Andrew Goodwins Music Video Theory

Music videos ignore common narrative (not made to tell a story) as they are essentially adverts. As consumers we make up our own meaning in our minds.

Key aspects...

• Through beats - The idea that you see sound. The voice within the song with a unique voice.
• Narrative and performance - You should avoid common narrative as their role is to advertise rather than become a story. Lip syncing and other actions in the video increase its verisimilitude to convince the audience.
• Star image - The key aspect within videos. By creating the image of a star it can increase the audiences awareness of the artist and can therefore show a development of the artists over time.
• Relations of visuals to the song - There are three ways to promote the song: Illustrate - the image on screen shows what the lyrics say, Amplify - where you manipulate/put emphasis on the image in the video, Disjuncture - where the feel of the song and the lyrics contrast what is being shown visually.  
• Voyeurism - This is the use of close up shots. Goodwin found these shots were used to create the 'male gaze' by sexualising woman.
• Inter-textual reference - Where visuals or lyrics from other types of media text are used for convenience/synergy in other areas.