Andrew Goodwin Task - The Structure of Music Video Rethinking Narrative Analysis

Andrew Goodwin believes that traditional narrative analyses don't really apply to pop videos. There are many reasons behind this but it isn't because pop videos are trying to be avant garde, it's that they approach narrative from a different narrative structures are as follow:

1. Pop videos are built around songs, and often songs do not pose traditional narrative structures.

2. The pop video uses the singer both as narrator and as a character.

3. The singer often looks directly at the camera. This is an extension of performance and trying to involve the viewer at home with the performance.

Pop videos rely on repettition and often the video repeats images in the way the song repeats choruses or lines. Also, the repetition in songs of rhythms or parts of other songs means that we become familiar with the genre and have certain expectations.

Pop songs and therefore videos, do have a form of closure ending. The 3 minutes single that a video is based on must end and this often reflected in the structure of the music. It buildd climax or to a constant repetition before fading away.

Some videos are autonomous from the music they spring from. The visualisation of a song amy go beyond the original meaning. Sometimes the video provids a visual pleasure that encourages repeated viewing which therefore promotes the music. Sometimes the videos might be promoting other commodities such as films. Therefore, it can be saiud that there are three types of relations between songs and videos: illustration, amplification, and disjuncture.

• Illustration: this is where the video tells the story of the lyrics. Dance if often used to express the feelings and moods in the song.

• Amplification: occurs when the videos introduce new meanings that do not contradict with the lyrics but add layers of meaning.

• Disjuncture: this is where there is a little connection between the lyric and video or where the video contradicts the lyric.

Pop videos often have easily recognisable features. Some artists such as Maddona and Beyonce deliberately represent themselves for males to look at but what is different in their videos is that they directly look back at the viewers through the camera and they cease to be passive.

In some videos, the different instruments in the music are represented by different objects. Videos also try to appeal to as wide an audience as possible without alienating the core target audience. Lastly, viedos that are from songs written for particular movies often incorporate images from that movie in the video.

Example of:

Illustration: Eminem ft. Rihanna - Love The Way You Lie

This is a hip hop video by an American artist Eminem and it features Rihanna it in. The video features actors Dominic Monaghan & Megan Foxx as well as the artists themselves. The song is about two people in love, however, there's an issue around domestic violence. The lyrics of the song saying that he doesn't want her to leave him as he loves her even though he cheated on her. Similarly in the video, Monaghan & Foxx were in bed together. She then woke up and saw a girl's name and phone number on his hand. Instantly, she woke him up and shouts at him then the argument broke out. He then started to shout back at her, at one point, he had her against the wall and punched it which causes it to break. This is relevant to the lyrics of the song because Eminem said "I guess  don't know my own strength", this indicates that he could of hurt her. Overall, this video was trying to send out a message to help domestic violence victims and that they should speak up instead of hiding it.

Amplification: Skepta - Rescue Me

This is a grime video by an UK artist Skepta. This video fits its category because it tells a story of a guy whose in a mental home and as he reaches out, asking someone to rescue him. The lyrics is simply straight as it is 'Rescue Me' and compared to the video itself, the mise-en-scene is  very light and it has a positive energy as a lot of people were smiling. On the other hand, as the chorus approached, there is a scene where the doctors tied him to a bed in order to give him an injection which he didn't want to have. This shows through many close up shots of his face which the audience can see that he is crying out for help and this conveys the dark side of the video. Overall, this video add a new layer of meaning towards the song because the song itself is called Rescue Me and the video shows him in a mental home which give the audience knowledge that he doesn't want to be there so please rescue him.

Disjuncture: Danity Kane - Damaged

This is an R&B video by an American all girls group called Danity Kane. The meaning of the song is that a male broke his girlfriend's heart so that now she is damaged. You would expect the video will involved a woman having an argument with her boyfriend because he broke her heart. But ironically, the video involved the five members of the group dancing to an upbeating song. However, it used many close up shots to show their facial expressions as they're singing a song about being heartbroken by someone but the video did not include male although they play a big part in the story.