A narrative music video means a music video in which a storyline of some sort is present in the music video, instead of performance, meaning the artist plus others being aware they're part of the music video and are therefore performing for the viewers. Those within narratives often don't acknowledge that they're part of a music video, since the music video is telling a story.
examples of narrative music videos can be seen below:
There are a number of theories to do with narrative, here are the three main theorists:
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Tzvetan Todorov, who suggested that conventional narratives are structured in five 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
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Vladamir Propp, who suggested that characters took on the role of narrative 'spheres of action' or functions. The seven spheres of action are:
The Hero. Usually male, is the agent who restores the narrative equilibrium often by embarking upon a quest (or search), saves the Princess and wins her hand (Propp distinguishes between the victim hero, who is the centre of the Villain's attentions, and the seeker hero who aids others who are the villains victims. The Hero is invariably the text's protagonist or central character.
The Villain, who creates the narrative disruption.
The Donor, who gives the Hero something, it may be an object, information or advice, which helps in resolution of the narrative.
The Helper, who aids the Hero in the task of restoring the equilibrium.
The Princess (the victim), who is usually the character most threatened by the Villain and has to be saved, at the climax, by the Hero. The father's (who in fairy tales was often the king) role is usually to give the Princess away to the Hero at the narrative's conclusion. He may also despatch the hero.
The Dispatcher, who sends the hero on her or his task (who can also be the Princess's father).
The False Hero, who appears to be good but is revealed, at the narrative's end, to have been bad.
Characters can fulfill more than one sphere of action and spheres of action can be made up of more than one character; so a Princess may also be a Helper and a text may have several Villains.
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Levi-Strauss, who argued that any narrative structure must be made up of binary oppositions, or a conflict between two qualities or terms. Levi-Strauss was less interested in the order of events in a story but more the arrangement of themes and ideas.
An example of binary oppositions within a Westerm would be:
Cowboys Native Americans
Christian Pagan
Domestic Savage
Weak Strong
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In terms of my music video, the theory that best applies is Tzvetan Todorov's.
looking at his theory above and then my music video, this is how the five stages apply to my music video:
1. The girl in the video is happy in her relationship with her boyfriend.
2. The boy breaks up with the girl causing her to become upset.
3. The drawings come to life and realise that the boy has broken up with the girl, which is why she is upset and no longer happy.
4. The drawings set about creating something to make the girl (their creator) happy again.
5. The girl realises what the drawings have done and as a result is cheered up and is happy again, reinstating the equilibrium.
The reason I have chosen to create a music video that is all narrative and no performance (contrasting with typical Acoustic music videos) is because I believe the entire length of the song will be required to tell the story I wish to tell. Use of the full song for narrative will allow it to be clear to the viewer and not restricted, as I really want to make sure the short story I wish to tell is not confusing, otherwise the heartwarming effect at the end will not be felt by viewers since they won't understand what's going on, thus undermining the main effect of the narrative; the heartwarming ending.
And now, some key questions about the narrative of my music video:
STRUCTURE: My narrative is structured in the style of Tzvetan Todorov's theory of narrative, as you can see above.
CHARACTER: Right from the offset we see that the boy in the relationship is the bad guy, as he sends a very harsh text to the girl, breaking up with her. This then amplifies the fact that the girl is the victim in the narrative. Further on we see the drawing come to life and learn of what has happened to the girl, which they respond to with a scheme to make her feel better (but we only relaise their intentions at the end of the music video) which identifies them as the kind, caring helper of the victim.
AUDIENCE: The audience plays the observer of the story, and is meant to (through the harsh text from the boy) position themselves on the side of the girl and against the boy. As the narrative progresses the audience then meets the drawings, who they become intrigues by, as they cannot tell what the intentions of the drawing are, and by the end the audience also sides with the drawings, as they realise the drawings intentions all along were only to make the girl feel better as they care very much for her.
IDENTIFICATION: The girl being broken up with in a cold way by the boy is something that female audiences can identify with, as it is something that does happen in real life and therefore those who have been in that position can relate with the girl.
THEME: The major themes of the narrative are the hardships faced when a relationship has just ended (especially when it is ended very harshly and very coldly by the other partner). The hardship of overcoming the emotions of break-ups alone, and the warm feelings that are experienced when people realise they have support for the hard times, even when it was not obvious to them at first. The values and ideologies the narrative embodies is that of being there for those you care about, especially during their times of need, as well as demonstrating how devastating break-ups can be for some and therefore trying to show the value of communication when ending a relationship (which is clearly lacking in my video, resulting in the very distressed girl).
OTHER: The role of music with the narrative in my video is in relation between certain lyrics and visuals (such as the place the song talks about being the room the girl draws in within my music video). The Acoustic genre is a defining feature for why my narrative is about a boy, a girl and the drawing that make her feel better, as the style of music very much suits the story I wished to tell and therefore is a key feature (as it is of course a music video and requires music to my narrative, otherwise it would just be a story). The mise-en-scene's role with the narrative is using the setting of a house (which is used as the girl's house in the narrative and to tell the entire narrative itself, since it uses various rooms such as the girl's study, where the drawings take place, etc.). Finally, the editing's role in the narrative is using "Soft" editing i.e. the music video in general is slow paced and doesn't use cuts such as jump cuts, which may be seen in faster paced music videos. This allows the audience to really absorb and understand what's going on in the narrative, thus allowing them to follow it throughout, resulting in the heartwarming feeling at the end.
Anyway guys and girls, that raps up this post :)
Be sure to leave a comment on what kind of video you're doing; narrative, performace, or a mixture of both.
Until next time :)
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