Lesson Write Up - 2nd October

Barthes (1977)

• narrative works with 5 different codes
• the enigma code works to keep up setting problems or puzzles for the audience.

Tilley (1991)

• signified that gun belt shot in a western film signifies a shoot out.

Enigma Codes: codes that signifies a narrative action

Visual codes act as narrative cues -
e.g - boy meets girl narrative - the girl putting on make-up suggests she is making an effort to impress him

Claude Levi-Strauss (1958)

• ideas about narrative amount to the fact that he belived all stories poerated to clear binary opposites, e.g good and evil

Michael Shore (1984) - music videos as audio visual poetry

• music videos are -
• recycled styles
• surface without substance
• simulated experience
• information overload
• image & style scavengers

Weezer - Buddy Holly (1994)

• director - Spike Jonze
• based on Happy Days, a 1970's sit-com based in the 1950's
• the music video was filmed in the 90's, like a 70's show, but set in the 50's
• editing is familer to TV
• set in Arnolds ( an iconic location from the show)
• costume = 1950's prep
• mixing footage from orginal TV show with footage they filmed in the 1990's.
• Mary Tyler Moore - sitcom actress
• Buddy Holly - late 50's singer/songwriter
• boy and girl narrative - using media figures to tell the audience the story
• positioned by producers to make the ausdience see it how they want us to
• through costumes & mise-en-scene a reality is created within the media text
• format of sitcom 'to be continued'
• recreated the style of footage

Michael Shores thoery of recycled styles can be applied to this video because it used the idea of Happy Days.

Oasis - The Importance of Being Idle

• looks like the opening of a 50's/60's film
• in black and white
• compared to -

Saturday Night & Sunday Morning

• part of 'British Social Realism' films
• realistic in portrayal of the working class
• inside of a working factory
• in black and white
• binary opposites of a push bike and a motorbike
• terraced house street

Michael Shores therory of recycled styles can be applied to the Oasis video as they have used the idea of a social realism film.

Michael Shores Ideas Explained:

Surface Without Substance - the look of something is more important than what it means
Recycled Styles - styles from the past are being re-used (e.g Madonna in Vogue as Marilyn Monroe)
Information Overload - we can access history and culture at our fingertips (the internet)
Simulated Experience - Re-created something (e.g Weezer - Buddy Holly)
Ambivalence - we don't really care what artists are referncing in their videos as long as it looks good that is all we find important
Decadence - we want everything now - instant gratification
Instant Gratification - if we want to watch a music video we can go to YouTube and have access to thousands to watch instantly