Music Video Theory

Andrew Goodwin played a major part in music video theory. He suggested that all music videos have certain key features.
These features are:

• Demonstration of particular genre characteristics.

• There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals

• There is a relationship between music and visuals

• The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups of the artists and the artist may develop motifs which recur across their work.

• There is frequent reference to the notion of looking and voyeuristic treatment of the female body.

• Often external references (to films, TV etc)

Goodwin’s theory was quite different to another key theorist, John Stewart.
Stewart was interested in the concept of intertextuality in music videos. He believes that the majority of visual reference comes from three areas:

• Fashion

• Cinema

• Art Photography

I have decided to analyse the Arctic Monkeys music video for ‘Crying Lightning’ using Andrew Goodwin’s theory.

1. Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics.
Apart from the style of music the band are all wearing clothes that are typical to the ‘Indie’ genre that the band belongs to.
Also the instruments that are used in the music video demonstrate genre characteristics. Not just the use of the instruments but the make of them are a key feature to keeping the genre of the video correct.

2. There is a relationship between lyrics and visuals.
The only relationship that is shown is that there is lightning in the video and that it is mentioned in the lyrics.

3. There is a relationship between music and visuals.
When the solo is played in the song we see a large figure of Alex Turner rise out of the sea playing the guitar.
Another relationship is between the drumbeat and the lightning. After the solo, the rest of the band rise out of the sea, every time the drummer hit’s the cymbal on the drum kit we see a crack of lightning.

4. The demands of the record label will include the need for lots of close ups and the artist may develop a motif which recurs across their work.
As the video is performance based, there is close ups of the band throughout. These close ups are mainly of Alex Turner, the lead singer. A motif that the Arctic Monkeys have developed is that they have weird concept based music videos.

5. There is frequently reference to the notion of looking and often voyeuristic treatment of the female body.
The notion of looking in this video is when the band are looking from the boat at the larger figures of themselves that rose out of the sea. Also at the end when the drummer pulls out a telescope and watches the large figures sink back into the sea.

6. There is often external reference (to films. TV etc)
I feel there is no external reference to films, TV or any other media industry within this music video.