Performance vs narrative

Some videos cross-cut between performance and narrative, whereas others focus on just one of the two.

The Verve - Bittersweet Symphony


This video is purely narrative with the lead singer lip-syncing. The rest of the band isn't there and there is no audience therefore it is not really a performance. The video consists of the main guy walking through the streets of a city. This could get boring after a while, however there are comic elements that keep viewers interested, such as the repeating motif of him bumping into people and not caring since he is in his own world. I really like this video because it is simple and doesn't distract from the music, which is the most important thing in a music video.


Radiohead - Just

This video is very creative, and cross-cuts between the band performing in a hotel room, and a man on the street who lies down for no apparent reason. This video is unusual because it has subtitles to show the audience what the man and the people on the street are saying. It cleverly keeps the viewer watching until the end because, like the passers-by, they want to know why the man is lying in the street. Just as the song is climaxing, he tells them, but there are no subtitles so the viewer never finds out why the man is lying there. The next shot, after the man tells them, shows all the people doing the same thing on the pavement, which is funny to the audience because we still don't know what he said. I really like this weird, creative video, and I think it represents the band well.

The Killers - Mr Brightside

This video is mostly performance, which is rare. To make it interesting, different effects are used such as negative, grayscale, and yellow tints.

This is another video of the song, however it is mostly narrative. Perhaps the record company chose to do both to appeal to all audiences, but they could have just cross-cut...