Goodwins music video theory

Goodwin was a music director himself who identified six elements within music videos, which will be thoroughly explained and defined below in order:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics: which means that the type of music video one becomes is dependent on the genre type of the song, for example a rock song will usually opt for the live performance based option showing singers scream down the microphones and guitarist smash their guitars as this is more suited to a rock genre whereas many mainstream artists will go for a showcase type of music video which exposes the artists which in turn attracts the opposite sex through sexual appeals.
2. There's a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals represented with images: This is where for example in a narrative based music video as used by many mainstream artists, the lyrics in the song reflect the images shown exactly like in Bruno Mars' 'Grenade' when he sings ' I would do anything for you' and the video shows him pulling a piano through the town, as shown above.
3. There is a relationship between the music and the visuals and the tone and the atmosphere of the visuals which reflect the music: The tone of the music must match the visuals of the video otherwise the video will fail to make any sense, again this is shown in Bruno Mars' 'Grenade' as extra sounds such as smashing glass and thunder are added in to symbolise the bad situation and atmosphere.
4. The demands of the record labels tend to create unique motifs for artists which reoccurs  across their work: Record labels tend to want the most promotion for their artists as possible, this usually means that the camera is more or less completely focused on the artist so that their image becomes almost implanted in the audiences mind, these motifs make the artists much more memorable for example Lady Gaga, Rihanna and Nicki minaj.
5. There is frequent reference to the notion of looking (screens with screens and mirrors) and voyeuristic treatment of the female body: This type of video involves stages and mirrors enabling all focus on the artists, with this there is an implied voyeurism of women undressing and performing sexual acts but of course to a certain extent as there are restrictions involved but nevertheless this is common marketing strategy within the media industry.
6. There is often intertextual reference to films, tv shows and other music videos etc: This isnt always implied, only when the artist is linked to other forms of media at the same time as their own, music soundtracks and parodies are usually shown in music videos making them intertextual. A great example of this is 'Work it out' by Beyonce, which shows clips from Austin Powers as she features in it and this promotes the video, the movie and the artists acting career at the same time which is a purpose of a music video as explained in the previous blogs, to show the audience the artists other talents. Beyonce's video can be viewed just above, next to point number 2.