Narrative/Audience/Genre Theory

Goodwin's Theory is used to analyse every genre of music video which could be either performance, narrative or concept based. Or this could be a hybrid which is a mixture of video types. When using this theory a number of principles which are:

• Genre characteristics
• What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?
• What is the relationship between music and visuals?
• Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?
• Is there any reference to the notion of looking?
• Are there any intertextual references?

Coldplay - Fix You (directed by Sophie Muller)
Performance Based

The demands of the record company that Coldplay are signed to will include the need for lots of close ups of the band and they might develop star image motifs which re-occur across their work as a visual style.

Richard Dyer - 'a star is an image constructed from a range of materials'.

In most of Coldplay's videos there is constant direct address, the singer Chris Martin always sings looking into the camera and never away. He doesn't act or play up to a certain image, because the music and lyrics say it all which gives it a very raw sound. These are all genre characteristics which is why they appear in all of the band's videos. The other band members are either not included or they never look at the camera which is indirect address. This direct and indirect address also introduces the notion of looking, the singer looking into the camera creates a relationship with the audience. There is a relationship between music and visuals, because he begins to run as the music speeds up.

This is a typical Coldplay video because it includes most of the features which are usually seen in them, such as the star image motif and performance aspect.

Madonna - Material Girl (directed by Mary Lambert)

Performance/Narrative Based

The idea for this video came from the film 'Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend', so this is a very good intertextuality example because cinema is introduced and stereotypes from that particular film are used.

It is made very clear what film this video is based on, because it is so well-known and Madonna is dressed identically like Marilyn Monroe. The whole video is a recreation of a scene from the film, so Madonna is imitating Marilyn Monroe.                                                                 The notion of looking features throughout the whole video with Madonna directly addressing the audience the whole time. A very carefully choreographed dance makes up most of the video which creates a relationship between music and visuals. There aren't any particular genre characteristics, but the title of the song fits the stereotype used in the video. She is very much the centre of attention, surrounded by men who are all competing to win her over. Her glamorous appearance makes this even more clear. In this video, approximately 60 shots are used in one minute, which shows how much work goes into creating a music video and how many shots I will need to include in my own.

Red Hot Chili Peppers - Californication (directed by Jonathon Dayton/Valerie Falis)

Concept/Performance Based

This concept based music video was designed to look like a video game. Some concept videos don't feature the band or artist, but characters for the game were created to be the Red Hot Chili Peppers band members. 
 

The band's logo which looks like a red star, as seen to the left, appears as an icon throughout the video or 'game', which creates a star image motif because this is recognised as their logo. This type of video gains audience engagement on a different level because it allows the audience access to the performer in a much greater range of ways than a stage performance could, or even just a narrative video. There is still a performance element in this video because parts are the band themselves playing the song.

Rihanna - Te Amo (directed by Anthony Mandler)
Performance/Narrative Based


In this video by Rihanna features a very clear relationship between music and visuals, and also lyrics and visuals. Once the pace of the video picks up and the music starts, the shot changes with the rhythm of the music, meaning that a lot more shots are used than in Madonna's video.

VIDEO

In most of Rihanna's videos voyeurism appears throughout, which means the audience is made to look at her in an appealing or sexual way, and the clothes she wears adds to this. Voyeurism is linked to the notion of looking and it features greatly in this particular video, with dancing choreographed carefully to create a relationship between music and visuals. There is a mixture of direct and indirect address used , which together with voyeurism makes the viewer connect with the artist and help them to understand the video. Direct address is also used on her album cover, so there is a link here.

John Stewart's description of the music video - 'incorporating, raiding and reconstructing' is essentially the essence of intertextuality.

Goodwin's prinicpals will appear throughout my own music video in a number of ways. The notion of looking will be included by using mirrors, and although the camper van cannot look directly at the camera because it does not have eyes, by sticking on googley eyes this effect can be created with an element of humour added. A relationship between lyrics and visuals will be seen throughout as things start to go wrong for the camper van, which matches the repeated line in the song "not getting what I want". Music to visuals will also be included as the picture will change on the beat of the music, and change pace accordingly. Close ups of the camper van will be used a lot, as this particular camera shot predominates music videos.