2. Andrew Goodwin’s 6 Features of Music
Videos
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, meaning that certain stereotypes within the genre will be
amplified to reinforce that it is of a known genre, some of these stereotypes may be the same across similar
genres like hip hop and rap.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, therefore creating a clear conveyed message throughout the
video, which is suitable for the audience and the genre(Lyrics represented with images)
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals, so that the video is more watchable. If the tone of the song
itself is sad, the visuals should emulate these emotions, making the video resonate easier with the audience
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist, this is due to the impact an
artist’s reputation will have on the video, the more known the artist is, the more viewed the video will be. Also is
helps audiences familiarise with the video more, as they can recognise their face.
5. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking, showing the attention of the artist(s) is elsewhere, which
gives the audience an insight into the artists life through the video as they seem to be doing their own thing. Also
this refers to the treatment of the female body in music videos which more often than not seems to be objectified,
or given more attention than any other aspect reinforcing the ‘male gaze’ ideology seen in media
6. There are often intertextual references, which helps the video relate to many more things like different cultures
and narratives, which could help it stretch to a different audience then perhaps it was intended to. References to
different media like film and TV, again make it more familiar for the audience as they can relate to other thing
outside the video helping it resonate with them more .
3. Sven E Carlsson
Often music videos have binary opposites to drive the narrative, for example
• Black and white
• Good and evil
• Male and female
• Light and dark
Also Carlsson believes music videos fall into 2 categories, conceptual and performance
• Conceptual- the video follows a particular storyline and the focus tends to not be solely on the
artist
• Narrative Clip- the video is almost like a silent movie, it has no lip synchronization, meaning the
narrative has to reflect the lyrics
• Art clip- the video has no story but the visuals symbolize a greater theme
• Performance- a video that sells or promotes the artists, reinforces their image and ego
• Commercial exhibition- the video solely sells the artist, often portraying them as successful
• Televised Bard- the artist acts as the storyteller of what's going on in the visuals themselves.
• Electronic Shaman- the artists doesn’t appear in the video, only a soundtrack, the song however
does mirror what's happening in the video
4. Michael Shore
Michael Shore believes that music videos are now ‘recycled styles’ of previous genres.
He also believes that videos include the elements of speed, power, girls and wealth,
ultimately leading to the attraction of heterosexual males.
Mostly female artists are objectified, wear tight revealing clothes and images are
clichéd conforming to male adolescent fantasies .
That music videos have faced the death of context and are mostly ‘surface without
substance’
5. Steve Neale
He says a video must conform to enough genre conventions to be identifies within that
genre. He also says that it must subvert enough conventions to be seen as a unique
production.
This is the ideology of ‘repetition’ and ‘difference’
6. The Weeknd- Reminder
The genre of this song is R&B/Hip-Hop, it is a perfect example of Rick Altman’s theory of
‘genre hybridisation’, the video contains stereotypes and aspects from both genres,
suggesting there are no ‘pure’ genres anymore.
7. The Weeknd- Reminder
This still shot, conforms to hip-
hop stereotypes of being
rebellious, the gestures made by
The Weeknd reinforces this
stereotype. As you can see the
main artist, The Weeknd and
A$AP Rocky, are standing up in
an expensive, moving car not
only showing them being
rebellious but reinforcing their
wealth as well which is another
stereotype amplified in hip-hop
videos, the exotic clothes the
artists are wearing also reinforce
wealth.
The lyrics at this point in the
video say ‘I ain’t gotta tell you’
which also like the visual
represent rebellious tones. This
could be argued therefore as a
narrative clip according to
Carlsson’s theory as the lyrics
mirror the visuals.
8. The Weeknd- Reminder This still shot is at the start of the
video, it is a close up of the artist
suggesting that The Weeknd is
trying to sell or promote himself.
This then could be argued as a
performance video at this point,
conforming to Carlsson’s theory,
as the focus is solely on the
artist. The fact that this shot has
no lyrics reinforces this focus. In
the background a helicopter can
be seen in which the artist just
stepped out of, this like most of
the shots in this video symbolises
wealth, a common stereotype
used in hip hop videos.
Despite the apparent wealth shown here, the outfit The Weeknd is wearing , seems
to have an urban look, shown with the black hoodie with the hood up. This
street/urban stereotype is often juxtaposed with wealth in this genre to convey the
success that hip hop , a genre originating from the streets has brought to artists.
9. The Weeknd- Reminder
This shot is typical of the R&B
genre, which is mostly based
around sex, therefore women
are sexualised in most R&B
videos. This shot shows a
close up of a woman in a
shallow depth of focus, she
seems to be taking of her top
and is looking directly into
the camera in a sexual way.
The red lighting also helps
emphasise the sexual nature
of the shot. The lyrics also
mirror what is happening on
screen, conforming to the
narrative clip aspect of
Carlsson’s theory, saying ‘that
good sex’ when this shot is
shown. This shot also
conforms to Shore’s theory
that music videos often
contain clichéd images to
attract a male heterosexual
audience.
10. The Weeknd- Reminder
This shot is a wide shot of
The Weeknd in focus and his
‘crew’ out of focus in the
background. These type of
shots are commonly used in
Hip Hop, as it has
connotations of the street
and ‘gangs’, a stereotype
commonly used is Hip Hop.
Again this shot includes
aspects of wealth shown
with the Lamborghini and
private plane, so the often
seen juxtaposition of wealth
and ‘street’ is made. The
wealth is the reinforcedThe
fact The Weeknd is the one
in focus conforms to the
‘Performance’ aspect of
Carlsson’s theory.
The lyrics at this point in the video say ‘Eating all day’, this is slang used to
say The Weeknd makes a lot of money all day, therefore reinforcing his
wealth and making it prevalent which is common for the Hip Hop genre.
11. The Weeknd- Reminder
The audience can see that all artists in focus are of a black ethnicity, which is
generally the ethnicity associated with the Hip hop/ R&B genre. A black
stereotype often shown in media is crime, therefore giving Hip Hop this
stereotype as well. The stereotype in music videos is usually portrayed
through the outfits or the environment the artist is in. This stereotype is
apparent in this shot.
This shot is from a low angle, to
emphasise the dominance
shown by the subjects. The
stereotype of male dominance
is often suggested in Hip Hop,
this is due to artists in this
genre having the desire for Hip
hop to be dominant within the
music industry, and the lack of
females in the genre help this
stereotype become more
obvious. This is why females are
often sexualised in most hip
hop videos as well. The
subject’s all black outfits and
the person at the front smoking
connotes a sense of crime and
the ‘street’ stereotype.
Audiences that follow the hip
hop/R&B genre will recognise
the standing artist as Bryson
Tiller, and this collaboration
help emphasise the joint desire
for their music to dominate the
industry
