Andrew Goodwin : Music video theory

This is a task we was set to identify and understand the theory which was thought out by Andrew Goodwin , this will help me when creating my music video with my group because it will be our aim to try and follow all of the conventions that Goodwin thinks should exist in a music video.

 Goodwin's Theory

Key features in music videos :

• A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics.
• A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.
• Genre-related style and iconography present.
• Multiple close-ups of the main artist or vocalist.
• Voyeurism often plays a major part, especially in relation to females.
•  Intertextual references to other media texts may be present.

Goodwin states that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals and the song plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require. Voyeurism is used to increase the video’s attractiveness, particularly to males, whilst intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos.

Many of the points which Goodwin has discussed are present in most of the music videos which we see today however it is based on the genre of the song and the aim of the record company/artist. For example we would expect an artist like Rihanna to use lots of close ups to show off her image however an indie/rock band such as Kasabian may not feature as many close ups because they are not mainly about the image therefore they may concentrate more on their overall visuals telling a story.