My analytical approaches to film language and Andrew Goodwin's theory
Andrew Goodwin is a director of music videos, he came up with a theory that provides the conventions of a music video in order to produce a good main media product. Goodwin’s theory analysis, consists of different important elements that should be embedded into a music video and these theoretical conventions are:
Genre characteristic’s – this is the image of characters, storytelling as well as the use of props etc. The attributes that we expect to see in your typical Pop, Rock, Hip-Hop etc., genre music video. For example in your typical hip hop 80/90's music video you would see, rapping/MC-ing , break dancing, vandalism i.e graffiti, in terms of the costumes we would see men wearing Adidas tracksuits, Kango hats and baggy clothes where as the women would be half naked , wearing skimpy clothes, some women would dress masculine which challenges the gender stereotypes , for example they would wear baggy clothes etc. Nowadays these aspects has been modernized and people have brought back the 90's era.
Lyrics and visuals – This is the connection between the artist’s lyrics and the moving images we see in the music videos. An example of this would be from Beyonce's music video 'Party.' Here is the chorus to 'party' it states 'cause we like to party.' and the clip shows Beyonce having a good time with some friends, which acts as illustration as she is showing her audience that her and her friends like to party.
Music and visuals – this is the connection between the instrumental music and the moving images we see in the music videos. An example of this would be from the music video 'fire starter' by the Prodigy, the pace of the instrumental is quite upbeat and fast, this fits with the rock genre with a lot of hard core instruments and not very much lyrics, but the visuals fits in with the music video. IT shows a man acting uncontrollably , jumping around like a wide maniac, his behavior mimics, the instrumental because the instrumental isn't controlled in terms of it having a steady beat.
Close ups of the artists- the repetitive cameras work focused on the artist – usually e.g close ups or extreme close ups. An example of a close up shot on the artist is Katy Perry's music video 'Roar' where ms Perry gazes into the camera, whilst the camera zooms into her face.
Motifs in Artists work – this is the use of repetitive imagery, props, colors. An example of this would Beyonce, a motif that is repetitively found in her music videos, is the typical black leotard/body suit that she wears in her music video. e.g 'single ladies' , 'count down', love on top etc. This is costume that could be used to fluctuate her physique , bringing out her sexuality and her feminine side.
Notions of looking and voyeurism – these are the Images that suggest that the artist is watching the camera. which creates the effect that the artist is looking at their audience. A typical example of the use of ' notion of looking' is a GIF from Britney Spears music video 'I'm a Slave 4 U'. This shows a continuation of Britney Spears looking at the camera, whilst lip syncing. This is a technique artist would in their music videos, to share a connection with their audience as well as the audience, being able to engage with artist.
Intertextuality and Pop culture References – references to other texts included in the music video. An example of intertextuality would be Iggy Aliezas music video 'fancy' mimics, the costume and the concept of the movie 'clueless' as she is dressed as the main star 'Alicia Silverstone.' and also Eminem's music video ' without me' where he mimics the idea of being a superhero.
