Research: Goodwin’s Theory

Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin created a theory to identify the conventions in a music video. Goodwin's theory is easily applied to the majority of mainstream music videos as the features of his theory are evident in most music videos.

The features of Goodwin's Theory include;

• Genre characteristics
• Relationship between lyrics and visuals
• Relationship between music and visuals
• Star image motif's
• Notion of looking
• Intertextual references 
• Performance, narrative or concept based
• Technical elements

Explaining the features of Goodwin's theory

Genre characteristics:

Music videos reflect their genre through certain characteristics and each genre has their own conventions.

Rock - Male dominated genre with dark clothing being conventional, as well as dark themes to the music video.

Hip-Hop - Generally has very expensive materialistic items on display such as super cars and large houses. As well as women dressed provocatively.




R&B - Usually a couple, or just a male dressed with minimal clothing, provocative dancing and lyrics.






Pop - Generally universal music, appealing to a younger audience as well as an older one.

Relationship between lyrics and visuals:

There is a direct visual representation of the lyrics in the music video, this can paint a picture for those watching to define the meaning of the lyrics, or can be contradicting with the exact opposite of the lyrics being shown.

In the music video for Nick Jonas - Chainsaw, there is a direct correlation between the lyrics and the visuals as the character in the music video, acts out what is said in the lyrics. When the singer says "held your body close" we can see the male character holding a female character. Also "I'm gonna break the china" and we observe the character smashing some plates on the ground, thereon we see the character act out what the lyrics say accurately.

Relationship between music and visuals:

There is usually a visual connection with the music, if the music is fast paced and upbeat, the visuals are too; as well as if the music is slow and calming, the visuals will match.

In this video for the song "Calm Down" by G-Eazy we see fast paced editing with many different cuts and edits to the beat, as the song is also at a fast tempo; therefore the visuals match the music.

Star Image Motif's

Many close ups of the artists would be used as the artist is seen as the brand, this would make their appearance more popular and identifiable amongst the audience.

In the video for Katy Perry - Rise, multiple close ups are used to make the audience aware of her appearance and thereby identify with her music.

Notion of looking

Voyeurism and the notion of looking is when the person in the music video, usually the artist is seen as a sex symbol. Another way is from the point of view of the observer, where there is usually direct or indirect address with the audience.

In the video for the song "Closer" by The Chainsmokers, there is a couple seen to be engaging in some sort of foreplay and the females are seen to be wearing minimal clothing.

Intertextual references

Intertextual references are links that music videos portray to events, other films, stories or to iconic people and pictures.

An example of an intertextual reference is in Taylor Swift's "Love Story" video which is strongly connected to William Shakespeare's story of Romeo and Juliet.


Performance, Concept or Narrative?


A music video can either be performance, concept or narrative based and it is highly unlikely for all three to be evident in the video.

In Eminem's video for "Rap God" there is a mixture of concept and performance as the video keeps people entertained and has an unusual concept. Also the artist is present and is performing the song in the video.

Performance

Estelle's "American Boy" solely focuses on the artists performance as there is no specific concept or narrative. Allowing the audience to identify to the song and the lyrics rather than the narrative.

Narrative

Green Day - Wake Me Up When September Ends focuses around a narrative about a young man going to war and leaving his loved one behind.

Concept

Bruno Mars - "24k Magic" is a concept based music video with no specific narrative but a lot of colours and items to draw the audience in.

Technical elements

Technical elements are the micro elements used in a music video, these include, cinematography, editing, sound and mise en scene. All music videos have different technical elements which relate to their genre.