Pudding Bowl

I think that the narrative structure of Pudding Bowl is linear. I think the film follows this narrative as it has a beginning where we are introduced to the characters, first Ivy when she is cutting out the images of the celebrities, then her brother who is having to stay inside and is not allowed to go out even though his friends desperately want him to and finally the mother who is the reason the brother isn't allowed out as she is making their dinner. Next there is the middle where the events happen and the story builds - Ivy's brother putting the glue in her hair to create a distraction so he can go out and play with his friends and then the mother finding the glue in her hair and cutting her long hair off into a pudding bowl shaped cut. And finally the end where she applies lipstick and places a stocking on her head to make her feel like one of the celebrities she was admiring at the beginning and goes outside and imagines she is actually like of of those women she was cutting the images out of.

A theory that could be applied to this short film is Todorov's theory. This can be seen as at the beginning there is equilibrium and it seems to be just an average day for that family. Next there is a disruption to that equilibrium - the brother putting the glue in her hair and her having to have her long hair cut off, there is then the conflict of her trying to resolve her problem - which she does by putting on lipstick and a stocking on her head and pretending it is long hair and so there is a resolution to her problem. Finally, everything seems happy again and there is even a new equilibrium for her as instead of just admiring the celebrities she actually pretends to be like them.  

Narrative Theorists

• Vladimir Propp
• Roland Barthes
• Tzvetan Todorov
• Claude Levi-Strauss

Propp

8 Main Character types:
Hero (has a mission to complete)
Villain (tries to stop hero)
Princess (love interest)
Father (person with knowledge)
Dispatcher (sends hero off)
Donor (gives the hero something to help him)
Sidekick (the helper, not as handsome as the hero, usually there for comedy purposes too)
False hero (pretends to be good in order to trick the hero)

Todorov

Equilibrium (sets the scene)
Everyday life

Disruption (complication)
Something happens to alter the equilibrium

Conflict (climax)
Trying to solve the problem (seek resolution)

Resolution
Problem is sorted

New equilibrium (satisfactory end)
Back to normal (but never the same) a new normal

Barthes

(codes)

Action code - something the audience knows - doesn't need explaining
Enigma code - something hidden from the audience
Semantic code - something the audience recognise through connotations
Symbolic code - something that symbolises a more abstract concept
Cultural code - something that is read with understanding due to cultural awareness

Levi-Strauss 

Narrative as created by constant conflict

Binary opposites

e.g. Love/hate, good/bad

Narrative Structure

Linear Narrative:

Beginning                                              
(Audience introduced to characters and story)

Middle
(Events - story builds)

End
(Closure)

Circular Structure:

The narrative begins at the end (or middle of events) often the beginning with a climax. The audience are taking on a journey arriving back where they started.

Open Structure:

The audience are left to wonder what happens next and make sense of it themselves

Closed Structure:

Definite ending - clear conclusion for the audience

Todorov And Levi-Strauss

Todorov:

He suggested that stories begin with an equilibrium or status quo where any potentially opposing forces are in balance. This is disrupted by some event, setting in a chain, a series of events. Problems are solved so that order can be restored.

Levi-Strauss:

He identified binary opposition. This is the theory that two opposing characters are always featured.

For example good vs evil, hero vs coward.

He also suggested that one side of the pair seemed to be valued by society more than the other.

Music Videos: Analysis

Boyce Avenue - Find Me

• When the band is shown the main focus is on the lead singer 
• Happy, sweet and innocent 
• Close ups of instruments 
• Power ballad, indie
• Women - late teens, early 20's
• Women would want a relationship like the one in the video, romantic
• Performance 
• Linear narrative 
• Emotional - happy or sad
• Possibly aimed at strugglers, maybe mainstream   

Charlie Simpson - Parachutes 

• Narrative, concept and performance 
• Late teens - early 20's
• Women - who have been messed around by men
• Men - who have messed a woman around and regret it 
• People who are in solid relationships
• Mainstream, perhaps succeeder 

Social Identity Theory

People seek out messages in texts which supports, and validates, their social identity. Horward extended this in 1997. Selective choices in texts, especially media texts, were a form of social ID gratification.

Video Analysis: Using Andrew Goodwin's Method

Video: Coldplay - Every teardrop is a waterfall
Genre: Alternative

Genre characteristics:
The videos features a performance from the band and they are the only people featured - two aspects I have previously identified as typical characteristics of the genre

Relationship between the lyrics and visuals:
Some of the graffiti shown on the walls and flooring of the video is related to the lyrics (there are teardrops and water shown)

Close ups:
There are many close ups of the band - but mainly of the lead singer who is probably the most famous of the whole band - hence why there is more focus applied to him

Video: The Vaccines - If you wanna
Genre: Indie Rock

Genre characteristics:
For the entire duration of this video all that is featured is the bands performance of the song in a studio to what appears to be no audience

Relationships between the lyrics and visuals:
The lyrics are about him saying if the person he used to be with that if they want to come back to them then that's OK, but there is nothing in the video that links to what he is saying - unless perhaps he is supposed to be singing to the person the song is abut as he sings into the distance

Close ups:
There are any close ups of the band and the instruments they are playing

Audio Bullys - We Don't Care Music Video

We watched this video, without the sound, and thought it was a rap music video. We thought this because it was set in a run down area of London, some of the locations seen such as the pub are also typical of the area and the main character looks like a typical person from this area.

We thought that the people who would watch this video would aspire to be like the boy in the video and want to act like the way he acts etc as he seems confident and strong.

When the sound was put on we were not quite right with the genre. The vocal is still rap but the music is actually more of a dance song.