A2 Music Video Theories

2. ANDREW GOODWIN
• ANDREW GOODWIN HAS A THEORY ABOUT MUSIC VIDEOS THAT SAYS THERE ARE VARIOUS
CONVENTIONS WHICH ALL MUSIC VIDEOS FOLLOW.
• “A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE LYRICS OF THE SONG AND THE VISUALS ON THE SCREEN,
WHICH WILL EITHER CONTRAST OR COMPLIMENT THE LYRICS THIS COULD BE TO ENHANCE
A POINT.” THIS WOULD BE DONE BY THE MISE-EN-SCENE USED THAT HELPS PORTRAY THE
MESSAGE OF THE SONG.
• AN EXAMPLE OF THIS COULD BE TAYLOR SWIFTS “WILDEST DREAMS”, BECAUSE AT CERTAIN
POINTS IN THE VIDEO THE LYRICS MATCH UP TO THE ACTIONS TAKING PLACE IN THE VIDEO
AT THE TIME.
• ANOTHER EXAMPLE COULD BE BRUNO MARS – “THE LAZY SONG”.

3. … CONTINUED
• THE MUSIC AND THE VISUALS - THIS RELATIONSHIP COULD BE DONE BY THE CUTS AND
EDITS MATCHING THE RHYTHM AND BEAT OF THE MUSIC. THE END RESULT OF THIS IS THAT
MUSIC STANDS OUT TO THE AUDIENCE INSTEAD OF THE LYRICS ALONE.
• THE MUSIC VIDEO HAS GENRE CHARACTERISTICS - CERTAIN FEATURES THAT ARE COMMON
TO THE GENRE APPEAR IN THE MUSIC VIDEO SO AS SOON AS YOU SEE THAT SPECIFIC
FEATURE YOU KNOW THE GENRE OF THE VIDEO. THIS COULD INCLUDE BRIGHT COLOURS
AND FAST PACED CUTS, TO MATCH THE GENRE OF POP. AS WELL AS A RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN A MAN AND WOMAN BEING SHOWN, TO ILLUSTRATE THE FACT THAT THE SONG IS
A “SOPPY” POP SONG ABOUT LOVE. (INTERTEXTUAL REFERENCES ARE MUSIC VIDEOS THAT
REFERENCE FORMS OF OTHER MEDIA SUCH AS FILMS AND TELEVISION.)

4. VOYEURISM
• THIS IS AN EMPHASIS ON THE “MALE GAZE” – LAURA MULVEYS THEORY.
• THIS THEORY EXPLAINS HOW MANY MEDIA TEXTS USE WOMEN IN A SEXUAL/SEDUCTIVE WAY TO APPEAL
TO MEN, AND THEREFORE COULD BE ARGUED TO OBJECTIFY THEM.
• MANY MUSIC VIDEOS TAKE ON THIS APPROACH, ESPECIALLY RNB/RAP SONGS. AN EXAMPLE OF THIS
COULD BE “KID INK - SHOW ME FT. CHRIS BROWN”.

5. MASLOW- HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
• ABRAHAM MASLOW CAME UP WITH THIS THEORY.
• THE HIERARCHY OF NEEDS DESCRIBES THE NEEDS THAT MOTIVATE HUMAN BEHAVIOUR. THIS THEORY IS OFTEN DISPLAYED AS A
PYRAMID, WITH THE MOST BASIC NEEDS AT THE BOTTOM AND LAYERS OF NEEDS CARRYING ON ON TOP.
• MASLOW PROPOSED THERE WERE FIVE DIFFERENT KINDS OF HUMAN NEEDS. THE FOUR LOWEST LEVEL NEEDS ARE WHAT HE
REFERRED TO AS DEFICIENCY NEEDS. THESE NEEDS ARE DUE TO A LACK OF SOMETHING AND NEED TO BE SATISFIED IN ORDER TO
AVOID UNPLEASANT FEELINGS AND MOVE UP THE PYRAMID TO HIGHER LEVELS.
• THIS CAN BE APPLIED TO MUSIC VIDEOS.
• E.G. LEVEL 3 IS LOVE/BELONGING, WHICH CAN BE SATISFIED THROUGH MUSIC VIDEOS. THIS CAN BE DONE THROUGH THE
CELEBRITIES INVOLVED WITHIN A MUSIC VIDEO. IT CAN BRING THEM PLEASURE FROM WATCHING A MUSIC VIDEO AND
THEREFORE COMPLETE THE NEED. LEVEL 4 THIS IS ESTEEM IT IS HOW PEOPLE FEEL IMPORTANT TO THE WORLD AND FEELING
GOOD AND CONFIDENT ABOUT THEMSELVES.
• EXAMPLE: DEMI LOVATO - MADE IN THE USA.
• EXAMPLE 2: HAILEE SEINFELD – LOVE MYSELF

6. CAROL VERNALLIS
• THEORY BASED ON EDITING.
• HER THEORY IS BASED ON 4 CONCEPTS THAT RELATE TO THE WAY A MUSIC VIDEO IS MANUFACTURED. THOSE CONCEPTS ARE:
1. NARRATIVE
2. EDITING
3. CAMERA MOVEMENT
4. FRAMING.
EDITING WITHIN A MUSIC VIDEO CAN DIRECT THE FLOW OF THE NARRATIVE. THE EDITING OF A MUSIC VIDEO CAN EXPLAIN ANY ASPECT OF THE SONG THAT
NEEDS TO STAND OUT, THIS CAN BE DONE SUBTLY OR NOT.
THIS THEORY EXPLORES HOW MUSIC VIDEOS AIM TO SPARK A LISTENER’S INTEREST IN THE SONG SO THEY BUY IT LATER. THEREFORE, THIS THEORY CAN BE
APPLIED BECAUSE MUSIC VIDEOS HAVE TO STAND OUT. MAKING A VIDEO STAND OUT IS DONE WITH DISJUNCTIVE EDITING WHERE THE SMOOTH NARRATIVE IS
BROKEN UP FORCING THE VIEWER TO FOCUS ON THE MUSIC AS WELL AS THE VISUAL CUES.
MONTAGE EDITING IS ANOTHER WAY IN WHICH THIS CAN BE DONE, IN ORDER TO CREATE AN INTERESTING AND UNUSUAL VIDEO.