Media Theory
Goodwin talks about
5 fey elements/characteristics
of music videos that
they always contain.
Media Theory
music videos
Andrew Goodwin
The first one is that they demonstrate genre characteristics. He says this is used to make it clear to the target audience what genre their music is, so that they can apply themselves to it. In relation to my project, I have demonstrated that my video is a pop music video by filming footage that is brightly lit and is quite comical, which are important ingredients in appealing to my 16-20 year old target audience. This makes my video teen-friendly and heightens the idea of the couple having a fun time together, which is something teenagers seem to idolise. I have not used any performance footage so that it is clear that it is not a rock music video, as this is a typical and well known convention of rock music videos. I have made sure that my video specifically targets average teenagers so that theoretically, my video would reach the widest possible platform. Since the beginning of this project I have been looking a lot at the conventions of different music videos, and making sure that I stick to them. This way, instead of bending them, it ensures that it will appeal to my audience since it is clear from looking at existing media like Katy Perry and Taylor Swift’s stereotypical teenage videos (TGIF and Shake It Off) that adhering to the conventions gathers a lot of viewers. In Katy Perry’s TGIF video, she has a lot of stereotypically teenage activities going on such as drinking, sex and dancing which are used quite clearly in a sarcastic tone, however it is still a way of connecting to the teenage target audience. I have taken this idea of connecting to audiences by including scenarios that they can relate to and included it in my video. For example the ironing scene shows Ben stuck doing a chore and then abandoning the chore by playing with the iron. This is something that teenagers can relate to as they typically will be roped into doing jobs around the house. Looking at Taylor Swift’s Shake If Off music video I wanted to take the comical element and inject it into my idea. In her video she is comically joining in with lots of different talented people and failing at doing what they do. With her target audience also being teenagers, I thought that I should make my video light hearted and funny too so that it provides a kind of escape from school work or other things that a teenager might be finding difficult. Taking inspiration from her video, I decided to make Ben land in different situations, much like in her video, and comically make him feel peer pressured by the girl into joining in with whatever the scenario was.
The next element is that there is a relationship between the music and the visuals. This looks at the sound of the music as opposed to the words and the meaning of the song. This is something that I am completely adhering to as my song is driven by the beat and the instruments, therefore I have to take extra consideration when editing my footage making sure that I cut on the beats and cut regularly to keep up with the fast tempo
Goodwin then looks at how the record label demands that there is close ups of the artist or include a motif that develops over time creating a visual style. I have looked at this further back in my blog relating to James Bay and his hat. In my video I can’t say that my artist has a lot of close ups as the majority of the footage of Ben is long shots. However, I don’t believe there is need for close ups of him as it will be made quite clear that Ben is the artist due to the amount of screen time he has and the fact he is the only male in the video. Regarding the idea that the artists faces needs to be seen so that viewers can recognise him and the brand can sell him, Ben is the main focus of the video and I am planning on using photos of him as the main part of my print products meaning that he will have a clear branding and visual style.
The next element of music videos according to Goodwin is that there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. They can be illustrative, amplifying or contradicting. This part of music videos is what my original idea came from with the lyrics to Puppeteer. I wanted to illustrate the girl manipulating the boy as if she was the puppeteer. However after deciding I wanted to make it a comical video and having to change songs to a more upbeat one, the idea lost its connection to the lyrics slightly. I say only slightly because it was less literal like in Puppeteer. For Shot of Pure Gold, the lyrics talk about her being able to do things to him and that she is in control of his feelings and what he does. The idea is similar to that in Puppeteer; it’s just more conceptual and lighter hearted. In conclusion, my video relates to the video somewhat, just not completely literally.
He then says that there is often intertextual reference in the video relating to films, other music or TV. This is something that I haven’t really noticed much myself in music videos, but it is prominent in some. For example in All Time Low // I Feel Like Dancing, they impersonate existing music videos. I haven’t used intertextuality in my video purely because it didn’t cross my mind. I think it would have been quite interesting to have used famous film scenarios for my different shots of Ben, however this would have taken way too much time for creating props an set so that it was obvious which film it was.
He then says that another characteristic is the frequent notion of looking. By this he means that it is common that there are screens or telescopes used or that there is a particular use of voyeurism towards the female body. This is very clearly evident in pop music videos recently. Beyoncé is a top example of how the female body is used as a way of attracting a teenage audience. The way she falls into the typical beauty standards that teenagers aspire to look like and aspire to love means that them as viewers are more likely to watch the video out of admiration.