots used to show women as irrelevant and are used to make the artist look
good.
In club
scenes everyone dances to the music which the video is promoting. This makes the
song more creditable for the audience as it seems to have some status.
The
artist wears sporty clothes or no top to show they do physical work out.
Lots
of references to wealth to show status
Lots
of males within a group with the main singer leading the group.
A
message which shows they don't really care. "Get drunk, get high, and get
lots of money" They're not bothered they just have a life of partying.
Strong
link between the visual and lyrics.
Lots
of close ups to show the artists importance.
Appearances
of other artists in each others videos to show status and it gives a leg up the
music ladder.
They
often show themselves on TV showing that they've made the videos, and to imply
there always being watched another way of this is CCTV.
Application of these theories and conventions:
50 cent: In
Da Club
Personal Opinion:
I like the style of rap videos and how they focus on the performer and how they make the artist look like a star by making them look lie they are being watched and have money. Unless I do a rap video for my music video it is unlikely that I will use these conventions.
ROCK Genre
What
do I think when I hear the word Rock:
Instruments,
emotion, live performances, dark lighting.
General
Conventions of the Rock genre:
Clothes are often dark, grungy and laid back to suggest that they are comfortable. Their hair is normally messy or kept back.
Often
live performances of the band or artist with clips of them shown
throughout the video.
There is almost always a strong mixture of narrative and artist performance.
Camera angles, shots and movement tend to emphasis the musicianship of playing instruments to show the artists skills.
Smoke machines
The main singer often holds a microphone which they pull closer to them, which allows them to give more passion for the song, and fits with the strong beats and rhythm of rock songs.
Dark clothing and lighting to fit with the artists style.
Lots of emotion and passion for the songs they sing.
Black and white clips.
Shots of fans to create credit-ability for the song.
Song lyrics and visual links.
Application of these theories and conventions:
Muse: Uprising
Industry: Rick Altman- The institution's primary need is to make money so they create products that are similar but have been altered slightly. The conventions of rock seem to have been mostly adhered to however its narrative is different to other videos in this genre, and the codes have been tested, for example the main singer sings through a walky talky type device rather than a mic. This creates money as the audience want a video which mixes the conventions so it's a different product but they still can recognise as the rock genre.
Audience: King- The
audience expect codes and conventions of the genre. The codes and
conventions (shown below) are used so that the audience know what to expect from the video
and can recognise the video as a rock video.
Ritual: Kapsis- What
happens in society influences genre, audience want escapism and genre that is
they can relate to. The song was based on the G20 protests that happened
mid-2009, therefore was influenced by society. The audience therefore can
relate to this whilst being able to escape from the rest of society and listen
to a rock song.
Classification and Interpretation: Steve Neale- Audience has expectations they go to the cinema with they can then recognize them and put a meaning to them. The video is classified as rock due to it having the same conventions of this genre. The audience whilst watching it recognize these codes and are able to put meaning to them. For example in this music video by muse the fire and smoke represent the violence and hatred that is going on in the world. This is because the video was based on some violent protests.
Conventions
used in this video:
The clothing
is dark, casual and typical of this genre. The artist wear scarfs, jackets and
t-shirts.
The video
has a lot of close ups of the band singing, playing the drums and instruments
and performing the song. This is done as it allows the artist to sell the
product.
There is a
mixture of narrative and performance. The narrative represents the protests
that occurred in 2009, which links back to society, this is balanced with the
close ups of the band traveling through the fires and smoke of the destruction.
Though smoke machines aren't used fire
creates the smoke which is found in this video.
The main singer sings into a tape
recorder type object which plays with the conventions because the artists
usually sing into a microphone.
Lots of
emotion shown of face when he sings to show he holds passion for what he
is singing.
Song lyrics and visual links- They will not force us, they will stand degrading us, they will not control us. We will be victorious- The song is about realising about the world, and not listening to the media all the time. It also links to the protests of 2009. The lyrics link to the picture on screen of the world being destroyed giving off a idea that they aren't listening to the rules and people can't always be forced.
Personal Opinion and what I have learnt:
Looking at the rap and rock genre showed me that music videos
have different conventions depending on the type of music. For my music video I
will have to work out the genre and research the conventions so that the final
product is professional and can be recognized to be in the genre. We will also
have to look at what audiences expect from watching videos of the chosen genres
so we create a product that reflects this.
For example in rap videos it was about showing off the artist for who
they were, with lots of low angled close ups. Rock was about the performance of
the video, with close ups of the instruments. If we did a pop video the conventions could be completely different.
All Theories Applied:
I have applied all the theories to That Girl by Mcfly:
Personal Opinion and what I have learnt:
From looking at one video in detail, I have seen that a single video can adhere to all the theories I have looked at. This shows how importance of the theories and how a video is influenced by them. When creating our video we will have to look at the theories and how our video will show them, however to make the video more original it is probably best to see if they are adhered to after our video is created so they are challenged rather than followed.
The History of Music Videos:
Timelines of Music Videos:
Mcfly: Five Colours in Her Hair
This was the bands first number one and they didn't particularly like the video, and they still don't to this day. The video they believed to be really cheesy and didn't reflect them as people. In the song Dougie and Harry aren't actually playing the instruments as they weren't skilled enough at the time to know how to play the tune to the song.
From analysing all shots of this video, I learnt the importance of the narrative and performance links. I saw there needed to be a balance as the song is the most important element of the video. In this video the narrative clearly linked to the lyrics as the girl in the narrative was the girl the song is about. I also learnt that a music video has to have a lot of shot changes, and a variety of shots used. In music videos it seems that you can be a lot more creative in this way.
Panic at the Disco: Nine in the Afternoon
I chose this song because I like the tune, and the band and the video has a lot of narrative within it, thus meaning it has a lot of shots. Plus I like the beginning when there is a montage of the shots in the video put together in around 10 seconds.
From this video I learnt the importance of the costume changes, and location changes, as it allows the video to be more interesting and creates movement in the video. From this video I also learnt that the song lyrics need to be reflected through elements shown in the video. For example the clocks that say 9 in the afternoon, link to the lyrics of the song.
Famous Directors:
Jonas Åkerlund
Jonas
Åkerlund is a Swedish music video director, who has been directing videos since
1988. He has worked with names such as Bewitched, Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, Maroon 5
and Madonna. Through Madonna's music video "Ray of Light" he won a
Grammy for 'best music video shot form', plus seven awards at the 1998 MTV
music video awards including the 'video of the year.'
I
watched Madonna Ray of light and liked how they had fast forwarded the clips by
keeping a stationary camera at a point for a certain amount of time. It looked good
because it fit with the music's build up, however the use of it throughout the
whole video seems hypnotic and hurts the eyes. This would be a nice
affect to be put into a music video, though it requires a lot of patience, and
would require the camera not to be moved at all within the space of time. But I
would only want to use it through some clips.
I
also watched Moves like Jagger by Maroon 5 which again was directed
by Jonas:
This
Music video collaborates old and new style clips together. It does this by
using original footage of Mick Jagger and the new footage filmed by Maroon 5.
This merge works as the locations of the clips have a similar style, with the
wires trailing across the floor, the mise-en-scene of the characters dancing is
also very similar, which makes the clips look less obvious that they differ.
Also the use of post production effects to make the clips appear to look older
is done to fit all the clips together. I
also like how the clips are edited to the music, so when the music builds
around the chorus there are shorter takes and quicker cuts.
Shane Drake:
Has
directed over 50 music videos for names such as Panic at the disco, Paramore
and fall out boy. His I write sins and not tragedies music video by P!ATD won
the 2006 MTV award for best video of the year.
I
watched ' I Write Sins and Not Tragedies' by P!ATD. I like how it has a
narrative within the video, to keep the audience interested. Also I like the
creative use of costume in this video, which connatates meaning in the narrative.
For example the circus people come in and sit on the brides side suggesting she
isn't from an appropriate background.
Institution:
Narrative Conventions:
There are three main types of music videos:
Performance: The main purpose is to create and convey the in concert experience of the artist thus advertising themselves.
Narrative: When a string of action creates a story within the
narrative.
Abstract: When the video doesn’t tell a story but conveys a
mood.
The main function of a music video is to showcase the star,
the lyrics and the music. Music videos are NOT films and a simple narrative is necessary.
The song is the priority.
Lip- syncing helps promote the lyrics.
Meatloaf: I’d do anything.
Narrative
This Video's narrative seems to be inspired by beauty and the beast. Meatloaf's character is 'ugly' and the beast of the narrative. The quote at the beginning "I have travelled across the universe through the years just to find her." suggests that he is looking for a woman, and this woman in the narrative is the 'beauty' of the video. The beast is also being searched for, much like the Disney film.
Time and space
The video skips through a lot of time and space and doesn't really make much sense over all. The video therefor is telling us that time and space isn't very important within music videos, as they aren't films and the narrative is made to move on quickly to get to the over all moral.
The video skips through a lot of time and space and doesn't really make much sense over all. The video therefor is telling us that time and space isn't very important within music videos, as they aren't films and the narrative is made to move on quickly to get to the over all moral.
How Successful do I believe this video to be?
To me, this video doesn't hold up clearly as a narrative because it skips through time and space so quickly it's like a full film put into seven minutes. This video doesn't exactly make me want to watch it as it doesn't seem to make a lot of sense.
Aerosmith: Crazy
Narrative: Two girls escape from their school and go out into the world to do things they won't have done before. The things would be seen as 'crazy' because they aren't normal things to do, but also as it links to the lyrics and name of the song.
Character: The teenagers are seen as promiscuous characters and their actions suggest that they aren't the best of people, as they steal things etc. The shopkeeper is a creepy character as he looks the girls up and down, suggesting that he likes the look of him. This makes him appear oblivious to them stealing the products from his shelf. The young boy at the end is the hunk of the video, but isn't an essential character.
How does the narrative link to the band and lyrics: The teenage girls in the narrative sing along to the song which is being promoted. The girls also do crazy things in the video, linking to the song lyrics which show how someone is crazy for someone else.
Aerosmith only seems to be in the video to promote himself and his song, the narrative seems to dominant and with little song- narrative links the song seems to get lost in parts.
Prodigy: Smack My B*tch Up.
Camera: The video is filmed in a POV shot and is hand held.
The editing is fast and the shots change continuously.
Sound: You can hear background noises which help tell the
narrative. Song is loud to create atmosphere. The song jolts to create a dizzy
feel.
Narrative: drugs, drinks and girls. Very laddish behaviour but
we find the character to be a girl.
Song and Images: They match up together. Images violent and suggesting a night out at a club along with the lyrics of the song.
Basic Conventions of all music video:
Narrative sequences:
Variety of close ups, mid shots and wide shot.
Two or more locations
Two or more costume changes.
I've learnt that narrative is important within a music video as it works as another element within it and helps sell the music as in a lot of cases it works along with the lyrics.
Technical Conventions:
Editing: It is connected to the song, and makes sure none of
the elements (narrative, performance, star, lyrics, song.) has the dominance in
the video. Editing keeps the momentum in the video, often going along with the
beats of the song. Long dissolves may be used to smooth the video out, whilst
jump cuts are used to create a harsher effect. Long takes are used when the
music has a melodic sound. Short takes keep us focused on the beat of the
music.
Continuity: is less common within music videos, the editing
doesn’t stay continuous as the song is the most important part and the editing
reflects the song- cuts to the beat.
Cinematography vs editing: Cuts and shots are mixed to create
variety.
In film the main purpose is the narrative and character. In
music videos it is to promote the song, meaning the editing reflects this.
Meaning and sound:
Time unfolds unpredictably; space is shown
incompletely and slowly.
Things such as character emotion, narrative are shown but
never in full.
In film narrative gives us information. In music videos
narrative is delivered then pulled away for images of the star. They go against
this concept.
Close ups of the artists are used a lot- promotion. Actors
support the star.
Actors may have to do things to the beat. Artists are usually
at the front and middle of frame/ stage. They break down the elements.
Lip syncing is important. Viewers pay less attention to the
lyrics. Sinead O’Connor Nothing Compares forces you to focus on lyrics.
Image doesn’t follow song lyrics. Song needs different
sections- verse and chorus.
Mise-en-scene: Represents the artist’s image through setting,
costume as they can suggest meaning and show genre.
Cinematography:
Long shots-Prominence is shown.
Mid- space and figure are equal.
Close Up- dominants the person within the frame- mainly the
artist.
Music videos don’t follow rules of film.
Music Videos shots aren’t in a specific order; they can
appear at any time to suggest anything. For example a long shot doesn’t have to
suggest setting, but space.
180 degree rule may not be used.
Artists can break the fourth wall and sing to the audience.
Low- shows artist’s authority
High- power of audience
Movement is used in many forms to match the songs momentum
and energy.
Applying Narrative and Technical Conventions:
Lady Gaga: Poker Face
Jump cuts are used throughout the video, they are used to show a change in time and cut to the beat of music.
Lady Gaga is the dominant person in the video, as she is the artist that sings the song in the video, in a lot of the shots she is alone and stands centre frame. One shot that suggests her dominance is when the dogs frame her like body guards, showing people should look up to her.
There is many changes of location, which always seem to be luxurious, like the pool and the house. There is also a lot of costume changes too which happens in all music videos anyway. The setting suggests she is already rich and successful as it is luxurious and people have to work for a house like that.
In one shot she wears blue whilst the other dancers wear black. This allows her to stand out from the rest of the dancers, again showing how she is dominant. In this shot the lighting is dark so the dancers in black are hardly visible.
There are some narrative- song links, one being they play poker in the video.
A special effect allows Lady Gaga to be on the screen more than once, showing how she dominants the video.
Close ups of Lady Gaga promote her to be the artist that sings the song, as by showing her the music is more likely to sell. There are more close ups and other shots of Lady Gaga than there is of narrative showing how the video is made to promote her. Unlike the Aerosmith video the song doesn't get as lost because the footage is cut to the beat and the narrative doesn't take over.
At some points she is also framed with manikins
and males in the frame with the light falling on her face again suggesting she is the most
important character in the frame.
Plan B: She Said
The actors in the narrative join in with the beat of the song by doing choreographed movements like flicks of the wrist, which is a good way to get narrative links to the song.
The artist who sings the song is within the
narrative meaning the video is very heavily narrative based. However it is a good way to get the artist and narrative to link together smoothly. He does lip sync to the lyrics of the song.
The setting changes seven or eight times which fits with music video conventions, it makes the narrative clearer and the video a lot more interesting to the audience.
The beat is supported by the editing of the video as it is edited to the beat.
Time unfolds very quickly, you see scenes in the court case and scenes from the night the girl fell in love with him.
There is also some close ups of the artist to show how he is promoting the song, and even with a narrative he is the most dominant person in the video.
I think because of the lip syncing, the fact the artist is within the narrative and the actors moving to the beat the song isn't lost but is supported by the elements of the video.
A-Ha: Take On Me
The takes of shots are shorter and cut to the beat a lot because the song is fast paced.
The artist appears within the narrative, with images of the band within the setting and the main singer part of the narrative often seen lip syncing to the video.
There are parts of the video where there is close ups of the band members faces, showing that they are the promoted people of the video.
The video mixes reality with the comic book style world which would have been a new style of video for the time the video was created. Therefore I think that at the song kind of gets lost in the video a little bit as people want to watch the video. But again because of lip syncing and the singer being in the narrative, and as well as the song being very catchy it might not be that lost.
There is more narrative than there is of the band performing, however the main singer appears to be in the narrative allowing a narrative performance balance to be obtained.
Sara Bareilles- King Of Anything
Sara Bareilles- King Of Anything
There is a special post production effect which allows the artist to be on screen multiple times, however it is used to give the whole video this effect.
There are many gestures which match up with the beat of the video for example there is clapping, and playing the piano.
There often seems to have shots which cut to the beat, but because of the effect there are many shots on the screen at the same time.
There is no particular narrative in the video however isn't a performance or obvious abstract video. It does give a happy mood to the audience but starts with the artist facing a guy who she seems to be talking to through her song so could be a mix of all three as she is the main part of the video.
A lot of scene and costume changes to fit with the conventions of a music video, it also allows the video to be a lot more interesting and maintain audience interest.
Variety of shots within the video, changing by the post effect.
Looking at different videos and how they applied video conventions was interesting as it shows different ways in which videos have been edited, created and put together. This will help us when making our video because using little inspirations from some videos along with our own ideas our product will look better in the end. I like how in Plan B's video and Sara Barielles video there are small gestures which cut to the beat and go along with the song. We could use this, for example taps of the foot, clicking, moving of the head. I also like the idea of having the artist in the narrative so the main focus is them all the way through, but this is dependent on the song, lyrics and whether it will look right this way.
Looking at different videos and how they applied video conventions was interesting as it shows different ways in which videos have been edited, created and put together. This will help us when making our video because using little inspirations from some videos along with our own ideas our product will look better in the end. I like how in Plan B's video and Sara Barielles video there are small gestures which cut to the beat and go along with the song. We could use this, for example taps of the foot, clicking, moving of the head. I also like the idea of having the artist in the narrative so the main focus is them all the way through, but this is dependent on the song, lyrics and whether it will look right this way.
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