Research into Goodwins Theory

Music Video Relationships

Music videos are essential and important towards the success of the artists music. This is because a music video enables the audience to build a relationship with the artist. This is due to a number of reasons. Firstly, the audience is able to compare the lyrics of the song and the video to go with the music, which enables them to understand the song more than they originally would have. In addition to this, a music video allows the audience to have an insight on the artists lifestyle and personality. This could therefore result in an increased amount of sales for the artist, as the audience have built a relationship.

Goodwin's Music Video Theory

Goodwin's Music Video Theory contains many important factors when analyzing a music video and helps to differentiate between music videos which are successful and follow the key conventions of a music video, and music videos which are not successful possibly due to not following the stereotypical music conventions. Not only this but the theory explains which aspects are most likely to keep a audience or target audience engaged throughout the entire music video.

The music video which I will be analyzing to see whether it applies to Goodwin's Music Theory Video in order to create a successful music video is boy band The Wanted, "Walks Like Rihanna" shown below.

The first point of Goodwin's theory is that music videos help to demonstrate the artists genre stereotyically through characteristics and conventions. The wanted are an Anglo-Irish boy band which were formed in 2009. The boy band release music mainly from the Pop/Dance genre which is targeted towards a younger generation of teenagers and younger adults. In The Wanted's song "Walks Like Rihanna" it is evident that the boy band have followed the typical conventional aspects of a Pop/Dance music video. This is because a conventional aspect of the pop/dance genre is to have a performance and narrative based music video. From the picture below it is clear that The Wanted have included a performance into their music video as they have a co-ordinated dance along with telling a story about a girl which they find attractive. This aspect of the music video helps towards the success of the song as it creates a visual memory, the performance during the song will engage the audience, therefore increasing sales. Not only this but the dance sequence can be relatively funny for the audience to watch as there is a sense of sarcasm as the boy band dance, not taking themselves too seriously. This could reflect the band members personality, in which the audience may be intrigued and interested by allowing the audience to build a relationship with the members of the band.

The second factor of Goodwin's Music Video Theory is that there is a relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals of the music video. Within "She Walks Like Rihanna" this is clear through the use of lyrics "But who cares, she walks like Rihanna" this suggests to the audience they are not worried about the things in which the girl cannot do but still find her attractive due to her self confidence. The picture below [1] makes it evident that the is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals of the music video as when the words "But who cares, she walks like Rihanna" are played the audience see the boy band attached to strings, this suggests that they are impersonating puppets. This could suggest to the audience that they are being controlled whenever she is around are willing to do whatever in order to get her attention. This also helps for the audience to build a relationship with the artist as they begin to understand and know there personality. The boys are promoting girls self confidence showing the audience they thoughtful towards girls images. Not only this but the artist help to show their personality further through the use of the puppet scene. This shows them as funny and entertaining which normally is not shown through a music video. This creates a visual image for the audience, and engages them overall promoting the video and increasing sales. Furthermore, the picture [2] has a relationship also with the lyrics. As the video shows the woman dancing, the lyrics overlap "She can't dance" this creates a sense of humour for the audience, and which they could possibly relate to the girl, dancing badly but not caring. This will create a visual memory and could be something which people discuss after seeing the video, therefore increasing profit.

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The third concept of Goodwin's Music Video Theory is whether there is a relationship between the music and visuals referring to illustrative, amplifying, contradicting, and whether the lyrics match the visuals. The first relationship with the music and the visuals is when one member of the band is dancing on his own [4], and the main chorus is about to come in when the beat changes. As the beat changes the artist changes his movement which is more outgoing than the rest and seems to be enjoying himself much more. This helps to build a relationship for the audience as they can relate to this. Usually at a beginning of the song people are listening to the song, waiting for the beat to change and the tempo to increase. This is the point when people enjoy the song most. The second part of the music video which incorporates a relationship between the lyrics and the music is when the artists are pretending to be puppets on a string [5] the co-ordinated dance is in time with the beat of the music, with every different beat there is a different movement. This helps to engage the audience as they see and notice this, as the dance looks well choreographed in time with the music. If the dance was out of sync with the music, this would what the audience would focus on, diverting the attention away from the music. Finally, another moment from the music video from The Wanted shows the girl which is being focused on throughout the video dancing to the beat of the music [6] However, her part of the music video is not choreographed, which contradicts Goodwin's theory. The difference with this is that her dance movements does not divert the attention away from the music, as the lyrics are talking about her. The audience can still relate and build a relationship as the girl still looks as though she is enjoying herself and having a good time, which is what the song encourages and promotes. The beat of the music is upbeat and enjoyable, which makes the audience feel good. This creates a lasting memory for them and also encourages them to purchase the song as they have enjoyed it. Overall boosting profit for the artists.

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Goodwin's fourth concept of the theory of music videos is the demands of the record label. Within this concept, stereo typically the music video will include multiple close up shots of the artist/artists. In addition to this, the artist could have developed several different motifs which reoccur throughout the music video. The micro-element of cinematography helps to demonstrate this factor of Goodwin's theory as it helps to show close up of each individual member of the boy band. This helps to improve profits for the artist and company as the target audience of younger teenagers, most likely younger girls will like to see their favorite member on the screen, and see them individually rather than as a whole group. Furthermore, by having several close up shots of the artist/artists this allows for the audience and artist to build a relationship. The audience focuses mainly on the artist and the lyrics and can connect to the song alot more then they usually would as this it more intimate being able to see the artists expressions more clearly and can relate as it feels as though the artist is singing the song towards the audience member individually. With the audience being able to connect to the song, this will ultimately make them enjoy the song more, increasing profit for the record label and artists.

The fifth factor of Goodwin's Music Video Theory is frequently reference to notion of looking. During this particular video of The Wanted's "Walks Like Rihanna" this can be seen through the use of screens within screens. Furthermore, Goodwin's theory suggests that a successful music video consists of voyeuristic treatment of the female body. Within this video the connotations of voyeuristic treatments of the female body are not noticeably clear, but can be seen if analyzed critically. For example, this can be seen when the women is sitting down, the camera focuses on the women's bare legs. However, this quickly contradicts Goodwin's Music Video theory as how the artists look at women quickly changes. This is clear due to the lyrics "But who cares, she walks like Rihanna" this suggests to the audience that the artist is overlooking certain aspects of the girl and focuses on what they like about her. This can be seen through the band acting and imitating puppets. This suggests that they are willing to do anything for the woman in order to grab her attention. This engages the audience as this is different from most Pop/Dance music videos which usually subject women and portray them sexually. This allows the audience to further engage with the song as this has intrigued them and has not put women down, therefore increasing profit due to the higher amount of sales.

The sixth concept of Goodwin's Music Video Theory is inter textual references. This is when parts of films, tv programmes or music videos are included in the video. Within The Wanted's music video for "Walks Like Rihanna" this can be seen when the bands music video is being shown on a smartphone. This is not unusual for current music videos as the majority use modern technology. The audience can relate to this as the target audience is majority the younger generation to which watching a video from multiple resources is second nature. This also reminds the audience that they can watch the music video multiple ways such as on a computer or on a smartphone through apps such as YouTube. In addition to this, by the band presumably being online this has promoted their music and could suggest their popular music.

The last concept of Goodwin's Music Video Theory is whether or not the video is primarily performance, concept or narrative based. It is important for a music video to fit into a specific genre of video, so that the artist can follow stereo typical convention which determine the success of the music video, depending on their target audience. There are 3 main types of music videos. The first type of music video is a performance based video. This usually features the artist or band performing typically singing, dancing, acting into the camera for most, if not all of the music video. Another type of music video is narrative based. This type of music video usually contains scenes which attempt to tell a story throughout the video. Actors are usually used to help to try and tell a narrative to the audience which is usually linked to the lyrical content. This is effective to the audience as it helps them to engage, also creating a visual memory which reminds the audience of the song, which could lead to an increase in sales. Lastly, another type of music video is based around a single idea or concept. The majority of concept or singled idea music video usually are edited in a particular style around the videos idea. The Wanted's music video for "Walks Like Rihanna" is primarily performance and narrative based. This is evident as the music video combines both of these elements. The band spend a large amount of the music video standing as a 5 piece singing to the audience, combined with a simple choreographed dance routine. The audience can relate to this and enjoy this part of the music video as it allows them to focus on the singing and lyrics of the video which is how they originally became a fan of the artist, presumably because of the lyrical content which the bands song contained, and the sound. Secondly, the audience also enjoy the music video due to is narrative. The audience can relate as this helps for them to understand the lyrics more, but does not need them to over think the video to question what is happening. The narrative also helps to the audience to create a visual memory by thinking of the song each time they see the video that they remember.

Overall I think that analyzing Goodwin's Music Video Theory is beneficial to me as this will help to assists me when I come to make my own music video. This is because I have learnt what helps to determine the success of a music video. I think that in my own music video I will follow key conventional aspects of the artists genre which I will choose. By doing this I believe that this will help for my music video to be more successful as it will include aspects which my target audience are expecting to see and from research know that they will enjoy. From this research I will also aim now to create a relationship between both lyrics and visuals. This is because this will then make it easier for my target audience to understand what is happening within the music video and do not have to divert their attention away from this. In addition to this I will also create a relationship between the lyrics and the music video itself. When the lyrics and beat of the song become more upbeat, or if I choose a song which is slower and with sad lyrics, I will create the visuals to match accordingly. With demands from record labels, I will ensure that close ups are used of the artist. This will help to create a relationship between the artist and the audience as they can see them on a more personal level as they can see the emotion of the artist depending on the lyrics they are singing. From this research it is clear that inter textual references are commonly used within music videos. However, I do not think that I will be using this technique in my video as this may be difficult to do and do not have the right equipment to create this effect for the audience. I do believe that many other music videos have not used this technique and still have had successful music videos, so to include this technique may not be necessary.