Carol Vernallis' Theory of Music Video

Carol Vernallis' theory is explained in her book 'Experiencing Music Video: Aesthetics and Cultural Context'.

I have decided to look into Carol's theory, as it would give me a clear idea about whether to include this in to my construction of music video. This could help me develop my skills in making my music video in a professional manor and will hopefully help me to identify the typical conventions that music video contains, depending on the genre. There are 4 key concepts within genre, which all relate to the way Carol's idea of music video is constructed. They are as followed:

- Narrative
- Editing
- Camera Movement and Framing
- Diegesis

1) Narrative

- The video is a visual response to the music.
- There is not necessarily a balance between narrative and performance.
- The narrative is not always complete.
- The structure of the video may appear disjointed.
- Something drives the video forward, but often it is not the narrative.
- They may not be a clear resolution (closure) at the end.
- The video may pose questions that it doesn't actually answer.
- There may be a narrative of theme running through the video, but in a montage style.

2) Editing

- Editing may match the musical phrases or the beat.
- The video may break or disrupt many of the 'rules' of continuity editing.
- Editing may be really obvious, to draw attention to themselves, rather than to invisible, continuity editing.

For example, you may see:

. Jump cuts.
. Breaks of the 30 degree and 180 degree rules.
. Cutting against the movement and within the lyrics.
. Fancy edits or cuts.
. Extreme jumps in time and space and also the changes in pace.
. Juxtaposed frames and graphic matches.
. A style of editing that runs through the video and is distinctive to that video.

You may not see:

. Smooth transitions.
. Matches on action.
. An even pace throughout.

3) Camera Movement and Framing

- When it comes to shot types, extremes are very common.
- The styles of framing and movement runs through the video and is distinctive to that video.
- The camera may move in time with the music and may also move on the lyrics.
- The master shot is used frequently, as well as close-ups.

4) Diegesis

- The diegesis may be revealed quite slowly.
- Actions are not always completed, but may be interrupted by disruptions in some way.
- Character of object movements may move to the music.
- There may be gaps in the audience's knowledge of diegesis - in time and space, music, performance and narrative.
- Some frames may be more important than others.
- There may be many repetitions e.g. musical phrases, the beat, other musical elements, images, colours, camera positions, themes, lyrics and performance.



Conclusion:

In comparison to Andrew Goodwin's theory of music video, Carol Vernallis has a more relaxing approach to her theory, whereas Andrew Goodwin's theory must match up within the 6 aspects of his theory. Carol Vernallis talks about her views of her experiences on watching many music videos, whereas Andrew Goodwin points out the features of particular music videos and their genres.