4 - Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin's theory.

 

 

Andrew Goodwin believes that music videos are built around songs and often, the songs do not pose traditional narrative structures.

• The pop videos uses the singer both as narrator and as a character.
• The singer often looks directly at the camera - this is an extension of performance and trying to involve the viewer at home with the performance
• Pop videos rely on repetition. Repetition in songs of parts of rhythms of other songs means that we become familiar with the genre and have certain expectations.
• The video repeats the images in the way that the song repeats the choruses on lines.
• The video would be played on the TV and the song would be played on the radio.
• There might be a advertising film or TV tie-in making the song very similar through repetition.

The visualisation of a song may go beyond the original meaning. Sometimes the video provides a visual pleasure that encourages repeated viewing which therefore promotes the music.

 

There can be three types of relations between songs and music videos; illustration, amplification and disjuncture.

 

• Illustration; this is where the video tells the story of the lyric. Dance is often used to express the feelings/moods in the song.
• Amplification; occurs when the videos introduce new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but adds layers of meaning.
• Disjuncture; this is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or the video contradicts the lyric.

Amplification - Storm Queen, Look Right Through

 

 

Illustration - Eminem, Toy Soldiers.



Disjuncture - Bruno Mars, Grenade


Pop videos and songs do not have a form of closure or ending. The three minute single that a video is based on must end and this is reflected in the structure of the music - it builds a climax or a constant repetition before fading away.

Pop videos often have recognisable features;

• Women are presented as objects of male desire. This is evident in heavy metal and hip hop videos.
• Artists such as Madonna and Beyoncé deliberately present themselves for males to look at what is different in their videos is that they directly look at the camera and they cease to be passive to the viewers.
• In some videos the different instruments in the music are represented by different objects.
• Videos also try and appeal to as wide an audience as possible without alienating the core target audience. Videos which feature older bands often show them in their younger days - but this would be in the 60s and 70s so an older audience can still identify with them.