Music Video: Carol Vernallis

The Kindest Cut (2001)

Carol Versallis' studies are similar to that written by Andrew Goodwin, however she describes the relationship/connection between the editing techniques and the music video. 'She found the main differences between the editing of music videos and Hollywood films is that; Music videos have a unconventional order of shots, it has sometimes obscure and incomplete pathways and the editing can take us away from narratives and reality' [5]

This can be divided into 4 sub-categories:

- Narrative

- Editing

- Camera Movement & Framing

- Diegesis

Narrative:

'Narratives in Music Videos are not always complete'

Versallis believes that most music videos are left in-complete, and that they rest primarily on audience interpretation; they often have subject or theme having an overall lead, but this doesn't necessarily mean it HAS to be the narrative (alternatively it could be the editing or music itself). She also says they are 'unbalanced' and some videos focus more on performance rather than narrative.

Heavily narrative based video; but is also left completely up to interpretation.

Editing:

'The rules of continuity editing are broken to draw attention to what is happening on screen'

She also states how post-editing is important to the overall video, and even how it can become the leading visual/element in the video. This challenges the classic style of continuative editing seen in that of Hollywood stylised films. Versallis summaries the 4 styles into:

- Jump Cuts

- Breaking the 30 Degree rule

- Cutting to the beat or vocals of the song

- Juxtaposed frames

 Jump Cuts and Multiple Cuts/Edits on the beat of the song & vocals

Camera Movement & Framing:

Establishing Shots and Close Ups of the subject(s) are the most frequently used shot types according to Vernallis. She also states the camera is similar to editing, in the sense it can change and/or move in time with the beat/vocals of the song. The Framing however is usually dependent on the genre of music; e.g. a 'breakup song' would most likely have a singular person either framed with just their face in shot, or possibly an extreme long shot.

Mixture of Close ups & Establishing/Long Shots used to focus on different people/groups.

Diegesis:
Definition - The World of Music Videos
This sub-category is similar to the Narrative; the actions within the video may be left un-finished. She puts emphasis on the fact that repetition of certain shots, frames or scenery will become more apparent and even more important than other shots. This is predominately done within post-editing, unlike the Camera Movement & Framing category.

Repetition of scenes like the bedroom and gas station.

Sources:
http://kechncbethanyheath.blogspot.com/2016/04/carol-vernallis-kindest-cuts-functions.html
https://prezi.com/be07wgg0j91d/carol-vernallis-the-kindest-cut-functions-and-meanings-of/
https://www.slideshare.net/ckehenman/carol-vernallis-the-kindest-cust
https://docslide.net/documents/carol-vernallis-the-kindest-cut-original-article.html
http://slides.com/scottygalloway/carol-vernallis/embed#/1