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
