theorist to use for analysing your music video

1. CAROL VERNALLIS
SUMMARY OF CAROL VERNALLIS music
video theorist
From her academic work „The Kindest Cut‟
Her ideas include:
difference in film/MV editing
role of editing in narrative, meaning and
continuity
how image and sound are synchronised
(through editing)
how close ups and images of star work in
MV
how editing reflects the music

2. Overview
Continuity editing:
Broken edits to draw attention to the screen and what is happening.
Edits:
Allowed to draw attention to themselves deliberately to be
interesting e.g. special effects and wipes.
Jump cuts:
Used a lot to speed things up - Songs are usually only around 2-4
minutes!
Master shot:
Also known as the base track, gives the video structure.
Camera:
Usually moves in time with the music to give more rhythm.

3. Editing
• The simple system for MV editing cuts to the
beat but it can be more subtle and vary to/from
this – its prime purpose is to reflect the experiential
properties of sound.
 Actions are rarely completed and stories
suggested but not given in full
 The camera movement can produce the illusion
of an edit where there hasn’t been one.

4. Types of camera shot
 Certain
edits and visual elements can mimic the
movement of sound – the MAIN edits and
framings for this are:
 EXTREME HIGH AND LOW ANGLE SHOTS
 CANTED OR TILTED SHOTS
 LONG TRACKING SHOTS
 UNUSUAL PANS & TILTS
 LIVELY FEATURES IN FRAME (such as glittery
surfaces or rippling light)

5. Editing function
Editing function can shift rapidly:
 Foregrounding musical structure
 Showcasing star
 Reflecting experiential features of sound
 To convey meaning
 To create aesthetically pleasing visual strands in its
own right

6. Image of the artist
• CV states that at the moment of the stars’ breaking of
the fourth wall, we no longer view the face and body
as an object.
• The singer is mostly at the front and centre of the
frame but other parts of the body can have equal
weight/significance.
• The most common camera position in MV is below the
subject and to one side.
 Often the flow of images is too rich or quick for us to
‘acknowledge’ or ‘make sense of’ so a Close Up gives
us something we can focus on or remember

7. Do you agree?
“Music Videos break down visual, lyrical
and musical elements to the smallest
constituent parts – a prop, a colour, a
gesture, a few words, an intriguing riff”