Goodwin’s features of music videos

1. Goodwin’s features of music
videos.
Stan – Eminem ft. Dido

2. Genre characteristics
• This music video goes against the
conventional rap video genre
characteristics. Rather than having
a clichéd music video, with hip hop
dance numbers, cooking copious
amounts of drugs or rapping next
to a parked sports car et cetera,
the video and lyrics focus on a
narrative which, along with the
length of the video, makes it seem
like a short film.

3. Relationship between lyrics and visuals
• When Eminem’s persona of Stan mentions his pregnant girlfriend, played by Dido,
she is shown looking away from the camera, perhaps to show distance between
her and Stan.
• “The morning rain clouds up my window” lyrics are illustrated by the sound of
thunder and the pouring of rain in the video. In one shot it is shown as rain
pouring down a window frame. In addition, the lyrics “I'm wondering why I got
out of bed at all” shows Dido getting out of bed.
• The actor of Stan perfectly conveys the obsession in which the character feels
towards Eminem
• A contradicting image in the music video would be when Eminem says “I just
hope it reaches you in time/ before you hurt yourself” and the imae shown is a
car wreck being pulled out of a river.

4. Relationship between music and visuals
• Deep bass
representational of
the weather
• Scratching of pencil
and thunder.

5. Close up of the artists
• The artist, Eminem, appears near to the end of the music video to
create realism.
• Dido appears as the girlfriend in the video, rather than take away
from the video to do a musical number, she sings as the character,
which adds another persona to the music video.
• The actor of Stan lip syncs to the lyrics rather than Eminem to create
believability.

6. Reference to looking
• Stan looks in the mirror
which changes to an image of
Eminem, showing his
obsession with him.
• Dido looks around when she
is sad.

7. Intertextuality
• Reference to hell when the
camera lowers to the
basement, where Stan is.
• Eminem posters to reflect
obsession – posters from
interviews, performances
and album artwork and
references to his
underground work with
Scam