Andrew Goodwin 1992

Andrew Goodwin

1992

Andrew Goodwin identified 5 key aspects within music videos, there are:

• Thought beats (seeing the sound) • Narrative and performance • The ‘star’ image • Relation of visuals to the song • Technical aspects of the music videos.

Thought beats – Seeing the sound in your head

1st: We must look at the music itself, taking into account the structure of the song. This means analysing the chorus and each verse.

2nd: Then we must look at the main voice of the song. An artists voice is unique and works as an identification or trademark – which works well with the star image.

3rd: The story of an artist which is being conveyed through the song. Songs can be seen as stories and the artists as a storyteller, this makes the music video a communication device, by showing the audience the video through the vocals of the song.

Narrative & Performance

Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertising. Goodwin believed it was important for an artist to be involved in the music video by performing and acting out a role as the main character or singer. This helps to make the song look more realistic.

However, some music videos go against this theory. For example, Rudimental ft. John Newman & Alex Clare – Not Giving In. John Newman or Alex Clare are not shown singing throughout the video.

However, in other music videos, such as Adele – Rolling in the Deep. Adele is the main character and shown miming the lyrics, creating a more authentic feel.

The ‘star’ imageStar image is another vital aspect of music videos and makes videos more appealing to the audiences

as it brings a unique style to the video in the way the artist is portrayed to the audience. For example, Beyonce is presented as confident, fierce, sexual and a ‘diva’.

Relation of visuals to the song There are three ways visuals are used to promote a song:

Illustrate; music videos use certain images and shots to illustrate/explain the meaning of lyrics to their song and the genre.

Disjuncture; the meaning of the song is completely ignored in the music video, it tries to create a whole new set of meanings through abstract imagery.

Amplify; this is when the images and camera shots are manipulated and shown repeatedly through out the music video and is drummed into our vision.

Goodwin stated that music videos also promote a song by the way it analysis's the lyrics. For example, in Ariana Grande’s song Break Free, she is shown multiple times defeating the ‘baddies’ and breaking free from certain obstacles when it comes to the ‘this is the part where I break free’, and ‘I’m stronger than I’ve been before’.

Technical aspects of the music video

Goodwin believes that the technical aspect helps to hold the music video together through the use of mise-en-scene, special effects, sound and editing.

Lightening and colour helps to set the mood and create emphasis on significant parts of the song to create a dramatic effect. In addition, mise-en-scene is also vital to the production of the music video, it helps the artist gain authentication and attracts the audience.