The document provides an analysis of several music videos and how they relate to music theory and genre conventions. It discusses videos by Justin Bieber, The Courteeners, and Owl City. For each, it analyzes how the visuals connect to the lyrics and music, as per Andrew Goodwin's music theory. It also examines how each video incorporates conventions of their respective genres, such as pop, indie, and indietronica. The document considers how the videos both conform to and challenge typical music video conventions.

1. Music video analysis
By Ollie Davison

3. Justin Bieber - Love yourself
‘Love yourself’ is a song by Canadian born superstar Justin
Bieber, the music video is primarily performance based
and tells a story of a couple where the man is
underappreciated as throughout the song he is
consistently shown to be affectionate toward his partner
and receive no attention back which eventually pushes
him to leave her as the song ends, this is a clear use of
Andrew Goodwin’s music theory as the lyrics are
illustrated in the video creating a direct link between the
two. This has the effect of making both the lyrics and
visuals more interesting for the audience.

4. The ‘Love yourself’ music video furthers its use of
Goodwin’s music theory as it also displays a link between
the music and what is illustrated on screen, it captures
this by implementing a dance routine into the everyday
life of the characters on screen where by they dance in
time with the beat of the music. This has created a
triangular relationship that connects the music, lyrics and
visuals and overall makes for a very successful video. The
unrealistic nature of the characters behavior only
increases audience interest

5. The genre characteristics that are displayed in this music video are
very conventional, as it is a more pop style of indie music it is clear
that characteristics from both genres show regularly. We see
examples from its pop side through the use of dance routines, these
are common in pop videos as it is a reflection of the ‘feel good’ vibes
they give off, we can also see more examples of conventions as the
video features a male and female who are shown to be in a
relationship, this is again common in pop videos as love is a popular
song topic within the genre.
Examples of conventions used from the indie side to the music video
is shown through the clothing that the male wears, it is all non
branded plain clothing, this is a reflection of the typical indie
ideology of not conforming to social norms of branded clothes. We
also see more examples of this convention through the design of the
house they are in, it is a dated simple theme with no extravagant
furniture, this gives the impression to the audience that the
characters are regular middle class people which is so often
promoted in the indie genre as it is accepted as being relatable to
fans.

6. A way in which this video challenges conventions and Goodwin’s theory is that it does not include any footage of
the actual artist, Justin Bieber. The resulting effect of this is less exposure for the artist and is not often liked by
record companies as it may harm sales, however in this case it is not a problem because of the already global
fame that the artist holds. Subsequently to this, there is also a lack of close ups of the characters but this is
expected as the video doesn’t feature the artists meaning close ups do not have the same effect of increasing
sales.

7. The Courteeners – Are you in love with a notion
‘Are you in love with a notion’ is a song by Manchester born
band ‘The Courteeners’. The music video is a combination of
narrative and performance styles, it shows a couple in a
troubled relationship with regular cut aways to vocalist Liam
Fray singing. Once again this is a clear use of Andrew
Goodwin’s music theology as the lyrics, which are sung from
the view point of the vocalist, are about liking a girl who is in a
relationship, this is illustrated in the video. The effect on
audiences is that they sense an actual meaning to the lyrics
which they may be able to relate to through a direct link
between what they can see and what they hear.

8. This music video furthers its use of Andrew
Goodwin’s music theology by creating a link between
the music and the lyrics. Whilst this link is less
obvious than in the Justin Bieber music video, it can
still be seen when the beat speeds up at 0:06
minutes in as lots of clips played at an enhanced
speed are shown continuously until the beat slows
down again. There are more examples of this as on
each beat of the music the video switches shots. This
works effectively on a subconscious level for creating
a relationship in the readers head between the music
and what is displayed on screen.

9. The genre characteristics for indie/alternative music is displayed
throughout the music video for ‘Are you in love with a notion’,
the first and most prominent use of these conventions are
through the clothing styles of the band members. The non
branded bomber jackets and shirts are typical of indie artists,
combined with the clean cut facial hair and sunglasses of the
vocalist it creates the usual stylish and trendy character
associated with indie music. Conventions are taken further
through the videos references to smoking as is seen at 1:24,
once again this is a common trait amongst music videos for this
genre to glorify smoking, drinking and drugs as it appeals to the
audience of this type of music as it is generally young people
aged 16 – 24 who listen to it.

10. Another noticeable theme that runs throughout the music video is
the amount of close ups of the band members, from the start of the
video we get shots of the entire band and many more of the vocalist,
these shots occur repeatedly in the video from start to finish, it is a
common theme in music videos as it meets demands of the record
labels to have lots of exposure for band members and especially
vocalists hence why Liam Fray is seen so much more than the other
band members.

11. Owl City – Fireflies
’Owl City’ is the name that represents Adam Young in the music
industry, his song ‘fireflies’ was a debut single released in 2009
that reached number one in the billboard top 100. The music video
features the vocalist playing an electronic keyboard in a bedroom
filled with children’s toys. The song itself is about insomnia and the
inability to sleep at night, it is a personal song about the artist’s
experiences as a young boy. Therefore the inclusion of the
children's toys in the visuals is a link to the lyrics, there is further
links between the lyrics and what is illustrated in the video as at
0:55 minutes into the video, a ‘speak and spell’ toy types out the
lyrics as the vocalist sings them, this is a clear and obvious link
between lyrics and visuals.

12. Once again this music video also creates links between the
music and what is shown on screen, this is done in multiple
ways throughout the video, the first is the various toys and
objects in the room turning on with each beat during the
opening 30 seconds of the song. Secondly, as the vocalist
plays the electronic keyboard around 1:00 into the video,
different lights are shown illuminated for each different
note heard in the song. Finally, the radio is shown to tune to
a station on a lower frequency as the vocalist elongates an
individual word in the lyrics, these are all clear direct links
between music and visuals which helps the video as a whole
become better consumed by the audience.

13. A way in which this music video challenges indie conventions is by
its lack of genre characteristics in the video, typical indie music
videos will display little to no examples of brands or items that are
conventional to the wider public. However, in this music video we
see lots of traditional children’s toys. There is also strong links to the
lifestyle of a child (large amounts of time spent in the bedroom), this
is unusual and unlike most indie music videos where often the
visuals associate the characters within the video to adult items such
as alcohol and cigarettes.
’Fireflies’ is a song that falls in the ‘indietronica’ genre of music,
meaning that it is a combination of both indie and electronica
genres and so therefore adheres to conventions of both genres.
Electronica is a relatively small and new genre of music and
therefore does not have many conventions associated with it.
Despite this, the video shows one of its few conventions through its
use of lights, throughout the video many different multicolored
lights are seen appearing on screen.