What is Goodwin's theory all about?

Goodwin’s Theory of Music Video?

Andrew Goodwin, a director of music, wrote ‘Dancing in the Distraction Factory’ from which his theory of music videos stems. Goodwin’s theory is split into seven points and he believes these are key to making a successful music video. Namely:

1. There is a key relationship between the music and the visuals
2. Narrative performance through song
3. Many close-up shots of the artist (demands of the record label)
4. Voyeurism
5. Intertextuality
6. Technical aspect of the music video 
7. Typical genre conventions 

'T-Shirt Weather' by Circa Waves belongs to the same genre of music as Finn Doherty's 'Process'; indie/alternative. 'T-Shirt Weather' was released on the 25th of February 2015, it has had nearly two million views on YouTube proving this single to be very successful. After their first album hit the Top 10 and they featured in Radio 1's A List Singles, they rose to fame, quickly becoming one of the most successful indie bands from the U.K. They were formed in Liverpool in 2013 and have since opened events such as the NME awards tour in March 2014. They have since sold out an entire tour and performed at iconic music festivals like Glastonbury and Leeds. This is a typical music video by Circa Waves, most of their videos have an element of nostalgia, for example in their video for 'Fossils' the entire video portrays a montage of memories through being filmed on an older camera using outdated technology which in turn, enhances this nostalgic video as they look like classic vintage home videos.

'T-Shirt Weather' follows the conventions of an indie music video quite closely, for example the whole video is a low budget music video, it does not feature expensive locations like a palace or wild animals like mainstream pop videos for example Lana Del Ray 'Born Two Die'. Another convention it follows is the setting. It only has one setting which is typical of an indie band because it is common to focus on the performance while keeping other aspects like settings simple. This could be because unlike pop artists which like to feature a sense of theatricality, they would rather keep the audience's focus on the music and not take away from that factor. One genre connection broken is the theme of a strong narrative, 'T-Shirt Weather' does not feature actors playing the roles of characters inspired by their song but instead has videos playing in the background which appear to be fond family memories. 'T-Shirt Weather's' front man of the band; Kieran Shundall say's 'This came from thinking about my childhood and how things seemed so different back then memories almost becoming like a movie and everything seeming more interesting and the grass being much greener. A twisted nostalgia". They are trying to tell their own stories rather than something imagined. 

Goodwin's theory applies to this music video through the key relationship between the visuals and lyrics. Shundall himself explains that the song and music video is about memories of childhood, therefore there is a direct correlation between the visuals that feature behind the band performing.  

Secondly, another point of Goodwin's theory that can be applied to 'T-Shirt Weather' is voyeurism, this is the notion of looking into something like the camera to create the impression that the artists is singling you out and talking directly to you. The direct gaze makes the audience feel important and as though they are in the room with the band.

'Oceans' by Seafret was released on the 1st of February 2015 and has over 32 million views on Youtube, this maybe due in some part to leading actress; Maisie Williams who stars in 'Game Of Thrones'. Seafret are a British duo of Jack Sedman and Harry Draper. They have been together since 2015 and in their two short years together have produced a debut album that featured in the Top 100 Album chart. Their genre is of the same as Circa Waves analysed above; indie/alternative. This music video follows some of the codes and conventions of indie/alternative music videos, for example it has a strong narrative. The narrative of this video features a young teenage girl returning home from school to find a note left from her Mother saying she is working late, we later find out that the young girl has been bullied as she has 'loser' written on the back of her white school shirt, she then goes on to dress up in an old childhood superhero costume that is clearly homemade. This creates a sense of empowerment that is later undermined by the bullies who violently attack her. She then comes home to her Mother whom she falls into her arms. This constructs a sense of reconciliation between the daughter and Mother.

Goodwin's theory can applied here through the key relationship between visuals and lyrics, for example the visuals in this music emphasise the meaning of the lyrics and create a clearer understanding and meaning of the lyrics. They may also hint at what the song could be written about, it could be a personal childhood memory from either of the two band members.

In this screenshot of a wide shot from 0:16 seconds in to the music video, we can see a note on the counter that reads "Working late (again) sorry x Dinner is in the oven", at this point the song begins to play and as she reads the note we hear 'I want you', this connotes that the Mother and daughter do not have a close relationship and the daughter often feels quite forgotten about. The red colour which surrounds the note emphasises the feeling of anger that the young girl feels about being left alone. This also reinforces the sense of disrupted relationship between mother and child.  How the diegetic back light from the window shines light on the note could be suggestive of how the teenage daughter being left alone a lot is the problem in their relationship and they lack the close bond that is usual for a Mother and daughter to share.

When this wide shot arrives on screen we hear the lyrics 'To the way that I need you' plays, this image of 'loser' written on the back of the shirt further drives the sense of how alone she feels. It constructs a  sense of truly needing her Mother as she stands in her bedroom alone looking at her defaced shirt. This shot highlights how the young teenage is struggling and as she stands there alone it highlights how no one is there to help her. However later on in the song the lyrics ' we hide our emotions' play as the girl is surrounded by bullies.

At 2:21 we get a sense that she has been hiding her emotions about being bullied as the lyrics play and we see her become overwhelmed by the situation. This connotes that due to her relationship with her Mother she has not been able to talk to her about her dreadful situation. However, when she returns home we see this image on screen;

At this point the song is climaxing, it is when she see's her Mother than the song slowly calms down and fades into the background which creates a sense of calm. This may be suggesting that the overwhelming sense of panic she was feeling earlier when surrounded by bullies has disappeared as soon as she see's her Mum. We hear 'it feels like there's oceans, between you and me', we hear the singing voice decline into the background which connotes a sense of reconciliation between Mother and daughter, this ultimately closes the narrative of the music video as between the beginning and the end we have seen a series of events which have led up to the emotional hug that is shared between them.

To conclude, to apply Andrew Goodwin's theory of music videos from 'Dancing in the distraction factory' to our own music video would create a successful music video. Particularly the key relationship between visuals and lyrics, this creates a clear understanding of the song for the audience and also makes it more personal. These are all details that would make our music video ultimately more successful.