The Carol Vernallis Theory (Secondary Research)

Carol Vernallis - The Kindest Cut: Functions and Meanings of Music Video Editing

Vernallis' music video theory is based around four key concepts revolving around the production of music videos.  These concepts are: Narrative, Editing, Camera Movement/Framing, and Diegesis.

Vernallis suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative, in other words, whatever is happening visually reflects the lyrics in the song. However, alternatively, Vernallis also goes on to say how the narrative may not always be completed, and can be partial with the video - therefore appearing disjointed and fragmented, and more often than not, the video and narrative will be displayed in a montage style, rather than one clear focus. If the video is left incomplete, it can lead to questions about the narrative which won't always be answered throughout the video. Without a completed narrative, the video will be driven by something else, whether it be the music itself or other elements. 

Music videos commonly break the conventions of continuity editing, which most other forms of film adhere to. For example, the editing may be brought to the foreground - becoming apparent, as oppose to the invisible style of continuity editing. Vernallis suggested that this may be a result of wanting to make the video unique in its design, rather than following a chronological order of events, as a majority of films do. Sometimes jump cuts are used, to speed up events. Videos will often have a distinctive style of editing that is consistent throughout; common styles highlighted by Vernallis include: Jump Cuts, Breaks of the 30º Rule, Cutting to the beat, juxtaposed frames, and graphic matches.

Vernallis also researched the uses of camera movements and framing. Establishing shots are one of the key features of a music video and are used frequently throughout; other key shots are medium and closeup shots, which establish the artist. The style of framing of the video will again be quite distinctive to the video, and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. A master shot, or base track is often used, specifically if there is a performance sequence involved, this provides a foundation for structure. The camera usually moves in time to the music and there is greater freedom between the transitions of shots, following no conventional order.

In terms of media, the diegesis is the setting of the music video. Vernallis explains howe the diegis will be revealed slowly, and the happenings in the video are not always completed, as they may be disrupted in some way. Repetition is also key throughout the music video, as some frames will appear more important than others due to the way they have been shot