The kindest cut: functions and meanings of music video editing

Vernallis, Carol

doi:10.1093/screen/42.1.21

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…Editing creates another rhythmic voice (Vernallis 2001) and bears much of the brunt of describing Bowie's emotional state. It also functions musically, underscoring the rhythmic arrangement, the slow tempo of the song, its phrasing and the sweeping melodic phrases.…”

Section: Cinematic Codes: Editing Color and Lightingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A typical music video places the singer in front and in the centre. According to Vernallis (2001), when the singer is placed in the centre of the frame this suggests stability, importance and clarity (28). Nevertheless, in ★ Bowie is generally located at the periphery of the shot.…”

Section: Cinematic Codes: Editing Color and Lightingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Color is a semiotic mode which is multifunctional and culturally located in the making of signs (Kress & Van Leeuwen 2002). Color, in general, is also used in a music video to evoke emotions and create moods; illuminate musical changes in song structure; to reflect musical elements such as texture and timbre; to draw attention to the materiality of the music; and to construct meanings (Vernallis 2004;Goodwin 1992, 64-65) (pic. 5) (pic.…”

Section: Cinematic Codes: Editing Color and Lightingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, we adopt a quasi-semiotic approach considering ★ as a text which can be investigated through its codes and signs. Our interdisciplinary tools derive from visual semiotics and audiovisual analysis models (Barthes 1977;Goodwin 1992;Vernallis 2001Vernallis , 2004. We also take into consideration Bowie's musical-artistic and personal history, being aware that the mysteries of mortality and death tended to permeate his career and creative thinking (Stark 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Signs of Mortality in David Bowie’s “Black Star” Video Clip [★]

Kokkidou¹,

Paschali²

2017

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Macedonia "Black Star" music video was released two days before Bowie's death (January 8, 2016). It bears various implications of dying and the notion of mortality is both literal and metaphorical. It is highly autobiographical and serves as a theatrical stage for Bowie to act both as a music performer and as a self-conscious human being. In this paper, we discuss the signs of mortality in Bowie's "Black Star" music video-clip. We focus on video's cinematic techniques and codes (editing, mise-en-scène), on its motivic elements and on its narrative in relation with music, lyrics, characters, and gestures. We also discuss the video's intertextual references and the broader signification of the black star figure. We adopt a quasi-semiotic approach considering "Black Star" music video-clip as a text which can be investigated through its signs, codes, and conventions of the musical, visual, and cinematic languages as well. Our interdisciplinary tools derive from visual semiotics and audiovisual analysis models (Barthes 1977; Goodwin 1992; Vernallis 2001, 2004), without leaving outside Bowie's musical-artistic and personal history. As it turns out, Bowie created a video clip that is philosophical in nature and poetic in structure, preserving the role of protagonist. With the visuals creating a psychedelic atmosphere, the lyrics often are heard as a personal confession. They both generate cognitive and emotional responses that influence the way the viewers-listeners may experience, decompose, and interpret Bowie's artistic endeavor bridging life and death.

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Section: Cinematic Codes: Editing Color and Lightingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cinematic Codes: Editing Color and Lightingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Cinematic Codes: Editing Color and Lightingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Signs of Mortality in David Bowie’s “Black Star” Video Clip [★]

Kokkidou¹,

Paschali²

2017

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“…Not all concepts for music videos in the professional music video are originated for a particular track; many are born from ideas that the director has been nurturing for months or years, waiting for a suitable piece of music or artist. The creative contribution of editors in music video cannot be underestimated, although little has been written beyond a small number of publications referring to an 'MTV edit '. In her essay 'The Kindest Cut ', Carol Vernallis (2001) presents a grammar for music video editing and argues that edits in music video create meaning differently from their filmic counterparts. For Vernallis, editing in music video is different from mainstream Hollywood film editing because it is not a slave to a 'continuity editing' that preserves time and space in the service of a narrative.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%