Narrative

Ill apply the narrative to a piece of work I did in my A2 coursework, which was creating a music video for my second year of media work. This includes the song wings by little mix who a recent girl group. I began by looking at different girl groups videos that matched the genre I was doing and tried to apply the narrative to their videos. However most pop music videos dont follow a narrative and because of the style of music used. From learning this I found it hard to represent my genre chose and still use a narrative throughout the video. My music video fitted in with Andrew Goodwins theory of Illustrative which means 'images provided in a literal representation'. This relates to my narrative as I use dance moves and lyrics on screen to present the narrative of my video. The group shots show the close friendship they have and the single shots show their individual personalities to come through. Also the backgrounds used are fun and colourful showing the pop genre convention. Through the research stage of my media product I looked at other artists similar to my genre like the Saturdays as this was helpful to watch as it showed a close friendship group of girls which didnt use a strong narrative. This made me realise not every video has a narrative and this could be possible for my video. The main concept used in the video is 'fun' and 'excitement' as these are the two elements used throughout all pop genres which is a convention that is followed to get the right audience for the media product. Any people can relate to the actresses in my video as they are young upcoming stars and are shown to be close friends which the target audience can connect with and see them as role models because they are so relaxed and give off a good persona about them selfs. My music video uses a closed narrative as there isnt a second sequence used to this song. Iconography is an important element to use when making a pop video as I used props through my video such as dance performance, fashion, make-up and bright colours that all represent the pop genre and to provide the narrative which is shown loosely. The music is important in the video as it uses the tempo and tone as they are quite fast pace which give the video a dance and fun feel, as well as using the beat to steps and movements they do. Editing that was used through my video was used to speed up shots and link each clip together in time so there were no still gaps. I also used lyrics that were shown on the screen to get the audience more involved and using the key words through the song to show to the audience how important they are which shows the overall narrative of the song. The themes that run through the video are bright colours and fun, exciting shots that best show off the pop convention. I used multiple backgrounds to show the different girls personalities and a range of location that all fit in with the genre that best represents the narrative story showing the girls lifes separately and together as a group of friends. The mise-en-scene in the video added authenticity through my settings and relationships in the video which is shown through the mise-en-scene by using real locations that best fit the narrative as well as the girls fitting well with the stereotypical girl band with a bit of a twist as they used their own fashion products when it came to the clothing style which gets across better to the audience as their clothing can be bought in all high street retail shops, nothing outrages so isnt to expensive so others can buy it if they like the products. John Stewart says the mise-en-scene emphasise an 'asprinational lifestyle' for the audience which can link to my video as the girls are seen as role models to many as they are down to earth and my young girls may want to be like them as they want a close friendship group or want be confident and outgoing like them.

Laura Ward

Music videos can be characterized by three broad typologies and my video fits into the performance category as my music video doesnt particularly follow a narrative it uses a dance performance throughout to describe the lyrics. This sort of video is used to draw in their viewers that will convey the indirect message hidden in the performance and lyrics of the video as it is straight forward as this is no actual narrative. The narrative of my video is simple and lose allowing for repeatability to gain a wider audience so they dont get bored of the video after a few views because they use a tight realistic narrative. This is made through using bright interesting colours, dance performance and a repeated chorus that is catchy so the audience get hooked to it. Musical synaesthesia used in the narrative of my video is the dominant musical arrangement that sets the overall mood of the video by key the beat or rhythm used through the video such as the drums as the girls dance and use their body language to communicate this beat across to the audience, giving the overall video a up beat fast tempo making it fun and exciting to listen to. This narrative code leaves the audience wanting to listen to it again as the sound/music is something they enjoy. The pop genre also uses bright and visual locations in different areas of a city as well as using green screens of colourful backgrounds to bring interest to the music video. Convention of a bands performance that is included in my video is a range of lip syncing, close-ups, mid shots and long shots to show different performance angles of the girls that show a range of ideas such as their dance steps which use long shots and mid shots when they are together in a group to see their body language and movement. Also close ups used when they are singing individually and extreme close ups when they are lip syncing so the audience can see the technical side of the product. A lot of the chorus shots are repeated using the usual angles and shots so the audience know its the chorus and this can be memorised in their brains. It also shows the real meaning to the song and explains the narrative story. Overall my videos narrative isnt easy to see or follow but its all about having fun and letting go which fits in with the pop genre convention.

Laura Ward