A2 conventions of a music video Theory

 Andrew Goodwin's theory on conventions of a music video.

things that music videos have to follow.

- A link between the lyrics and the visuals.

The video will reflect the lyrics, could be from a obvious stand point, talking about money then showing money, or from a for metaphorical stand point.

- A link between the music and the visuals

The visuals will match the tone or flow of the song through the editing, this is to allow the video have a more smooth feel as everything matches in time. 

- Reflects the genre of music

The video shows the genre through the visuals or through pase and editing. A great example of a genre type music video is Michael Jackson's thriller, as this is a Halloween holiday song reflected on spooky themes and the music video show zombies and werewolves showing this type of genre.  

- Use of intertextual references

References to other forms of pop culture media to relate to the audience and draw in fans and to create talk to gain views on the music video to gain money. It also makes a viewer feel good that they spotted the reference which makes their audiences feel a stronger connection to the artist. For example teeway's breaking bad music video starts of with the artist in a trailer wearing a biohazard suit nodding towards the show breaking bad.

- Notions of looking and voyeurism

Having an artist wearing vulgar outfits to exaggerate a point and making a statement as well as appealing to a male audience. This is used to target the "male gaze" as female artist objectify themselves in their music videos in order to over exaggerate the point they making.

- Reflect of the record label 

Showing the status of their label and their connections global locations and very much reflected of their financial situation. This can be used as a brag for a artists wealth or to show off their brand. In Kendrick Lamar's music video Humble a shot shows him lying on a stack on money, although this shot is in direct contrast to what the song is actually about.

- Star image 

The star image is what sells the video this is done through many close ups to make the star recognisable on a global view. As well as having their album cover be just a photo of them as they are the brand they are what sells the music a lot of fans will just buy the album because of the artist. An example being save your tears by the weekend.

- Performance/ narrative base of the video.

: Performance 

A performanced based video typically depicts a band or an artist playing their instruments and singing along in a cool looking setting showing that they are talented and that they are the ones playing them. 

: Narrative 

These types of music videos tell more of a story that could be a story of something crazy that happened to the artist or a meaningful story that they wanted to tell. The best example for a narrative music video in my opinion is 1-800 by logic which is a song with a meaningful story try to spread awareness about suicide and mental health.                         

: Concept based - focus is on the abstract form, done well they will go very viral which makes their brand recognisable, they become more of a music video focused artist as they grow and gain popularity through the insane music videos.