Andrew Goodwin’s Music Video Theory

By Angharad Evans

Goodwin had an idea of 5 aspects featured in music

videos for us as the audience subconsciously to pick up on:

Thought beat-seeing the soundNarrative and Performance

The STAR imageRelations of the visuals and the song

Technical aspects of song

Thought through beat: Seeing what they mean or represent in your head

FIRST STEP:

SECOND STEP:The next step the main voice of the song and artist would be very unique compared to others and will give the persona form of identification that can be related to the star image or singer

THIRD STEP:The third step would be the story of an artist which they are trying to tell within their song. It can establish them as a story teller. The music video can aid his by showing us the video through the vocals for the song

Goodwin’s theory shows that when you watch a music video you instantly create an image that fits with the song in your head

Narrative and Performance

Goodwin believed that it was key that for the artist to be involved in the music video they must be performing and acting out a role as the main character/singer.

It helps to make the song more realistic and also giving the audience special connection and good understanding of the song the artist is trying to produce.

An example would be Taylor Swift ‘Bad Blood’. Taylor is the main actor in the song and also singing the lyrics of the song as she performs, helping to make the song and video more realistic and engage the audience in what is going on.

The star image: ProtagonistGoodwin used the star image to refer as a vital aspect of the music video, this making the artist look more appealing to the audiences while helping to bring their unique style to the video and audience.

The starting image is always very unique in the way that the artist is presented, this maybe through costume, moves and appearance

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

Relation of Visuals to SongsThree ways in which a music works in being able to promote the song:

Music videos can present a range of imagesto illustrate the meaningof the lyrics and its genre

Illustrate

Most Common:

Amplify

This is is the effects of the music video being manipulated and constantly shown through the video and drummed into our vision and way of looking at things

Disjuncture

This is where the meaning of the song is completed ignored and the images used are promoting something else

Technical AspectsTechnical Aspects is looking at being able to hold the music video together through the use of camera work, movement, angle, mise-en-scene editing, sound and any special effectsSpeed, camera

movement, editing, cutting and post production are all forms of use of a camera

Lighting and colour are used to help set the moods and emphasise key moments of the video, for example setting a dramatic scene the lighting may be dark

Mise-en-scene, having the setting right for the music video is vital. It means that it must maintain a authentic look to create sense of professionalism

Beats, music videos use a range of cuts to go with the rhythm of the song to make the video more entertaining to watch