Research: Goodwins Theory

Goodwin's Theory

What is Goodwin's theory?:

Goodwin's theory is a general structure which all music videos should follow and it is a general structure for all genres of music videos which the audience can follow and interpret when they see the music video.

What Goodwin's theory says:

Goodwin says that more often than not every music video shows a typical genre characteristics in the music video which make all genres different from each other but the same genre music videos very similar and typically which can be easily recognized.

Goodwin's theories 8 points:

• Genre Characteristics - Music videos often reflect their genre through the use of specific characteristics which make them controversial and unique to the genre of music that is displayed in the music video.

                                            
 Through this image the genre characteristics can be seen immediately as this is a pop genre this can be interpreted by the bands appearance as they are very appealing to the audience and there are a lot of bright colours used which is used in pop music and the focus is on the band.





This image shows rock music as this can be seen by the characteristics of the artist wearing dark colour clothing with long hair and low key lighting. Also the artist is not worried about their image as rock music has a loyal fan base already.



This image shows R&B music as this can be seen through the characteristics of the artist wearing a chain and baseball cap, this is a typical genre characteristic of R&B music showing that they are update with the fashion today and live a very high life.

•  Relationship between lyrics and visuals - A connection is shown through the visuals relating to the lyrics, either being illustrative or explaining the lyrics visually, amplifying, exaggeration of the lyrics linking to the video. Lastly contradicting being the opposite visuals to the lyric.

This music video shows the relationship between the lyrics and the visuals as the boy has had enough of an abusive relationship where he begins to ignore it and this is clearly shown in the visuals.

• Relationship between music and visuals - Visuals show a connection to the artistic music. These are also illustrative, amplifying or contradicting for example if the music is upbeat so are the visuals. Another example if the lyrics are monotone, usually so are the visuals.

There is a relationship between the music and the visual as they both match throughout the music video as the music video is at a moderate pace so is the visuals.

• Star image motif - The music video includes many close ups shots of the artist demanded by the record labels to make them more popular and identifiable.

These images show that during the music video there is a lot of close up and focus on the artist as they are the most important drive in the promotion of the video.

• Notion of looking - Particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body as females are shown as sexual objects, as now men are being more explicit in music video as are women which provides more of an appeal to the music video.

From this music video it is evident that the camera always lingers around the female assets to make the video more appealing and popular with in the audience.

• Intertexual referencing - In many music videos you will find these are often links to many other films, TV programmes, other music videos and other artists.

• Performance, Narrative or Concept Based:

-Performance based is when the focus is on the artist solidly on the artist/band

-Narrative based means there is a story that is related directly to the lyrics of the song

-Concept based it is when the music video is obscure or surreal for the audience including special effects.

• Technical elements:

-Editing

-Cinematography

-sound

-Mise en scene

This is an example of an analysis music referring to Goodwin's Theory. The Music video that was analised was Miami by Will Smith.















Analysis:

This music video of one direction the Goodwin's theory is evident in the music video.

Firstly the genre characteristics is clearly identifiable as it is a Pop music video and this can be seen by the band wearing bright colours and the band is very appealing to the audience looking really glamorous in the music video which shows all the characteristic of a pop music video.

The lyrics match the visuals which are shown in the music video as it is clear what the song is about.

Also there is a clear match between the music and the visuals as they are singing about what makes a girl beautiful and the visuals show a girl who is beautiful which shows the link between the music and the visuals.

The music video has a lot of focus on each member of the band with close up of the band members and a constant focus on the band to give them the popularity.

In this video there is not much notion of looking as in the music video is not very explicit as the target audience of this music video are young people however the band members looking very appealing towards their audience and the co artist in the video for examples the girls are appealing to the audience as well.

In the video there are no intertextual referencing and in the music video it is a performance and narrative based music video.

Conclusion:

In conclusion Goodwin's theory has shown me what structure my music video should follow and how my music video should be when i chose my genre for my music video. Also i should include close ups of my artist and the lyrics of my music video should match the visuals those are the key elements that i need to keep in mind for my music to be a good music video.