After years of extensive research and analysis of music videos, in 1992, Andrew Goodwin published 'Dancing in The Distraction Factory'. He had put come up with a set of 'codes and conventions' for music videos - a range of features that you can apply to each video.
Goodwin's theory came to identify seven main features that can be identified in music videos - known as 'Goodwin's Seven':
There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals, and that the visuals always have an effect on the lyrics - either illustrating, contradicting, or amplifying the lyrics. In an illustration music video, the images on screen simply illustrate the meaning of the lyrics, for example; in Macklemore's 'Thrift Shop', the music video illustrates each lyric, such as him walking into a club during the lyrics "walk up to the club". In a contradiction music videos, images don't usually match the lyrics; and any narrative will not relate to the song in any way. When visuals amplify lyrics, they add meaning to the lyrics and matches the context.
The second feature is that there is a relationship between music and visuals; and similarly to the previous, the visuals can either illustrate, contradict, or amplify the music. When a video illustrates the music, the editing will always be in time with the beat of the song, making the video seem more polished. On the other hand, if the visuals contradict the music, you will find that the video mainly cuts off the beat of the song, seemingly out of place. Finally, when visuals amplify the music, there will be instances in the video where something happens to the beat; for example, an explosion occurring right on the beat as the chorus starts.
The third feature is that music videos demonstrates certain genre characteristics, genres include: Stadium performance, studio performance, location, narrative, and conceptual/experimental.
The fourth feature is that within music videos there will generally be several close-ups of the artist. Record labels demand that the artist is clearly present in the video. Some artists develop motifs, a consistent visual style throughout their videos. This can contribute to methods such as artistic branding, and portrayal, allowing the producers of the video to paint the artist in a certain light.
The fifth feature follows on from the previous, and is known as star iconography; this is how each artist develops an individual style throughout their videos, this becomes their brand image, and will be a consistent style throughout their work. Well-known examples of authentic icons include the likes of David Bowie and Michael Jackson.
The sixth feature is the notion of looking and voyeurism, where the audience is introduced to a perspective that they would not usually see. This could come in the form of: nudity, exhibitionism, an intimate location, frame within a frame. The male gaze is a perfect example of voyeurism, as it allows the audience to view women from a voyeuristic perspective.
The seventh and final feature is the concept of intertextual referencesthroughout the video - whether it be directed towards film, television, or general pop culture.
Carol Vernallis - 'The Kindest Cuts: Functions and Meaning of Music Video Editing'
Vernallis' music video theory is based around four key concepts revolving around the production of music videos. These concepts are: Narrative, Editing, Camera Movement/Framing, and Diegesis.
Vernallis suggests that the video is a visual response to the narrative, in other words, whatever is happening visually reflects the lyrics in the song. However, alternatively, Vernallis also goes on to say how the narrative may not always be completed, and can be partial with the video - therefore appearing disjointed and fragmented, and more often than not, the video and narrative will be displayed in a montage style, rather than one clear focus. If the video is left incomplete, it can lead to questions about the narrative which won't always be answered throughout the video. Without a completed narrative, the video will be driven by something else, whether it be the music itself or other elements.
Music videos commonly break the conventions of continuity editing, which most other forms of film adhere to. For example, the editing may be brought to the foreground - becoming apparent, as oppose to the invisible style of continuity editing. Vernallis suggested that this may be a result of wanting to make the video unique in its design, rather than following a chronological order of events, as a majority of films do. Sometimes jump cuts are used, to speed up events. Videos will often have a distinctive style of editing that is consistent throughout; common styles highlighted by Vernallis include: Jump Cuts, Breaks of the 30ยบ Rule, Cutting to the beat, juxtaposed frames, and graphic matches.
Vernallis also researched the uses of camera movements and framing. Establishing shots are one of the key features of a music video and are used frequently throughout; other key shots are medium and closeup shots, which establish the artist. The style of framing of the video will again be quite distinctive to the video, and also the camera may move in time with the lyrics. A master shot, or base track is often used, specifically if there is a performance sequence involved, this provides a foundation for structure. The camera usually moves in time to the music and there is greater freedom between the transitions of shots, following no conventional order.
In terms of media, the diegesis is the setting of the music video. Vernallis explains howe the diegis will be revealed slowly, and the happenings in the video are not always completed, as they may be disrupted in some way. Repetition is also key throughout the music video, as some frames will appear more important than others due to the way they have been shot
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