1. Ryan Harris
Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin is a media theorist who wrote a book called Dancingin the Distraction Factory.
In this book he suggests that there are:
6 key features of a music video
5 ways to analysea music video.
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
Certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music.For example a girl band
is expected to have dancers and closeups of singers.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with
images.
Themes, mise-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the
visual reflects that of the music.
The cuts and edits of the video are in sync of with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or
effects to specific drumbeats or notes.
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 recuracross their work(a visual
style)
This allows therecord label to promote a set image for a band/artist,which will help target audiences
empathise with the band/artist.
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors,
stages etc) and particularly voyeuristictreatment of the female body.
The ‘male gaze’ is often used to attract a male audience. The malegaze is a focus on presenting things
that appeal to men. The emphasis on lookingalso includesthe artistlookingdirectly into the camera
helpingthe audience connect with the artist.
6. There are often intertextual references.
Goodwin’s ‘how to analyse’music videos.
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we, the audience, should look out for:
1. Thought beats – where you ‘see’ in the sound.
Step 1 – to look at the music itself.We must take into accountthe structure of the song.
2. Ryan Harris
Step 2 – the voiceof the song. The artist’s voiceis extremely uniqueand can form identification or
trademarks that work well with the star image
Step 3 – Goodwin points out the artists mode of address.Songs can be seen as stories and the artistthe
storyteller,making the music video a two communication device – them tellingus a story and we listening.
2. Narrative and performance
Songs fail to give us the complete narrative.The audienceonly get the gist of a songand we tend to make
up our own idea of the story that is being told.
Music videos should havecoherent repeatability. Narrativeand performance work hand in hand its make
it easier for the audienceto watch over and over without losinginterest.
The artistactingas both narrator and participant helps to increase authenticity.
Audience need to believe it is real
3. The star image
The star image is another vital aspectpf music videos.
Meta narrativehas an importantpart to play in the music video production process.
4. Relation of visuals to song
There are three ways in which music videos work to promote a song:
Illustrate– this is where the music videos uses a set of images to illustratethe meaning of the lyrics and
gender. (Most common)
Amplify – The meanings and effects of the song aremanipulated and constantly shown through the video
and drummed into our vision.
Disjunctive–this is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored.
5. Technical aspects of a music video.
Technical aspects arethe four technical elements thqat hold the video together:
Miseen scene, editing, sound and special effects.
Speed and camera movements.
