Music Video Theorists- Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin

Today in class we started to look at the theorist that related to the producing of music videos. The first theorist that we looked at in detail was Andrew Goodwin.

He said that there are 6 key conventions that can be applied when looking at music videos. He also said there were these conventions because music video's primary purpose is to advertise the song rather than tell a story, which would suggest why the narrative of the music does not necessarily have to be complete or make sense. This however enables the audience and consumers to make up their own meanings in their mins as to what the video means.
The 6 Key Conventions were:

Amy Winehouse and her iconic look

1. Narrative and Performance with Iconography-  He believe that you should avoid common narrative as their role is to advertise rather than tell a story. The base of the video can be influenced by the genre so a rock band artist is more likely to be performance based and portray across the idea of a concert/ gig. Also in order to make the performance in the video show verisimilitude and convince the audience, lip-syncing along with other actions should be completed. However some artists create a trademark action which makes their videos and music recognizable due to the reoccurring nature of it. This creates a marketing strategy which will be remembered for years to come. For example in Amy Winehouse had a trademark action through the iconography of her look with the big beehive hair and thick, winged eyeliner that she is still remembered for even after her death. This look is shown throughout nearly all of her music videos, but is particularly prominent in 'Back to Black':
2. Thought Beats- This is the idea that you see sound. An example of this is seeing an artist with a really unique voice singing, e.g. Ellie Goulding or the cuts which take place in the video fit with the beat of the song. The visual thought beats are often repeated with the chorus to emphasise the lyrics and beat. One particular Ellie Goulding video where this is shown is in 'Starry Eyed', not only because her voice so iconic, but because the editing especially in the chorus matches the the climax beat drops with the lyric 'oh':
   

   

   Rihanna is often sexualised in her videos

3. The Star Image- This very important in music videos because by creating star image it can increase the audience's awareness of the artist and can therefore show a development of the artist over time. This is completed through lots of close up shots of the artist or main vocalist, this occurs quite often in pop videos, particularly in female pop artist videos as it sexualizes them to create the male gaze. A music video that shows this well is Beyonce's video 'Hold Up' which went with 'Lemonade'. This is because nearly all of the shot are of her or a close up of her and her actions. Also they have her in a bright yellow outfit therefore making her stand out, making her the star:
4. Voyeurism- These use of close up shots, particularly in female videos, links to this convention. This is because Goodwin found that many female videos use voyeuristic angles to entice the male audience, therefore sexualizing the artist and this influences their (star) image that is remembered. Artists that create this sexual view of themselves within their star image include Rihanna, Brittany Spears and now Miley Cyrus. As mentioned before this is incorperated a lot into Miley Cyrus' videos and especially became known for this after 'We Can't Stop' with her infamous twerking:
5. Relation of Visuals to the Song- There are three ways a video can promote a song:
1. Illustrate- This is where the image on the screen shows what the lyrics say.
2. Amplify- This where you manipulate or put emphasis the images in the video showing the lyrics, this helps the audience gain their own meaning.



A shot from The Writing's on the Wall in the same setting as
a scene from Spectre

3. Disjuncture/ Contradict- Where the feel of the song and the lyrics contrast with what is being shown in the visuals.
6. Inter-textual References- It is not unusual to recognise the visuals or lyrics from other types of media text. This could either be for humour or media convergence and synergy. An example of this is with The Writing's on the Wall and Spectre so parts of the film are included in the music video. with some of the shots being in the same setting as the film. They use the most iconic settings in the film for the music video to make sure that the audience definitely makes the connection between the two. This is 'The Writing's on the Wall' music video to show this: