Carol Vernallis identified 4 key features whilst analysing Music videos:
- Narrative- visual response to the song and lyrics. She states that although a video may follow a narrative it is important that the artist remains dominant. Often performance takes dominance over narrative as the artist is the main focus of the video and this allows them to show off their performance skills.
- Diegesis- the world inside the video. The use of repetition and motifs are used to create a world for the artist within the music video, as they are able to get there message across and promote the song through visuals. If the video follows a narrative, it is developed in fragments and revealed slowly over time.
- Camera Movement and Shots- According to Vernallis, camera shots, angle and movement are crucial in music videos, as they need to bring focus to the artist. Close-ups of the artist are necessary as it creates a sense of intimacy and they can break the fourth wall through the use of direct address and looking directly into the camera.
- Editing- Often videos are edited to create a link between the beat and visual images. By creating an editing pace which matches the song, it is appealing to overall senses and becomes more attractive to the audience. Music videos always break and disrupt the rules of continuity, whether it has a narrative or is more performance based, it will always be disjointed and build the diegesis up throughout.
Applying Carol Vernallis Theory to music videos;
1. Narrative
J. Cole's Music video for 'She knows' follows a very clear narrative about a rebellious teenage boy, who skips school to hang out with his friend for the day. It starts with him rebelling against his parents and stealing money from them. It then follows him through his day, in which he smokes, drinks underage and trespasses on private property leading to him being chased by police. In the end it leads back to his house(where it first began) and he finds his mother cheating on his father. The use of a full circle plot;ending where it began makes the story intriguing, as he is pin pointed as the bad and rebellious character throughout the entire video until the mother is exposed at the end. Although it follows a clear narrative, this video does not fully support Vernallis' theory. She states that the presense and dominance of the artist is key to a music video however J. Cole isnt featured in this video at all, actors are playing the roles. This is interesting as it is a very intriguing music video yet is not necessarily promoting the artist himself.
2. Diegesis
This music video for 'Don't Sing' by Data supports the diegesis element of Vernallis' theory. The world inside the video is being told gradually and develops as the song goes on but isn't pieced together until the end. The video is rather sinister as it shows forbidden sex scenes and use of torture and murder, therefore you are forced to believe that you are following the sinister and mess up lives of different people, however they show the same people in different circumstances, making it difficult to piece together, however at the end it all turns out to be each individuals fantasy in the street, and each person is linked in one way or another. This is interesting as the audience is mislead into thinking the world inside the video is a specific way, yet that world is a false reality within the fictional world itself, as though they have created two separate worlds for each character.
3. Camera Movement and Shots
Little Mix's Music video for the song 'Touch' supports Vernallis' theory completely, for all for areas but it is particularly prominent when it comes to camera shots and movement. Every single shot in the video features at least one of the four girls in the group, and it is clearly very heavily about the girls as a brand as well as the song. There isn't really a narrative, just a performance so the girls are promoted as the focus of the video. They look at the camera for the majority of the video creating direct address and breaking the fourth wall. This gives the audience a sense of connection with the artist and makes it seem more intimate. Most of the shots are close-ups of the girls singing, long shots of them surrounded by men, or group shots of them dancing in sync; sticking to the theory and focusing on them as artists and the subject of the video.
4. Editing
This Mujeres music video for their song 'Lose Control' is the perfect example of Carol Vernallis' theory about editing in music videos. The visuals follow the beat of the music exactly throughout the video. The song is rather fast pace, which means the editing reflects this, however whenever it slows down slightly, so does the editing speed, mirroring the beat and instruments. I think this is very effective, as they are only using two primary colours, red and blue with such simple shapes, yet the movement, pace and dynamic of the editing has created a really interesting sequence, which works perfectly with the song.
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