Notes on Andrew Goodwin

1. Andrew Goodwin (1992) –
Dancing in the distraction factory
He noticed that there were 6 key things in a music video:
1. Visuals that fit the music
The cuts and edits of a music video are in sync with the rhythm of the
song.
2. Genre Characteristics
The way certain types of music have key concepts in music videos
3. The lyrics match the visuals
Visuals help to portray the song and tell a story
4. The demands of the record label
This allows the record label to promote the artist, and will allow the target
audience to emphasise with the artist.
5. The artist looks at him/herself in the mirror
The ‘Male Gaze’ used to attract a male audience (Laura Mulvey). This is
usually used by young female artists to attract the opposite sex. (Men
looking at women, women looking at themselves and women looking at
women)
6. The intertextual reference to film/TV programmes/other music videos
Music videos reference other forms of media, most commonly film.
How to analyse a music video (according to Goodwin):
1. Thought beats-Seeing the sound
 To look at the music itself. We must take into account the structure
of the song
 The voice of the song. The artists voice is extremely unique
 Mode of address. Songs can be seen as stories
2. Narrative and Performance
 Songs fail to give us a narrative
 We tend to only get a gist of the meaning of the song
 Goodwin says that music videos should ignore common narrative
 Music videos should have coherent repeatability
 The artist acting as both narrator and participant helps to increase
the authenticity.
 The audience need to believe this is real

2. 3. The star image
 The star image is a vital part of the music video
 Meta narrative (Big Story that describes the development of the
star overtime) has an important part to play in the video production
process
 How is the star represented?
4. Relation of visuals to the song
There are 3 ways in which music videos work to promote a song;
 Illustrate: Images are used to illustrate the meaning of the
lyrics
 Amplify: Meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly
shown through the video
 Disjuncture: The meaning of the song is completely ignored
5. Technical aspect
 Technical aspects hold the music video together through the
use of camera work, movement, angle, mise-en-scene,
editing, sound and special effects.
 Speed, camera movement, editing, cutting and post
production are all forms of use of camera.
 Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasise key
movements
 Mise-en-scene is vital