Narrative Theory Work!

In our music video (from the Ritz to the Rubble) we used several of Levis Strauss’ binary oppositions. We used these to show the contrast in characters between the young lad (Angus) and the hardened bouncer (Declan). These oppositions show how Angus’ life is full of fun and laughs, whereas Declan is bullied by his wife and takes out his anger on other people. The first of our oppositions was used when there is a close up of Declan’s face in the mirror looking very serious and angry, it cuts straight to a shot of Angus in the mirror looking like he’s really enjoying himself and having a laugh. They are both getting ready but with different aspects. There are several more of these binary oppositions in our video. Another of these is where Declan is walking down the street with a close up of his face, and then it cuts to a close up of Angus walking down the street with a huge smile on his face. Overall, the whole of our video is a binary opposition due to the fact that Declans relationship is a hardened one which clearly isn’t ignored, whereas, Angus loves his life as a one night stand stud.
We also use Andrew Goodwins theory of matching the video with the lyrics and also the pace and mood of the music. The song tells the story of a night out and a bouncer, who seems angry, then turns the person away from the club. Our video shows the story of two lives, the bouncer, and the lad going on a night out. We use very fast cuts in our video, to match the pace of the song. We use a lot of close ups on the band members, mainly the lead singer to emphasise his position. We use an equal amount of band performance and narrative in our video to match Goodwins theory.