Research Into Goodwins Theory - miss Georgiou

Andrew Goodwin believed that there were many different characteristics that would make a successful music video. He believed that to make a good music video you had to have many different elements in order to attract a specific target audience and to reach globalisation. There are seven different characteristics that he believes should be evident within a music video, they include:

1.       The music video should demonstrate the musical genre and characteristics of the genre e.g – (dance routine for boy/girl band, stage performance in a metal video etc)

2.       A visual relationship between the lyrics of the song and the visuals eg – (either illustrative, amplifying or contradicting)

3.       A relationship between music and the visuals

4.       The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close-ups of the artist and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work

5.       There is frequently a reference to voyeuristic shots eg – (looking at other people within the music video , looking besotted by them, and they do not realise)

6.       They often have intertextual reference to either films, tv programmes , other artists in music)

7.       Finally, he believes there should be a balance of narrative based video and performance based video ( showing both the artist performing – singing , and a narrative related to the lyrics of the song)

All of these characteristics Goodwin believed were the key to making a music video successful in order to help with the globalisation of the song. By researching into his theory I was able to look at a music video of my choice - Ed Sheeran’s A Team, and tried to see if his theory was included within the music video. I looked at all of the seven characteristics and linked them with micro-elements to explain my analysis in further detail.

For my chosen music video in which I was searching for Goodwin’s theory, I decided to look at one of my favourite artists, Ed Sheeran, and I analysed his song called A Team. I look at this particular video as I believe this song has a lot of deep, meaningful meanings to the lyrics and that the music video itself does reflect the lyrics in which he sings. This music video showed many of Goodwin’s theory and made great analysis.

For example, one of Goodwin's theory is the relationship between the music and the visuals. This is shown through the use of mis-en-scene iconography (props used) and mis-en-scene body language (facial expressions). The lyrics of the song ''struggling to pay rent' and then the iconography with the sleeping bag whilst laying in the street begging for money, links to the theory of the music linking to visuals as you as the audience witness the young girl having to roam the streets asking for money. This connotes that the young girl is having a bad moment in her life, and we can hear this from the lyrics and the visuals of her begging for money. We also see this through the use of costumes as she is wearing the same clothes throughout the whole music video and they are very tatty and have many holes in them,. This again shows she is struggiling wiith life and feels that she must sell her body just to get some income to keep herself alive. This would create a relationship with the audience as it could possibly relate to somebody in their life at a certain time and then therefore by using the lyrics relating to the visuals the artist would be able to connect more with the audience aas they will connect with the kyrics more if they have visuals to help them understand the song in more detail.
Another link with his theory linking with her struggling, is the use of mis-en-scene body language as we see the girls emotions specifically her facial expressions with tears running down her face, and it shows a very realistic moment of desperation and heartache. The lyrics here that stand out were 'crumbiling like pastry', this is a hidden metaphor for the young girl to show that by 'crumbling like pastry' she is actually breaking down inside and out, and she herself is crumbling. This would create a relationship with the audience as the audince here sympathise and empathise towards the young girl. This links to Goodwins theory as the audience are able to have a visual image of the lyrics within the music video.

Another example, is the use of cinematography, especially close-ups. This links to Goodwins theory as he believes you need a certain demand from the record label of close ups of the artist. But however, Ed Sheeran's music video is challenging his theory, as Ed Sheeran is no

t in this particular music video at all. Instead the close ups are used on the girl particuarlly when she is showing an emotion that will make the audience sympathise with her. This challenges his theory as although the artist had created the song, the close ups of her make the audience believe that the song is actually about the young girls life, and can possibly connote that the lyrics are how she feels and how she thinks her life is panning out for her. The use of cinematography (close-ups) should be used so that the audience can create a realationship with wither the characters in the music video, or the artist, in order to create globalisation to help create a better image for the artist themselves. This is believe creates a better relationship with the audience as you can see the true emotion behind her facial expressions and it makes the audience have sympathy and empathy towards them too as they can relate to the lyrics and the visuals due to lots of close ups of either the artist or the character they are trying to portray.

Another example of Goodwins theory used is the demands of the record label. This is subverted by the artist as he is not featured within the music video at all. He shows only narrative within this music video and doesn't include himself but this shows the audience that possibly the record label has  made him not feature in the video so that he is absent from his music and the audience. This would make the audience want to see him more as he away from the audience and they will desire and want to see him more than they usually do. This is so the artist has a better connection with the audience as they focus mainly on his music within this music video and not on the artist himself. This makes the audience strive to see them more and this will help with the promotion of the artist and also this again promotes the artist more effectively as the audience will demand to see him more within the music videos or in other parts of his promotions.

Another example of goodwins theory is the link between genre characteristics. With his music video being indie you would expect to see the use of different indie genre characteristics such as iconography guitars, light makeup. The music video both subverts and conveys the genre characteristics of an indie music genre as the mise-en-scene was very stereotypical indie what with the use of baggy jumpers, not tight clothing and this shows off the indie look and portrays the artist as being indie despite him not actually being part of the audience. This would create a better relationship between the audience as the clothing Is very realistic and relatable to the everyday clothing and this makes it more relatable for the audience and makes them think that the artist is just like them and not somebody who things fashion is the main thing, it shows that his clothing isn't the main focus of the music video, he portrays it to be that the main focus is the music nothing else. This then makes the audience believe that he is a genuine person like his music and his characteristics portray his personality is.

The main focus of the music video is that it is narrative based. We know this as we see the lyrics matching the visuals and the girl being homeless and seeing what she does on a day to day basis and the struggles of life that she has to try and overcome. This narrative base lets the audience focus more on the music of the song and connect and understand the lyrics in more detail. It can also create a better relationship with the audience as they can see that the artist  makes true and relatable songs and therefore could make a better relationship between artist and audience.

What is a music video - Miss Miller

Mirror - Justin Timberlake

What is the purpose of the music video?

The purpose of the music video is to show many different elements of a persons life and the to also represent the lyrics within the song and the artist himself. Mirrors is a very popular music video as it shows an in-depth meaning to the lyrics and explains to the audience what the lyrics actually mean. It allows the audience to create a relationship with the artist and this will therefore be beneficial for both the artist and the audience, and this will help globalise the music video and the song whilst letting the audience experience escapism. The purpose of a music video is to help the artist show his compassionate side and in this particular video 'Mirrors' show the lifestyle of a couple and the events they participate in throughout their lives together. This shows the music video as being relatable for the audience as they can then therefore relate their own lives to the narrative behind the lyrics. Again, this will let the audience understand and pay more attention to the lyrics if they have a guideline. This is shown through the use of

What is the style of the music video?

The style of this particular music video shows both performance and narrative. The performance side can be seen through Justin Timberlake himself and this element is particularly used so that the artist can be seen as if he is part of the narrative within the music video. You can particularly see Justin Timberlake’s performance within the video through the use of cinematography/camera angles. In particular constant use of mid shots is used to show Justin’s performance whilst looking into the mirrors. This I believe is to emphasise the lyrics within the song as though he is reminiscing on the past or trying to tell the story of somebody he knows and has possibly lost in his life. This could be because he wants to reflect on all the good memories, and the mid shots show him singing into a mirror connoting that he may think that the narrative could be him when he is older and with his wife.

Artists use performance in their music video to connect with the audience and in ‘Mirrors’ it can be used to create globalisation so that the audience can relate to Justin and become more captivated by the artist himself, and focus on him and also the lyrics of his song. By having a performance within the music video, the artist (Justin) is able to create a reputation and image of himself to his globalised audience. In Justin Timberlake’s music video he portrays himself as sophisticated and wealthy. This is shown through the use of mis-en-scene (costumes) as he is well dressed in a fitted suit and a bow tie. By having this image and also the costume he is wearing the performance is more relative to the lyrics of the song which comes in with Goodwin’s theory of the performance relates to the lyrics of the song. The performance shows his sophisticated ways and also shows the sophistication of his song, and this is why he uses performance within his music video.

Another style he uses within his music video is narrative. Narrative is also used in music videos so that the audience can get to grips and get a more in-depth understanding of the lyrics. In this music video, they use a narrative of an old woman reminiscing on her past with her husband who has passed away. We can see this as ‘Mirrors’ represents what the woman wants to see, and this could be a hidden message within the song and mirrors can be seen as what people want to see and not what they can see. The use of narrative is seen through the use of editing, with quick shots. This can be seen when they old lady and her husband had just met and the quick shots connote that by having the editing being faster, shows how quick they’re life together had been and that being young felt so far away and so quick, that she feels like she needs to see it just that last time to remember her husband and the good times. The quick shots could also represent that time goes so quickly and that you must cherish every moment with your loved one and not take it for granted.

The narrative also lets the audience connect with the artist further, as they are able to see what they lyrics are about and this helps the audience have a connection with the artist as they can experience escapism and forget about their problems and focus on the narrative of the music video and the lyrics of the song. This will help the artist in making more profits as the narrative is relatable and more people will want to hear it, and also people around the world can talk about it and start a trend with other people making the song more well-known as it is more accessible to other countries.

What are the codes and conventions of a music video in particular the pop one of mirrors by Justin Timberlake? Conventions of the music genre in particular and how are they involved, adapted or challenged?

Pop – performance, nice clothes, close ups, quick shots, narrative, catchy song,

There are many codes and conventions of a music video, and especially in the music genre. Mirrors genre is pop and this music video involves many of the conventions whilst also challenging them too. One convention of a pop music video is dancing and a party of some sort. This is challenged in this music video as we see the dancing through the young teenagers having a good time, but this challenge’s the convention of a pop video as they are dancing quite vigorously despite the music being very slow. This is to show that despite the old people, the memories are slow and she wants to experience them all over again, and the dancing quickly makes the music stand out more and you focus again on the lyrics. The convention shows the opposing the stereotypes of a pop video, to possibly challenge the music industry as a whole.

Another convention of pop music video is fancy/striking clothing. This can be seen through the use of mis-en-scene (costumes) when Justin Timberlake is in a tight fitting suite with very well slicked back hair. This shows that the connotation of striking clothing is introduced into the Pop genre of the music video as this could be a way of showing the artists personal image and persona in which he wants his target audience to see him as. This could create a relationship with the audience as the audience may see an item of clothing on the artist in which they want to wear also, and this could create and possibly start a trend due to advertisement of clothes. The clothes create the image that the artist wants them to see, and this can lead to the music being more popular due to costumes worn, as the better the costume the more the likely the music video will be successful due to a better image of the artist and the more the target audience like it.

Discuss how and why the music video appeals to a particular audience/target audience . Micro elements

This music video is very appealing to any target audience as they are able to relate their own personal lives to the lyrics and also the video. But I believe the target audience is aimed mainly for the younger generation, for teenagers and adolescence (ages 16-25) as I believe that this song could be very relatable for the audience as the music video shows a young couples relationship blossoming into many years of marriage together. I think that it would appeal to this target audience as it has a famous musical artist that has been around for many years, and also most importantly as relationship that is forming and blossoming into old age. This would particularly appeal to them as they are able to witness they young relationship in all its glory, which is shown through the uses of mis-en-scene body language and eye contact as they start dancing and gazing into each other’s eyes. The target audience would feel warmth and empathy as the music video continues as you start to grow attached to the narrative and realise that the man, once older, becomes old and frail and dies.

Another thing that would appeal to the target audience is the