Applying Narrative theory to my music video.

In my music video (Lovage- "To Catch a Theif) there is a strong sense of narrative. This is because the genre the video was in (trip-hop) both allowed for and encourgaed the use of a narrative. This can be seen in examples of other videos within the same genre, such as massive attacks "Tear Drop". The video combines abstract and often confusing imagary to build up a loose narrative, and while our video had a much stronger sense of narrative, the basic design was the same. This can be seen in our use of a bunny costume to connote disguise and criminality. Since this abstract imagary was within the framework of a quite straight forward narrative, it is clear that we applied our narrative accourding to the conventions of our genre.
Our music video also works within the framework of Todorovs narrative theory, since its guidlines of equilibriam, disruption of equlibriam and the reastablishment of equilibrium fits perfectly into our video. For example, our video begins with the Bunny being calmly talked at by a phsychiatrist, during the middle the Bunny commits a crime, and at the end the Bunny is back in the phsychiatrists chair. This shows that our narrative is quite stereotypical in nature, with a conventional and predefined beginning middle and end. This was consious decision by us as a group, since we wished to make quite a niche and original video, however, we thought that these abstract images would work best within a strong and clear narrative.  

Goodwin's Theory applied to "Jeans and Fitted" by Vybz Kartel

Links to music by lyrics:
In the video there are multiple links to the objects which are described by the lyrics. For example,
(Russian) Mi gucci belt a di realest
(Kartel)Mi rosary chain ah di purest
(Russaian)Mi G-shock watch... Timeless
All of these lyrics are referred to with shots of the objects themselves, like a "Gucci Belt"

Genre Characteristics:
The genre of this music video is known as "Dancehall" an hip-hop based genre heavily influenced by Jamaican style singing. This video conforms to the genre as it is set in an urban, Caribbean setting and both of the artists performing are singing in a Jamaican style, even the featuring artist.

Intertextual Reference:
There are lots of references to certain high-street products such as a "Gucci Belt", "G-Shock Watch, "Rosary Chain" etc. that is repeated throughout the music video. Not only are there references but there are physical shots of each of these products at least once in the music video.


Notions of Looking:
Women in this video are seen as sex objects and are heavily put down as the lower of the sexes and seen as an object to be used in the males way.

Real Media Concepts - Analysis of Music Video-Goodwin

Bruno Mars - The Lazy Song


Links between lyrics and music- in this music video Bruno and the monkeys' actions within the video constantly make reference to the lyrics. For example when they are talking about leaving a message on a phone then they make a phone with their hands and when mentioning the birthday suit they pull down their trousers.

Genre Characteristics- the genre of this video is Pop and it has some of the conventions of this genre such as dancing a  routine to the lyrics, also the up beat tempo to the video connotes pop. All of the characters are also wearing bright colours which could be seen as a convention of pop.

Intertextual Reference- within the lyrics MTV the reality television program is mentioned. This is the only reference made within the video.

Notions of Looking- Through this video Bruno Mars (the artist) is seen as a chilled out person and quite relaxed, within a house. In his other videos, 'Just the way you are' for example, he is also seen in this way so it is how the audience expects to see him. 

Demands of the label - Bruno's videos are all very clean and respectful so his label may want to represent him as a role model and good person which is very different to his personality in real life. So the label may be creating an alter ego for Bruno but through his music videos.

Applying my music video production to the theoretical area of Narrative

The media product I created was a trip hop music video to the song ‘To Catch a Thief’ by the band Lovage. Other music videos within this genre have a very strong narrative to them and tell a story throughout the video. For example Karmacoma by Massive attack has a strong narrative but to get to the meaning behind it all you have to look past the abstract image it portrays just as you have to do with my music video/ So through my own interpretation of a Trip Hop music video I wanted to follow the same convention.

The music video I helped to create told the story of a male bunny character who had been kicked out of his house by his wife. As a result of this the bunny turns to crime. He only turned to crime because of his sorrow and as an audience we should feel sorry for him. The bunny costume the character is wearing connotes the idea of disguise and also innocence to what he is doing and had experienced. We hoped that the audience could see this behind the costume and look behind the abstract image it may portray.

As a group we thought a lot about the idea behind the narrative and all that was involved in creating this short story/film. As the narrative is so strong, it can easily be applied to narrative theory. When looking at this the music video I have created can be most closely related to Todorov’s theory of there being five stages to narrative:

- an equilibrium

- a disruption to this equilibrium by an event

- a realisation that a disruption has happened

- an attempt to repair the damage of the disruption

- a restoration of equilibrium – which may be a new equilibrium

In my media product I feel that the equilibrium was the positivity seen at the beginning through the bunny gaining help from a wise counsellor. The disruption of this was the crime that took place by the bunny. The realisation was being caught by the police and sadness seen by the bunny and then the attempt to repair was being put in jail to correct the wrongs and finally at the end of the music video the restoration of the equilibrium was seen as the bunny revisited the counsellor.

I believe that because of another theoretical area (Genre) the narrative of this media product had become very apparent and therefore easily related to narrative theory.

Audience Theory Analysis of Our Music Video - "To Catch a Thief" by Lovage

Our personal production of “To Catch a Thief” by the band Lovage, is aimed at a very specialised audience and would therefore fit into the category of niche marketing. Although the music video has a strong storyline behind it, it has a distinctive theme and perspective that would not appeal to most mainstream audiences. This narrowness of the market makes the production quite unique and distinguishable compared with other music video productions.

This uniqueness can be explained by the genre of the music itself. The genre is known as trip-hop; a mixture of electro and house music, that is a relatively new hybrid genre that was created in the mid-1990s. There are no specific trends or requirements that fit into the trip-hop genre as it quite experimental so we tried to incorporate this abstract feel into our music video and I believe the production reflects this well.

The production shows the abstract nature by the presence of the main protagonist and antagonist, the bunny. The video follows the bunny being a thief which links in with the title of the song, “To Catch a Thief” and the production shows an episode from his life, whilst the visuals and lyrics explain the story in the background. The band was included in the production in order to fit the stereotype of the trip-hop genre.

Overall, our production was aimed at a niche market and audience, therefore meaning that the consumers would more than likely be faithful to our product, rather than drifting between genres, as many fans of mainstream music tend to do. This means we would still be able to generate a respectable amount of fans and viewers of our music video.

In terms of our audience theory and profiling audiences, I would predict that our production would be aimed at the ‘Succeeders’ category, as that type of people generally like to feel secure and in control and they buy brands which reinforce their feelings of control. This would fit in with our production, as ‘Succeeders’ will feel in control, as this genre is relatively small and low key, so the small majority of them would hold a lot of influence over the artists. The other group that would be attracted by our music video would be ‘The Individual’, as they are highly media literate, expect high production advertising and buys into the product image rather than the product itself. This would fit in with our production, as ‘The Individual’ would like our product because they are buying into the product image, and would like the abstract feel of the music video.

The ‘Uses and Gratifications’ Theory would be the best example to compare with our production, as the audience have taken an active part in choosing and deciding what media they wish to interact with. This is true for the audience of our production as it is such a niche market and audience that the audience would have to willingly want to watch the music video. This differs to mainstream genres and markets as a passive audience usually consumes them, as the cultivation theory explains. Because mainstream audiences are so exposed to the mainstream genres they generally ‘like’ them just because they become over-exposed to them. Our audience however, would actively choose to watch and consume our production because it is what they want to watch.

To conclude, our production is on the whole aimed at a media literate audience who will actively choose to watch and consume the music video, because they like the abstract and niche uniqueness of the finalised product. The audience we have targeted is very specific but one that ultimately reflects the trip-hop genre and the song “To Catch a Thief” by Lovage.

Audience Analysis - Own Production of Music Video - To Catch a Thief by Lovage

My production of the music video for ‘To Catch a Theif’ by Lovage is aimed at a very niche market, therefore a niche audience. The music video has a unique theme to it and is quite abstract. Although the storyline is strong this type of music video would not appeal to a mainstream audience.

The uniqueness of the music video I helped to create comes mainly from the hybrid genre the song belongs to; trip hop, a combination of electro and house music. This genre does not really have any set conventions, as it is quite experimental and is not generally seen as mainstream and I feel that the music video that we have produced reflects this well.

Our music video is abstract as it’s main character is a bunny who steals and the music video simply follows an episode within his life whilst the lyrics and visuals link throughout. We also included the band which conformed to the conventions of the trip-hop genre.

So, as you can see from the summary of the genre of our music video the audience is a unique and niche market. Through being a niche audience I would assume that the consumers of this product are very loyal towards it so do not necessarily float from genre to genre as mainstream audiences may.

When looking at specifics and profiling our target audience I would say that this music video is aimed and the ‘Individuals’ within the categorisation of personal aspirations. This type of audience would be highly media literate and would by this grungy image that our music video portrays rather than the actual music video. However, the audience who buy products such as our music video may also fit into the ‘Succeeders’ category as they are within this unique band of people so may feel secure in such an immediate group therefore will buy this brand/product to reinforce their feeling of control and security.

I would say that the ‘Uses and Gratifications’ Model is prevalent with our target audience as they have actively chosen and almost created this niche genre of music and this niche market. Unlike mainstream genres and markets which are usually consumed by a passive audience through repeated exposure, as the cultivation theory explains. Most of us listen to and watch mainstream products and media and this is what we have been exposed to the most and most often therefore we ‘like it’. Whereas, with our target audience, like I have said they actively chose to seek out this genre and music video type.

Overall, our media text of a music video is aimed young people who are media literate and can look into a music video to see behind the motion picture to reveal the meaning which are video holds. The audience wee have targeted is a very specific one which reflects the unique music genre of the song ‘To Catch a Thief’ by Lovage.

Only Way is ESSEX Audience Analysis

Who is the text aimed at?
This reality television programme is aimed at teens to young adults, predominately females.

What assumptions are made about the audience which are revealed in the texts scheduling or positioning?
The scheduling of this programme is after the nine o'clock 'the watershed' so assumptions that are made would be that they are adults or young adults. Also, programmes after the water shed generally have strong language and possible sexual references in them so the audience would have to want to watch this type of programme.

Where and when is the aduience likely to receive the text?
On their home television or on the catch up service ITV Player. They have to watch the programme at the scheduled time on their home television yet on the catch up service it can be watched at any time whenever the audience wants.

How does this influence the form and structure of the text.
This influences the form and structure as they can put in swearing, sexual innuendos and the language that is used, as it will be more accessible to the socio-economic that understands the language and is more familiar with it. This group such as young adults are able to access services such as ITV player on smart phones, net books etc.

 
How will this audience read this text?
This audience will read this text through gaining a stereotypical view of people who live in Essex. When in actual fact the programme only focuses on one particular social group within Essex.