Andrew Goodwins Music Video Theory - Continued

Om the whole, we do think that Andrew Goodwin's theory is still relevant to music videos today. Many of today's music videos show the 5 factors Goodwin outlined. 

SIMILARITIES 

For example, in the last post, we link videos such as J-Lo's 'I Luh Ya Papi' which presented the idea of 'looking' or 'spying' into the characters private lives. This also applies to the Notorious BIG's 'Sky's the Limit' in which we also get the sense of watching these characters live their lives (watching them in their houses/gardens etc). Other factors such as the idea that there are links between the lyrics and the visuals in music videos is still present. This is seen in almost all videos, especially narrative videos. Adele's 'Someone Like You' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hLQl3WQQoQ0) is an example of this. The song tells a story of a separation and the hope that she will find someone else. To amplify the feelings and tone on the song, the video is in black and white and furthermore, she is seen walking through Paris (a city normally associated with love) with nobody around. This obviously illustrates the feeling of loneliness. 

DIFFERENCES

However, not all of Goodwin's theories are still relevant. In fact music videos have changed quite a lot. For example, Goodwin thought that certain genre's of music showed different characteristics (stage performances in Rock/Metal videos, dance routines for Girl/Boy Bands). But this is not always the case nowadays. Different genres of music have tried different types of videos, like Swedish House Mafia' 'Don't You Worry Child'. This video is entirely comprised of stage performances rather that a typical narrative or dance routine you might expect. Similarly, a lot of Girl/Boy groups choose to go with a performance based video. Like The Vamps 'Can We Dance' (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqSww10eeKw)
Goodwin also said that there was a link between the lyrics and the visuals. Not all shot cuts are now on the beat of the music. Some dance videos might have longer takes because they are still narrative videos. David Guetta's 'Titanium' has much longer shots that do not necessarily change on the beat of the music; which is quite fast. This is because the video tells a story about a young boy and the longer takes help to emphasise the feelings and emotions of the story. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JRfuAukYTKg&list=PL038C7EE384516468 )

Molly Beecham