Carol Venallis analysed editing in music videos and in hollywood films - she identified distinct approaches to each and found some differences between the two.
In many music videos, according to Vernallis the order of shots were unconventional and not in any particular order. It shifts more freely between shots as the editor cuts from one thing to another very different shot completely diverse from the previous shot. However, in Hollywood films the order of shots are usually conventional. There is a 'typical shot order' which most films adhere to, this would be: Film opening = establishing shot, followed by two shots/medium shots and close ups.
In this example from the music video of Conor Maynard ft. NeYo - Turn Around, the shots are not in any particular order and they follow from one shot to a completely different shot.
There is no continuity between these shots in the music video from Conor Maynard. The shifts therefore move more freely between the shots - there is no direct narrative in this video there is only a slight love interest in one part of the video, however the rest of the shots contain unconventional shots.
The long shot of Conor in mid air is then followed by him in another location with a different costume and stood next to Ne-Yo in a mid shot together - this unusual continuity between shots is very common in music videos, if it does not have a strict narrative then the continuity is not taken under consideration as much as a hollywood film.
As well as the order of the shots being unconventional, time, space, character and narrative are revealed incompletely in many music videos - this is the opposite to most Hollywood films as they usually have a unity of time and space, and usually introduce these things right at the beginning of the film in the first few minutes.
In this music video from Jessie J called Domino, the shots do not give the audience any idea of time or location, the background is an array of colours and motifs which are colourful and abstract.
These three different shots from the music video reveal three different backgrounds as well as three completely different costumes - which indicates that the time of the music video is unknown and there is no narrative, it is just a set of shots put together quite 'randomly' with no continuity at all.
The lack of a narrative in this music video is not particularly critisied as the shots move with the beat of the song so are quick and entice the audience with the vibrant colours and the constant use of abstract patterns.
Discontinuity in pop videos draw us away from the narrative by foregrounding other structures and elements, whereas in Hollywood films the continuity of the film draws us into the narrative. As well as this, visual hooks create continuity, non continuous shot are linked by a single feature which is then unified by figure, shape, colour and setting.
In this music video from P!nk, it is a prime example of discontinuity as the constant lack of continuity definitely draws the audience away from the narrative by putting the shots in a completely different order to create discontinuity.
No comments:
Post a Comment