2. MUSIC VIDEOS
Key Codes & Conventions
(Andrew Goodwin 1992 Dancing in the
Distraction Factory)
3. My sources for music videos:
Youtube www.youtube.com
MUZU www. Muzu.tv
MTV www.mtv.com
These are the websites I use most for music video’s
because they are simple to use and focus mostly on
music videos.
4. Music videos are products
designed to sell albums
Performance based: Jack Johnson – I Got You –
focuses mostly around him singing directly into the
microphone -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBWFUVq85gs
Narrative based: Green Day – Wake Me Up When
September Ends – focuses on the storyline of a
soldier in love going to war.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBWFUVq85gs
Concept based: Red Hot Chili Peppers Can’t Stop]
5. Music videos demonstrate
genre characteristics:
Dance routines in girl/boy bands like Chris Browns
‘Turn up the Music’
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQWG8BVeryU
Stage performance, extravagant light shows,
outlandish behaviour in metal video like: Slipknot –
Psychosocial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wws
7mnMewPw
6. Lyrics and visuals are related:
illustrative [The Gorrillaz – Feel Good
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pw8PpYBiDsc]
amplifying [Christine Aguilera Beautiful
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAfyFTzZDMM]
contradicting [Wait for Me – Kings of Leon
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MC8QcaMMVQE]
All 3 of these music video’s show examples of lyrics and visuals
connecting in some way, whether its using
illustrative, amplifying or contradicting techniques. The
Gorrillaz use illustrations to depict a story using lyrics and
visuals to relate. Whilst the Kings of Leon use lyrics that
contradict what actually happens in the music video.
7. Music and visuals are related:
Cutting to the beat [You Make Me-Aviici
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2GADx4Hy-Gg]
Chorus & repetition [Green Day – American Idiot
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ee_uujKuJMI]
Vocals with close-ups of singer [Kings of Leon – Sex
on Fire
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF0HhrwIwp0]
Instrumental with close-ups of performance [Fall
out Boy – Dance Dance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C6MOKXm8x50]
These are four examples of music and visuals relating
in a music video.
8. The record label needs to sell the artist close-ups of the
artist [Lady Gaga - Applause] Close Ups of Lady Gaga
show she’s weird and unique immediately interesting
people because of her uniqueness.
The artist may have a distinctive visual style [Lady
Gaga – The visual style of Lady Gaga is so unique
people are interested in her immediately.
Although, this visual style isn’t necessarily followed by
fans, she continues to show her ‘wackiness’ in videos
as that’s what’s attracting people.
9. Labels use artwork & video imagery to
connect video to album [The Gorillaz]
The artwork of the Gorillaz Album – Demon Days gives you an insight
as to what you will expect in the music video with two samples
above. The sample on the right is the album cover and on the left a
printscreen of a music video from this album showing a familiar
character in both.
10. Goodwin identifies ‘notions of
looking’
Screens within screens, cameras,
telescopes [Thank You – MKTO- shows
two young teens watching the TV
looking into their own future.]
Voyeuristic treatment of the female
body [Rihanna – te Amo ]
Shows Rihanna in a very sexual way
leaning against a car with not
much on.
Camerawork, costume, dance,
framing imply sexualized display –
Beyonce – Run the World – Beyonce is
dancing with a lot of other people but
always is in the middle and is wearing
next to nothing to sexualise the video.
