Music video analysis oor

1. Music Video Analysis
Using Andrew Goodwin’s Theory

2. Andrew Goodwin
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for
lots of close ups of the artist, the artist can develop motifs
which recur across their work
5. There is a frequent reference to notion of looking and
particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body
6. There is often intertextual references

3. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
The music video for One Ok Rock’s song The Beginning shows many genre
characteristics and conventions that are seen in other music videos. This can be
seen by the fact that it involves both a live performance and a narrative element
as well which is a common element in nearly all music videos of this genre and
includes subtle links between the two parts (like matching camera angles or
actions). It follows the convention of keeping the two parts separate and only
including a few links between the two parts which we can see in a lot of music
videos in the rock genre.
The video sticks to darker colours with little light for the live performance which is
a common characteristic of the genre, especially with having the lead in a light
outfit to help them stand out against the background. You can see in many music
videos for the rock genre that the setting/location for the live performance is
generally very dark and the lead will be wearing lighter colours to allow them to
be seen clearly in the video. This video is no different with the lead wearing a
white shirt with a dark, near black background so in the way of colours, the video
has clearly stuck with the conventions of the genre.
Another convention of the rock genre though is voyeuristic treatment of women
in the music videos, which can be seen in many different music videos for the
genre. However this is rarely done in the video which means that it has gone
against the conventions of a rock video. By doing this though, it does make the
video stand out more and shows the band in a different light to bands who
include it a lot in their videos.
One characteristic that it does not follow though is to have the band appearing in
the narrative and be singing along with the lyrics of the song. The band being in
the narrative is something which you can see in nearly all music videos of any
genre however, this video does not include it which helps the audience be able to
concentrate on the storyline of the song and the video without feeling the need
to watch the band all of the time.

4. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals on the screen throughout the
duration of the music video. However, due to the lyrics having both English and Japanese
in them, it may not be obvious that there is a relationship in the beginning, as well as
some of the visuals relating to the lyrics but not necessarily as they are being sang. This is
a very different way of doing the visuals for a music video as most have the narrative to
follow the lyrics through the song so that the visuals correspond with what is being sang.
Where as, in this video, though the visuals do follow along with the song, they do not
always correspond with the current lyrics being sang and, though this is a different way
of doing it, it works well in this video as the narrative elements do not have anyone
singing inside them so it does not confuse the audience.
The lyrics of the song give the meaning of a man who was in love with a woman and he
gave her his heart but they eventually broke apart and the song goes over the story of
him giving her his heart and her taking it and leaving him after. The visuals of the song
help to represent what is happening in the song very well by having a representation of a
heart which he gives to the woman, as well as certain actions to help represent the lyrics.
It is mainly the story which is shown through the visuals though as opposed to actually
following the lyrics which is a different way to go about making a music video as the
general convention is to have the visuals follow along with the lyrics instead of showing a
story relating to the lyrics.
Some of the lyrics in the song – just before the chorus come in – flash up on the screen
whilst the video is still playing through. It is shown on both the live performance and in
the narrative which helps to show the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals in a
very literal way. Where most music videos show the relationship purely through the
visuals, they have done it by having the lyrics showing on the screen. By doing this, it
encourages the relationship between the two without having to show a specific scene to
illustrate the point. However, another reason for this being done could be because of the
original audience. The lyrics may have been put up on the screen to appeal to a Western
audience by including the English words and phrases and by putting them clearly in the
video. They could have also been put on there to appeal to the Japanese audience due to
English being a very “cool” language to know and many products and companies include
English to appeal to a younger audience. So, by including English lyrics on the screen it
also appeals to their audience as well as linking the lyrics and the visuals together.
(Original Japanese lyrics) Fureri wo fukunda
senkougankou wa kankakiteki shoudou
(English translation) The selecting glint in your eye that
holds sadness is nearly a sense of urge, right?
Just give me a reason
To keep my heart beating
Don’t worry it’s safe right here in my arms

5. There is a relationship between music and visuals
There is a strong relationship between the music and the visuals through the editing done in the video. The cuts in the video are nearly always done on
the beat of the music or, on occasion, every other beat. The way that they are edited though is in a slightly rough or jumpy fashion which is common in
this genre of music video as it makes it less polished and gives it more of a natural feel. Where as, music videos of other genres (like pop) have a more
polished feel and all of the edits run smoothly together instead of cutting quickly from one scene to another like in this music video and in this genre.
This is also a common factor in a lot of their other videos which gives the audience a distinct feel to their videos and will relate the style of editing to the
band.
0:35-0:36
0:35 0:36 – 0:37
This shows were one section of editing on the beat was done. The edits were done on the beat between 0:35 – 0:37 with four cuts between on each of
the four beats. Each of the cuts were a match cut around the drummer which is a clever way to show a relationship between the music and the visuals
as the drummer is the one who keeps the beat throughout the duration of the video so, by using match cuts around him on the beat it creates a very
interesting effect. It creates a very strong relationship between the two and encourages the idea of the drummer keeping the beat to the audience and
as though he is the one who is controlling where the cuts are made in the video.
These are the match cuts done on each of the beats stated above:
0:35 0:36 0:37

6. The demands of the record label will include the need
for lots of close ups of the artist
The video opens with an extreme close up of the lead singer of the band with half of his
face covered in shadows and with his eyes closed. This automatically shows you that he is
the lead of the band and encourages the audience to recognise him as such. The shot
then goes to show him opening his eyes at which point the song begins. By doing this, it
allows the band to create an atmosphere for the music video before it starts. This is
commonly done in music videos as it gives the impression of the song being more
personal due to the closeness of the artist and shows people who are unfamiliar with the
band that they are the lead of the band as well.
During the narrative sequences throughout the video, many close ups are used of the
two people in them. As they are the ones who are telling the story of the song, it makes
sense to include lots of close ups to show the emotion of what is taking place. Also, the
male in the narrative makes eye contact with the camera a lot more than the female
does, this could be done to show that the narrative is being done from his perspective
and to make the audience sympathise with what is happening to him. Where as, the
female nearly never makes eye contact with the camera and is generally looking down or
out of the frame or the close up is of her mouth/lips. By doing this, it creates an image in
the audiences head as to what she is like as this could represent many different things. It
could suggest that she is shy, secretive, feminine, mysterious or untrustworthy.
Throughout the rest of the video, close ups are used on all members of the band and on
some of the actors during the small narrative scenes. This means that, if someone
watching is a big fan of another member of the band, they still get to see them clearly
rather than only showing the lead. It also helps to represent the emotions given out
during the song as the close up focuses in on that one member to show how the song
makes them feel. This gives the video a much more personal feel, and makes the
audience feel closer to the band as well.
A close up of the lead singers mouth is used at the beginning of the song as well which
reinforces the idea of making the song feel more personal towards the audience and it
also makes you pay more attention to the lyrics as you are completely focused on him
singing. This is a common convention of many different genres of music videos but it is
used for the same reasons in each genre, to put the focus on the lead and emphasise the
lyrics to the audience.

7. Instruments and motifs
During the video, many of the close ups are of the instruments the band are
playing, not just the members. This is a convention which is heavily used a lot in
the rock genre of music videos, this is because, people who listen to the rock
genre are more likely to be interested in; the “rock lifestyle”; playing instruments
and wanting to get the same/similar instruments as their favourite band member.
One Ok Rock cater to this interest by including so many close ups of the
instruments and them being played.
It also makes the video more interesting and engaging to watch as, instead of only
showing the band members and the actors, you get different shots of them
playing the instruments – like pressing the foot pedal on the drum kit, playing
guitar/bass, drumsticks about to play drums.
The shots that it is done with gives a lot of shadows as well which not only adds
to the conventions used in the genre (dark settings, little light except to highlight
band members) and helps to create a different effect when looking at it. This
effect gives a more mysterious and dark atmosphere to the video when the band
is performing which stick to the conventions of the genre. The mysterious feel
that is shown in the video works well with the narrative in the ways that you
could interrupt the woman's actions as well which helps to tie in the two parts of
the video in a creative way. However, the narrative is done in a much lighter
atmosphere so contradicts with not only the as live performance but also the
genre of the band.
A motif which is commonly seen throughout all One Ok Rock videos is the lead
singer pulling the microphone wire in a wide circle around him and other actions
being performed with it. This is seen multiple times in this music video and many
other music videos that they have done as well as when they are performing up
on stage. By doing this, fans recognise this and expect it when they are
performing and will associate it with them whenever they see it being done. It
also creates something that represents the band and the lead singer and gives
the image of them being an energetic and lively band which go with the generic
rock lifestyle.

8. There is a frequent reference to the notion
of looking
The notion to looking is shown through a range of different shots, of the narrative
actors, to show an event through their perspective or to create a setting for the
narrative. Though there is not anything to do with looking through something –
like a window – a lot of close ups and shots from behind people used to give the
impression of them looking at something or to show us the scene from their
perspective.
One scene uses an extreme close up of the man’s eyes and another shot of the
girl’s eyes at different parts of the video. This could give the impression of the two
of them looking for one another as opposed to at each other, as the camerawork
is the same for each of them to give them a more connected feel. It also helps to
emphasise that there is a connection between the two by having very similar
camerawork used on the two of them. This also links in with the opening of the
video where there is an extreme close up of the lead singers eye which helps to
bring the two separate parts of the music video together. Bringing the two
together is something which is rarely done clearly in music videos and is generally
done subtly to help the video follow better and link together more rather than
making the audience feel like they are watching two separate things happening
without taking away from the separate elements of the video.
Another scene which references the notion of looking is showing the two
standing alone on a beach looking out at the scene which has again been used to
show the relationship between the two in the narrative. It shows you something
from their perspective as well which helps to
involve the audience more in what is
happening. The perspective of the girl is
shown a lot towards the end where she is
looking at the man and most of these are
done with an over the shoulder shot to give
the impression of looking at the events
through her eyes as opposed to the
audience watching from outside of the
events.

9. Voyeuristic treatment of the female
body
During the video, there is only one female feature throughout the
entirety of the video. Though she is the only female featured in the
video, there is not a lot of voyeuristic treatment of her. The outfit
she is wearing is a very casual outfit consisting of a cardigan, vest
top and jeans so there is little chance to have any voyeuristic
treatment of her when looking at her. Her top is relatively low cut
but only one shot shows that off and it is only for a brief moment
with a high angle shot, it is only for a short amount of time and is
still not as bold as other videos make it out to be.
One of the main ways that voyeuristic treatment is used though is
through close ups of her face and body and, though done in a very
tasteful way and involves very little voyeuristic treatment of her
body, makes it obvious that she is the one to be desired in this
video. The close ups include her lips, eyes and hands which,
though would be considered very moderate treatment, there is
the cultural difference between Western viewers and the audience
it was designed for (which is the Japanese) where this would be
considered voyeuristic due to the cultural differences.
There is very little voyeuristic treatment of the female body in this
video which goes against the conventions for this genre of music
video as a large amount of videos of this genre use it a lot in
videos. However, this may not have been a conscious choice but
rather because of the initial intended audience being a Japanese
audience who would not expect voyeuristic treatment of the
female body in most music videos.