Applying Narrative to Your Chosen Text - Music Video

How is the story structured and how are your audience positioned?
The narrative has a beginning, middle and end in chronological order but is interrupted with flashback scenes. Therefore we use a mixture of present and past tense. The conflict is established mainly by the lyrics and the external performance shots. The flashbacks back this up with a simple explanation of why the lead character feels the way she does. It is resolved at the end when the audience realise she is part of the band and music has become her 'escape'. The construction of the lead character is done through the use of close ups and high angle camera shots to make her look vulnerable. The audience is made to feel sympathetic towards the character and some may be able to relate to how she is feeling. We created this with the use of connotations such as the empty field representing loneliness and the gloomy weather to represent her overall mood. The narrative to my music video is closed because it has a resolution and does not carry on into a sequel.
Summarise the lyrics in your text.
'Save Me' is about someone having a secret that they are perhaps ashamed of but they know that they need to tell someone for peace of mind.
Are there any key lines that you chose to give visual dominance to?
'Confessing my sins to an angel.' - We used this within the video when the lead character is writing the letter she is in fact writing lyrics from the song and this is the first line of the letter.
'I've got a secret to tell.' - The video was based around the idea of the character telling her secret and the effect this would have.
What is the importance of the mise en scene?
The addition of instruments and the location in which the band performance shots were set adds authenticity to the band and makes it look as if they are really playing live. The lack of props is very important for the external shots because we wanted the field to look desolate to make the lead character look alone. The letter was key to the narrative and established the plot.
Can you apply any of Barthes codes?
Enigma code - The use of the letter and the obvious distress that the character is in leads to the audience wondering why and what happened previously.
Semantic code - The main connotation was the use of the desolate field to represent loneliness but the costume and make up also represented the genre and gave connotations of negative emotions.
Symbolic code - Assumptions would have been made because of the costume and dark make up. We used conventional costume and in doing this perhaps created expectations of the characters personality or attitude.
What category is your music video according to Andrew Goodwin?
Amplification.
Can you apply Steve Archer's theories?
Yes, our video did cut between both performance and narrative and the 'lead singer' was the also used as the main character within the narrative.
What role does the artist play in your music video?
Because the character is both the lead singer and the main narrative character she plays both the role of narrator and protagonist.
Did you choose a subjective or objective character identity in your music video and why?
Objective, because the lyrics of the song lent themselves to a personal and indepedent account.
What typology does your music video fit into?
Performance and narrative.