Sven E Carlsson Theories

Sven E Carlsson's theory is that binary oppositions drive the narration of the music video forward, e.g black and white theme. Also that there are two main types of music video; performance and conceptual. Performance clips where the video mainly shows an artist (or artists) singing and/or dancing. Conceptual clips are where something else is shown during the song's duration which may have symbolism or an artistic meaning.

Performance Clip

There are three main types of performance clip; song performance, dance performance and instrumental performance. A way of telling if a music video is a performance clip is that the artist is likely to be shown in more than one setting.

In performance clips the artist (artists) can be used as a commercial exhibitionist. An example of this is Nichole Scherzinger's music video for 'Try With Me'. Here, Nichole has been used as a selling item who people would aspire to be like. High key lighting is used throughout and an elegant luxurious setting makes the video appear high quality throughout. As the commerical exhibitionist Nicole wants success therefore evokes the charisma of stardom and sexuality. There are no backing dancers or special effects, all focus is on her and she is using suggestive body language in an elegant white (symbolic of purity and wealth) dress.

Another type of performance clip is the electronic shaman, and an example of this is The Maccabee's music video Pelican. The artist is invisible and it is only their voice that anchor the visuals. The video has a unique video for it shows objects being split into two and also shows abstract shapes. The video is symbolic of looking into the world for it seems to be cut up, and then at the end the narrative reverses back to the beginning. This shows an artist approach to the band's music video whilst also showing a narrative.




A type of performance clip is also a telivised bard, and an example is Radiohead's music video Just. Here the group are shown performing, but they are not involved in the narrative shown. The artist is a singing storyteller, and uses on screen images instead of inner, personal images. There is a clear narrative in the music video, which illustrates the lyrics perfectly. The narrative is about curious people asking questions who end up getting themselves into a mess too, hence fitting the lyrics, 'you do it to yourself'.

Narrative Clip

An example of a narrative clip in terms of Carlsson's theory is The A Team by Ed Sheeran. The music video is understood as a silent movie to a musical background hence it is a narrative clip. The story is easy to follow and contains no lip-synchronisation. The narrative in this video is about a women who's life is messed up and she sells love to men for money for drugs. The video is in mainly low key fitting the upsetting storyline.

Art Clip

An example of an art clip is Massive Attack's music video for Teardrop. The music video is very abstract with emerging shapes, focused around a baby in a womb. The artist is invisible and it is only their voice that anchor the visuals. The visuals switch between multiple shapes, and this is compliments the music of being an experimental genre. A variety of shots have been used such as extreme close ups followed by emerging darkness. There are visual binnary oppositions throughout such as high key then low key tone. There are also conceptual binnary oppositions throughout such as life (developing baby) and death (all black screen symbolising death). There is no perceptual visual narrative.