50 Shades of Narrative:

In order to attain more knowledge about linear and non-linear narratives I "attempted" to create my own, using the song "Fast Car" by Tracy Chapman, as the lyrics follow a clear story line which could be used as the basis for a linear narrative which uses Todorov's Theory.

My own narrative, based on the lyrics, follows the story of a check-out girl working in a busy city with family issues concerning her fathers alcoholism and mother leaving. She then meets a man, who she moves in with and has children with. However, her relationship begins to deteriorate as her partner goes out drinking, is jobless and leaves her at home with the children. The narrative ends with him leaving her, and she continues to live as a check out girl.

SHOT BY SHOT ANALYSIS:

0:00 - 0:20: 

I used an animation of the song title and artists name being drawn on to a cloudy grey background, this was essentially to build a sense of atmosphere, through the dank background and sketchy writing (which suggests elements of frustration and anger). This plays no part in terms of narrative but mainly to fill in the large instrumental gap.

0:20 - 0:50:

The first verse was difficult to fit to a narrative so used it as an opportunity to establish a location through still and moving images, a busy city of people, to show how the days drag by and suggest a mediocre and necessary lifestyle 

0:50-0:60: 

This was a range of shots which I tried to use to tell the story of a young girl who see's a car parked across the street from where she works ("You got a fast car"), I used a video of a girl gazing out a window, this was to suggest she was looking out of the convenience store window, imagining a better life as she looks at this car. Multiple shots were used to show her daily activities at the convenience store where she works. 

1:00-1:15: 

The shot of the girl smiling was supposed to imply she was smiling at the driver of the car as if agreeing to join him, this was followed by still images of the couple crossing a bridge into a city and both sat in the car with each other. I then used multiple shots to suggest the couple are both looking for new jobs for their new life, shown by them smiling and kissing and being playful on the couch.

1:15-1:25: 

Although this is not typical of linear narratives, I used a flashback so there was a connection between the lyrics and visuals. The first clip is supposed to be of him and his daughter at a happier time, the images then begin to show how her father changed, how he began to drink and her trying to convince him its bad for him.

1:25-1:40: 

YES I AM GUILTY OF USING FOOTAGE FROM THE SPIDERMAN TRAILER! The next selection of footage worked really well with the next verse, it showed (lets pretend its a..) her mother leaving and as a child speaking with her father. 

1:45-2:00: 

This selection of clips show the man and woman talking in a cafe, as if considering the prospects of being together, the girl smiling was supposed to be her agreeing to making a commitment to him.

2:00-2:24: 

I wasn't sure how to tackle the chorus for a linear piece, so I used the lyrics literally but also to show the two characters' relationship improving. I have clips of them driving away, leaving their old lives and celebrating this on the road. Mixed in with video clips of couples laughing and being together.

2:35-2:50:

This section shows the ups and downs of their relationship and follows the lyrics. It shows the males attempts to find a job and how the girl is still working as a check-out girl. But then also shows them looking to buy a house together.

3:00-3:20: 

The chorus again. I used the same structure for the second chorus however replaced the clips to show that together they were still happy.

3:30-3:50: 

Begins to show their relationship declining, as the female is forced to put all her earning into paying the bills and her partner leaves her and her children to go drinking, much like her father. There are multiple shots which show them arguing as their relationship worsens.

4:00-4:25:

This is the final chorus and I used a different structure, showing the couple argue and the female leaving, interrupted by her crying because of the break up.

4:25-End:

This is a shot of the original city, going from day to night, suggesting that she has returned to her normal mediocre lifestyle.

NEW NARRATIVE
 

I reconstructed a new narrative for Tracy Chapmans song "Fast Car", above is an example of a non-linear narrative. The video starts with what is actually the middle section of the narrative. It shows a couple arguing and their relationship deterriorating. The the narrative moves backwards to show their relationship blossoming, them as a couple laughing and happy. The narrative then moves on to show how their relationship deterriorated, why they argued in the beginning, this is revealed by how the male partner goes to the pub and the couple are unable to pay bills or find jobs. The narrative then repeats the beginning section of the music video and reveals the rest of the narrative, showing the couple leaving each other and then confronting each other to "chat" about things. The music video ends showing the female character happy again.

This is a typical example of a non-linear narrative, as non-linear music videos tend to show the end of the narrative at the beginning, in order to make the audience believe one thing and then reveal another, surprising audiences. The non-linear narrative doesn't follow the song, however is influenced by the lyrics, unlike my first Shot by Shot analysis, there was a clear link between visuals and lyrics, although this link is still their it isn't as clear in a non-linear music video.