G324 - Music Video Findings

We have learnt that in music videos certain codes and conventions are important and repeated across the board. The following theories are used in music video to build a strong narrative and a video that connects with the audience.

Goodwin came up with a theory that music videos all contain at least one or all of seven conventions in them.
The Seven conventions are:

1. All videos demonstrate certain genre characteristics. for example male boy bands and female singers all use dance routines, rappers will throw loads of gang signs.


2. There is always a relationship between lyrics and visual. it will either illustrate or contradict the words.


3. there is a relationship between the music and the visuals. This could be how its edited or the movement in the piece in time to the music or cut to the beat.


4. The demands of the record label that need for lots of close ups of the artist in order to promote them.

5. The artist may develop modifies or iconography that recut across their work. It has a repetitive visual style.

6. There are frequently reference to the notion of looking. There will be TV screens or video cameras. or References to looking at a female body for pleasure.




7. There are intertextual references mostly film but also other music videos or in some cases popular culture.

We have also learnt about Todorov and how a narrative will typically have five stages:
Equilibrium, where every thing is at peace and nothing is wrong.
Distribution where a problem or challenge arises.
Realisation, this is when the protagonist realise the problem and everything is in chaos.
Restoration where the protagonist tackle the problem and try to restore the chaos.
And then equilibrium again where the problem is solved and every thing returns to normal.

We have also learnt about Vladimir Propp who developed a character theory for studying media texts and productions, which indicates that there were 7 broad character types, which could be applied to other media's:

1. The villain (struggles against the hero)
2. The donor (prepares the hero or gives the hero some magical object)
3. The (magical) helper (helps the hero in the quest)
4. The princess (person the hero marries, often sought for during the narrative)
5. The false hero (perceived as good character in beginning but emerges as evil)
6. The dispatcher (character who makes the lack known and sends the hero off)
7. The hero AKA victim/seeker/paladin/winner, reacts to the donor, weds the princess.

This will help us make our music video as from study them we can make sure to include as many theories as possible in our own this in turn should help to make our video best it can be.

Post By Samuel Skinner