Carol Vernallis

She suggests that the jumping camera focus is like the camera in place of our eyes, doing what we do when we listen. However, this is predefined for us by the Director - we have even less choice to look away/outside of the Director's choice than we do in film - do you agree?
Yes I agree as the constant changing visuals in music video do make it very hard to create your own mental pictures because as the viewer there are too many images created by the director to concentrate on to let your mind wander. However, with some music videos there are more abstract shots which does allow the audience to look outside the director's choice. Therefore, with the longer shots of film and more abstract shots in more arty films it is possible to look outside the director's choice and create your own mental pictures, but it can also still be quite difficult.

She says music video is more like listening than viewing - do you agree?
No, I don't agree with this statement as music video can be just as much about the video as it is about the music. Many modern music videos reach almost 6-8 minutes long and are therefore about a narrative which the audience watch to enjoy just as much as they enjoy the music. The music video is also used to promote the band and therefore the audience see how the band want to promote themselves and the way they want to present their song and so we watch the music video to see this.

"We compensate imaginatively for what we do not see in the frame" - Agreed?
Yes, I agree as when we are presented with lots of short clips that may appear unrelated, in our minds we attempt to link the images and fill in the blanks, creating images in your mind.

The constant motion in a music video and the variances it shows mean that a strong CU is a stable point. The music video "brings us towards these peaks, holds us against them, and then releases us" - do you agree?
Yes, I agree as the "beauty shot" is a stable point constantly reinforced throughout the music video to provide familiarity with the artist/main band member which particularly promotes new bands.

Is the viewer "sutured (stitched) into the diegesis of the film world through the editing"?
Yes I would say the viewer is drawn into the digesis of the film through the editing because the editing creats the narrative and shows the audience shots in particular order creating particular meanings. Simply swapping just two shots around could completely change the meaning of the shots and therefore the editing finalises the narrative.

Music video is freer in terms of viewer identification and perspective - agreed?
This is true for the director as there are less conventions to follow in music video and the main convention of music video is to break conventions. However, the viewer has less freedom as they are being shot what the director wants them to see and the quick editing and quick shots mean you don't have time to create your own mental images and therefore don't question what you are seeing.

Carol Vernallis believes the image alone cannot tell the story - do you agree?
Yes I agree as out of the three elements of a music video: music, image and lyrics, the only one that is not essential for a music video is lyrics, but you can not make a music video without either music or image. Also, sometime the images are completely unrelated to the music or are opposites (contrapuntal) and if this was so then the viewer would not be able to understand the story fully.