Andrew Goodwin’s Theory(Music Videos)

By Enid Akuffo

My SongThe song I have chosen to use Rihanna’s

‘Whose that chick’ asthe song for Goodwin’s theory. I have chosen

this song not only because I like the song and the artist, but because Rihanna is one of the biggest musicians of our time and so I am curious as to if her music videos still abide by theories such as Goodwin’s. I have also chosen this video because Rihanna tends to break and follow codes and conventions of her music genre, so as I fan and media student I would like to see how far she pushes and conforms to Goodwin’s theory.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAc4zHEDd7o

Goodwin’s TheoryGoodwin found that there were 6 key aspects when analysing a

music video:1. A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, with the

visuals illustrating, highlighting or in contrast to the lyrics.2. A relationship between the music and the visuals, with the

visuals illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music.3. Typical genre icons and styles used.4. Close ups of the artists face.5. The use of Iconography6. Voyeurism- Watching them without their knowledge.

Relationship between lyrics and visual

In the scene the lyric of the song is ‘ Its an addiction’, with the word addiction on the side.

Here the lyric is ‘Sound Is my remedy’. The word remedy in bright text.

‘Music is all I need’

Effect of feature 1When watching the video I found that many words from the

lyrics were printed on the screen as text. And as the lyric was sang the text appeared in time to what was said. Being a Pop song the bright colours of the text suit the genre. The use of the text may have been a way for the audience to be able to sing the song and grasp it at a quicker pace. The use of the text being placed in the corner may also have been strategic as the audience can still see it but it doesn’t take attention from the star. Furthermore when the word ‘Dance was sung’ the dancers were seen dancing. This created a more synchronised feel with the song and video.

Relationship between music and visuals

Although there aren't many obvious relationships between the song and visuals I found that the electro pop beat used in this video is one that we associate with ‘aliens’ or ‘robotics’. This may have been the inspiration for the spaceship concept used in this video. There was also a lot of face pace editing used, many jump cuts and quick fades. This is in correspondence with the song as it moves to a very fast beat. This encourages the audience to dance, or at least feel the vibrancy and excitement from the song. The use of the rapid switch from the brightness of Rihanna’s scene to the darkness of David Guetta’s shows the personalities of both artist, but as well creates a flow. But also when the beat of the song slows down there is a decrease in the speed of editing and more use of mid long and long shots, so as the audience we can see on concentrate on the movement of the artist and dancers.

Genre Icons and stylesEven though there are a lot of close ups in this video they still used many long shot like we see in other Pop videos. This is so the audience is able to see the setting and the costume that the artist is in. This is especially typical with Pop songs whereby the artists tend to wear more extravagant costumes.

The fast pace editing is another convention of the Pop genre. It highlights the excitement in the atmosphere and also the fastness of the song.

Close Ups of artist

Although in a bright and vibrant setting the main focus in this video is Rihanna. She is made the focus because essentially she is the star and what her record label are trying to sell. Furthermore fans of her would want to much more of her videos if they would be seeing a lot of her. In the video she is surrounded by others who stand in a formation whereby she is the first person we see. The close ups also allow Rihanna to have that connection with her audience as she is able to look them in the eye. There are many scenes in which Rihanna is shown in a close up. This may also link with Mulvey’s theory of The male gaze as men would appreciate her beauty.

However in the close up of David Guetta he wears sunglasses. This may be so his audience gain the sense of mystery about him, which his female fans may appreciate.

In this particular extreme close up of Rihanna, she expresses a slyly seductive face. This shot may have been included because it may get her female fans to want to be her and her male fans to want to be with her.

From this side close up we see the artist less from a performing view but a more narrative one. His attention is not on the audience, making it seem as if he is in a serious role.

Iconography

There is reference to her being in magazines

Title

Headline

Reference to feminism. Which may gain her a different type of audience.

VoyeurismDirectors may do this as it creates a sense of power with the audience.

In the video it is the use of CCTV and watching through a TV that creates voyeurism.