Carol Vernallis

• Carol Vernallis is an important media theorist who had a theory about music videos. Her theory revolves around four key concepts, these being-

• Editing

• Narrative

• Diegesis

• Camera Movements and Framing.

Editing.

• It is more frequent and obvious in music videos. Effects such as a ‘wipe’ will be used to draw attention into what is happening.

• Continuity is sometimes broken in order to gain the viewers’ attention.

• Certain effects such as jump cuts are used in music videos more regularly than other forms of media.

• Sometimes the edits match the music, which can look really effective.

Narrative.

• Vernallis believes that music videos are created in response to the song and lyrics, so the video should reflect the lyrics.

• She therefore believes that it does not really matter how much of a video is narrative, and how much is performance, as long as the song is the key focus point.

• The story or narrative does not always have to be complete, and can be disjointed. Continuity is not always necessary, as it may make the viewer focus more on the video than the lyrics.

Diegesis.

• Diegesis is the world of music videos. Vernallis explains that this is revealed slowly, so that the story can develop over time.

• Repetition is frequently used, and is very important. The images present are more important as there is little/no sound.

Camera Movements and Framing.

• Certain shots such as establishing and close up ones are frequently used. Extreme shots are also very common.

• The cameras often move in time with the music, which is a feature very specific to music videos.

• These features put the emphasis on the artist or performer.