Music Video Techniques

According to Andew goodwins theory music videos often follow a variety techniques, these are: Genre Characteristics, links between lyrics and visuals, links between music and visuals, Star image, Voyeurism and intertextual reference.

Genre characteristics:
This releates to the visual style for a genre of music, for example pop music would conventionally be bright and upbeat  where as rock and metal music would be often dark and brooding with very different conventions for the video. For example, rock videos usually have things like blood and dark symbolic things around while pop videos are usually oversexualised with many bright colours and materialistic props such as cars and money. not all music videos and or artists fit into the convential characteristics of a genre for example Natalia kills is considered as pop because of the electronic and computersied music but she is very dark and her music videos are often filled with darker imagery and colour. An artist who does fit into pop conventions though is nicki minaj, in this video for super bass the main colour is pink and there are lots of cars and product placements aimed at younger audiences slotting nicely into convention.
 Links Between lyrics and visuals and links between music and visuals: 
According to goodwins theory there should always be relationships between lyrics music and visuals present in music videos. the music and Visuals should either Contradict, amplify or illustrate the lyrics. This link between the music and visuals are often seen in instrumental solos, this is mostly just to keep interest fresh rather than just having a constant closeup of a guitarist playing a solo as this would get repetative and boring.  these links should always be present to allow the audience to take away their own interpretations from their own perspectives.

Star Image:
How a star or stars come across in music videos is extremely crucial, even more so for solo artists as they are the main focus point. The way they dress and act in music videos is important to build up an iconography and style that is recognizable by the audience and fans. Andrew goodwin states that Closeups are a vital technique used to get star image across. it keeps your attention on the artist and when there are lots of things going on in the video they can snap your attention back to the artist and what they are saying in an instant. mass media often use the image that stars have made for themselves in videos to throw shade and judge against them or to Review them in a negative or positive way. This video for lady gagas bad romance is one of her most famous and indeed at one time was one of the most watched videos on youtube of all time. This was a huge hit and helped her carve out her own specific niche and style in the mainstream media, her Technique and style used to cause such waves in the media because everyone was so stunned at how different and fresh she was.

Voyeurism:Voyeurism is extremely common in pop videos in todays society. in practically all pop videos there will be either men surrounded by half naked women or just half naked women. Sex sells and more people would be inclined to watch a video if they knew that there were ''sexy'' ladies in it. Women often feel objectified by this but there some people such as beyonce with Run the world she is saying that it empowers women. This is a great way to cash in on the insecurites of women who feel objectified and insignificant for not looking exactly like the women in mass media. This video for marina and the diamonds Creates a social commentary on the subject of voyeurism by having A woman surrounded by half naked men as a statement on how women are often objects in music videos and just eye candy. the male voyeurism in marinas video is in contrast to madonnas male voyeurism in practically all videos of hers ever  as these were mostly used to cause controversy back in the 80's  and from then on has become iconic for homoerotic imagery for her almost entirely gay fanbase.

Intertextual  Reference:
Intertextual reference is when a music video references another famous film or video. these could often be pastiche music videos drawing a lot of inspiration from the film or video. This means that the audience can often pick up on this and think more positively about the video, kind of like a puzzle. This can also be the concept for a music video to draw inspiration from another famous film or video for either reasons connected with the song or because they just couldnt think of anything, or possibly just a joke. This marina and the diamonds song shampain has a Very 80's vibe to it so the video itself has some choreography from michael jackson's Thriller video (possibly the most iconic music video of all time) mixed in with other choreography to further demonstrate the sound and style of the song itself. this is also a very good example for solo star image as it features a lot of closeups and although there are more people in the video your attention is always snapped back to marina instantly when it is supposed to be.