Sven E Carlsson Theories
Sven E Carlsson's theory is that binary oppositions drive the narration of the music video forward, e.g black and white theme. Also that there are two main types of music video; performance and conceptual. Performance clips where the video mainly shows an artist (or artists) singing and/or dancing.
Conceptual clips are where something else is shown during the song's duration which may have symbolism or an artistic meaning. Performance Clip There are three main types of performance clip; song performance, dance performance and instrumental performance. A way of telling if a music video is a performance clip is that the artist is likely to be shown in more than one setting. In performance clips the artist (artists) can be used as a commercial exhibitionist. An example of this is Nichole Scherzinger's music video for 'Try With Me'. Here, Nichole has been used as a selling item who people would aspire to be like. High key lighting is used throughout and an elegant luxurious setting makes the video appear high quality throughout.
As the commerical exhibitionist Nicole wants success therefore evokes the charisma of stardom and sexuality. There are no backing dancers or special effects, all focus is on her and she is using suggestive body language in an elegant white (symbolic of purity and wealth) dress. Another type of performance clip is the electronic shaman, and an example of this is The Maccabee's music video Pelican. The artist is invisible and it is only their voice that anchor the visuals. The video has a unique video for it shows objects being split into two and also shows abstract shapes. The video is symbolic of looking into the world for it seems to be cut up, and then at the end the narrative reverses back to the beginning. This shows an artist approach to the band's music video whilst also showing a narrative.
A type of performance clip is also a telivised bard, and an example is Radiohead's music video Just. Here the group are shown performing, but they are not involved in the narrative shown. The artist is a singing storyteller, and uses on screen images instead of inner, personal images. There is a clear narrative in the music video, which illustrates the lyrics perfectly. The narrative is about curious people asking questions who end up getting themselves into a mess too, hence fitting the lyrics, 'you do it to yourself'.
