Introduction
Carol Vernallis is a theorist who's work "The Kindest Cut" explores the difference in editing style used in film and music video production. The theorist mentions continuity, editing, meaning, sound and visuals and their relationship. The four main categories the theorist looks into include camera (positioning, movement and framing), editing, narrative and Diegesis (the world created in a music video).
Narrative
Vernallis suggests in her article (C., Vernallis, 2011) that a music video is a visual response to the music. She also suggests there is not necessarily a balance between performance and narrative. The theorist suggests the narrative in music video can sometimes remain incomplete, the narrative is partial or fragmented this could be primarily because of the time constraints in a music video. Vernallis suggests the structure of a music video can seem disjointed, as in music videos they usually do not contain much continuity this can make the piece seem disjointed as it is trying to represent the lyrics and the music efficiently therefore a lack of continuity is created, a great example of this is in "Sweater Weather (The Neighbourhood, 2013) in which in the first 20 seconds of the song we see 6 different shot which show no connection to each other and reflect no actual meaning, first we see the band all sitting round a table, next we see a shot of palm trees shot from inside the car and them we see a shot of record player, the shots lack continuity however, they are visually stimulating, all reflect the image of the band and are edited in beat with song making them not seem out of place or odd. The theorist suggests that within music videos there is also an element which drives the video forward, this isn't always necessarily the narrative, it could be anything like the music, the performance or in many cases a mixture of different elements which engage the audience. The theorist also suggests that videos sometimes may not end with a clear resolution and they also pose questions within the video which remain unanswered for the viewers, a good example of this can be seen in "Fluorescent Adolescent" (Arctic Monkeys, 2007) in which the video poses the question of why are clowns fighting with people in suits, the audience can infer meaning into the visuals but the video never fully answers the question furthermore, the ending of the song is somewhat unfinished, the fight is over and the main clown has blown up the main man in the suit however, we still don't fully know why, the video seem unfinished which is what the producers want, an audience which is reeled in and is completely engaged with the content and tries to infer their own message to the song. Finally, Vernallis suggests throughout a video there is a specific theme or narrative that runs through the video however it is presented almost in a montage fashion.
Editing
Editing is one of the most important part of making a music video, in a music video there are many conventional practices of continuity editing which you can either implement or break for example in film you are told not to break the 180 degree rule however, Vernallis suggests in music videos this occurs constantly. A great example of a video which goes against the 180 degree rule is "Locked Out Of Heaven" (Mars, B., 2012) in which everyone is dancing therefore shot are taken from all angles of the room to match the energy, there is no need for the 180 degree rule here as there isn't a character to pay attention to so therefore you cannot get disoriented whilst watching. Vernallis also suggests then editing may match the music phrases or beat, this is very common practise in music video and can be seen everywhere in the video . Furthermore, the theorist suggests that edits in music video are a lot less subtle, they are used to draw the viewers attention therefore, unlike continuity editing in films which is very invisible to make the footage feel natural, music video try to become very prominent in order to engage the audience for the length of the video.
Conventional Editing Techniques Used -
- Jump Cuts
- Breaks of 30 and 180 degree rule
- Cutting against the movement
- Cutting within the lyrics
- Jumps in time and space
- Changes in pace
- Contrasting frames
- Graphic matches
- Distinctive creative editing style
Unconventional Editing Techniques -
- Smooth Transitions
- Match on Action
- Even Pace in Entire Video
Camera
When it comes to camera the theorist suggests there are a fair few conventions which come with the camera movement and framing. She suggests that when it comes to music videos it isn't uncommon that the shot types are quite extreme, a good example of this is in "Sweater Weather"(The Neighbourhood, 2013), the first shot is a panoramic establishing shot, next there is an establishing shot of palm trees from a low angle an then a close up of a record player. The shots change very swiftly to match the beat and they are always extreme, there are very few mid shots and long shots, the video focus on things that are very close or very far. Vernallis also suggests the style of framing and movement may be implemented throughout the video which is very with the sweater weather video which uses a lot of the same establishing and close ups throughout to give the video a conceptual feel to it. The theorist also suggests that the camera may move with the lyrics which can be seen again in "Sweater Weather" within the first panoramic shot we watch the camera pan to the same pace as the music. Finally the theorist suggests that there may be a master shot or establishing shot which is repeated throughout the video as well as intimate close ups, the master shots are usually of the artist/band doing something which engages the audience as they main reason to watch the video is if you enjoy the artists, the close ups are used to capture intimate images of the artists which will grab the fans attention.
Diegesis
Vernallis suggests that diegesis is important as it acts as the overarching meaning to a music video which is separate from the main storyline/narrative and it is usually created or emphasized using repeated imagery. Diegesis however, usually remains unfinished as this gives the audience a chance to form their own opinions on what the meaning may be. The conventions of diegesis are that it is usually slowly revealed rather than being revealed all at once, the actions and sequence may not feel complete, individuals and inanimate objects may move in time to the music, there are gaps within the audiences' knowledge of the diegesis and there may be a repeating technique or method to showcase the diegesis.
References
Vernallis, C., The Kindest Cut: Functions and Meanings of Music Video Editing, Screen, Volume 42, Issue 1, Spring 2001, Pages 21-48 (Article)
The Neighbourhood, 2013, Sweater Weather (Online)
Available at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCdwKhTtNNw
Arctic Monkeys, 2007, Fluorescent Adolescent (Online)
Available at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ma9I9VBKPiw
Mars, B., Directed by Mars, B., Duddy, C., 2012. Locked Out Of Heaven (Online)
Available at - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-fA-gBCkj0
Styles, H., 2020. Adore You (Lyrics)
Available by - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF-r5TtlT9w
Comments
Post a Comment