research into Goodwin's music video theory

Goodwin proposes that there are seven key aspects that are significant when it comes to analyzing a music video. Looking at the music video "The Kill" by the electro-rock band "Thirty Seconds to Mars" we can apply Goodwin's theory:

1) Music videos demonstrate genre characteristics
When 30STM released this music video, they were classed as a heavy rock/borderline metal band; therefore, their video reflects this genre. The misc-en-scene helps to convey the genre more clearly as the use of lighting is predominantly low-key which is reflective of the gothic feel to the music video. The entire colour scheme of the video is quite dull and dark: mainly black with some washed out and dirty shades of white. These colours reflect the "bad boy" aspect of the band and even if subliminally , gives the ideology that it is acceptable to be rebellious to the audience. This would be particularly influential on the audience as they predominantly consist of teenagers; the lyrics "this is who I really am" would be extremely relatable to this age group as teenagers suffer from self-perception issues constantly. The costume that the band members wear are a mixture of smart and casual; in both circumstances, they are of the monotonous shade of black. This keeps with the genre conventions as heavy rock/progressive metal artists like to keep their aesthetics linking in with their conventionally negative lyrics. The use of makeup is another genre characteristic demonstrated in this video; heavy black eye-makeup is common even amongst males as it sets the artist apart from other genre of artists. The eyeliner is a symbol of the genre that the band belong to and therefore is an appealing feature for the audience too. In addition, the video adheres to heavy rock/metal conventions of a performance style.

2) There is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals

It is quite evident throughout the video that there is a strong relationship between the lyrics and the visuals. The lyrics are generally quite negative and through the misc-en-scene we can see this clearly. In addition, the lyrics reflect the genre of the band as conventionally heavy rock bands write about bad experiences or memories in their life. This shot here demonstrates how there is a relationship between the lyrics and the visuals, as a close up shot has been used on a single object. This firstly signifies the object's importance to the narrative, as it is copied from the original idea used in "The Shining" movie. The text displays the lyrics "this is who I really am" repeated over and over again. This is significant as the lyrics also follow these words and therefore the repetition of these words so many times will stand out to the audience; the band have purposefully done this as they are setting an ideology of accepting who you really are, which is something a lot of teenagers have issues with doing.

3) There is a relationship between music and visuals
The editing been used throughout the video is interesting as not all the shots have been put together to be in time with the music. The beats of the music are quite heavy and the music in general is quite fast-paced; therefore, you would expect the visuals to reflect this. However, the action is quite sluggish in comparison. Although it is clear that the video uses the long pauses efficiently by lengthening them even more in order to edit in narrative scenes which do not require music.
One of the editing techniques used is a flicker effect, where the screen cuts between two shots at fast speed in order to match the fastest point of the song which occurs in the chorus.

4) The demands of the record label will need for lots of closeups of the artists and the artist could develop motifs that recur across their work
Throughout the video, there are numerous close up shots of the band, but especially of the lead singer, Jared Leto. This is due to the fact that as Jared Leto is the lead singer but also a known actor, the record label will place more emphasis on his appearance as a wider audience consisting of those who know him from acting will want to watch him if he is the predominant figure of the video. The close up shots used of all the artists establish a deeper connection between the artist and the audience as it is automatically a way of feeling closer to the artist emotionally, even if not physically. For instance, in this shot, Jared Leto is staring directly into the camera which draws the audience into, as you instantaneously want to keep watching.

5) There is frequently reference to notion of looking, as well as there being particularly voyeuristic treatment of the female body

There are a few scenes which include voyeuristic treatment of the female body; for example, when the drummer, Shannon Leto, has an encounter with the woman in the bathroom, she is completely naked. In addition, there are some scenes which have a private feel to them; for example, when one of the guitarists sees a door half open and peers in, he sees a physical carbon copy of himself sitting on a bed with a man dressed in a bear costume. The use of keeping the door half open and only being able to see a portion of the scene inside the room implies that the audience are outsiders looking into the room and therefore gives the shot an air of intimate privacy. In this shot, we see the woman who has stepped out of the shower, advancing one of the band members. The shot is interesting as it subverts expectations and the ideology of males being dominating in media, as it is the woman who is initiating the interaction. In addition, the colour of the costumes here are white for the woman and black for the male band member. Using white conventionally connotes innocence and purity, yet the male is clearly being represented as the innocent one who is sucked into the woman's temptations. For those audience members who know "The Shining", they will understand that it is actually the woman who is the "villain". Therefore, the roles of the colors used here have been completely reversed. This makes further implications as to whether the use of the color black for the band actually stands for its connotations or something else, such as being unique. 

6) There are often intertexual references
The entire video is an intertexual reference to "The Shining' movie by Stanley Kubrick; various scenes in the video are based on the movie, for instance, when the drummer, Shannon Leto, goes into Room 6277 and has an encounter with the woman in the bathroom. Or when one of the guitarists, Matt Wachter, is served drinks at the bar by his doppelgänger who is an apparition. In addition, the video concludes in the very same manner as the movie; in an opulent ballroom. During the close up of the lead singer, Jared Leto, using the typewriter, we see the words "this is who I really am" on the paper which is firstly a 
reference to the actual lyrics and secondly, an allusion to "The Shining" movie where Jack types up numerous pages with the repeated line of "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". The use of intertexuality is important in that it provides the audience with some familiarity to what they have perhaps already seen before. For those who have seen "The Shining", it is more appealing and exciting to watch as it's the band's own twist on the movie. in this shot on the right, editing has been used to create a clone effect; this has also been used in other parts of the video too. However, in this shot, the clone and the original interact with each other which makes the narrative a lot more exciting for the audience as the video shys away from ordinary editing techniques you would conventionally see in a music video. The music video automatically becomes more than just a music video but rather a short movie for the audience which is something different from what they usually receive from the band and therefore would enjoy it a lot more. 


The clone editing technique has been used again in this shot, which has been copied from "The Shining" movie. This shot has been placed in a montage of shots edited together in a fast-pace manner. The use of this fast-paced editing is essential when keeping the audience involved in the narrative, as well as linking in with the pace of the music as the tempo changes.

7) A music video includes the concept of whether the video is primarily performance based, concept based or narrative based
The music video includes the concept of it being both performance and narrative based. The narrative is based around Stanley Kubrick's "The Shining", a psychological horror movie. Therefore, a lot of the misc-en-scene aspects are pivoted around what has been used in the movies, which is useful as the codes and conventions of the movie genre actually fit in with the codes and conventions needed in the narrative. Having both a narrative and performance style music video is a good way to keep the band more exciting in the eyes of the audience as it incorporates both a genre convention of the band performing but also something different (a narrative) as heavy rock/metal bands tend not to produce a narrative style music video. There are lots of different types of shots used for when the band are performing which is keeps the video from becoming repetitive and boring. What is interesting is the use of the artist performing being incorporated into the narrative; the end shots show how the band enter a ball room and actually perform in front of a crowd which originate from "The Shining" movie. Point of view shots have been used here which are effective as they are often used to show the person looking at something they are afraid of; this could signify that perhaps the band have an inner fear of something which creates a closer connection with the audience as it is almost as if the band are sharing personal information.

The use of panning shots have also been used in the video when the band are performing as they enable the audience to see the entire band and therefore creates unification. In addition, it is extremely conventional of the genre to include shots of the entire band performing as artists of the heavy rock/metal band are very strong on presenting themselves as a family unit. Often, in heavy rock bands, you will see that despite there being an established lead vocalist, other members may also take on other roles other than their main one, e.g. singing as well as playing the guitar.

The video is extremely successful in creating a relationship between the audience and the artist as both the performance and narrative aspects of the video are appealing to them. The performance aspect would create the feeling that the audience are actually watching their favorite band live and therefore makes them feel a lot more connected to the video and the artist. The video makes use of so many different shots and editing styles when showing the band performing and therefore connects the audience to the artist more, as the latter appear more enthralling. The use of performance is conventional of the genre and it shows that the artist care about sticking to old school, low-key methods of making a music video, rather than extravagant editing with expensive budgets. This way, the audience know that the artist is not thinking of their music video as a product but actually giving something to the audience. On the other hand, the narrative aspects appeal to the audience as it uses thriller genre conventions which overlap with metal genre conventions; it also makes the music video more entertaining for the audience and makes them feel closer to the artist as it is something creative which the artist produced. The narrative side of the video incorporates intertextuality from a well-known movie, which appeals to the audience as it lets them get to know the artist more as the artist is putting in their own personal interests into their music. 

To conclude, analyzing Goodwin's theory has helped me in planning my own music video as it has shown me the sorts of things that I should be thinking about that will make the video more successful. Specifically, the idea that there is a relationship between the music and the visuals, and the lyrics and the visuals has helped me in thinking about the cinematography and editing that could potentially be used in my indie music video. I think these two aspects to Goodwin's theory are efficient in really creating meaning and drawing emotion from the audience, which is conventional of the genre I have picked. In 30STM's video for "The Kill", I appealed to the fact that the music linked with the visuals, as did the lyrics, because it created an emotional tension for myself when watching it. As the tempo of the music changed, so did my emotional response to the visuals and the action that was occurring. This has created a more successful video as it means that the audience will actually believe the video is real as they watch it as they are so emotionally drawn into it. In addition, as the artist sung a specific lyric, the visuals changed, and you could see a character's facial expression through a variety of shots such as close-ups, which is beneficial in demonstrating how the audience should react to the lyrics and how it should be interpreted. I therefore want the same response when I create my own music video, so this is something I will focus on in depth.