Goodwin published a book in 1992 called "Dancing in the Distraction Factory" where he came up with codes and conventions for music videos. He identified 7 key features of music videos: 1) They demonstrate genre characteristics, 2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, 3) There is a relationship between music and visuals, 4) They include close-ups of the artist, 5) Artists develop recurring visual motifs, 6) They frequently reference the notion of looking, and 7) Often include intertextual references to popular culture. Goodwin's theory provided a framework to analyze how elements are commonly used in music videos.

1. Andrew Goodwin
Definition of what a music video is
Key conventions of music videos
First POST MODERN Theorist

2. Key features of Music Videos
 In 1992, Andrew Goodwin
published a book called ‘Dancing
in the Distraction Factory’, after
years of research into music
videos
 In this book, he came up with a
number of ‘codes and
conventions’ for music video – a
range of elements that many
music videos have in common

3. Goodwin’s theory identified these
key features:
1. Music videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics
 For example: stage performance in Metal/hard rock video
 dance routines for boy/girl bands
 ‘throwing signs’ in early hip hop video (recognise Dr Dre or Ice Cube?)
 scantily clad women or ‘bling’ for gangsta rap videos
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
 Often illustrative but could amplify or contradict the lyrics
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals
 Often illustrative but could amplify or contradict the music
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for
lots of close-ups of the artist
5. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur
across their work (a visual style)
6. There is frequent reference to the notion of ‘looking’
(screens within screens, filming, cameras) and
particularly voyeuristic (pleasure through looking)
treatment of the female body
7. There are often intertextual references – mostly to film,
television and popular culture

4. Goodwin’s theory identified the
following key features:
 In small groups, choose one or two music videos and
analysis how the Goodwin 7 could be applied
 Basic research findings should include:
 Artist and song title, date, record label, genre
 Analyse the examples closely and make detailed notes
related to the key features you have chosen – they
might not have all 7