Final music video

research into Goodwin's theory - Miss Georgiou

Goodwin's theory 



The Man Who Can't be Moved - The Script 

Andre Goodwin's theory consists of 7 elements:

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
3. There is a relationship between music and visuals. 
4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artist and artists may develop motifs which recur. 
5. There is frequent reference to the notion of looking (screens within screens, telescopes, etc) and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body. 
6. There is often intertextual reference to films, TV programmes, other music videos, etc. 
7. Whether the video is primarily performance based, narrative based or concept based, and how elements of each is used in it 

My chosen music video demonstrates stereotypical characteristics of the pop genre which corresponds to the first element of Goodwin's theory. Specific evidence as the video often switches from the narrative to performance. As the chorus is played the video switches to a mid shot of the band singing and close ups of the band members and main artist. Performance is generally seen as a key element of the pop genre as artists often aim to show themselves as regularly as possible in order to appeal to their fans. Due to the genre having a conventional audience of teenagers and mostly girls, the performance element of a video is very important. The audience usually obsess over artist and through showing the artist regularly singing and performing, they are able to build a relationship with the fans. 

The video also comply's to the second element of Goodwin's theory as the lyrics are evidently seen to match the video itself. The key part of the lyrics, also seen as the title itself is 'the man who can't be moved'. The song relates to a 'man who can't be moved' as he is seen 'waiting on a girl'. The video clearly portrays this through the use of narrative. Throughout the verses of the song and portions of the chorus, the main artist is seen waiting on a corner in the middle of a city for a very long period of time. It evidently follows Goodwin's theory through relating to the songs lyrics as it shows him as 'the man who can't be moved' as he waits for the girl he is in love with. Through doing this the video allows an audience to understand the plot and idea behind the song. This particular plot specifically appeals to teenagers and teenage girls as they are generally seen to enjoy fantasising about romance and relationships. Romance is a key convention of the pop genre as the songs often show light hearted plots with themes of 'love' in order to appeal to a younger audience. 

Within the music video there is also clear evidence of a relationship between the music itself and the visuals. This is specifically evident towards the end of the video. As the song picks up pace and hits the main chorus the video consists of fast paced editing and a montage of shots showing the artist waiting for a girl. This is done so that the music matches the video, therefore showing it to agree with Goodwin's theory. The use of fast paced editing shows his desperate need for the love of the girl focused upon in the video. This is again conventional to the pop genre as it builds upon the theme of romance and love. It also makes the video easier to follow and watch. 

Furthermore there is evidence of the video following the requirements of the record label through including various close ups of the main singer and artist. This is mostly shown through the performance element of the video. The video regularly shows him as singing to the camera with a close up whilst walking along the high street. This demonstrates the artist representation within the video, again following Goodwin's theory. This has great effect on the target audience. Due to the artist being a male singer, teenage girls are generally seen fantasising about him. The close ups within the video almost portrays the singer as though he is talking to the viewer, this again helps him build a relationship between him and his audience. This is vary relevant to the key target audience of teenage girls who are particularly seen to fantasise over the male artist.

Additionally, the video does follow elements five and six as it shows evidence of forms of 'looking' through intertextual features.  This is clearly shown as the artist is seen on a news channel waiting on the corner. It portrays him as being stationary whilst singing on the corner for a lengthy period of time and the news channel emphasises the popular support he has in his quest to find the girl he loves and large amount of effort he would go through to find her. This is furthermore evidence of the theory seen within the video. It has effects on the audience as they are engaged through wanting to see why he is on the news channel; this also elaborates upon his presentation of a pop star that would appeal to the mainstream audience. It also emphasises the conventional romantic plot of which appeals to the target audience of teenage girls as it shows the lengths he would go to in order to find the girls he loves. 

Finally, as seen in the other elements of the theory, the video itself shows a variety of the three styles for music videos incorporated into the clip. Performance is seen at the chorus through shows of the band playing in an empty urban car park. Narrative is clearly shown as the video follows the lyrics, presenting the artist as trying to find the girl he loves through waiting by the place they met. Also, a concept is seen through the presentation of love and relationships. The video itself is primarily concept and narrative based with this idea of a man searching for the girl he loves. This is again done to appeal to the target audience of teenagers, prominently teenage girls, as the are seen to enjoy the evident conventional  romantic themes within the selected narrative consisting of the artists quest for the love of a a girl. 

To conclude, this research has assisted me in understanding the concept of the Goodwin theory and how to create a good music video that follows the elements of the theory. This has resulted in me specifically gaining a clear idea of how to effectively incorporate a mic of music video styles in order to appeal to a certain target audience. For example, The Script using primarily concept and narrative in order to create a romantic theme to the video which appeals to their primary target audience of teenage girls. I have now decided that my music video potentially should contain a variety of the different music video styles, dominated y one, in order to appeal to a specific target audience.