Video Inspiration & ANALYSIS: Narrative

In order to come up with a narrative that we think best fits our song (as seen in our treatment pitch, we researched into existing songs with a narrative that we thought we could be inspired by.

Songs we looked at include:

1. This Is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco
2. Spotless Mind - Jhene Aiko
3. Blank Space - Taylor Swift

1. This Is Gospel - Panic! At The Disco

The beginning of the music video features a a long pan of a young man on a hospital bed. The setting is a black room with a white hospital bed. This is an usual setting of a hospital, as it's dark with minimal lighting. This suggests to the audience that the protagonist is not an ordinary patient, and has been isolated in some type of way. The only two colours shown in the music video in the opening scene is white and black, which suggests mystery. The colour palette is quite dark, which doesnt grab the audiences attention, but is effective for creating a sense of loneliness. The protagonist makes eye contact with the camera, which makes it personal, as it breaks the fourth wall, and makes a kind of connection with the audience. Half of the artists face is covered with a shadow, which could suggest that he has two personalities. What I particularly like about the narrative of this video, is that the audience is able to decide on what they think the meaning is. Does he have two personalities? Does he have a mental illness? etc...

The whole video portrays him being helped by other people to prepare him for death. 

2. Spotless Mind - Jhene Aiko

The narrative of this music video is based on a rather controversial topic which isn't really touched on in many videos. This is Borderline Personality Disorder. The lyrics fit in well with the narrative, with narcissistic traits. The main character sees herself as the most important, and puts her wants and needs before anyone elses. This therefore ruins her relationship, as we see at the end of the video, where her love interest gives her a note which says 'I'm leaving you'. Due to her personality, we can see that she drains the energy, patience and sanity out of the one that is close to her. 

This theme is conveyed by having a range of scenarios to show her change in personality in the course of one whole day. The video begins at 8am on saturday and ends at night. This is effective as it allows the audience to follow the storyline without missing out the plot. 

The music video is quite quirky, with the use of colour, a range of locations and settings. It is not filmed in one location, as it needs to fit the scenario being conveyed, therefore making it quite humorous. 

3. Blank Space - Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift is known for using a strong narrative to convey a message in her music videos. Blank Space shows the course of her relationship with someone. She is represented as a sweet, girly and lovesick young woman who can be seen as having a 'perfect' relationship. Her and her love interest are seen doing a lot of activities together (which shows the happy side of her relationship). This includes riding together, having a picnic, horse riding etc. This depicts how she is in a normal, happy relationship. This then later turns sour as she starts to become jealous and angry when she sees him on his phone. This is then accompanied by lyrics such as 'Who is she?' 'I get drunk on jealousy'. This shows how jealousy turns the female protagonists mean and unbearable. This is then confirmed with the lyrics 'darling I'm a nightmare dressed like a daydream'. This is the followed by visuals of the female protagonist retaliating, and a change in personality can be seen.
What is particularly interesting is the use of an apple, which can have a religious meaning, of Adam and Eve and the garden of Eden. Eve was able to control Adam into eating the apple, which shows a kind of dominance over him. In terms of this video, the female is seen using an apple to control the male protagonist. As she bites into an apple, he spits it out. This shows how she has some control over him based on her craziness.