Andrew Goodwin's theory

Prompts for analysing music videos with Andrew Goodwin's theory

·         Which video are you analysing, who is it by and, if you know, who directed it?

·         What genre does the music belong to and what broad characteristics of that genre does the video have?

What is the relationship between lyrics and visuals?

·         Find the song lyrics.

·         Work through the song and identify ways in which the lyrics are illustrated or amplified or even contradicted by the visuals.

·         Pick out some specific examples to back up your argument.

What is the relationship between music and visuals?

·         Does the video cut to the beat?

·         Are solo instrumental bits illustrated by the video?

·         Does the video change pace with the music?

·         Give examples to support your points.

Are there close-ups of the artist and star image motifs?

·         How is the record company looking to sell this track?

·         What image of the artist/band is being offered?

·         How does this video relate to previous videos by the artist?

·         Are there motifs which have been used previously? Or does this video represent a change of image? Is there a ‘message’ is being communicated in this video?

Is there reference to the notion of looking?

·         Do you get the sense that the artist is on sexual display or that other people in the video are used in this way?

·         Does the camerawork, costume, dance or something else imply sexualised display?

·         Are there references to 'looking' such as screens within screens or binoculars, cameras etc?

·         Give examples and consider why these features have been chosen

Are there intertextual references?

·         Do these relate to other music videos, to aspects of the star's image or to completely separate texts such as programmes or films?

·         How are they used?

Is the music video perfomance-based, narrative-based or concept-based

·         How much of each?

MEDIA LANGUAGE ANALYSIS OBSERVATIONS:

- MISE-EN-SCENE: what do you notice about the design decisions made and their effect on the video: costume, hair, make-up, casting, lighting, set and location, props, choreography/body language, framing and positioning etc…

- CAMERAWORK: noticeable camerawork and effect? Shot types, shot distances and movement?

- EDITING: noticeable editing for effect? Including effects added in post-production