Andrew Goodwin is a director for music videos who came up with the theory 'thought beats'. This theory consists of the idea that the beats to a piece of music go in time with the editing of the music video. When watching a music video there is a clear correlation between the lyrics and visuals. the whole point of Goodwins' 'thought beats' is to literally show the beats of the song through cuts and editing.
Andrew Godwins' music theory states there are five key aspects of a brilliant music video. they are;
-Thought beats; being able to visualise the beats of the song in your head
-Narrative and Performance; splitting up the different types of music video and how they get the meaning of the song across to the target audience.
-Star image; the main performer (so the artist) and how they come across, creating a persona which their audience will constantly refer to. This is done through various aspects such as mise en scene (costume, settings, lighting)
-The visuals and how they relate to the song.
-The more technical parts of the music video such as the camera angels, shots and movements.
In order for the target audience to really understand and enjoy the song through the music video is to be able to interpret it. The verses and chorus' of the song are the pieces which create the fixed message. The chorus is their to reinforce the main theme/message of the song so the audience can relate back to it easily. In addition it also helps the audience to visualise the song in their head which makes it more relatable to them.
Godwin states that we as the audience create our own scenarios of what the song really means to us due to different interpretations of lyrics and different ideas each individual has. People create their own ideas based on the basic message of the song. Godwin emphasised that the main purpose of a music video is to promote the song. Using both performance and narrative in a song insures that the audience doesn't become bored of one reoccurring technique and gets different insights using both techniques. In music videos its conventional to have the artist act as the actor/actress as well as the artist as it creates a more authentic, realistic feel to the song because the audience feel it when the artist of that song is playing the role they are trying to depict through their lyrics.
The star image is what attracts the audience to continuously visit the artists' videos again and again. What an artist wants to avoid is simply copying a trend and not trying to 'blend in'. Even though conventions involve in some ways continuously 'copying' what other artists have done, a star normally manipulates past trends in order to turn it into their own. Most of the time artists choose to use more controversial ways of addressing their audience so they embed their message in their audiences' heads.
Laura Mulvey
Laura Mulveys' theory is called the 'Male Gaze' in which the camera works portray a view of a womans' body a male may have so the camera focuses on the curves of a women creating a more sensual feel to the music video.
Many music videos in relations to genres such as Rap, hip hop and occasionally R&B depending on what social group the artist represents use the male gaze to create memorabilia amongst the audience.
In Tygas' Hookah the use of woman is inevitable, through out all his videos he uses sexy appeal to reflect how powerful he is through objectifying women. The Male Gaze is used to emphasis this females body and how Tyga has power over her.
This is a shot from Beyonces' 'Crazy in love' and the use of the male gaze creates sex appeal amongst the audience as well as the points of view males may take towards this voluptuous female.
"In her 1975 essay "Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema", Laura Mulvey introduced the second-wave feminist concept of "male gaze" as a feature of gender power asymmetry in film. The concept was present in earlier studies of the gaze, but it was Mulvey who brought it to the forefront. Mulvey stated that women were objectified in film because heterosexual men were in control of the camera. Hollywood films played to the models of voyeurism and scopophilia.[4] The concept has subsequently been influential in feminist film theory and media studies." - Wikipedia
Maslows' Hierarchy of Needs
Maslows hierarchy of needs believes in five things;
Esteem, self actualization, Love/Belonging, safety, physiology. All of these beliefs add up to what maslow thought we as humans needed in order to live comfortable lives. One of the key ways Maslows' hierarchy is put into practise is through media such as music videos to really attract audiences that will be able to relate to the narrative of the story and the lyrics as well. Music videos such as Taylor Swifts 'Love story' which reveal a narrative based on love as the lyrics depict. The audience for this music video are teenage girls 13-16. They would be attracted by the idea of happy ever after in this video.
In Trey Songz 'foreign' on the other hand links in with Maslows self esteem as well as belonging and aspiration as this videos features the ideas of being 'ambitious', powerful and wealthy. However this is done through glorifying certain ideologies that wouldn't be seen as acceptable for young teens to look up to such as being objectified.
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