Applied to music videos

GOODWIN’S THEORY

Laurent Azemi

ANALYSING MUSIC VIDEOS

• Andrew Goodwin has key features that identifies music videos as a form:

• The relationship between visuals and (illustrating, amplifying or contradicting) the lyrics

• A link between the music and the visuals

• Different music genres have their own iconography and styles, however it’s likely to find voyeurism in a music video, particularly in the treatment or representation of women

• Record companies claim for there to be lots of close – ups of the main artist in a music video (this helps with the star construction and image)

• In postmodern music videos, there is likely to be intergenic and intragenic intertextual references

Close – ups and extreme close – ups used on the star such as here Miley Cyrus and The Weeknd

Genre iconography/ conventions – In a Pop/dance type song like

Love More by Chris Brown, it is typical to have a dance

choreography scene in a location such as a dance floor in a club.

There is a lot of voyeurism in Blurred Lines where women are sexualised as they are wearing

minimal clothing, only knickers (even those are in their skin colour so it seems as though they have

nothing on)

GOODWIN’S ‘THOUGHT BEATS – SEEING THE SOUND IN YOUR HEAD’

This has three steps:

• 1st step is to look at the music itself. The theory says to take into consideration the actual structure of the song for instance the chorus, verses etc.

• 2nd step is that the artist’s voice has to be unique in order to form trademarks or iconography that work well with the star image. (Roland Barthes’ theory of the Grain of the voice can relate to this). Goodwin says the artists voice is an expressive instrument, thus able to make associations of its own.

• 3rd step, Goodwin also looks at the artist’s mode of address. Songs may be seen as stories and the artist the storyteller, making the music video a two communication device, them telling the audience a story and the audience listening.

PERFORMANCE & NARRATIVE

• Music videos never reveal the whole narrative, the audience only tend to get an idea of the meaning of the song and after make an impression or create their own interpretations of what is being told.

• Goodwin believes that music videos should avoid common narrative as it is important in their role of advertising.

• Performance & narrative compliment each other as it makes it easy for the audience to watch the video more than once without losing their enthusiasm or interest.

STAR IMAGE

• The star image is an essential aspect of music videos.

• ‘Meta/Grand narrative’, which means a big story that describes the development and progress of the star over time, it plays an important part in the music video production process.

• Miley Cyrus is an artist who is changes her star image as she is trying to move away from her Hannah Montana childish stereotype and more into a ‘sexy’ and ‘wild’ young woman.

LINK BETWEEN VISUALS AND SONG

• There are three ways in which music videos work to promote a song

• “Illustrating, amplifying and disjuncture of lyrics”:

Music videos can use imagery to illustrate the meaning of lyrics and its genre, this is the most common.

Meanings and effects in music videos can also be manipulated, repeatedly shown through the video and drummed into the audience’s vision.

Disjuncture of lyrics is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored and music video shows something completely contradicting to the lyrics

TECHNICAL ASPECTS

• The technical aspect is very important and hold the music video

• Things like camera work, movement, angles, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and special effects have to be specifically chosen and used for a music video.

• Different colours and lighting used in a music video help to set moods/atmospheres and emphasise key moments of the song for dramatic effect.

• Mise-en-scene of music videos are essential and it should look original and professional.

• To make music videos more entertaining different cuts are used to go with the rhythm and flow of the song.