2. Andrew Goodwin's 6 features of Music Videos
3) A relationship
1 1) Music videos 2) There is a
between music and
relationship between
demonstrate genre visuals aspects. The
lyrics and visuals. The
characteristics. E.g. tone and atmosphere
lyrics are represented
Iconography. of the visual reflects
with images.
that of the music.
4) The demands of the
record label will 6) Often inter-textual
include lots of close 5) There is a reference to films, TV
ups of the artist. The voyeuristic treatment programmes, other
artist may develop of the female body music videos and
motifs across their other forms of media.
work.
3. How to analyse Music Videos
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects that an audience can look out for when
analysing or even watching a Music Video. The 5 key aspects are listed below:
Though Beats: Seeing Narrative and
The Star Image
the music in your head Performance
The Relation of Visual Technical aspects of
to Song the Music Video
4. Thought Beats: Seeing the Music in your head
The First Step is to look into the actual music and interpret it, taking into
account the structure of the song for instance chorus and verses.
The Second Step looks at the ‘voice of the song’; the artists voice is extremely
unique and easily identifiable and in some cases is a trade mark of the star.
The Third Step Goodwin points out the artists mode of address. He considers
the song to be a story and the artist the storyteller, therefore making the song a
two way communication device.
5. Narrative and Performance
• Goodwin believes we create our own idea of the message being conveyed
through the music video, rather than actually understanding the true
message/ what the music video may be about.
• In addition to this music videos should be of the same standard every time,
where the narrative and performance work together to keep the audience
entertained.
• The music video is more original and authentic when the artist acts as both
the actor/singer and the participant
• Goodwin also believes that miming is still the most popular concept in
modern day music videos, even though the artists try hard to make it look
convincing.
6. Star Image
Star image is considered one of the most vital aspects of the music.
The artists want to look unique in order to stay moderately conventional. The
star image develops as their career develops and can play a large part in the
production process of the music video.
7. Relation of visuals to the song
There are three ways in which videos are used to promote a song:
Illustrate, Amplify, Disjuncture…
Illustrate
Using a set of images to Amplify
convey the meaning of Similar to repeatability. Disjuncture
the lyrics , music video The meanings and effects
and genre. are manipulated and The meaning of the
constantly shown song is ignored.
This is the most through the video
common.
8. Technical aspects
Technical aspects hold the music and the music video together: camerawork,
camera angles, mise-en-scene, lighting, sound and special effects.
USE OF CAMERA: speed, camera movement, editing, cutting and post
production are all forms of ‘use of camera’
LIGHTING AND COLOUR: adds emphasis on key dramatic aspects of the music
videos and ‘helps set the mood’.
MISE-EN-SCENE: the setting is considered a vital aspect. It has to look realistic
in order to be appealing and target a wider audience.
BEATS: the cuts of the music video need to work in partnership with the rhythm
of the music video in order to make the video more entertaining. The beats
need to be consistent in order for it to appeal to its audience.
9. How I can use this information to create my Music
Video
1) This information has shown that in order to follow a conventional Music
Video my Music Video should contain various close ups of the artist.
