presentation on carol vernallis

1. THE KINDEST
CUT
CAROL VERNALLIS

2. OBSCURE
PATHS
VERNALLIS SAID THAT MUSIC VIDEOS USUALLY DO NOT HAVE
CLEAR PATHS MEANING WHATEVER IS HAPPENING ON THE
SCREEN DOESN'T HAVE TO FLOW. WHEREAS, IN A HOLLYWOOD
FILM EVERYTHING IS CLEAR AND THE AUDIENCE CAN FOLLOW
THE STORY WITHOUT A PROBLEM. THE VARIETY OF SHOTS USED
IN THE FIRST VERSE OF ARIANA GRANDE'S FOCUS, HIGHLIGHTS
THE OBSCURE PATH PRESENT IN THE VIDEO. IT DOESN'T FLOW
LIKE A FILM AND THEREFORE IT DRAWS US AWAY FROM THE
NARRATIVE AND THEREFORE FOREGROUNDS STRUCTURES LIKE
THE ARTIST.

3. ORDEROF SHOTS
THE ORDER OF SHOTS IN MUSIC VIDEO ARE UNCONVENTIONAL MEANING THAT THEY ARE NOT IN
ANY PARTICULAR ORDER, HOWEVER IN A HOLLYWOOD FILM THE SHOT ORDER WILL BE
CONVENTIONAL I.E THE FILM BEGINS WITH AN ESTABLISHING SHOT AND WILL THEN BE FOLLOWED
BY EITHER MID SHOTS OR CLOSE UPS.
FOR EXAMPLE, AT THE START OF FOCUS BY ARIANA GRANDE THERE ARE A RANGE OF SHOTS
TYPES OF HER, MID SHOT, CLOSE UP AND LONG SHOT. THEY ARE ALL TAKEN AT DIFFERENT
PLACES WHICH THEREFORE SHOW THEY ARE NOT IN ORDER AND DO NOT FLOW.

4. TIME SPACE, CHARACTER AND
NARRATIVE REVEALED
INCOMPLETELY
MUSIC VIDEOS ARE NOT NECESSARILY IN TIME MEANING
THAT EVENTS ARE NOT ALWAYS IN ORDER, SO THE VIEWER
DOESN'T KNOW WHEN THEY ACTUALLY OCCURRED. HOWEVER,
IN A HOLLYWOOD FILM THE EVENTS ARE IN ORDER AND
EVERYTHING FLOWS AS THE MOVIE PLAYS. IN FOCUS BY
ARIANA GRANDE THE VIDEO IS TAKEN IN SEVERAL LOCATION
AND WHEN THEY HAPPEN ARE UNKNOWN TO THE VIEWER.
FOR EXAMPLE IN THE CHORUS WHEN SHE SINGS 'FOCUS ON
ME' SHE IS SEEN DANCING IN A HALL AND AT THE START OF
THE SECOND VERSE WHICH BEGINS WITH 'I CAN TELL YOU'RE
CURIOUS' SHE APPEARS IN A CLOSED ROOM. THESE
THEREFORE SHOW TIME IS INCOMPLETE BECAUSE BOTH
SCENES HAPPEN AT DIFFERENT TIMES AND IT IS UNKNOWN.

5. DISCONTINUITY
IN MUSIC VIDEOS, DISCONTINUITY EDITING IS USED THEREFORE LOTS OF JUMP CUTS WILL BE USED.
AVOIDING CONTINUITY EDITING WILL DRAW THE VIEWER AWAY FROM THE NARRATIVE AND HELP THEM
FOCUS ON THE VIDEO. THIS IS IMPORTANT AS IT REINFORCES THE PURPOSE OF THE MUSIC VIDEO,
WHICH IS TO PROMOTE THE SONG AND THE ARTIST.
FOCUS BY ARIANA GRANDE IS AN EXAMPLE BECAUSE AT THE START THE CAMERA CONSTANTLY CUTS
BETWEEN SHOTS OF HER AND WHAT SHE IS HOLDING. FOR EXAMPLE THERE IS A CLOSE UP OF HER
LIPS, A MID SHOT OF HER BODY, A CLOSE UP OF HER EYES AND EYEBROWS AND A MID SHOT OF HER
PHONE. THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF JUMP CUTTING AS IT CUTS QUICKLY TO THE NEXT SHOT, THIS
THEREFORE SHOWS DISCONTINUITY AS IT DOES NOT FLOW LIKE A HOLLYWOOD FILM AND ALLOWS US
TO FOCUS ON THE VIDEO AND THE ARTIST.

6. THE NON-CONTINUOUS SHOTS IN MUSIC VIDEOS WILL BE
LINKED BY SINGLE FEATURES SUCH AS FIGURE, SHAPE,
COLOUR AND SETTING.
AN EXAMPLE OF THIS IN ARIANA GRANDE'S FOCUS IS
DURING THE FINAL CHORUS WHEN SHE SINGS 'JUST
COME AND GET IT, LET THEM SAY WHAT THEY SAY, THE
CAMERA CUTS BETWEEN TWO SCENES OF HER WHICH
EMPHASISES HER COSTUME AND THE COLOUR. THIS IS
BECAUSE IN ONE OF THE SHOTS SHE IS WEARING VERY
BRIGHT CLOTHES AND IS IN A ILLUMINATED ROOM, BUT
FOR THE OTHER SHOT SHE IS IN BLACK AND WHITE AND
IN A DULL GREY ROOM.
CONTINUITY
VISUAL HOOKS CREATE

7. PHANTASMAGORICAL
BODY
Focus by Ariana Grande also features shots of her body, therefore encouraging viewers
to piece together a phantasmagorical body. .This is a body made up in our mind of all the
shots of the bits of body we see'. A phantasmagorical body has been constructed from
this music video as there are several shots of different parts of Ariana Grande's body,
such as her full frame, her lips and legs. These all help to create a star persona.