Andrew Goodwin's theory analyzes 5 aspects of music videos: 1) thought beats which focus on chorus/verses, 2) narrative/performance which tell a story, 3) star images which portray the artist, 4) technical aspects like camerawork and editing, and 5) how visuals relate to the song through illustrating, disjuncture, or amplification. The document discusses applying these aspects, particularly using narrative to clearly convey themes without misinterpretation. It also notes that the artist's participation enhances connection but may not be possible. Overall, the music video aims to match visuals and song to create a cinematic narrative for the target audience.

1. MUSIC VIDEO
THEORIES

2. Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin’s theory is looking at 5
different aspects of a music video:
1. Thought Beats
2. Narrative and performance
3. The star images
4. Technical aspects of the music video
5. Relation of visuals to song
Camera work
Mise en scene
Editing
Sound

3. Thought beats
For this aspect, Goodwin wants the
listener to pay attention to the
chorus and verses of the song. A
deeper understanding of the song
has to be extracted while watching
a music video.
The next step involves the artists and
how they should be seen as an
instrument by the audience. Since
each artist has their own voice, a
judgement on how well a song
works with their singing techniques
has to be made.
The last step implements the artists’
mode. Sometimes, they are seen
as storytellers where the music
video is identify as being a play.
They take the roll of the narrators
while the audience is consuming
the information given.
This aspect goes hand in hand
with my music video. The
narrative element will be
implemented as the whole idea
is to create a cinematic story
line while the singer is the
narrator. For this, I have to
chose the right song as the
visuals and the sound have to
match. Otherwise, a confusion
can be caused and the original
purpose of the music video will
be lost.

4. Narrative and performance
The audience is more likely to create their own
interpretation of the song, which in most
cases it is the opposite of the real concept.
Goodwin argues that narrative and
performance based music videos are the
best options, as the message is
established from the beginning. This
makes the audience have a better
understanding throughout the video, as
there will be no confusions on what the plot
is about and what the theme is.
The participation of the artist is another key
element, as it creates a connection
between him and the song. The audience
will not classify the artists as only the voice
behind the lyrics. By taking part, the
message has more changes to be sent
across the audience, as it can make them
I agree the most with this aspect,
as the whole purpose of my music
video is for it to have a narrative
line. I want to send a message to
the audience, without any mislead
interpretations to be created. By
doing this, my themes of ‘love,
adventure and happiness’ will be
received and acknowledged by the
target audience.
However, I can not benefit from the
participation of the artist in the
music video. This is because, I will
use an already published song by
a famous artist. I am aware that
this might create controversy. In
order to meet my concept, I will
have to find an artist whose song’s
message matches my music

5. Star image
The star image is an important part in
the music video production. It is link
to the way the artist in being
portrayed to his fans audience. It is
known as being a technique used by
record label in order to increase the
sales numbers of their albums or
singles. The artist should have its
own unique image such as the sense
of fashion eg. Lady Gaga. Through
this technique , the artist can benefit
from a long term fame , as they will
always be remembered for their
unique star image. In music videos,
especially in the rap genre different
angles are used in order to represent
the star image. Eg women are being
portray as being a sexual object and
dominated by men.
This goes hand in hand with Laura
Mulvey’s theory where she states
that females are portray by social
media through the men’s eyes.
However, the label records are
seeing it as a tool for increasing
revenues.
I can not apply this aspect as the
artist will not be an element in the
music video production. The main
character is a teenager girl. In
order to make the audience aware
of her and her age, the use of
costumes and make up is a great
method that could be applied.
Casual clothes is the main look
which will be used throughout the
music video, eg. Ripped jeans,
denim jackets.

6. Relation of visual to song
A song is promoted by a
music video in 3 different
ways:
Illustrate – this is when the
visuals work hand in hand
with the lyrics of the song
in order to create a clear
meaning for the audience
Disjuncture- this is when the
music video is completely
ignoring the meaning of
the song
Amplify- this is when specific
shots are repetitive so that
the meaning can be
manipulated.
The illustrate method is
definitely the one I will be
using throughout the
entire music vide.
The whole purpose of it,
is to create a narrative
story. In other words, the
images have to match the
song. For this, I will have
to pick up an artist which
views and work are the
same or complement
mine.

7. Roland Barthes
He created 5 different codes which have to be
included in the music videos:
 The Hermeneutic code – the music video
should have a clear message which the
audience can easily identify.
 The enigma code - the music video should
end with a cliff hanger, leaving the
audience in suspense.
 The semantic code- the music video
should be based on the lyrics’ connotations.
 The symbolic code- the music video
should be based on lyrics’ hidden or deeper
meanings.
 The cultural code – the music video should
emphasise on the audiences' culture,
ideology and morality.
In my music video, I will not
implement all the 5 codes as some
of them do not meet my concepts.
For example, I would not want the
music video to end with a cliff
hanger. I think this technique
should only be used with films. The
audience will prefer to know how
the story implemented in a music
video ends. However, this could be
applied if the artist is planning to
create a second music video as a
continuation of the previous one.

8. Vladimir Propps
 Vladimir Propp was a Russian critic who noticed that
the majority of the Folk tales are very similar to each
other and the character provides a structure for the
plot.
 He found that there are typical characters such as
the ‘hero-a character that seeks something’, ‘the
villain-who opposes or actively block the hero’s
quest’, as well as the ‘false hero-disrupts the hero’s
success by making false claims’
 . There are other theories that apply in the ‘struggle
scenes’. For example there is always a struggle
between the hero and villain and the hero is always
recognised by the audience or a false hero could be
punished in the scene.
In this situation, Propp’s theory does not apply to my music video. This is because I
have a different concept on the structure that I want to implement. For example, I do
not want to include two main characters to portray ‘the hero’ and ‘the villain’. The
purpose of the music video is to create a narrative pattern which represents a
cinematic story of a teenager travelling in different countries. The different
relationships that she has with the people that she travels with should be extracted
and recognised by the audience. There should be no story which shows a distribution