Research into Goodwin's music theory - Miss Georgiou

Intro:

Andrew Goodwins theory allows us to analyse music videos concentrating on 7 main principles:

Link between lyrics and visuals
Links between music and visuals
Genre characteristics
intertextuality reference
voyeurism
Demand of the record label
Performance, Narrative or concept based videos.

He says that music videos are often constructed by the link between the visuals, lyrics and the music plus the artist. Relationships are built between these in the video, and the close-ups of the artists gives them the representation and publicity they require, this is why Goodwin's theory is essential. 

Main:

Drake - Hold On were going home. 

The genre of this music video is R'n'B.

1)  Genre Characteristics- This music video is conventional as it is a man singing about a girl, it is also not a stage performance which is something that R'n'B singers tend not to do. For example a video of a stage performance is typical for a metal video, a dance routine is typical foe a boy/girl band and flashy mansions, pretty girls and sports cars for rap/R'n'B videos. This video shows the artist to be living a wealthy lifestyle by the way he is dressed and his house, which is conventional to the genre. 

2) Relationship between lyrics and visuals- I agree that there is a relationship between these two things as the song is about a gang kidnapping Drakes girlfriend, and he leaves the restaurant to go home and try to save her, as the chorus says 'just hold on, were going home', as if he is sending a message to his girlfriend saying 'I'm coming to find you, hold on'. This appeals to its target audience of teenagers as the video creates suspense for the audience to view, also this age group are intrigued by weapons and explosions what is what this video includes.

3) Relationship between music and visuals-  The relationship between these two are illustrative as the beat of the music matches the video. Towards the end of the song, Drake and his friends start firing guns at the villains, at this point the lyrics have stopped playing and all you can hear is gun shots being fired as it starts to go quiet, as i've now seen the video i can understand why the guns are being fired. This appeals to the target audience as it helps us to build a relationship with the artist as the story in which he is trying to tell can infect happen in real life, which makes it exciting for the audience to watch.

4) The demands of the Record Label- The Record Label has a certain control over the artists they sign, it is ultimately up to the record label to decide what the artist should be represented as. For example, towards the end of Drakes video he is shown to be wearing a black vest top whilst he is fighting, this is to make him come across as strong and powerful, also making him look attractive so he can pick up a mainstream audience of women which is what Drake manages to do successfully. Throughout, there is also many close-ups of Drake, this is so the audience can see and feel how he is feeling, so he is able to connect with his fans through different camera techniques which is appealing for his target audience to watch.

5) Notion of looking- Notion of looking plays on the idea of gaze and the way someone in particular is seen. For example, in a lot of music video's women are often presented according to Goodwin as 'objects', however it is not just retricted to women, it may also represent men in a particular way such as controlling or violent. In this video, Goodwin's theory is being used as their is a lot of violence throughout on both men and women. I would say that the audience look at Drakes girlfriend in this video in an voyeuristic way as it doesn't seem that Drake himself realises the way that she is dressed is promiscuous, however this is a way for him to attract a male audience as well as female. 

6) Intertexual reference- There is no references to films, TV programmes and other music videos. There is no references that match Goodwin's theory.

7) Performance/Concept/Narrative based- I would say that this music video is narrative based only. I wouldn't say that it is performance base because at no point in the video does he sing into the camera or dance, however it is narrative as he is trying to tell a story, he sets out on a mission to kill the men who took his girlfriend and get her home safely. This appeals to his target audience as this makes the audience build a relationship with him, as he is the hero in the story, not the villain. 

Conclusion-

Goodwin's Theory will help to assist me when it comes to filming my own music video as he follows the 7 steps one by one, they are simple to understand if you follow them correctly then theirs no reason why my music video wouldn't be successful. The characteristics that I will include will match with the music and visuals in my video, once I know for sure what genre i've chosen it will be a lot easier to then break down and follow Goodwin's theory. I know understand all the different kind of elements which are essential to include in order to make it successful.