Narrative Structure

The narrative structure to my music video for the song Tidal Wave is closed in its structure. The main feature of a closed structure is that it has a satisfactory ending in which the narrative is tied up and finished without any major overhanging questions. The ending to my music video features the protagonist and heroine walking off together with the mask which was limiting them from being with each other, like they are in the bedside photo and flashback, being discarded at the top of the carpark. This is a satisfactory ending. My narrative is also linear, most linear stories don’t feature flashbacks, however mine only contains a couple of these which are used to establish the relationship between the two characters.

My video features two character types, a protagonist and a heroine. The protagonist who was played by myself, is the focus of the narrative in that it is centred on his pursuit of the heroine, who was played by Katy. The heroine also acts as a MacGuffin as she is a plot device who is a form of a motivator for the protagonist to pursue. There is little explanation given to the viewer on why she is important, yet she continues to drive the story forward. It could be argued that the mask is also a MacGuffin as that is an object that the protagonist also pursues as he wasn’t to find out who is underneath it, it also left at various locations to inspire the protagonist to continue his journey which eventually culminates in him finally catching the heroine.

Flashbacks and foreshadowing are used in my video to establish the character’s relationship. The first flashbacks show the heroine putting the mask on. This in unison with the picture of the two characters on the bedside table show the viewer that they know each other and that the protagonist isn’t just pursuing some random masked girl for the sake of it. The last flashback of the video is of the characters standing next to each other, the shot cuts, it returns to the two with the protagonist looking frustrated at the heroine. The shot cuts again and then back to the scene with the protagonist standing alone. This represents how the protagonist lost his love through his anger and connotes on how love is full of obstacles that must be overcome for there to be a happily ever after. The photo on the bedside shows how the characters had a good relationship before this moment, making the viewers happy when they finally reunite and rekindle their love. Flashbacks are often used to show personal growth or the loss of something, mine are used to do exactly with this, the loss of love between the two characters and then eventually the growth of their love.

Todorov has the most famous theory when it comes to describing narratives of medias. His theory on equilibriums has 3 distinct stages, which is partnered with a 5 stages of how the narrative progresses. His theory states; that a media text begins with a “state of equilibrium”. This means that everything appears to be balance and calm (the bedroom scene before the protagonist drinks the spiked drink). This is followed by a disruption, also known as a disequilibrium (protagonist drinking spiked drink and waking up at the market whilst tripping). Finally, a new equilibrium is produced by the end of the narrative by a character overcoming the disturbance and restoring the balance (protagonist and heroine reuniting and walking off in unison). From this it is easy to see that my narrative follows this structure. The stages and how they fit into my narrative are, the equilibrium is shown in detail so that the disruption is obvious (seen through the extended bedroom scene where everything is normal until the drug is taken). There is a disruption to this (the beginning of the trip, seen especially through the effects placed on the protagonist. There is then a recognition that a disruption has occurred (protagonist looking down at his hands in the market and saying “What the f***”). This is followed by an attempt to restore balance and repair the damage that was caused by the disruption (the protagonist following the heroine to try and discover what has happened). And finally a new equilibrium is achieved (the restoration of balance with the two characters being reunited and the protagonist finally gaining control again and no longer tripping)