Music videos often represent the lyrics of songs through images that either illustrate, amplify, or sometimes contradict the lyrics. Certain genres are associated with common conventions and iconography, such as rock music featuring guitars and group performances. Additionally, the visuals in a music video are typically edited to match the beat, pace, and emotion of the song. Music videos also commonly employ voyeurism through the use of techniques like handheld cameras and representations of looking through mirrors or screens. Record labels often demand that artists make direct eye contact with the camera through many close-ups to make the audience feel the video is aimed at them personally.

1. Conventions of a music videos
Andrew Goodwins Theory
Lyrics & Visuals
The lyrics of a song are often represented through
the images on screen
The images within the music video usually use one of
three things; illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics
Sometimes the images throughout the music video
will contrast with the lyrics in order to reinforce the
message of the song
Genre Conventions
Certain conventions and iconography are associated
with certain genres
Rock – guitars, performance, a group rather than solo,
rebellious
Hip-Hop – jewellery, women in bikinis, drinking, cars,
pools
Boy/Girl Bands – Dance routines
Music & Visuals
The theory states that there is not only a
link between the lyrics and visuals but
also the music and visuals
This means that the image and visuals
on screen may be edited in time to the
beat, pace and the emotion of the song
Voyeurism
Voyeurism is concerned with motions
of looking
In music videos there are often direct
references to the idea of looking
This is often shown with
representations of mirrors, screens
within screens, telescope etc.
Handheld cameras are also a
technique that that can can be used
that gives the idea of looking
Women are particularly subjected to
voyeurism objectification in music
videos. This helps increase the
appeal of the videos to men
Demands of the record label
The most common thing that the labels
demand is that there are a lot of close ups
of the artists
Artists will look directly into the camera
mostly throughout the video and some
may point to the camera to make the
audience feel as if this video was aimed to
them
Intertextual References
Intertextual references are
common now within music
videos and the media in general
Intertextuality means when a
media text references another
media text
This is used to engage the
audiences and provide them
gratification if they recognise the
line.