Research: Goodwin's theory of music videos

Andrew Goodwin is a theorist that applied his own understanding to the world of analysing music videos, he came up with 8 very simple however generic ideas about what music videos within mainstream or popular culture consist of. He is regarded as an important theorist in the music industry and is also well known amongst people involved with music.

Goodwins theory that is based on 8 main principles:

• 1) Genre Characteristics.

 The first aspect that Andrew Goodwin identified as a common factor that features in music videos, was that they demonstrate ‘genre characteristics’, i.e. the video is specified to the particular genre of the song it is using. For example, some characteristics we might expect to occur in videos would be 

• A stage performance in heavy metal videos, featuring the band playing their instruments
• A dance routine for a pop group, particularly girl or boy bands
• Expensive luxury items such as cars and jewellery for rap/hip hop videos
• Footage of night clubs and dancers for techno/house/rave videos

• 2) Relationship between lyrics and visuals. 
• There has to be a connection or match from what the words we hear (lyrics) to the shots and filming that makes up the actual music video. There are 3 ways in which the lyrics can be portrayed in a music video these are:

• Illustrative
• Amplifying
• Contradicting- opposite visuals to lyrics hear

  

Often in most music videos the visuals are able to relate to the lyrics of the song in some way. This can be portrayed through the illustrative concept where the lyrics explain what is happening in the scene, this is shown in the music video where he hear the rapper explaining what happened to his dad and family at his apartment and at the same time we are getting the exact visuals of whats happening. The amplifying concept where the visuals seen are an exaggeration to the lyrics in the video and lastly contradicting which is when the visuals are the opposite to what is being said in the lyrics.

• 3) Relationship between music and visual

Most visuals shown within a music video have a clear distinction between the music being played. The visuals being portrayed are often either illustrative of the actual music video or contradicting towards it. For example, a video with fast pace and upbeat music will reflect this in the visuals with fast editing and action. However, if its a slow accoustic song for example, the on screen visuals will often be very soft and slow to be able to relate to the music.

Simz and other Space Age members performing on rooftops, and in hallways under torchlight. The track demonstrates the youthful rapper's all-round skills, and ensures to she continues to live up to the immense hype that's surrounding her. Through the music we that the visuals match her movement and the fat paced editing utilised within the music video. this is one of the main principles i will focus on as it will make my video more appealing to the audience.

• 4) Star image motifs

Music videos nowadays often contain a star imagine motifs, this is when the music video includes as many close ups of the artist as possible. This is done in order to make them popular and identifiable. This is important as it helps promotes the artist and also for the audience to be able to establish who the artist is.

Throughout Rihanna's career, she has built up an icon image. Her music videos need to emphasise, support and reflect her active, rollercoaster, unique style, personality and music. Star image motif portrayed in all her music videos to represent her style and personality. Due to her status in her past music videos her new music videos need to live up to that standard.

• 5) Notion of looking

Goodwin's theory talks about voyeuristic or in other words sexual treatment of the females body in music video's. These are women who are seen as sexual objects in their music video, this could be because of the way they are represented in their music video or their own real life characteristics which is followed with them from the real world. In addition, women wearing revealing clothing has become very conventional and acceptable due to a list of mainstream artist such as katy perry, Rihanna revealing a lot in their videos.

In this video the female body is clearly revealing which would attract the attention of a male audience. The iconography is also used to relate back to the attraction of a male audience as there are sexual dances included. This is one of the principles i'm least likely to use as i would need permission from the female actress which i wouldnt get due to their young age 

• 6) Intertextual references

Intertexual reference is when you're able to find a close link between a music video and a Television programme, a movie or other music videos in general. This is done as a promotional act, linking the lyrics of the song and visuals together in order to create an effect amongst the audience, or to diss and insult another artist.

This music video conveys intertextual reference to Big Sean's song "Play no games" has an intertextual reference to the TV show "Martin". Intertextual references can aid to promoting a video as people can relate to the music video in more than one way. A popular intertextual reference such as referring to 'Martin' which was aired in the 90s, would attract a wider audience and interest into the music video would increase.

• 7)Genre Characteristics

Music videos often reflect their genre through the use of specific characteristics which makes them conventional. So whatever the genre of the music video is, the specific characteristics which are conventional to the genre make us identify the genre by watching the music video. This applies to all genres.

Examples of genre's that carry the genre characteristics

Hip hop 

Fancy cars
Big houses
Portraying women in a sexual nature.

The genre is Hip-hop, the characteristics usually consist of the artist originating from a black background with promiscuous women surrounding the scene. The setting is mostly glamorised with iconography such as gold chains, cars and money in order to promote the lavish life they live. 50 Cent's song 'Candy Shop' fits Goodwin's theory as it glamorises the idea of the rich lifestyle. This video can also be seen as "ghetto" as he presents the stereotypical lifestyle of a "thug" which is conventional to the Hip-hop genre.

Pop 

• Parties 
• Dancing
• Mainly performance based

An example of a pop music video is Katie Perry's song, 'Last friday night' which can be applied to Goodwin's theory well. This is because the video is extremely performance based which compliments the upbeat song and portrays a "cheesy" aspect to the genre.

 

• 8)Performance, Narrative or Concept – based
  

A performance based music video is often used to present the audience in a whole different way and make them the main focus. This allows them to present their artistic talents to their target audience, this could range from singing to even a dance routine. For example, artist such as Micheal Jackson tends to throw in couple dance moves within his performances in order to show off his high level of skill to his audience and also to primarily entertain them.

In this example we can see that the focus is on the band, this can be done because the band using a variety of musical instruments and it could be more conventional for their music video to be concentrated on them.

Adele's song is a mixture of performance and narrative based. Narrative based often means that the music video has a story attached to it which is able to relate to the lyrics of the song. For example, Adele - Someone Like You, this music video talks a lot about Adele's previous relationship and her transition through the tough break-up. This music video is also performance based which allows her to become the main focus of attention and allow her audience to be able to relate to it. This concept is effective as it helps build a relationship with the artist and their audiences.

A music video can be concept based which means that the video consists of a variety of scenes which do not quite make sense however is put together to still create a music video. For example, the song "Only" by Nicki Minaj is concept based due to the fact that the lyrics have no relation to the visuals which suggest why the video is seen as a concept.


Positive Comments:

• Theory is easy to apply to all videos
• Allows you to breakdown the content of video
• Allows you to analyse lots of media ideas (representation, micro elements, genre etc)

Negative Comments:

• Very reliant on mainstream music and pop
• The question whether Goodwin should even be credited for his theory or is it natural?

Conclusion:

Goodwin's theory enabled me to be knowledgeable about the 8 main generic ideas about what music videos consist of. His theory is significant because it is most likely to be the theory that my own music video would consist of for example it being concept based is a main idea this would spark controversy and allow my artist to grow in popularity. Therefore, being familiar with his theories would give me an advantage as I would know what do include in my own music video to make it successful.