ANDREW GOODWIN’S MUSIC VIDEO THEORY

By Rob Kirby

Analysing Music Videos

Andrew Goodwin identified 5 key aspects of music videos that we, as an audience, should be aware of;

Thought beats – seeing the sound

Narrative and Performance

The star image

Relation of visuals to a song

Technical aspects of music videos

Thought Beats – Seeing the sound

Step 1: Look at the structure of the song – verse , chorus, bridge?

Step 2: Identify the voice of the song. The artist could form identification or trademarks that work well with the star image.

Step: You need to see if the artist is telling a story within the lyrics of the song. The music video can then help to tell the story to the audience.

Narrative and Performance

The music can only go so far to give us knowledge about the narrative. The idea is that the performance of the artist should reinforce the narrative in the music to give the audience a better understanding of the storyline.

The narrative also gives the music video coherent repeatability. The performance, music and story all come together, making the video easier for the audience to repeatedly watch these videos.

Star Image

‘The creation of character identities for stars provides a point of identification for the audience/spectator which is especially important when lyrics often lack depth.’

Essentially, if a stars lyrics aren't particularly deep or meaningful then it makes it harder for the audience to relate to them. However, if they create an image or a character then it makes it easier for people to relate to, increases their popularity and likelihood of becoming an idol.

The relation of visuals to a song

There are 3 ways in which a music video works to promote a song…

Those 3 ways are;

Illustration

The first way is Illustration. Music videos can use a set of images to illustrate the

meaning of the lyrics/genre that are embedded throughout the song.

This is the most commonly used method as it is the simplest complex to base a music video around.

An example of this would be Biffy Clyro’s song, ‘Biblical’.

Amplification

The second way is Amplification. This is the idea of new meanings being introduced in the

music video which do not contradict with the original meaning of the lyrics.

This way it just adds new dimensions and depth to the video and it’s meaning, which do not affect the original implication.

An example of this would be Radiohead’s song ‘Weird Fishes’

Disjuncture

The third way is Disjuncture. This is the idea of essentially ignoring the song’s

meaning/concept/genre completely and instead, creates a whole new meaning that can be put to the song.

A perfect example of this would be Can’t stop by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The narrative of that video has no relation to the style of genre or the lyrics to the song.

Technical Aspects

The technical aspects of the song hold the music video together through the use of camera work, editing, lighting, mise en scene, sound and special effects.

The lighting of the set is extremely important to set the mood of the video.

The camera shots will affect the way we look at the artist and characters/actors that are adding to the narrative.

The editing could be at a pace with the song or at a slow/fast pace to match the feel and mood of the song.

Music videos use cuts to go along with the rhythm of the song which would be another aspect of the editing.