2. Andrew Goodwin believes that there are five particular elements to a
music video, which are:
• Narrative and performance
• Star image
• Technical aspects
• Relationship between visuals and music
• Thought about beats, visualising the music mentally
Andrew Goodwin’s music video theory summarises the elements of music video’s in six ways:
- Music genres have an individual style and iconography of their own, which usually
influences the music videos.
- Included in videos, there are often intertextual references to other music videos, TV shows
or films.
- There tends to be a relationship between the visuals on screen, to amplify, contradict or
simply illustrate the song lyrics.
- There also tends to be a relationship between the visuals and the lyrics, which amplify,
contradict or illustrate the lyrics.
- Often, there are voyeurisms based on the treatment of women.
- There usually is a demand for the record company to include various close ups of the
artist in the video.

3. Andrew Goodwin believes that as individuals we tend to make up our own idea
of what a song is based upon. The narrative and performance in a music video
should be the same standard and work together to ensure the audience are
interested. Goodwin also believes that, if an artist appears as an actor or actress
within their video as well as lip syncing to the lyrics, the video will appear more
original and authentic.
A vital aspect of a music video is the ‘star image’. Obviously, an artist wants to
appear unique and contemporary for their audiences to remember them. Over
time, the star image develops and plays a vital role in the production process
of creating a music video.

4. Carol Vernallis theory is based upon the relationship between the
narrative and content of the music video and the lyrics which are being
portrayed. Although, she does believe that this is not always the case as
it is often that the music video content may not be a reflection of the
lyrics, or even have a significant relevance.

5. Carol Vernalis’ theory centres around
• Four particular elements which relate to the way the music video is
constructed. They are:
• 1. Narrative
• 2. Editing
• 3. Camera Movement and framing
• 4. Diegesis
Vernalis’ theory includes the following elements:
- The difference between film and music video editing
- The role of editing meaning, continuity and narrative
- The synchronisation of visuals and sound through editing
- The affect editing has on music
- The affect of close ups and images of the artist in their music video

6. • The video is a visual response to the music
• There is not necessarily a balance between narrative and performance
• The narrative is not always complete – it may be a partial, fragmented narrative
• The structure of the video may appear disjointed
• Something drives the video forward, but often it is not the narrative. It could be theme music,
the performance, a mixture or some other element
• There may not always be a clear resolution (closure) at the end
• The video may pose questions that it doesn’t actually answer
• There may be a narrative or theme running through the video, but in a montage style
What Carol Vernallis says about music video narrative:

7. • Editing may match the musical phrases or the beat
• The video may break or disrupt many of the ‘rules’ of continuity editing – this
is a clear convention of music video editing.
• Editing may become ‘foregrounded – the edits may be really obvious, to draw
attention to themselves as opposed to invisible, continuity editing
What Carol Vernallis says about music video editing:
E.g. within the music videos you may see:
Jump cuts, Breaks of the 30 degree rule, Breaks of the 180 degree rule, Cutting
against the movement, Cutting within the lyrics, Fancy edits or cuts, Extreme
jumps in time and space, Extreme changes in pace, Juxtaposed frames, Graphic
matches, A style of editing that runs through the video and is distinctive to that
video
You may not see:
Smooth transitions, Matches on action, An even pace throughout

8. What Carol Vernallis says about camera movement and framing:
• When it comes to shot types, extremes are very common.
• The style of framing and movement may run through the video and is distinctive
to that video
• The camera may move in time with the music
• The camera may move on the lyrics
• The master shot (or other establishing shots) is used frequently, as are close-ups

9. What Carol Vernallis says about diegesis:
• The diegesis may be revealed quite slowly
• Actions are not necessarily completed – they may be
disrupted or interrupted in someway
• Character or object movements may move to the music
• There may be gaps in the audience’s understanding of the
diegesis – in time and space, music, performance and
narrative
• Some frames may be more important than others
• There may be many repetitions, e.g. musical phrases, the beat,
other musical elements, themes, lyrics, performance, images,
colours, camera positions