Andrew Goodwin in his book on the rise of MTV, 'Dancing in the Distraction Factory' (1992), identifies a number of key features which distinguish music video as a form:
- Relationship between the lyrics and the visuals (with the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the lyrics).
- Relationship between the music and the visuals (with the visuals either illustrating, amplifying or contradicting the music).
- Particular genres having their own music video style (such as live stage performance in heavy rock).
- There is a demand on the pert of the record company for lots of close ups of the main artist/vocalist.
- Iconography developed by the artist that might become part of their image.
- Reference to voyeurism, particularly in the treatment of women, but also in systems of looking.
- Inter-textual references.
When analysing music videos for research, I have made sure I have considered Goodwin's 7 points in my analysis. This has helped me to understand the video better and understand why the director shot the video the way he did, with the mise-en-scene used, camera angles used, links to the lyrics, music and visuals used. I have used Goodwin's theory in the video analysis' below.
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