Research into Goodiwns theory

GOODWINS THEORY

1 - Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals.
- Themes, mise-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song, to help to portray the message of the song.

2 - Relationship between the music and the visuals.

- The cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or effects to specific drum beats or notes.


3 - Music videos have genre characteristics

- Certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music, for example a girl bands/artists are expected to have dancers and close ups of the singers, whilst a Indi band are expected to have performance shots ofthe band and cut to a fast beat.


4 - Often due to the demands of the record label, artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos

- This allows the record label to promote a set image for the band, which will help target audiences empathise with the band.


5 - Emphasis on 'looking'
- The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men. This often means a voyeuristic view of, and an objectification, of women. The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera helping the audience connect with the artist.


6 - Intertexual references 

Music videos reference other forms of media, most commonly film, but can alos be television and other music videos. 

How to analyse music videos;
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we, the audience, should look out for;
- Thought beats – Where you ‘see’ in the sound
- Narrative and Performance
- The Star Image
- Relation of visuals to song
- Technical aspects of a music video
Narrative & Performance

Songs fail to give us the complete narrative.

We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song and then tend to make up our own idea of what is being told – An negotiated view of a text.
Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertiseing.
Music videos should coherent.  Narrative and performance work hand in hand its make it easier for the audience to watch over and over without loosing interest.
The artist acting as both narrator & participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.

‘Star Image’ The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. Meta narrative which is a big story that describes the development of the star over time, it has an important part to play in the music video production process.

Narrative based video: Uses moving image to tell a story throughout the video. It usually involves actors and is sometimes linked to the lyrical content of the song.

Performance based videos: Performance based videos often show the artist performing the song. This is often in a studio or live performance. 

A performance based will allow the audience to image that they themselves are watching the artist at the concert and therefore sells the experience to the audience. It also advertises the artist concert and makes the audience want to purchase a ticket. 

An example of a performance-based video is ‘Ego’ by Beyoncé where the entire video shows Beyoncé and two backing dancers performing a dance routine. 

Concept based music videos: These types of videos usually follow a random concept and have no storyline. A concept video tends to be fairly unusual or utilise a particular editing or filming technique.