Task Two – Understand the styles and conventions of music videos

Andrew Goodwin's Six Key Conventions

Andrew Goodwin defines what he feels are the characteristics of music video, in the book ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’. His idea consist of six key conventions that music videos have. They are – Genre characteristic, relationship between Lyrics/visuals, Relationships between music/visual, visual style of artist, voyeurism of female body and intertextuality references.

Goodwin’s first point made was that music videos demonstrate genre characteristics. This infers that different genre of music are likely to use certain key conventions within their videos. There are many examples of this and will start with a video from the metal band rage against the machine. As this band is in the metal/rock genre, then it is more likely for them to have live footage of them playing which is what is included in the music video. Different once have live footage is used, with shots showing them playing in from of loud crowds. This video can be seen at the bottom. Another example of genre characteristics would be from the pop girls group The Pussy-cat Dolls. This girl groups would often include a dance routine in their video and wear something very small. This can be seem in one of their video below:

Music videos can have a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. Mostly, this is done by using a set of images to illustrate lyrics. When an artist sings about something and they are seen doing it at the same time in the video, this is illustrating lyrics. The video below by Nelly Furtado, shows her singing “I’m like a bird, I’ll only fly away’’ and the she is actually seen flying away when sing the lyrics. Another use of visuals with a music video would be to amplify the lyrics. For example Miley Cyrus music video ‘Wrecking Ball’, when she sings the words ‘I came in like a wrecking ball’ she is seen on the screen actually sitting on a wrecking ball swinging about on the screen. This is a metaphor for her crashing into a situation, therefore the action matches the words she is singing.

Also, another relationship within music videos would be between the music and the visuals. For example American Idiot by Green Day. The music matches the visuals as it shows the bang performing the music and it synced together so that they are both in time with each other. Also, when the guitar is heard playing, it is also seen on the screen- this is also done with the drums, vocals and bass. Some parts, are played in slow motion whereas the music stays the same speed, which contradicts what was heard and shown on the screen because it was too slow.

Star image is seen to also be a convention of music videos. Multiple shots can usually be seen of the artist which gives them an image. Close up shots can be seen of their trademark looks which helps define them and make them memorable. They can also be wearing/doing something in particular in a video and this can become a trend for the viewers. An example of a star image is in the music video Happy by Pharrell Williams. The first shot is of the singer and he is seen dressed in smartly walking down an alleyway. The shot then cuts to another person walking down the street and dancing. Many other people follow, with Pharrell being shown at various times throughout the video. When he is shown, he is seen to be wearing a selection of fancy clothes which allows him to be recognisable. Close ups are seen of him in his outfits which give him a star image. Viewers then copy his style of clothes which creates a connection between him and his fans.

Andrew Goodwin also states that voyeurism is a convention of music videos. It visually interest the audiences and is often in relation to females, although can also be voyeurism of males. Women can be seen dancing around a male singer, or a female singer herself could be dancing and being entertained by the male viewers. An example of artist that was able to use voyeurism to match Andrew Goodwin theory was Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke, T.I., and Pharrell Williams. In the video, women were wearing “skimpy clothing” which are seen throughout and can be seen dancing around in an active manner. They are seen dancing to the men within the video, which tells the audience that she is dancing for the ‘males' entertainment. These women are also used to entertain the viewers as they are dancing in an ‘explicit’ way in very little clothing. 

Finally, intertextual references are used within music videos which is when the media references another media text. Many music videos use television programmes or films as a starting point to creating a music video. This can either be created by copying the style of the media text they are looking at, or in a parody style. An example that shows intertextuality within a music video is the song Buddy Holly by Weezer. The video shows Weezer performing at the original diner in Happy Days. Some actors from Happy Days make a appearance in the music video too, such as, Henry Winkler, and Anson Williams.