One of the videos I admire is 'Everytime' by Britney Spears. As I am a Britney Spears fan myself, I have seen lots of her videos and many of them have a story and subtle messages behind them which I think makes it more personal for the viewer and also makes them feel closer to the artist by helping them to understand their side of the story. In 'Everytime' we constantly see Britney struggling with every day life in the spot light. Even as the video just begins, we see a billboard of the glamorous star which juxtaposes with who she really is and feels. Throughout the entire video, she is also wearing white which symbolises that she is the victim in this scenario. I think connotations like these can have a huge effect on the audience by making them look at the bigger picture. As we see the struggles she has to face, we begin to sympathise with star which goes along with the sad tone of the music - again, another clever way to tell the narrative. Towards the end we see her attempt to commit suicide. This is when shots of her running down a white hallway are shown (this was used to explain how she is 'running into the light'). When she is saved, she begins to run back and at the very end we see a new born baby... meaning with every life lost, a new life is welcomed to the world. From my point of view, this is different from most pop videos as it focuses on a more serious narrative instead of a performance.
This is another video I admire which is both performance and narrative based. I feel music videos that have a narrative approach are more personal for the viewer therefore these are the type of videos that tend to inspire me more. Again, this video ('Bring me to life' by Evanescence) is linked closely to the lyrics, describing a girl who needs to be saved which can have many different interpretations by the audience. The video generally has quite a dark theme which I believe makes it more intense for the audience. It appears that the main protagonist is dreaming about what her life may become if she continues this way. Footage of her walking/climbing on a high building continues to make the video more alarming and shocking. This makes the viewer feel sorry for her and in some ways they may want to help her. The band performing is incorporated within the video as they are seen through one of the windows of the building.When she is gazing through the glass window singing it is almost as if she is trying to reach something that is unreachable (she's been kept in the dark for so long, it's too late). The struggle when she is about to fall emphasises how desperate she is for her life to change. In some ways, when she falls it could be the realisation she has within her dream. This is a great music video to me because it expresses a message that can mean different things to many different people yet the video is still very powerful in the way it performs the lyrics to the viewer.
I also admire 'Because Of You' by Kelly Clarkson because of its emotive message about how a bad relationship between parents can lead you take on different decisions later in life. At the beginning, we see Kelly fighting with her partner/ the father of her child however before the situation gets out of hand, there is a manipulation of narrative time when the present is paused and Kelly returns to her past with her younger self to learn from the same mistakes her parents made long ago. As she walks backwards, it also emphasises how she is going back in time to remember what happened. When she looks in the mirror and sees herself as a young girl, the audience now know this her realising how she used to feel. After she goes through her traumatic past again, she knows she has to put things right to save her own family. This is when she goes back into the present and stops the fight between her and her partner so they can lead a happy family life and not go through the same things Kelly did as a child. Personally, I believe this video is very emotional and successful through the way it tells the story as we see it from Kelly's point of view therefore we have a greater understanding about the song's message.
