Narrative Theory

The narrative of a music video or film etc. is the story and the plot. The story is what happens in the narrative, whereas the plot is how we are shown what
is happening in the story. This description was done by Bordwell and Thompson.



Tim O'Sullivan- 1998
- Argues that all  media texts tell us some kind of story.
-Through careful mediation, media texts offer a way of telling stories about ourselves: not usually our own personal stories, but the story of us as a culture or set of cultures.
- The Narrative Theory sets out to show that what we experience when we 'read' a story is to understand a particular set of constructions, or conventions, and that it is important to be aware of how these constructions are put together.
Kate Domaille-2001
- Every story ever told can be fitted into one of the eight narrative types. The original story upon which the others are based.

• Achilles- The fatal flaw that leads to the destruction of the previously flawless or almost flawless person e.g. Superman, Fatal Attraction.
• Candide- The indomitable hero who cannot be put down e.g. Indiana Jones, James Bond.
• Cinderella- The dream comes true e.g. Pretty Woman.
• Circe- The chase, the spider and the fly, the innocent and the victim e.g. Smokey and the Bandit, The Terminator.
• Faust- Selling your soul to the devil may bring riches but eventually your soul belongs to him e.g. Bedazzled.
• Orpheus- The loss of something personal, the gift that is then taken away, the tragedy of loss or the journey which follows the loss e.g. The sixth sense, Love Story.
• Romeo and Juliet- The love story e.g. Titanic.
• Tristan and Iseult- The love triangle, Man loves woman, unfortunately one or both of them are already spoken for, or a third party intervenes e.g. Casablanca, Twilight.

Initial Idea

My music video is not going to have a direct narrative. Most of the video will be a performance with an aspect of a narrative in the chorus.

1. The video will start with the band entering the empty run down building or warehouse. Walking through double doors. The lead singer will be in front with the other three following close behind. The camera shots will show them front and back view as they are walking in.
2. It will then show the band getting ready to start playing their instruments. This is all happening during the 25 second introduction.
3. The first verse will consist of the band performing in the empty warehouse or hanger with a variety if different shots. (Low Angles, Close ups, Long shots etc).
4. The first chorus will be a mixture of the performance from the band and an aspect of narrative. (There are three chorus' in the song). The narrative in this chorus will be when it says "I've got love on my fingers" there will be a cut to a close up of a man and a woman's hands intertwining fingers. Then cut back to the performance. Then when it says "Im your wolf im your man" there will be a quick upwards tilt to a person dressed as a wolf then when it tilts down again they are human. Then back to the performance for the rest fo the chorus. 
5. The other verse will again be the band performing the the song with a different variety of shots.
6. For the last two verses which is the chorus there will be more of a narrative. During the second chorus there will be two people in a house, a man and a woman. They will be arguing then she will leave through the door, he will go to grab her arm but misses then she leaves. He will then throw something angrily at the wall. It will then cut to them performing again and then back to the narrative where she will enter back through the door and he will turn to look at her (Over the shoulder shot) then the video will finish. 

Uses and Gratifications Theory

The uses and gratifications theory describes the effects of the media from the point of view of the audience. It looks at the motives of people who use media. It focuses on:

• Why do people watch television programmes, films or read the paper. 
• Why we feel compelled to keep up to date with certain soaps or the films we choose to watch.

The audience chooses what they consume. They are not forced by the media to view certain things. The media simply creates a product then the audience will make the decision on whether to consume the particular product.

This theory argues that the audience have social and psychological needs which generate certain expectations about the mass media and what they are exposed to.
- The audience is the active participant so it allows them to make choices in what they consume. Which therefore makes the audience in control of their own consumption.

People are motivated by a desire to fulfill or gratify certain needs.
This theory suggests there are four needs of an audience:

• Surveillance
• Personal Identity 
• Personal Relationships
• Diversion 

Surveillance: 
- People feel better having the feeling they know what is going on in the world around them.
- The surveillance model is about awareness. We use the mass media to be more aware of the world, therefore gratifying a desire for knowledge and security.

Personal Identity:
- Explains how being a subject of the media allows us to confirm the identity and positioning of ourselves within society.
- The use of the media for forming personal identities can be seen in music video/films. For example: pop stars become role models which inspires young people.
- Meghan Trainor with "All about that bass" and Christina Aguilera with "You are beautiful" help us 'fit' into society and make us feel better about the way we feel about ourselves.

Personal Relationships: 
There are two types of personal relationships:

• Relationships within the media
• Using the media within relationships

Relationships within the media: 
-We can form a relationship with the media and use the media to form a relationship with others.
-Many people will use the television as a form of companionship. Television is often an intimate experience. We can often feel close to a favourite character. If this character or a different character dies on a programme the audience may grieve like it was a real friend.
Using the media within relationships:
-We sometimes use the media as a springboard to form and build a relationship with real people.
- Having a favourite TV programme in common can often start a conversation. It can also make talking to strangers easier.
- Studies suggest some families use sitting around watching television as a stimulus for conversation, for example 'Gogglebox'.

Diversion:
This is commonly termed as 'Escapism'
-Escapism means, Watching TV so we can forget about our own lives and problems for a while and think about something else.
- We will watch music videos to take our mind off our everyday lives, we want to distract ourselves from the problems we are experiencing. For example:

• Leona Lewis "Happy" We might watch this if we feel like being sad.
• Beyonce "Best thing you never had" We would watch this to lift our spirits and make oursleves feel better.

Tessa Perkins: Stereotypes

Conventions Of A Form: Music Video

Richard Dyer: Star Theory

Conventions Of The Genre: Rock

Treatment Of My Music Video- 50 Words

A performance from the band playing their instruments,  in an abandoned warehouse. During the chorus, cuts to different actions and performances done by the artists that will match what is portrayed in the lyrics. Still filmed in the same location. Costumes will be casual, but will change throughout the video. 

Laura Mulvey: The Male Gaze Theory

The videos shown in the PowerPoint: