Andrew Goodwin's music video conventions theory

•  explain each of his ideas 
• find examples of real music videos to demonstrate each point 

Andrew Goodwin 

Goodwin's theory on music videos 

• taken from "dancing in the distraction factory", 1992 
• the music video became an art form with its conventions inside it with MTV coming along to give music videos their own platform to be used 

Andrew Goodwin theorises that music videos have the following conventions also known more widely as common features 

• a link between the lyrics and the visuals 

vibe of the lyrics goes with the vibe of the video

• a link between the music and the visuals 
• reflect common features of the genre of music 
• use of intertextual references 

audiences can make references to what they see, they can relate the music video to other forms of media

• notions of looking and voyeurism
• demands of the records label evident e.g. budget etc 

record label controlling an element was they know what they can sell from the artist

• star image is a key focus 
• performance based, narrative based, and/or concept based 

link between the lyrics and the visuals - Taylor swift, love story 

there is a link between the lyrics and the narrative of the music video

link between the music and the visuals - firestarter

visuals reflect the pace and rhythm of the music

visuals and the song

disjuncture - this means the original meaning of the song is completely ignored and the visuals in the video do not relate

illustrate - this is where the meaning of the song is made clear through the video. this is the most common use 

reflects the genre of music 

for example pop music conventions consist of bright colours and sometimes a narrative. 

use of intertextual references 

for example: thank you next - Ariana grande 

this includes elements such as...

• her own life and relationships 
• bring it on 
• legally blonde 
• mean girls 

she is taking elements of chick flicks and incorporating it into her music video

inter = between, when media products refers to other media products 

references could be literal e.g naming the name of another product 

or could be more subtle and by the use of costume and carefully composed shots they make you think of other media products

why...

- good way to target a specific audience 

- portray a theme or message 

male gaze - showing woman bodies for a specific audience 

e.g. blurred lines

reflective of the record label 

this could reflect issues such as the record label's 

• financial status 
• power and connections 
• other signed artists 
• global location 
• target audience 

e.g. stormzy had no record label at the time, was British, with zero budget. his music video was filmed in an Ikea car park in croydon 

e.g. not deep - stormzy

star image 

this is a key focus 

lots of close ups and other camera shots that focus on the singer/bands image 

performance, narrative and concept based music videos 

Goodwin thinks that music videos have at least one of the following three elements as their core focus 

performance based - videos focus on a singer or band performing to camera, often with instruments 

narrative based - videos have a story line 

concept based - videos focus on some kind of arty, surreal, odd based concept 

performance based   

narrative based 

concept based