Andrew Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin has identified key points that should be looked for by the audience in music videos. These are:

• A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The visuals must illustrate, amplify or contradict the lyrics. A word or sentence might link to something that is happening in the video.
• A relationship between the music and the visuals. The visuals must illustrate, amplify or contradict the music.
• A link constructed between the visuals and the song including the artist.
• Relationships are built between these in the video and the close ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require.
• Voyeurism is used to increase the video's sex appeal/attractiveness, whilst intertextuality is often employed in humorous videos. Notion of looking - when the artist directly looks into the camera and focuses on us (the audience) this shows that they may be telling us something or personal connection. Also indirect address is used in videos and this can happen if there is a story in the video where they don't want it to look like they know they are being filmed.
• Intertextuality references either to other music videos or to film and TV texts. These provide further gratification and pleasure for the viewers/fans.
• The music video must either be concept, narrative or performance based.
• A narrative storyline is rarely complete and it is only a section of the story which is trying to be put across to the audience.
• With a narrative based music video the viewers get the desire to watch it again.
• In 2004, Steve Archer stated - "Often, music videos will cut between a narrative and a performance of the song by the band. Additionally, a carefully choreographed dance might be a part of the artists performance or an extra aspect of the video designed to aid visualisation and the 'repeatability' factor. Sometimes, the artist (especially the singer) will be a part of the story, acting as narrator and participant at the same time. But it is the lip synch close up and the miming of playing instruments that remains at the heart of music videos, as if to assure us that the band really kick it."
• There are six or more music video themes which can be added to narrative, performance and concept based videos. They are, Gothic (dark/horror), Portraiture (set out like a painting), Animated (like video games, quite hard to do with limited basic equipment), Futuristic (sci-fi/modern), Dreamscape (imaginary/surreal world) and Home Movie (handheld camera, a bit like 'Sabotage' by Beastie Boys)