Consuming Music Videos/Branding

andrew goodwin says...

1. m/v show genre characteristics

2. relationship between (lyrics/music) and visuals

3. demands of record label will include close ups of artist, artist may develop motifs which reoccur across their work

4. frequently reference to notion of looking (screens within screen) and particularly voyeuristic (looking at someone without them knowing) treatment of females

5. often intertextual references

three ways to connect lyrics and visuals

illustrate, amplification and disjuncture

illustration

the video has a more literate relationship with the song, it illustrates what is being sung about ('driving in my car' shows a music video of people driving in a car)

amplification

the video builds on the theme of the song and moves from merely illustrating it - it develops the themes and reinforces the message (if there is one)

disjuncture

the video appears to operate at odds with the song and creates new meanings by doing this - commonly this happens more with niche acts of artist with no saleable 'face' (not attractive) like dance acts, etc

branding

• bands create a brand of style that is easily recognisable to their fans/potential purchasers of their music

• their videos are an extension of this reflecting a combination of their styles, ideas etc

• often falls within the convention of a genre to enable consumers to easily identify with