REASERCH

Andrew Goodwin

Summary of Andrew Goodwin's theory:

Andrew John Goodwin born in Hillingdon, Middlesex was a Director of Music and Organist at Bangor Cathedral for 37 years, Andrew Goodwin feels that traditional narrative analysis don't really apply to pop videos. there are different reasons why but he says that it isn't because pop videos are trying to be avant garde- its just they approach narrative from different angels to novel and films.

1. Pop videos are built around the song- most song don't pose traditional narrative structures which are normality, problem, resolution.

2. The pop videos use the singer both as a narrator and as a character. 

3. The singer often looks directly at the camera- this is an extension of performance and trying to involve the viewer at home with the performance.

I have found a presentation highlighting Andrew Goodwin's theory:

Andrew Goodwin: Theory of Music videos

View more presentations from Zarak92

              

Andrew Goodwin says that pop videos reply on repetition, he says that the video often repeats images the same way the song repeats the chorus. he says that because they keep repeating the same thing we become familiar with the genre and build certain expectations. he also says that they could advertise it everywhere to make the song more familiar through repetition; video will be played on TV, song would be played on the radio, there might be an advertising film or TV tie in. For example Selene Dione's, 'my heart will go on' was a tie in with the film Titanic. This song became very famous because they were advertising each other, so when it played on the radio people would instantly link it to the artist or film.   

 

Sometimes the video produces a visual pleasure that encourages repeated viewing leading to promotion of music.  

He says that some music videos are autonomous from the music the spring from, the visualisation of a song may go beyond the original meaning. Andrew Goodwin says that there are three types of relationships between songs and videos:

1. Illustration: this is where the video tell the story of the lyrics, dance is often used to express the feelings/ moods in the song.
2. Amplification: occurs when the videos introduce new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics however they add layers and meaning to the song or artist.
3. Disjuncture: this is where there is little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyrics.

An Example of Illustration:

Madonna-crazy for you   

The video by Madonna crazy for you is a good example for illustration because it follows the story of the lyrics. in the video Madonna sings a song about being in love. The characters in the video portray this. The video to this song has been taken from a film that links back to Andrew Goodwin’s theory. The video promotes another commodity which is a film which is Vision Quest. Madonna plays two roles; a narrator and a character. The video imitates exactly what the lyrics say, its about two characters expressing how they feel towards each other for example how they are portrayed to look at each other and they show physical acts e.g. kissing.

An Example of Amplification:
Snow Patrol-Chasing Cars                                  

This music video is a really good example of amplification. because they focus these lines of the lyrics "if i lay here, if i just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world." this is amplified through the fact that he is lying down in different places that are not normal, e.g. the  middle of a road, in front of an escalator, lying in the middle of a train, on the top of a rock near the motorway etc. This song is about a girl/ love. you can tell because he is lying in bed by himself at the end with the other side of the cover not made. i think that this was a really good way to emphasize the fact that he is lonely or wants a promise from the one he loves. 


An Example of Disjuncture:
Micheal Jackson-Man In The Mirror

This music video is a good example of disjuncture because the lyrics and the video have very little to do with each other. the video contradicts the lyrics. the song is about self realization; a line from the lyrics "if you wanna make a change, look at yourself and make a change, i'm starting with the man in the mirror." this tells us that he wants to change himself and that he wants to be a better person. However the video is  very different; its full of radical world events for example the Nazi's in the world war 2, racism, war, starvation, poverty.