Narrative Structure

Narrative structure 

Narrative techniques are used to structure my music video. The music video will be purely narrative, illustrating the lyrics of the song and creating representations and events that relate to the audience. We plan to include lots of different character types, to create diverse representations, which could relate to the audience. The costumes and mise en scene will construct different character types for each actor, such as the main character, mean girls, gangster, geek. For example the preppy character will be dressed in formal, preppy clothes, and have a friendly persona. The character types engage with the audience and structure the narrative, because their behaviour can illustrate the emotions of the song. 

The narrative structure will have a clear equilibrium, disequilibrium then a reconstructed equilibrium. This method will allow the audience to visualise the song, because the equilibrium can change with the dynamics in the song, and changes in intensity. This builds a story line, which is dramatic and entertaining, making it more memorable to the audience. To reinforce this narrative structure, we will include a crescendo in the music video, which builds the narrative to a climatic moment. 

Within the character types there will be binary opposites, to create more broad representations and to bring conflicts between characters. Enigma is a narrative technique that will engage the audience and will enhance the plot and shape the characters. The main character is enigmatic because her face is never seen in the video. This will be constructed through the camerawork, as the video will be shot from her point of view, therefore she is never seen and remains a mystery. 

The music video has an impressionist narrative as it will narrate the lyrics of the song, through the use of mise en scene and acting. The video will be set at a house party, therefore the scenes of drinking can relate to the lyrics. The song talks about addiction and heartbreak, it references alcohol and drug abuse. We intend to reference the lyric 'get into my bloodstream' throughout the video. For example through shots of people binge drinking, or shots of a couple in an argument, to portray emotional heartbreak and addiction.

The video will use a reverse in the narrative structure, to rebuild the equilibrium, and reverse the story line back to the beginning, therefore undoing the negative events and dramas. There will be no dialogue or script, because they are not typically used in music videos. However there will be an introduction, before the song starts, but we have chosen not to have dialogue because the silence builds up the suspense for the soundtrack, and keeps the audience interested. Ellipsis can be used, to speed up time, through the use of jump cuts. This matches the pace of cuts to the beat of the music, keeping the audience entertained.

The music video will have a multi-stranded narrative, where different storylines will be happening to different characters at the same time. This happens as the main character moves through the house party, from room to room, witnessing different situations, such as a couple arguing. It almost has a circular narrative, because all the scenes will be reversed back to the beginning, however it won't finish on the shot it started on, as it will be a new shot of the main character leaving the house.
This structure will bring the storyline back to an equilibrium, and the ending will be clear to the audience. The reverse technique and repeating of shots, to create a nostalgia and deconstruct the equilibrium, make up a non-linear narrative. The narrative is mainly in chronological order at the beginning, the reaches the climax of the song and starts to jump back and forth, in no time order. This is done to create flashbacks of shots which signify various dramas and meanings, such as shots of blood.

Andrew Goodwin states that there are three different categories for music videos, where they can connect back to the song itself. The first is illustration, where the concept of the video is based around the meaning of the song's lyrics. Amplification is the way music videos use both performance and narrative, whilst signifying connotations of the song's meanings. The third is disjuncture, where the music video is irrelevant to the content of the song and genre conventions, and make little sense, therefore creates abstract visuals.
Our video uses illustration, because it is based around a narrative, giving an impression of what the lyrics are about, so that the audience can visualise the song.

Another music video that uses the same illustration narrative is A-Ha 'take on me'. They use characters and plots to illustrate the lyrics, based on a romantic fantasy narrative. This works well because it creates a visual for the song, so the audience can understand the meanings and emotions the band were trying to portray, and represent them in the characters in their video. They use both live action and animation, to construct their fantasy theme and build a clear narrative.