2. ANDREW GOODWIN’S 7 CHARACTERISTIC AND
FEATURES IN A MUSIC VIDEO
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage
performance in metal videos, dance routine for boy/girl band,
aspiration in Hip Hop).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are
represented with images. (either illustrative, amplifying,
contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and
atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music. (either
illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
4. The demands of the 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 (a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within
screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly voyeuristic
treatment of the female body.
6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across
their work (a visual style)
7. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes,
other music videos etc).
3. TAYLOR SWIFT - SHAKE IT OFF
‘Shake It Off’ is a song by American singer-songwriter Taylor Swift which, as well as
being released as a single, is on her album ‘1989’.
This song is placed under the pop genre and is seen to be her transition to making
purely pop music, as she is also known for creating music that can be placed under a
mixture of genres.
4. “MUSIC VIDEOS DEMONSTRATE GENRE
CHARACTERISTICS”
‘Shake It Off’ is under the pop genre which means that,
according to Goodwin's theory, this music video should share
conventions that are known for pop videos.
First of all, this video consists of mainly dance routines which
is because, in this video, Taylor Swift is trying some of the
different areas of dance. Dance routines are a popular
characteristic for pop music videos meaning that this video
may be used to support this theory.
Another characteristic is that bright colours are used. As the
pop genre is mainly known for being fun and upbeat, bright
colours can be used to represent this. Shake it off is meant to
be a fun and happy song meaning that this has to be
represented in the music video to match the music. Therefore,
the bright colours that are used reinforce this and match
another feature of this genre.
A lot of pop videos are performance based, meaning that the
singer simply lip syncs the song and therefore creates a
performance. Although other actions are going on in this
video, such as the dancing, this video is categorised as a
performance video as Taylor Swift is lip syncing.
5. “THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LYRICS
AND VISUALS. THE LYRICS ARE REPRESENTED
WITH IMAGES.”
As this song is performance based and therefore illustrative, there is no story that we
would be able to match up with the lyrics. This means that the way we would have to
match these up is if the action she is doing at the time is the same as the lyrics she is
singing. However, the name of this song is ‘Shake It Off’ and this is also the line that she
sings the most. As she is dancing and having fun, we could say that this is her way of
shaking it off, therefore matching up the meaning of the song with the actions in the music
video.
As you listen to the song, she is saying a lot of things that belong to the semantic field of
dance. As well as saying phrases such as ‘I’m dancing on my own’, she also sings
phrases such as ‘make the moves up as I go’, ‘can’t stop, wont stop moving’, ‘its like I’ve
got this music in my mind’ and ‘I never miss a beat’. All of this can be related to the action
that she is doing, dancing. This therefore shows that there is a relationship between the
action and the lyrics as a whole.
6. There are a lot of examples where we are able to find her performing the lyrics.
This means that she is performing that action of the word that she is singing at the
same time. Some of these examples are:
‘Wont stop moving’
As Taylor sings the lyrics ‘wont stop moving’, this is when she is shown
moving her body. This matches the lyrics as it shows the even though she is
unable to do what the rest of the dancers around her is doing, she is still
having fun and dancing in her own style.
One of the things that Taylor is showing in this video is that she is unable
to dace like the other dancers in this video, however, she is trying to copy
the dancing that they are doing. As she sings ‘make the moves up as I
go’, she is trying to copy the other dancers around her but is putting her
own twist on this as she is unable to copy them completely. This is
therefore showing that she has matched the lyrics with the action in the
video as she is shown to be making up the moves.
As she is singing the lyric ‘heart breakers gonna break’ she firstly
starts of by creating a heart shape with her hand. When she then
sings ‘gonna break’ she pulls her hands apart to give the
impression that the heart is breaking. She is therefore
emphasising the lyrics and showing the action that she is singing
about.
‘Make the moves up as I go’
‘Heart breakers gonna break’
7. “THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND
VIDEOS. THE TONE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE VISUAL
REFLECTS THAT OF THE MUSIC.”
The song is written to be quick pace and upbeat. Therefore, this has to be
replicated in the video otherwise they would not match up. The video has quick
cuts and a lot of shots to give the impression that the video has a quick pace.
When these cuts take place, they match the beat of music making the video look
clean and does not leave it looking jumpy. This means that the video therefore
matches the tone and atmosphere of the music.
The relationship also comes through the close ups and mid shots of Taylor Swift
lip syncing the song. From this, not only are we able to see her performing and
understand that this is her song and video but we can also ensure that the action
that is being shown is what should be there at that moment of the song.
8. “THE DEMANDS OF THE 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.”
There are a lot of close ups or mid shots of Taylor Swift throughout ‘Shake
It Off’ which is important due to the number of people that are included in
this video. This brings everything back to her and makes sure the audience
is focused on her and her music throughout the viewing of the video.
These close ups also reinforce the performance aspect of he video and
reiterate the fact that she is lip syncing the song.
Taylor Swift does not appear to create any motifs in this video because of
the amount of actions that she is doing in the video. The difference of
every shot, I feel, is what makes this a successful video.
9. “THERE IS FREQUENTLY REFERENCE TO THE NOTION OF
LOOKING AND PARTICULARLY VOYEURISTIC TREATMENT
OF THE FEMALE BODY.”
Taylor does appear to watch the dancers in this video a lot. This
could be linked to the fact that this is what we, as the audience,
should be doing rather than watching her. This automatically makes
the audience look and watch what she appears to be looking at,
which may be the intention. This could also be related to the fact that
she is trying to copy the other dancers so has to watch them in order
to know what to do. She does also look down the camera whilst
singing which means that she created a quick connection with the
audience. Music videos tend to be the only place that the rule of not
looking down the camera is broken and it is used a lot in music
videos. This is because it makes the audience feel as though they
are involved in the video and they create a connection with the band
members.
In terms of the other music videos available, I would say that this
video is relatively innocent and there is no big voyeuristic treatment
of the female body. There is one section of the video that could be
seen as a little controversial but this could also be argued that this is
a style of dance and is the action they do in this style of dance. The
clothing is all typically what people who dance in this style would be
wearing also so in terms of costume, there is not necessarily and
voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
10. “THE ARTIST MAY DEVELOP MOTIFS OR
ICONOGRAPHY THAT RECUR ACROSS THEIR
WORK”
Taylor Swift is known for belonging to more than just the one genre. For example, she has
popular songs that are classed as being country. However, she now wants to be purely pop and
create only this music and ‘Shake It Off’ is seen to be the song where she has changed this.
This means that if she did have any motifs before, this would have most likely not been carried
on into this music video as this would have affected her transition. Therefore, there are no, or at
lease no obvious, motifs that have been carried out throughout her videos and are part of this
one. In this video, she may have began to create her own style that would be passed on to future
videos but we would not be able to tell from this video.
Also, as there are so many different costumes that she is wearing in this video, not only is she
changing her clothes but she is also changing her hair and makeup to match this. This means
that we are also unable to say that there is a particular style that has been passed onto this
video. However we may be able to say that something that is consistent is her use of red lipstick,
although this is not used in all of the shots, she is wearing this is a lot and it therefore could be
said that this is part of her style and look.
11. “THERE ARE OFTEN INTERTEXUAL
REFERENCES”
This video could be linked to a lot of other media, for example, films. There are a lot of films that
are based on dance and this video could therefore be linked to them. Some of these examples
are:
The street dance and ballet theme could be liked to ‘Street Dance’. This is because, in this film,
there is the competition between the street dancers and ballet dancers before they decide to
join dances and create their own dance. This video represents the difference in ballet and street
dance but does bring them together by not only putting them in the same video, but also by
Taylor trying to do both.
12. ELLA EYRE - DEEPER
‘Deeper’ is a song by Ella Eyre, a British singer-songwriter. As well as being her
debut single it is also on her debut album, Feline. This is therefore the song that
has set Ella Eyre up for her career as this is her first song that she has created
herself, opposed to featuring on another artists song.
13. “MUSIC VIDEOS DEMONSTRATE GENRE
CHARACTERISTICS.”
‘Deeper’ is classed as a pop song meaning that to fit this criteria, it
has to share features commonly used in the creation of pop music
videos.
First of all, this music video contains a dance routine which is a
popular convention for pop music videos. The dance that is in this
video is performed by two people, a man and a woman. This is
used a lot throughout the video meaning this part of the video is
made obvious.
Another characteristic is that Ella Eyre performs a lot of the song.
When the video is not focused on the two dancers, it cuts back to
Ella where she is lip syncing. This is a popular convention for pop
music videos so this video can be said to share some of the
genres characteristics.
A lot of the video is also well lit, which is a common feature in pop
music videos, however, this does change in some of the dancing
scenes. Sometimes, when we are shown the dancers, the lighting
is very dark, and the only lighting is some coloured lights. When
the scenes are well lit, they would share the characteristics of a
pop music video.
14. “THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
LYRICS AND VISUALS. THE LYRICS ARE
REPRESENTED WITH IMAGES”
This song is mostly performance based, meaning that there is no story
that is shown, the only thing that is shown other than Ella Eyre is the
dancing. This could be said to be telling the story that she is singing, they
may be dancing her words.
However, this song is about her not being in love with someone who loves
her so we may be able to link the meaning with what is going on in the
video. We could say that because she is singing on her own, that is her
showing that she needs space and she is trying to work out her feelings.
There is also the two people dancing, which then could be said to
represent where she wants to be with the person whom she is singing
about. Also, it looks as though the two people dancing have only just met
and this could be to represent how she feels as though the relationship
was moving too quickly.
15. “THERE IS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND
VISUALS. THE TONE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE
VISUAL REFLECTS THAT OF THE MUSIC.”
This song is quick upbeat meaning that the quick pace editing song with the variety of
different shots works well with the music. The cuts also match the beat of the music,
meaning that not only does it match the pace, it also matches the rhythm. This is important
when creating a music video because it has to match the music otherwise it wouldn’t work.
There is also a lot of shots of the artist ‘singing’ the song, which means the lyrics of the
song matches up with the action in the video. By showing her lip syncing, it emphasises
the fact this is her song but it also allows the audience to understand her thoughts in the
different parts of the song through things such as her body language and facial
expressions.
16. “THE DEMANDS OF THE 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.”
There are a lot of close ups of the artist throughout this video, all of which are similar. All of the
images that I have displayed are all taken from different parts of the video, however, they are all
identically framed. Not only this, but she also looks the same in terms of her hair and make up. The
close ups of Ella Eyre are important in terms of reinforcing the fact that this is her video, as this may
be forgotten due to the shots of the dancers. In all of the close ups, Ella looks directly into the
camera, as if it were to communicate to the audience, or to the person she is directing the song at.
She is also pulling very similar expressions each time which may be part of her look.
17. “THERE IS FREQUENTLY REFERENCE TO NOTION OF
LOOKING AND PARTICULARLY VOYEURISTIC TREATMENT OF
THE FEMALE BODY”
When the shots of the artist are shown, she is either looking into the camera or
looking down. When she is looking at the camera, she is engaging and
connecting with the audience, making them continue to watch the video.
However, when she is looking down, it looks as though she is showing her pain
which we, the audience, are meant to be hearing through her music.
When there are shots of the group of people, they are all looking at each other,
none of them look at the camera. This gives the impression that this is a real-life
situation and as though they did not know the camera, or the audience, were
watching them. This also makes the audience want to see what the actors are
looking at as they will be watching the action too.
When the clips of the dancers are shown, they are always watching each other.
This shows that they are engaged in each other and are focused on the action
the other is doing, so that they are able to respond to this accordingly. This is
important as the audience are meant to believe that this dance is improvised
and created on the spot, this means that they would have to focus on the other
to know what they were doing.
There is no voyeuristic treatment of the female body in any way, this video could
not be seen to be sexual. This is mostly because of the way the women are
dressed, none of them are in any revealing clothing.
18. “THE ARTIST MAY DEVELOP MOTIFS OR
ICONOGRAPHY THAT RECUR ACROSS THEIR
WORK”
One of the most popular features that Ella Eyre is known for is for her hair. For this
reason, she always wears it down, this therefore creates part of her look. In this
video, she is wearing her hair down and has left it natural, like it always is. As this
has become part of her identity, it wouldn’t work as much if this was changed and
she had her hair in a different style.
She also wears red lipstick a lot, which is made apparent through a lot of her music
videos. She is wearing red lipstick in this video which emphasises her mouth when
she is lip syncing. This also adds continuity throughout her video.
She pulls similar facial expressions throughout this video which may be a motif and
may be part of her look. This may just be part of who she is and may be the facial
expressions she feels is best for certain songs she performs, this being one of
them.
Other than these things, I can not see a particular thing that she does throughout
her videos.
19. “THERE ARE OFTEN INTERTEXUAL
REFERENCES”
I do not feel as though there are any intertexual
references through this video. If any have to be made,
the video could be linked to some dancing films purely
for the dancing aspect of this video. Other than this, I do
not think I would be able to make any links from this
video to another media text. This could be said to add
originality to the video, ensuring the audience that the
whole aspect is created purely by themselves and no
choices have been influenced by other factors.
20. ECHOSMITH – COOL KIDS
‘Cool Kids’ is a single released by Echosmith in 2013, which also
features on heir debut studio album ‘Talking Dreams’. This
American indie pop band is made up of 4 siblings, 3 brothers and 1
sister, Sydney, Jamie, Noah and Graham Sierota.
21. “MUSIC VIDEOS DEMONSTRATE GENRE
CHARACTERISTICS.”
As this song fits in to the ‘indie pop’ genre it is likely to take influences from both
the indie and the pop genre, creating a mix of characteristics. I believe something
that is taken from the pop genre is the fast pace of the video, as each shot is only
shown for a short period of time. Pop music videos are likely to be very upbeat
and fast pace which is why I believe that may have been a characteristic taken
from this genre.
I feel that the styling of the male members of
the band is mainly based on the indie genre.
This is because clothes such as the
patterned shirts and hat are mainly seen to
be indie clothing. This means that although
the video may be seen to include
a lot of pop characteristics, it is still always brought back to the indie
genre also. However, I do feel that the
styling of Sydney is primarily seen to be
more pop based. This shows the mix of the
two genres within the band and also
therefore appeals to fans of both of the
genres.
22. “THERE IS A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LYRICS AND
VISUALS. THE LYRICS ARE REPRESENTED WITH
IMAGES”
The connotations of the lyrics relate to schools as when ‘cool kids’ are mentioned,
you automatically picture the typical school scene. Within this video, there are a
lot of shots of inside schools. This therefore links the audiences interpretation of
the lyrics to the visuals they whiteness from watching the video. However these
shots are very quick and mostly blurry showing the negative view the students
have of school life.
There are a lot of places within the music video where a lyric is sang and
there is a corresponding shot which includes action which links to the words.
This creates a link and also emphasises parts of the lyrics which the band
may feel is important for the audience to pay attention to when watching the
video and listening to the music.
23. ‘In the background’
As she sings the lyrics ‘in the background’, there
is a shot of the lead singer standing in a group
of people where she would probably be unseen
if the camera did not only focus on her face.
This is emphasising the lyrics and
demonstrating how a lot of people feel as
though they are just ‘part of the crowd’ and often
to completely unnoticed.
‘I’m talking with a big smile’
As the lyrics ‘I’m talking with a big smile, but
they haven’t got a clue’ are sang, there is a
quick shot of another person smiling. This
shows that these lyrics apply to a lot more
people than Sydney and she wants to emphasis
this. It shows that a lot of people feel the hurt
she is singing about but it is not obvious.
‘Can’t see what he is going through’
There is a shot of a man crying when the
lyrics ‘can’t see what he is going through’ are
sang. This shows the hidden pain of some of
the people she is singing about. Also, with the
dark background, it shows how he is hiding
away his feelings, not allowing them to be
seen.
24. “THERE IS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MUSIC AND
VISUALS. THE TONE AND ATMOSPHERE OF THE VISUAL
REFLECTS THAT OF THE MUSIC.”
This song is quite upbeat which links to the fast pace of the cuts between each clip in this
video. The high number of shots that are used in this video keeps the video interesting and
links to the sound. The cuts of the video also match the beat of the music, therefore
making the cuts run fluidly. It is important that the visuals reflect the music because it is a
simple way of connecting the two.
There are also a lot of shots of the lead singer singing the lyrics. This not only makes sure
the audience know that she is the person who sings the song, but it also creates a strong
link between the visuals and music and it matches them up.
25. “THE DEMANDS OF THE 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.”
There are a lot of close ups of the lead singer, Sydney, throughout this video.
This continuously brings the song back to her and emphasises the fact that this
is her song despite the amount of people they have included in this video. The
close ups allows a connection to be made between the singer and audience
and make them feel as though she is explaining a story. People who are knew
to this band are also automatically aware who the members of the band are.
There are some close ups of the other band members but not as much as there
is of Sydney.
26. “THERE IS FREQUENTLY REFERENCE TO NOTION OF
LOOKING AND PARTICULARLY VOYEURISTIC TREATMENT
OF THE FEMALE BODY”
There is not necessarily any voyeuristic treatment of the female body because although there are a lot of
women included in this video, they are meant to represent the kids that feel like they are ignored and
aren’t ‘cool’. This means that they have to be styled in a way that easily represents this or people would
be unable to relate to the video.
Although Sydney is not styled the same as the actors and is dressed stylishly, it is not voyeuristic. This
may be because, at least for this song, she wants to relate to a younger audience meaning she has to
dress relatively innocently. However, you could argue that she is used for the male gaze. This is because
she is the member out of the band that is focused on the most, when all of the members could be seen as
equally important. She also happens to be the only female member of the band meaning this could link to
the video trying to appeal to the male gaze.
27. “THE ARTIST MAY DEVELOP MOTIFS OR ICONOGRAPHY
THAT RECUR ACROSS THEIR WORK”
Throughout the different music videos,
there are some things that could be said to
feature in all. As this is a relatively new
band, there are only three music videos
that have been released, meaning that if
there are any motifs, they would be easy to
pick out. Something that stayed consistent
throughout all of the videos was the way in
which Sydney was styled. Although wearing
different clothes each time, she is always
wearing a dress as well as her hair and
makeup being almost identical in each
video. There are also similar shots in each
video, with all three having close ups where
Sydney is facing a way in which the camera
focuses on her left hand side whilst looking
directly down the camera and lip synching.
28. “THERE ARE OFTEN INTERTEXUAL
REFERENCES”
I believe that this video could be linked to a lot of
American films based in a high school, such as
Mean Girls. This is because the song and video
separates the students into ‘cool’ and not. In a lot
of these films, there are a lot of different groups
of students based on their personality, such as
the ‘geeks’, ‘popular’, and ‘sporty’ students. The
song strongly focuses on how these people want
to be “like the cool kids”, therefore focusing on
the kids that would be in the ‘popular’ group. The
film ‘Mean Girls’ strongly focuses on this groups
and emphasises how the rest of the school want
to be like them, therefore linking to the lyrics and
therefore the video. The setting of the school in
the film also links to the shots of the school use
in the music video.
