Narrative Theory - Todorov

Todorovs theory suggests that every narrative follows the structure that within a narrative there is always a protagonist and an antagonist where an issue or conflict occurs. Within my music video it features the typical boy meets girl boy breaks girls heart so we see the girl as he protagonist and the antagonist is the boy.

Todorov then implies that once we establish who the protagonist /antagonist is here will be a sort of disruption. Within my video the disruption will be when the girl realises that she is being used and she begins to develop darker within her character and is no longer innocent.

Todorovs theory then progresses to say that there is a quest taken - my actress regrets being with the boy and wants to 'restart' her night.

Finally the resolution within my music video is where the protagonist problem is solved. The actress blow so the candles and realises the mistakes her and the boy has made.

My narrative very much crosses over with Todorovs theory as it has the main steps that happen within the theory and my music video.

Inspiration For My Music Video

When looking at already existing music videos, I have found the indie folk band The Paper Kites who create music videos that are very natural and earthy allowing them to relate to the conventions of indie folk music. From this video I have looked at various cinematography and mise en scene  that I would like to use in my music video.

I like the use of this close up of this tin rusty can. The video looks quite dark but contrasts well with the females hand reaching out for the can. 

The long shot of the orangey-yellow sunset/sunrise is a typical convention of a indie folk music video and the tree fits in with the nature/natural theme.

Narrative Theory - Tessa Perkins (1979)

Tessa Perkins theory suggests that stereotyping is a complex process and involves a lot of assumptions that have to be challenged. 

Tessa Perkins assumes five main assumptions:

1. stereotypes are not always negative 
2. not always about minority groups or the less powerful 
3. they can be held about ones own group not rigid or unchanging not always false 
4. As society changes it is hard for stereotypes to change as they stick within society. 
5. Not all stereotypes are bad

This theory has been incorporated within my music video as the actress is assumed to be weak and vulnerable like women are so often to be seen and as the narrative progresses the audience understands why through her being heartbroken by the boy. Also as the girl is wearing white we can assume she is innocent and naive and conforms within society. This may give off negative connotations as usually women do not like to appear this way. 

 

One of the costume ideas although I would make sure that the heels are not used because they do not match but would match one of the other costumes my actress will wear.

Techniques I'm Considering Using

Several scenes throughout my music video, I would like to merge two or more of the shots I have got into one. From researching online, I have found that this particular technique is really easy to do so  to help my music video incorporate the technique effectively I have taken a couple of videos that I have taken in my spare time  and overlapped them together to see how the effect might work in my own music video.
 

Flower crown

After looking at already existing media products I have liked the idea of my actress wearing a flower crown as a hair accessory to connote her innocence and naïvety or to show her heart break after realising she has been used.

This means that I have had to research first what flower colours usually connote but also how to make them. To learn how to make them I looked on google search and then diy craft websites like Pinterest and polyvore. 

From this I then priced up how much the material would be to make the flower crown. 

Real flowers or fake flowers? 

When deciding how to make my flower crown I had to question whether or not I wanted to use real or fake flowers.This is due to the fact, once I began to film with the actress wearing the flower crown  they will both look differently to what they actually look like. For this reason I have made a table to say the benefits of making a real or a fake flower crown which will help me to finalise what to make my flower crown with before I purchase the materials needed.

I have found that there is more disadvantages for using real flowers then there is for using fake ones and for this reason I will use fake flowers to recreate the popular flower crown. My main reason for choosing to use fake flowers is that if I need to refilm any of my shots I will be able to use the same flower crown instead of remaking a real one which may not reflect the original. Also due to the fact the flowers may wilt quickly. 

Costume List

1. White lace dress 
2. Nude heels 
3. diamond hairband
4. purple and white flower crown
5. dark clothing (purple and black)
6. black heels
7.