1B

1. 1B) Narrative
Narrative is the media term for storytelling and the way the different elements in a
story are organised to make a meaningful story. My A2 production of a music video
is based on the song wings by indie artist Birdy. The music video is based on the
lyrics of the song therefore the visuals matches its meaning and is expressed through
its narrative. The lyrics of the song is significantly about two lovers or friends
separated and are sharing last memories together. I have decided to cooperate my
video with these lyrics and involve the narrative of having two sisters who are
demonstrated sharing good memories together.
The narrative structure of my video can be tied in to Tzetvan Todorov who argues
that narratives always have a structure of three main parts. The first part would
originally start with the text beginning with a state of equilibrium where everything
appears to be normal or calm. This is demonstrated in my video where it begins with
a fast forwarded shot of the sky where everything seems tranquil and perfect.
Afterwards, Todorov suggested that the narrative will then be disrupted in a way to
threat the normal situation. This is referred to as a disequilibrium, however, this
stage is not present in my video as the tranquil equilibrium stage is seen throughout
and there is no disruptions from the stage where the two sisters are seen enjoying
memories together. The final stage that is a part of Todorov theory is the new
equilibrium stage that is produced to end the narrative. He also suggests that the
best narratives include some kind of change for the better or perhaps the main
character’s behaviour or outlook on life. This is not clearly demonstrated in my video
as there is no clear ending to it suggesting that the characters have changed for the
better or have a different outlook on life, however it does involve the shock
realisation that the actor in the video blowing the glitter at the beginning of the
video is actually one of the sisters. This structure therefore overall suggests that it
should be a circular kind of narrative where it is driven by the equilibrium although
the end result is not quite the same as the beginning which is evident in my music
video.
Propp proposed ways of grouping characters and their actions into eight broad
character types or ‘spheres of action’. You can see that there are several character
types in my video including the narrator who is played by the artist of the video as
she is singing the lyrics of the song that matches the narrative of the video. Another
character type that is included in the video are two heroes who are played by the
two sisters. They can both be considered as playing the role as the heroes as these
characters seek something which is to continue the happiness and youth that they
are evidently experiencing in the video and are usually motivated by a lack of
something. In this case, they are not lacking anything as they appear to be in a
perfect state, however it matches the hero description as they are motivated to keep
this relationship strong.