The document provides an overview of Andrew Goodwin's theory on characteristics found in music videos. It lists 7 main points: 1) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics, 2) There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals where lyrics are represented through images, 3) The relationship between music and visuals where the visual tone reflects the music, 4) Record labels demand close ups of artists and artists develop recurring motifs, 5) Frequent references to looking through screens and mirrors and voyeuristic treatment of female bodies, 6) Artists develop recurring motifs that establish their visual style, 7) Intertextual references to other media like films and other music videos.

1. Music Video Analysis
Andrew Goodwin Theory

2. Andrew Goodwin’s theory
In His Book Dancing in the Distraction Factory Andrew Goodwin points out characteristics and
features that can be found in music videos.
1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g. stage performance in metal videos, dance
routine for boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.
(either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The tone and atmosphere of the visual
reflects that of the music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
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 recur across their work (a visual style).
5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages, etc)
and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
6. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur across their work (a visual style)
7. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV programmes, other music videos etc).

3. HAIM- If I could change your mind
If I could change
your mind is a song
produced by an
American rock indie
pop band.
The band consists of
3 sisters who have
worked their way up
into the music
industry.

4. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g.
stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for
boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
One of the key genre characteristics of an Indie pop music video is that there is that there is
usually a performance as well as a narrative running throughout the video. However, ‘if I could
change your mind’ challenges this quiet significantly, the video is purely a performance and
there is no narrative storyline.
A vast majority of Indie pop music videos have dimly
lit colour scheme that is apparent across their music
videos. In HAIM’s music video there is a lot of
darkness which is often counteracted with a
spotlight on the main performer. At some points
within the video we see HAIM performing on a rusty
orange stage with a Hollywood style sign hung above
them, this reflects the pop element to the music
video.

5. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The
lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative,
amplifying or contradicting)
If I could change your mind is an example of an illustrative music video there is no narrative or
creative approach towards the video it is purely a performance video. Within the performance
there is a strong collection of close ups this helps to reflect that main performer is meaningful
in what she says.
The song “If I could change your mind” is about a band member cheating on her boyfriend when
she was younger and now later realises the extent of what she has lost afterwards. The clips
below show close up shots of her singing giving direct eye contact to the camera perhaps
reflecting her sincere apologies.
“please don’t cry” “forgive my lying eyes”

6. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The
tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the
music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
There is a strong illustrative relationship between the music and visuals in “If I
could change your mind” this is apparent in the order and timing of the cuts in
relation to the sharp beat of the music.
In the begging scene of the performance before the lyrics begin the music is cut
to the performers every time the drum sounds from analysing the time of each of
the cuts we can clearly see this cut is every 4 seconds.
0.5 0.9 0.13 0.17

7. 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 recur across their work (a visual style).
The music video does include a large variety of close ups of each of the band members however
the majority of the close ups focus on the lead vocalist- Danielle Haim. The spotlight is often
most prominent on her face and the two back signers are usually left in the shadows behind.
There isn’t a particular style or motifs running
throughout HAIM’s work however it is clear that
throughout their work that close ups play a big part
in their performance. At one point in “If I could
change your mind” Danielle turns and faces the
camera this same angle can also be seen in their
music video “falling”.

8. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens
within screens, mirrors, stages, etc.) and particularly
voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Throughout the music video of “If I could change your mind” there is constant piercing eye
contact with the audience of the music video with close ups the lead vocalists face and eyes. At
some points Daniella turns to face the camera perhaps making the eye contact seem more
personal.
In terms of sexualising the female body there isn’t much of this apparent within the music
video. There are close ups of the face but the camera doesn’t focus on sexualised areas of the
female body. The only thing that could perhaps be interpreted as being sexual is the silhouette
of the performers. However, the overall effect that this music video produces is the aesthetic
beauty of the artists instead referring to them as a sexual object.

9. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur
across their work (a visual style)
Throughout all of HAIM’s music videos it is apparent that there is a recurring theme. All of the
videos colour scheme and style seems to be very similar. This would most likely be due to
representing the bands style.
Throughout each of the videos the band appears to be dressed very plain and simple but in a
way that makes them appear smart. They don’t wear brightly coloured clothes or were lots of
makeup, their appearance is simple but effective.
Each of their videos appear to be dimly lit and have a colourwash filter over the top of them,
this makes their videos appear different to the main stream pop stars and add an element of
indie style to them.
Colourwash filter in
“Falling”
Dimly lit in “If I could
change your mind”
Colourwash filter in
“Forever”

10. The Kooks- Shine On
“Shine On” is a song
produced by an English indie
rock band called, The
Kooks.
The song comes from one of
there oldest albums, Konk
which was released in 2008.
Their second album to have
been released.

11. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g.
stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for
boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
After researching the typical conventions of rock music videos it became clear that The Kooks
music video “shine on” matched some of the conventions quiet closely.
One key convention of rock music video is the colour scheme, it is apparent in rock videos that
the colour schemes are quiet dull and dark. In this music video the lighting is very dull and the
setting is in a dark and grungy house. All of the singers/extras are dressed in dark colours and
there is minimum bright colour.
Another key feature that is clearly apparent is that there is a main singer that is evident
throughout the duration of the video, he appears to be the main character linked to the
performance and lyrics of the song.

12. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The
lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative,
amplifying or contradicting)
The relationship between the lyrics and the visuals is amplifying, there is some illustration and performance
relating to the lyrics however there is also some creative flair apparent throughout the video.
The song title as well as it being the main lyrics throughout the chorus: “shine on” works as almost a pathetic
fallacy in relation to the weather in the visuals of the video. It helps for the main singer to communicate his
story and emotions, perhaps the rain signifies his partners bad mood or possibly depression and he is singer to
her telling her to “shine on”.
Throughout the duration of the song the rain gradually becomes worse and therefore so do the leaks in the
roof, this may signify the fact that his partner is gradually slipping further and further in to a depressive
state. The creative flair used within the video is then apparent when we see her float in a ton of water within
the house, at this moment in time he is singing “why do you bite the hand that feeds you” perhaps suggesting
that he is just trying to help her but she just isn’t letting him.

13. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The
tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the
music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
There is a strong illustrative relationship between the music and visuals in this music video. The
shadows of the band clearly match that of the music and present an accurate visual
representation of them playing along to the music.
later on we see the band perform
There is also a range of close ups of the main artist singing the song, this establishes him
within the song but also helps to establish his role amongst the story line.

14. 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 recur across their work (a visual style).
Throughout the song “Shine On” there is a selection of close up used on lead
vocalist, this helps to give the story some emotion as well as helps to tell the story
to the audience.
In a some of the close ups he gives direct eye contact to the audience when singing,
this is known as breaking the fourth wall. He is also seen performing as a member in
his band by playing his guitar.

15. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens
within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly
voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Throughout this music video there are several notions of looking, at one point in the
video we see the featured artist looking through a keyhole into the room of the
women. This somewhat sexualises the women as she is seen to be laying in a bed.
It is also apparent that throughout the video there are a selection of close ups
that focus on the female and her beauty, although the camera does not pan on to
sexualised areas of the female body the way she is laying and the clothes and
makeup that she is wearing could perhaps infer that she is being sexualised.
It is also import to note that the female is not a member of the band but instead
an import character in the storyline. The fact that she is female could indicate
that she has been involved because of the voyeuristic treatment.

16. The 1975- Chocolate
The 1975 are a
English indie rock
band that consists
of 4 members.
Since forming
back as teenagers
in 2002 they have
released 2 albums.

17. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. (e.g.
stage performance in metal videos, dance routine for
boy/girl band, aspiration in Hip Hop).
The music video of the song matches the style genre, this is apparent from the use
of the black and white filter which is used throughout the duration of the song. It
is common for indie music videos to have a filter used upon the music video to help
to convey the mood and atmosphere of the song.
From analysing the lyrics and music video of the song it is clear that the story line
of the song is in reference to drugs, the run down environment and careless
behaviour is a reflection of the lyrics and well as the genre style.

18. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The
lyrics are represented with images. (either illustrative,
amplifying or contradicting)
From analysing the lyrics of the song it is apparent that chocolate is actually a
reference to drugs and the whole song is a metaphor about drugs.
Throughout the song we hear lyrics implying this:
“My car smells like chocolate”
“We're never gonna' quit it, no we're never gonna' quit it no”
Although not all that obvious there is a relationship between some of the lyrics and
visuals which would imply the relationship as being illustrative.
In the music video there is only a small
section where there is an indication to drug
use, this is clear when we see a band member
smoking something. There is also a number
of scenes in which the band members are sat
within a car and as previously discovered the
lyrics “My car smells like chocolate” is when
they are actually referring to drugs.

19. There is a relationship between music and visuals. The
tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the
music. (either illustrative, amplifying, contradicting).
The relationship between the music and visuals is illustrative, the pace of the music
video matches that of the music. The video clips cut and change in relation to the
beat of the music. This helps to establish the medium pace of the song throughout.
Even when the pace of the music quickens to fast the visuals still remain at the
medium pace.

20. 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 recur across their work (a visual style).
Throughout the music video there are a lot of close ups of the main artist of the
1975- Matt Healy. This helps to reinforce that he is the face of the band and
therefore is there representative.

21. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens
within screens, mirrors, stages, etc) and particularly
voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
Women are frequently sexualised throughout the duration of the music video. In a
small selection of scenes it is apparent that the women is naked, this could perhaps
imply that she is weak but is also sexualising her body at the same time.
The only scenes that the women appears in are those in which she is seen to be
naked, this reflects her inferiority.

22. The artist may develop motifs or iconography that recur
across their work (a visual style)
An apparent theme that occurred across their first released album- THE 1975, was
that all the music videos were only broadcasted in black and white only. At the end
of the song ‘Chocolate’ we see a quote saying:
This means that they were alluding to the fact that they were breaking out in
colour one day as the album that followed was broadcasted in colour.

23. There are often intertextual reference (to films, TV
programmes, other music videos etc).
The only apparent intertextual reference
of the song chocolate by 1975 was that it
was featured in a teaser trailer for the
popular film “Love Rosie”. This could of
help to have created some success around
the film as it could have been used as an
example of cross media convergence.
Other than this there were no other
intertextual references relating to films,
tv programmes and other music videos.