Carol Vernallis' music theory

1. Carol Vernalli’s Music Video
theory
ALICE CULHAM

2. Carol Vernallis: The Kindest Cut – Functions and
Meanings of Music Video Editing; 2001
 Vernallis’ theory centres around 4 key concepts that all relate
to the way the music video is constructed. They are:
 Narrative
 Editing
 Camera Movement and framing
 Diegesis

3. Narrative
 The video is a visual response to the music and what is happening onscreen will reflect the
lyrics.
 There is not necessarily a balance between narrative and performance
 The narrative is not always complete – it may be a partial, fragmented narrative and so the
structure of the video may appear disjointed
 There may not always be a clear resolution (closure) at the end
 The video may pose questions that it doesn’t actually answer
 There may be a narrative or theme running through the video, but in a montage style rather
than in one continuous sequence.

4. Editing
 All music videos follow the same editing techniques – jump cuts, cutting with
the lyrics, graphic matches, changes in pace.
 Editing may match the musical phrases or the beat
 The video may break or disrupt many of the ‘rules’ of continuity editing – this
is a clear convention of music video editing.
 Editing may become ‘foregrounded – the edits will be obvious, to draw
attention to themselves as opposed to invisible, continuity editing. For
example, you may see: jump cuts, breaks of the 180 degree rule, cutting
within the lyrics, stylised edits or cuts, extreme jumps in time and space,
extreme changes in pace, a style of editing that runs through the video and is
distinctive to that video.

5. Camera movement and framing
 When it comes to shot types, extremes are very common such as establishing
shots and close-ups.
 The style of framing and movement may run through the video and is distinctive
to that video.
 The camera may move in time with the music.
 The camera may move on the lyrics.
 The master shot (or other establishing shots) is used frequently, as are close-ups in
order to give the video meaning and structure.

6. Diegesis
 The diegesis may be revealed quite slowly.
 Actions are not necessarily completed – they may be disrupted or
interrupted in some way (through the structure of the narrative) so there
may be gaps in the audience’s understanding of the diegesis – in time and
space, music, performance and narrative.
 There are repetitions throughout the video of particular elements.