Narrative in Music Videos &Documentary

G325

Narrative

• Tim O’Sullivan (1998) argues that allmedia texts tell us some kind of story.•Media texts offer a way of telling stories about ourselves – not usually our own personal stories, but the story of us as a culture or set of cultures.• Narrative theory sets out to show that whatwe experience when we ‘read’ a story is tounderstand a particular set of constructions,or conventions, and that it is important tobe aware of how these constructions are puttogether.

3 Important words

Narrative: The structure of a story. Diegesis: The fictional space and time implied by the

narrative – the world in which the story takes place. Verisimilitude: Literally – the quality ofappearing to be real or true. For a story toengage us it must appear to be real to us aswe watch it (the diegetic effect). The storymust therefore have verisimilitude –following the rules of continuity, temporaland spacial coherence

Narrative Theory:Applying the concept

Look carefully at your video at how the story is structured and how the audience is positioned (i.e. who are we led to identify with?)

Consider the following:

How is the narrative organised and structured? Beginning, middle, end (Linear) Jumping forward and backward (Non-linear) or Circular narrative (Returning to the same beginning point).

How is the conflict/complication established and how it is resolved? The complication stage should be the most compelling.

The construction of the characters in the text and how we are led to relate to them

How heroes and villains are created within the text? The importance of sound, music, iconography, mise-en-scene, editing

and other technical features in telling the story. How the themes and ideas are put forward in the story.

Your chosen track :1. Summarise the lyrics in your music video or the script in

your documentary.

2. How far did you choose to follow these in your storyboarding?

3. Are there key lines that you are choosing to give visual dominance to?

Or:

Are you choosing to concentrate on the music with the visuals/ use abstract visuals?

How much narrative?

“videos tend to only suggest storylines and focus on fragments of the lyrics” (Steve Archer).

Documentary relies heavily on the traditional conventions of narrative. There is a definite beginning, middle and end. Other conventions of narrative forms are also used, including music, special settings and lighting.

The Main Artist1. What role does the artist/main character play in your

production – narrator, protagonist or both? Is the video a vehicle for the artist’s star persona? (Refer back to Andrew Goodwin)

2. Did you chose a subjective or objective character identity in your music video/documentary and why?

(Subjective character identity – a range of characters ‘stories’ or points of view are shown. Objective character identity – one characters story or point of view is shown)

Importance of the mise-en-scene in your narrative

Does your mise-en-scene:

Add authenticity to your singer/ band/characters?

Is it key to establishing setting and relationships?

Is it part of the voyeuristic context e.g. By suggesting a setting associated with sexual allure like a sleazy nightclub or boudoir? When natural lighting/poor lighting is used in a documentary it gives the impression of being more real.

Is it to emphasise an aspirational lifestyle for the audience (John Stewart)?

Music videos can be characterized by 3 broad types, Firth 1988:

Performance (to convey a sense of the in-concert experience) "Performance oriented visuals cue viewers that the recording of the music is the most significant element. (BUT see John Berger)

Narrative (linear, love stories most popular – “Action in the story is dominated by males who do things and females who passively react or wait for something to happen” (Schwichtenberg, 1992)).

Conceptual (metaphors to create a mood, offer multiple meanings)

These types describe the form and content selected by the director or artist to attract viewers and to convey a direct or indirect message.

They can act as extended advertisements, as popular art forms or as self-referential filmic texts (e.g Madonna videos)

Modes of documentary You can generally categorise documentary

into just two approaches: 1. History and biography: Dealing with

events of the past, usually involving some re-creation.

2. Filming behaviour: intending to portray different groups of people and are contemporary.

Explain which type of documentary you have made.

Narrative and Performance: Steve Archer (2004)

“Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band.

Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be part of the artist’s performance or an extra aspect of

the video designed to aid visualisation and the ‘repeatability’ factor. Sometimes, the artist

(especially the singer) will be part of the story , acting as narrator and participant at the same

time. But it is the lip synch close-up and the miming of playing instrument s that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really can kick

it.”

Applying Andrew Goodwin to your music videoWhat is the is a relationship between lyrics and visuals and music?

Is your narrative: Illustrative? (images provide a literal

representation) Amplifying? (repetition of key meanings and

effects to manipulate the audience) Contradicting? (images contrast with the music) Disjuncture?: (When the meaning of the song is

completely ignored)

Applying Michael Rabiger (1998) to your Documentary Aim to convey a personal, critical

perspective on some aspect of the human condition.

Contain dramatic suspense via situations that intrigue the audience.

Tell a good story.

Vladimir Propp After analysing folk tales, Propp developed a theory that within each narrative there are a set of stock characters, which reappear in every storyline.

These roles are:

Hero – Person on the quest Princess – Prize for the hero Helper – Helps the hero on his quest False hero – Somebody who believes they are the hero Dispatcher – Sends the hero on their quest Father – Rewards the hero Villain – Attempts to stop the hero on his quest Donor – Provides objects to help the hero on his quest

Levi-Strauss Levi-Strauss’ theory dictated that in every media text there are binary oppositions, or a conflict between two opposites. The audience subsequently are aware of who they should side with, and this technique can also help create a political theme within a text. For example:

Good & Bad Rich & Poor Eastern & Western World Love & Hate

Roland BarthesBarthes was a French semiologist who identified 5 different codes by which a narrative engages the attention of the audience.In order of importance these are:

The enigma code- the audience is intrigued by the need to solve a problem

The action code – the audience is excited by the need to resolve a problem

The semantic code – the audience is directed towards an additional meaning by way of connotation

The symbolic code – the audience assumes that a character dressed in black is evil or menacing and forms expectations of his/ her behaviour on this basis

The cultural code – the audience derives meaning in a text from shared cultural knowledge about the way the world works.

TODOROV Stage 1: A point of stable equilibrium, where everything

is satisfied, calm and normal. Stage 2: This stability is disrupted by some kind of

force, which creates a state of disequilibrium. Stage 3: Recognition that a disruption has taken place. Stage 4: It is only possible to re-create equilibrium

through action directed against the disruption. Stage 5: Restoration of a new state of equilibrium. The

consequences of the reaction is to change the world of the narrative and/or the characters so that the final state of equilibrium in not the same as the initial state.

Claude Lèvi-Strauss (1958) his ideas aboutnarrative amount to the fact that he believed all stories operated to certain clear Binary Opposites e.g.

good vs. evil, black vs. white, rich vs. poor etc.

The importance of these ideas is that essentially a complicated world is reduced to a simple either/or structure. Things are either right or wrong, good or bad. There is no in between.

This structure has ideological implications, if, for example, you want to show that the hero was not wholly correct in what they did, and the villains weren’t always bad. (Postmodernism