With reference to Goodwin's theory of music videos;
1 - Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals
- This can mean that the themes, mise-en-scene or events of the video match with lyrics of the song, to help put across the message of the song and video
My music video conforms to this typical feature as well as develops it. The lyrics repeat ‘gangsta for life’, so I have taken the stereotypical gangsta image and interrupted it through costume and locations, however the fact my character is female it also challenges the stereotypical stereotype.
My other locations, costume and make-up ties in with the lyrics representing women standing up and fighting against domestic violence and develops Goodwin’s theory. These references are more subtle with a more in depth meaning, for example, my character is set in prison cells, representing the justice women can received if they speak out, and in some shots she is wearing nude colour clothing and has smudged eye make-up to represent the vulnerable side of the females; a complete contrast to the outside shots.
2 – Relationship between the music and the visuals
- This can mean that the cuts and edits of the video are in sync with the rhythm and beat of the song matching cuts or effects to specific drum beats or notes.
My music video conforms as well as develops this Goodwin point. My video cuts to the beat and reflects the speed of the track, as it has slow movements and cuts during the verses and speeds up during the chorus, and when the track’s tempo increases sufficiently towards the end my cuts become quicker. Some of my cuts are edited to the ‘off-beat’ and not the main beat. This gives my video a little more variety and this is often featured in R’n’B music videos, where shots aren’t always cut on the dominant beat.
3 - Music videos have genre characteristics
- This means that certain features are expected out of a video depending on the genre of the music, for example a girl band is expected to have dancers and close ups of the singers, whilst a metal band is expected to have performance shots of the band.
My music video conforms strongly with this point. Solo female artists of this genre, along with pop, always have performance shots featuring in their music videos and the majority of the times are the dominant shots.
My music video only features my artist and is a performance video with an underlying meaning and representation.
Female artists often play on sex appeal in terms of their costumes, make-up/hair and performance. My artist is dressed ‘seductively’ in the majority of the video, even when the costumes are representing the gangsta stereotype. (This is discussed further down, under the point ‘looking’)
4 - Often due to the demands of the record label, artists videos will include many close ups of the artist and will often develop motifs that recur across multiple videos.
- This allows the record label to promote a set image for the band, which will help target audiences empathise with the band.
As I have only created one music video for my artist there are no set motifs, however female artists especially within this genre tend to keep a similar theme to the music videos in the same album, and then change style when they create a new album and many motifs and styles tend to flow through. If I were to create another music video for my artist, with a track from the same album I would adopt a similar style and give my artist a ‘signature’ motif as many female artists have created.
5 - Emphasis on 'looking'
- The 'male gaze' is often used to attract a male audience. The male gaze is a focus on presenting things that appeal to men.
My music video again strongly conforms to this point. Female artists who create a performance video usually perform and dress with sex appeal to attract a male audience, especially in the genre of R’n’B. My music video features a character dressed in leather and lace, with her hair styled down, wearing high heels for the dominant scenes. Her dark eye make-up also adds the sex appeal that attracts a male audience.
The shots outside, where the character is dressed as a stereotypical gangsta, sex appeal is still present as she is wearing a short black dress, high heels etc.
Even in the modern cell shots, where she is dressed in a nude jumper to represent vulnerability, her jumper is short and shows a lot of flesh, giving off sex appeal in a different way.
Throughout the music video, my artist looks directly into the camera frequently to engage with the audience. Female artists looking directly into the camera can give a sense of seduction to male audiences as they feel connected and engaged to the artist.
6 – Intertexual references.
- This means that music videos reference other forms of media.
I have no references to films or a television programmes etc, however I feel I incorporated a performance style of typical female artist, such as Rihanna, Lady Gaga or Katy Perry. Things that are featured in my music video can be seen of a similar effect in other classic music videos.
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