Experiencing Music video: 'Aesthetics and Cultural Context'
Vernallis identified four key areas when analysing music videos:
1. Narrative
2.Diegesis
3. Camera movement and shots
4. Editing
Narrative
A music video is a visual response to the song and lyrics not the other way around. The video should support the song lyric meanings but artist should remain dominant. This is to appeal to the audience. There does not need to be a balance between narrative and performance. A Song can have a full narrative or full performance. A lot of the time, performance takes prominence in order to showcase the star.
Diegesis
The world inside the video. This is revealed slowly allowing interventions and a story to develop over time. Repetition is key in music videos because it allows the artiist to get a message across through the concept of quantity. It means they can create a world for their song through the video.
Camera Movement and Shots
Extremes are very common with establishing shots, even if they are extreme close-ups. Music videos try to avoid shots such as mid-shots. Styles of framing and movement run through the video.
Editing
Editing will sometimes match the instruments or beat linking visual images. The audience realise the beat links with visual images and they relate this to other aspects of the video. Music videos constantly break or disrupt the rules of continuity editing.
This video is a song by Justin Timberlake called cry me a river.
This genre is R&B/PoP
This video relates to Carol Vernallis' theory because he talks about the narrative in a music video.
This video Justin wrote about britney spears. In the song the girl cheated on him and it shows the relationship going bad. Justin timberlake then plots revenge, he makes sure the girl finds out that hes moved on with his life and doesnt care about her anymore. To do this he uses a video camera to tape himself getting off with another girl.
Justin sets up the tape so that when the girlfriend comes in she will see the tape.
The girl then gets upset this is where the lyrics of the song comes in 'Cry me a river', the girl knows she screwed up and has lost him forever.
Carol Vernallis' theory is again seen in the Diegesis part.
This is the world inside the video so things that are unreal and that are edited that wouldnt normally happen in real life which creates another world inside the music video. Here are some examples
These dance movements from micheal jackson (intertextual reference) are clearly edited as realistically you cannot hold these positions like this. Clearly this shows the use of editing.
Camera movements and Shots are also mentioned in Carols theory. Relating it to this video we see common shots like establishing shot, extreme close ups and mid shots which run throughout the video. These shots are very common and are used for a purpose.
These are the establishing shots used in the 'cry me a river' music video.
As you can see in this Establishing shot it is a swimming pool of a mansion
Inside the mansion
The entrance doors of the house
Extreme close ups are commonly used a lot in music videos
Close up of Justin Timberlake
Close up of Justin timberlake
Close up of Timberland
Mid shot of Justin
Mid shot of Justin
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