NARRATIVE ESSAY
I am going to discuss theories of narrative in relation to my A2 media
studies coursework which was a music video for The Plain White T’s alternative
rock song “Hey There Delilah”. The target audience for my music video was males
(60%) and females (40%) between the ages of 18 to 25. The music video I have
created conforms to the narrative style of interweaving and linear in which I
represented the male artist to be heartbroken recording his latest single in
the studio (linear). This is along with interweaving with flashbacks to his
inspirations and experiences for the song lyrics he has written. I will
highlight how I used camera, editing, sound and mise en scene to create meaning
within narrative of my chosen song. Tim O’Sullivan stated that music videos
narratives it should offer a way of telling a story which could even be
relatable to our personal lives which arguably is successful within my video.
The music video I have created mostly conforms to the idea of Edward
Brannigan who defined narrative as “a way of organising spatial and temporal
data in to a chain of cause and effect with a beginning, middle and end that
embodies a judgement about the nature of events”. This is due to the
performance sequence in my music video being linear; acquiring all these
necessary factors to create a beginning, middle and end. My music video follows
Brannigan’s quote as the narrative is based on cause and effect of the male
artist’s lover leaving him. Furthermore Tzvetan Todorov’s theory of equilibrium,
disequilibrium, new equilibrium has also been highlighted when observing the
narrative structure as a whole having the artists become more excepting of the
situation and change in circumstances.
When considering the narrative I developed I felt it was particularly fascinating
and supported Tzvetan
Todorov theory of equilibrium, disequilibrium, new equilibrium in relation to
the artist’s mental state about his romantic situation. This is due to the
start of the song commencing with the artist’s facial expressions and emotions of
melancholy through the extreme close up shots of his eyes and sad smile. This
enhances his loss that is clearly shown during my music video with the black
and white editing throughout the performance. The black and white edit has a
low, soft contrast to give the video a mellow, drained effect emphasising the
emotions of the artist. Furthermore, the lighting used was spot lights placed
behind the artist enhancing his facial feature to focus that the lyrics are
based on his personal life. The ‘black and white’ effect on the video not only
contrasting the dream like state with vivid colours but to illuminate that
within the narrative his feelings are clear and honest almost ‘black and white’
to audiences. Hence allowing the audience to be able to personally
relate to the narrative; due to the majority of people going through ‘heart
break’ or separation from an individual they love. This is due to the narrative
being about a male who has separated from the one he loves, writing a song
about their past and future; having flashbacks about his fond memories.
Tim O’Sullivan relates to my music video due to suggesting “media text
offers a way of telling stories about ourselves” relating to my main character
within the video and the relation to the target audience. The male protagonist
is expressing his emotions which arguably numerous people have also felt during
a period of their lives this presented in the diegetic sound “tonight you look so pretty, yes you do”. Furthermore when I considered the female
character within the video and her choice of clothing I styled her in indie
style clothing as well as use a light edit with vivid colours. This also
relates to Tim O’Sullivan’s quote due to the female audiences being able to
relate to the female’s situation, being able to understand that she is so
special to someone. The vivid colours I used conveys a clear contrast between
the reality and flashbacks, keeping the audience interested with the quick cuts
to show how clear they are for the artist. Moreover, the audience being able to
relate due to the clothing being simplistic and accessible that the audience
would typically wear. This fitting with the genre also due to alternative rock
being known for not follow latest styles.
Overall I believe
that in my A2 media studies coursework I generated a music video that is
polysomic, which could be decoded as a male defying his stereotype and showing
his strong emotions to a female he loves. Hence, counteracting the stereotype
of males to be emotionless and seen as only the protector but encouraging males
to do the same and not worry about social attitudes. When considering the mise
en scene of the video the various busy locations suggests the amount of
memories the artist has as well as being typical ‘date’ locations for couples
such as aquariums and walks in woods.
