THE MEDIA THEORIST ANDREW

GOODWIN IDENTIFIES 6 KEY

ELEMENTS OF MUSIC VIDEOS:
1. A relationship between the lyrics and the visuals which illustrate,
amplify or contradict the lyrics
2. The relationship between the music and the visuals
3.Genre related style and iconography present
4. Multiple close ups of the main artists or vocalist: the creation of a star
image to promote a recognisable brand image
5. Voyeurism and notions of looking
6. Intertextual references to other media texts may be present
We can conform or challenge these conventions within our music video.
THE
 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
LYRICS AND VISUALS Our music video conforms to this convention twice. The first
example on the top left hand corner, shows Lloyd eating.
This extreme close up cleverly links with the lyrics ‘Got
another mouth to feed’. As well as this the second example
shows Will wrapping tickets around him. This links with the
lyrics ‘Is it coming’ as the tickets are quickly coming out of
the arcade machine.
We deliberately conformed to this convention, but we only
decided to do this twice because we did want to ruin the
narrative of our video. We did not want to focus too much
on the lyrics, instead we focused more on making sure that
the shots matched up with the music. As this is the most
However, we did decide to important convention. If the shots did not match with the
conform to the convention music the video would be out of time and would not work or
twice because our flow correctly. Whereas if the shots do not match up with
narrative is very free and the lyrics this does not matter as much.
does not follow proper
storyline. It is a day in the
life narrative. By
conforming to the lyrics
we bring some structure
to our video, but by only
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
MUSIC AND VISUALS
We also followed this key convention. This
by far is the most important and most used
convention which we have conformed too.
When the music and visuals directly link
together it makes the music video flow
smoothly making it seem more professional,
well thought out and well put together.
Examples of our music video following this
convention are seen to the left. The first
example shows us going down a hill on a
skateboard. Quick jump cuts are used in
time with the music, going through each
characters turn going down the hill.
For our second example a montage is used
including snapshots from throughout the
day. Connoting the idea of looking back on
the day for our linear narrative. The tempo
at this section of the song increases and the
speed the visuals change directly link with
the music. Changing at a quick pace.
As well as this, throughout the video our
visuals continuously link with the music.
 ICONOG
RAPHY
This is one convention which we did conform too, but in
different ways. Our chosen song comes from an Indie/pop
genre. So our video connected aspects of each genre. Aspects
of the pop genre are seen within our video. Such as the vibrant
colours we have decided to wear. This also links to what the
artists of the indie/pop genre wear- they wear quirky clothes. As
we have also done. The mise-en-scene here also links to the
lyrics which sing about the year 1960’s the hippie movement
was big at this time so we have also dressed in a similar way to
the year which is being sung about, this reinforces the narrative
structure. As well as this another element of the pop genre is
seen when we dance at the end of the video. Aspects of the
As well as this Indie/pop music indie genre on its own are also seen. Indie Rock artists tend to
videos tend to be shot in simple wear darker clothes, as seen to your left Lloyd and Amelia wore
locations such as streets etc. We darker colours compared to me and Will seen on the bottom
have also done this as seen in these right.
screenshots, we have filmed down
paths in a wood. However, our other
locations are not so simple such as
the arcade and bowling. Here we
have challenged the conventions.
Finally, Amelia keeps signalling the
 CLOSE
UPS
As seen here we also conformed to
this convention. 4 medium close
ups are used at the beginning of
the music video. This introduces
the audience to the main
characters of the music video.
Allowing them to become
connected to them. The close ups
focus on the action of the
characters as well as the location
in the background. This lets the
We included different type of
audience learn about who they are
close ups, for example, we
individually as a person.
included an extreme close up of
Lloyd eating this emphasises the
direct link between the lyrics and
visuals. We also used medium
close ups, these made sure that The close ups above bring
Binary opposition is seen
the characters were noticed across a feminine vibe. The
through the use of close
clearly but still made sure that female characters are
ups. As pictures above.
the location/background were accessorising themselves.
visible. This was useful for our Whereas the male close ups
linear narrative which aims to bring across a male vibe.
 INTERTEXT
UALITY
This convention is one which we did not
deliberately conform too. However, when
looking back at our video we noticed one use
of intertextuality.
The long shot which includes all 4 characters
references other bands of this genre. For
example, other indie rock bands have taken
photos stood in front of a graffiti wall. As
seen to the left hand side, the band Blur also
did this. The indie/psychedelic band Coldplay
have also done the same. As our song ‘Feel
it Still’ comes from a similar genre we have
managed to reference a convention of this
genre. What is also noticeable
is the colours and
clothes worn by us and
the band members. As
mentioned previously,
this is intertextual as
our clothes reference
aspects of this genre.
 VOYEU
RISM
Finally, our video also includes aspects of this
convention. However, we do not use this a much, as the
video follows a narrative which portrays interactions
between the characters. Where they pay attention and
look at each other instead of looking at the camera.
This therefore means that we do not focus as much on
engaging the audience. However, despite this we do
deliberately engage them twice at random points
throughout the video.

Voyeurism is only seen twice at the beginning with me

and Amelia looking straight into the camera. This draws
the audience in making them focus on who the
characters are right at the beginning. This is seen on
the bottom left of this page.

Voyeurism is also seen again during the arcade section

when Will and Lloyd looking into the camera. This gives
a point of view feeling to the video making the
audience feel as if they are there with the group of
ADV
ERT
Another common convention is to We have followed mostly all the
include the album cover. We codes and conventions on our
decided to follow this convention advertisement. If we hadn’t have
and used the same images in the done this then our advert would
same order as we did on our not have worked effectively.
digipak. This creates consistency
and a recognisable brand image. As seen we include the artists
We also included the release date name and the album name, this
and brief information of the is a common convention.
album. It reads ‘Available now’ so Without it the advert simply
the audience know when they can would not work.
purchase the album. As well as
telling the audience which song is As well as this the font, font
included. The words ‘Number one style and colours all link in with
hit’ are also commonly used. This our other media products. This
helps persuade the audience that consistency is another
the songs are good, so they convention we have followed
therefore buy the album. and allows the audience to
However, we did not include easily recognise our products.
social media links or say where
you can purchase the album. This At the bottom of the advert we
is because we believe that the included reviews from well
audience will already know how to known magazine Kerrang and
find the band online as more NME. This helps promote the
people use social media these album to the audience as the
DIGIP
AK
 FRONT
Like the advert, our digipak follows the forms and conventions
COVER
of real media products. Notably, our front cover links in with our
advertisement. We use the same layout for the pictures here as
we do for the advert. The images are the main focus of the front
cover, standing out against the vibrant background. This is a
common convention for digipaks. The eye catching layout of the
4 images engages the audience, making them focus on the
individuals. As well as this, a hippie theme is also visible
throughout all of our media products. This helps to make the
media products recognisable to the audience.

The hippie theme is noticeable here through the background.

Which is psychedelic and vibrant. As well as this the images
used tend to have some relation to the song/artist, this is
another convention which we have followed. The images link
into the song as they show the characters used within it, the
clothes they wear also link to the song which sings about the
years the hippie movement happened. (60s)

The song and album title are also visible. Again this is another
convention we have followed. This allows the audience to know
who’s album it is. The font used also links to the band
 BACK
COVER
For the back cover we challenged many
conventions. However, we did comply to some
conventions. That being the track list. As seen to
your right we decided to make the track list the
main focus of our back cover. By doing this we
allowed the audience to focus on the songs
included in the album, rather than focusing on
any images. This is why we used the same
background pattern instead of inserting an image,
this would take the audiences focus away from
the music. Which is the main purpose of a
digipak- to listen to the music.

The conventions we challenged were:

Including the artists name and the album name.
We didn’t feel the need to include this as we felt
the artwork and fonts used spoke for itself.
Indirectly, reinforcing the idea of a hippie vibe
associated with the band.

Another convention we challenged was including

the barcode and the record label. Again, we felt
 INSIDE THE
DIGIPAK
When creating the Inside of our
digipak we conformed and
challenged the conventions. As you
can see to the right, we conformed
to the convention which states that
there are usually behind the scenes
pictures included. We decided to
follow this convention inserting 4
images of the individuals posing
behind the scenes of the music
video. This lets the audience learn
more about their personalities and
who they are as people.
However, for the CD we did
challenge some conventions. That
being the small details usually
including on the CD such as the
recording companies name, the
name of the name of the album and
the CD number. We decided against
this as we wanted our audience to
focus on the image used for the CD