The music video and Goodwins Theory

  Before planning our ideas for our music video production, we developed an understanding of the concepts and history of the music video. From it's 'birth' with Queens 'Bohemian Rhapsody' video right through to Lady Gaga's recent 'Telephone' video. We learnt about key features such as genre, lyrics, music, camera work, editing, narrative, performance, intertextuality, representation and star image, and that the combination of these key features make the music video a distinctive art form.
We discovered that each genre from rock through to pop, has distinct characteristics and that each music video within these genres adheres to these characteristics. The lyrics of the song have a relationship with the visuals be it 'complementary, contradicting or amplifying' (Goodwins Theory). But that a songs lyrics will rarely be literally interpreted in a video but will be demonstrated in a more abstract manner, there is also a relationship between the visuals and the tempo of the music. The visuals may either 'illustrate, amplify or contradict', while the pace of the editing usually matches the tempo of the track.
Goodwin also states that 'record companies will demand a lot of close ups of the main artist' , this is because of their desire to create a sense of intimacy for the viewer, and to enhance the star image of the artist. Which is why the close up predominates in music videos. Mid or long shots are however favoured if they are trying to display a narrative or a choreographed performance.
It is clear that in  music videos, in common with many other media formats, women are put on sexual display and are seen through the 'male gaze'. Goodwin has expressed this stating 'there is likely to be voyeurism present especially in the treatment of women'.This is  mainly due to the fact that the creative medium of cinema has been dominated by males and has therefore been filtered through the perspective of a male. The depiction of a female is being looked at through their eyes, and although gender equality has progressed, this concept seems to have continued in a socially acceptable manner throughout the media industry.