Goodwin's Theory

Goodwin's Theory is as follows:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics (E.G stage performance in rock video, dance routine)

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

3. There is a relationship between music and 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 (Visual style)

5. There is frequently reference to notion of looking (Screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

6. There is often intertextual reference (to films, tv programmes, other music videos, etc)

Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk

1 . The stage performance within Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk shows a clear representation of the genre it is trying to represent (Pop) the music is upbeat and links to the music within the video really well.

2. The lyrics within the music video link to what we see as Bruno Mars sings about a night in the town with his friends and on screen we would see at the same time of the lyrics a shot of him with his friends to connect the two together.

3. There is a link between the music and the visuals of the music video as we see Bruno Mars and the group he is with move in beat with the rhythm of the music. They are very synced and in time with each other.

4. There are a lot of shots of Bruno Mars within the music video that changes rapidly which makes the viewer have to go back and rewatch parts of the video to understand whats happening. This is done to get more viewers on the video and attract others also.

5. Within the start of the music video Uptown Funk we see women being used as a prop as you can only get a visual of their legs and slowly moving up and onto Bruno Mars linking back to the lyrics and theme of the video

6. There is intertextual reference to a time within the 1970-1980's as we see the type of clothing that Bruno Mars and the people around him wear. The video also contains older versions of cars in the background which supports this intertextual reference to the 1970-1980's.

Coldplay - Yellow



1. The stage performance within Coldplay - Yellow shows a clear representation of a slow rock genre, the music video is slow and in time (paced)

2. There is a relationship as we see the singer sing "look at the stars" and as he says that the camera focuses onto the sky at the stars. This is a good example of the Goodwin theory as it applies to the second element of his theory.

3. The visuals within the video is very slow within the music video and definitely links to the music as we see it being very slow paced and the singer walks on the beach very slowly which links the music and the visuals.

4. The camera always focuses on the singer at all times (except the start) this is done to create a one to one visual of the singer staring back at you (the viewer).

5. There isn't very much voyeuristic treatment within the video as we can't see any connections to women within the video, just simply the singer.

6. There isn't really much intertextual reference to anything in the video as it only focuses on the singer walking along the beach for the whole music video.

Editing Styles Research

1.Identify the genre of the music - Coldplay(Yellow)

● Coldplay's music is of the pop/ alternative genre

2.Identify the pace of the song and if the video has a narrative

● The pace of the video is quite upbeat and calm although it tells no narrative.

3.Identify if it’s a one-shot music video or if it uses editing.

●This music video is a one shot video as it doesn't ever change the shot, only stays on him the whole music video

1.Identify the genre of the music - Bruno Mars(Uptown Funk)

● The genre of this music video is pop.

2.Identify the pace of the song and if the video has a narrative

● The pace of the music video is very upbeat and in sync. I think there is somewhat a narrative, possibly about what its like to be rich and famous.

3.Identify if it’s a one-shot music video or if it uses editing.

This piece is not a one-shot music video and uses alot of editing styles to entice the audience who is watching by using Bruno mars' face to get more viewers

Camera And Editing

Camerawork

. How the camera is used and how images are used will have an impact upon meaning.

. Certain camera shots and angles will create meaning for the audience of a music video and can be used to emphasise messages in the song or suggest qualities in the performer.

Editing

. The most common form of editing is associated with the music promo is fast cut Montage, which makes many of the images impossible to grasp on the first viewing, there are videos which use Slow pace and gentler transitions to establish mood.

. This is particularly apparent for the work of many female solo artists with a broad audience appeal, such as Adele.

Q: How many shots on average are there in a music video?

A: It depends on the style and genre. Between 1 - Hundreds

Q: How long do you think the average shot length is for a music video?

A: 0.3 - 5 Seconds is quite a long shot length!

Q: What could affect the length of a shot in a music video? Give and example.

A: If there is a montage of extremely fast paced shots, then the audience will rewatch to try and make sense of it. This will result in more views, more social interaction and potentially result in more sales for the song

Taylor swift - we are never getting back together

Artist - Taylor Swift

Direct adress? - Makes the audience feel involved with the audience by constantly looking back at us. Trying to get a point across to the audience.

Singing / Artist movement - Fast, upbeat movement

Camera Movement - Hand held,  pan,

Editing - Follows into different rooms


RadioHead - No alarms and no surprise

Artist/Song - RadioHead/ No surprises

Direct adress - Staring back into the audience, makes us feel a connection to him and wonder what is happening and also makes us look more into the words of the song and try to find a meaning behind them.

Artist movement - Doesn't move and constantly stares at the audience whiles the words go past on the screen and the room fills up with water

Camera movement - Does not move, only focuses on him standing there

Editing - At the start it fades in and at the end it fades out

Conventions Of Music Videos

Task 1: What Pop conventions feature music videos?

Katy Perry T.G.I.F:

 Task 2: Which genres does the music conform to (4 Conventions)

CONVENTIONS:

•Videos may use linear narratives telling the story of the song or performance montages to draw attention to the song or the performers

•Videos may use contrasting settings and associated lighting – location or studio or in performance, urban or rural, exotic or everyday, to match the style of music and the musician’s image

•Videos may use contrasting camerawork and editing to create a tone to match the song and the musician(s), by creating documentary style naturalism or a more stylised performance, for example

•Videos may use only the music track as soundtrack or may add diegetic elements to help create a self-contained fictional world

•Any other valid contrasting media language

•Narratives

•Mise–en-scene: Costumes, facial expressions, props

•Different camerawork and/or editing

•Representations (We will have a separate lesson on this) 

•Bright lighting

. Comedy, Romcom, Romance, Narrative

Task 3: According to Todorov, all music has 3 parts, equilibrium, problem, New equilibrium, Find these within the music video.

. Equilibrium - She is doing her homework in her bedroom

. Disruption - She is interrupted by a massive party next door and goes to find out what is happening

. New Equilibrium - She gets the boy she liked and they have a good time ;)

Music videos Purpose and Styles

Purpose of Music Videos

. You will need to analyse two music videos for the exam

. MusicVideos are an important promotional tool for marketing performers and their music

. They help to create the 'Star image' for a new performer (E.G. Lana Del Ray)

. The adapt or develop the image of a more established artist. (E.G. Rihanna)

. Music videos are used to interpret and anchor the meaning of a song and to entertain the audience.

. Iconography indicates the genre of music and the style of the performer 

Different Styles 

. Performance - One direction - what makes you Beautiful. Lady Gaga - close ups of the performer, direct address to engage the audience, different outfits.

.

This video is a performance as it includes close ups of the people performing and directly engages the audience using different outfits. They also try to engage with the audience which is another reason that this music video is a PERFORMANCE.

Narrative - Katy Perry - "Thinking of you". David Guetta - "Titanium" A story is created, sometimes the lyrics don't match the visuals at all. sometimes the artist doesn't feature at all and there are just actors.

.

This music video is a Narrative as we see a story being created as we watch the music video itself. We also find some meaning behind the words of the song itself, for example 'I am Titanium' showing how she is brave and not afraid of people anymore. However sometimes within Narratives you might have actors in the video instead of the singer, this is done to create an interesting story

Conceptual - They are based around an idea or image. E.G. Lady Gaga "Bloody Mary", REM"Everybody hurts" and Ok Go "Here it goes again"

This video is based around a conceptual based music type 

The History Of Music Videos

When did Music Videos Start?

. As soon as cinema was developed, there came with it opportunity to put songs to music

. As early as the 1920's jazz musicians began to make short films to accompany popular songs

So what do people consider to be the first music video?

. In 1965, Bob Dylan made 'subterranean homesick blues' as a segment of the film 'don't look back'

. This is widely recognised as one of the music videos

MUSIC TV - PROMOS

. In the 1970's producers of music television recognised an opportunity to make short promotional films to promote their artists

. They began to make "promos" - early music videos. These often replaced live performances which had previously been the most common way to promote releases on TV.

Bohemian Rhapsody

. In 19745 Queen released "bohemian rhapsody" with a groundbreaking video which marked the beginning of the music video era and set the language for the modern music video.

. The video is considered one of the first to use advanced visual effects

The first feature length video

. Soon artists realised the power of the music video and how it could affect their image

. In his 1988 book Moonwalk, Jackson expressed interest in having director John Landis direct the music video for "Thriller". Having seen Landis' previous work on a horror film. Jackson based himself on a a character from Landis film.


. In 1983 MJ released Thriller, a 14 minute music video. It was shown in many cinemas during its release. This led to acting roles in films including 1990 when he starred In arachnophobia.

Goodwins Theory

In what ways can Goodwins theory of music videos be applied to 'Mark Ronson - Uptown funk Ft. Bruno Mars'? (10 marks)


Goodwins theory describes many elements of music videos and how they can be identified within them. He thinks that there is a link between the lyrics of a music video and the visuals of it. Within Mark Ronsons Uptown Funk we can apply this theory to the music video by looking at elements such as the 'funk' within the video and how the editing within the video is very upbeat and in time with the song itself. We see a very upbeat, fast paced music video which shows the relevance of the genre 'funk'. The video itself shows a main focus on a group of people instead of a single person. The suit that Bruno mars wears within the group is pink which shows he stands out compared to the others around him. This also creates a sense of fun and fast paced music which the audience can enjoy and engage with. The style of the video can be related to the 1980's as we see a similarity in clothing and colours used within that era in the music video. Within the video we see a sense of objectification as we see women being used and only focused on their upper waist. The codes and convention within the music video are things such as the suit that Bruno Mars wears.