Goodwin’s Theory

1. Links between lyrics and visuals

2. Links between music and visuals

3. Genre Characteristics

4. Intertextual references

5. Notion of looking

6. Voyeurism (direct gaze, others looking at artist, insight into artist’s life, screens and mirrors).

7. Demands of the record label (representation of the artist).

8. Performance, narrative or concept based music video

Lyric and Visual

• Goodwin suggests lyrics will make constant references to visuals on screen. Visuals will reinforce what the lyrics say. In the music Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness music video the lyrics say “People told me slow my road” this relates to the music video because everything and everyone else is in slow motion while Kid Cudi is in normal speed. This is more emphasised by the second part of the lyrics.. “I'm screaming out fuck that”

Kid Cudi – Pursuit of Happiness

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xzU9Qqdqww

Genre Characteristics

• These are depicted as the certain traits associated with a particular music genre. For a genre like rock you would expect to have the performance of a live band.

• Hip-hop music videos generically contain characteristics such as jewelry, a concept/narrative based theme to it. This kind of music video contains a lot of different characteristics as the artist himself is wearing quite casual clothing while being surrounded by people dress much smarter than him.

• It’s not unusual for this artist to be wearing casual clothing as in pretty much every music video he’s in this is the sort of characteristic he is portraying.

Notions of looking

• Notions of looking plays on the idea of gaze and the way someone in particular is seen. For example, in a lot of music video’s women are often presented according to Goodwin as objects.

• In this music video it is clear that notion of looking is apparent in several occasions, one being where they are uncorking Champaign and they are getting a couple woman wet which attracts people to look.

• Another is where the DJ (woman) takes a record out of a pocket which has the album artwork on it and it is done in slow-motion.

Demands of the Record Label

• The record label that any artist is under have control of what the artist does in terms of music. Some record labels like to take charge of what to include in music videos their artists create.

• One clear example is where a DJ is taking out a record which was being held inside a pocket with the album artwork on it. This is an obvious promotion of the album through a music video. This is rarely done but it seems it is quite effective as the artwork has a unique design which is easily recognised.

Narrative and Concept Based

• Narrative and concept are part of Goodwin’s theory and are what make up this music video. There is very little performance because the lyrics in this song are strong enough to carry it’s own story with a conceptual twist on the visuals.

• The narrative is a linear one where it goes from point A to B, but it’s enhanced by the lyrics, it tells a story and is open to interpretation.

Implications

• This is a short list of Goodwin’s theories but it’s one that has allowed our group to gather a clearer understand of what we need to do in our music video to ensure that we get the visuals right so that the lyrics enhance them.

• We understand that there are certain characteristics we have to follow to make sure our music video is believable.