Research - Andrew Goodwin - Dancing in the Distraction Factory Analysis

Andrew Goodwin says that traditional narrative analyses do not apply to pop videos because; they are built around songs and songs do not pose traditional narrative structures. Pop videos use the singer as a narrator and a character. And the singer often looks directly at the camera, trying to involve the viewer at home.

Pop videos rely on 3 things:

 - Repetition of images, in respect to choruses and lines
 - Intertextuality; relative to parts/rhythms of other songs
 - Advertisement; so the song is played on the radio and the video played on television. There is also a synergy element with the song being related to a television programme or film.

Videos provide a visual pleasure and may promote other aspects of media.
The videos aim to appeal to a wider audience other than the core target audience.
The structure of the music always ends by building up to a climax or constant repetition and then fading  out.

There are three types of music videos:

Illustration - Which is where the video illustrates the story of the lyrics in a clear way, you can see that they are directly linked.
Here is a video that i think illustrates this well:

Christina Aguilera - Beautiful

This video is trying to communicate that everyone is beautiful in their own way. You should be proud of who and what you are. She expresses these views in a literal way through her lyrics.






Amplification - This type of video illustrates a direct link between the video and the lyrics, however other meanings are also introduced.
Here is a video that I think illustrates this well:

Ed Sheeran - Small Bump

In this video you can see children and parents around a hospital waiting room, whilst Ed Sheeran is just sitting there singing. The lyrics refer to a "small bump" being an unborn child, so your initial though is someone having a new baby and you waiting, however he actually referring to a dead child, he is reminiscing and remembering, it illustrates more pain rather than joy.



Disjuncture - This is where the video and the lyrics do not illustrate a very clear connection.
Here is a video that I think illustrates this well:

Storm Queen - Look Right Through

The name of the song is the majority of the lyrics sung in the video, however there is what appears to be a stuffed animal made lifelike dancing around a hotel maybe. And people all around doing day to day things. I cannot find a clear relation between the song and the video.