Goodwin's Principals

Andrew Goodwin has come up with 7 principals that should be seen in every music video, these are;

• Genre Characteristic - For example, rock bands tend to have a performance based video with each member shown playing their instrument.
• A Relationship Between Music And Visuals - This is visuals link with the music in the video for example, if the song is about love and there are lots of heart in the video.
• A Relationship Between Music And Lyrics - Having the lyrics fit in with the video is what a majority of artists tend to do in videos, for example if a line of the lyrics is 'a girl was waiting at the station, for the one she loves', the video may show a girl at a station, holding her phone with a text saying 'I'm on my way, love you'. Narrative based videos tend to be told like a story which may link to the visuals.
• Close Ups Of The Artists And Star Motifs - To make sure that the artist or band in any video is unique, it is important to use close ups to show the artist and let the viewer relate to them. Also, by creating star motifs, fans and viewers of music videos can tell easily who is on the video. This means that the star motif can be used on merchanise and album cover so that the artist is recognisable and stands out. A good example of a band that has a worldwide recognised logo/star motif is the 'red Hot Chili Peppers'. Their logo which is to the left is on merchandise from band t-shirts, sticks, posters, banners and CD covers, as well as being in the background of some of their videos so that when people or fans see the logo, it is recognised automatically as linking to the band.
• Reference Of The Notion Of Looking - This is when mirrors, cameras and eyes etc are used in music videos so that it gives the feel that artists are relating to the viewer.
• Any Intertexual Referneces? - In many music videos, intertexuality is in the video which is when other forms of media are linked into the video for example a spoof cop video could be the same as an existing cops and robber film.
• Is The Video Based On?
  - Performance
  - Narrative (Lyrics)
  - A Concept or Idea