- Narrative Based Videos
- Performance based videos
- Concept based videos
A Narrative based video is a music video which follows a storyline(or a Narrative) throughout the whole of the video. These types of videos often involve fictional characters made solely for the music video, which are often mute so that only the video's performers can only be heard singing in the video.
At times the video's singer can be featured as a character, in which they would interact with the other characters.
In most cases the characters in a Narrative based music video will often be faced with a kind of Dilemma or will have a story arc that would progress as the music video progress and the lyrics that the video's performer sings would often represent how the characters are feeling or reflect their situation.
As this type of music video is structured by following a narrative, the same film narrative theories which were theorised by Vladimir Propp,Tzvetan Todorov and Levi Strauss can also be applied to music videos the same way as if they were films.
A example of a Narrative based video can be the 2012 song 'Payphone' which was performed by the American Pop rock band Maroon 5.
Song: Payphone
Performers: Maroon 5 featuring Wiz Khalifa
Release date:17th of April ,2012
Genre:Pop
This Music video can be viewed as a Narrative music video as it follows a particular storyline which centres around Adam Levine (who the lead singer of Maroon 5), while he and the rest of the band are performing the song in the background. In addition this video appears to follow all of the Narrative theories that were theorised by Propp,Strauss and Todorov as elements of all narrative theories can be present in this video.
Propp's Music video analysis of Payphone
The Music video begins with Adam Levine(the Hero) in an unknown location, looking ragged and injured while remembering his life prior to this happening when he was working in a bank and simply living his ordinary every day life. His peaceful life changes when the bank he is working in , is suddenly raided by a group of armed robbers(the Villains) who take the whole bank staff hostage and rob the bank.
While this is happening Levine looks over to his attractive female co worker(Love interest/ Hero's reward) who is hiding behind a desk and tells her to remove her shoes(which she does), indicating that he is planning to escape with her.
A robber than approaches Levine with his back facing him and Levine notices a handgun sticking out of his back pocket. Taking advantage of the situation Levine takes the gun from the robber(which makes him an inadvertant Doner) and then uses it to over power him and then distracts the other bank raiders while Levine and his love interest safely escape the building .
Unfortunately when they get outside, a policeman sees Levine still holding the handgun and opens fire at him(mistaking him for one of the robbers) which causes Levine and his love interest to run from the police.
The two protagonists then take re fudge behind a car, in which Levine tells his female co worker to hide in its boot so that the police will only follow him.
Once his love is safely hidden, Levine then notices that the famous rapper Wiz Khalifa has arrived in the same location and leaves his car with his chauffeur.
Desperate to escape the police Levine then steals the keys from the chauffeur , gets in the car and drives away, which then leads to a lengthy car chase between Levine and numerous police cars.In addition the fact that Levine gained the car from Wiz Khalifa would make him a accidental 'Doner' to Levine.
Eventually Levine manages to escape all of the police cars by causing one of them to flip over, which causes a massive car crash stopping all of the police cars and injuring Levine.
The music video ends, where it began with Levine using a Payphone in an unknown area trying to contact his love interest.
Struass's Music video analysis of Payphone
There is a sense of Binary opposites that are clashing as this music video is progressing.
The video begins with Levine and his love interest(forces of Good) being confronted with bank robbers that are armed with guns(forces of Evil). Levine then briefly fights back at the robbers by taking a gun from one of them and uses it to, throw the other robbers off guard as him and his love interest escape the building, while narrowly dodging the bullets that the robbers are firing at them.
Todorov's music video analysis of Payphone
Narrative formula-Equilibrium leads to Disequilibrium which then eventually leads to New Equilibrium.
In order for the stage of the music video to transition from Disequilibrium to New Equilibrium, the protagonist of this story would then have to take notice of the dilemma that he or she is being faced with and would then have to do something to solve this problem.
The stage in which the protagonist notices the problem is called 'Recognition' and part in which the protagonist is compelled to solve the solution is called 'Reparation'.
- The video begins with Levine and his love interest working peacefully in a bank-Equilibrium
- This peace is then disturbed when a group of masked gunmen , enter the bank and being to loot it while taking everyone working there hostage (including Levine and his love interest). -Disequilibrium
- Levine and his love interest are taken hostage, and he realises that if he does not act, all of the they will be either killed or robbed.-Recognition
- Levine then fights back by taking a gun from one of the robbers and uses it to defend himself against the robbers , so that he can escape the building with his love interest. Unfortunately he is still holding the gun when he and the girl escape the building and a nearby policeman spots him with it and starts shooting at him which causes various other policeman in police cars to pursue the protagonists. Levine then hides his love interest in a car boot and the steals Wiz Khalifa's car so that he can evade all of the police cars that are chasing him.- Reparation
- Levine then successfully escapes from all of the police cars and is now safe from them and all of the bank robbers.-New Equilibrium
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