NARRATIVEQ1b

Theoretical Evaluation of Production

Time

■ 2 hours for whole paper■ 1 Hour per section■ 30 mins for Q1a■ 30 mins for Q1b

Section A

■ THEORETICAL EVALUATION OF PRODUCTION■ AO1

– Demonstrate knowledge & understanding of media concepts, contexts and critical debates, using terminology and with accurate and coherent written expression

■ AO2– Apply knowledge and understanding to show how meanings are

created when analysing media products and evaluating your own practical work.

What is Narrative?

■ Media term for storytelling■ It is the way different elements come together to make a meaningful

story

■ Narrative STRUCTURE is the way the story is told or happens– OPEN

■ No final ending; the story is left open; enigmatic– CLOSED

■ The story has concluded; finished

Andrew Goodwin

■ Goodwin stated that there are 3 different ways in which the music video can connect back to the song itself:

■ ILLUSTRATION■ AMPLIFICATION■ DISJUNCTURE

GOODWINILLUSTRATION■ This is the simplest and easiest concept to base a music video around

as it is just a literal meaning to the song’s lyrics in visual form. This can be seen in the actions of the people in the video ‘acting out’ what has been sung, or the actual lyrics being used on screen.

■ PERFORMANCE VIDEOS

GOODWINAMPLIFICATION■ These music videos may be both performance and narrative, with

connotations of meaning.■ These are designed to be a creative and artistic endeavor that seeks

to create a form of story or artistic statement, informed by the lyrics or meaning of the song. For this reason, amplification videos often have elements of performance or illustrative elements in them.

GOODWINDISJUNCTURE■ These videos intentionally ignore the content of the song and genre of

the music and tries to create a whole new set of meanings. These music videos don’t’ tend to make a lot of sense and can often use abstract imagery. This is a radical technique used and applied by arty bands in order to assert their difference and originality. They usually contain performance from the artist/s but have no recognisable link to the lyrics.

“I don’t have a narrative”

Your music video should broadly adhere to Goodwin’s theory of music videos

Basic Narrative Theory■ Linear

– Follows a “line”– It starts at the beginning and finishes at the end

■ Circular– The story finishes where it started

■ Episodic– Linear YET it is broken up into smaller sections/episodes

Basic Narrative Theory

■ AS ■ A small section of a film, so does not easily ‘fit’ one of the narrative

structures.■ However, your section should be ‘part ‘ of a bigger film. ■ With this in mind, you should know both where your section would fit

within this larger project and also, because of this, what narrative structure your larger film would be.

■ Therefore, you should be able to explain what narrative structure the overall film would be and why.

Classic Narrative Theories

■ TODOROV■ PROPP■ BARTHES■ LEVI-STRAUSS

■ Narrative Structure – Visual texts adopt different ways of constructing stories, called

narrative structures and these fall into five main categories:■ Open / Closed■ Single / Multi-Strand■ Linear / Non-Linear■ Investigative■ Realist & Anti-Realist

Classic Narrative Theories

Classic Narrative Theories

■ Open / Closed narratives– Stories that are part of a series are open narratives (e.g. Soaps)– Stories with endings are closed narratives (e.g. Documentaries)

■ Single / Multi-strand narratives– Stories developing same plot are single strand narratives (e.g.

Many dramas).– Stories with more than one plot line are multi-strand narratives

(e.g. Soaps)

Classic Narrative Theories■ Linear / Non-linear narratives

– Stories following chronological order are linear narratives (e.g. Soaps)– Stories jumping around in time are non-linear narratives (e.g. Many

whodunnits).

■ Investigative Narratives– Stories involving investigations of some kind are investigative narratives

(e.g. Who-dunnits, Documentaries).

■ Realist & anti-realist narratives– Stories featuring real life situations are realist narratives (e.g. Soaps,

The News)– Stories that do not feature real life situations are anti-realist (e.g.

Cartoons)– Is any media text ”realist”?

Roland Barthes

■ French literary theorist, philosopher, critic and semiotician (study of cultural signs and symbols)

■ He suggested that media texts with a narrative were essentially forms of storytelling

■ Proposed the Open and Closed Narrative Structure■ He said that all narratives share similar structures but are

moulded in different ways

Roland Barthes

■ He believed that a text was essentially a tangled ball of threads that needs to be unravelled

■ Once unravelled, it is obvious that we can begin to look at a text at any angle we choose

■ We start to look at a text in one specific way, from one viewpoint and because of this, one meaning for a text.

■ This can be repeated multiple times – by continuing to unravel texts, different meanings appear

Roland Barthes

■ Barthes suggested that meaning is made in fiction by the use of 5 codes. They can be woven into any text and they are integral to interpreting them to create different meanings

■ The Hermeneutic/Enigma Code– HER

■ The Action/Proairetic Code– ACT

■ The Semantic Code– SEM

■ The Symbolic Code– SYM

■ The Referential/Cultural Code– REF

Roland BarthesThe Hermeneutic/Enigma Code (HER)■ The ‘enigma code’■ Things within the text that make the audience ask themselves

questions about what will happen■ The answers to the questions can be found by consuming the

text

■ What questions does your Music Video/Short Film/Opening Sequences raise that your target audience will want answering?

Roland BarthesThe Action/Proairetic Code (ACT)■ The ‘events and action code’■ Each action and event within a text can be linked to

nameable sequences operating in the narrative■ Barthes asserts that each effect could be ‘named’ giving a

series of titles to the text■ These are often made very explicit on DVDs – the chapter

titles are generally based on events or actions

■ Can you name the actions within your Music Video?

Roland BarthesThe Symbolic Code (SYM)■ The process of representing an object, idea or feeling by

something else (a physical object…)■ E.g. a fence between 2 characters may symbolise their

emotional distance■ Some have suggested that the infamous ‘adrenaline shot’

in Pulp Fiction is the symbolic penetration of Mia by Vince

■ How do the symbolic codes in your Music Video embed meaning for the audience to decode?

Roland BarthesThe Semantic Code (SEM)■ This code refers to the use of connotation to give the

audience an insight into characters, objects or events.■ E.g. Thriller/Horror conventions include Low Key Lighting,

connoting the dark and eerie atmosphere

■ How do the semantic codes in your Music Video embed meaning for the audience to decode?– Same questions as previous– Could argue the symbolic/semantic code are very

similar if not the same?

Roland BarthesThe Referential/Cultural Code (Ref)■ ‘The Cultural Code’ concerns all the culturally specific

knowledge used to make meaning in the text■ E.g. Regional Soaps and their title sequence

– Corrie – stereotypical ‘northern’ streets/houses – Eastenders – stereotypical ’east end’ scene/iconography of

Thames■ connoting traditional communities and family values■ The audience must be familiar to use a signifier to associate

particular meaning with the text

■ How do you encode cultural representations in your Music Video?

Roland BarthesMusic Video/Opening SequenceCODE

Evidence Explanation