Research: What makes a music video a music video?!

Although I've looked into this slightly in my last post, I thought it would be a good idea to really delve into what makes a music video, and so one way I've gone about this is to research 'Goodwin's seven' in more depth;

Andrew Goodwin believes that music videos stereotypically have seven characteristics..

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics; So the music video would show certain traits or stereotypes of the genre, for example rock music often has large performances of the band, whereas acoustic music video's usually follow a narration or a concept.
This music video's a good example, Jason Mraz is famous for his acoustic music, and the music video fits in well with this genre - being slow paced and not too much action going on.

2. Relationships between lyrics and visuals; Goodwin noticed that often there was a direct connection between the lyrics and what was going on in the music, perhaps like a narration. This happens in numerous videos, it doesn't always happen all the way through but sometimes only just for a few particular lines.

3. Relationships between music and visuals; In some music videos theres an obvious connection between the beats of the music and whats going on in the video. One of the most famous examples of this would be 'Around the world' - Daft Punk




4. demands of record label; The record label will not only want to sell the record but also get the band known, so they often make the demand that there must be ample shots of the lead singer and band, most often female lead singers will have many close up shots due to demands from their label.

5. Developing motifs or iconography; Goodwin noticed that through the use of music video's, artists would develop a certain trait or style that would then reoccur through many of their video's. For example a lot of stereotypical boybands often have dance breaks or lifting up their shirts to reveal their bodies.

6. Looking; Often in music videos you will notice that the lead singer or band looks directly into the camera, therefore making the audience feel like they are singing directly to them and concluding in the audience relating to the song and artist.

7. Intertextual references; In the song or video there can be references to other types of media, or lines that the audience will recognize from a film or perhaps even a different song, this often becomes memorable to the listener or watcher and so makes them think about the song and listen to it over and over.

It was really interesting to look into these theories, and now when I watch music videos I can relate each of his theories to the video, of course this isn't exactly what makes a music video and everyone will have a different view of exactly what makes a music video but I feel this research will benefit me when I come to creating my own music video!