Music Video TheoryBy Fearghal McGlinchey

Difference between a performance, narrative and conceptual music video

With a performance based video, it will include mostly the artist but it will not try to tell a story unlike a narrative music video. With a narrative music video is will have some story behind it and also the lyrics will give away the clues on what it is about, for example like when a girl dumps a boy or visa versa. The narrative can be just a little film but made shorter with more to the point lyrics and actions within the video. With conceptual music videos these tend to have obscure or unusual around a specific idea. But with an audience this is what usually draw them in as they are attracted to it.. In order of us to have a successful music video we must keep the audience interested and entertained.

Andrew Goodwin's 6 conventions of music videos

There are six conventions to his theory:

1. Relationship between lyrics and visuals.

2. Thought Beats.3. Genre style and Iconography.4. Multiple close ups of main artist.5. Voyeurism plays a major part.6. Intertextuality.

Narrative and performance This aspect is that Goodwin believes that we make up the

messages being sent in the song from the basic understanding of what It may be about. This allows the audience to portray a message they want to be sent that’s personal to them from the song e.g. the song “love the way you lie” a person may portray the message about a passing of a family member rather than a relationship crisis. Narrative and performance work together to keep the audience interested and so they do not get bored of the video. Also Goodwin believes that “miming” in the video makes it authentic and more and more real towards the audience. Also by giving the singer the role of the actor Goodwin’s believes that it adds to the originality of the video.

Relation and visuals to a songGoodwin believes that there are three ways in a

music video that are used to promote a song. They are:

1. Illustrate- certain images are used to illustrate the meaning of the genre and a song in a music video.2. Amplify- when the artist repeats meanings and effects which are manipulated and constantly reinforced, so they stick in our minds.3. Disjuncture- where the meaning of the song is completely ignored.

TORODOV’S NARRATIVE THEORYo Torodov’s narrative theory basically states that most story’s or plot lines

follow the same pattern or path. He suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium or status quo where any potentially opposing forces are in balance – this is disrupted by some event, setting in chain a series of events. Problems are then solved so that order can be restored to the world of the fiction

o Torodov suggested that conventional narratives are structured in 5 stages:

1. A state of equilibrium at the outset 2. A disruption of the equilibrium by some action 3. A recognition that there has been a disruption 4. An attempt to repair the disruption 5. A reinstatement of the equilibrium

o This type of narrative structure is very familiar and can be applied to many ‘mainstream’ film narratives.

Propp’s Character theory Propp suggested that every narrative has 7 broad different

character types that are:

1. The villain -struggles against the hero 2. The donor - prepares the hero or gives the hero some

magical object 3. The (magical) helper - helps the hero in the quest 4. The princess - person the hero marries, often sought for

during the narrative 5. The false hero - perceived as good character in beginning

but emerges as evil 6. The dispatcher - character who makes the lack known and

sends the hero off 7. The hero (AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner) - reacts to the

donor, weds the princess

BARTHE’S CODE THEORYo Barthes suggested that there will be one or more of the 5 codes that describe the meaning

of a texto Barthes said that texts may be ‘open’ (unravelled in a lot of different ways) or ‘closed’ (there

is only one obvious thread to pull on)

o The 5 codes:1. Hermeneutic/enigma code- refers to mystery within a text. Clues are dropped, but no clear

answers are given. Enigmas within the narrative make the audience want to know more. Unanswered enigmas tend to frustrate the audience.

2. Proairetic/action code – builds tension, referring to any other action or event that indicates something else is going to happen, and which hence gets the reader guessing as to what will happen next.

3. Semantic code - refers to connotation within the story that gives additional meaning over the basic denotative meaning of the word

4. Symbolic code - this is very similar to the Semantic Code, but acts at a wider level, organizing semantic meanings into broader and deeper sets of meaning. This is typically done in the use of antithesis, where new meaning arises out of opposing and conflict ideas.

5. Referential code - refers to anything that is founded on some kind of canonical works that cannot be challenged and is assumed to be a foundation for truth. Typically this involves either science or religion, although other canons such as magical truths may be used in fantasy stories