2. GOODWIN’S THEORY
The 6 characteristics of a music video
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristic’s – certain
features are expected out of a video depending on their genre
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals- the lyrics
are represented with visuals
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals- the cuts
and edits are in sync with the rhythm
4. The demands of the record label- they want to see a lot of
images of their star, want lots of close ups of the artists
5. Frequent reference to notions of looking ( screens within
screens , artists look at themselves)- treatment particular of
the female body
6. Intertextual references- videos referencing past films, TV
3. MUSIC VIDEOS DEMONSTRATE GENRE
CHARACTERISTIC’S (STEREOTYPES)A big stereotype within society is women are dependent on men, in
this video she was dependent on the man in the beginning part, to be
happy with him she had to use alcohol which shows she not totally
satisfied with just the man, she has to use the aid of the alcohol to be
happy. The girl afterwards when on her own looked glum and sad this
is when she was not with the man. Another stereotype of genre
characteristics is women are very flirtatious around men and act in
sexual way towards them. Thi sis clearly demonstrated below.
4. THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN LYRICS AND VISUALSThere is a very strong relationship between lyrics and
visuals in this music video. There is a scene where the
girl is lying on her bed looking very sad and regretful
of the decisions she made when it comes to her and
her partner. The lyrics read “and I'm missing you” this
indicates why she is sad because she needs this
particular man in her life to be happy, therefore there
is a clear relationship between lyrics and visuals.
5. THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN MUSIC AND VISUALS
When the music becomes more intense and the ‘beat
drops’ the images from the girl being sad and upset
on her bed, change drastically to her moving quickly
toward the alcohol then dancing with the man. They
has also disturbed the image by making it distorted,
this happened also when the beat dropped. The
visuals do reflect the music as they both become fast
pace and exciting. The tempo of the music in the
beginning part of the music video was very slow and
mellow, this was very clearly shown/represented by
the visuals as the girls movement and the movement
of the camera was all very slow and glum.
6. THE DEMANDS OF THE RECORD
LABEL
Neither Flume or Kai who sang and created the music
were in the video. This could be because the record
label want to keep up the indie/EDM theme they have
going on, to keep fans interested and to keep the long
going recognisable theme carrying on.
By not having the star vehicle in the music video it
created mystery and keeps audiences guessing and
having to do more research on the artist. This could be
a tactic used by most record labels of EDM/indie
artists to keep the focus on the actual music itself
rather than, the star who can sometimes take away
7. FREQUENT REFERENCE TO
NOTIONS OF LOOKING
The actress in this music video is quite clearly
looking at herself in the mirror. Lots of music
videos where the girl is sad about a
relationship have the woman look into the
mirror as if they are not good enough, they
don’t look pretty or if they are trying to
change themselves to make themselves look
better or in a certain way, this time this
woman was making herself look nice for the
man she was about to meet with. Where she
wore a small revealing dress which is
superfluous to the narrative and clearly
represents the male gaze.
8. INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES
There are not any obvious intertextual
references to other media products. This is due
to the fact through the music video there is a
narrative story being told of the male and
females relationship status and how it is
throughout time. Love stories always take
centre stage as the audiences always want to
know whether it is successful in the end, this is
why I believe that there is no need for other
media references within the video.
