Carol Vernallis Analysis

She believes there are 4 important stages to creating a successful music video

1. Narrative 

• The video is a visual response to the music 
• The video suits the style and genre of the music and the look of the artist. It also cuts in time and rhythm with the soundtrack 
• There is not necessarily always a balance between narrative and performance 
• The narrative is not always complete - it may be a partial, fragmented narrative
• The structure of the video may appear disjointed - this is typical to the pop genre as it relies heavily on the artists performance rather than a story line. The different scenes are incomplete/disjointed and do not really tell a story, conforming to the 'quirky' indie pop genre
• Something drives he video forward, but often it is not the narrative. It could be the music, the performance, a mixture or some other element. 

2. Editing 

• May match the musical phrases or beat
• The video in general cuts to the beat of the music or in time with the lines in the song to run fluently alongside the music. Every movement, action or cut in the visuals fits with the rhythm of the soundtrack. 
• The video may disrupt/ break many of the 'rules' of continuity editing - this is a clear convention of music video editing
• Editing may become 'foregrounded' - the edits may be really obvious, to draw attention to themselves as opposed to invisible, continuity editing 

3. Camera Work 

• Extreme shot types are very common 
• Mid shots and close-ups are more common, familiarising the audience with the face or the artist
• The style of framing and movement may run through the video and be distinctive to that video 
• The camera may move in time with the music 
• The camera may move on the lyrics 

4. Diegesis

• May be revealed quite slowly 
• Actions are not necessarily completed 
• Character or object movements may move to the music 
• There may be gaps in the audience's understanding of the diegesis - in time and space, music, performance and narrative
• Some frames may be more important than others 
• There may be any repetitions e.g Musical phrases, the beat, other musical elements, themes, lyrics, performance, colours, images, camera positions