Narrative Research of Music Videos

The purpose of the Music Video

• Promotes a single and, normally, an album
• Promotes the artist or band
• Creates, adapts or feeds into a ‘star image’
• Entertains the audience
• Sets the ‘meanings’ of a song by the use of images

Structures:

-In 3-4 minutes a typical music video combines a mix of live performance, narrative, and other visual imagery including computer graphics and animation.

-It does this to advertise the band/artist and song

Music videos often contains a number of different elements:

•  Performance
•  Narrative
•  Thematic
•  Symbolic

• ·         Often contain shots of the artists performing
• ·         Can be a live stage performance, with shots of artists and audience
• ·         Can be the artists in “real life” situations in this case warming up, talking, fooling around
• ·         Often includes lots of close ups of the artist and there can be a particular visual style that goes with the artist (a motif) for instance particular clothing, actions, props, type of images.
• ·         Often the artist can appear to perform in an unusual place - all lip-synched, for example, a field, a rooftop
• ·         Often the video tells a story either that features in the lyrics or is suggested in the lyrics, for example, girl dumps boy

This narrative can be like a Mini film, with equilibrium, disruption, recognition of disruption, attempts to repair disruption and return to equilibrium.

-In terms of how this type of research will help me when I begin filming and editing, it gives the me the knowledge to follow to make a conventional music video. Not only this but it also gives me the opportunity to challenge conventions for my video. This research makes it easier for myself as I can follow these conventions in order for my music videos recognisable in the genre.

Narratives applied to Music Videos

Lorde - Team

This music video to Lorde's song 'Team' can be used as an example for Propp's theory. His theory suggests that there are 8 types characters that feature within a narrative, these are the villain, The hero (not always good but always carries the story along, the central character and not always male), The donor (who provides an object with some special property), The helper (who helps the hero), The princess (the reward for the hero and object of the villain’s schemes, Her father (who rewards the hero), The dispatcher (who sends the hero on his way) and the false hero. 

Within this music video we can see a 'hero', the teenage looking boy who has been sent to a land which looks like he is fulfilling a quest, we can infer this through high angled and panning shots being used to follow this character. Also we can identify a Donor, who is giving this boy tools, equipment and leading him around. The mid two shot allows us to see him as the Donor within this narrative, passing him a helmet. A helper who helps the hero up when he has fallen down which is shown through a head and shoulder shot that follows him as he arises. Finally, there is also a villain who is introduced using a panning shot that allows us to view his angry facial expression. We can assume that this is the same character who is faced against the 'Hero' in a battle using motorbikes in which he ends up putting the hero to the ground.

We can also apply this video to Strauss' theory of Binary Opposition, this suggests a conflict between two sides. A battle/conflict is shown in this music video of the two young boys on vehicles powering into each suggesting a good vs. evil or Hero vs. the Villain.

Barthes codes could also be applied to Lorde's music video due to the symbolism of the setting that she is in throughout the video. She is shown through multiple different shots within this setting of greenery and nature. This may symbolise her pure, unique and natural style. Green also has connotation of ambition and freshness which suggest a lot for this artist and further establishes her place within the alternative genre.