1. Music Videos Theories Andrew Goodwin

2. Andrew Goodwin
Andrew Goodwin, a director of music, noted how music videos feature certain elements.
Goodwin addresses these six steps in his book ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ to bring it to the audience’s attention as well as assist music video directors when creating a music video.

3. Music videos have genre characteristics
Certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music
Pop bands/artists are expected to have dancers and close ups of the singers, whilst a Rock bands are expected to have live performance shots of the band with a tough and harsh expression.

7. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. The lyrics are represented with images.
Lyrics match up with the Music Video’s visuals.
When you hear a song, you feel the emotion and the message wanting to be put across by the artist which is usually what is then seen in the music video.
Themes, mise-en-scene and events of the video match with lyrics of the song, to help to portray the message of the song.

9. Relationship between the music and the visuals.
The tone of the music must match* the visuals featured in the music video.
The cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or effects to specific drum beats or notes.

11. Often due to the demands of the record label, artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos
Record labels will want the most promotion possible for their artist.
This allows the record label to promote a set image for the band, which will help target audiences empathise with the band.
This is why a lot of the time Music Video’s have the solo artist or frontman as the protagonist in narrative videos.
The artist may form a visual motif (style) making them more memorable when a new video is released.

13. Emphasis on ‘Looking'
There is frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screens, mirrors, stages) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men.
This often means a voyeuristic view and objectification, of women. This is mainly used as a common interest for the audience and to promote and sell the artist using sexuality, a common marketing strategy in the media.
The emphasis on looking also includes the artist looking directly into the camera helping the audience connect with the artist.

15. Intertextual references.
Music videos reference other forms of media, most commonly film, but can also be television and other music videos. 
The audience creates their meaning of the video according to the intentional suggestion.

17. 5 Key Aspects of a Music Video
Andrew Goodwin identifies 5 key aspects of music videos that we, the audience, should look out for.

18. 1. Thought beats – Where you ‘see’ in the sound
Understanding the beats of the song.
Step 1: To look at the music itself. We must take into account the structure of the song eg. Chorus/verse Step 2: Listen to the voice of the song. The artists voice is extremely unique and can form identification or trade makers that work well with the star image. Roland Barthes theory of the Grain of voice can be related to this. He sees the singing voice as an expressive instrument and therefore able to make associations of its own. Step 3: Goodwin points out the artists mode of address. Songs can be seen as stories and the artist the storyteller, making the music video a two communication device – them telling us a story and we listening.

19. 2. Narrative & Performance
A music video is a hybrid of Narrative and performance
Songs do not give us the complete narrative.
We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song and then tend to make up our own idea of what is being told – An negotiated view of a text.
Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore common narrative. It is important in their role of advertising. Music videos should coherent repeatability.
Narrative and performance work hand in hand its make it easier for the audience to watch over and over without loosing interest.
The artist acting as both narrator & participant helps to increase the authenticity however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.

20. 3. Star Image
The star image is another vital aspect of music videos. Star image is developed over time though symbols, styling and themes. It has an important part to play in the music video production process.

21. 4. Relation of Visuals to the song
there are three ways in which music videos work to promote a song;
ILLUSTRATE: Music Videos can use a set of images to illustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre.
AMPLIFY: Similar to repeatability. Meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly shown through the video that is and thus registered in our vision.
DISJUNCTURE: This is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored.

22. 5. Technical Aspects
Technical aspects hold the music video together through use of camera work, movement, angle, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and special effects.
Speed, camera movement, editing, cutting and post production are all forms of use of camera.
Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasize key movements of the song for dramatic effect.
Mise-en-scene, the setting of music videos is vital, it needs to look authentic to attain professionalism.
Beats, music videos use cuts to go with the beat or rhythm making the video more entertaining.

23. Andrew Goodwin says that these theoretical conclusions are the basis of understanding music videos.
Cinematic genre
Advertising
New forms of television
Visual art
“Electronic Wallpaper”
Dream Like
Post-Modern Poetry
Metaphysical Poetry
“Semiotic Pornography”