This document provides guidance for analyzing music videos using 7 key ideas identified by Andrew Goodwin. It includes a table to structure notes when reviewing elements like genre characteristics, relationships between lyrics/music and visuals, close-ups of artists, notions of looking, intertextual references, and how the video illustrates, amplifies or contradicts the song. It then provides an example analysis of the James Blunt music video for "Carry You Home," noting elements like the soft rock genre characteristics matched the slow, calm visuals and steady tempo that illustrated the sad emotions in the lyrics.

1. Detailed analysis of music videos
Use the below table to help structure your notes when analysing music video. High
grade responses make sustained reference to appropriate theory.
Andrew Goodwin - 7 key ideas to identify
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. Stage performances in metal videos,dance routines for
boy/girl bands)
2. There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (Either illustrative,amplifying or contradicting)
3. There is a relationship between the music and the visuals (Either illustrative,amplifying or contradicting)
4. The demands ofthe record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may
develop motifs which recur across their work (e.g. A visual style)
5. There are frequentreferences to the notion of looking (screens within screens,telescopes, etc) and particularly
voyeuristic (sexual) treatmentof the female body
6. There is often intertextual references (to films,TV programmes,other music videos,etc)
7. Whether the video is primarily performance-based,narrative-based or concept-based and howelementof
each is used in it
Artist: James Blunt Song title: Carry You Home
Concept/narrative: Soft Rock
Features Observations Examples
Genre characteristics Soft rock is usually sung with higher-
pitched vocals.
Lyrics tend to be non-confrontational,
focusing in very general language on
themes like love.
The genre tends to make heavy use
of pianos.
Relationship between
lyrics and visuals
At 0:27 it says “makes her body
older” and these lyrics relate to the
girl in the window and the old woman
in the window.

2. Relationship between
music and visuals
The song is very slow and calm
which relates to the black and white
visuals in the music video. The music
is also repetitive and steady which
also relates to the change between
each shot at a steady pace. Also, the
tempo is constant and the music is
sad which relates to the emotions in
the music video as James Blunt
didn’t smile in the video.
Are there close ups of
the artists and star
image motifs?
Yes there are close ups as this is an
emotional song and the audience
therefore need to see the emotion in
the artists face.
Is there reference to
the notion of looking?
This is an example of the notion of
looking as we as the audience are
not suppose to be looking at the
artist as it is a place we shouldn’t
know and its his place to think.
Are the examples of
intertextual
references?
There is no use of intertextual
references that I am aware of.
Is the video category
illustration,
amplification or
contradicting? How
much of each?
This video category is mostly
illustration as the lyrics correspond
with the visuals quite well and there
is no overdramatic shots that relate
to lyrics and no contridictions.