Lyrics: establish a general feeling / mood / sense of subject rather than meeting.
Music: tempo often drives the editing.
Genre: reflected in types of mise-en-scene, themes,
Intertexuality: not all audiences will spot reference, which would no significantly detract from their pleasure in the text itself, but greater pleasure might be derived by those who recognise the reference and feel flattered by this. It also increases the audience’s engagement with, and attentiveness to the product. Many music videos draw upon cinema and other areas of popular culture.
Steve archer’s theory
- There needs to be a strong and coherent relationship between narrative and performance and music promos
- Music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the bamd.
John Stewart’s theory
· The music video has the aesthetics of a TV commercial, with lots of close ups and lighting being used to focus on the stars face.
· Visual references comes from a range of sources, most frequently cinema, fashion and art photography
· The video allows more access to the performer than a stage performance can.
Sigmund Freud’s theory
- Voyeurism – refers to the notion that erotic pleasure may be gained by looking at a sexual object (preferably when the object is unaware of being watched).
Laura Mulvey’s theory
- Because filmmakers are predominantly male, the presence of women in films is often solely for the purpose of display.
Connection – gives organisation/ coherence to a series of facts/ images – we look for a beginning / middle /end
Traditional narrative structure; beginning / middle / end
Roland Barthes
- Enigma code – refers to any element that is not explained and , therefore, exists as an enigma, raising questions that demand explanation. Most texts hold back details in order to increase the effect of the final revelation of all truths
- Action code – refers to the other major structuring principle that builds interest or suspense on the part of an audience. The action code applies to any action that implies a further narrative end.
Tzvetan todorov
- Believes narratives begin with equilibrium (harmony), then move to disequilibrium (disharmony) until a new equilibrium is resorted by the end.