Research into Group Narratives

After reviewing all of our initial ideas and narrative decisions we collectively decided to make some alterations to our music video narrative and have decided to do a group narrative as opposed to a love story narrative.

This will allow us to explore more representations of different types of people and also use the conventions and symbolic codes of our chosen song more effectively as we have more freedom with what they actually do.

Although we have changed from a love narrative to a group narrative, all of my previous research remains of value as the conventions and way we are going to explore the genre are the same and so the only major difference is that we now have to explore how to effectively utilise a group narrative within our music video.

Following on from our story board production we now know we want to include a group of about 4 or 5 teenagers of mixed gender in our narrative and we want to know the best way to interpret this by reviewing other music videos within the alternative genre which do this and see ways we can get inspiration from as well as challenge the way they do things.

The research into group narratives will allow us to understand the most effective ways to incorporate a group of people into an alternative music video...

Arctic Monkey's Fluorescent Adolescent:

I was lucky to find a music video which shares so many of our existing ideas in some ways as I could see how a group of people within a friendship or gang can be incorporated into a Narrative. This music video features a group of supposed friends dressed as clowns, basically running riot and committing crimes together. Although this narrative itself isn’t what we plan to do at all, the way it is done gives us a lot of potential inspiration to how we will use this group narrative.

Firstly, the group are all wearing distinctive clown costumes, which firstly allows the audience to establish their unique and distinguishable style and the conventions of the song. Also, the fact that they are in clown costumes symbolises their isolation from society and as social outcasts, a very common convention within alternative/indie music video narratives. This distinctive costume shows how they as a group are separate from the rest of society whilst also reflecting themes of loyalty and gangs. We have already decided as a group that we want to take inspiration from this and have the group of friends in our narrative to be easily distinguishable and appear separate from the rest of society through their attire, although not to this extreme. We plan to have something about what they are wearing whether it’s the colour or style of their clothes very different to the 'norm' or 'trend' of clothes within the rest of society as again, this is a convention of the indie genre; that those amongst the artists of the indie genre or amongst the demographic are also separated from the mainstream society.

Additionally, this music video shows a group narrative which involves some level of destruction to society and themes of rebellion which is exactly what we also plan to incorporate, not to this extremity however. We see the group, already separated from the rest of society from their attire, but also through their behaviour; they are showing behaviour of being against 'the system' or the elite, a common occurrence within the alternative genre music videos.

 By reviewing this music video, we know from our own reaction how the audience can passively decode (Hypodermic Syringe theory) the narrative and how we feel about this type of group narrative which includes rebellion of some sort and how to include it effectively. The audience will potentially, according to the Uses and Gratifications theory, personally identify with group narratives as we will feel linked to this group of friends which we are following.

Overall I think that by doing a group narrative it will enable us to explore a variety of representations as well as complying with common conventions of the indie genre within relation to music videos and how the group narrative can show a separation from society and the mainstream.