Research into Goodwin's theory- Miss Georgiou

Introduction

My chosen music video is Ed Sheeran- Sing.
Andrew Goodwin's theory is that there are seven characteristics that are conventional for music videos to follow especially popular music that is made for a large target audience.
The seven characteristics that music videos follows are...

-Music Videos demonstrate genre characteristics
This means that the music videos codes and conventions should fit with the genre of music, for example if there is a rock music video there should be the band or artist performing with instruments, and the video should have conventions that fit the genre rather than conventions that are used in other genres like happy concepts or romantic narratives that may be used in pop music videos.

-Should be related between lyrics and images
This point refers to the lyrics and how they should link to the music videos images, for example if the artists lyrics are about love, then there might be use of a female or a male love interest in the video, this would be 
clear to the audience and they would enjoy the narrative of the video.

-Relationship between music and visuals
This point is referring to the music and the visuals, for example in a dance music video there is a popular convention used that when the main beat drops, there is a shot of a crowd at the artists concert or performance, or that there is people dancing when the chorus of a song starts. This would be a clear link between the music and the visuals, which would make the music video and song more enjoyable for the audience as it keeps them engaged in the song.

-The demands of record labels are that there are lots of close ups
This characteristic is used lots in most music videos as record labels want there artists to be recognisable for there music and style, this will help to sell their music, and build a fan base for the artist, resulting in more money for them.

-There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
A voyeuristic treatment of a female in music videos is typically a female being looked at as a sexual object by men in the video. This can be used in music videos to attract a male audience, which will get artists a large fan base, also they can be seen as a role model to some girls who want to be like there favourite artist. Also the notions of looking isn't just for women it can be any character in a video and it can be used to represent a person in the video and build a concept or narrative.

-There is often intertextual reference
Intertextual references are used in music videos to keep the viewer engaged, this works when the viewer see references to other interests they may have weather its TV programmes, Films or other music videos that the music video may reference. For example there are uses of a news channel with the artist being shown on it then it shows the audience that the artist is credible and popular enough to appear on TV, this is used to impress the artists fans.

-Is the narrative/performance or concept based and how much each is used in the music video
The video is equal to all three bases, there are lots of elements of narrative seen with the story line, the performance element is also equal as Ed Sheeran is shown performing his song throughout. And finally the concept base is used with the puppet of Ed Sheeran this is also part of the narrative of the video.

Analyisis.

1-Music Videos demonstrate genre characteristics
This is the first characteristic in Goodwin's theory and there is a use of it throughout the music video for sing by Ed Sheeran, the song is in the pop genre and there is a use of instruments when there is a guitar used in the song, this makes it clear that he is performing the song and this is conventional to pop music as the artist needs to be seen to be performing during their music video. 

. This builds a relationship with the audience as the artists fans are shown how talented their favourite artist is. This makes the audience like the song and the artist more as they can see that he is good at making music.

2-Should be related between lyrics and images.
In this music video there isn't alot of direct links between the lyrics and the images on screen, two of the most obvious ones for the audience are when Ed Sheeran says "something to drink and maybe something to smoke" directly after he says 'something to smoke' he inhales like he was smoking this is clear to the audience when watching the video. Also during the video the images on screen match the lyrics when Ed Sheeran says "Sobering up we just sit on the couch
One thing led to another
Now she's kissing my mouth" this is said at the same time that the puppet kisses a woman on a couch. This use of Goodwins theory in this music video shows that the artits and record label have deliberately made the video for the target audience of pop music fans of any age, this is important for the artist as the music videos are appealing to his audience so he can make more money from them as they may buy the song from likeing the music video after seeing it.

3-Relationship between music and visuals 

The name of the song is 'sing', this word is repeated during the song especially when the chorus starts, in the video when the chorus starts the scene changes to either the artist Ed Sheeran performing the song, or a it goes to the concept part of the video in which there is a puppet model of Ed Sheeran pretending to be him there is also dancing and a party type scene in the limo. 

This appeals to the audience because it shows the artist performing his song, this makes the video engaging and enjoyable for the audience. 

4-The demands of record labels the video will need lots of close ups of the artists
This element of Goodwins theory is practised in the 'sing' music video as close ups are used throughout the video especially when artist is performing with the other featured artist Pharrel Williams, (screenshot). This appeals to the audience as they are shown how talented Ed Sheeran is with the close ups of him performing. The close ups make it clear who is performing, also it shows the audience that they're having fun when performing, which makes the audience enjoy the video and they will also see how the two artists get along, so the two fan bases of the artists might start to listen to the other artist. this will get both artists more fans.

5-There is frequently reference to notion of looking and particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
This element of Goodwins theory is used in the 'sing' music video a few times, it is shown when the puppet is shown in the limo with girls, this is shown here also there is a scene when the puppet of Ed Sheeran is watching ladies pole dancing , and once again when the puppet is talking to the woman at the bar. This is used in the video to engage a male audience, and it can also portray the artist as a sexually orientated man, which may attract more female fans. This level of voyeristic treatment of the female body is fairly typical of the pop genre as it is engaging for some audience and can be use to make the artist look popular in music videos if females are attracted to him, this again engages the audience.

6-There is often intertextual references.
In the 'sing' music video there wasn't use of intertextual references such as TVs or music videos. The makers of the music video didn't choose to include this as they might have wanted the audience to focus on the narrative of the music video and the artist rather than the intertextual reference.

7-Weather the video is narrative, performance or concept based and how much each is used in the music video.
The final element of Goodwins theory is what is included in all music videos, weather the music video will either be performance, narrative or concept based. This video has elements of performance, concept and narrative, mostly performance and concept with a little narrative. The performance element is used throughout the video when Ed Sheeran is singing and playing guitar, the concept element is used during the scenes with the puppet as it is a concept that the puppet is playing the role of Ed Sheeran. The narrative elements are when the puppet is talking to the girl at the bar and also when the puppet and Ed Sheeran are drinking with ladies towards the end of the video, this was included to show that the artist has a fun social life, which shows the audience that he is a cool and popular person which is what they want from their idol, narrative is also used at the end of the video when Ed Sheeran wakes up in the same bed as other people and the puppet which appears to be the morning after the night out that was shown in the video . This use of the three keeps the audience engaged in the music videos, also the use of narrative makes the audience like the video and they might re watch it. also the narrative
Evaluation.
What have you found out from your analysis & what theory points will you like to include within your music video?

From the research I have carried out into the pop genre and the music videos that pop artists have made, I have a good understanding of the conventions that are used in pop music videos and the way that Goodwins theory is implemented into music videos, for example intertextual references are very popular in pop music videos, but in the 'sing' music video this element of Goodwins theory wasn't used, this shows me that music videos can still fit the genre and be seen as conventional to the genre even if they don't include all the elements  of Goodwins theory. This research will assist me when making my own music video as there are elements such as quick shot timing and an a large use of concept based music video, this has inspired me to think about including this in my own music video as the music video for 'sing' engaged the audience and built a connection between the audience and the artist using these elements and I feel that it would be good to use this in my own music video.