1. AndrewGoodwin’s
There are 5 keyaspectsof musicvideosthatwe the audience shouldlookoutforwhichare:
Thoughtbeats- seeingthe sound
Firststep- to lookat the musicvideoitself.We musttake intoaccountthe structure of the
songfor e.g. chorus/verses
Secondly- the voice of the song.The artistvoice isextremelyunique andcanform
identificationortrademarksthatwork well withthe starimage.RolandBarthestheoryof
the Grain of voice canbe relatedtothis.He seesthe singingvoice asan expressive
instrumentandtherefore abletomake associationsof itsown.
Thirdly- Goodwinalsopointsoutthe artistmode of address.Songscanbe seenasstories
and the artistthe storyteller,makingthe musicvideoatwocommunicationdevice,them
tellingusastory and uslistening.
Narrative andperformance
Most songsfail to give usthe complete narrative
We onlytendtoget a gistof the meaningof the songand thentendto make up our own
ideaof what isbeingtold.Goodwinexplainsthatmusicvideosshouldignore common
narrative.Itis importantintheirrole of advertising.Musicvideoshouldcoherent
repeatability.Narrative andperformance workhandinhanditmakesiteasierforthe
audience towatchoverand overwithoutlosinginterests. The artistactingas both narrator
and participanthelpstoincrease the authenticity,howeverthe lipsyncandothermimed
actionsremainsthe heartof the musicvideos.The audienceneedtobelieve thisisreal.
It helpstomake the song lookmore realisticandalsogivingthe audience aspecial
connectingandgoodunderstandingof the song.Forexample KatyPerryROAR,she isthe
mainactor in the song an alsothe singerandit helpsthe videobymakingthe songand
videolookmore realisticandthisalsohelptoengage the audience.
2. The star image
The star image isanothervital aspectof musicvideos.Metanarrative whichisa bigstory
that describesthe developmentof the starovertime, ithas an importantpart to playinthe
musicvideoproductionprocess.
Thishelpstopromote the artist/starsimage inpublicandalsohelpstopromote the video
while creatingapublicreputationforthe artist.
Relationof visualstosong
There are three waysinwhichmusicvideosworktopromote a song.
Illustrate- musicvideoscanuse a setof imagesto illustrate the meaningof lyricandgenre,
thisisthe mostcommon.Thisexplainsthe meaningof lyricstotheirsongand the genre.
Amplify- thisissimilartorepeatability.Meaningsandeffects are manipulatedandconstantly
sownthroughthe videoanddrummedintoourvision.
Disjuncture- thisiswhere the meaningof the songiscompletelyignored
He believedthatamusicvideocanpromote a song bythoughthe wayit analysisthe lyrics.
Thisis showninmanymusicvideoswhenacharacter doesexactlywhatthe songsays.For
example whenthe songsaysJUMPJUMP JUMP and on the videothere are characters/actors
actuallyjumping.
Technical aspectsof musicvideo
Technical aspectsholdthe musicvideotogetherthroughuse of camerawork,movement,
angle,mise-en-scene,editing,soundandspecial effects.
Speed,cameramovement,editing,cuttingandpostproductionare all formsof use of
camera.
Lightingthe colourhelpsetthe moodsandemphasise key momentsof the songfordramatic
effect.
Mise-en-scene,the settingof musicvideosisvital,itneedstolookauthentictoattain
professionalism.
Beats,musicvideosuse cutsto go withthe beator rhythmmakingthe videomore
entertaining.Thisisvery useful astheycanhelptocreate effective cutsthatgo withthe
rhythmof the songto make the musicvideolookmore entertaining.
3. Laura Mulvey’s
The male gaze 1975
She believesthatintelevisionaudienceshave to“view”charactersfromthe perspective of a
heterosexual male.
Thisis the conceptof the gaze is one that dealswithhow people anaudience viewsthe people
presented.
For feministsitcanbe thoughtof in 3 ways:
1. How menlookat women
2. How womenlookatthemselves
3. How womenlookateach other
Features:
The camera lingersonthe curvesof the female body,andaneventwhichoccursto women
are presentedlargelyinthe contextof aman’sreactionto these events.Relegateswoman
to the status of objects.The female viewermustexperience the narrative secondarily,by
identificationwiththe male.
Alsosome theoristsalsohave noticedthe sexualisingof the femalebodyeveninsituations
where femalessexinesshasnothingtodowithproductbeingadvertise.
Criticisms:
Some womenenjoybeinglookedat,forexample beautypageants
The gaze can alsobe directedtowardmembersof the same genderforseveralreasons,
not all of whichare sexual,suchasincomparisonof body image orin clothing.
Marjorie Ferguson(1980) categorisedfacial expressionsforwomen:
Chocolate box