Audience: Andrew Goodwin

Andrew Goodwin is an Australian theorist. He has been the director of music and organist at Bangor Cathedral for 37 years. Andrew Goodwin states there are key aspects of a music video that we as the audience look out for:

• thought beats
• narrative and performance
• star image
• relation to visuals to the song
• technical aspects of the music video
• voyeurism

Thought beats

First step - you look into the music and interpret it looking at the chorus/verses.

Second step - the 'voice within the song'. The artists can be unique and can be identified from the rest.

Third step - the story an artist is telling within their song. This can make the artist to be also known as a storyteller. The music video can be seen to aid the story that the artist is telling us through the vocals of the song.

Narrative and Performance

Goodwin says we tend to make up our own idea of the message being sent in a song from a basic understanding of what the music video may be about. Music videos should be of the same standard every time and narrative and perform and work together in order to keep the audience interested. When the artist acts as the actor/singer as well as the participant in the music video this makes the video more authentic and original. Goodwin believes that miming is still the most popular thing done in music videos today however it is in the artist's best interest to make it look as real as possible to the audience.

Star Image

The star of the music video is the most important and vital in music videos. Artists want to look unique in the music video and they develop their character and person to do this. They play a very big role in the production of music videos.

Relation of visuals to the song

There are 3 ways that are used in music videos to promote it and these are:

Illustrate - music videos set certain images to illustrate the meaning of that song’s lyrics and the genre.

Amplify - meaning and effects are shown repeatedly to the audience and drummed into our vision.

Disjuncture - this is where the meaning of the song is completely ignored.

Technical aspects of the music video

Technical aspects hold the music together (e.g. camerawork, mise-en-scene, editing, sound, movement, angle, special effects.) Lighting and colour help set the mood and adds emphasis  on key moments and adds effect. Mise-en-scene is vital. It needs to look realistic to make it look professional and appeal to a wider audience. The beats in the song go with the rhythm in order to make the song play more smoothly and make the video more entertaining.

Voyeurism

Voyeurism is a perversion in which a person receives sexual gratification from seeing something or someone they deem sexy. This is particularly encouraged when is comes to females due to the fact audiences are urged to look at artist and become more attracted to them and their music when they find them attractive.

Linkin Park - New Divide
An example of thought beats or 'seeing the sound' and the technical aspects is Linkin Park's New Divide:

this is an example of the effects in the music video. In the video, these effects move to the beat of the song. This allows the audience to visualise the song inside of their head whilst they're watching the video. The editing is the element of the beats that make the audience be able to 'see the sound' in their heads. 

The music video was produced following the release of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.  this is an example of a clip from the film that was used to add to the story and give the audience an idea about what the music video is about. The music video uses clips from the film to show a narrative and provide a storyline for the video. 

The technical aspects aka the visual effects of the film including the freezing, fading in and out of clips and the negative effect all resemble the beat of the song, allowing it to flow smoothly and keep the audience interested. Without these elements, the music video would be boring.

Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines

An example of the star image, voyeurism and amplifying effects is the constant appearance of Robin Thicke, T.I. and Pharrell in Blurred Lines and the women:

In video Robin Thicke appears in mostly every single shot, thus making him the star image. Also included is T.I. and Pharrell but as they're only being 'featured' they're not playing a huge part in this music video. Robin Thicke and the females are the main focus of the video, which is a big part of what the video is about. This is the factor of voyeurism. This is also a factor of amplifying effects because the concept of the woman and Robin Thicke's views are drummed into our heads making it impossible to avoid.

The costume of the characters also makes them stand out as all three main characters are dressed in dark clothing or clothing that makes them stand out but the females are wearing white and cream coloured clothing which blends them into the background.