Goodwin's theory - Star image motifs

Since music videos are a tool for marketing and publicising an artist's music above all else, record labels demand certain things to make them effective. Any given artist will have to sell their music on an image, whether it is their own image, most common in pop artists who use their appearance and sex appeal, their reputation, with artists like Marilyn Manson, or some kind of gimmick or motif.

Most artists will use a combination of all these factors, however. Gorillaz, for example, have animated characters of the band members as their motif or image, as well as their reputation, to help sell their music. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, markets

herself hugely based on her image and her costumes, but also on her eccentric reputation. The Red Hot Chili Peppers use their own image in most of their videos and use sex appeal to a certain extent, but they also use motifs, specifically the logo that is present on most of their album covers and in most of their videos.

Motifs can also be less obvious things, like a continued style or theme throughout the artist's work. Coldplay, for instance, are famous for having videos that seem very simple but use some kind of clever editing to create a unique concept, like in Yellow, where the video is just the singer walking on a beach, but the editing is used to give the interesting effect of time going by and day changing to night while he walks.

Goodwin's theory - Voyeurism and the notion of looking

Voyeurism and the notion of looking are both very broad themes that almost every single music video contains. Voyeurism can be used to sell the artist's music through sex appeal, like in the video for Beyonce's Single Ladies, to make a statement, in Miley Cyrus's Can't Be Tamed, for instance, when the video shows crowds looking in on her as a caged animal, parodying the public's voyeurism of her as a famous person, or to enhance the message of the lyrics, like in Robbie Williams' Rock DJ, where he uses a shocking and controversial video to amplify the message of his lyrics - that being a sex symbol can go too far.

Voyeurism can also be present through watching something happen from the point of view of an observer. This isn't very common, as most music videos will have the singer directly facing the camera and addressing the viewer, but it can be used - such as in Pink's Who Knew, where we watch a story unfold between the two characters without feeling like we are involved in it.

The notion of looking can include many techniques and is something that is present in almost every music video. The most common use of it is through direct or indirect address. The characters or band members will often purposefully look into the camera a lot (direct address), and sing to the audience, or not look at the camera (indirect address) to create a feeling of distance and voyeurism.

However, the notion of looking can also be demonstrated using props. Shots of the artist or character reflected in a mirror, for example, are part of the notion of looking. Screens, such as televisions, are also a commonly used prop that indicates the notion of looking. REM's Bad Day is made to look like the whole video is being watched through a television screen, for instance. Props like cameras, telescopes, binoculars or magnifying glasses all also show this idea. It can even be included through the use of any prop or scene where the viewer is looking through something at the artist, like in The Red Hot Chili Peppers' Can't Stop, when we see the singer's head through a long pipe.

Branding

Branding is a key aspect of selling not only an artist's music but also their image. An artist with a recognisable brand will sell a lot more merchandise, which will in turn be recognised and make sure that people are constantly reminded of them.

A good example of branding is The Red Hot Chili Peppers. They sell huge amounts of merchandise, as well as music, largely due to their simple and instantly recognisable, unobtrusive, and stylish logo - a red asterisk.

Some of their merchandise, like this wristband, simply uses the logo and assumes that people will know what it means. This works because they are so popular and have one main logo that is widely known.

Other products, like this cap, use their logo but include the band's name, so that anyone who doesn't know the logo will be able to recognise the merchandise. This also helps get their name out to people who haven't heard of them before.

They do also, however, have merchandise with different logos. The wristband below uses a stylised version of their initials. Although their normal logo is effective and popular, varying the design of their merchandise allows them sell more products.

Another artist that sells merchandise is Janelle Monae. However, she is a new artist and has only very recently become widely known. Her merchandise doesn't have one strict logo that is used, like The Red Hot Chili Peppers' products, but she does use the image on the cover of her first album on some of them, like the shirt below.

There is also other merchandise on her website that promotes this album, and continues the surreal sci-fi theme of the shirt and album cover. The poster below, for example, is a spoof film poster that has a very strong sci-fi theme and fits with the idea of androids. The idea of it being a film poster also reflects the narrative form of the album, with each song on it telling part of the story.

There is also merchandise, however, that doesn't follow this theme. The shirt below uses a different colour scheme to the blues and blacks of the Archandroid products (black, white and red). Although this makes the merchandise not follow one clear theme, it allows for more choice.

Another way of branding merchandise is to have a common style, rather than a logo or themes relating to each album. The Silversun Pickups are a band that uses this method, with all of their merchandise having a similar abstract, artistic style.

Most of their products, like this beanie, include heavily stylised text of the band's name alongside abstract, flowing images of nature.

The bag below continues this style, with an abstract and flowing image of nature alongside the stylised text with the band's name.

The shirt below follows the same style and uses the same font for the band's name, but takes the flowing abstract swirl patterns much further and uses them as a design for the whole shirt. Although it is very different from the other merchandise, it uses the same style of design, giving it a collective identity.

Goodwin's theory - Relationships between lyrics, visuals and music

Another part of Goodwin's music video theory is based around the relationships between the lyrics, visuals and music. All three work in synergy to entertain the viewer and to convey the message of the song.

The music will always have a link with the visuals. In some videos, such as Lady Gaga's Bad Romance, this is accomplished by cutting between shots in time with the song's beat, and in others by changing the pace of the action in the shot when the pace of the music changes. The song Golden Retriever, by The Super Furry Animals, for example, changes the band members into strange costumes and has bits of fur flying around in the shot when the music speeds up. Most performance based videos will also have the band members speeding up their actions in time with the music.

There will also be a link between the lyrics and the visuals, to help demonstrate or add meaning to the lyrics. The visuals can illustrate the lyrics, for example Owl City's Fireflies has a toy robot dancing on the line 'teach me how to dance'. It can also amplify the lyrics, which is generally more subtle, like in [EXAMPLE].

As well as these links, however, the visuals can also contradict the music, the lyrics or both. The lyrics, for example, are contradicted in Can't Stop, by The Red Hot Chili Peppers in the first line. The singer says 'can't stop' as the shot cuts from one of the band members running to one of his motionless head. The music can also be contradicted by having bright and happy visuals when the song is in a minor key, or slow motion when the song is at its climax, which is quite a common technique.

On top of the links between these three aspects, there are certain things present in the visuals that fit with the music's genre. Every genre will have characteristics, although these can be purposefully broken to give the band a unique image or to make it seem like they are 'breaking the mould'. Rock videos, for example, will almost always be performance-based, while RnB videos will very often have backup dancers. Artists that cross the boundaries between genres, like Janelle Monae, will usually try to break the conventions of the genre they are most associated with. In the music video for her song Tightrope, for example, Janelle Monae has a very strange mix between a narrative and concept-based video, with lots of characteristics of older genres of music, despite the very modern RnB feel that the song has.