2. 7 key ideas from Andrew Goodwin’s
theory on music videos.
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (e.g. stage performance
in metal video, dance routine for boy/ girl band.)
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. (Either illustrative,
amplifying and contradicting.)
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. (Either illustrative,
amplifying and 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
screen, telescopes, etc. ) and particularly voyeuristic (sexual) treatment
of the female body.
6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other
music videos etc.)
7. Whether the video is primarily performance based, narrative based or
concept based and how elements of each is used in it.
3. 1.Genre Characteristics
• Folk videos tend to be performance-based with aspects of concept, which focus on
the music rather than the artist themselves. This is shown through close-ups of
instruments, or their faces as they sing and the fact that artists rarely have
elaborate costumes or dance routines, rather they perform the song in a largely
stationary position. KT Tunstall’s ‘black horse and a cherry tree’ opens with a close
up of her face then quickly cuts to her beating a drum, then an extreme close up
for her playing the guitar. Within 10 seconds KT has already fulfilled many genre
characteristics of a folk/folkrock video. Throughout ‘Little Lion Man’ Mumford and
sons stay in one costume on one stage, the entire video is comprised of different
shots from that stage.
4. 2. A relationship between lyrics and
visuals
• The fact that the ‘Little Lion Man’ video consists of the band performing to
an empty concert hall suggests themes of loneliness and isolation, linking
with the lyrical themes of the unravelling of a relationship.
• The title ‘Always Like This’ suggests repetitiveness, which is mirrored in the
visuals constantly reverting to one of a handful of locations. The switching
between shots taken from different positions of the same location
reinforces this.
5. 3. A Relationship Between Music and
Visuals
There is a strong relationship between music and visuals. For example ‘Black Horse
and a Cherry Tree’ opens with a close up of KT’s face, emphasising her presence as the
singer. The rest of the video is then centred around her singing or playing various
different instruments.
The close ups of the instruments in ‘Little Lion Man’ enhance the intensity of the
performance towards the climax of the song .
The traditional style of the music of Mumford and Sons is reflected in their somewhat
archaic clothing.
6. 3. A Relationship Between Music and
Visuals cont.
• In KT Tunstall’s ‘Black Horse and Cherry Tree’ the cuts are in time with the
music. The same can be said for Bombay Bicycle Club’s ‘Always Like This’
whose cuts are in time with the start of each bar. This engages the viewer of
the music and allows them to relate to the video on both a visual and aural
basis.
• This is also conveyed through the way in which the band members of
Mumford & Sons emphatically stomp their feet in time with the music.
7. 4.The Demands of the Record Label
and Motifs.
• 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 reoccur across their
work.
• In each video there is evidence of this
• Motifs don’t appear to be common in music videos. Mumford & Sons wear
the same costumes through out the video, all in similar styles to each
other. Through out the videos the only other motifs appear to be their
instruments.
8. 5. There is frequently reference to notion of
looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of
the female body.
• The use of CCTV footage alludes to the concept of voyeurism.
However, this does not encompass an element of female
objectification in the way numerous pop videos do, rather
linking back to the idea of repetitiveness, and continuously
watching the band members perform similar actions.
• There are no notions of looking or voyeurism in ‘Black Horse
and a Cherry Tree’ or ‘Little Lion Man’
9. 6. Intertextual references
• There are no
intertexual
references to any
films, TV
programmes or
other music videos
in any of the three
song’s videos.
10. 7. Whether the video is primarily performance
based, narrative based or concept based and
how elements of each is used in it.
• All three videos are performance based in that the
central focus of each of them consists of the
artist/artists performing the song, whilst placing
emphasis on the shots of the musicians and their
instruments.
