Baudrillard Post-Modern Theorist

Vladimir Propps 'Music Video' Theory

Vladimir Propp focused on looking at narrative folk tales. He noticed that the folk tales were all very similar and they followed a structure. This is where he formed his theory about characters and actions as narrative functions. He formed the theory that characters all have a distinctive narrative function.

Vladimir Propp states that characters take up roles in their narratives. He identifies seven different characters necessary to make up a narrative.

• The Hero
• The Villain
• The Donor
• The Dispatcher
• The False Hero
• The Helper
• The Princess

Therefore, his theory being more suited to films rather than a music video due to the designated character choice. However, there are certain aspects of Propp’s theory in specific music videos. An example music video of where Vladimir Propp’s theory has been embedded is Demi Lovato – Confident. The protagonist/artist in the video is seen to be the Princess who is in danger and needs help, therefore outlining a clear villain role in the music video as the protagonist is captured.

Laura Mulvey "The Male Gaze" Theory

Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Production Diary 3

A series of eight questions were asked to a number of people (fifteen), each question taking a toll into how our music video will be influenced. Through this recent questionnaire it allowed us to gather the current trends of this year, this was important as it puts us in a position to identify specific conventions for our production and therefore appealing to the current audience.

Focus Group

Focus Group - Question & Answers

Here is the information i gathered from our focus group after showing them our test footage; involving previously prepared questions.

From our test footage, what impact do you think our camera techniques will have on our music video?
The idea of using Close-Ups, alongside Over the Shoulder shots, allows the video to be more personal but also creates a star image for our artist as the our target demographic is able to identify the protagonist easily. By using Long-Shots it creates a wider view, not only does it involve the artist but it also allows the audience to see any known landmarks. However if we was to incorporate a 360 degree shot, this would create a wider view of the location and allow the audience to see the different cultural aspects from a different perspective.

Do you think the locations, used in our test footage is relevant to our genre and narrative?

Iconography, shows conventions of the genre but also provides the audience with a known location setting, potentially creating a wider audience. Internationally people will know these landmarks.

Can you see any Pop genre, codes and conventions?

From viewing out test footage, our focus group identified that the lip syncing is conventional, in addition they indicated that our artists outfit is very fashionable.

Do you believe our artists name, Marcus Matthews, is generic of the Pop genre?

The idea of having the initials 'MM' implicates a name easy to remember and pronounce due to its alliteration, yet it provides the demographic with a catchy name.