Andrew Goodwin's Theory

Andrew Goodwin Theory

“Music videos ignore common narrative as they are essentially advertisements. As consumerism, we make up our own meaning of a song in our minds; a music video can anchor meaning and gives the record company/artist a method of anchoring meaning.”'

-        Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin stated that there are 6 key aspects to a successful and well-made music video. These are 6 aspects are:

1.      A relationship between song/Lyrics and the visuals

This is done to enhance the audiences understanding of the music video, helping to convey the songs meaning through visuals. 

2.      Inter-textual references

These are used to give the audience some gratification for spotting the references. This makes the music video more entertaining to watch. However these references can also be used to boost the stars popularity as it will assist the music video in appealing to another audience.

3.      Frequent close-up of the stars

This is done to make sure that the audience remember the face of the star. This will make them more popular and will also help form an attachment between the star and the viewers. If the viewers didn't know what the star looked like, then their music isn't associated with them. This can greatly hinder the rate in which the stars popularity grows

4.      Thought beats (Music video edited to synchronise with the pace and the beat of the song)

This is done to make the music video look professional as it will synchronise with the pace of the music video. This makes sure that the visuals “flow” continuously with the music video, making it more entertaining to watch.

5.      Genre is conveyed and iconography is used frequently

Iconography is used within music videos to show the audience what the star represents and what genre of music they are identified with. For example, most Lana Del Rey Music videos contain very unique artistic shots, filters and mise-en-scene to show that Lana Del Rey is of the Indie pop genre.

6.      Voyeurism

Voyeurism is typically used to generate audience interest about the star, especially if the star is female. This is because if the audience finds the star sexually attractive they are more likely to be entertained by their content.