Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin looks for 5 different aspects when viewing a music video. These are

• Narrative and Performance- Songs fail to give us the complete narrative. We only tend to get a gist of the meaning of the song andthen we tend to make up our own idea of what is being told. Goodwin explains that music videos should ignore commonnarrative. It is important in their role of advertising. Music videos should coherent repeatability. Narrative and performance work hand in hand, making it easier for theaudience to watch over and over without loosing interest.The artist acting as both narrator and participant helps to increase the authenticity, however the lip sync and other mimed actions remains the heart of the music videos. The audience need to believe this is real.
• Technical aspects of the video- Technical aspects hold the music video together through set of camera work, movement, angle, mise-en-scene, editing, sound and special effects. Speed, camera movement, editing, cutting and post-production are all forms of use of camera. Lighting and colour help set moods and emphasise keymoments of the song for dramatic effect. Mise-en-scene: the setting, props and costume of amusic video is a vital element – it needs to lookauthentic for dramatic effect. Beats: music videos use cuts to go along with the beats or rhythm making the video more entertaining.
• Thoughts beats (seeing the sound)- First step: look at the music itself. You must take into account the structure of the song (chorus and verses). Second step: look at the voice of the song. The artists voice is extremely unique and can form identification ortrademarks that work well with the star image. Roland Barthes theory of the "grain of voice" can be related to this, he sees the singing voice as an expression and an instrument so is therefore able to make associations of its own. Third step: Goodwin points out that the artists mode ofaddress can be seen in the song, they can be seen as stories and the artist becomes the storyteller, making the music video a two communication device – them telling us a story and us listening.
• The star image- The star image is a vital aspect of music videos. Metanarrative which is a story that describes thedevelopment of the star over time; it has an importantpart to lay in the music video production process. Star image is a vital aspect of music videos. Artists want to look unique in order to stay current and for audiences to remember them. by standing out. and making a statement. The star image develops overtime and plays a big role in the production process of music videos.
• Relation of Visuals to song-These are three ways in which the music videos work topromote a song. Illustrate: Music videos can use a set of images toillustrate the meaning of lyrics and genre; this is the mostcommon process. Amplify: This is similar to repeatability. Meanings and effects are manipulated and constantly shown through the video and drummed into our vision. Disjuncture: This is where the meaning of the song iscompletely ignored.

Goodwins six features of music video are:

• Music videos demonstrate e.g iconography
• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals. the lyrics are represented with images.
• A relationship bewteen music and visual aspects. The tone and atmosphere of the visual reflects that of the music.
• The demand of the record label will incldue lots of close ups shots of the artist. the artist may develop motifs across their work.
• There is voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
• Often inter-textual reference to films, TV programmes, other music videos and other forms of media.

"Music videos ignore common narrative as they areessentially advertisements. As consumers, we make upour own meaning of a song in our minds: a musicvideo can anchor meaning and gives the recordcompany/artist a method of anchoring meaning.”Andrew Goodwin