Andrew Goodwin's Theory - In Relation to Music Videos

Goodwins theory states that there are 5 key aspects to a music video:

1.       Thought through beat (seeing what lyrics mean in your head)

2.       Relationship between the song and visuals

3.       Narrative and performance of the song

4.       Technical aspect of a music video

5.       Star image (protagonist), lots of camera shots making him/her the centre of attention

1.       The first step of this process is to analyse the music structure understanding the chorus and verses. Then the second step (main voice of the song), the voice of the artist would be unique compared to others and will give the person a form of identification that can be related to the star image or singer. The third step would be the story of an artist which he is trying to tell within the song. It can establish him as a story teller and the music video can aid this by showing us the video through the vocals of the song.

2.       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 genre.

- Disjuncture: in this situation, the meaning of the song is completely ignored in the music video

- Amplify: repeatability, this is when the mages and camera shots are manipulated and shown repeatedly throughout the music video and is drummed into our vision.

Andrew believed that a music video can promote a song by through the way it analyses the lyrics. This is shown in many music videos when a character does exactly what the song says. Example: when the song lyrics say “jump! Jump! Jump!” on the music video they jump.

3.        Goodwin believed that is was important for an artist to be involved in the music video performing or acting out a role as the main character or singer. It helps to make the song look more realistic and giving the audience a special connecting and good understanding of the song. Example: the song ‘ROAR’ By Katy Perry – she is the main actor and lead singer in the video, this helps the video to engage with its audience.

4.       Goodwin says that the technical aspect helps to hold the music video together using mise-en-scene, special effects, sound and editing.

Lighting and colour help to set the mood for the music video and create emphasis on significant parts of the song to create a dramatic effect and thrill the audience.

Mise-en-scene is also very vital to the production of the music video, it can help the artist gain authentication and make his work appear more professional.

The beats of the song are also very useful as they can help to create effective cuts that go with the rhythm of the song to make the music video look and sound more entertaining.

5.       Goodwin referred to the star image as a vital aspect in music, they make the video look more appealing by bringing a unique style in a way they are portrayed to the audience – costume, moves and appearance.

This helps to promote the artists image in public and also help to promote the video while creating a public reputation for the artist.