2. Andrew Goodwin...
What does he say about music videos?
“Music videos are simply an extension of the lyrics in the song”
What he means is simply what we are watching on the screen is a visual
interpretation of the lyric.
When thinking about music videos, there are some that support what Goodwin
says and then are others that do not. Taylor Swift’s song “You Belong With Me”
is a video that takes a very literal interpretation on the lyrics and so supports
Goodwin's views. Justin Timberlake’s song “Cry Me A River” takes a
metaphorical interpretation of the lyrics so in a sense it does support Goodwin's
views because what you see does link with the lyrics, but it isn't as literal as
videos such as Taylor Swifts. On the other end of the scale, a lot of videos such
as Fatboy Slim’s “Praise Him” and Ed Sheerans “Don’t” both have very abstract
videos which have no or little connection to the lyrics of the song and so do not
support Goodwin’s theory.
3. Carol Vernallis...
What does she say about music videos?
Vernallis says that there are 4 key ways to look at music videos.#
Narrative - The visual is based upon the lyrics and it can be performance, narrative or a
mixture of both
Diegesis - “How a story is created within the video and the world within the video”.
Repetition of ideas/themes/shots is key to help create meaning for the audience. There
may be times when the audience does not understand the diegesis – gaps in time and
space/music/performance and narrative.
Camera Shots/Framing - Music videos try to avoid shots such as mid shots and instead
more frequently use shots that sit on the extreme ends of the scale such as a long shot,
establishing shots, close ups and extreme close ups. The adapted styles of framing and
movement tend to run all the way through the video. The camera may move in time with
the music and just for drawing focus onto the artist.
Editing - Will be left in a state of disjuncture – rather than following the rules of continuity –
the editing might even be made obvious, we frequently cut between
performance/narrative – there will often be jumps in time.
