Narrative theories and example of narrative music video

Narrative is the way a story is told so that the elements are structured in such a way that makes sense to the audience.

1. Todorov stated that narrative is structured into five different stages:
-  Equilibrium
-  Disequilibrium
-  Recognition
-  Reparation
-  New Equilibrium

For example; Jack and the Beanstalk story,
-  Jack and his mother are living happily (Equilibrium)
-  They are forced to sell their family cow which Jack sells for five magic beans (Disequilibrium)
-  Jack knows that he has done wrong but decides to see what is up at the top of the giant beanstalk (Recognition)
-  Jack takes the gold coins from the ogre and manages to defeat him by cutting down the beanstalk (Reparation)
-  Jack and his mother are now rich and live happily ever after (New Equilibrium)

2. Propp stated that narrative is motivated by a variety of character functions; there will be a hero who is sent on a quest by the sender. The hero has to overcome the villain usually with the aid of a helper and in doing so gains a reward, often a princess.

For example; Shrek film,
Shrek (Hero) is sent on a quest by the King (Sender) to overcome the dragon (Villain) with the aid of Donkey (Helper) and gains the Princess (Reward).

3. Levi Strauss stated that narrative is motivated by a clear struggle between Binary Opposites, one side which will be represented as the 'right' side which the audience should identify with.

For example; Any superhero films like Batman, Spiderman etc. These Heroes are always shown in a favourable light e.g. low camera angles, close ups and longer shots of them to make the audience support them.

Then one side which will be presented negatively.

Example of Narrative music video- Enrique Iglesias- Hero:

Todorov:

-  Equilibrium: Iglesias and Jennifer Love Hewitt are happily together. The camera uses close ups of both stars. The settings are open, sunny and peaceful looking; which connotes everything is as it seems and undisturbed between the two of them.

-  Disequilibrium: Their car breaks down and they are attacked by a group of men. Suddenly the two of them seem trapped. The lighting is darker and more foreboding whilst the two heroes are also shot from further away and the camera chooses to frame the lower half of their bodies rather than their faces connoting that something bad will happen to them as it draws the audience to feel less emotionally connected with them.

- Recognition: Iglesias knows that the gang will not let them go. The recognition stage is shown with the return to close ups of both the heroes and villains which allows the audience to see the full extent of the conversation and Iglesias discovery.

- Reparation: He decides to fight against them. At this stage the camera zooms in to Iglesias's face and of Jennifer's reaction. It also zooms out from the close ups of the villains face which connotes their evilness and with the heroes wearing white connotes their purity and innocence. 

- New Equilibrium: Iglesias dies but he knows that Jennifer Love. Hewitt is safe from harm. This stage is signified by the dark surroundings and rain which symbolises that a new equilibrium has not been reached as the hero dies.

Propp & Levi Strauss:

- Enrique Iglesias (Hero) is sent on a quest to overcome the evil gang of thugs (Villain) with the aid of Jennifer Love Hewitt(Helper) for the gift of Jennifer (Reward).

- Enrique is clearly shown as the hero in this music video through the close up shots of his face or body. This allows the audience to gain a more personal connection with them so that they in turn will feel what he is feeling. This therefore allows the audience to empathy with him as a person and treat him almost like one of their own. The audience will furthermore care what happens to him. When the camera is on Iglesias he is usually shot in the centre if the frame. This further demonstrates his importance to the narrative and that the audience should concentrate more on him, feeling more empathy. The mise en scene also suggests this hero like status. There is usually bright light on or around him, connoting an angelic and innocence.

- On the other hand, the gang is clearly shown to be the villains in the music video. They are usually shot from slightly below, which whilst connotes dominance also make them less appealing to the audience as the audience would feel that the gang would believe that they were above the audience. Also there are no close ups of the gang and during any shot there is always at least two or three of them in the frame at any one time, connoting their unimportance to the video and that the audience should feel no connection with them. The darkness of all their clothes also indicate evilness as well.

- Jennifer Love Hewitt is also wearing white which connotes her purity. Something that also tells the audience that she is the hero's reward as usually the rewards for hero's are innocent and pure. This is also emphasised with the amount of light on or around her giving her an angelic quality and allowing the audience to empathise with her.

Music Video Analysis - Videophone - Beyonce ft. Lady Gaga

Music Video Analysis - Videophone - Beyonce ft. Lady Gaga

Video phone from Alex Harris

Features of a Music Video and Analysis - Basket Case

Conventions of a music video - Basket Case - Green Day

Analysis of a music video from Alex Harris

Changing the song

Changing our song 

We decided to change the song as we felt that the beat of the song was too constant in the sense that it didn't start enough and build up which is what we were looking for. We weren't sure which song to change too between 'The Healing - Gary Clarke Jr' or 'What Went Down - FOALS'. We decided to go with the Foals song as it builds up power and the lyrics of the song compliment our narrative of a boy overcoming obstacles in his life well. As well as this, the Foals are a band whereas Gary Clarke Jr is a single artist and even though they are both organic artists, it will be easier to produce a music video for the Foals as we are promoting a band with a similar genre to the Foals. 

 

American Idiot Album Cover Analysis

American idiot from alex00112233

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift - Music Video Analysis

Bad Blood - Taylor Swift

There is lots of close ups on each of the super heroes to express their angry emotion as the music video is about bad blood, but to also show Taylor Swift sining the lyrics and attract the audience through her looks, as well as the other females looks. During most close ups she is singing the lyrics or sometimes doing something else, e.g. applying lipstick to further attract an audience. Where as there are less extreme close ups used on the male rapper, who also features in the music video as he doesn't need to sell his self through his looks like the record label would do with the women artists.

Throughout the music video there is not much of a relationship between lyrics and visuals, as the visuals convey a storyline. But in some points of the music videos there is a relationship between the lyrics and visuals, as when there is a fight the chorus about bad blood plays. However there is a slight relationship between music and visuals because as the camera moves onto different super heroes you see them miming the lyrics to the song or you see the artists- Taylor Swift, miming the words to her song to match the lyrics. Also a relationship between the music and visuals is emphasised through the movements of the characters, as they walk and gesture to the beat of the music.

In addition, there is a particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body through the close ups on the females faces and panning of their body. For example, the camera pans across the artists body when she is wearing minimal clothes to appeal to a male audience as well. The main theme of the costumes are either black or white, as well as tight fitting with leather parts to it, to emphasis the females figures. Also the main artists Taylor Swift, has several costume changes throughout the music video. Eye makeup is also used to accentuate their eyes as most of the females look directly at the camera.

In this video, there are several intertextual references to action films. The opening part of the music video is similar to James Bond through the action scene and the night time setting in London. The opening text that says 'Bad Blood' is like Sin City. Then the bike scene is similar to Tron and Expendables is the blowing up scene at the end. 

In this music video it is primarily narrative based as its about bad blood between two armies of super heroes who are fighting against each other, as each female team wants to be more superior than each other. It represents an action/thriller film but in 4 minutes.

Arctic Monkeys - Star Image

Arctic monkeys from alex00112233

This music video was made in 2006 and produced by Domino's studio. It is an obvious organic music video due to the camerawork, editing and quality. Most of the video is of the bands life and them going to the US and it uses a low quality grainy effect to add authenticity. There are a lot of quick cuts that make it seem like it isn't as carefully thought out as an organic video. The narrative is not very detailed and the camerawork constantly looks handheld as if the person filming was with them their whole lives. They are famous for the black and white authentic look as it makes them quite sophisticated and cool. However their video features them performing live in front of an audience. Although they are popular, around this time they had very small crowds and judging by the video, low budgets too.

This video was released in 2014 and was available to purchase on major online platforms such as iTunes etc. Already we know that the band has become very famous worldwide and this video proves their success. The video again looks authentic but this time professional. They also sport a new look that brings the past into the present. The quality is immaculate and the camerawork is steady and the editing skills are spectacular. They bring synthetic features with them due to the style of the video. It looks like it had a large budget and that it was carefully planned out. The band still features in the video but correlates with the female that is the main focus of the story.

2nd Idea for our music

2nd Idea for our music video
This is the second idea for our music video however this is not the idea we will use.f

1st Idea for our music

Idea for our music video