AS Media Theories Research (1)

1. Theories Research (1)
Raihan Ahmed

2. Andrew Goodwin’s Music Video
Theory
According to Andrew Goodwin there are 5 key aspects to a music
video:
1. The relationship between the song and visuals
2. Narrative and performance of the song
3. Technical aspect of a music video
4. Thought through beat (analysing the meaning of the lyrics in
your head)
5. Star image (several images used in which the artist is the
most important figure)

3. Relationship between the song and
visuals
There are three ways in which music videos use visuals to
emphasise the meaning of a song:
1. Illustrate - Some music videos may use a set of specific
images to depict a genre and portray the meaning of the
lyrics in a song
2. Amplify – Similar to repeatability, some videos will show the
same camera shots to embed certain meanings and effects
into the audience
3. Disjuncture – This is where a music video completely
dismisses the meaning of the song

4. Narrative and performance
Andrew Goodwin believes that an artist’s involvement within the music video
is essential if they are acting out the meaning of their song. This allows the
music video to appear realistic so that the audience has a deeper
understanding of the lyrics and meaning behind the music.
For example in his music video for “Stitches”, Shawn Mendes plays the lead
role as well as being the singer in order for the audience to feel more
connected rather than if he used actors to portray the meaning of the song.

5. Technical aspect of a music video
• Andrew Goodwin states that the technicality of a music video
is possibly the most important, as different aspects such as
the mise-en-scene, special effects, sound, camerawork and
editing contribute to the whole music video and allow it to
flow and make sense
• The mise-en-scene helps the audience to identify the genre of
music as the clothes an artist wears can often indicate how
mainstream a song is
• Camerawork is effective as the various images and shots used
in a video can illustrate a number of meanings which allow
the audience to better understand the artist’s intentions

6. Thought through beat (analysing the
meaning of the song in your head)
1. First step: Understanding the structure of the song
by analysing the meaning of the lyrics
2. Second step: Identifying with the main voice of the
song (relates to the star image aspect)
3. Third step: Interpreting the story which the artist is
trying to convey, this is reinforced by the music
video

7. Star image
• Goodwin also refers to the star image as a vital
aspect of music videos, as the artist can engage the
audience
• The ‘star image’ is expressed through a number of
camera shots throughout the video which emphasise
the significance of the artist over everyone else
• This aspect is useful for upcoming artists as the
development of their star image in their music videos
helps to give them publicity in the media and
galvanise their careers