2. There are 5 key aspects to music videos in
Goodwin's theory
1. A match/contradiction between lyrics and the video to create
further meaning.
2. A match/contradiction between the beat of the song and the video
to create further meaning or increase awareness of the music.
3. Genre-related style or trademark of the artist.
4. Promotion of the artist or creating a brand from them.
5. Voyeurism, male gaze
3. A match/contradiction between
lyrics and the video to create
further meaning.
This can be seen in videos Salt by Bad Suns where the lyrics are
match the video and enforce the meaning on the lyrics and further
the viewers understanding of the preferred meaning.
In the music video for ‘Salt’ by Bad Suns and directed by Daniel
“Cloud” Campos, there is a good example of the music video
matching the video. At 0:18 the lyric “With different eyes and no
shame” is shown when he is taking off his sunglasses to show his
tired eyes as shown in the picture above. This linking between the
lyrics and video continue through out the video as also shown at 1:33
with the lyric “So I ran 'til I couldn't and I screamed, 'til my voice was
gone” which the main character in the video can be seen doing. The
director most likely made the decision to create these links as the
lyrics tell a story of the lead band members friend and their story.
The link between the video and the video makes the story the
predominant feature of the song.
‘Salt’ – Bad Suns (2014) 1:33
‘Salt’ – Bad Suns (2014) 0:18
4. A match/contradiction between
the beat of the song and the
video to create further meaning
or increase awareness of the
music.
Mystery Skulls - ’Paralyzed’ – 1:07
This music video technique usually matches changes in the beats of the
song and camera shot changes which makes it very clear that the song
and the video are connected heavily. However, some music videos like
Mystery Skulls, 'Paralyzed' and 'This is what you came for' by Calvin
Harris and Rihanna. These videos match actions within the scene to link
the music and the video. In Paralyzed some parts of the video show the
monk-like character playing basketball there is a section of the video at
1:01 where the bouncing of the basketball lines up with the beat of the
song to help enforce its place within the song. In the Calvin Harris music
video the lights in the background of the club setting pulse to the beat of
the song that Rihanna is lip syncing to.
Calvin Harris ft. Rihanna - ’This is what You came
for’ – 2:01
5. Genre-related style or trademark
of the artist.
A genre related convention for the rock genre would usually include
images of the band being on stage during a live performance, for an
alternative music video it would be different. Alternative music videos are
usually nonsensical with lots of images that the audience could perceive
in different ways.
An example of a conventional method of an alternative music video can
be seen in ‘Told You So’ by Paramore and directed by Zac Farro and Aaron
Joseph. The video depicts all of the band members dressed all in red
driving in a car and playing instruments, this is cut together with a scene
of the main singer alone in a room. The main theme connecting the two
scenes in the video is the main singer, Hayley Williams lip syncing to the
character this helps link the video to the music instead of it just be
random scenes played to music.
This gives more freedom to the videos content as it is not necessarily
stuck to a narrative as the target audience expects for this genre of music
video to not make total sense.
6. Promotion of the artist or
creating a brand from them.
This can be seen in Bruno Mars’ song ‘24K Magic’, directed by
Cameron Duddy. This could have been a decision made by the
director as Bruno Mars is an already known star and the video can
be sold through the pre-existing brand that Bruno Mars is known
for.
All throughout the video Bruno can be seen as the main character
being followed by a group of friend as back up dancers ‘hyping’
him up. This can be seen in many of his other videos. He is also
shown being around expensive items, the start of the video
beginning with a zooming long shot of the plane is a prime
example of this. These shots can associate the artist, Bruno Mars,
with wealth and success.
Bruno Mars is also known through his new album for his unique
bright clothing with lots of jewelry which makes him the main
point for focus in his videos compared to the backup dancers who
although are still wearing expensive looking clothing but duller in
comparison to Bruno's style.
‘24K Magic’ – Bruno Mars 0:15
‘24K Magic’ – Bruno Mars 0:15
7. Voyeurism, male gaze
Jason Derulo ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign
– ‘Swalla’ 2:29
Jason Derulo ft. Nicki Minaj & Ty Dolla $ign
– ‘Swalla’ 1:23
Another feature is using voyeurism, a heavily used convention in newer
music videos. It uses the bodies of either the main star as seen in a lot
of Nicki Minaj's videos where she is sexualised to sell a brand. A video
that Nicki Minaj has been featured in Jason Derulo's - 'Swalla'.
Throughout the video, both Minaj and other women are shown in little
clothing around Jason and Ty Dolla $ign. This use of sexualised bodies
relates to the context of the song is very sexualised, the use of
voyeurism also brings in a wider audience to view the video just for the
women.
This method of the music video can also link to the creation of a brand
like Nicki Minaj where her videos are known for being eccentric and
sexualised videos that keep the audience interested to see how far the
videos will go. The video could also cause a controversy for the
mainstream audience possibly intriguing viewers that are not the
primary audience.
