The Narrative

The narrative (or storyline) will be a distinct, vital element in our music video. Our group set out to accomplish a running theme which we believed:

(1) Would work well with our song choice i.e. have some relevance to the lyrics, genre, artist etc.
(2) Would allow us to create an enjoyable view for our audience,and in the process, be enjoyable for us to design, edit and produce.
(3) Would keep realistic screen imagery, yet overlap this concept with a narrative.

Therefore we began a series of discussions as to decide what we felt worked and 'felt right' for our ideas. Here are some of the ideas that were put across by us, and various others.
- Day trip out with some friends (male), catches the eye of a woman (and her group of her friends), sees her frequently around, gets chatting at the end.
- Two people (man and women) start walking in a straight line and do not stop for any obstacle, until they meet each other.
- Men and Women falling in love with each other - at first sight - in various different settings e.g. library, playground, shopping centre

In the end, we finally decided that our narrative would be:

'A man and women begin their normal day (living similar lives), they do every activity or event they usually do i.e. have lunch, get ready in the morning, before meeting together and falling in love at the end'

We believed that this was perfect for our song choice, 'Just The Way The Are'. Love and happiness are both important emotions to portray so this narrative should accomplish a positive representation. Furthermore, the fact that the two main characters do not know each other, yet live similar lives, adds an element of enthusiasm and pace; our aim is for the audience to almost be willing them to meet each other.

Consequently, our editing will play an essential part in creating a realistic and appealing video. We will vary our camera work (distances/angles/movement) to boost differentiation, and create a sequence of successive shots that presents a connection between the two characters. Depending on what we are able to do with the software (iMovie), we will also attempt to place shots next to each other on the screen, as to perceive a sense of parallel closeness.

At the present time, these are our initial ideas which we will develop and continue to add to. After we have finalised more, we shall blog them.

Posted by Drew Middleton.